Walking on your heels is not as smooth as walking on tiptoe; instead, you have to take a step, stop, and then move your heels again.
From behind, it looks like a little duck waddling along.
As Fang Bai walked, his injured foot, which had been tense, started to cramp up in his calf. Just as he stopped to relax, he faintly heard a muffled laugh.
Fang Bai heard a very soft laugh, and wondered if she had misheard.
After all, there were only the two of them in the corridor, so how could Ji Yuning possibly be smiling?
Despite thinking this, Fang Bai still turned to look behind him to confirm whether there was something wrong with her ears.
Ji Yuning remained the same, expressionless, looking like she was demanding payment.
Seeing her look over, Ji Yuning frowned slightly. "Aunt Fang, what's wrong?"
“You,” Fang Bai pointed to the corridor ahead, “walk in front of me.”
Regardless of whether she misheard or not, Fang Bai always had to find an excuse for his sudden turn.
Ji Yuning didn't ask Fang Bai the reason, seemingly having already anticipated that Fang Bai would instruct her. Ji Yuning took the two bath towels and walked to Fang Bai's side in response.
Ji Yuning walked slowly, finally stopping to ask, "Where is Aunt Fang's bedroom?"
Fang Bai walked to Ji Yuning's side, "The door on the right in front."
Ji Yuning looked down at Fang Bai's injured foot: "Okay."
As they continued walking forward, Ji Yuning's slightly furrowed brows turned into a deep frown.
Fang Bai hadn't misheard; someone had indeed laughed just now, and the one who laughed was Ji Yuning.
When she heard the laughter, Ji Yuning was no less shocked than Fang Bai. No matter what Fang Bai did, she would only feel disgust, but she laughed because of the way Fang Bai walked.
It wasn't mockery, but uncontrollable pleasure.
Ji Yuning was unwilling to admit it. She quickly suppressed her smile, pursed her lips, and labeled that unknown smile as gloating.
"..."
Upon entering the room, the layout was exactly as Fang Bai remembered. After getting used to walking on her heels, Fang Bai no longer needed to hold onto the wall. She moved to the bedside, looked at the two sets of clothes on the bed, and asked, "Which one do you want?"
Ji Yuning looked at the bed. Chen Xiandong had prepared two dresses and two light jackets, probably because he was worried they would be cold.
The two dresses are identical in style, differing only in color: one is light purple, and the other is light blue.
Before Ji Yuning could speak, Fang Bai's voice rang in her ears: "Auntie wants blue."
"..."
Ji Yuning bent down and picked up the light purple dress.
Seeing this, Fang Bai smiled and said, "The bathroom is over there. Go take a shower first, and then change."
Ji Yuning said softly, "Mmm."
After responding, Ji Yuning stood still, because she saw Fang Bai plop down on the sofa.
Fang Bai noticed Ji Yuning, who looked up in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Ji Yuning pursed her lips: "Aren't you going out?"
Fang Bai asked, puzzled, "What would I do outside?"
Ji Yuning frowned: "I want to take a shower."
"...?" Fang Bai was confused for a moment before realizing that she was just shy.
Fang Bai placed his injured foot on his other knee and said softly, "Have you considered that I'm injured?"
Ji Yuning looked over and saw that Fang Bai's feet were very white, but they were a little red at the moment. She didn't know if it was because they were cold or because they were walking with force.
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under Ji Yuning's gaze, Fang Bai awkwardly said, "The bathroom is locked."
After Ji Yuning closed the bathroom door, Fang Bai clearly heard the little brat lock the door from the inside.
...What can we do to someone with a disability like her?
Fang Bai ignored Ji Yuning. She looked down at the wound. The band-aid had done nothing to help; the edges had rolled up, exposing the wound to Fang Bai's eyes.
The wound was about three centimeters long, which was considered a relatively deep wound. However, since it only cut a little bit under the skin, the blood had already mostly drained by the time he reached the edge of the pool. Perhaps due to the exertion of walking, the wound started to bleed again after Fang Bai tore off the bandage.
As Fang Bai wiped the blood away with toilet paper, there was a knock on the door, and then the door was opened from the outside.
Fang Bai realized that Ji Yuning was still taking a shower and was about to say not to come in when the waitress's voice came through the crack in the door, "Miss, I have brought Miss Ji's handbag and a first-aid kit."
Hearing that it was a girl, Fang Bai felt relieved and said, "Come in."
The waiter pushed open the door and saw Fang Bai sitting on the sofa, while the sound of running water came from the bathroom. The waiter was momentarily surprised.
Miss actually let Miss Ji take a bath first?
The waitress was a newcomer in recent years and had never met Fang Bai before. However, she had heard from several colleagues who had worked at Fang's house for several years that the young lady had a bad temper, loved to make things difficult for them, and was always aggressive.
In any case, the waiter's impression of Fang Bai was that of an arrogant, spoiled, and reckless rich second-generation, completely different from the person in front of her who was considerate of others and gently thanked her.
Fang Bai took the first-aid kit from the waiter, but instead of opening it immediately, he said to her, "Could you please pour me two glasses of warm water? And also, could you make me some cake, or something with cream, but not too sweet?"
"Okay, miss, please wait a moment."
Ji Yuning took a shower in fifteen minutes. She didn't need to take a long shower anyway; a quick rinse would have been enough.
Ji Yuning changed into that light purple dress, opened the bathroom door and saw Fang Bai sitting on the sofa, sipping water.
And sitting next to her... was He Ziyan.
"Are you done washing?"
Hearing the door open, Fang Bai looked up at Ji Yuning.
