Having said that, Dr. Zhao started to praise Shu Sha.
“Xiao Ye, whenever your cla.s.s leader has free time, she would always come here to do volunteer work. She would always accompany those stray dogs when they’re getting IV drips!”
“She comes frequently! There were times when you came in after she just left. It’s inevitable that you two would eventually meet, but I didn’t know you two knew each other!”
“Since you both like dogs, I’m guessing you guys get along pretty well at school?”
Shu Sha blushed. I thought she would deny that we have a good relationship, but what she denied was something else:
“I don’t come that often, we just coincidentally met today…”
Dr. Zhao scratched his head: “Not often? Some weeks you would come three times!”
With Shu Sha’s busy schedule, it’s not easy making three trips a week. I couldn’t help but increase my admiration for her.
Shu Sha was very embarra.s.sed as if I had discovered one of her hidden secrets.
At this time, a grandfather with a sick cat came to see the doctor, Dr. Zhao greeted him, and had no time to continue chatting with me and Shu Sha.
Shu Sha didn’t say a word. I felt awkward sitting next to her.
I didn’t know what to say, so I just asked about the next topic that came to mind: “Isn’t it almost time to eat? Don’t you have to go home to cook for your brother?”
Shu Sha was silent for a while, probably thinking about if she should respond, she finally sighed and said:
“My brother went to celebrate a friend’s birthday, so I don’t have to prepare dinner today.”
After a pause, she said with a tad of loneliness:
“It wasn’t just today. Yesterday, another good friend of his also had a birthday, and he didn’t eat at home. Although I’m happy that he has a lot of friends, but if I’m alone, I won’t really feel like making a good meal. I’ll probably just cook some noodles tonight.”
Good friend? More like a girlfriend? How can there be so many birthdays one after another? Such a pitiful sister, kept completely in the dark!
It may be because she sat here alone too long, and Xiao Ding wasn’t a good communication partner. So once she opened her mouth, she naturally started chatting.
“I felt lonely at home, so I came downstairs to accompany these stray dogs. Look at this dalmatian pup. He’s so small, and sick. If no one accompanied it, wouldn’t it be more lonely than me?”
For the cla.s.s leader to have such a high degree of awareness, I couldn’t say anything, so I nodded in agreement.
“Right, Ye Lin, Dr. Zhao said that you like dogs too. Is that true?”
Her tone was full of curiosity.
Actually, it wasn’t just dogs, I also like cats. But what kind of man would I be if I liked these furry and cute animals? Wouldn’t I be underestimated by the cla.s.s leader? So I clicked my tongue and replied in a very disdainful tone:
“Who would like those things! Don’t listen to Dr. Zhao, I came over today to play Dota with Xiao Ding!”
Actually, Xiao Ding would never play Dota with me, because I am the so-called NOOB he always screams out, whoever plays with me would lose.
The cla.s.s leader didn’t quite believe what I said, and turned her gaze back to the Dalmatian. She gently stroked the dog’s thin back, hoping it would sleep better.
Since I grew up in a single parent household. I have no idea what a mother’s love is like. If maternal love actually existed, then it would exist in the gentle gaze that Shu Sha used to look at the puppy.
“Hey, cla.s.s leader, if you like dogs so much, why don’t you raise one?”
The cla.s.s leader sighed and replied:
“No, we can’t raise pets at home since I already have a younger brother.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“Well… although my brother treats pets well in front of me, but once I’m not at home, he would mistreat them…”
I accidentally discovered another demerit of Shu Zhe! In front of others this kid would pretend to be outstanding, but behind their backs he would be a good for nothing. Sooner or later, I have to think of a way to take care of him.
“Ye Lin.” The cla.s.s leader suddenly turned towards me and asked, “Do all boys like to abuse animals?”
Shu Zhe probably told his sister that animal cruelty was part of a man’s nature, so that’s why the cla.s.s leader asked me?
I really couldn’t think of any reasons where I would abuse animals. Not only that, if I see others mistreating animals, I would most likely stop them.
It might be out of selfishness. Even though I’m an atheist, I still hope that my puppy in heaven would look at his unqualified master. Maybe when I save another dog, he would feel better.
Even now, I’m afraid of seeing the puppy’s painful expression.
Let’s use the Dalmatian who’s sitting on the cla.s.s leader’s lap as an example. It would occasionally twitch in its sleep, revealing its purplish gums. Sometimes its eyes would open, and its pitch black eyes seems like its staring at something not of this world, as if it was frightened the reaper who was inching closer.
Its expression gradually became closer and closer to the one of my puppy who pa.s.sed away. My heart trembled, I was afraid Shu Sha would see the tears that was forming in my eyes.
Shu Sha made a cry of surprise, thinking that there was something wrong with her perfect vision.
“You…are you crying?”
“Stop… stop joking around! I got sand in my eyes! Only women cry!”
