Applying the Medicine: I'm Not Throwing a Tantrum

Liang Xiaoqing closed her umbrella, shaking off the droplets that scattered onto the dry floor, speckling it with water stains. Jiang Xu stood still where she was. Liang Xiaoqing motioned with her eyes: "Go on back first—it's cold out here. I need to talk to Teacher Yang about something."

The stairwell lights were dim and flickering, each floor featuring a trumpet-shaped lamp painted green, rainwater trickling down the shade. Jiang Xu caught a glimpse of Liang Xiaoqing's face and noticed something off.

Her cheek was flushed, one side swollen larger than the other. Jiang Xu frowned: "Sister Qing, your face..."

What happened...?

"Be good, Xiao Xu." In the brief pause between knocks, she pushed Jiang Xu gently again.

"Coming! Why are you back so late tonight—"

"Hey, Sister Yang!" The moment Yang Man opened the door, Liang Xiaoqing cut her off, "I was just worried I'd be bothering you!"

For some reason, Jiang Xu felt that Liang Xiaoqing was flustered. Liang Xiaoqing shot her a look, but Jiang Xu pretended not to see it, standing there stock-still.

The green wooden door swung open from inside, and a head poked out. "Xiaoqing, you really don't take care of yourself! You—"

Her gaze shifted and landed on Jiang Xu standing next to Liang Xiaoqing.

"..." Yang Man smiled, handing the medicine to Liang Xiaoqing. "Apply it properly, don't forget!"

"Mm, okay." Liang Xiaoqing took the ointment, her face full of gratitude. "Thanks, Sister Yang."

Yang Man glanced at Jiang Xu, looking like she wanted to say something but held back. With Jiang Xu present, some words couldn't be spoken. Finally, she just patted Liang Xiaoqing's shoulder. "I'm making chicken soup tomorrow night—you're so skinny. Come have some at my place."

Liang Xiaoqing politely declined.

Yang Man said, "With me, what's there to be polite about!"

"...Fine then."

Yang Man looked at Jiang Xu again, leaned out fully, and smiled, reaching to pat Jiang Xu's head. There was a complexity in her eyes, but Jiang Xu dodged away.

Yang Man didn't mind. She said to her, "You come too."

Jiang Xu possessed an almost keen intuition, and these intuitions were usually right—like when Jiang Daguo was about to hit someone, like Liang Xiaoqing's care for her, or like Yang Man's ambiguous attitude toward her.

Yang Man didn't really like her, but she was polite on the surface. Jiang Xu didn't want to get close to her. Living in this world meant accepting that others might not be satisfied with you.

Jiang Xu had understood this truth at too young an age. Because she didn't care what others thought of her, but teenagers always had some simple, naive thoughts. The grown-up Jiang Xu thought her past self was too childish—deliberately staying wary of Yang Man, deliberately maintaining her own principles.

But adults always had a certain tolerance for children.

In Jiang Xu's eyes, this seemed like proof she'd won a small victory.

Back home, Liang Xiaoqing told her to go wash up first. The house was warm and cozy, a world apart from the damp, rainy outside. Jiang Xu dried off completely, shedding the spiky defenses of a little hedgehog.

She didn't know what had happened to Liang Xiaoqing's face, and asked again and again: "What happened to your face, Sister Qing?"

"...It's nothing."

Liang Xiaoqing answered the same way every time, with that calm, untroubled look, as if she could handle anything. In Jiang Xu's eyes, she really was omnipotent.

She trusted her unconditionally—so she believed her, truly. But every time she caught sight of that swollen left cheek, she couldn't help asking again. Liang Xiaoqing just kept saying lightly that it was nothing.

Jiang Xu couldn't get an answer, and felt a little dejected. There was nothing she could do—she was too weak right now. Even if she was told, what could she do about it...?

