A Certain Someone ( The On1y One ) Chapter 046 – Sick Leave

It Was Funny When He Thought About It; He Appeared to Be……Missing Jiang Tian a Little.

Gao Tianyang’s brilliant suggestion went unused; he shook his head and muttered under his breath as he went to return the wheelchair. Jiang Tian carried Sheng Wang up the slope.
This was one of the quietest corners in school; there were two rows of lush and verdant trees by the sides of the path, the vines of flowers would often reach out from the shrubs, hanging in various lengths along the road.

Sheng Wang still felt a little uneasy. Jiang Tian didn’t even need to look back to already know that his expression must be hilarious.
“Why didn’t you want to be carried?” he asked.
Sheng Wang slightly shifted. “Embarrassing.”
Jiang Tian didn’t quite get the logic: it’s not embarrassing to fall down in front of the whole school, but it’s too much to get carried on the back after breaking his leg? But, these are the words he ought to keep to himself; if he said anything, the peacock on his back will immediately end himself by taking a swan dive off the slope.

He actually did understand that his words were a little too blunt sometimes, but he couldn’t be bothered to change. Sometimes, it was to tease someone on purpose, but more often than not he simply did not care.

The person on his back moved again. He added to his explanation, “Either way, it’s out of a man’s competitive spirits.”
“Since when do you have so much manly competitive spirit.” Jiang Tian deadpanned.
“Isn’t this quite normal? Don’t you have it too?”
“No.”
Jiang Tian’s reply was as resolute as iron. It didn’t matter if he had it or not, in any case there was no way he was agreeing.

Just as expected, Sheng Wang was choked to the point that he didn’t speak for a long while. He then tightened his hug, saying, “Your neck is now in my hands, can you think before you speak?”
Jiang Tian was stuck to the point that he had to look up. He calmly expounded, “Your entire person is in my hands.”

Maybe it was the way his Adam’s apple moved as he spoke, thus causing the other’s person’s wrist to feel a slight discomfort. He could feel Sheng Wang quieting for a few seconds, and his arm released a little. Not only that, his entire upper body straightened up, as though he was trying to minimise contact.
Jiang Tian’s brows quickly lightly furrowed, so brief that not even he himself noticed it.

“Tired?” Sheng Wang asked.
“Wouldn’t be if you quit moving around,” Jiang Tian said.
“Ok,” Sheng Wang sheepishly replied.

The wind blew around the corner of the winding path, the spray of flowers sticking out from the side lightly swayed along. Jiang Tian’s head moved aside, avoiding it. For some mysterious reason, he suddenly spoke, asking, “Are you tired?”
“Me?” Sheng Wang didn’t realise what was going on. He asked, befuddled, “Why would I be tired?”Jiang Tian slightly tilted his head, and swept a glance at him from the corner of his eyes. “The way you’re holding your neck so stiffly, aren’t you tired?”
Sheng Wang had no words. Jiang Tian turned around again, his gaze meeting straight ahead. His pace was leisurely, his footsteps landed on the patches of light and shadows casted by the tree branches and vines.

Yet another while later, the boy on his back gradually relaxed. His chin rested on the crook of his shoulders, like a sloth hanging from the tree.
Jiang Tian’s gaze lightly swept to his right, and kept it back again.

He suddenly recalled the days of childhood where he would go through the alleyways of Beyond Parasol Trees; “Leader” would descend from above without a single warning, and roll in front of his feet. Its slender and pointy tail was soft and furry as it danced across his ankles.

The feeling at this moment was particularly ineffable.
He only felt that time had slowed down, leisurely marching along, and the road ahead was both long and easy.

*
There was already someone in the sickbay; a tall and good-looking male teacher in glasses with a refined air was sending messages on WeChat with his head lowered. Upon hearing the door open, he looked up and over.

The male teacher’s name was Zhuang Heng, Fuzhong had invited him over from another school. Ever since he entered the school, he had never switched levels. Every single year, he would only teach year 3 Class A chemistry. In the troop of teachers primarily dominated by middle-aged people in Fuzhong, his handsomeness was honestly overly prominent; many students called him their male god, plenty of girls tried their best to score into Class A all for his sake.

Sheng Wang had heard some gossip from Gao Tianyang and Song Sirui, saying that he appeared to be wooing Yang Jing. However, he was more of the reserved type, and Jing-jie’s cells capable of love were all extinct; there weren’t any major progress after a year of wooing her.

“Hey, what happened?” Zhuang Heng kept his phone, strided over and supported him. Sheng Wang jumped off from Jiang Tian’s back, and hopped his way to the chair with only one leg.
Sheng Wang gave two hollow laughs. “I was crossing hurdles, but the hurdles ended up crossing me instead.”
“You’re really……” Zhuang Heng shook his head.

“Teacher, where’s teacher Lu of the sickbay?” Jiang Tian asked.
“She went behind to help me fetch some medicine,” Zhuang Heng said, “she’ll be here soon.”

