Old Wounds, New Growth - Chapter 22
Translator: Deyonna
The matter ultimately ended up with nothing definite. Of course, when I explain it to my mother over the phone, I will inevitably face a scolding.
Li Chishu has made a lot of progress compared to before, especially when we occasionally meet in the corridor. He finally learned to raise his hand to greet me. During the evening self-study, he would also listen to me and not sit in the classroom all night. Once in a while, he would brave the cold wind and come out for some fresh air. One time on a Saturday, he asked while eating, "Shen Baoshan?"
"En?"
Li Chishu slowly organized his words. "Why is it that every time during the evening self-study, whenever I go out, I see you on the balcony?"
"Because I'm waiting for you," I said as I peeled the shrimp. "Don't you allow the existence of someone in the world whose sole purpose is to wait for you?"
Li Chishu did not speak.
Later on, during the five-minute break between every evening self-study classes, he would come out to get some fresh air. He and I would stand on our respective classroom balconies, looking out at the distant playground, enjoying the breeze together.
During a break just before the holidays, as I finished playing basketball and was washing my hands, I couldn't resist and turned back to him as we passed by each other, placing my hand on his shoulder. "Li Chishu, is your hair getting a bit long?"
He touched the top of his head and turned to ask me. "Hmm... is it?"
"Yes, it is." I took the opportunity and ruffled his hair, then watched as Li Chishu slowly smoothed it out. I asked him, "How about I give you a haircut?"
"You know how to cut hair?"
"Of course, I know."
Li Chishu fell into deep thought. "But where should we cut it?"
I leaned in closer to him, lowered my head, and asked with a smile, "Don't you want to check the results first?"
Li Chishu paused, then smiled along with me. He lowered his eyes and muttered to himself, "It doesn't matter... even if it's cut badly. My hair grows fast."
"Mn." I nodded in agreement with his words, and I handily brushed aside the stray hair that was almost reaching his eyebrows. "Indeed, it grows really fast."
While other boys can go for a month before needing a haircut, Li Chishu's hair would only last for about two weeks at most. Sometimes, he would even need a touch-up after just over a week.
During the days when he stayed at home and didn't want to go out, I took on multiple roles as a part-time chef, delivery person, doctor, and even a barber. I delved into almost every aspect of his daily life. Each time, I made sure to try and test it out on myself until I was confident I wouldn't make any mistakes before letting Li Chishu give it a try.
But he is the most obedient person in the world. Regardless of whether what I give him is good or bad, he always praises it without hesitation. In Li Chishu's eyes, there is no such thing as a meal that Shen Baoshan can't cook well, a movie that he can't choose correctly, or a haircut that he can't do perfectly.
I remember that before I gave him a haircut for the first time, I secretly destroyed many wigs that I used to practice on. On the day we agreed to have the haircut at home, I decided to practice on myself at the last minute. Unfortunately, I accidentally made two big nips. When Jiang Chi heard about this, he laughed at me for a full half hour and said, "Have you ever seen a barber cutting their own hair?"
Just as a doctor doesn't treat himself and a ferryman doesn't ferry himself, I stood in front of the mirror and sighed for a long time. Eventually, I took a deep breath and decided to give myself a buzz cut.
After that, in the middle of the summer heat of July, I wore a knitted hat.
Li Chishu sat in the living room, waiting for me to start. His gaze lingered on my hat several times, hesitating to say something but holding back.
I think he must have guessed that under that hat, there was a mess of hair that I had personally ruined, along with my fragile ego. That's why he didn't ask me to take it off throughout the whole process. Even when I suggested going to the guest bedroom to sleep at night, he didn't expose my thoughts.
Late that night, I heard the sound of the door opening. Li Chishu walked into the room barefoot and quietly slipped into the bed. He hugged me from behind.
I keenly sensed his presence and immediately opened my eyes from my sleep. I turned over and nestled into his embrace.
He tried to get up to turn on the bedside lamp, but I held him tightly, preventing him from doing so.
"Don't." I curled up, burying my head in his chest. "Don't look, I don't look good."
"You look good," Li Chishu said with a laugh, retracting his arm that was reaching for the lamp and instead holding the back of my head. "It's just a bit prickly."
I laughed too.
On such a plain night, it was hard to find anything particularly worth remembering about it—if Li Chishu hadn't fallen ill.
If he hadn't fallen ill, he and I would have been just an ordinary couple among the countless couples in the world.
"Li Chishu." Li Chishu was still wearing his school uniform today, with a few random clothes haphazardly layered inside. I pulled his zipper up for him and asked him, "Any plans for the holidays?"
Now, the first and second years of senior high school are all on vacation, but the third year is busy with their studies. The school administration has scheduled classes until the afternoon of the 28th of the twelfth lunar month before the holiday break.
"Holiday?" Li Chishu replied without hesitation. "Return home. The school doesn't permit students to stay on campus during vacations."
Li Chishu once mentioned that the thing he disliked the most about studying was returning home: it was too cold, there was no natural gas, and he had to heat water and pour it into a bathtub for a shower.
"Is there no one at home?" I asked.
He shook his head. "I called the nursing home and asked. Grandma won't be coming back this year, either."
I let out a long "hmm" and then turned to ask, "Why aren't you wearing a down jacket today?"
Li Chishu replied, "I took it off and washed it."
"You don't need to wash the jacket frequently." I corrected him. "Just wear it throughout the winter, and when you take it off, I'll send it for dry cleaning."
"Dry cleaning is expensive," Li Chishu said. "It costs over forty yuan."
I kneaded his earlobe. "Not bad. You even know how much dry cleaning costs. Did you go and ask before washing it yourself?"
He didn't say a word.
I asked again, "What about the sweater? Didn't I give you a sweater? Why aren't you wearing it?"
He looked at me, then lowered his head and smiled. Perhaps he felt a bit embarrassed about what he
was about to say. "I thought... I'll save it to wear for the New Year."
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