Chapter 5: Hug When You Are Sad 02
After running out of the library, Lin Mobai did not run back to the dormitory immediately. Instead, he took out a water cup and a white medicine bottle from his bag. Under the bright street lights, he hurriedly opened the medicine bottle, shook out two pills, and swallowed them with water.
She hadn't had an attack for a long time and thought her condition was under control. She could even stay in places with relatively dim lighting. All symptoms indicated that her condition was slowly improving.
But now it seems that her illness is not as optimistic as the doctor said.
That darkness, as always, became a nightmare that she was unable to escape.
Thinking of this, Lin Mobai's pale face was full of fatigue. After taking a long breath, she showed a bitter smile and tightened her grip on the medicine bottle.
"Xiaobai, are you...are you okay?"
He Qingkong suddenly heard a concerned yet cautious voice from behind.
Realizing that he might have been seen taking the medicine, Lin Mobai's shoulders couldn't help but tremble slightly.
She couldn't let He Qingkong know about her illness, otherwise, he, who knew nothing about it, would definitely get to the bottom of it out of suspicion and uncover her long-hidden secret - about Ding Zhiyou's death.
So, after adjusting his breathing, Lin Mobai turned around.
At this moment, she realized that it was not only He Qingkong . Coincidentally, both of them had the same worry on their faces.
"Did I scare you guys just now?"
Lin Mobai asked the question guiltily, looking a little embarrassed.
But, it seems that this question is just for show.
"I'm sorry." She didn't give them time to answer, and began to explain, "Actually, actually I'm fine... I'm fine, it's just... maybe I've been studying too much recently, so... when the power went out just now, I was distracted and saw... a suspicious... white shadow, so I screamed in fright..."
The intermittent explanation was obviously a guilty lie. Lin Mobai let out a sigh of relief, hoping that such a lame excuse could deceive the world.
As if seeing through Lin Mobai's confusion, He Qingkong sighed slightly: "I'm glad you're okay."
How could he not see through her nervousness when she lied? But since she didn't confess, he didn't ask or force her. He just silently waited for the moment when she was willing to tell it herself.
Until that moment, he would be her most competent listener.
However, he chose to let go of her lie, but He Qingkong didn't want to let go of the bottle of medicine in her hand that looked a bit strange, so the next second, he frowned again and asked: "Then... what is the medicine in your hand..."
Thinking of her skillful movements when she took the medicine just now, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.
Even though he had come to terms with Lin Mobai's concealment, waves of worry would still arise in his heart unexpectedly.
At that time, everyone was immersed in the sorrow of losing Ding Zhiyou. Except for Lin Mobai's family, few people cared about Lin Mobai's feelings.
No one can understand how the person who was the only witness at the scene felt, unable to show up to help or identify the criminal.
In Ding Zhiyou's accidental death, everyone was only sad for Ding Zhiyou, but no one thought about how much of a blow Lin Mobai suffered in the accident. They only tried to condemn him but forgot to care about him.
And he, just thinking about it occasionally, found it hard to bear, let alone Lin Mobai.
"This..." As He Qingkong asked, Lin Mobai noticed that he and Zhou Shiqing's eyes were fixed on her hand, so she subconsciously immediately clenched the medicine bottle and hid it behind her, and then she answered hesitantly, "This is the nutrient my mother bought for me. She said that studying is very tiring and I often have to use my brain, and this is just right to nourish my brain."
The atmosphere suddenly dropped to a freezing temperature.
Then, as if in response, the cold wind blew across He Qingkong and Zhou Shiqing's faces in an instant, causing a chilling and piercing pain.
The lie that was easily exposed eventually made He Qingkong and Zhou Shiqing feel frustrated that they were not valued and relied upon.
He Qingkong pursed his lips and said nothing, while Zhou Shiqing crossed her arms over her chest, her face full of suspicion and contempt.
"You..." After a moment, Zhou Shiqing couldn't help but opened her mouth to refute.
However, before she could speak impulsively, He Qingkong touched her vaguely, then took the lead, changed the subject with a distressed look, and said, "You, no matter how hard you work, you still need to get enough rest, especially now that the end of the semester is approaching. What if you get sick before the exam? But since we're all out now, how about we end our study tonight and I'll treat you two to a midnight snack?"
"This suggestion is great!" Zhou Shiqing seemed to understand He Qingkong's respect and love for Lin Mobai, so she put aside her doubts and smiled as she took Lin Mobai's hand. "It's just right. I've been studying all night and my energy is running low. It's time to replenish it! It's rare that handsome He invites us, so we must give him face. Let's go!"
Looking at Zhou Shiqing's bright smile, Lin Mobai breathed a sigh of relief and smiled slightly.
In fact, she also knew that the two people did not believe her lame excuse at all, so she was very touched by their consideration in not asking more questions.
