157: Chapter 155: Accident 157: Chapter 155: Accident After school, Xia Xiaoyu went straight to the infirmary only to find that Tangyu was not there, though the door to the infirmary was still open.
“Where has Doctor Tang gone?
The door isn’t closed, so he shouldn’t have left,” Xia Xiaoyu thought, momentarily unsure of what to do.
She took out her phone intending to call Tangyu, but hesitated, too shy to dial.
Just then, a figure appeared at the infirmary door.
Xia Xiaoyu looked up and was startled when she saw who stood in the doorway, her face showing a hint of surprise, “Lin Feifei, is that you?”
Lin Feifei was also slightly frowning.
She had come to invite Tangyu to lunch, since they now didn’t return home to eat.
She thought of asking Tangyu to join her, Momo, and the others for lunch.
They could eat breakfast and dinner at home, but lunchtime didn’t allow that luxury; they still had to eat out.
Lin Feifei was surprised to see Xia Xiaoyu in the infirmary and asked, “What are you doing here?”
Xia Xiaoyu suddenly felt like she had been caught doing something wrong; a blush crept over her face as she said, “I, I came to find Doctor Tang.”
Hearing Xia Xiaoyu say she was there to find Tangyu, Lin Feifei grew even more curious and surprised.
She scrutinized Xia Xiaoyu, noticing her furtive glances and flushed face, which couldn’t help but make Lin Feifei speculate.
If it were during class time, coming to the infirmary to see Tangyu would be understandable, perhaps due to illness.
But now that school was over and she was here to find Tangyu, one couldn’t help but wonder.
“You—what do you need Tangyu for?” Lin Feifei couldn’t help but ask.
“Nothing much, nothing urgent.
Since Doctor Tang isn’t here, I’ll just head back first,” Xia Xiaoyu replied.
The more Xia Xiaoyu acted evasive, the more Lin Feifei was convinced there must be something going on.
Could there possibly be some secret between her and Tangyu?
That didn’t make sense though.
Tangyu had only been working in the infirmary for the third time; all added up, he had barely been there a day and a half.
What could possibly have happened between them?
It was this puzzlement that made Lin Feifei all the more curious.
For some reason, she was now extremely interested in anything to do with Tangyu and was very keen to find out what Xia Xiaoyu wanted from him.
“Don’t be so quick to leave.
I came to find Tangyu too.
Since the door isn’t closed, he should still be on campus.
Maybe he was called away by the school leaders.
Let’s just wait for him here,” Lin Feifei suggested.
Xia Xiaoyu glanced at Lin Feifei, biting her lip, uncertain of what to do.
She didn’t want others to know about her business with Tangyu.
She was naturally aware of the rumors about Tangyu and Lin Feifei, and now she was guessing that their relationship might actually be as the rumors described.
If that were indeed the case, it would be too embarrassing for her.
“Don’t get me wrong, Lin Feifei.
I’m here for something specific, nothing more,” Xia Xiaoyu said.
Lin Feifei blinked, “I’m not misunderstanding anything.
What’s your business with Tangyu to me?
I’m also here to see him, and I’m just suggesting you wait with me, nothing else.
Why do you make it sound like Tangyu and I have something going on?
You don’t also believe those idle rumors, do you?”
“Ah, isn’t that the case?” Xia Xiaoyu asked, taken aback.
Lin Feifei shook her head, “Of course not.
You believe such rumors?
I know Tangyu; my dad introduced him to Linshan Middle School to be the doctor, but we’re just friends.
It’s nothing like the rumors claim.
I’m still in high school, so that kind of thing is not in my plans for the time being.”
“Oh, I see.
I’m sorry about that,” replied Xia Xiaoyu.
“Hehe, it’s nothing.
I’m used to those rumors and don’t bother with them.
So Xia Xiaoyu, what did you want with Tangyu?
It can’t be for treatment at this hour, right?” Lin Feifei said.
Xia Xiaoyu hesitated before biting her lip again, “Actually, I wanted to invite Doctor Tang to dinner at my place.
I talked to him about it this morning and he agreed.”
Lin Feifei was taken aback, she hadn’t expected Xia Xiaoyu’s reason for finding Tangyu was to invite him to her house for dinner.
A girl boldly inviting a boy to her house for dinner could imply more than the simple gesture itself.
Seeing the questioning look on Lin Feifei’s face, Xia Xiaoyu quickly waved her hands and explained, “Don’t get the wrong idea, it’s not like that.
I’m just grateful to Doctor Tang for curing my serious illness last time, so I thought of saying thanks by inviting him over for a meal.”
“Oh, so that’s the case,” Lin Feifei finally understood, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders.
As one of Linshan Middle School’s three beauties, though Lin Feifei wasn’t in the same class as Xia Xiaoyu, they’d interacted a bit.
Although they weren’t very close, Lin Feifei had a good impression of Xia Xiaoyu.
“Hehe, I was actually about to invite Doctor Tang out for lunch as well, but since you’ve already asked him, I’ll take my leave,” Lin Feifei said with a smile, turning to go.
She had barely turned around when she nearly bumped into someone.
Looking up, she saw it was Tangyu.
As Tangyu returned to the infirmary, he saw Lin Feifei and Xia Xiaoyu there and was taken aback.
What were these two doing at the infirmary?
They seemed to have been discussing something.
