"Thanks, Guangxi."
"But sometimes, I feel you"re going overboard already."
The boy froze. "Am I? Have I?"
He pretended not to hear and ignored her altogether. He walked in silence while towing the wounded girl.
"Guangxi!"
"Are you listening?"
"Let"s get you to the infirmary first. Anything else can wait." He acted tough, but deep inside he was trembling.
"Maybe when we get to the infirmary she will divert her attention to her wound and let the matter slip."
They reached the infirmary in no time. The nurse cleaned up the wound and bandaged it securely. Kang Sola couldn"t help but wince in pain once in a while.
The nurse further asked the girl if she"s feeling pain at other parts of her body, in which the girl answered "no". She gave her the option if she wants to stay in the infirmary and rest for a few more minutes or she would prefer to leave.
Kang Sola chose the latter and thanked the nurse for her kindness.
"Guangxi, you can stop now." She smiled at him. "You"ve totally made up for all the improper behavior before. You can drop the act of kindness."
"Can"t I genuinely care for my friend? This is investment. In the event that it"s my turn to be in harm"s way, I expect you to do the same – care for me and all. And I expect you to do your best as well."
"Besides, this is exactly what friends do for each other, right?"
"I might be a noob at it, but I"m doing my best – something required from your best friend."
"I"m not requiring you to do anything for me."She retorted after a moment of stupor.
He shrugged. "I know. I volunteered." Xue Guangxi bared her front teeth as he grinned widely. "Hehehe."
"I feel great knowing that I"m some sort of help or a.s.sistance to you. It feels nice."
"I"m always here for you, Kang Sola." He tightly gripped her left shoulder, then patted her head.
"Besides, who plays volleyball without kneepads? You"re more of a noob than me."
"Grrr." The girl growled albeit superficially. She was getting teased. "I was wearing one but it slipped upward and that"s when I sc.r.a.ped my knee."
The boy gawked at her in disbelief. "Slip upward my a.s.s. How did it happen?"
"It happened!"
Then he laughed. "Alright, alright."
She pouted. "That"s what really happened. Are you making me a liar?"
"No. Hehehehe." Afterwards, he playfully ruffled her head messily, intentionally, and laughed boisterously.
"Hey! My hair!"
"Your hair is messy and sweaty."
"It"s messy because you messed it up."
"I"m not sweaty. You are." Kang Sola threw a clean towel onto his face. His rowdy laughter intensified.
"At least I don"t smell." Xue Guangxi put on an act of smelling his armpit, and then afterwards, with his left arm raised, arm folded at the elbow, he approached the dubious girl whose face was contorted funnily. "See, find it out for yourself. I don"t smell, do I?"
He attacked with his armpit.
Kang Sola slapped the air in front of her in an attempt to shoo the Second Young Master away. "Eww. Eww. Eww!" She ran in all directions, dodging him. He followed her as if drawn to her like iron fillings would to a magnet, like how moths were drawn to flames. They looked like playing some sort of a game of tag.
"Ahh, so disgusting!!!" She maneuvered and pivoted, but in the end she couldn"t escape from him. After all, he was faster, and his strides were larger compared to hers. She couldn"t win against him.
Apparently, Xue Guangxi was only playing with her. "HAHAHAHAHA!!!" He laughed, both his hands akimbo.
"Let"s go change and refresh." The girl finally suggested. She"s getting uncomfortable from the sticky sensation brought about by the humidity, aggravated by the dried sweat and dirt acquired from their game earlier.
"Okay. Sounds great." The boy finally relented as well.
"By the way we won." Xue Guangxi heaved his chest as he paraded their victory to her. Most probably he wanted to get praised too.
"Oh, wow, congrats! Hehehehe! Good job there, huh! Too bad I wasn"t able to watch!"
"I asked someone to take a video of it." He pa.s.sed his phone to her.
"Great! Awesome!" She hit the play b.u.t.ton. "Wow, you"re such a talent hehe."
They were talking while they sauntered back to the nearest restroom for a change of clothes. The girl continued to watch the video absent-mindendly.
"Watch your steps. Careful. Or do you want your other knee to get sc.r.a.ped as well?" He taunted.
"Tss." But she heeded his advice.
"How"s your game?" He inquired while he grabbed her elbow to somehow guide her towards the right direction.
"Uhh…" Kang Sola trailed off in suspense.
Xue Guangxi stopped in his tracks and held his breath. "???!!!"
"We won! Hahaha!!!"
"Awesome!!! Hahaha! Let"s celebrate our double win today. Burgers? How about udon, your favorite?" The lad offered while casually hooking his arm around her nape. He made a slurping sound humorously. "Sorry, I"m on a tight budget lately. Can"t treat you to a more extravagant meal."
"Eww… Sweaty…" Kang Sola slapped his arm away.
"You"re sweaty too. There"s not much of a difference." He said while hooking his arm again.
"Hahahaha! I"m not that sweaty." Kang Sola laughed heartily. This time she didn"t slap his arm anymore and just let it be. They were still on their jerseys.
"Yeah, I love udon… with burgers!!! Hahahaha!! Can"t decide, why not both?" Kang Sola even casually landed a hand on Xue Guangxi"s back. They were comfortable with each other. Mhmm, like brother and sister?
"Such glutton." He retorted while putting such an artificial look of repulsion on his face.
"I love eating." The girl shamefully admitted.
"Figures." Xue Guangxi checked on her from the head to toe. "If you continue you"ll get bloated in no time."
"I"m in control. I"ll exercise and get rid of it fast. Plus my metabolism is fast too."
"Mine too."
"I"m hungry."
"Let"s hurry."
"Okay."
Oh, happy times. Xue Guangxi was recording every single thing that transpired in his memories. Every d.a.m.n thing was special.
They reached the restrooms and parted temporarily to accomplish their respective activities. The restroom had a shower so Xue Guangxi readily took one.
The lady refrained from taking a bath in the meantime due to her wound, but made sure that she cleaned herself with wet wipes. She even washed her hair and face on the sink. She wanted to get the sticky feeling out of her system so badly.
She changed into a dress - a cottony flowy green one which stopped at the knee. Her face scrunched at the sight of the bandaged knee. "Oh, what a gruesome sight. Oh well. It will heal anyway."
"Not done yet?" Xue Guangxi called from the outside. "Slow mover."
"Almost done! Geez, so impatient!" She shouted back while rolling her eyes. She grabbed the hair dryer hurriedly and proceeded in drying her hair. It was short, but not the pixie-cut length anymore. On the good side, because of its length, it dried quickly.
She came out of the restroom and joined the lad who was playing with his mobile phone. She had returned the phone to him after watching the baseball game.
"I think I should get a haircut." She shared her thought to him idly.
"What? Your hair is still too short. Why not grow it longer? If you have it cut the purple highlights at the bottom will get cut too."
She sighed. "I"ll have it dyed again."
"Okay, that"s better." He agreed nonchalantly. He loved those purple highlights on her hair. It gave her ident.i.ty.
They sauntered away. As usual, Xue Guangxi carried the girl"s bag. This time it was a duffel bag.
As the girl swayed her arms freely, Guangxi caught her wrists – both of them. "What"s the problem?" She asked, brows furrowed together.
"Your wrists are still red. Do they hurt?" His face showed his genuine concern.
"Not anymore. It"s the consequence of the game." She withdrew her wrists. "Don"t mind it."
He shrugged. ""Kay."
At a distance, a shadow was busy taking pictures of them.