However, at this moment, she was physically and mentally exhausted, and all she wanted was to return to the dormitory and have a good rest.
So, when Zhou Shiqing was pulling her towards the school gate, Lin Mobai quickly pulled Zhou Shiqing back, then rejected He Qingkong's invitation with full of apology, saying: "Sorry, I... I'm a little tired, I want to go back and rest."
"Mo Bai..." Zhou Shiqing frowned subconsciously when she heard that. She wanted to "educate" her, but when she turned her head, she saw her pale face. So she was worried and asked in a low voice, "Are you okay?"
"It's okay, just a little tired." Lin Mobai still smiled.
"All right."
Seeing that Lin Mobai's smile was a little forced, Zhou Shiqing stopped asking questions and made a decision.
Then, Zhou Shiqing looked at He Qingkong and said, "Mr. He, thank you very much, but my stomach is not blessed to accept your kindness today. You see, Mo Bai's face is not very good either. How about we owe him this meal first?"
"Yes, no problem." He Qingkong nodded, agreeing with Zhou Shiqing's decision, "Then I'll take you back."
"No thanks." However, upon hearing He Qingkong's proposal, Lin Mobai immediately waved her hand. Worried about causing trouble to He Qingkong, she refused without hesitation, "Qingkong, it's getting late, you should go back too."
Hearing this, He Qingkong frowned and said, "No, you look so bad. If something happens, Zhou won't be able to take care of it."
As if she understood something, Zhou Shiqing quickly expressed her opinion: "That's right, if you faint, I can only play a small role like a meat cushion. The hero is really powerless. This matter needs to be done by classmate He!"
Seeing that the two of them were in unison and tacitly opposed to his refusal, Lin Mobai, who was originally a little reserved, couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Shiqing, you are so beautiful, if you just throw a wink on the street, your classmates will help you consciously."
"But, what if someone carries me away just because I'm beautiful and I flirt with him? "
After Zhou Shiqing said this narcissistic remark, she did not forget to make an innocent and annoyed expression. Lin Mobai chuckled again when he was speechless.
He Qingkong, who was listening to the playful conversation between the two, blinked and kept interrupting them. He asked with a silly look on his face, "Actually, I want to ask, it's so dark, will anyone really see the flirtatious glances that Zhou is throwing?"
Seeing He Qingkong's serious expression as if he was really thinking about this problem seriously, Lin Mobai and Zhou Shiqing looked at each other and couldn't help but chuckle.
Amidst the laughter, the haze was swept away, and even the passing wind became much warmer.
So, without insisting on refusing or giving any reasons, the three of them walked towards the girls' dormitory tacitly.
When He Qingkong received a text message from his roommate asking him to buy some midnight snacks, he also accidentally saw the message records between him and Zhou Shiqing, and he suddenly remembered Zhou Shiqing's reminder - he still didn't have Lin Mobai's cell phone number.
This made him a little nervous.
Before, he had been chasing after Lin Mobai, and all his efforts were just to move her with his actions and restore their childhood friendship. But now, he knew his feelings and no longer wanted to just be with her as childhood sweethearts.
His heart began to want more.
At least, he hoped that when Lin Mobai was in danger, the first person he thought of would be him.
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath, and then tried to ask Lin Mobai for his cell phone number.
"Xiaobai, I...that...I...I think..." He was clearly asking for a cell phone number like usual, but at this moment, He Qingkong felt inexplicably nervous. He stammered and couldn't spell out a complete sentence.
"Huh?" Seeing his face full of anxiety and nervousness, Lin Mobai tilted his head and looked at him in confusion.
"Um, can you...just...let me..."
"what?"
"I..." He Qingkong was so nervous that his tongue seemed to be tied. He took another deep breath and even closed his eyes. "I don't have your cell phone number yet. Can you...can you give it to me?"
He finally managed to utter a complete sentence, but the tone of his words was full of grievance.
It was just a simple request for a cell phone number, but He Qingkong's face turned a pink due to his inner nervousness and uneasiness.
Standing next to , Lin Mobai seemed to be infected by the pink, his face was full of embarrassment, and his voice couldn't help but be soft: "Well, okay..."
Then, after she agreed, He Qingkong couldn't hide his excitement and cheered. He quickly took out his cell phone and exchanged numbers with her.
Seeing the two people surrounded by ambiguity, Zhou Shiqing raised her eyebrows and smiled slightly. Although it was a few beats late, it seemed that this "silly couple" was about to get married.
Thinking of this, Zhou Shiqing vaguely realized that in this short journey, he was just a big light bulb.
So, the idea of leaving first immediately came to my mind.
However, before Zhou Shiqing could think of an excuse to leave, a puzzled call caught the attention of the three people.
"Qingkong, why are you here?"
