Xie Yi was silent for a moment, then walked to the door as he said, squatted down, buried his head in his arms, and kept repeating to himself in his heart.
"Shen Xieyi, it's not your fault. No, you didn't know that a kick would have such a big impact."
"This is just self-protection in an emergency."
"Except for the fact that he walks a little differently, everything else about him is exactly the same as a normal person, so you always treat him as an ordinary person."
"Although you and he had an agreement in advance, who made him so rude?"
Xieyi repeated those words to herself over and over again, and her mind gradually calmed down before she began to plan what to do next. After sorting out her thoughts, Xieyi called Ji Yingsong first. She deliberately omitted the cause of the incident and just said, "We had a little conflict, and then... I kicked Mr. Li's foot..."
"Right foot?" Ji Yingsong immediately took over the question.
"Yes."
Ji Yingsong took a deep breath in his heart.
"I wanted to help him, but he kicked me out," Xieyi said.
"In that case, don't move. I'll be right there."
Xieyi squatted on the ground, and every second that passed seemed to be torture. Suddenly, he heard some noise inside, as if the telephone was knocked to the ground.
She finally couldn't help it and went back to the bedroom to see him.
At this time, Li Zeliang was leaning on the edge of the bed, breathing heavily. The phone on the bedside had indeed fallen down, probably because he had tripped when he tried to sit on the bed and slid down.
She saw the edge of the quilt hanging by the bed, tightly grasped by his fingers. The originally pink fingertips had turned half white due to the force, and his right leg was placed weakly on the ground.
Xieyi's originally calm heart began to ache.
She shouldn't have treated him like that.
Li Zeliang saw her appear and asked in a very cold tone: "You haven't left yet? Do you want to stay and admire your achievements? Or come again to let you vent your anger?"
"I know you want to piss me off," Xie Yi said calmly, "but I just want to see what you look like when you're sitting there weak and powerless, unable to laugh, and unable to be arrogant and look down on others."
"Shen Xieyi!" Li Zeliang was naturally angered by her. He picked up the mobile phone at hand and threw it at Xieyi.
She didn't even try to dodge, and let the phone hit her forehead hard. The force was so strong that Xieyi's head tilted back slightly. She stretched out the back of her hand to rub it, and frowned secretly, as if it hurt a little.
Li Zeliang was stunned when he saw this, but quickly returned to his previous expression.
"If you're still not satisfied, there's a TV remote control behind you." Xieyi said.
This time, Li Zeliang did not make any more violent moves. He just glanced at her coldly and said in a calm tone, "Go away."
"I won't leave! It was you who asked me to come here, and now you want me to leave for no reason. It's easier to invite a god than to send him away. If you have the guts, stand up and kick me out." She started to act like a spoiled child.
This time, Li Zeliang was suddenly at a loss. He said weakly, "Go away. I don't like others seeing me like this. I'll call Ji Yingsong over later."
"This is strange, could it be that Ji Yingsong is someone else?"
"He... is different." Li Zeliang was a little speechless.
"Yes, yes, yes! In your eyes, he is naturally different from the rest of us." She smiled, because she suddenly remembered that Xiao Lin once thought that the reason Ji Yingsong rejected her was Li Zeliang.
Xieyi walked over to support him. This time Li Zeliang did not push her away roughly, but when Xieyi touched his shoulder, she could still feel that his body seemed a little stiff because of subconscious resistance.
He gently pushed her hand away and said, "I can stand up by myself."
"I just don't understand. There are people around who can help you. Why do you want to suffer?"
"I really can."
After saying that, Li Zeliang supported himself on the edge of the bed with his hands, then slowly used his left foot to push his body up, and moved his immobile right foot up and down little by little.
Xie Yi saw that although his face was pale, it revealed an inviolable firmness, which reminded her of the scene where he secretly climbed the stairs in the company alone every morning.
Suddenly, she felt that the heart buried under his unknown pain was so hard and proud. Xie Yi was beside him, taking a deep breath and trying to hold back the tears that were about to overflow.