As they spoke, the sickbay’s female teacher, who was short and stout, walked over from the corridor. She passed two boxes of anti-inflammatory medicine as well as a pack of lozenges to Zhuang Heng, and then turned around to ask Sheng Wang, “You’re unwell?”
“Nope, just sprained my ankle,” Sheng Wang patted his left leg.

“Let me see.” She squatted down, and lightly pressed Sheng Wang’s ankle. Her technique was roughly the same as Jiang Tian’s actually, but Sheng Wang didn’t feel itchy, and neither did he shy away.

“It’s already swollen.” She demonstrated a movement. “Does it hurt when you move it like this?”
Sheng Wang moved it up and down as shown. “It’s still ok.”
“How about rotating it?”
“Hiss—” Sheng Wang sucked in a gust of air. “I can’t really rotate it.”

“That’s fine, at least your bones probably aren’t affected,” teacher Lu said.
She still made Sheng Wang go to the other end of the corridor for an X-ray before she confirmed, “Your bone is alright, you just need some rest. I’m giving you some medicine: these two here are for anti-inflammation, take it twice a day. This box is for blood circulation and getting rid of bruises, take it thrice a day. Also, there’s a tube of cream here, apply it in the morning and at night.”

Sheng Wang carefully studied the label for the medicine. When he was done, he asked, “Is one tube enough? Teacher, can you give me another one?”
It was the first time teacher Lu had ever seen a student that treasured himself this much. She said, in both amusement and slight despair, “You just need to apply one round around your ankle, it’s not like it’s body lotion that you need to spread everywhere. There’s no way you’ll use it up this quickly.”
But, seeing how the boy was a pleasure to interact with, she gave him two tubes in the end, and took up a form to fill it up.
“May we go now, teacher?” Sheng Wang stood up.

Zhuang Heng had been waiting there, and was prepared to help Jiang Tian support him too. Yet, he heard teacher Lu say, “Where do you think you’re going? I’m signing off a slip for you, you know.”
“What slip? Sheng Wang may be lame, but he wasn’t staying in his lane. He hopped back with Jiang Tian’s support.
“Can you behave yourself?” Jiang Tian said, “I’ll help you look.”
“Nuh-uh, I have the rights to stay in the know.” Sheng Wang hopped to the table, and saw Teacher Lu writing a doctor’s note.

He stared at the mysterious handwriting on the paper before he sincerely asked for Jiang Tian’s help. “Oh no, I’m illiterate.”
Jiang Tian moved his lips. Moments later, he read, “Recommendation: the student to go home and rest for 15 days.”

“Go home and rest?” Sheng Wang rejected without even thinking. “No way, I like staying in the dorm.”
“No? What do you mean ‘no’?” Teacher Lu glared. “Let me ask you, what floor do you stay on?”
“……” Sheng Wang opened his mouth, and answered sheepishly, “Sixth floor.”

“Oh. From how reassured you sounded, I thought you stayed on the first floor. If you don’t go home, how else do you plan to go up 6 floors, tell me?”
He actually wanted to say that I’m ok with hopping, but Jiang Tian definitely wouldn’t let him hop. Besides, he also didn’t want Jiang Tian to have to carry a wholeass person like him up so many stairs.

“And then, tell me what do you plan to do about going to the toilet, showering, and changing your clothes? Your dormmates are going to wait on you?” Teacher Lu said without any mercy. “There’s only showers in school. Even though our tiles are anti-slipping, but what if? What if you fall from your golden rooster pose? It’s no big deal if you fall into the ground or against the door, but what if you fall into a pit?”

Sheng Wang hurriedly got her to stop. He touched his nose as he said, “I was only just saying.”
“Ddin’t you quite love yourself when you asked me for the cream? Now you aren’t doing it anymore?” Teacher Lu said, exasperated.

Zhuang Heng persuaded, “It really is more convenient at home. I’ve heard from Ya- your English teacher that you live in the city?”
“Mn.”

Sheng Wang nodded, and looked at Jiang Tian again.
The other person was silent most of the time. The moment their eyes met, Sheng Wang’s instincts inexplicably thought, that Jiang Tian appeared to be reluctant about him going home too.

However, Jiang Tian still dug out his phone to make a phone call in the end.
“What are you doing?” Sheng Wang asked.
Jiang Tian said, “I’m getting Uncle Xiao-Chen to fetch you.”

Zhuang Heng’s gaze swept between the two of them. “You two are really part of the same family?”
Sheng Wang answered, “Mn.”
“No wonder you’re so close.” After Zhuang Heng spoke, he couldn’t help but laugh at Sheng Wang’s withered, listless state. “If other students get to have 15 days of break, they would be jumping with joy even with a broken leg. Why are you so reluctant in 800 different ways?”

When he asked that, Sheng Wang himself didn’t understand why either. In any case, he didn’t exactly want to go home. By the time he realised, five days flew past.

