Chapter 193 — A Photograph

"It's me..." Wei Zhao said.

Inside the courtyard gate, there was a noticeable pause, then the gate creaked open, revealing Tang Zhi's radiant face — except there was no smile on it, only a faint coldness: "Please come in."

Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback. The Tang Zhi of before, though she had not treated him well, had been frank and straightforward, would throw little tantrums with him, step on his foot, and the like... But today, Tang Zhi's eyes were filled with indifference.

Kang Xiaofeng, however, noticed none of these details. Full of curiosity, he followed Wei Zhao into Tang Zhi's courtyard, and looking at all the odds and ends scattered about, he pointed in surprise toward a corner of the yard: "Boss, look, there's even a cherry tree!"

People who lived in single-story houses with courtyards generally planted things in them; in Wei Zhao's hometown, nearly every household did, so he was not particularly curious.

Kang Xiaofeng had grown up in the city, so naturally he had seen far less of such things, and he was rather excited and intrigued.

"Yun'er, are your classmates here?" Mother Tang's voice came from inside the house. It was a brick building that looked very old, its exact age impossible to determine. The house was built of red bricks, with no cement on the outside, windows sealed with plastic sheeting, and a door panel covered in mottled rust.

Yet in this dilapidated setting lived a girl full of sunshine — the commoner school beauty of No. 1 High.

"Mm..." Tang Zhi answered faintly. Her tone no longer held any annoyance or displeasure toward Wei Zhao... It was entirely like dealing with a stranger.

"Wei Zhao's here, come in quickly!" Mother Tang came out of the house happily, and seeing Wei Zhao and Kang Xiaofeng, she hurried to welcome them.

"Auntie," Wei Zhao greeted her, and he and Kang Xiaofeng entered the house. It was a typical old-style home: the door opened straight into a small kitchen in the entryway, beyond which a large room enclosed a smaller one; inside the little kitchen there was another small room, which was probably Tang Zhi's bedroom.

"Come sit inside." Mother Tang ushered Wei Zhao and Kang Xiaofeng in, then said to Tang Zhi: "Yun'er, keep your classmates company and chat, I'll go get the barbecue things ready!"

"Oh..." Tang Zhi nodded without objection and sat down on the chair in the living room opposite Wei Zhao. Because the sofa was limited in size and Tang Zhi did not want to squeeze in beside Wei Zhao, she sat facing him.

Mother Tang went out to busy herself, and Tang Zhi said nothing, sitting in the chair with her chin propped on her hand, eyes on the floor, no telling what she was thinking.

Wei Zhao was rather puzzled about what was wrong with Tang Zhi today. Ever since he had come in, she had treated him strangely, as if he were a stranger. Sitting there so awkwardly was no way to pass the time, so Wei Zhao could only find a topic first: "Is your father in the house?"

Wei Zhao had heard movement from the inner room. Though the door was closed, with Wei Zhao's hearing, such a small sound could not escape his ears.

"My dad was injured on the job; he can't get out of bed," Tang Zhi explained.

"A work injury? Is it serious?" Wei Zhao was startled. He had imagined all sorts of circumstances for Tang Zhi's family before, but he had not expected that her father would actually be injured and bedridden.

"We're saving money, planning to have the surgery in the second half of the year. If it succeeds, he can recover," Tang Zhi said faintly, as if speaking to a stranger.

"A work injury — then why doesn't his employer pay?" Kang Xiaofeng put in.

"The factory owner won't acknowledge it, won't pay. What can we do?" Tang Zhi seemed to have already resigned herself. Toward a factory owner who refused to take responsibility, there was only helplessness now, no anger left.

"Shall I go see Uncle Tang?" Wei Zhao stood up, wanting to go to the inner room, but Tang Zhi blocked him.

"My dad is resting. You'd better not go in," Tang Zhi said, refusing to let Wei Zhao enter. She no longer wanted any entanglement with Wei Zhao, so naturally she did not want him going into the room. If she owed Wei Zhao yet another favor, how could she ever repay it?

It was not that Tang Zhi did not understand the ways of the world. On the contrary, her father's misfortune had made her and her mother endure the fickle warmth and coldness of the world, giving her a deeper understanding of how people's attitudes shift with fortune.

On what grounds would Wei Zhao help her family? Apart from herself, what did her family have that Wei Zhao could possibly value? In the end, when her family could no longer repay his kindness, the only way to settle the debt of gratitude would be with her own flesh.

Wei Zhao merely wanted to see how serious Tang Zhi's father's injuries actually were, whether surgery could be avoided, and whether there was an easier way to treat them. But since Tang Zhi objected, Wei Zhao was in no particular hurry.

Kang Xiaofeng didn't want to be a third wheel. While Wei Zhao and Tang Zhi were talking, he got up and drifted to the side, idly looking around at the furnishings and decor of the room. Suddenly his gaze fell on a photograph tucked inside the bookshelf.

There were three girls in the photograph. One was Tang Zhi. The other was Tang Zhi's best friend, seemingly named Liu Xinlan, also from No. 1 Middle School — Kang Xiaofeng had a vague recollection of her. But there was yet another girl who made Kang Xiaofeng's eyes light up.

Of the three girls in the photograph, Tang Zhi was unquestionably the most beautiful and the most striking, but the other girl was only a shade behind her. Moreover, she had a soft, delicate look about her — the kind that stirred a man's protective instincts at first glance.

Who is this girl? Kang Xiaofeng's mind began to stir with new excitement. As for Tang Zhi, he had already given up entirely — as long as Wei Zhao could win her over, he'd be content. But this girl...

"This photograph?" Kang Xiaofeng couldn't help but ask.

Tang Zhi turned her head at the sound of Kang Xiaofeng's voice and glanced at the photograph in the bookshelf. "They're two of my good friends."

"I know this Liu Xinlan — she's from our school too — but this one..." Kang Xiaofeng hesitated. Though he felt it was somewhat rude to ask so directly, he pressed on, unwilling to give up.

"Her name is Lan Zhi. She's been my good friend since we were little..." Tang Zhi clearly didn't want to say much about it. She offered only the briefest introduction of Lan Zhi, then said no more.

Kang Xiaofeng said "oh" and silently committed the name to memory: Lan Zhi. Not a bad-sounding name. He just wondered where she was attending school now. Definitely not No. 1 Middle School — if she were, there was no way he wouldn't know.

While Lan Zhi couldn't possibly be ranked among the school's top three beauties, she would certainly be a campus celebrity, easily placing among the top ten girls at No. 1 Middle School.

He wanted to ask about Lan Zhi's current situation, but Tang Zhi didn't seem willing to talk about it, so Kang Xiaofeng could only drop the matter.

Tang Zhi's mother brought the barbecue in, one batch after another. Roasted chicken wings, giving off a tantalizing aroma... Tang Zhi helped her mother arrange the barbecue on the living room table, then said to Wei Zhao in an icy tone: "Eat..."