Chapter 14: A Well-Executed Show
The next day after school, Wei Jing and Wei Feng went to the hospital again. At that time, Yang Jiabo was curled up on the bed, his small brows furrowed as he slept soundly. He looked small and somewhat pitiful. Li Guizhen sat beside him, knitting a sweater while chatting with other patients' families.
"Auntie, we’re here to see Jiajia," Wei Jing greeted Li Guizhen.
"Hello, Auntie," Wei Feng called out politely.
"Come, sit down. Jiajia is still asleep," Li Guizhen said warmly, pulling over two stools. She then opened the bedside cabinet, which was stuffed with fruits and canned goods. "Have some fruit first. Jiajia will wake up soon."
"Auntie, don’t trouble yourself. We’ll be having dinner soon," Wei Jing said, feeling it wasn’t right to eat the gifts meant to nourish Jiajia. "How is Jiajia doing?"
"His illness won’t get better in a day or two. It’s just the same as before," Li Guizhen sighed, looking worried.
In his drowsiness, Yang Jiabo heard Wei Jing’s voice. He opened his eyes and saw a blurry figure. Rubbing his eyes, which seemed to be covered with eye mucus, his vision cleared. "Brother, why are you here?"
"My brother asked me to come and help you catch up on your studies so you don’t fall behind," Wei Feng said eagerly, his eyes shining. He was excited to play the role of a little teacher, though he was clearly overestimating himself.
"No need, it’s just second-grade material. I’ve already mastered it," Yang Jiabo said, still feeling nauseous and weak.
"Is that true?" Wei Feng couldn’t believe it. Was he really that slow?
"Of course it’s true. I even know your brother’s coursework," Yang Jiabo boasted with a smug look.
"I don’t believe it. Big brother, test him," Wei Feng said, starting to doubt his own intelligence in the face of Wei Jing and Yang Jiabo’s apparent brilliance.
Wei Jing actually took out a draft notebook and a pencil, carefully writing out a few questions and handing them to Yang Jiabo. These were topics the teacher had taught today, and he was curious to see if Jiajia really knew them.
Yang Jiabo took the notebook, admiring Wei Jing’s neat and elegant handwriting. Comparing it to his own messy scrawl, his felt turn red immediately. Should he sign up for calligraphy classes? The questions didn’t stump him, and he quickly finished them, handing the notebook back to Wei Jing.
"All correct," Wei Jing said, surprised. He then wrote out a few more questions for Yang Jiabo to solve.
Yang Jiabo was confident, but when he saw the new problems, he couldn’t help but exclaim, "Wei Jing, this isn’t fair! Sixth grade questions are one thing, but you’re giving me junior high school questions now, Can’t we just have fun?"
"Big brother, is what he said true?" Wei Feng’s eyes widened. Everyone around him seemed so smart, and he was starting to feel out of his depth.
Wei Jing nodded, looking at Yang Jiabo. "Can you solve them?"
"I can," Yang Jiabo said through gritted teeth. Fortunately, they were only first-year junior high school questions. His good grades barely lasted until the first grade of junior high school. This was not difficult for him. If Wei Jing gave him some questions for the second grade of junior high school, he would just laugh.
When Yang Jiabo finished the questions, it was Wei Jing’s turn to be amazed. These were topics he had just learned during the holidays, and he had only written them on a whim to tease Jiajia. He hadn’t expected Jiajia to actually solve them. Wei Jing had always known Jiajia was smarter than other kids, but he didn't expect him to be so smart. And so, another beautiful misunderstanding was born.
"Jiajia, you’re amazing," Wei Jing praised, while Wei Feng looked at him with admiration.
"Of course. Who do you think I am? I can skip grades without any difficulty," Yang Jiabo said, feeling quite pleased with himself. He seemed to forget his discomfort for a moment. This was a well-executed show of bravado, and Yang Jiabo secretly gave himself a mental pat on the back, completely unfazed by the fact that he, an adult (or so he thought), was showing off in front of elementary school kids. Did he even have any shame?
Yang Jiabo had actually considered skipping grades before. It would save time and even reduce tuition costs. But unfortunately, the school didn't have such an arrangement. Even those who were not old enough to attend school had to repeat a year. Skipping grades? Dream on.
Li Guizhen, seeing the kids having fun together, didn’t interfere and continued chatting with the family next door. So, she had no idea what the kids were actually up to.
Yang Jiabo’s joy lasted less than three seconds, because it was mealtime. The smell of food wafted through the hospital corridors as the cafeteria staff pushed their carts and shouted, "Mealtime! Mealtime!"
Families who couldn’t bring meals from home or those who preferred convenience lined up with lunchboxes and mugs to get food from the hospital cafeteria. The family of the patient sharing the room with Yang Jiabo also brought in their meals.
Yang Jiabo felt sick when he smelled the greasy smell. The feeling of nausea kept surging and he couldn't suppress it. Seeing this, Li Guizhen skillfully pulled out the spittoon from under the bed. Yang Jiabo leaned over the edge of the bed, vomiting violently.
"Jiajia, Jiajia, are you okay?" Wei Jing who was usually calm and composed, was startled and stood helplessly by the side, unsure what to do.
"I’m fine," Yang Jiabo said after a long while, finally catching his breath.
"Jiajia, do you want to transfer to another hospital?" Wei Jing couldn’t help but ask.
"Transfer? Transfer where?" Li Guizhen was surprised. Wasn’t everything fine here?
"Jiajia seems to suffer a lot during mealtimes, doesn’t he?" Wei Jing said. It wasn’t just discomfort, it was very miserable.
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