Chapter Fourteen: Teacher Xia Sprains Her Ankle

Chapter 14: Teacher Xia Sprained Her Ankle

Zhuo Nan seized the moment to let go of Long Hair, grabbed Xia Qianrou's hand, and shouted, "Run!" The two of them took off without looking back.

In truth, Zhuo Nan didn't need to run at all—a single phone call could have made Long Hair disappear from Deqing. But with Xia Qianrou by his side, there were many things that were inconvenient to do.

Long Hair tumbled to the ground, and his underlings rushed to help him up. Some wanted to chase after Zhuo Nan and hack him to death, but Long Hair bellowed, "Chase my ass! Get me to the hospital!" A crowd of lackeys swarmed around him, supporting him as they hurried to the hospital.

Zhuo Nan held Xia Qianrou's hand and ran for what felt like an eternity before stopping in a narrow alley. Xia Qianrou gasped for breath, her chest rising and falling quite visibly. Zhuo Nan, in contrast, was perfectly fine—this amount of exercise was nothing to him.

The alley was pitch black, not a single ray of light to be seen. Neither could see the other, but Zhuo Nan knew he was still holding Xia Qianrou's hand—smooth, soft skin that he could hardly imagine writing on a chalkboard day after day.

Xia Qianrou leaned against the wall, catching her breath for a few moments before stopping, then said with a grin, "Zhuo Nan, that just scared me to death."

Zhuo Nan chuckled. "With me around, you've got nothing to fear."

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart. It was an ordinary remark, yet it sounded different to Xia Qianrou's ears. Combined with what Long Hair and his men had said earlier about her being Zhuo Nan's girl, and now this line from Zhuo Nan, she felt that such words were the kind only lovers would exchange.

Realizing her hand was still in Zhuo Nan's grip, she quickly pulled it back. A wave of shyness washed over her. Fortunately, the alley was pitch dark, or she would have been mortified.

Zhuo Nan gave an awkward chuckle and said, "Teacher Xia, it's fine now. They won't come after us anymore."

Only after hearing those words did Xia Qianrou truly relax. Then, as if remembering something, she said indignantly, "Zhuo Nan, how could you hit someone like that? You're a student—an educated person. You can't just use your fists whenever you feel like it."

Zhuo Nan was speechless... In his eyes, Xia Qianrou wasn't that naive, was she? If he hadn't fought back, could they have gotten away? So he said, "Teacher Xia, I didn't want to hit him either, but if I hadn't, neither of us would have gotten out of there. And you might have even—"

"Might have even what?" Xia Qianrou cut him off before he could finish. Zhuo Nan immediately shut his mouth. Xia Qianrou let out a sigh and said, "What happened today—you know and I know. You're not allowed to tell anyone else, understand?"

Zhuo Nan nodded hastily. "Mm, don't worry. I won't say a word."

Only then was Xia Qianrou satisfied. She smiled and said, "It's getting late. Let's go. It's creepy here in the dark."

Zhuo Nan said, "Alright, let's head back." With that, the two of them prepared to leave.

"Ouch!" Suddenly, Xia Qianrou's body tilted to one side. Zhuo Nan caught her in his arms and asked with concern, "Teacher Xia, what's wrong?"

Being held by Zhuo Nan like that made Xia Qianrou terribly uncomfortable. She said awkwardly, "I was running too fast just now and twisted my ankle. I only just noticed. It hurts so much..."

The darkness was only relative to Xia Qianrou—Zhuo Nan could see perfectly clearly anywhere. At this moment, every expression on her face was reflected in his eyes, and he could tell she was in real pain.

Zhuo Nan crouched down and touched her ankle. The moment his hand made contact, a moan escaped her lips. It looked like a serious injury, and the worst-case scenario would be damage to the bone. Zhuo Nan quickly said, "Teacher Xia, it's already swollen. This won't do—I need to take you to the hospital."

Xia Qianrou felt a piercing pain, but she kept gritting her teeth and bearing it. Just then, Zhuo Nan said, "Teacher Xia, I know some massage techniques that can temporarily relieve the pain. But we still need to get you to the hospital—let me rub it for you first." Without waiting for her consent, he began massaging her ankle. In reality, he was using his super brain to numb the nerves in her foot, easing the pain.

After Zhuo Nan went through the motions of rubbing for a bit, Xia Qianrou really did feel the pain subside. She exclaimed, "Zhuo Nan, that's amazing—you've really got some skill!"

"It's nothing. Come on, Teacher Xia, I'll carry you to a cab and we'll go to the hospital." Zhuo Nan smiled and bent down.

Xia Qianrou hadn't expected him to offer to carry her and felt very awkward, so she said, "No need, I can walk on my own."

Zhuo Nan didn't stop her. The moment Xia Qianrou took a step, the pain surged back... Only then did Zhuo Nan speak: "Teacher Xia, don't be stubborn. You can't walk right now. Let me carry you. There's no need to feel embarrassed—I'm just your student."

"But..." Xia Qianrou was still hesitant. Zhuo Nan didn't give her time to think, hoisting her up and onto his back. He said, "Alright, Teacher Xia, don't say any more. Don't worry—only the two of us will ever know about today."