“Yo, our busy Doctor Tang is back.
A beautiful lady has been waiting for you.
I won’t interrupt anymore; I’ll take my leave,” said Lin Feifei playfully, preparing to leave.
Only then did Tangyu remember that he hadn’t told Lin Feifei he wouldn’t be joining her for lunch.
As he was about to speak, Lin Feifei turned back, adding, “By the way, I came to tell you that I have someone to lunch with today, so you’ll have to fend for yourself.” With that, she left.
After sending Lin Feifei away, Tangyu shook their head slightly.
How could they not guess that Lin Feifei must have learned about their agreement to go to Xia Xiaoyu’s house for dinner?
However, Lin Feifei’s reaction left Tangyu somewhat touched; they didn’t even need to explain themselves.
At this moment, Xia Xiaoyu stood there somewhat awkwardly and shyly, her two little hands twisting together like they were fighting.
Although Lin Feifei’s words were in jest, they still made her feel embarrassed.
“Have you been waiting long?” Tangyu said with a smile, seeing Xia Xiaoyu’s bashful demeanor.
“Not really, just a few minutes.
Doctor Tang, this won’t cause you any trouble, will it?” Xia Xiaoyu asked, looking up at Tangyu.
“Trouble?” Tangyu said, “What trouble?”
“It’s just—about you and Lin Feifei—” Xia Xiaoyu struggled to find the words.
Tangyu pursed their lips and said, “Oh, you mean Lin Feifei.
There’s nothing between us, we’re just friends.
Besides, I’m only going to your house for a meal.
How could that be troublesome?”
“Oh, then I was overthinking it.
Doctor Tang, can we go now?” Xia Xiaoyu nodded.
“Sure, let’s go,” Tangyu nodded.
After securing the school clinic’s door, Tangyu followed Xia Xiaoyu out of the school.
By now, most students had already left, and the road was quite empty.
But this was probably for the best; if others saw them, there might be gossip.
With Xia Xiaoyu’s delicate and shy character, she would likely not be able to withstand such rumors.
Leaving the school and walking for about fifteen minutes, Xia Xiaoyu led Tangyu to a rather old and worn-down residential area.
The two of them were silent along the way, and the atmosphere felt strange to Tangyu.
When it came to shyness, Xia Xiaoyu was certainly more so than Lin Feifei.
Being with such a pure and innocent young girl was really a different kind of feeling.
Perhaps there was a sense of purity mixed with ambiguity.
“Auntie Chun,” Xia Xiaoyu suddenly called out to a woman in her fifties, who was pushing a small three-wheeled cart loaded with some vegetables.
The woman Xia Xiaoyu called Auntie Chun stopped and said to her, “Xiaoyu, your parents had an accident; you should hurry over to check on them.
They’re at the vegetable market—sigh.” As Auntie Chun spoke, a look of helplessness appeared on her face.
Hum—
The words from Auntie Chun sent a buzzing through Xia Xiaoyu’s mind, as if struck by lightning, causing her body to tremble and her legs to suddenly weaken.
Xia Xiaoyu shuddered, her complexion turning pale as she grasped Auntie Chun’s hand urgently and asked, “What happened to my parents?” Xia Xiaoyu was so anxious that she was nearly in tears.
“Xiaoyu, you’ll know when you get there.
Sigh, Auntie Chun can’t help you much now.
Your parents have been bullied, your father was beaten, and your family’s vehicle was taken.
Your mother is there, pleading with someone,” Auntie Chun explained.
“What—”
Xia Xiaoyu clenched her fists tightly, her nails nearly digging into her flesh, her face paling even further.
Her eyes shimmered with tears, which had reached the brim but she held back from crying.
She let go of Auntie Chun’s hand and ran towards the vegetable market, too anxious to even consider Tangyu beside her.
Tangyu also frowned, feeling an unnamed anger rising within them, and followed after Xia Xiaoyu.
Xia Xiaoyu’s eyes were red as she ran desperately.
Tangyu quickly caught up to Xia Xiaoyu and comforted her, “Don’t worry, let’s see what happened first.”
They soon arrived at the vegetable market of the residential area, a small-scale one.
From afar, they could see a crowd gathered at the entrance.
Chaotic sounds drifted over, and if one listened carefully, there was also a woman’s pleading cries.
Hearing this sound made Xia Xiaoyu’s tears fall uncontrollably.
The two of them quickly reached the edge of the crowd and pushed their way through.
Inside, they saw a middle-aged man in his forties, skinny and gaunt, half-lying on the ground with blood flowing from his head and several wounds on his body, clearly having been badly beaten.
There was also a forty-something woman kneeling in front of a large, fat man, clutching his leg and pleading, “It really wasn’t us, please forgive us, give us back our vehicle.
We have a daughter in school, we can’t lose our source of income, please do us this kindness and be good people.”
The large, fat man looked to be in his thirties, wearing a tank top and sporting a shaved head.
With a harsh expression and eyes full of contempt, he glanced over the woman kneeling before him and snorted, “I told you not to set up your stall in front of my shop.
How many times have I told you?
Today, you even scratched my car.
Do you know how much my car costs?
Apologize, cry poverty, and expect me just to let it go?
Think that’s too easy, huh?
I’m already being merciful not making you pay.
Forget about getting your car back, just get lost and never show up here again, or don’t blame me for not being polite, hmph.”