After washing up, Jiang Xu dried her face. When she came out, she filled a basin with foot-washing water and carried it over beside Liang Xiaoqing's chair. Liang Xiaoqing was applying medicine in front of the mirror. Not only was half her face swollen, but her elbow had scraped against the table edge when Jiang Daguo had yanked her up—a bit of skin broken on her right arm.

She had no choice but to use her left hand to awkwardly apply the ointment.

Liang Xiaoqing noticed the basin of water Jiang Xu had prepared for her.

"Sister Qing, wash your feet." Jiang Xu crouched on the floor, both hands steadying the basin's rim, looking up at her with big, glossy black eyes.

Liang Xiaoqing froze for a moment. Jiang Xu was rarely this adorable.

"Mm..." Liang Xiaoqing rubbed her nose, avoiding her gaze. "...Okay."

She placed her feet into the basin. The water was a bit hotter than body temperature—warm, but bearable. First came a slight, prickling numbness across her soles and the tops of her feet. Liang Xiaoqing was actually quite afraid of pain; it was hard to take. She went to lift her feet out, but Jiang Xu stood up and pressed down gently on her legs: "Bear with it a little longer, Sister Qing."

Jiang Xu looked at her seriously. Liang Xiaoqing felt a bit awkward. "...Mm."

Her feet went back in. This time it was indeed much better—her soles immediately warmed up.

Jiang Xu was still bent over, her hand still resting on her knee, and smiled: "See? When you wash your feet with hot water, they get really warm."

Looking at her smiling face, Liang Xiaoqing slowly relaxed. She nodded, feeling warmth not just in her heart but spreading through her body. She stroked Jiang Xu's head, fingers threading through her hair. "Thank you, Xiao Xu."

Jiang Xu's face, for some reason, flushed a little. She added, "Back at home, I always liked washing my feet with hot water. That way, when I lay down on the bed, I wouldn't be too cold."

"..." Liang Xiaoqing's gaze grew even more tender, her eyes glistening like two small lakes. The distance was too close. Jiang Xu stood up, creating some space, her eyes falling on Liang Xiaoqing's injured elbow: "Sister Qing, what really happened to you?"

Liang Xiaoqing hid her arm, quickly touched her face, and brushed it off: "It's nothing. I just slipped on the stairs and fell. It's not like I broke a bone or anything serious." She acted as if nothing had happened. "It'll be fine in a couple of days."

Her feet swayed in the water as she changed the subject: "Oh, right—how was school today? I didn't get to ask you on the way back. You still have homework, don't you? Don't worry about me. Go do your homework, and I'll dump the foot water myself, alright?"

When Liang Xiaoqing didn't want to talk about something, Jiang Xu usually didn't press. She habitually pursed her lips, as if conceding.

Liang Xiaoqing was in good spirits, completely forgetting the slap from Jiang Daguo. Finals were coming up in a few days—she couldn't let Jiang Xu's efforts go to waste for nothing. Seeing that Jiang Xu was clearly a little unhappy, she tugged at her hand: "Go to sleep once you finish your homework."

"Mm?"

But Jiang Xu looked up at the injury at the corner of her mouth, a hazy emotion swirling in her eyes. "Sister Qing, let me apply the medicine for you."

"..." Seeing Jiang Xu's aggrieved little expression, Liang Xiaoqing couldn't help but agree. "Okay."

Jiang Xu applied the medicine for Liang Xiaoqing before bedtime, and even volunteered for Liang Xiaoqing to sleep with her. When Liang Xiaoqing refused, Jiang Xu, in a fit of pique, burrowed into her blanket. "Since you said it's fine either way, I'll sleep on the floor and you take the bed." She pulled the covers over even her head, her voice muffled.

Liang Xiaoqing finally understood why Jiang Xu was saying this. It was the first time she'd heard Jiang Xu talk so childishly. She paused: "Xiao Xu..."

She walked over to the floor mat, knelt by the bed, and patted the lumpy shape under the covers, tapping it gently. "Don't be silly. It's already late..."