Sickbay’s teacher Lu was right though; staying at home was much more convenient.
The nanny, Auntie Sun, made all sorts of nourishing soup for him for all three meals. Sheng Mingyang and Jiang Ou bought flight tickets back the very day itself, and from then on Sheng Wang no longer needed to even go downstairs.

Jiang Ou and Auntie Sun would bring anything he wanted to eat or drink upstairs, the fruits were even washed and cut and presented with a fork. Sheng Mingyang was much more sloppy, but Jiang Ou was meticulous; she remembered how to take each type of medicine and how often well in her heart, and would urge Sheng Wang to do so punctually.
If not for the young master’s firm stance on the issue by covering up his feet at all costs, she would probably apply the cream herself too.

Sheng Wang was pretty moved, but he still felt that she was slightly overreacting. That was, until he unintentionally caught Jiang Ou zoning out at Jiang Tian’s bedroom. That was when he realised that she was compensating.
For what she owed her son in his childhood, she was doing her best to return in magnitudes. To Jiang Tian, and also Sheng Wang.

In that instant, Sheng Wang suddenly understood why Jiang Tian couldn’t bear to be harsh with her.
If it was him, he would be soft too.

Sheng Mingyang still had the traces of rationality of being a father left in him. Other than staring at Sheng Wang’s foot, he also remembered to ask, “You’re going to be behind on your schoolwork again, right?”
This was also the problem Sheng Wang thought of at first.
Funnily enough, he wasn’t worried; it was only 15 days, even if he was behind by an entire book he could still catch up. It wasn’t like he didn’t try before.

Soon, he found out that he overthinked it. The night self-study the day after the sports carnival ended, he received voice recording from teachers from all subjects. The recordings made up the day’s worth of content, not a single bit was left out.
On the basis that he was on good terms with Yang Jing, when he received the English recording he replied: Jing-jie, you don’t even bring your script for class, you seriously remembered to record?
Yang Jing first snarked back: Begone, you’re itching for a beating?
Sheng Wang was amused, he sent: Thank you, teacher.
However, not a single moment later, he received three messages in a row from Yang Jing.

Yang: I’m more careless, I didn’t even think of recording in the first place. It’s Jiang Tian who came into the office to ask me, it’s him you should be thanking
Yang: Oh yeah, same family
Yang: Even if he’s your gege, you still got to thank him.

Jiang Tian was completely unaware that he had been sold out once more. Sheng Wang knew he was obstinate when it came to his words, so he managed to tease him for an entire night in a roundabout manner. In the end, he nearly got injured for the second time by laughing so hard he was on the verge of falling out of bed.

He probably went overboard with the teasing that day, student Jiang didn’t really pay any particular heed to him for the next few days, his aura was icy cold. Sheng Wang was both amused and frantic, and built a way out while frantically scratching his head. Until yesterday night, then the person finally deigned himself to step on the way out he built for him.

The phone buzzed until nearly 1am, today was quiet again.
This day was Fuzhong’s weekly exams. Sheng Wang received special considerations and did not need to attend. However, Jiang Tian and the rest were basically locked up in the exam venue for the entire day, their exams took place from morning to night.

No recordings, no papers, and suddenly there was a giant blank in his schedule.
Sheng Wang did a few practices himself, and curled up in bed to game for quite a while. He watched a movie for a bit, and even managed to chat with Crab for two hours straight as he had a weekly break. Yet, he was still a little dull.

Even Crab could tell that he was out of it. He asked: are you in a bad mood?
StarAniseCrab: aren’t you usually quite happy during breaks?
Sticker: i don’t know
Sticker: i can’t put my finger on it
Sticker: i just felt that its kinda boring

He clearly survived well like this for the previous breaks, but these few days felt empty, like he was missing something.

The sky darkened outside. Sheng Wang sat in front of the table, the uninjured foot stepped on the table’s bar, slowly rocking his chair.
This season’s evening was both clear and bright, causing the streets and alleys to appear as though they were encased in brilliant glows of lights. There was clearly the sound of people in White Horse Alley, but he still felt that the surroundings were too quiet; the second floor was too empty.

The clock on the wall pointed at seven o’ clock. Sheng Wang shot a look, thinking, the exams at night have begun.
He left the chat with Crab, and opened Jiang Tian’s. He rocked his chair and he slowly typed.

Sticker: i’ve told you, i don’t wanna go home
Sticker: i’m so booooored
Sticker: i’m rotting away

He sent quite a few grumbles jokingly, not a single line was thought out. By the fourth message, he suddenly paused.
It was because the messages in the chat were truly too mindless.
He typed: what are you doing

Sheng Wang snorted at himself self-mockingly. He mumbled, “are you an idiot”, and then deleted these few words.
He zoned out at the window while swaying back and forth for several moments, the trace of smile on his face slowly faded away.

He suddenly realised: it wasn’t that the second floor was too empty or that outside was too quiet, it was that someone was missing next door.
It was funny when he thought about it; he appeared to be……missing Jiang Tian a little.

TO BE CONTINUED.