The moment I saw the message, a sudden buzz echoed in my ears, and then the screen gradually blurred. The green text was like a ray of light shining into the deep sea, surrounding me in this empty, desolate, and silent place, driving away the negativity in my heart.
The sender's profile picture was a pink pig, which was Liu Xiaoyu's.
"Lin Nan, I'm sorry. You saved me, yet I behaved that way. I shouldn't have treated you like that... We don't need to worry about whose fault this is. It's not because of you, and it's not because of me. Neither of us did anything wrong; there's no need to assign blame between us... I thought of a lot to say, but then deleted it. I feel words are too powerless. Excessive language doesn't help. Anyone can type on a keyboard, but very few people can actually follow through with actions. But I believe in you, Lin Nan. You are one of those few who can. I believe your actions speak louder than your words."
"I hope our friendship can shine forever in the sunlight, and continue to glow brightly in the days to come."
And finally, there was a postscript: "I'll be waiting for you at school, right next to your seat. Wishing you a speedy recovery and a quick return."
I didn't know what emotion he held when he wrote this—was he teary-eyed and crying?
Would my sudden departure affect him?
I didn't know. It was too hard to judge through a phone screen and a few lines of text.
Meanwhile, Xiao Xue was excitedly wagging its tail beside me. After being locked up for so many days, it was finally going to get a chance to run free outside.
But the dog didn't understand why its owner suddenly stopped moving, leaning against the wall and staring motionless at a glowing device.
Xiao Xue was full of longing for the outside world, so it kept nudging my foot with its head, circling my legs, urging me to hurry. It couldn't wait any longer.
It was then that I came back to my senses. A wet feeling on my face told me instantly what had happened.
I typed a few words on the keyboard, but quickly deleted them. I typed a few more, and deleted those too. I didn't know how to face him. My feelings for Liu Xiaoyu were a complex mixture of envy, jealousy, guilt, and anger, but without a doubt, he held a significant place in my heart; he was arguably my only friend at school.
Although he ranked second-to-last and I ranked last, I used to think we were true comrades in misery. But the truth proved that I was the clown in this situation. Liu Xiaoyu's skill level was definitely not the same as mine, and it was likely far above our entire class's. I had greatly underestimated him. If he seriously tried, he would never have that ranking. He had always used a pig doll, a pig backpack, and a pig avatar, which led me to tease him that he was a little pink pig. Only now did I realize he was "playing the pig to eat the tiger."
I was suddenly struck by an overwhelming sense of emotion. Is this the 'playing the pig to eat the tiger' main character from a novel?
To my surprise, his message came again very quickly.
"You've been 'typing' for a while. Are you thinking about something?"
This was a huge surprise. I didn't expect him to wait for my reply. If he had sent the message and then backed out to do something else, he wouldn't have seen my "is typing" status.
But I still didn't know what to say. There was so much I wanted to say to him, yet I couldn't find the words.
"Wanna play a game?"
He sent this simple sentence.
I was momentarily stunned, then sent a pouting emoji.
"I can't play right now."
"I'm sorry, I forgot."
He sent an emoji of a person bowing deeply in apology.
"It's okay," I hesitated, then sent this message: "I should be the one apologizing to you. You've taken such good care of me, and you paid for my medical expenses. Yet I treated you like that and said those things. You must be angry."
After sending this, Liu Xiaoyu didn't reply for a long time.
After a long while, he simply sent an "Mm."
I had a strong suspicion. Has this kid started crying again? I don't know about anyone else, but from my time with him, I knew Liu Xiaoyu couldn't tolerate the slightest bit of grievance. I was the one who got stabbed! I howled powerlessly in my mind.
So, I sent another message: "Little brat, you're not crying again, are you?"
"No, and who are you calling a little brat?"
"I don't believe you. Send a voice message."
"I won't."
"Then you're crying. It's nothing to be ashamed of." I thought about my recent ordeal and sent a new text: "I've cried many times recently too. I don't know if you infected me. I wasn't this prone to crying before."
