SATURATION CHAPTER 7

 

Chapter 7: A faint smile

Translator: Abo Dammen

In that moment, Sui Cannong felt an inexplicable sense of panic—a kind of unease that something was off, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly was wrong.

"Martin and William, clean up the broken pieces on the floor," Sui Cannong said, noticing Ji Ling glance at the clock before addressing the students. "Everyone else, continue with your experiments. There are twenty-five minutes left before class ends."

The students dispersed, slowly returning to their workstations.

The boys who had caused the accident tried to sneak past Sui Cannong with brooms in hand, looking sheepish. Sui Cannong caught them and gave them a stern lecture.

Once he was done, he saw Ji Ling standing by the sink in the corner of the classroom, rinsing the wound on his arm under running water.

A few girls tentatively approached, asking if he needed help. Ji Ling shook his head, signaling for them to return to their experiments. He then lowered his gaze, staring at the cut on his forearm for a while.TRANSLATED BY ABO DAMMEN

Ji Ling always gave Sui Cannong a peculiar feeling. He was so quiet that time itself seemed to slow down when he was around.

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The blood diluted under the water, but it didn’t stop flowing immediately. As soon as the water stopped, the blood began to seep out again.

Sui Cannong noticed Ji Ling furrow his brows. Ji Ling hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a few tissues from the dispenser by the sink, about to press them directly onto the wound.

Sui Cannong’s heart leapt into his throat. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed Ji Ling’s wrist.

"Don’t move, Teacher Ji," Sui Cannong said, taking a deep breath. "Let’s go back to my classroom. I’ll give you some basic first aid. If it’s serious, we’ll go to the infirmary."

Ji Ling looked startled.

After a moment, he lowered his head, glancing at Sui Cannong’s hand gripping his wrist, and nodded slowly. "Thank you."

"Don’t mention it. If anything, I should be the one thanking you," Sui Cannong said.

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Just yesterday, he had accepted Ji Ling’s gift of ore and weapons, and now he owed him another huge favor.

If Ji Ling hadn’t stepped in to shield the girls when the beaker exploded, or if the injury had been to his face or eyes instead of his arm… Sui Cannong didn’t even want to think about it.

Ji Ling’s wrist was slender, with faint blue veins visible beneath the skin. Fortunately, the cut wasn’t deep, but the blood kept flowing, making it look worse than it was.

Sui Cannong retrieved cotton swabs and bandages from the classroom first-aid kit. He carefully held Ji Ling’s wrist and used the cotton swab to clean the blood around the wound.

Unsure if he was applying too much pressure, Sui Cannong asked, "Does it hurt?"

Ji Ling didn’t respond for a while.

Sui Cannong paused, looking up. He thought Ji Ling might be too numb from the pain and quickly stopped what he was doing. "What’s wrong? Am I pressing too hard?"TRANSLATED BY AB

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Ji Ling seemed to snap out of his thoughts.

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He shook his head slowly. "It… doesn’t hurt at all."

Sui Cannong instinctively frowned. "How can it not hurt—"

"Teacher Sui, I think you should go back to the lab and check on the students instead of wasting time here with me," Ji Ling interrupted hesitantly. "I’m really fine. I just bleed more than most people, so it looks worse than it is."

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His words came out quickly, leaving Sui Cannong momentarily stunned.

Sui Cannong put down the cotton swab. "Alright, if you don’t want me to handle it, we can go to the infirmary now."

Ji Ling didn’t respond for a long time.

Sui Cannong didn’t press further. He continued applying pressure to the wound for a while. When he looked up again, he noticed Ji Ling was staring at his face.

Before Sui Cannong could react, Ji Ling blinked and quickly averted his gaze.

"Teacher Sui, you should really go check on the students," Ji Ling said after a moment. "Some groups might have already finished their experiments."

Sui Cannong didn’t understand why Ji Ling kept pushing him away, but he also realized that the distance between them had become a bit too close.

Especially since Sui Cannong was still holding Ji Ling’s wrist. For someone as reserved as Ji Ling, this kind of proximity might indeed feel uncomfortable.

Sui Cannong glanced at the clock and saw there were only five minutes left before class ended.

"Alright, keep applying pressure for now," Sui Cannong said, releasing Ji Ling’s wrist. "I’ll go check on the students, assign them some homework, and be right back."

Ji Ling nodded.

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However, as soon as Sui Cannong stepped out of the classroom, he remembered that he had left the printed pre-class assignments on his desk.

Feeling like his morning had been a bit of a blur, he sighed and turned back toward the classroom.

From the back door, Sui Cannong saw Ji Ling still sitting in the same spot.

For some reason, Sui Cannong paused and stopped by the window.

Through the glass, he saw Ji Ling’s expressionless face, his gaze fixed on the wound on his arm.

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Ji Ling hesitantly removed the cotton swab and examined the cut.

He reached out a finger, as if to touch the wound, but then hesitated and pulled his hand back.

Then Sui Cannong saw Ji Ling sit there, lost in thought.

—The next second, Ji Ling’s eyelashes fluttered, and he smiled faintly at his wound.

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Ji Ling had woken up early that morning.

