I left school practically being carried by Da Luo and Xiao Luo, and once again ended up at the Workers' Hospital to see a surgeon. Coincidentally, the same doctor who treated me at noon was still on duty. When he saw my badly swollen and bruised left foot, he scolded me harshly, saying, "Didn't I tell you not to engage in any strenuous activity? Are you trying to cripple yourself?"
The word *cripple* terrified me. I quickly explained that I had been beaten up by classmates at school and asked if my foot would be okay.
When the doctor heard it was a school fight, his expression softened slightly. He told me that my left foot was already severely bruised earlier, and this second impact had worsened the bruising. Fortunately, the bones weren't seriously damaged. He immediately arranged for a nurse to extract the internal bleeding.
An experienced nurse drained part of the bruise from the muscle in my left foot using a syringe. After that, the doctor prescribed a lot of medication—it totaled over 800 yuan. If Harper hadn't offered to cover the cost upfront, I would've had a real headache trying to pay.
By the time we left the hospital, it was already past 7 p.m., and the city lights had begun to glow.
Harper's phone had rung several times earlier, so I turned to her and said, "Class Rep, I really appreciate everything you did tonight. I noticed your phone ringing—your family must be worried. Why don't you head home first?"
She replied cheerfully, "No rush. I told my mom I'm studying at a female classmate's house. She won't call again until after 9:30. Hehe."
Harper wore our Second High's navy blue uniform, which looked both modest and cute on her. A pink hairclip in her silky hair made her look like a delicate white flower in bloom.
Bucktooth chimed in, "Andrew, you blockhead, who tells a girl to go home at a time like this? You should be inviting her to dinner! I'm anxious just watching you!"
I couldn't help feeling embarrassed and shot him a glare. *What are you even anxious about for me?*
Then I glanced at the goofy Luo brothers, who were winking and gesturing toward Harper. I finally caught on—they thought this was the perfect chance for me to get close to her and were pushing me to seize the moment.
But I already had a wife—though it was in name only. Still, I figured it was best not to involve an innocent girl.
Harper stood beside me, fiddling with the hem of her clothes and glancing down, clearly not in a hurry to go home. Thinking of all the help she'd given me, I decided it was only right to treat her to a meal.
It was early in the month, and I still had the 300 yuan my father-in-law gave me for living expenses. So I said, "Bucktooth's right. None of us have eaten yet. Why don't we go grab a bite?"
Everyone cheered and said they'd been waiting for me to say that. Harper smiled sweetly and nodded, "Sure!"
I didn't want to act rich, so I suggested we go to the night market's food stalls. The guys didn't mind, but they looked worriedly at Harper—on weekends, we often saw a black Audi A8 pick her up, so we knew her family was well-off. Would she be willing to eat at a street stall?
To our surprise, Harper showed no distaste. Instead, she seemed excited. "Great! I've always thought the food at the stalls smelled amazing when I passed by, but my mom always said it was unsanitary and never let me try it."
So off we went to the night market. We found a relatively quiet spot and sat down. Because there was a girl present, we ordered lots of hot pots and seafood—luxurious by our standards.
Everyone was in high spirits since I'd defeated John earlier and didn't have to transfer schools. Bucktooth even ordered a dozen beers to celebrate.
As the "hero" of the night, I was passed drink after drink. I had a low tolerance and turned red after just a little alcohol. After a few bottles, I was completely drunk.
I couldn't remember how I got back to the dorm. When I woke up the next morning, it was already past 11.
Bucktooth and the Luo brothers were already up, playing cards and munching snacks. Bucktooth saw me awake and teased, "Finally up? You've got the weakest alcohol tolerance ever—just a few beers and you were out cold."
"You all *know* I can't hold my liquor."
Still groggy, I clutched my aching head and climbed out of bed. I noticed a box of pastries on the table and asked, "Guishunzhai pastries? Isn't the only shop at Sun Plaza? Who went that far to get these?"
Bucktooth stuffed the last of a rose cake into his mouth and grinned, "Not us. Someone brought them for you. Since you weren't awake, we helped ourselves."
I blinked. "Who brought them?"
Da Luo dealt a card and laughed, "Lady Tang—Harper."
"Harper?" I scratched my head, still confused. "What happened?"
Bucktooth wiggled his brows. "You forgot?"
"I seriously don't remember. Did I say anything embarrassing while drunk?"
"No," Xiao Luo laughed. "But you wouldn't let go of Harper's hand all night. You even kept saying she was beautiful—it was so awkward for her!"
"Oh man!" I groaned, covering my face. "How embarrassing. From now on, don't let me drink!"
Bucktooth added, "No need to be upset. Harper didn't seem mad. Actually, I think she might even like you a little."
The Luo brothers agreed. I was stunned. "Why do you think that?"
Bucktooth tossed over my uniform jacket. "Take a look at this."
I said, "It's my school jacket."
He said, "Check the torn spot from yesterday's fight. Who patched it up?"
I checked—and sure enough, the sleeve tear had been sewn. But the patch was… a big pink *Hello Kitty*! The jacket now looked like it belonged to a girl. What guy would wear something like that?
"Who did this? It's hideous."
Bucktooth grinned. "Harper did. She saw your jacket was torn and offered to fix it. She brought it—and the pastries—this morning."
The Luo brothers grumbled jealously, saying Harper must really like me.
I looked at the jacket, unsure what to feel. Of course I was happy she cared, but *a pink Hello Kitty patch*? If I wore that to Monday's flag-raising ceremony, I'd be the laughingstock of the whole school. People might even start calling me names.
Coming from a poor background, I'd always been a little insecure. And insecure people care a lot about face. Wearing that jacket was something I couldn't do. After a long hesitation, I secretly tore the patch off.
But I didn't expect that small act would nearly bring Harper to tears when I showed up at school Monday morning.
That Saturday, Linda didn't call me. But my father-in-law did—repeatedly—telling me to come home. I knew he wanted to supervise my martial arts training. Since nothing urgent was going on at school, I went home by noon.
He noticed my limp right away and asked what happened.
I said I fell and hurt my foot. But as a traditional Chinese doctor, he quickly saw through the lie and said someone had beaten me. Then he handed me some herbal oil and told me to apply it before taking me to the park for more boxing practice.
That evening, I came home exhausted. Linda wasn't back yet, but she called to say she was with friends and would be going to a nightclub, so she wouldn't be home for dinner.
Zhang Dagui and Xu Shuqin didn't seem to care. They just kept eating. But I felt uneasy. *Nightclub? With whom? A guy?*
Even though I had no right to be jealous, I couldn't help it. I waited restlessly in my room until past midnight, when I finally heard the door open—Linda was back.
Oddly enough, I felt relieved. Maybe she *had* just gone out with some girlfriends, not on a date.
Her high heels clicked loudly in the quiet night as she approached the bedroom. I quickly pulled the blanket over myself and pretended to be asleep on the floor.
The door creaked open, and a waft of alcohol and perfume filled the room. I wrinkled my nose.
She looked at me, muttered "Sleeping like a baby," then set her LV handbag on the bed and went to the wardrobe to find clothes—probably to shower.
When she left for the bathroom, I quietly sat up. The mixed smell of perfume and alcohol still lingered. I couldn't stop wondering: *Who was she with tonight?*
Then I noticed her handbag.
*Maybe there's a clue in there…*
I crept over and opened it gently. As I peeked inside, my face instantly went pale.
Inside the bag… was a condom.
My body went numb, like I'd been struck by lightning. Trembling, I stared at the unopened Durex packet lying quietly inside.
And a deep, suffocating sadness welled up inside me.