Fu Huixing hesitated for a few minutes, then composed a new message. He included the information he had heard from Shi Li about this person's name and related questions, along with the photo, and forwarded it to a number he hadn't contacted in a long time.
After seeing the confirmation that the message was sent successfully, Fu Huixing put his phone aside and lowered his head to focus on reading. He had wasted a lot of time tonight and needed to catch up.
Whether out of a desire to avoid something or not, Fu Huixing didn't look at his phone again until he went to bed. It wasn't until he woke up the next morning and checked his phone as usual that he saw the reply from last night.
A simple three-word message: [Got it]
This text message put him in a bad mood for the rest of the morning before school.
Fu Huixing lived alone, so even when he was in a bad mood, no one would notice.
It wasn't until he got to school that Song Ying, leaning on Shi Li's desk and poking her cheek, said, "Eating barbecue can easily cause inflammation, sister. You're prone to it, so next time you should avoid things like hot pot and grilled meat that can cause inflammation."
Of the nine people who had eaten barbecue with Shi Li yesterday, she was the only one who had developed a blister on her lip.
Shi Li was quite annoyed, "I even drank iced milk tea to cool down." Who would have thought it would still have no effect?
Song Ying smacked her forehead, "I remember the Class Teacher's office has chrysanthemum and goji berries and such. I'll go ask him for some chrysanthemum to help reduce the inflammation."
Before Shi Li could say it was too much trouble and unnecessary, Song Ying had already picked up Shi Li's water cup from the windowsill and set off.
Shi Li picked up a small mirror and looked at the blister on her lip, her face scrunching up. She put down the mirror and happened to meet Fu Huixing's amused gaze.
Shi Li instinctively covered her lip and glared back at him, huffing. Haven't you ever seen someone with inflammation before?
Fu Huixing didn't look again, tactfully lowering his head.
Soon after, Song Ying returned with a cup of chrysanthemum tea. "Sister, the water is still hot, don't drink it yet. Wait until it cools down, then drink it. If you drink it for a couple of days, you'll be fine."
Hearing Song Ying mention the blister on her lip, Shi Li couldn't help but reach out to touch it, but Song Ying slapped her hand away.
Song Ying said, "Sister, your hands are full of bacteria. Touching it often will affect its healing. You can't touch it."
Under Song Ying's serious gaze, Shi Li obediently said, "Okay."
Shi Li usually cared a lot about her appearance and was quite particular about her image.
Suddenly having a blister on her lip greatly affected her overall look.
However, as long as she wasn't eating, Shi Li almost forgot about the blister on her lip.
The Class Teacher walked into the classroom from the corridor. He originally wanted to remind them about the sports meet this weekend, but as soon as he entered, he noticed the blister on Shi Li's lip.
So that's why Song Ying had inexplicably asked him for dried chrysanthemum this morning. It was for Shi Li.
He couldn't help but laugh, "Looks like you all ate a lot of nourishing food yesterday. This just goes to show that too much of a good thing isn't always good – it can easily cause inflammation."
In an instant, the entire class turned to look at Shi Li. A lip blister wasn't a big deal, but paired with the Class Teacher's teasing tone, it was a bit funny.
Shi Li felt so embarrassed.
She had exchanged her free time to indulge a bit, but her body had let her down.
Shi Li silently covered the lower half of her face with her hand, inwardly cursing the Class Teacher, [Don't hit the face when fighting, don't expose weaknesses when scolding. I'm drawing a circle to curse the Class Teacher to get three blisters on his lip tomorrow]
The cursed Class Teacher's mouth twitched. How vicious! If he got three blisters on his lip, wouldn't he be unable to eat normally? He'd have to survive on liquid food every day.
The Class Teacher was also afraid that while predicting the future, Shi Li might have awakened some kind of special ability. Three blisters on the lip at once would be too terrible; he didn't dare to risk it.
He could only give up on the idea of teasing Shi Li further.
Shi Li drank several cups of chrysanthemum tea throughout the morning, but didn't feel it was having any effect. At the end of each class, she would take out her small mirror to check, but there was still no change.
Although she recalled that chrysanthemum had heat-clearing and detoxifying effects, she wondered if it might not be addressing the right issue.
Shi Li began to doubt whether chrysanthemum tea was for prevention rather than fighting the virus after the fact.
Shi Li maintained this state of checking the mirror every so often, clearly very concerned about this small thing on her lip.
When she returned to the classroom after lunch break, Fu Huixing handed her a small bag. Shi Li curiously opened the bag to find a new tube of ointment and a small pack of unused cotton swabs.
Shi Li looked at him in surprise.
Fu Huixing pressed his lips together and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Ointment. It works well."
Shi Li immediately understood his meaning. He must have bought this during the lunch break. She hadn't expected him to be so thoughtful.
She turned to him with a bright smile, "Oh, thank you!"
Fu Huixing didn't say anything more, only reminding her "Cotton swabs" when she was about to apply the ointment directly with her fingertip.
Although he didn't talk much, Shi Li inexplicably felt that he was much more difficult to deal with than Song Ying, though she didn't know where this feeling came from.
Shi Li didn't insist, afraid he would be relentless, "Alright, alright, I'll listen to you. I'll use the cotton swabs. Cotton swabs are cleaner."
Only after seeing Shi Li apply the ointment while looking in the mirror did Fu Huixing avert his gaze.
After two classes in the afternoon, during the break, Fu Huixing turned to look at her. Shi Li thought he had encountered a problem he didn't understand and wanted to ask her.
It used to be like this before, with Fu Huixing asking her questions once or twice a day, but today he didn't seem to have asked her anything yet.
It seemed like it was time for him to ask a question. Shi Li tilted her head to look at him, waiting for him to speak.
Fu Huixing pointed to his own lip corner, "Apply the ointment several times. It helps with recovery."
So it was about this. Shi Li was about to reach out and touch the blister on her lip again, but her hand froze midair under Fu Huixing's disapproving gaze.
Shi Li laughed dryly to cover up her attempt to touch it, saying, "You're right, I'll apply it right away. I'll apply it several times and hope that when I open my eyes tomorrow morning, the virus will be completely gone."
Hearing her say this, Fu Huixing said seriously, "Don't be in a hurry. It won't heal that quickly. When you get home, you can eat more Vitamin C, avoid spicy and greasy foods, and eat more light fruits."
Feeling as if she was facing a doctor, Shi Li nodded obediently, "Alright, Dr. Fu. I'll follow your orders strictly."
Fu Huixing hesitated for a moment, then took out a small bottle from his desk drawer. "When I bought the ointment, it came with Vitamin C in a set. I haven't opened it yet. If you don't mind, you can take it."
Faced with Shi Li's clear black and white eyes, Fu Huixing spoke rapidly, with some incoherence he didn't even notice, "This Vitamin C isn't much use to me, it would be a waste to keep it. You take it first, eating this early can help you recover sooner."
"Alright," Shi Li waved her phone, "How much should I transfer to you?"
The sweetness Fu Huixing felt because Shi Li had accepted his kindness turned into a hint of bitterness lingering in his heart when he heard this somewhat distant offer to pay.
Fu Huixing said, as if it didn't matter, "It's fine, didn't you treat me to dinner yesterday?"
Shi Li wanted to say it wasn't the same. As the group leader, treating her group members to dinner was only natural, and besides, she hadn't just treated him yesterday.
But she felt that being so particular about it would be too distant.
After all, Fu Huixing wouldn't miss these few dozen yuan. "Thanks, I'll treat you to milk tea next time."
"Okay."
