"Are you okay?" Chen Ge helped Du Ming open the bottle. "Do you want some water?"
Du Ming leaned on the table, buried his face in his textbook, and held his stomach.
"I didn't do it on purpose. I didn't expect things to turn out like this."
"What have you done?" Chen Ge was not angry. Instead, the eyes that he looked at Du Ming were filled with pity.
Du Ming did not say anything but shook his head. His mental state was very bad. Like Chen Ge, he was about to reach his limit.
…
After the fourth period, when no one was around, Chen Ge came to the rooftop of the education block. Zhang Ya was standing next to the railing.
He silently walked to Zhang Ya's side, and the two looked at the whole of Li Wan City together.
The education block was one of the taller buildings in the small town. At that moment, Chen Ge could not help but be reminded of Li Wan City behind Xiao Bu's door.
At the time, Zhang Ya had agreed to his request, and they had been inseparable ever since.
The cold wind mixed with the rain fell on her face. Zhang Ya pushed her hair that was messed up by the wind behind her ears. She suddenly said, "Teacher might be leaving soon."
"Is it because of me?" Chen Ge had already guessed the ending. He had rehearsed this scenario in his mind many times that morning, but when Zhang Ya said it, the words that he had prepared were stuck in his throat.
"It has nothing to do with you." Zhang Ya shook her head. "The reason is because of me. I always thought that I had walked away from the past and could start a new life with a smile, but that was just a lie. Being busy, working hard, everything was just an excuse to escape. Actually, after so many years, I feel like I'm still trapped inside that dim dance studio. "
Standing beside Zhang Ya, Chen Ge gripped the railing. He could understand Zhang Ya because he was the only person in the world who knew about Zhang Ya's past.
Be it the real world or the world behind the door, Zhang Ya had only told him the secret.
"The ones who are at fault are those who spread rumors. Give me some time. I will investigate everything and let everyone know the truth." Chen Ge had always wanted to do this. Even if it was the world behind the door, even if everything was his own memory, he still wanted to help Zhang Ya, to give that nightmare a new ending.
"It doesn't matter what the truth is. What matters is you. I'm afraid that what happened to me will happen to you again." Zhang Ya cared about Chen Ge very much. When the whole town was filled with all kinds of rumors, Chen Ge still stood by her side and trusted her unconditionally. She had never felt this way before.
Even though there was a huge age difference, there was one thing that was undeniable. She did feel something different about this man.
"I can leave, I can escape, but you can't." Zhang Ya stood before Chen Ge, and her face was very close to Chen Ge's. "Your father is still hospitalized, and you have a sister to take care of. These responsibilities will fall on your shoulders in the future. You cannot be affected because of what happened to me."
"I have a general idea of who the person behind the rumors is. We can …"
"Chen Ge." Zhang Ya raised her arm, and her slender fingers pointed at the cloudy sky. "Leaving does not mean that we will never meet again."
Zhang Ya seemed to have made up her mind. If she insisted on staying, people would still gossip about her behind her back.
Actually, Chen Ge knew that it was not easy for Zhang Ya to make this decision. She must have thought about it for a long time.
The hands that gripped the railing turned white, and Chen Ge's eyes were bloodshot. He took a deep breath. "Sometimes, I feel like this world is very bad. It will always grab those who are kind to bully."
"There is no difference between good and bad in the world, but when there are many kind people, the world will become kind." Zhang Ya reached out to help Chen Ge fix his hair that had been messed up by the wind. Her cold fingertips stopped on Chen Ge's face. "In the future, you need to be a kind person as well. You should go back now. You still need to cook for your family, so don't waste too much time here."
Pulling back her arm, Zhang Ya looked at the campus that she had just familiarized herself with. It was hard to tell what she was thinking.
Standing next to Zhang Ya, Chen Ge looked at Zhang Ya's back. He raised his hands and then put them down again.
He left the rooftop to go to the hospital. After delivering food to his father, he sold some food to Luo Ruoyu by the roadside.
Returning to his residential area, Chen Ge stopped at his front door. Normally, whenever she heard his footsteps, Luo Ruoyu would run to open the door, but today, Luo Ruoyu did not appear.
"Could something have happened to him?"
Chen Ge called Luo Ruoyu's name loudly. He could hear the sound of crying coming from inside the house.
"Ruoyu?"
Opening the door, Chen Ge was hit by the pungent smell of gas. He ignored the rules and rushed into the house.
The kitchen floor was covered in water stains, and the broken pieces of the thermos littered the floor.
He rushed into the kitchen and saw Luo Ruoyu curled up in the corner of the kitchen. Her hands were covering her ears, and there was a broken thermos before her.
Her clothes were wet, and her neck, arms, and fingers were all scalded. Tears were hanging on her face.
