### Chapter 213: Searching and Searching
Early in the morning, it seemed like everything had returned to what it was half a month ago. Xia Yu, the little cutie, woke up slowly in Jiang Kekai’s embrace. Indeed, it was time for school again.
Now that Xia Yu’s body had mostly recovered, she needed to go back to studying. Otherwise, missing so many classes wouldn’t be good. If she kept skipping classes, Xia Yu might just become illiterate.
So today, Xia Yu, Xia Ling, Jiang Kekai, and Jiang Hanhang were all returning to school together.
They had breakfast like usual before setting out. Following Jiang Kekai, the four girls headed outside to take the bus to school. And yes, the driver was still Zhao Wei.
You see, although Zhao Wei wasn’t hired by Jiang Kekai, Jiang Bin would never trust his daughter to drive alone with just a few people. Hence, Zhao Wei was assigned to protect both Jiang Kekai and Jiang Hanhang.
When they got out and entered the school gates, they instantly became the center of attention. Whether it was Jiang Kekai’s fame as the “Young Lady” or Xia Ling’s distinctive sight with her plaster-cast arm, the group of four couldn’t escape the spotlight…
Naturally, Summer Bird was most afraid of these stares. She gradually turned abnormal, becoming shy and self-conscious, walking around with her head down as if she had done something wrong, not quite knowing why.
Then, Jiang Kekai placed her hand on Xia Yu’s head gently, saying, “Alright, Xia Yu. You’re so cute; let them look if they want to. After all, it’s just your face, right?”
Jiang Kekai smiled, then playfully pinched Xia Yu’s soft cheek, finding it quite amusing.
Though that might work sometimes, Xia Yu finally entered the classroom in the same state. She couldn’t do anything about the image she was projecting.
Alright, with the younger ones escorted safely back to class, Jiang Kekai felt relieved and turned to return to her own classroom since she too had missed classes for so long, feeling somewhat nostalgic for the familiar rhythm of school.
It had been half a month since Xia Yu last attended school, making her feel somewhat unfamiliar with the classroom again. This renewed her sense of awkwardness.
To cope, Xia Yu helplessly shifted her gaze to the window, though the distraction barely helped. The only thing left was trying to ignore the unease.
“Hey Xia Yu, where have you been for such a long leave? Were you doing a surgery in T country? You’d really shine there.” Hearing familiar words, Xia Yu turned around and saw, unsurprisingly, her desk partner, Xia Xia.
Just then, Xia Yu’s desk partner suddenly cut in, “What are you talking about? Don’t joke around or Xia Yu might ignore you later.”
Xia Yu instinctively looked at the speaker, who was actually a girl from the row in front. She appeared once like a “big sister.”
Indeed, more and more students arrived, taking their seats, chatting and teasing each other. Gao Xiaotian glanced at the distraction, not caring that his words were rebutted, instead smiling at Xia Yu, “No big deal, Xia Yu is always so generous. She wouldn’t ignore me, right, Xia Yu?”
With that, Gao Xiaotian, as usual, tried to put his arm over Xia Yu’s shoulder, just as he did with his brothers.
But Xia Yu was lost in thought, seemingly frozen, watching Gao Xiaotian place his arm around her shoulder in quiet resignation.
“Ugh! Xia Yu’s bones are so small. No meat at all, like a delicate girl.”
Hearing the teasing from her desk partner, Xia Yu didn’t know how to respond. She usually snapped back but now… she preferred silence.
Gao Xiaotian interpreted this behavior as sadness, his curiosity piqued, asking, “Xia Yu, where did you go during your sick leave? I wanted to play some mobile games but you were always offline.”
Unexpectedly, this question revived the interest of the two girls from Xia Yu’s front row. They turned around, ready to chat, “Yeah! Xia Yu, you seem to have gotten even slimmer. Want a pack of spicy sticks to regain the weight?”
One of the girls actually took out a package of spicy sticks from under the desk and placed them on Xia Yu’s desk, clearly hoping to win brownie points.
The other girl wasn’t going to be outdone, “Just one pack is too little. Xia Yu, this is from your sister.”
Xia Yu…
Looking at the two packages of spicy sticks on her desk, Xia Yu was overwhelmed. But due to her recent recovery, she couldn’t indulge in spicy food.
She had only just left the hospital recently. Xia Niu had specifically warned her against anything spicy, threatening to spank her if she disobeyed. Thus, she could only kindly reject, “Well… actually, I can’t eat spicy sticks right now.”
“Oh! Xia Yu, you can’t eat spicy sticks? Perfect! A brother like me can help finish them off. Go ahead.”
Seeing the prospect of free treats, Gao Xiaotian eagerly reached for the packets.
Yet, the two girls in front swiftly snatched back their spicy sticks, denying him any chance at freebie.
Defeated, Gao Xiaotian lamented, “Two ladies, how could you take back what you’ve given?”
“We gave it to Xia Yu, not you. Since Xia Yu can’t eat it, we have to take it back,” the girls responded.
Gao Xiaotian sighed heavily…
Putting the spicy sticks back in the drawer, the girl in front curiously asked, “Xia Yu, why can’t you eat spicy sticks all of a sudden? What happened?”
It was true that Xia Ling was now known for her cast, and everyone was speculating about the strange circumstances surrounding Xia Yu, Xia Ling, and Jiang Hanhang’s absence.
For example, did they experience a car crash or something similar?
Even after speculating, they still wanted confirmation directly from Xia Yu. That would settle their nerves.
Sure enough, Xia Yu nodded honestly, “I couldn’t come to school because I was injured. So, I can’t eat spicy food for now.”
“Hmm? We know Xia Yu’s sister has an injured arm. Where exactly are you injured?”
Now they were prying too much. Xia Yu felt embarrassed and unsure how to answer. Why would they ask with such detail?
Xia Yu chose silence, removing Gao Xiaotian’s arm from her shoulder before diving into Jiang Hanhang’s book, aiming to be a studious beauty.
Everyone knew Xia Yu for a while now. Seeing her act this way, the girls and Gao Xiaotian understood she didn’t want to talk. They sat quietly, letting her read in peace.
Meanwhile, Xia Ling and Jiang Hanhang, despite their injuries, still quarreled like silly little imps.
Xia Ling could use both hands before, but Hanhang always won. Now, with Xia Ling using only one hand, Hanhang rejoiced.
Perhaps because of too much commotion, Hanhang’s resentment towards Xia Ling lessened until it vanished altogether. In fact, she even taunted Xia Ling about using just one hand, unaware Xia Ling had noted it, planning revenge when fully healed.
Over at Jiang Niu’s side, she confidently sat at her desk, laptop open, working away. Likely without familiar faces, she radiated a keep-your-distance aura. Students only dared to watch from afar.
This included the Pengcheng Four Idiots and Xia Le, too focused on their serious tasks to disturb such diligent Jiang Niu.
In this manner, Xia Yu, Xia Ling, Jiang Niu, and Jiang Hanhang gradually settled into their routine, life regaining its normalcy.