Again, there was a period of no reply. By now, Xiao Xue's actions had escalated to another level—it was hopping and jumping, nearly pinning me against the wall.
Over the past few days, I'd figured out the dog's breed: a Samoyed. It was large and ate an enormous amount—I felt it ate more than I did now. Watching it devour its food always left me with a mixture of amusement and frustration. I truly questioned whether taking it in was a wise decision. In my current situation, I was subtly keeping an eye out for "Lost Dog" flyers. If I found its owner, I would immediately return it. I couldn't help it; I was just a student and could barely support myself.
I had already formulated what I would ask the dog's owner: Hello, I'm a student. Can you give me your dog and five thousand yuan a month for its living expenses?
I also had the owner's imagined response ready: Hello, no, you absolute loser.
I took the dog to the nearest park. It was running and hopping quickly. If I hadn't been holding its leash, it would have run off immediately. Walking a dog like this was not easy in my current condition. It was a big dog with considerable strength, and with one arm bandaged and injuries all over, I wasn't fit for that kind of strenuous activity.
By the time we reached the park, I could barely hold onto it. It was jumping and excited, everything outside holding a fatal attraction for it. But I was afraid it would bolt and hurt someone or get captured, as city regulations required dogs to be leashed.
I could feel Xiao Xue wanting to run free, but my body's faint aches prevented any strenuous activity. I had no choice but to tie it to a park bench while I sat down to rest.
"Woof woof woof..."
Xiao Xue protested, circling me anxiously, but I was helpless.
Just then, a girl carrying some items came up to me. Without asking, she spread out a cloth next to me and started setting up some goods.
I realized she was setting up a stall to sell things, which was common—it was normal to see people selling small toys or trinkets in the evening.
But she wasn't selling toys; she was selling flowers. They were brightly colored, freshly packaged, and looked very vibrant.
The girl was beautifully dressed in traditional Hanfu clothing: a jiaoling ruqun (cross-collar top and skirt). Her long hair was tied with a green ribbon that flowed down, swinging as she moved. She wore a linen-gray cross-collar top and a white skirt, cinched at the waist with a white ribbon, highlighting her slender figure.
Her delicate face had light eyeliner and subtle makeup, tracing elegant and simple lines. She looked dignified and graceful. You could immediately tell it was traditional Hanfu. She was naturally beautiful, or she likely couldn't have pulled off the outfit so well.
Perhaps because of her attire, her business was good. She had barely finished setting up when people started buying, mostly flowers to give to their girlfriends.
I suddenly realized what day it was. I checked my phone: It was Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day).
No wonder.
My dog was staring at her curiously, sniffing closer. The girl didn't shoo Xiao Xue away but let it approach. Sometimes, the buyers would even pet Xiao Xue's head and compliment me on my well-behaved dog.
I felt a little embarrassed, considering I had starved it for two days.
After a while, the girl setting up the stall suddenly looked at me and spoke: "Aren't you going to walk it? It looks like it really wants to run around."
I was surprised. I didn't expect her to initiate a conversation. I raised my bandaged arm.
"I want to walk it, too."
"Oh..." She suddenly understood. She waved her hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything. I didn't know you were injured."
"It's okay. It's just that I can't walk Xiao Xue, and I don't feel safe letting it run off alone," I said helplessly.
The girl looked closely at Xiao Xue, finding it more appealing the longer she looked. Her eyes lit up. "How about I walk it for you? I'm a college student nearby, and I love walking dogs."
Looking at her sincere eyes, I instinctively felt she was trustworthy and was about to agree, then quickly checked myself. What does her being a college student have to do with anything? Is it because college students are easier to deceive?
"Heh heh, I mean I'm a student..." She seemed to realize her mistake and scratched her head sheepishly.
I found it inexplicably funny. I pointed to her blanket, laughing. "What about your flowers? Aren't you going to look after them?"
Her eyes darted around quickly, and she immediately came up with a solution.
"How about this: You help me sell, and I'll walk the dog for you. What do you think? That's a good deal, isn't it?" she asked with a bright smile.