"Who told you to use the fire!" Chen Ge kicked the broken thermos away. He had never been so angry before.
Hearing Chen Ge's angry roar, Luo Ruoyu cried even harder. Her red arms were placed before her face, and the tears could not stop falling.
Turning off the gas, Chen Ge did not think much of it. He picked up Luo Ruoyu and ran out.
Walking out the door, it was the beginning of a new day, but Chen Ge did not care about that. He carried Luo Ruoyu and got into the taxi to go to the hospital.
The burn area was not big, and most of it was on the arms. The doctor applied the ointment on Luo Ruoyu, but the girl was still in shock. She seemed to be scared out of her wits.
"It's nothing serious, but you have to be careful as a family member. It's best not to leave a mentally disabled child alone at home. It's too dangerous." After the doctor left, only Chen Ge and Luo Ruoyu were left in the room.
When the ointment was applied on the wounds, it was painful at first, but it slowly turned into a chilling feeling.
Luo Ruoyu's arms were placed beside her body. She did not dare look at Chen Ge. She lowered her head and cried very softly.
After standing in the room for a while, Chen Ge put down his backpack and sat on the edge of the bed. He hugged Luo Ruoyu lightly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have disturbed you."
The girl in his arms was shaking like she had been wronged. She leaned on Chen Ge's shoulder and cried loudly.
"I know you want to help, I know you don't want to drag others down, and I know you've worked very hard. I understand that." Chen Ge hugged Luo Ruoyu tightly. "We are each other's most important family."
In the world behind the door, Luo Ruoyu represented her family and the haunted house employees who had nowhere else to go. She represented the lingering spirits that had been 'picked up' by Chen Ge when they were hiding in the deepest part of despair.
No matter what happened, Chen Ge would stand at the front. The training to overcome the physical defect, the company at midnight, and the encouragement that he was never stingy with.
Chen Ge did not ask for anything in return. He did that because he saw them as family.
After Luo Ruoyu was tired from crying, she fell asleep, but even so, her hands were still holding onto the edge of Chen Ge's shirt.
After covering Luo Ruoyu with the blanket, Chen Ge silently left the room. The blood vessels at the bottom of his eyes increased, and the comic in his backpack started to change.
"The tragedy is closing in. The dream weaved from my memory, now let me end it myself."
Because he had returned home once in the middle of the day, it was already a new day.
When Chen Ge arrived at school, the first class was already halfway through.
He returned to his seat and realized that Du Ming, who was never late, did not come to class that day.
When the first class was about to end, the teacher purposely came to ask Chen Ge if he knew why Du Ming was absent.
As a top student, Du Ming would skip class. This was something that Chen Ge did not expect.
The second class started, and ten minutes later, a woman's shrill voice came from the corridor. "What else do you want to do if you don't want to go to school? What else can you do? Go back now! "
The woman seemed to be scolding someone, but he could not hear the voice of the person she was scolding. It was a one-sided scolding.
The voice slowly approached the classroom, and then the front door was pushed open. A woman appeared at the door. She was angry, and her expression was scary. "What are you waiting for?"
She yanked fiercely behind her, and Du Ming was dragged into the classroom.
The little fatty looked very haggard. He kept his head lowered, and he did not dare to look at anyone.
"Go in now!" After the woman said that, she bowed slightly at the teacher, and her voice was much gentler. "This child has overslept, and he is afraid of being punished, so he is too embarrassed to come."
"It's fine, Du Ming, go back to your seat." The teacher who was teaching the class seemed to be afraid of the woman.
"Thank you, teacher." The woman's expression changed quickly. She revealed a fake smile and then left in a hurry.
After she left, the students in the class started to discuss among themselves.
"That's Du Ming's mother? No wonder Du Ming is so good at studying. "
"I thought he would be as fat as him."
"She looks familiar. Oh right! Isn't she the parent who caused a scene in the teacher's office last time? "
"I remember her now. She is so powerful. Even Mr. Si did not dare to say anything."
"Being taught by a mother like that is quite scary. Du Ming does not like to talk, and his bad personality probably has something to do with his family."
The discussion entered Du Ming's ears. He lowered his head even more, and he did not dare to look at anyone. He was afraid that if he lifted his head, he would see everyone staring at him.
"Don't worry about it. These people only know how to talk behind your back. If you really stand in front of them, they won't even dare to fart." Different from the other students' whispers, Chen Ge's voice was very loud. Even the teacher heard him.
Perhaps it was the effect of his words, or perhaps it was because no one expected Chen Ge to say something like that, but in any case, the classroom slowly quieted down.
The class resumed. Chen Ge did not ask Du Ming why he was late that day. After he spoke up for Du Ming, he stopped paying attention to Du Ming. Instead, it was Du Ming who kept glancing at Chen Ge. It was as if he wanted to say something to Chen Ge, but he did not have the courage to do so.
