Eat Less Fish in the Future - Chapter 18

Liang Yu’s finger moved slightly. After a while, he shook his head and said hoarsely, “It’s fine.”

Zheng Yimian thought for a moment, then moved her finger away and said, “You should go sit by our door first. I’ll go buy some medicine to bandage you up.”

After finding a stool for Liang Yu to sit on at the door, Zheng Yimian lowered her eyes and said, “Wait for me a moment. I’ll be right back.”

There was actually a hint of coaxing and comforting in her tone.

Liang Yu, being coaxed like a child for the first time, twisted his wrist and turned his head, a slight smile sliding from the corner of his eye.

He nodded, “Okay.”

As soon as Zheng Yimian left, the next second, the sound of footsteps echoed in the stairwell.

Liang Yu looked to one side and saw Zhao Yuan coming up.

Zhao Yuan was carrying a bag of medicine, rushing up from the bottom of the building. He was about to go up to the third floor when he saw Liang Yu sitting nicely in the corner of the second floor.

Zhao Yuan walked over and said, “What happened to you? Why are you sitting here alone? Come on, let’s go upstairs. I just saw you getting into it with Xiao Feng, so I had the foresight to go buy some medicine. How about that? Aren’t I clever?”

Liang Yu: “…”

Zhao Yuan looked at him and said, “Why aren’t you moving? Let’s go. You seem injured too. Or should I just help you here?”

After saying this, Zhao Yuan sat down next to him.

Liang Yu turned his head to look downstairs. Soon, he saw a familiar figure coming out of the pharmacy.

She was coming back.

Liang Yu looked at Zhao Yuan and frowned, “No need. You should go back first.”

Zhao Yuan looked at him suspiciously, “…Why are you so politely asking me to leave?”

Why?

What else could it be?

If she came back later and saw Zhao Yuan bandaging his wounds, she would definitely smile brightly and say, “Oh, someone’s already taking care of your wounds. Alright then, I’ll head back to my room.”

…..

No, to avoid such a tragedy, he had to make Zhao Yuan return to his room as soon as possible.

Just as Liang Yu was about to speak, Zhao Yuan glanced downstairs in the direction he was looking and suddenly realized, “Oh shit! I see now, so sister-in-law is going to bandage you up! No wonder you want me to leave!”

“Good that you understand. I appreciate your intention.” Liang Yu lazily raised his eyelids and kicked him, “But if you don’t leave now, I’ll have to send you to share a hospital room with Xiao Feng.”

Zhao Yuan knew he was joking, so he laughed cheerfully as he ran away, not forgetting to shout, “You owe me a meal when you get back!”

Just as Zhao Yuan went upstairs, Zheng Yimian came up carrying a bag.

She sat down beside him and said, “Alright, let me clean you up a bit.”

After saying this, she took out alcohol and cotton swabs, gently lifting his hand.

She held his hand, her index finger reaching out to press against his palm, lifting his hand back up and placing it on her knee.

Liang Yu leaned to the side, moving closer to her.

He easily caught her scent.

A faint smell of cheese.

It was a bit sweet.

Her movements were very slow and somewhat cautious, the cool cotton swab rolling gently over his wound.

Liang Yu lowered his eyes and smiled, “It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt.”

Hearing this, Zheng Yimian finally dared to move, rolling the cotton swab back and forth, disinfecting the surrounding area.

“We won’t put on a band-aid. Band-aids trap the wound, which isn’t good for it,” she added at the end, “My grandmother used to tell me that.”

Her profile was bathed in the warm light of early autumn, the fine hair on her cheeks soft and touching.

Liang Yu stared at her intently, only seeing her full lips opening and closing, but not knowing what she was saying.

Seeing that he didn’t respond, Zheng Yimian waved the cotton swab in front of his eyes, “Why aren’t you saying anything? Does it still hurt somewhere?”

Without waiting for his answer, she picked up his hand and examined it closely, then asked, “Is it still numb? Does it feel sore and swollen?”

Liang Yu blinked and looked away, feeling an emotion rarely welling up from his chest, a tingling and empty sensation spreading through his limbs.