He logged into the game first. Since the ore on the map refreshed every two days, Ji Ling wanted to make sure he collected it as soon as it appeared to maximize his gains.

Sui Cannong had accepted the hundred pieces of ore Ji Ling gifted him last night, and Ji Ling was thrilled.

Actually, Ji Ling had 372 pieces of ore in his inventory at the time, but he hesitated and decided not to give them all away, thinking Sui Cannong wouldn’t accept them.

After agreeing to meet Sui Cannong at the biology classroom the next day, Ji Ling had trouble sleeping.

At 2 AM, he went to the kitchen, opening and closing the refrigerator door repeatedly, but his cheeks still felt warm.TRANSLATED BY ABO DAMMEN

So, he chugged a large bottle of ice-cold cola.

His stomach felt uncomfortably full, but he fell asleep in that state of bloated satisfaction.

When he woke up, Ji Ling set three goals for the day:

1. Don’t let the conversation fall flat.
2. Do his best to help Sui Cannong.

3. Ask Sui Cannong if he’d be willing to play games with him again that night.

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At first, everything went smoothly. Ji Ling felt like he wasn’t as awkward as before when speaking, and he had indeed helped Sui Cannong improve the efficiency of the lab class.

—Until the beaker suddenly exploded.TRANSLATED BY ABO DAMMEN

When Ji Ling noticed the cut on his arm, his first instinct was to hide it. But when he looked up, he saw Sui Cannong standing at the door, already aware of his injury.

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In the end, I’ve caused him trouble, Ji Ling thought.

It did hurt a little, and Ji Ling’s blood didn’t clot well.

But Ji Ling had come today to help Sui Cannong. He didn’t want to leave the impression that he was someone who caused a lot of trouble.

Ji Ling repeatedly emphasized to Sui Cannong that it was just a "minor injury" and that it "didn’t hurt at all," urging him to go back to the classroom and check on the students. But Sui Cannong didn’t seem to listen.

Sui Cannong’s hands were warm.

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While cleaning the wound, Sui Cannong looked very focused. His features were striking and handsome, and Ji Ling couldn’t help but sneak a few more glances.

When Sui Cannong left the classroom, Ji Ling felt his heartbeat finally return to a relatively normal pace.

He looked down at his wrist, feeling a bit flustered. The warmth of Sui Cannong’s palm seemed to linger on his skin.

Ji Ling wanted to touch the wound again, but he felt his hands weren’t clean enough and didn’t want to cause Sui Cannong more trouble.

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When he looked up again, he saw Sui Cannong standing at the door. Ji Ling quickly wiped the faint smile off his face, returning to his usual calm demeanor.

"Teacher Sui?" Ji Ling called out.

But Sui Cannong didn’t meet his gaze.

He simply walked into the classroom, rummaging through his desk. After a moment, he said, "It’s fine. Just keep resting. I forgot to grab their assignments."

Sui Cannong’s expression seemed normal, so Ji Ling didn’t think much of it and stood up as well.

"I have a class next period," Ji Ling said. "I should get going."

Sui Cannong paused. "Wait a bit longer. Your wound—"

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"It’s stopped bleeding," Ji Ling said, not wanting to trouble Sui Cannong further. "I have band-aids in my classroom. Don’t worry."

Sui Cannong looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

They walked a short distance down the hallway together. Sui Cannong seemed distracted, as if deep in thought. Ji Ling didn’t want to disturb him.TRANSLATED BY AB

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But Ji Ling knew this might be his last chance today.

He hesitated, then looked up and finally asked the question he had been preparing for a long time.

"Teacher Sui," Ji Ling said, "I want to get a better weapon for my Little Butterfly. Would you have time tonight to help me with the weapon dungeon?"

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Afraid Sui Cannong might refuse, Ji Ling cautiously added, "I also mined some more ore yesterday. I can give you some more today."

Then Ji Ling saw Sui Cannong pause.

Sui Cannong turned to him, his expression complicated. After a moment, he said, "Of course."

"You don’t have to give me ore," Sui Cannong added. "Just helping me build my house like before is enough."

Ji Ling nodded softly.TRANSLATED BY ABO DAMMEN

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He lowered his head, pretending to be calm as he focused on his shoes.

"It’s fine," Ji Ling said. "I can help you build your house, and I can give you ore too. I don’t need the ore."

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The class bell suddenly rang—a ten-second piano melody. The sound was loud, so Sui Cannong didn’t say anything, and neither did Ji Ling.

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When the bell ended, they reached a fork in the hallway.TRANSLATED B

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Ji Ling looked up and said, "Goodbye, Teacher Sui."

Sui Cannong was silent for a moment before replying, "Goodbye."

They turned away at the same time.

Ji Ling was in a good mood. He mentally calculated that the twelfth-grade electromagnetism class had been running for about a week and a half, so it was time to give the students a pop quiz.

Ji Ling didn’t notice that Sui Cannong had stopped walking behind him.TRANSLATED B

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He didn’t see Sui Cannong suddenly turn around, silently watching his retreating figure for a long, long time.

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Author's Feed:

Xiao Ji (happily): Today should count as a date, right?

Teacher Sui enters high-alert mode.