Chapter Text
“Go away!” Yu Zhen Xuan yelled at the stranger who appeared out of nowhere.
The man just stared at him, his expression was unreadable. Zhen Xuan glared back at him, his fist clenched, ready to fight if he have to. He knew he could not run far even if he wanted to, his legs almost gave out on him after running for his life all morning. He was on edge and in pain, but his anger kept him on his ground.
Suddenly, the man grabbed his arm and started to drag him away. Zhen Xuan fought hard, tried to yank his arm free, but the man’s grip was stronger than he expected. Panicked, he ended up biting him.
The other man immediately tried to pull his arm back, but Zhen Xuan bit harder. He was angry, exhausted and scared. All he wanted was to be left alone, not being dragged around like some stray dog by a stranger.
With their faces just inches away, Zhen Xuan glared at the opposite man as hard as he could. He could taste the blood on his mouth, but he ignored it, and just kept sinking his teeth. He wanted to make it as painful as he was feeling at that moment.
Then the man stopped trying to free himself and just stared at Zhen Xuan with a hard gaze. That was when Zhen Xuan saw something on the man's eyes, something that told him that he knew.
In that moment of wonder, Zhen Xuan let his guard down and loosen his bite. The man took the opportunity to grab and pull him, and Zhen Xuan finally let himself being dragged away. He stumbled a few times, but he followed suit. He kept his eyes on the back of the man's head, who not even once looked back at him. About fifteen minutes later, he realized that he was being dragged back to his school.
The man turned out to be the new doctor at the school's infirmary. He pulled Zhen Xuan all the way there, only releasing his hold on him when he went to grab the First Aid kit. Zhen Xuan looked around the room and found a wooden chair next to the door. He never felt comfortable sitting in a normal way like most people did, so he perched himself on the chair.
He stared at the doctor who walked over and sat opposite him. He waited for the comment that people used to make when seeing his weird sitting habit, but the doctor didn't say anything.
After pulling out things from the kit, the doctor started pouring dark colored liquids into cotton pads, the antiseptic smell hit Zhen Xuan's nose. He ignored it, too engrossed in following the doctor's movement. The doctor then grabbed Zhen Xuan's chin and turned his head to the side, roughly dabbed the pad on the gash on his right temple to clean the wound.
"Aww!! It hurts!!" Zhen Xuan protested. The doctor just looked at him but say nothing, nor he lessen the force. He kept cleaning the wound, applied some ointment and covered it with a large patch. He then moved to clean some other cuts on Zhen Xuan's body, continued working in silent.
After cleaning the last visible wound on Zhen Xuan's arm, the doctor went on to examine the bite on his own arm. Zhen Xuan stared at the bleeding wound, not sure if he should feel sorry or not. He thought it was the doctor’s own fault for meddling in other people's business, just like other people did to him when they thought that he’s bothering them. But maybe he did not need to bite that hard...
"You need anything else?" The rough voice that he heard for the first time startled him. He quickly looked up and was met with a pair of cold eyes. Even though it was the same eyes that he had seen earlier, there seemed to be no trace of the understanding he saw before. It somehow had been replaced by the coldness that gave him a slight chill.
“Lunch break's already over. You should go to class,” said the doctor who then put his attention back to his wound.
Zhen Xuan suddenly pulled up his arm and shoved it in front of the doctor’s face. The doctor glanced at his extended arm, then looked at him with a questioning look.
“An eye for an eye. You can bit me too,” he said resolutely. He thought it’s just fair that he let the doctor bit him back. The doctor did help him with his wounds, and since he couldn’t pay him back the same way, he will let him leave the same mark on his arm so they will be even.
The doctor just stared at him then shook his head. He continued treating his arm, completely ignoring Zhen Xuan's bizarre proposition.
Once the bite wound was cleaned and properly dressed, the doctor stood up and put the kit back to the cabinet. He walked over to sit behind his desk while Zhen Xuan followed him with curious eyes. He waited for the doctor to tell him to leave again, but not another word came out of the man’s mouth.
Zhen Xuan wasn't sure what to do then. He was used to being told to go away, used to have people angry at him, used to being hurt whenever someone wasn't pleased with him. But no one ever let him stay, no one ever tend to his wounds, no one ever just let him be.
He didn't want to leave so he decided to stay put. He tried to be as quiet as possible, stealing glances at the doctor, but the man just kept ignoring him. The only things he could hear were the sound of paper rustling, the slow typing on the keyboard, and the screeching of the doctor’s chair.
The serene atmosphere made him sleepy. He dozed off while hugging his knees, still perched on the chair. He hadn't slept properly for the past few days. Night times were the scariest part of the day for him, because he never knew what will happen to him when he closed his eyes.
After he didn't know for how long, he was suddenly awoke when he felt something, no, someone, was watching him. His first response was to brace himself for whatever's coming, to wait for the blow to hit him. But then he saw it was the doctor who was standing in front of him, watching him with a straight face. Zhen Xuan finally relaxed a bit knowing that, for the first time as far as he could remember, he was safe.
The doctor handed him a piece of paper. He took it and read the writings on it. It was a doctor's note for sick leave.
"Give that to your homeroom teacher tomorrow. Tell him that you had an accident today so you can't go to class. And make sure you go to class tomorrow." The doctor emphasized on his last sentence before turning his back. "Now go away."
Zhen Xuan slowly stepped down from the chair and walked out of the infirmary as he was told. He didn't say anything on his way out and just kept staring at the name written at the bottom of the note, repeating it over and over inside his head.
Pei Shou Yi.