Chapter Forty-Seven: An Unexpected Turn

Li Bufan glanced back, watching Wei Xiaofan head toward the dormitory, thinking to himself, “He’ll probably come back, right? I’ll find somewhere to sit and wait.” With a disdainful smile, he walked out through the school gates.

After retrieving some money from his dormitory, Wei Xiaofan emerged and made his way toward the small convenience stall near the entrance, pondering whether he should haggle with the proprietor this time, since he planned to buy more blank paper.

As he approached the stall, he suddenly felt something collide with his right side. Staggering to the left, Wei Xiaofan managed to steady himself and wondered who could be so careless as to bump into him.

Turning around, he was met with the sight of a woman sprawled on the ground before him, crying out in pain.

“Ouch! That hurts so much! Who’s so blind, walking without watching where they’re going? You’ve knocked me down!”

The woman who had fallen turned her face toward Wei Xiaofan. He looked directly at her, noting that she was around thirty, with a sallow, rough complexion—very much the look of a rural woman.

“Young man, why don’t you watch where you’re going?” she scolded as she stood up.

In the process of rising, her facial muscles twisted dramatically, and she exclaimed, “Oh, what’s hurting so much? Could I be injured?” She bent down again, rolled up her left trouser leg, and examined her own limb.

Wei Xiaofan was about to apologize, but seeing her roll up her pant leg, he looked at her leg as well. There, on her bronze-colored shin, was a minor scrape, as if something had grazed her lightly, with a thin trickle of blood seeping out.

“I really am injured! Young man, why don’t you watch where you’re going—look, you’ve wounded me. What are you going to do about it?” she said, glaring at Wei Xiaofan.

Seeing the small injury, Wei Xiaofan immediately apologized. “I’m sorry, big sister. I really was just walking and forgot to watch the road. I’m truly sorry!” he said earnestly.

“Next time, pay more attention! You’ve bumped into me and now I’m hurt. What are you going to do?” she pressed.

Wei Xiaofan wondered if she was angling for compensation.

He thought it over and realized something was off. He had been walking in a straight line toward the stall, while the woman had crossed his path. If he had bumped into her, it should have been face-to-face, not from the side. Moreover, after their collision, he had staggered several steps to the left, nearly falling himself, and she had tumbled after him. It must have been her who collided with his side.

With this in mind, Wei Xiaofan said, “Big sister, we were both a bit careless and bumped into each other. I apologize—sorry! As for your little scrape, perhaps a couple of band-aids will do the trick? I’ll cover the cost!” He thought, such a small wound would heal easily; in the countryside, you’d just chew some cool leaves and apply them to the injury, or simply leave it to heal on its own.

The woman grew angry at his words. “Young man, it was clearly you who bumped into me, yet you’re saying it was mutual? Are you implying that I was careless too, and ran into you? You’re being unreasonable!”

By now, a few students and passersby had gathered around.

Wei Xiaofan, worried someone might recognize him, quickly said, “Alright, big sister, I apologize. Since things have come to this, perhaps you could buy some medicine at the stall and I’ll pay for it?”

“You’re really unreasonable! It was you who knocked me down, and now you’re saying it was mutual!” she retorted, bending down again to inspect her leg.

“How about this: my leg was hurt because you bumped into me. I’ve checked—there’s no bone injury. Just give me ten yuan for medicine, and you must admit you knocked me down. Only then will I accept it!” she demanded.

“What?” Wei Xiaofan was shocked at her request. Ten yuan—that was nearly half a month’s grocery money! For such a minor scrape, a couple of band-aids would suffice. He didn’t have that much money.

Though he still had about twenty yuan in the dorm, that was from Wei Xiaoping’s parents, and he couldn’t bring himself to use their money for this.

“Big sister, this is just a small injury. It doesn’t require that much. Besides, I’m just a student—I don’t have that kind of money,” he explained.

“So you have no money and you’re not being honest? Young man, are you a student here?” she asked.

“Yes, I am, and I’m from the countryside too,” Wei Xiaofan replied, troubled.

“In that case, I won’t make things difficult for you. Just give me whatever you have on you, but you must admit you knocked me down. Otherwise, I won’t accept your apology or your money,” she said.

“I only have three yuan right now,” Wei Xiaofan said, thinking, she clearly bumped into me, yet wants me to admit it was my fault.

Just then, a nearby student spoke up. “Big sister, this classmate was walking straight toward the stall, and you came from the right. You collided with his side, causing him to stagger left, nearly falling. Then you lost your balance and fell yourself. So it was you who bumped into him from the side!”

Another student chimed in, “Exactly! If this classmate had knocked you down, it would have been head-on, not from the side. Even a child understands that!”

The injured woman grew angrier when the two students defended Wei Xiaofan. “How can you say that? It was clearly him who bumped into me! Are you his classmates or friends?”

“We go to the same school, but we’re not in the same class and aren’t friends. We’re just stating the facts. I believe others nearby saw what happened too,” the first student replied.

“Right! He obviously didn’t bump into you, and for a tiny scrape you’re asking for ten yuan? That’s too much!” other bystanders began to discuss, agreeing that the students’ explanation made sense. They’d seen the woman fall in the direction she’d collided with Wei Xiaofan—when you bump into someone, they’re knocked off balance and you follow, falling forward.

With more people siding with Wei Xiaofan and their reasoning sound, the woman’s expression grew uneasy.

“You’re his classmates, so of course you defend him! Why are there so many unreasonable students at this school?” she grumbled.

Wei Xiaofan, hearing others speak up for him and the woman’s complaints, was about to respond.

At that moment, Li Bufan and Li Chaoqian appeared in the crowd; no one knew when they’d joined.

Li Bufan walked over and asked what had happened between Wei Xiaofan and the injured woman. Li Chaoqian followed to get the story.

After a short while, Li Chaoqian said, “What the other students said makes sense, but I think both sides are at fault. If neither of you had made a mistake, you wouldn’t have collided. If either of you had been careful, it wouldn’t have happened. Since it has, and the lady is injured, let’s prioritize the injured party—let’s pay for the medicine. Ma’am, our classmate is from the countryside and probably telling the truth about having little money. I’ll cover the medical cost for him—can we leave it at that?”

The injured woman considered his words and found them reasonable; indeed, if both had been attentive, they wouldn’t have collided.

“Young man, you’re very reasonable. Since you’re willing to pay, I won’t pursue the matter further.”

Li Chaoqian took out ten yuan and handed it to the woman.

She quickly accepted the money, saying, “You’re truly reasonable! You’re a model student, unlike him—he knocks someone down and not only refuses to pay, but tries to wriggle out of it!” With that, she turned and walked away.

From the moment Li Bufan and Li Chaoqian arrived, to Li Chaoqian handing over the money and the woman leaving, Wei Xiaofan stood bewildered to the side, almost forgetting he was the main party in the incident, and not uttering a single word.