Zheng Yimian saw him blink and thought he might have injured his eyes during the fight. She put down the cotton swab, stood up, and began rubbing her hands together.

Liang Yu was stunned, “…What are you doing?”

“Close your eyes first,” she said, standing in front of him, blocking the pouring sunlight.

The tingling in his heart intensified. He bit his back teeth but still closed his eyes.

The next second, something warm fell on his eyelids.

Liang Yu’s heart tightened, his mouth dry.

…He was going crazy.

He really was going crazy.

Zheng Yimian placed her hands on his eyelids, her palms soft and warm, carrying a sweet scent of cheese.

Completely unaware of the turmoil in Liang Yu’s heart, she seriously explained to him, “This can soothe your eyes. If your eyes are tired or swollen, covering them like this will make them feel much better. Since your hand is injured, I’ll teach you this first. You can learn it for future use. It’s good to do often.”

Liang Yu’s hand, pressed against the edge of the chair, moved slightly. His fingers lifted, then fell.

…He wanted to hold her hand.

After a while, he still restrained himself.

He couldn’t scare her.

Following her words, Liang Yu asked, “Did your grandmother teach you this too?”

“Yes,” Zheng Yimian nodded. “I used to teach my friends to do this often because my hands are usually warm. Sometimes I would even massage them.”

With his eyelids covered, Liang Yu’s eyes trembled slightly, his brows furrowing.

“…They?”

Zheng Yimian made a sound of agreement and moved her hand away, looking down at the bruise on his cheek.

Her breathing was fragmented, fleeting.

“This bruise is no problem. When you go back, just apply some warm compress, but be careful not to burn your face,” Zheng Yimian said as she turned to tidy up the things. She hadn’t heard the person behind her speak.

After tidying up, she saw Liang Yu frowning as he stared at a spot, his expression filled with a layer of severity.

Liang Yu was naturally displeased.

…He wondered who else she had covered eyes for?

He reached out and irritably scratched the hair at the back of his head.

“What’s wrong? Are you still uncomfortable?” Zheng Yimian asked as she tightened the lid on the alcohol bottle. She lowered her head and said, “I’ve only taught girls before. I don’t know if it works for boys. If it doesn’t, I can find another method for you.”

…

……

With just this one sentence, Liang Yu’s tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed.

She hadn’t done this before?

…Was he the first?

After a pause, he pursed his lips, unable to suppress the upward curve of his mouth.

“No need. It feels very comfortable.”

Meanwhile, a similar scene was unfolding around the corner.

“Peeking again, huh…” The class monitor found a step and sat down next to Zhao Yuan. “There’s one quality of yours that I admire.”

Zhao Yuan, while using the wall at the corner for cover and looking for chances to peek out, asked, “What?”

Class monitor: “You’re not afraid of death.”

Zhao Yuan: “…”

They parted ways at the door. Zheng Yimian tidied up and entered the dormitory. After a while, Li Min, who had been out somewhere, came back humming a song.

Seeing Zheng Yimian, her expression changed. She sat down next to Zheng Yimian and said, “Mian Mian Mian Mian, I heard Liang Yu and Xiao Feng got into a fight over you!”

“Looks like you know more than I do,” Zheng Yimian pouted. “How did this gossip spread? Let me hear it. I’m the person involved, but I don’t know much about it.”

“I was watching a TV drama earlier, and then you went down to shower. I was planning to go down after finishing that episode, but then Nian Nian called me out to buy things together. When I came back, I heard…” Li Min paused, “Do you want to know?”

Zheng Yimian: “It’s fine, go ahead.”

Li Min: “They say Xiao Feng saw no one downstairs and wanted to open the door to the girls’ shower room. He even turned on a camera. But before he could open it, Liang Yu saw him… You probably know what happened next. Xiao Feng wasn’t seriously injured anywhere else, but both his arms were broken.”

“Unbelievable,” Li Min frowned. “What kind of person is he? He totally deserved it. Why didn’t Liang Yu cripple him?”

Zheng Yimian got goosebumps. After a while, she said, “He deserved to be beaten.”

Although even if Xiao Feng had secretly opened the door, he wouldn’t have been able to film anything – the curtains had good light-blocking properties, and it was dark inside. Most importantly, the door would make a sound when pushed open, so she wouldn’t have been completely unaware.