As soon as the doubtful words came out, Lu Yanqi, who was slowly approaching, saw Lin Mobai standing next to He Qingkong, and his thick brows frowned instantly.
"Yanqi?"
Hearing the call, He Qingkong turned around and saw Lu Yanqi.
Then, the surprise on his face turned into uneasiness about Lu Yanqi's appearance, and then, as if he was afraid that his appearance would cause stimulation to Lin Mobai who had just recovered, he grabbed Lin Mobai with his right hand and protected him behind him.
"He Qingkong, what do you mean by this?" Seeing He Qingkong protecting Lin Mobai, Lu Yanqi's anger suddenly soared to the highest point, and he emphasized word by word, "Are you on guard against me?"
"Yanqi, I..."
"He Qingkong, do you know what you are doing? The person you are protecting is the culprit who killed Ding Zhiyou! Are you going to betray Youyou and me?"
Even though he discovered that the two of them had a special relationship at Grandpa Ding's birthday party last time, he still didn't want to believe that He Qingkong would have close and frequent contact with Lin Mobai in private. However, this accidental encounter had completely wiped out his only remaining hope.
"Yanqi, calm down and be rational, okay? I told you, Youyou's death had nothing to do with Xiaobai, it was just an accident! Why put all the faults and charges on her?" He Qingkong couldn't help but refute Lu Yanqi's accusations.
"It's okay? Haha... If it weren't for her, Youyou wouldn't have come home so late, wouldn't have appeared in that place, and wouldn't have died. You tell me now that it has nothing to do with her? You can really say that!" Lu Yanqi grabbed He Qingkong's collar and couldn't help feeling sad. Anger was surging in his heart because He Qingkong stood on Lin Mobai's side.
"Yanqi, the reason why an accident is an accident is that no one expected it! If there really was an 'if', Youyou wouldn't have died that year."
"Shut up! He Qingkong, I didn't expect you to say such cruel words. I misjudged you! I didn't expect... I didn't expect that our brotherhood of more than ten years would not be able to withstand the test of Lin Mobai!"
"I……"
Seeing Lu Yanqi's grief-stricken expression, He Qingkong was speechless for a moment.
However, just as he was about to step forward to comfort Lu Yanqi, he was suddenly startled. He then realized that Lin Mobai, who had been hiding behind him, was listening to every word of the conversation between him and Lu Yanqi.
So he immediately turned around, bent down slightly, and looked at Lin Mobai who had been keeping his head down and silent.
Because of the bright lights in the campus, even though her hair cast a shadow on Lin Mo's face, He Qingkong could still see two lines of almost transparent tears.
"Xiaobai, what's wrong with you?"
Surprised, He Qingkong's hand followed, intending to wipe her tears.
But Lin Mobai took a step back, rejected his kindness, and kept his distance.
"You, you knew it a long time ago?"
"I……"
"Let me ask you, did you know this all along?"
"Xiaobai, listen to me..."
"You already knew that Youyou had passed away, and you also knew that I was the one who killed Youyou, right? You...you...why did you hide it from me? Why...why did you deliberately pretend not to know?"
Seeing Lin Mobai shaking his head and backing away, with a look of fear and hurt in his eyes as he looked at He Qingkong, He Qingkong explained anxiously and frantically: "Xiaobai, I didn't mean to hide it from you, I... I always felt that Zhiyou's matter couldn't be..."
But no matter what he said, Lin Mobai kept shaking her head and refused to listen. Then, after slowly taking a few steps back, she couldn't accept the reality and covered her face, turned around and tried to escape.
"noob--"
Watching her run away, the uneasiness that had been building up in He Qingkong's heart instantly burst out with the call. The next second, he took a step forward and followed in the direction Lin Mobai fled.
Behind him, Zhou Shiqing, who was left behind, also took a step forward, but suddenly stopped after taking two steps forward.
She suddenly thought that even if she caught up, it would be useless. She, who knew nothing, might only hinder them. Perhaps, at this time, there could only be a place for He Qingkong beside Lin Mobai.
So she sighed, and then thought of Lu Yanqi behind her.
When Zhou Shiqing turned around and glared at Lu Yanqi, he suddenly remembered, wasn't this guy the boy who had "scolded fiercely" at Lin Mobai before?
Thinking of this, Zhou Shiqing snorted contemptuously: Very good, let’s settle both new and old grudges together!
Then, she stepped forward and said mockingly in a voice full of contempt: "Tsk tsk tsk, the ancients talked about a 'beast in human clothing'. I am so lucky to run into him tonight! Nice to meet you!"
"you……"
"Me? What's wrong with me? Do you think a beast is going to hit someone? Beast!"
“It’s unreasonable!”
Lu Yanqi was furious after being suddenly humiliated by this strange girl, but seeing the aggressive look in her eyes, he decided not to argue with her. So, he glared at her and left in a hurry.