The bell rang, and the third period was English. As usual, Du Ming took out his English textbook, but Chen Ge just stood there, staring blankly at the wall.
Chen Ge, who was usually the most enthusiastic in English class, was acting strangely today. A bad feeling rose in Du Ming's heart.
The bell rang, but even after a whole five minutes, the teacher still did not show up.
Chen Ge seemed to know this was going to happen, and he turned his head to look out the window.
"Chen Ge …" After several days, Du Ming finally spoke to Chen Ge again. "Is Miss Zhang busy today? Normally, she comes early. "
"Zhang Ya has been fired by the school." Chen Ge pulled his gaze away from the window and turned to look at Du Ming. "She will not be coming to teach us anymore."
"Fired?" Du Ming stood up immediately. Everyone in the classroom was studying, and it was very quiet. Everyone heard Du Ming's voice.
"It was all my fault, but she kept apologizing, and in the end, she was not forgiven." Chen Ge stared into Du Ming's eyes. "I once complained to her, asking why the world always bullies those who are kind. She told me that there is no such thing as good or bad in the world. As long as there are more kind people, the world will become gentler, and it will treat more kind people kindly."
"Why didn't you tell me this sooner? Did you already know this was going to happen? "Du Ming's eyes were swollen, and his face was red.
"I found out yesterday." Chen Ge paused. "Is there any point in telling you?"
"She left just like that, and you're still sitting here? Don't you like her? Shouldn't you stand up and do something for her? "Du Ming was agitated. He grabbed Chen Ge's collar." Why didn't you stop her? You … "
"Bang!"
Before Du Ming could finish, he was punched heavily on the left side of his face by Chen Ge. Before he could react, Chen Ge kicked him in the stomach, and his whole body collapsed to the ground.
"Who is the class monitor? Come out and organize a self-study session. "Chen Ge grabbed his bag with one hand and dragged Du Ming out of the classroom by his collar with the other.
"Do you know who that teacher is? Do you know what that person represents to me? Do you know what she has been through? "Chen Ge punched Du Ming again and again." You don't know anything. "
Pushing open the steel door on the roof, Chen Ge slammed Du Ming to the ground.
"She trapped herself in that blood red, despairing world. She has not seen the light for a long time. She might have even forgotten her real self.
Because of that, I wanted to leave her with a beautiful memory. Even though I knew it was just a dream, I tried my best to weave it into a more beautiful one. "
Chen Ge grabbed Du Ming's shoulders and slammed him against the wall. "But none of you gave me a chance to weave a dream."
"I don't understand what you're saying, but I know you say that you care about her, but you've never done anything for her! You don't love her at all! You're just lying to her, making her suffer all the pain! "Du Ming's face was twisted with anger. He swung both of his hands at Chen Ge.
"Is that love in your heart?" Chen Ge did not fight back. "Do you know that love requires qualification? For a seventeen-year-old student, no matter how much you want to get close to her, you have to understand one thing, and that is that your love might become a burden for her.
"Love can make a person shine, but it can also make them fall into the abyss.
"If I were you, I would maintain a suitable distance until the day I can take responsibility for myself and her. Only then would I go and find her."
Du Ming's emotions became more and more agitated. He had completely lost control like the deepest secret in his heart had been exposed. "You're not me, you don't understand."
He struggled with all his might, but this time, Chen Ge did not hold back. He kicked him to the ground.
"Pa!"
When Du Ming fell, his phone fell out. The screen cracked, and through the cracked screen, one could see that the background of the phone was Zhang Ya.
The picture appeared to have been taken secretly. In the picture, Zhang Ya had a light smile on her face, and she was conversing with someone.
"Do you also like her?" Chen Ge looked at the cracked phone screen and took out the hammer from his backpack.
"Don't use the word 'also'. You don't deserve it. When she was criticized by everyone, where were you? When she was tortured by the rumors, what did you do for her? " Du Ming wiped away the blood on his face and climbed up from the ground. "You didn't do anything. In fact, because you're a student and she's a teacher, you cowered and retreated. You didn't even have the courage to speak up for her!"
Du Ming roared hysterically. He did not seem to be scolding Chen Ge but his former self.
"Perhaps from your perspective, the distance between a teacher and a student is large enough to make you despair, but have you considered it? There is another kind of distance in this world, and it is called life and death. " When Chen Ge saw Du Ming's phone, all the questions were answered. "If you like your teacher, you can give it your all. Give it three years, five years, and when you're ready to take that step, you can come back to find her. But the distance between life and death might take a lifetime. "
Picking up the phone from the ground, Chen Ge looked at Zhang Ya in the background. "Love, from the moment they meet, even death will not stop. It will only end when one party chooses to leave."
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