After an unknown amount of time, he finally sat on the bed by himself and breathed a sigh of relief. He was a person who did not sweat easily, but now his clothes were soaked.
"Let me see the injury." At this time, Xieyi wanted to squat down and roll up his trouser legs.
Li Zeliang avoided her again and asked Xieyi to get medicine for him to divert her attention. When Xieyi found the medicine bottle and poured water in, Li Zeliang had already covered his legs with a blanket and leaned against the bed.
"Call Ji Yingsong for me."
"I called, he might be here soon."
"I took some medicine. I'll probably sleep for a while."
"Okay." Xie Yi nodded.
She didn't know if the medicine was effective or not, and whether it could relieve the pain. She only saw Li Zeliang pursing his lips, and it seemed that it was very difficult for him to speak. She wanted to wring out a towel to wipe the sweat off his face, but when she turned around, she was stopped by Li Zeliang.
He suddenly asked, "Does it hurt?"
Xie Yi was stunned for a moment, not understanding what was happening at first. Then he remembered his forehead and shook his head, saying, "It doesn't hurt."
When Xieyi came back from wringing the towel, Li Zeliang had already fallen asleep. He was sleeping soundly, his fingers still tightly grasping the blanket on his body. She knew that he didn't want others to touch that leg.
Xie Yi stood by the bed and looked at him. He had always given her the impression of never admitting defeat. No matter in career or other aspects, it seemed that no one could defeat him. He was even so strong that people ignored his disability.
His pride sometimes hurts others and himself unintentionally.
She was afraid of waking him up, so she didn't dare wipe his face. Instead, she quietly turned off the light and left.
When Ji Yingsong arrived, he saw that Li Zeliang had fallen asleep so quietly and obediently, and asked Xieyi in surprise: "How did you do that?"
"Playing tricks." Xieyi said.
Next to arrive was Li Zeliang's doctor.
"Xiao Ji, I told you, don't let him get hurt again." The female doctor surnamed He complained a little, and then she lifted the blanket and prepared to use scissors to cut open the trouser leg of Li Zeliang's right leg.
Ji Yingsong suddenly blocked Xieyi's sight with his body, "Ms. Shen, please step aside."
"I'll just take a look."
"Mr. Li won't agree."
"I'll explain it to him when he wakes up."
"But… "
"I say, why are you so stubborn? He doesn't..." As for the word "know", Xie Yi opened her mouth but didn't say it because she had already seen that scene.
She had always thought he just had a slight limp in one leg.
She had always thought that there was nothing serious wrong with him.
She always thought that he didn't like others touching his legs just because of the hideous scars.
She was shocked when she saw the doctor cut open his trouser legs and remove the prosthesis from his calf. She had never realized that the leg was a prosthesis. The calf below the knee was only half, and the rest was amputated alive.
She swore that she really didn't know how serious his leg injury was before. If she knew... If she knew... Xie Yi covered her mouth, the sudden pain swelled in her chest, getting more and more intense, and tears were about to burst out.
At this moment, the severed part and the broken surface of the prosthesis, the wounds that were originally wrapped with white gauze, were oozing blood again.
Doctor He asked the nurse to help him remove the gauze while saying, "When he was injured last time, I asked you to persuade him not to wear a prosthesis for the time being. Why didn't you listen? How did he get into this situation today?"
Doctor He glanced at Ji Yingsong and Xie Yi.
Neither of them knew how to answer.
After a while, Doctor He bandaged his leg and took off his gloves. "Fortunately, you let him take the medicine and fall asleep, otherwise I don't know how painful it would be when I came." He added, "If he still insists on staying here, my suggestion is not to let him stay alone. You... you really should take good care of him."
"Why does the wound on his leg cause so much pain?" Xieyi asked.