Ji Yuning's hair was half-dry, with half of it tucked behind her ears and the other half covering her cheeks.
"Mm," Ji Yuning responded, her gaze falling on He Ziyan.
He Ziyan looked at Ji Yuning as soon as she opened the door, so when Ji Yuning looked at her, the two of them inevitably met eyes.
He Ziyan offered the same explanation she had given Fang Bai: "I heard from my mom that you were pushed into the pool, so I came up to check if you were alright."
He Ziyan entered with the waiter. When Fang Bai saw He Ziyan, his expression darkened, but it wasn't very obvious, and neither of the two people who entered noticed it.
The reason is simple: Lu Lili is He Ziyan's person.
When He Ziyan heard that Lu Lili had pushed Ji Yuning into the water, she was furious. She had finally gotten close to Fang Bai and Ji Yuning, only to have it all ruined by Lu Lili.
She quickly left the banquet, asked around, and happened to run into a waiter who was about to bring water to Fang Bai, so she followed him upstairs.
Seeing that Fang Bai's expression was off, He Ziyan's face immediately showed deep concern. She asked about Ji Yuning's condition before Fang Bai let her into the room.
Fang Bai put down his water glass and said to Ji Yuning, "I've prepared water and cake for you. Eat something if you're hungry."
Fang Bai stood up and shuffled around the small table. "I'm going to take a shower."
He Ziyan only heard that Ji Yuning had fallen into the water and Fang Bai had pulled her out. She didn't hear anyone talking about Fang Bai's injury, so when she saw Fang Bai's awkward walking posture, she subconsciously asked, "Aunt Fang, what happened to your foot?"
Fang Bai: "I scratched my foot."
He Ziyan quickly got up and walked briskly to Fang Bai's side. "Is it serious? Is it difficult for you to walk? How did you cut your foot? Shall I have the driver take you to the hospital?"
The two of them stood opposite Ji Yuning.
Compared to Ji Yuning's silence after her injury, He Ziyan's series of questions warmed Fang Bai's heart. Fang Bai felt a little embarrassed about her earlier stern reprimand of He Ziyan. She said, "It's nothing, just a minor injury. I'll apply the medicine after I take a shower."
Upon hearing this, He Ziyan grabbed Fang Bai's arm and said, "Then let me take a look at your wound after you come out of the shower. If it's not serious, I'll apply some medicine for you. If it's serious, I'll take you to the hospital."
He Ziyan's grip was very strong, causing Fang Bai some pain. She slightly pulled away and said calmly, "I'll go to the bathroom first."
He Ziyan realized that she had lost her composure, cleared her throat and said, "Let me help you."
Fang Bai wasn't really comfortable with having too much contact with strangers, and He Ziyan was a complete stranger to him. This was only their third meeting, and they weren't exactly close. Fang Bai wanted to say no, but he was afraid of hurting He Ziyan's helpful nature, so he swallowed his words.
Fang Bai took two steps and walked to Ji Yuning's side.
For some reason, Ji Yuning stood still after seeing He Ziyan get up and help Fang Bai.
However, this also suited Fang Bai's wishes perfectly.
Fang Bai stopped next to Ji Yuning and said to He Ziyan, "Xiao Ning can help me. You can go back to the sofa and eat your cake."
As he spoke, Fang Bai grasped Ji Yuning's arms with both hands. Ji Yuning's arms were very smooth and cool after taking a shower, and Fang Bai's hot palms felt like they were melting her.
Fang Bai turned his head to meet Ji Yuning's eyes as she looked down at him, and said softly, "Help Auntie to the bathroom."
Instinctively, Ji Yuning wanted to refuse, but when she glanced at He Ziyan, her refusal turned into a muffled "Okay."
The moment Fang Bai grabbed Ji Yuning's arms, He Ziyan released them. She watched as Ji Yuning helped Fang Bai towards the bathroom and then watched as Fang Bai closed the door from the inside.
The moment Ji Yuning turned around, He Ziyan hugged her and asked, "Was Aunt Fang injured while saving you?"
Ji Yuning's cold eyes: "Yes."
He Ziyan was taken aback by Ji Yuning's attitude. "Then why are you so cold? You didn't even help Aunt Fang up."
He Ziyan knew that if she hadn't helped Fang Bai, he might have had to hobble to the bathroom.
Ji Yuning scoffed lightly, "Do you know who caused this?"
He Ziyan lowered her hand and said somewhat awkwardly, "Lu... Lu Lili."
Ji Yuning smiled slightly, walked up to He Ziyan, glanced at her sideways and said, "It's you."
Without the slightest hesitation, Ji Yuning frankly told He Ziyan what she was worried about being exposed in front of Fang Bai.
What He Ziyan didn't know was that Fang Bai already knew.
But at this moment, He Ziyan subconsciously looked towards the bathroom, only to find the door locked, and the person inside probably hadn't heard anything.
He Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief and continued to say to Ji Yuning, "I admit that it was wrong of me to lead Lu Lili and her group to target you at school before, but since I moved into your dormitory, I have lost contact with Lu Lili and her group. What happened today was not my doing and has nothing to do with me."
It has nothing to do with He Ziyan, but she can't escape the connection. They did these things to please He Ziyan, simply because He Ziyan said at school that anyone who can't stand Ji Yuning is one of her people.
After saying that, He Ziyan also thought of those words. She choked up for a moment and said, "When school starts on Monday, I will take back what I said in front of the whole class and say that I want to be your friend from now on—"
"He Ziyan," Ji Yuning's lips curled into a smile, "are you really just trying to be friends with me?"
Author's Note: