Chapter 68: You’re Not Dirty at All
When Qu Danwan asked, Zhou Hao immediately shook his head. "That’s not possible. I rarely have much to say to other girls."
The moment the subconscious reply left his lips, he realized it was the wrong thing to say.
’Doesn’t that just mean I only get tongue-tied in front of her?’
But it was too late to take it back.
Qu Danwan understood the implication, but she didn’t press the issue. Instead, she shyly ducked her head behind his back and asked softly, "If your girlfriend sees you carrying me like this, won’t it cause a misunderstanding?"
’A guy like Zhou Hao probably got a girlfriend a long time ago.’
She found him surprisingly interesting, but if he had a girlfriend, she knew she shouldn’t get too close.
"I don’t have a girlfriend," Zhou Hao replied bluntly.
He said it matter-of-factly, just to ease her worries.
He had no idea she was actually beating around the bush, trying to find out if he was single.
Hearing that Zhou Hao didn’t have a girlfriend, Qu Danwan felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of relief. She took a deep breath and said curiously, "You don’t seem like the type of guy who wouldn’t have a girlfriend."
"What makes you say that?" Now it was Zhou Hao’s turn to be curious.
Qu Danwan was about to say that he was rough on the outside but gentle on the inside, good-looking, tall, and well-built, which would surely make him popular with a certain type of girl.
But when she thought about saying he’d be popular with the "bad girl" types, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. After all, it sounded a bit judgmental.
’Besides, I’m starting to get interested in him myself, and I don’t want to put myself in that category.’
So she resorted to a woman’s most reliable explanation. "Just a gut feeling."
"Enough about me. What about you? If your boyfriend saw me carrying you, would he misunderstand?" A lightbulb went off in Zhou Hao’s head; he’d found a way to ask if *she* had a boyfriend.
"I don’t have a boyfriend," Qu Danwan replied, her face flushing red.
"No way. You’re a good person, and you’re so pretty." Zhou Hao, wanting to be absolutely sure, swallowed his pride and laid on the compliments.
The words were music to Qu Danwan’s ears, but she still shook her head, blushing. "I’m not that pretty. Ever since I was little, no boys ever wanted to get close to me. Maybe it’s because I’m a bit too silly and proper. When they see me, they pretty much just keep their distance."
Hearing Qu Danwan open up to him about her life, Zhou Hao’s heart skipped a beat. ’This is a sign we’re getting closer!’
He was about to continue the conversation with Danwan when the sign for the infirmary came into view.
Only then did Qu Danwan notice that the back of Zhou Hao’s shirt was soaked a dark blue. He had carried a high school girl all this way, painstakingly and carefully. Of course he was sweating.
Qu Danwan watched the beads of sweat drip from the tips of his hair, creating tiny rainbows in the sunlight. A wave of guilt washed over her.
’This whole time, I haven’t once asked if he was tired or if it was difficult for him.’
He had been so careful, so protective, that the journey hadn’t aggravated her injuries at all. It almost made her forget how badly she’d fallen, and how much credit he deserved for getting her to the infirmary without her feeling a thing.
The door to the infirmary was open, but the nurse had already left for lunch, leaving the room empty.
The nurse’s phone number was posted inside, however, in case of an emergency.
Zhou Hao carried Qu Danwan into the infirmary with extreme care. After gently setting her down on a chair, he stood up, let out a heavy breath, and wearily wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Squat down," Qu Danwan said suddenly, her voice soft.
Zhou Hao froze for a second before squatting down in front of her. "What is it?"
As Zhou Hao looked at her, curious, she took out a pink handkerchief. She gently touched it to his forehead, his cheeks, and his neck, wiping away the beads of sweat.
The blissful moment came so suddenly that Zhou Hao didn’t even have time to process it.
It wasn’t until he saw the look of genuine concern on her face as she carefully wiped his sweat that his heart began to flutter.
"I can just grab a tissue. Don’t get your handkerchief dirty," Zhou Hao said, starting to get up.
But Qu Danwan gently pushed him back down. She didn’t stop until she had meticulously wiped away all the sweat from his face and neck. Then, without the slightest hint of disgust, she folded the sweat-soaked handkerchief and put it back in her pocket.
"Don’t say that again. You’re not dirty at all," Qu Danwan said, looking at Zhou Hao with a serious expression.
They were simple words, but for some reason, the six-foot-tall Zhou Hao suddenly felt his eyes sting with the urge to cry.
As someone with a notorious reputation at school, someone everyone avoided, it was the first time he had ever heard anyone say something like that to him. He could only nod, stunned.
Seeing him nod, Qu Danwan’s expression softened into a gentle smile. "You should go get lunch. I’ve held you up long enough. I can just wait here for the nurse to get back."
"No way. If we just leave it, the swelling will get worse. I need to treat it first."
Without another word, Zhou Hao began rummaging through the infirmary’s supplies.
He quickly found an ice machine, wrapped some cubes in a piece of medical gauze, and gently pressed the makeshift ice pack against the swollen part of her sprained right ankle.
"Icing it will keep the swelling down. Once the internal bleeding stops, you can use a warm compress at home to help the bruising go away faster. The injury will heal quicker that way."
Hearing his professional-sounding advice, Qu Danwan couldn’t help but wonder just how often Zhou Hao got injured himself.
"Here, you hold the ice pack. I’m going to find some iodine to disinfect the scrape on your knee." After handing the ice pack to Danwan, he immediately began searching for iodine and cotton balls.
The late afternoon light slanted through the infirmary blinds, illuminating every detail of the scrape on Qu Danwan’s knee.
Zhou Hao knelt on one knee, his hand holding a pair of tweezers hovering over the open iodine bottle. He barely dared to breathe. "The skin is broken, so any touch might sting a little. If it hurts, just tell me. I’ll be as gentle as I can."
The end of his sentence was as faint as a dandelion seed carried on the wind. His fingertips turned white from how tensely he gripped the tweezers as he picked up a cotton ball.
’He was terrified of causing her even the slightest bit of pain.’
"Mm..." Qu Danwan hummed softly, subconsciously biting her lower lip as she waited for him to apply the disinfectant.
The instant the iodine-soaked cotton ball touched the broken skin, a faint sting shot through the wound. Qu Danwan’s toes curled instinctively, but she forced herself to stay quiet so as not to worry him.
Zhou Hao immediately stopped and looked up. The raw concern in his eyes was more vivid than the beads of blood welling up on her knee. "Does it hurt?"
"It doesn’t hurt." Qu Danwan shook her head, a gentle smile on her face as she looked down at the big, worried boy looking up at her.
More than the pain, what filled Qu Danwan’s heart was warmth and joy. She herself was surprised to find herself in such a strange, happy state of mind.