No movement from under the covers.

Liang Xiaoqing sighed. "...Be good."

This time Jiang Xu stirred, but only pulled the blanket tighter and curled further inward.

Liang Xiaoqing shook her again. "Xiao Xu, Xiao Xu. ...Did you hear me... It's already late. Stop messing around..."

"..."

It was the first time Liang Xiaoqing realized that kids could be this trying—even a sensible girl like Jiang Xu. She was a bit tired, and with Jiang Xu acting like this, she didn't know what to do with her, so she could only lower her voice: "...If you don't get up now, I'll really get angry..."

Suddenly, the covers were thrown off, and the person inside sat up. Jiang Xu's hair was a mess, tousled every which way.

Liang Xiaoqing finally let out a long sigh of relief. "You..."—but she met a pair of big, tearful eyes.

"How could you..."

Jiang Xu wiped her tears hard. "I'm not throwing a tantrum..."

Liang Xiaoqing was still inexperienced at disciplining children, let alone a big girl like Jiang Xu.

"Xiao Xu..." She had no idea why Jiang Xu was crying or why she was throwing a fit. The girl who had just been so thoughtfully bringing her foot-washing water had burst into tears in the blink of an eye, as if the one being unreasonable wasn't Jiang Xu, but Liang Xiaoqing herself.

Teenagers were usually sensitive and fragile. Liang Xiaoqing thought that maybe she had done something wrong, so she let out a helpless sigh: "Fine, we'll both sleep on the bed."

Only then did Jiang Xu stop her persistence, and the tears stopped too.

It wasn't until Jiang Xu took the medicine from her hands while she was applying it to her face in the mirror that Liang Xiaoqing seemed to finally understand what Jiang Xu was getting at. She had originally thought Jiang Xu was determined to make her angry tonight.

"Don't move, Sister Qing." Jiang Xu, wearing pajamas identical to hers, leaned in very close. Her hair seemed to brush against Liang Xiaoqing's face. Liang Xiaoqing sat still, not moving.

Jiang Xu knelt beside her, now appearing half a head taller. The cool ointment was applied to her face bit by bit. Jiang Xu's touch was very light, like a feather brushing past—no, Liang Xiaoqing thought it was even lighter than that.

"Does it hurt?" Jiang Xu spoke very softly, as if that would make her movements even gentler.

"It's not too bad." Liang Xiaoqing tried to take the ointment from her hand. "Xiao Xu... I can do it myself."

It really didn't hurt much. When Jiang Daguo's slap had come, she'd been completely stunned. By the time she registered it, her face was hot and swollen. It was only a trivial matter, but in Jiang Xu's eyes, it seemed like a big deal.

Liang Xiaoqing's mind drifted, as if remembering something. It had been a long time since she'd felt this cared for by someone.

"...There." Jiang Xu's voice lightened a little, a gentle breath spreading across her face as she blew softly on the swollen cheek.

Liang Xiaoqing snapped back to her thoughts. She looked at the girl before her, eyes still red-rimmed but a faint smile on her face, as if it hadn't been her who'd nearly cried moments ago.

Liang Xiaoqing found the feeling strange. The skinny, sallow-skinned little girl from their first meeting had, in just a few months, been nourished into someone clean and fair, and seemed livelier than before.

Under the dim yellow light, the girl's face was softened into a gentle shadow, a smile settled in her deep-set brows and eyes.

Warmth spread through Liang Xiaoqing's heart. She draped an arm around Jiang Xu's shoulder and smiled. "Alright, the medicine's on. Time to sleep, or you won't be able to get up tomorrow."

With that, she turned off the light.

The room fell into darkness.

Jiang Xu lay down and scooted closer to Liang Xiaoqing. Liang Xiaoqing opened her arms and hugged her, and Jiang Xu nestled into her embrace, surrounded by warmth on all sides.

"Sister Qing, we really could sleep together."