“An Ling? An Ling!”
Li Yang had already packed up his things and turned around, only to find An Ling still sitting dazed on her stool.
“What are you spacing out for?”
He gave the still-dazed An Ling a gentle push.
“Ah?”
An Ling finally snapped back to reality.
“Oh.”
“Oh what? It’s the weekend.”
“Mm, okay.”
“What’s wrong with you? You’ve been out of it all day. Did you finally turn into an idiot?”
What was wrong with her?
An Ling didn’t know herself.
From this morning her head had felt strangely fuzzy.
She had gone through the entire day almost on autopilot, everything hazy.
Even thinking properly was difficult.
“I don’t know.” It took An Ling quite a while to answer Li Yang.
“You aren’t sick, are you?”
Li Yang placed his hand on her forehead.
“No fever. Do you feel unwell anywhere?”
“No.”
An Ling shook her head.
“I’m fine. Really.”
“Pack up your things first. Bring your homework and let’s head home.”
“Oh, okay… What homework do we have this weekend?”
“Sigh~” Li Yang let out a helpless sigh.
Normally An Ling would never forget to note down the homework during class.
“I’ll pack your bag for you. I’ll take you home in a bit.”
“Mm… okay.”
An Ling sat dazed in her seat, watching as Li Yang skillfully took textbooks and notebooks from her desk drawer one by one and placed them into her schoolbag.
Zhou Meng hadn’t left yet either and came over, looking worried.
“An Ling really does seem off today. When I asked her things, she answered completely off-topic.”
“She probably didn’t sleep well.”
Li Yang zipped up the bag.
“I’ll take her home. You can head out first, Class President.”
“Okay. Message me if anything comes up.”
Zhou Meng nodded and glanced at An Ling again. “An Ling, get some good rest.”
“Mm…”
An Ling replied, her voice so soft it was barely audible.
Li Yang slung An Ling’s schoolbag over his own shoulder, picked up his own bag as well, then waved his hand in front of her face.
“Let’s go, An Ling.”
An Ling looked up at him.
“Let’s go.” She said it, then slowly stood up.
The two left the classroom and walked through the hallway.
The teaching building was especially noisy during dismissal, with students walking in small groups, their laughter and chatter blending together.
An Ling walked beside Li Yang, her steps very slow.
Li Yang slowed his pace to match hers, glancing sideways at her from time to time.
“An Ling.” He called her name.
“Mm.”
“Feeling unwell anywhere?”
“No. No discomfort.”
This was abnormal. Way too abnormal.
“Then what time did you go to bed last night? Did you stay up late?”
“I went to sleep right after chatting with you through the window.”
“How was your sleep quality last night?”
“Really good.”
“An Ling.” Li Yang called her name again after asking.
“Mm.”
“An Ling?”
“Mm.”
Li Yang called An Ling’s name five or six times in a row, and each time she obediently responded.
This was definitely not normal.
Normally if he pestered her like this, she would have snapped back at him long ago.
“An Ling, can you raise your hand for a second?” Li Yang tested her with a command.
“Mm?”
An Ling tilted her head, looking at him with dazed eyes, then obediently raised her hand.
She was way too compliant. Normally playing around like this would have made her bristle immediately.
Li Yang took a deep breath.
This was bad. Something was really wrong with this kid’s head.
He simply hung An Ling’s bag on his other shoulder too, one bag on each side, then took hold of her wrist and led her forward.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you home first.”
An Ling obediently let him lead her, walking one step behind Li Yang like a newly awakened pet.
Her tail dragged behind her, occasionally sweeping through the air.
The two walked out of the school gates.
The street outside was lively, filled with the calls of street vendors, students’ laughter and talk, and the honking of car horns all mixed together.
An Ling’s ears twitched, seemingly drawn by the sounds.
Her head tilted slightly.
Li Yang looked at her sideways, feeling a bit worried.
An Ling’s state today was too abnormal.
From the morning onward she had been like this, as if her soul had left her body.
Did he need to find some master to call her soul back or something?
Oh right! Li Yang suddenly remembered someone.
He should ask her about An Ling’s current condition.
But first he needed to get An Ling home.
“An Ling?”
“Mm?”
“Can I call Auntie about her work? When is a good time?”
Li Yang asked.
“Mom? You can call Mom anytime.”
“Okay. Let’s head home first then.”
The two continued walking, passing through the familiar narrow alley.
An Ling suddenly stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
Li Yang looked at An Ling, who had halted abruptly.
“Groceries. We don’t have any vegetables left. For tomorrow’s lunch…”
“An Ling, there’s no school tomorrow. You don’t need to prepare lunchboxes. And in your current state you shouldn’t be cooking anyway. Tomorrow I’ll take you out to eat, or you can come to my house. Got it?”
“Mm, okay. So no buying groceries?”
“No need. Let’s go home.”
They exited the alley and walked a short distance to their homes.
Li Yang fished the keys out of An Ling’s schoolbag, opened the door, and led her inside.
The house was very quiet.
“Slippers are in the shoe cabinet,” An Ling said, her voice still a bit floaty.
Li Yang took out the slippers from the cabinet, helped An Ling put them on first, then changed into his own.
“You sit on the sofa first. I’ll get you a glass of water.”
An Ling obediently walked over to the sofa and sat down, hugging her tail to her chest. Her gaze was blankly fixed on the patterns on the coffee table.
Li Yang went into the kitchen, found a cup, and poured some warm water.
He carried the cup out and saw An Ling sitting on the sofa, curled up into a small ball, looking tiny.
“Here, drink some water.” He handed her the cup.
An Ling took it with both hands and sipped slowly.
“An Ling, can I call Auntie now?”
Li Yang sat down beside her and asked.
“Mm-hmm.”
An Ling took out her phone, entered the password from muscle memory, found the contact labeled “Mom,” and dialed it.
The phone rang a few times before it was picked up. An Ling’s mother’s gentle voice came through.
“An Ling? Why are you calling at this time? Are you out of school already?”
“Mom…” An Ling’s voice was soft and a bit dazed. “Li Yang told me to call you.”
“An Ling, can I have the phone for a moment? I need to talk to Auntie about something.”
“Mm-hmm… okay.” An Ling obediently handed the phone to Li Yang.
“Hello, Auntie. Hi, this is Li Yang.”
“Li Yang? It’s been so many years since I last talked to you. Is something the matter?”
“Auntie, An Ling is acting really strange today. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She doesn’t seem sick—no fever—but she’s all dazed and out of it, like she’s drunk or something. The main thing is she does whatever you tell her to. I don’t know what’s going on, so I called you.”
Li Yang was anxious to understand An Ling’s situation and blurted everything out without any small talk.
There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.
Li Yang even had the illusion that the person on the other side was holding back laughter.