Doctor He said, "Xiao Ji knows that he has had severe phantom limb pain for a long time." Seeing the confusion on Xie Yi's face, she explained, "This is a common pain after amputation. It varies from person to person. Some people feel tingling, while others feel burning. Most people's pain disappears after they get used to the prosthesis, but his pain has always been there. In addition, Mr. Li's body is more sensitive to pain than ordinary people. The combination of these two factors has caused him to suffer in a way that normal people cannot imagine."
I have heard of this before. Some people do feel pain many times better than the average person.
Xieyi glanced at Li Zeliang who was sleeping on the bed. Her heart was in a knot and she felt extremely annoyed that she had kicked him so fiercely just now.
As Dr. He was about to leave and pack up his equipment, he asked, "Do you want to treat this lady's forehead?"
Xieyi touched her forehead and waved her hands embarrassedly, "No, no." She has been a carefree person since she was a child, just the opposite of Li Zeliang, and is the least afraid of pain.
Then, she remembered something and gave a superfluous explanation: "I bumped into it by accident." She couldn't let others know that she was beaten by the man in bed, otherwise it would be too embarrassing. But after explaining it, she felt funny. It was really a case of trying to cover up one's own fault.
After hearing Xie Yi's words, Dr. He did not insist. After all, her patient was Li Zeliang, so she packed up her things and left with the accompanying nurse. When she left, she said, "He will wake up in a few hours, but the prosthesis cannot be used for the time being. I will come back tomorrow. If he is still stubborn, send him to the hospital."
Xieyi and Ji Yingsong nodded in unison.
While the effect of the drug was still there, Ji Yingsong asked someone to move Li Zeliang back to the old house. Xie Yi naturally did not go, and after seeing the car carrying Li Zeliang disappear from sight, he silently said three words in his heart: I'm sorry.
She looked up and saw that the sky was already gray and white. The sanitation workers had already started working. Sprinkler trucks were whirring through the city streets, playing refreshing music. Before they knew it, everyone had been busy all night.
After taking a bath, Xieyi fell down and fell asleep.
In her dream, many fragmented images vaguely emerged in her mind. Especially when she returned to the bedroom alone to see Li Zeliang later, the blanket under the leg where the prosthesis was removed was obviously collapsed and empty. This scene flashed repeatedly in her mind. In her dream, she was a little afraid to look at that place and lowered her head.
She suddenly didn't know what to do.
Xieyi slept until the afternoon and was woken up by a phone call.
"Xie Yi, it's me, Yang Wangjie."
"Hello." She rubbed her eyes drowsily.
"Going to bed so early?"
"No, I stayed up late last night and haven't gotten up yet." Xieyi said.
"Oh, and he also said he would treat you to a meal."
"What? Is there something good?"
"I have a schoolmate of yours here who wants to catch up with you."
"Junior?" Xieyi got up and drew the curtains. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the wall of the building opposite, which was a bit dazzling.
"You studied at M University, right?"
“Hmm…” Xieyi stopped walking back and forth in the bedroom.
"Do you know Yin Xiaomei? She's your junior in the drama club."
Xie Yi was stunned.
Yang Wangjie didn't hear a response from the other end of the phone for a long time, "Xie Yi?"
"I am here."
"You forgot?" he asked, "Could it be that Xiaomei remembered it wrongly?"
"I..." Xie Yi was a little embarrassed.
"You studied at M University?"
"Yes."
"Have you ever joined the school drama club?"
"Probably... no." A few ideas flashed through Xie Yi's mind quickly, but in the end he had to deny it.
"Probably not?" Yang Wangjie was a little surprised by her answer. If there is no, then there is no, so how can there be any "probably"
After hanging up the phone, Yin Xiaomei asked, "What's wrong?"
"I don't seem to know you, and I haven't been in the drama club."
"Impossible." Yin Xiaomei frowned and went back upstairs to get something. After a while, he took out several photo albums.
She looked around, turned to a page and showed it to Yang Wangjie.
