"Exactly, Chang Hui, we’re just buying tea leaves. There’s no need to be picky about whose tea we buy," Fei Jiayi answered, biting on a lollipop with a chuckling smile, comforting Chang Hui not to overthink.
"Yeah, my dad really loves your tea. It’s just that not many people drink tea at home."
Moved by their reassurances, Chang Hui didn’t know what to say. In a soft voice, she explained how much her family’s tea cost per pound and returned the money to them, "The tea isn’t expensive; it shouldn’t cost that much."
"How could that be possible? Tea prices on the market aren’t low," Xu Nianhua said, savoring the tea. "A cup of tea and a book, it really is so comfortable."
In the end, Chang Hui held onto the thirty-five yuan, a considerable sum for her, until she sent the money back home, and even bought two bottles of hand cream. Only then, clutching the mailing receipt, did she feel it wasn’t a dream.
After some thought, she spent twenty cents more to make a long-distance call home to explain the situation; otherwise, her parents would surely feel uneasy about receiving a large sum of money.
Once Chang Hui’s parents learned about this, they couldn’t stop praising her classmates.
Speaking of the hand cream, Chang Hui didn’t dare mention the actual price. She simply said it was recommended by a classmate and assured them that it would prevent frostbite. She repeatedly urged them to use it.
"Jinling, are you feeling better now?" Chang Hui had just returned to the dorm when she saw Liao Jinling standing at the door. She asked, "Why don’t you come in?"
Liao Jinling had been hesitating about how to enter when she suddenly saw Chang Hui. Her lips moved as she tried to say "thank you." But, remembering her past attitude towards her dormmates, she felt a bit embarrassed.
Especially towards Chang Hui, whom she had always looked down upon.
Yet, when she was taken to the hospital that day, besides Xu Nianhua, Chang Hui was the one who carried her to the car.
These events were engraved in her memory, and during her hospital stay, she kept thinking about expressing her thanks once she got back to the dorm.
But, now faced with Chang Hui, Liao Jinling felt too ashamed to speak.
"Why don’t you come inside?" Chang Hui looked her over, seeing that she seemed to have recovered quite well, and finally felt relieved. She said, "The wind is rather strong outside; come in quickly. You just had surgery; you need to take extra care of yourself."
While Chang Hui was pushing the door open, Liao Jinling quickly said her thanks.
Chang Hui paused for a moment, thinking she’d misheard.
Once Liao Jinling spoke up for the first time, the second time became easier. She said, "Thank you, Chang Hui."
"You don’t need to." Chang Hui shook her head repeatedly, realizing she had indeed expressed her gratitude. She quickly replied, "We all live in the same dorm; it’s the least I could do."
"Jinling, have you been discharged?" Xu Nianhua looked up to see Liao Jinling standing at the doorway.
Zhou Wanwan lifted her gaze from her book, glanced at her, paused for a moment, and then continued reading.
Ding Guo stepped forward, circling around Liao Jinling, saying, "It looks like you’ve completely recovered. Look, here are the study notes from this week."
Ding Guo handed the notes to Liao Jinling.
"One trip to the hospital and you can’t understand words anymore?" Fei Jiayi purposely said this, noticing that she was well again, the old urge to tease resurfaced.
As Liao Jinling started to retort, looking up, she remembered that Fei Jiayi was the first to discover her illness that day. She paused, looking at the familiar faces, and finally, bowed deeply to them and said, "Thank you, all of you."