–Even if it hadn’t happened, even if it had happened Xiao Feng wouldn’t have succeeded, but just thinking about it made her spine cold.

She sat on the edge of the bed for a while, drank a couple of sips of water, before she finally recovered.

“Don’t take it too much to heart. It’s not a big deal. Several girls have encountered stalkers, and Xiao Feng’s attempt was unsuccessful. Even if Liang Yu hadn’t arrived, he might not have dared to do anything, after all, there were too many variables,” Li Min said. “Here, have a can of Want Want to calm down.”

“It’ll be better when we go back,” Zheng Yimian said, struggling to open the pull tab. “After all, this place is outside, and it’s mixed-gender housing. It’s indeed a bit unsafe.”

“Don’t think about that anymore,” Li Min held out her phone. “We can catch the last bit of the live stream now. There’s a rerun later. Let’s watch our Buxiu’s ‘Rapid Burn Time’ together!”

Zheng Yimian pursed her lips. “I want to watch the episode with Gu Yulin.”

“You’ve already watched that episode twice? Isn’t it better to watch the new one? Let me tell you, this episode features…”

As the two were engrossed in discussing the variety show and celebrities, Zheng Yimian saw a notification pop up on her phone.

“The class monitor posted a message in the group.”

Li Min paused the show. “Let me see.”

Class monitor: [Everyone come down later. Rent folding chairs from the small shop at the bottom of the building. We’ll need them for sketching outdoors tomorrow.]

“Let’s go down together later,” Li Min said.

“Okay.”

As the night deepened, Zheng Yimian, who had just showered, felt a bit cold, so she put on her sleep socks.

Her sleep socks weren’t the kind of slimming socks worn at night. Her sleep socks were the same size as regular socks, reaching up to her ankles. The difference was that sleep socks didn’t have elastic bands at the top, so they wouldn’t constrict her during sleep.

Zheng Yimian was in good health, but she had a common problem among girls – her feet got cold easily, and when her feet were cold, she couldn’t sleep.

The temperature difference between day and night here was quite significant, freely changing between autumn and winter. To be safe, she still put on socks.

She put on the socks, the soft fabric light as if it wasn’t there.

The next second, Li Min got excited. “It’s on, it’s on! Come watch quickly! The first shot is of our Buxiu!”

Zheng Yimian leaned over and started watching the rerun of “Rapid Burn Time” with her, using mobile data.

While they were happily engaged, Zhao Yuan and Liang Yu, who still lived upstairs from them, were idle.

Zhao Yuan hadn’t finished his game and angrily threw his phone aside. “The opponents are too bad! Is it a weekend field trip for elementary school students?!”

His anger hadn’t subsided when he saw the colorful things on his roommate’s feet, and he suddenly couldn’t stop laughing. “What’s with your feet… What’s going on? Are you an archaeological team’s mummy?”

“Do you know how to talk?” His roommate raised his leg, almost pushing his foot into Zhao Yuan’s face. “Haven’t you heard of sleep socks?!”

Zhao Yuan recoiled repeatedly in fright. “A big guy like you wears socks to sleep at night? What’s up? Are you a foot fetishist?”

Roommate: “…I’m your mother! Don’t you feel it’s especially cold here at night? I feel cold without socks.”

Zhao Yuan laughed so hard he almost fainted, reaching out to push Liang Yu. “Brother Yu, don’t you think this is especially stupid?”

Liang Yu looked up, glanced indifferently, and squeezed out a rather disdainful sound from his nose. “Looks like a turkey.”

Roommate: …???

Zhao Yuan’s shoulders shook violently with laughter. “Classic turkey socks, wear one, get two.”

“Still mocking.” The roommate kicked the edge of their beds. “Let’s go down to rent folding chairs.”

Hearing this, Liang Yu turned his head to look back, showing no signs of moving.

Zhao Yuan chimed in. “You need to see if sister-in-law has left yet… Also, can you not wear these socks when you go down?”

“Alright, I won’t wear them!” The roommate angrily pulled off his socks, then pointed out the window, “If sister-in-law hadn’t left yet, would I need you guys to go down?”

