Minodayz: our PZG is caught in a rock and a hard dictionary! lol! The Ruan siblings seem to be stirring feelings up…..hmmmm…..
Chapter 19.2 : So it seems
Translated by Minodayz
Edited by maripaz, Librismuse & Miss Bookie
Ruan Nuonuo tugged the silent Peng Zige. "Are you going to the sick bay?"
Peng Zige looked at his left hand that had shielded Ruan Nuonuo and then looked at the seat that Li Erqin had just vacated. He felt an indescribable sense of vexation and chagrin.
This feeling stayed with him as he followed Rong Si to the infirmary.
While Li Erqin was being examined, the teacher in charge of the sick bay was smoking. After he had heard the ins and outs of the incident, he concluded, "It’s just a dictionary, right? Why do you have to make such a fuss (i.e. such a scary life or death fuss)!"
A deadly silence ensued.
It was only then that he realized the three girls were frowning at his cigarette. Left without a choice, he slowly extinguished the cigarette. "Don’t go reporting on me! I had just lighted up when you rushed in." As he spoke, he glanced towards his less than half smoked cigarette with a pained expression. "Good cigarette/smoke! It wasn’t easy to b.u.m one from the princ.i.p.al."
The group could only look at him helplessly.
He cleared his throat. "It’s OK. There"s nothing to worry about, no problem at all. After all, it’s just a dictionary; it couldn"t have caused that much trouble."
"Are you sure about that?" Su Zi looked at him suspiciously.
"If you aren’t convinced, then you can go to the hospital for a check-up."
It took Su Zi a tremendous amount of effort to swallow back the comment she was about to make: totally unreliable/untrustworthy.
The teacher proceeded to do a slightly thorough examination of Li Erqin. "I’ll give you a leave of absence note. Just go lie down on the bed next door for awhile. If you"re feeling better, you may head back to cla.s.s. However, if the pain becomes unbearable, then you had better go to the hospital."
"Totally unreliable!" Su Zi finally let loose what she had been suppressing in her gut.
"Huh?" The teacher looked dumbfoundedly at her.
Su Zi didn’t pay him any attention but walked over to help Li Erqin make her way to the other room.
The group, in tacit agreement, decided to keep Li Erqin company and not go in for dinner. Li Erqin didn"t think she was that badly off, but the lot of them wanted her to lie down and rest.
She quietly complied and lay down to rest for awhile. As she listened to the others chatting away, she realized a problem. "Hey, Peng Zige cla.s.smate, you’ve been rather quiet today!"
Peng Zige glanced awkwardly at her and then very quickly shifted his eyes to another part of the room. "That’s not true."
"What’s bothering you?" Li Erqin totally ignored his evasive (literal translation: the mouth says not what the heart thinks) answer.
"Nothing…"
"Peng Zige, there"s definitely something not quite right with you!" Su Zi responded in kind.
At this point, Peng Zige was completely fl.u.s.tered (literal translation: he didn"t even know where to put his hands and legs). Even Ruan Nuonuo was looking at him strangely. He was totally at a loss.
(Minodayz: PZG puppy dear is brooding…awwwww…)
He simply stood up. "I’ll go buy us some dinner. You guys wait here for me."
After saying this, he headed out the door without waiting for the others to respond.
Rong Si stood up as he prepared to follow him.
Ruan Nuonuo blushed as she offered, "How about … I’ll go with him."
Rong Si nodded and sat back down.
Ruan Nuonuo didn"t bother to see the others" responses. She just hurried out to catch up with Peng Zige.
Su Zi pondered for awhile and then asked hesitantly, "Peng Zige, did he…… win over someone"s heart?"
Li Erqin was tickled pink and burst out laughing like one of her nerves had been poked. Then, just as suddenly, she paused, "Huh!?!"
Rong Si spoke up to remind her, "Just lie down properly and rest."
The person to whom his advice was directed quieted down.
Peng Zige and Ruan Nuonuo walked side by side, and because Peng Zige was silently brooding, no one spoke at all.
Ruan Mingxian brushed shoulders with Ruan Nuonuo as he pa.s.sed by, and the latter completely missed his "raised eyebrows, something’s not right" scrutiny and didn"t even notice his existence. Somehow he felt rather strange about it. Actually, it made him very uneasy/uncomfortable! Throughout the years, this was the first time his adoring sister had failed to notice him. That was why he felt like saying that Peng Zige was an immature brat (literal translation: one where the smell of his mother"s milk has not yet dried, i.e. one who"s not yet weaned off his mother"s milk) who really causes others to dislike him.
He turned to grab Ruan Nuonuo’s shoulder. Just as he touched her clothes, Ruan Nuonuo immediately startled and shrunk back, scared. This was normal behavior. However, what was different this time was that Ruan Mingxian was not successful in pulling his own little sister safely to his side.
Instead, Peng Zige was quicker on the uptake in protecting and shielding Ruan Nuonuo. As Peng Zige cast eyes upon him and recognised him, his demeanor relaxed, and he silently retracted his hands.
Ruan Mingxian smiled and decided to give up on his earlier idea of "teaching this brat a lesson". He turned towards his sister and asked, "Did something happen? Why does the guy by your side look so much like a drowned chicken?"
Ruan Nuonuo was hung up on the description of "drowned chicken" and paused, unable to accept his description.
Peng Zige replied mirthlessly, "Who are you calling a drowned chicken!"
Ruan Mingxian nonchalantly smiled, dismissing Peng Zige. "I’m asking you guys a question."
"This afternoon when Peng Zige and the others came to look for me, Li Erqin was. .h.i.t by a dictionary," Ruan Nuonuo answered.
"Hit by a dictionary?!" Ruan Mingxian was stunned. "Do your cla.s.smates use the dictionary as some sort of a hidden weapon?"
"It’s not that…"
"Is it serious?" Ruan Mingxian asked again.
"She"s alright now, but she had to rest awhile at the sick bay." Ruan Nuonuo continued to answer, "Peng Zige and I were going to buy them some dinner."
Ruan Mingxian nodded, "Then I’ll go with you to see for myself."
This time it was Ruan Nuonuo"s turn to be surprised. For her, her big brother"s image had never been one of "minding other people"s business" and yet now… "You want to see for yourself?"
"What about it?" Ruan Mingxian asked back. "Am I not allowed?"
"No, that"s not it…"
Ruan Mingxian curled the ends of his lips and turned his attention to the "not his usual self" Peng Zige. "Are you acting like this, all angsty, because the person you like took a beating?"
This statement did not get a big response from Peng Zige. Instead, it was Ruan Nuonuo whose face turned a shade whiter.
Ruan Mingxian’s heart sank, hashing out two words: sure enough. (So it seems)
(Minodayz: wow – it"s like a wave just crashed in! lol PZG now has someone interested in him, LEQ has caught the eye of another guy. I"m still recovering from the Oxford dictionary – UFO! I also rather like seeing SZ like a lioness, all protective of LEQ. I"m wondering how long RS will stand by with RMX in the mix. Might just be the right catalyst – fingers crossed! – til the next chapter!)
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