The photo was taken of all the actors in the backstage after the curtain call. Yin Xiaomei was standing in the front row, and not far from her, the girl in the middle with straight hair that went past her shoulders, a somewhat tall figure, and a bright smile with her mouth curved up, was clearly Xie Yi herself.
The two looked at each other suspiciously.
"Why?" Yin asked with a smile.
"what why?"
"Why did she say no?"
"Maybe my memory is bad."
"Bad memory? Could it be that a person doesn't remember whether he was on the basketball team or the table tennis team when he was in school? Could it be that a person who studied drama would think that he studied piano?"
What Yin Xiaomei said was a bit illogical, but it did make sense.
"But didn't you say that you didn't finish your four-year studies and went abroad to study? Maybe later, Miss Shen..."
"Then I'll ask my classmates." Yin Xiaomei said.
"Forget it, Xiaomei. Maybe she has some past that she doesn't want to talk about anymore, and she doesn't like you to dig into it."
Yin Xiaomei was a little angry, "But I'm just curious, I like to gossip about other people's privacy, what's wrong with that?"
After a brief pause, she continued, "And why doesn't she want others to mention it? Why did she deliberately say that she didn't know me? Aren't you curious?"
She is a very curious person and will never give up until she gets to the bottom of something she has decided on. Without saying a word, she called her friends in other places.
"Yes, it's Shen Xieyi, from our Department of Political Science and Law, one year older than us. I remember her." The female classmate said, "She's a very easy-going person, and she's been in the drama club for a long time."
Hearing this, Yin Xiaomei raised her eyebrows towards Yang Wangjie, as if to say, "I didn't lie to you."
"The play we rehearsed together..." Yin Xiaomei recalled.
"'The Salem Witches', it's a very difficult play, but everyone actually succeeded in it," the classmate said.
"Yes, I played the role of the pastor's daughter."
"Yeah, you ran off to America before the queue was finished."
"Hehe." Yin Xiaomei smiled embarrassedly.
"We had to look for help everywhere," complained the female classmate.
"I'm sorry, next time you come to City A I'll treat you to dinner and hang out with you. By the way, we haven't seen each other for a long time." Yin Xiaomei had a bad habit of going off topic while talking, and the other party also went off topic.
"Well, everyone missed you a lot afterwards. You and the boy from the next class..."
"Shh!" Yin Xiaomei hurriedly called for a stop, then glanced at Yang Wangjie, and then she remembered to ask about the real business.
"That Shen Xieyi, has she always been in the drama club?"
"No, she went abroad to study for the last two years."
"Really?" Yin asked with a smile.
"After you left, Xiaomei, she also went abroad."
"Where did you go?" Yin asked with a smile.
"It seems to be Germany, but I'm not sure about the rest."
It seemed like there was a click and the clue was broken here.
Yin Xiaomei hung up the phone, feeling a little disappointed. She had thought she would find out some earth-shattering secrets.
"Then should we ask someone else?" she asked Yang Wangjie for his opinion.
"Why do you care so much about other people's affairs?" Even he felt that Yin Xiaomei was being too nosy.
"Who told you..." Yin Xiaomei saw that he seemed to be blaming her, paused, pouted and said aggrievedly, "Who told you... to like her before."
After hearing Yin Xiaomei's last words, Yang Wangjie sneered. He didn't know she had such thoughts. So, he couldn't help but touch Yin Xiaomei's head. Even this little girl could see that he had liked Shen Xieyi before.
"Since you said it was in the past, why bring it up again?" he said.
Yin Xiaomei nodded happily.
However, she did not notice that after Yang Wangjie left her house, his thoughts drifted elsewhere. "Why did she deliberately say that she didn't know me? Aren't you curious?" It was this question that Yin Xiaomei had asked him just now, circling in his mind. He did not answer at the time, but he did want to know the answer.
At this time, Xieyi had already gotten up and was cooking for herself who was starving. She had been hungry for a day and wolfed down a bowl of noodles. Then, she went to the bathroom to wash her face. She was stunned when she saw herself in the mirror. Her forehead was a little red and swollen.