Since Zhuo Nan had put it that way, what else could Xia Qianrou say? She could only let him carry her, his hands supporting her bottom. Lying on his back, she didn't dare breathe too loudly, so embarrassed she wished she could crawl into a crack in the ground.

The feel was excellent—Brother Nan was getting his fill of cheap thrills. To say there was no ulterior motive in carrying Xia Qianrou would be a lie. Everyone should remember Brother Nan's life motto: "In this world, you've got to be a little lewd..."

This was the second time Zhuo Nan had carried a woman on his back. The first was Lan Qian, who had been dead drunk—but that memory was better left unmentioned. Today was different; she certainly wouldn't be throwing up all over him...

His heart sang, "I smile with glee... I smile with glee..."

He hailed a taxi. The driver seemed like a very warm-hearted fellow. The moment he saw Zhuo Nan carrying Xia Qianrou, he asked, "Hey man, what happened here?"

Zhuo Nan helped Xia Qianrou into the car, and once she was settled, said, "Sprained ankle, driver. Off to the hospital."

The driver said amiably, "You got it." Then he turned to Xia Qianrou and said, "Miss, you're really lucky. Look how much your boyfriend cares about you—carrying you on his back at this hour of the night."

A flush of crimson spread across Xia Qianrou's face as she hurriedly corrected him: "I'm his—" She caught herself mid-sentence and quickly changed it to: "I'm his sister..."

Zhuo Nan stared wide-eyed at Xia Qianrou... She promptly shot him a glare.

The driver had clearly taken a liking to Zhuo Nan and immediately chimed in, "Sister, huh? If this young man treats his sister this well, then his girlfriend must be treated like a queen."

Zhuo Nan covered his mouth, stifling a laugh. Xia Qianrou glared fiercely at the driver and huffed, "Driver, can you just focus on the road and stop talking?"

Catching sight of Xia Qianrou's expression in the rearview mirror, the driver shut his mouth at once and concentrated on driving.

The ride was silent. When they arrived at the hospital, just as they were about to get out, the driver spoke up again, saying to Xia Qianrou, "Miss, I know you're not his sister. But I can read faces, and you two have the look of a destined couple... You'll end up together someday."

What a master... Zhuo Nan silently gave the driver a thumbs-up. Xia Qianrou was so angry she couldn't speak. She tossed down ten yuan and voluntarily climbed onto Zhuo Nan's back.

They entered the hospital and registered for emergency care. First the examination, then the X-ray—the whole process wore Zhuo Nan out. Seeing the beads of sweat on his forehead, a flicker of tenderness stirred in Xia Qianrou's heart. She pulled out a tissue and gently wiped the sweat from his brow.

Zhuo Nan was momentarily taken aback, then grew accustomed to it... The way they moved together truly resembled a pair of lovers, the girl dabbing away the boy's sweat.

Just then, a female doctor walked over with the X-ray film and asked with a smile, "Xia Qianrou?"

Xia Qianrou quickly replied, "I'm Xia Qianrou."

The female doctor said, "The results are in. No bone damage."

Hearing this, Xia Qianrou let out a long sigh of relief. The doctor continued, "But you'll need to rest for two or three days—no walking around. It might get inflamed. I'll prescribe some medication for you to take at home, alright?"

Xia Qianrou nodded. "Okay, doctor. Thank you."

The female doctor gave a faint smile in acknowledgment. Zhuo Nan spoke up, "Doctor, I'll go with you to pick up the medicine."

The female doctor smiled. "Sure." Then she turned to Xia Qianrou and said, "Your boyfriend is really something, running around for you like that. I'd be satisfied if my old man were even half as good as him."

Zhuo Nan was dumbfounded by her words. What was going on tonight? Had Brother Nan's luck just exploded? Every single person he met was singing his praises?

Xia Qianrou blushed deeply, utterly mortified, and tried to explain, "He's not my boy—" She was cut off mid-sentence by the female doctor: "Oh, these days, age-gap romances are all the rage. Nothing to be shy about."

In this female doctor, we witness the long-missed spirit of the gossip—she carried forward the glorious tradition of women's nosiness to new heights. Let us take her as our model, strive to learn from her, and earnestly spread that spirit far and wide.

Xia Qianrou was speechless. Her head nearly shrunk back into her chest. An age-gap romance... Are you kidding me? She never should have had dinner with Zhuo Nan tonight.

The female doctor turned to Zhuo Nan and said, "Come on, let's go get your medicine..."

Even when Zhuo Nan carried her out of the hospital, Xia Qianrou's mind was still reeling. "Teacher Xia, where do you live? Let me take you home," Zhuo Nan asked softly.

Xia Qianrou answered instinctively, "Heping New Village, Building 12, Room 302."

Zhuo Nan said "Oh" and hailed a taxi...

When they reached her door, Zhuo Nan took the keys from Xia Qianrou's bag, unlocked the door, and carried her inside. He set her down on the sofa and only then began to take in the apartment—an old-style three-bedroom with a living room. Several calligraphy scrolls hung on the walls. Zhuo Nan knew nothing about such things and couldn't tell whose masterful hand they were from.