The next second, Liang Yu had already put on his shoes and was standing at the door.

Zhao Yuan drew in a cold breath in amazement, springing up from the bed and walking out quickly. “Alright, let’s go, let’s go.”

Zheng Yimian went downstairs in her slippers, and she and Li Min chose their chairs.

As she leaned against the cupboard to scan the QR code for payment, she heard scattered footsteps and laughter.

She turned her head to look, and Liang Yu pushed the door open and came in.

After exchanging greetings, Zheng Yimian continued to lower her head to scan the code.

The internet speed in here was quite slow.

Zhao Yuan came in from outside, still laughing at his roommate. “Who told you to wear such…”

His gaze flashed forward and saw Zheng Yimian’s sleep socks.

Zhao Yuan laughed so hard he hiccupped. “There’s actually someone else here wearing the same as you hahahahaha… Brother Yu, quick, look at this…”

Zheng Yimian turned around.

Liang Yu stood in front of Zhao Yuan, looking down at him, his expression not changing in the slightest. “Is it funny?”

Zhao Yuan’s smile vanished instantly. Due to the rapid change in expression, he was dazed.

His chin trembled, and he said, “…Huh?”

“What’s wrong? What’s so funny?” Li Min walked to the middle, saw Zhao Yuan pointing at Zheng Yimian’s socks, and asked in confusion, “Is it that funny? These socks are quite cute. When I went to buy them later, they were sold out.”

They were fluffy, with two little ears at the top, overall in the shape of a small rabbit.

“These… these socks… Didn’t you say turkey…” Zhao Yuan faced Liang Yu, trying to make him recall the earlier scene.

Liang Yu calmly interrupted, not even bothering to move his eyebrows, his voice sounding more like a question. “How does this look like a turkey?”

Zhao Yuan was stunned: “…”

Then, Liang Yu opened his lips and casually stated a lie. “I wear them too.”

Zhao Yuan: ???

Wasn’t it you who said wearing sleep socks looked like a turkey upstairs just now? Wasn’t it you who discriminated against them? Wasn’t it?

Zheng Yimian, however, looked at Liang Yu as if she had found a kindred spirit, and said, “You wear these too?”

He looked down at her, his eyes hiding a smile. “Yes.”

The roommate pulled Zhao Yuan’s sleeve and said quietly, “I hate this.”

Zhao Yuan patted his hand reassuringly. “Whenever sister-in-law is involved, it’s Brother Yu’s grand double standard scene.”

The two happily exchanged thoughts about sleep socks until the owner came to close the shop.

After returning to the dorm, Liang Yu looked at the two fluffy socks on the bed next to him and asked, “…Where did you buy these?”

Zhao Yuan interjected. “What do you mean? You want to buy them?”

“Obviously.” His tone was cool.

“Just because sister-in-law wears these, you’re going to overcome your inner feelings and wear these things? Even though these things look like turkeys? Even though they’ll make you uncomfortable?”

“No,” Liang Yu sat down, “I just suddenly feel that these things are quite cute.”

“Pffft– cough cough cough.” The roommate who was drinking water was scared half to death, suddenly choking. He leaned on the table, coughing violently. After a while, when he caught his breath, he spoke softly, “Oh, so I can’t change your mind, but when she wears them once, you find them cute?”

Zhao Yuan retorted to the roommate. “Can you compare yourself to her? Can you??”

The roommate nodded. “Mm, love the house and its crow, love Mian and her socks.”

Zhao Yuan’s features scrunched up. “Your analogy… why does it make me want to punch someone?”

Liang Yu didn’t speak, just leaned against the wall, his hand cushioning the back of his head.

It wasn’t because of her that he was trying to accept things he didn’t like.

Rather, everything related to her seemed to instinctively be covered with a filter, as if no matter what it was, once it passed through her hands, it became likable.

The next day, they got up early to go out and sketch. Entertainment facilities had been developed all around the lake, and everyone set up their easels to capture various scenes, eventually splitting into several small groups as they walked.

As they were walking along the embankment, suddenly a shop owner called out loudly from behind. “Do you want to try our water pedal boats? It’s very fun!”