I stubbornly retorted and turned around to block Shu Sha’s line of sight. I can’t let her see my face. If she sees my face, any retorts will be useless.
Shu Sha did not delve deeper into the matter, leaving me with my reputation intact. I was a bit grateful.
Moreover, the tone of her voice when speaking to me was not as hostile anymore.
But after talking for a while, she mostly talked about our cla.s.s or her brother. Rarely did she talk about her own interests
One minute she would talk about how Gong CaiCai was a scaredy cat and she would not integrate well into society if she didn’t work harder. Another minute she would be worrying about how Xiao Qin was weak and always sick.
I was thinking that you did not need to worry about those two. Gong Caicai was a perfect example of Ms Perfect, a fair-skinned and rich beauty. She also didn’t have a bad personality, so people would definitely fight for her in the future. As for Xiao Qin, she was basically a Super Saiyan hidden among humans. You don’t need to worry about her body!
Then the topic changed, and the cla.s.s leader advised me to stop bullying Xiao Qin. Although she said she didn’t know what happened to us when we were children, but I didn’t have to constantly bully her, otherwise what kind of man would I be?
The cla.s.s leader really touched upon a sore spot. It would be to embarra.s.sing if I tried to justify my actions, so I could only half-heartedly agree.
Although the cla.s.s leader had occasional complaints when she spoke of her younger brother, she was still very proud of him overall.
She couldn’t help but show off her younger brother’s past honors. Like fifth place in the provincial Math Olympiads, second place in a singing compet.i.tion, top three best student, and so on…
Basically, the cla.s.s leader believes that her younger brother is ten times smarter than her, and he would definitely become an amazing person in the future.
After I listened to what she said, I was at a loss for words. I wanted to tell her the truth and let her beware of her own ungrateful brother. But when I saw her eyes as she spoke of her brother, I swallowed my words.
We didn’t know how long we had talked. The sky outside was getting darker and darker, and I didn’t even realize dark clouds had covered the sky.
When the puppy finally finished his IV treatment, Shu Sha said goodbye to Dr. Zhao. She was getting ready to head home when I found out that it was raining.
At first, it was just a few drops of rain, but in the blink of an eye it turned into an thunderstorm. It turned into the downpour that the weather forecast warned us of.
“Wow, it’s a downpour!” Dr. Zhao knitted his eyebrows. “I’m still busy, so I can’t drive you back home! Xiao Ye, how come you didn’t bring an umbrella? Shu Sha brought one, so you guys can go home together!”
I saw that Dr. Zhao was busy with the sick cat, and said to Xiao Ding who stood next to him:
“Does the hospital not have a single spare umbrella? Lend one to me, I’ll return two!”
Xiao Ding would blush whenever he saw a woman. But he was unyielding when it came to men.
He looked down on me, smiled and jokingly cursed: “Noob! Even if there was one I wouldn’t lend it to you!”
He even put a hand on my shoulder and said to me with heartfelt words: “Your older brother can only help you up to here!”
Who is your younger brother! Have you lost your mind? You want to set me up with Shu Sha? Although the two of us have temporarily reconciled due to the blessings of dogs, we are two completely different people!
Going outside the hospital, we hid under the gutter while watching the pouring rain. Shu Sha looked at the black folding umbrella in her hand, then looked at my empty hands, and revealed a complicated expression.
“Ye Lin, how far is your home?”
“My home? It’s a 15 minute walk. Cla.s.s leader, don’t worry about me, I’ll take a taxi home. This little umbrella isn’t enough for two people, you go first!”
“No! There’s no way you’ll find a taxi in this weather. If you got sick, I would be partially responsible as the cla.s.s leader…”
She said as she handed over the umbrella.
“You take my umbrella and go first. I live pretty close, it’s just past the neighborhood behind us. I’ll stay here for a while, and wait for the rain to lessen.”
“Who wants your umbrella! If you caught a cold, I’ll be so embarra.s.sed when I got to school tomorrow!”
It might be because they saw two of us pushing the umbrella to each other through the gla.s.s door. Dr. Zhao and Xiao Ding smirked and I didn’t know if they were bad mouthing me.
I thought that I was pretty stubborn. I didn’t expect Shu Sha to be even more stubborn. She wouldn’t let me leave without taking her umbrella.
I put my hand into my pockets hoping to find something, but I felt a smooth sheet of printed paper.
I suddenly remembered what I came here today to do. I was still holding a coupon for a meal for two.
I looked at my watch and it was already 6:30. I usually would have already finished dinner by this time.
Maybe I should take Shu Sha to eat with me. Not only would it solve the problem of dinner, it would also shelter us from the rain. Maybe the rain will stop after dinner.
This was forced by the situation. Shu Sha probably won’t misunderstand, right?
Just as Shu Sha handed the umbrella to me for the 20th time, hoping that I would take it.
I was in a good mood and grabbed the umbrella along with her fingers that was underneath.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you somewhere good!”