Sweet Oxygen - Chapter 64

Chapter 64 – Accompany

Stay with me

——

After Zhang Yuqing dropped her off at school, Qin Han realized she wouldn’t have the chance to visit Yaonan Alley for many days.

With summer break approaching, the deaf-blind department’s high school students began their final exams. Qin Han was assigned to proctor the exams for two days.

The proctoring fell on the following weekend, coinciding with the Dragon Boat Festival holiday adjustments. This meant Qin Han would have no days off for a full 16 days.

The busier things became, the more incidents occurred.

In her class, a three-and-a-half-year-old girl with autism had been performing well this semester, showing significant progress in behavior modification.

But recently, for unknown reasons, she started screaming as soon as she entered the classroom each day. Her shrill cries were so piercing that even the sign language teacher sharing the office with Qin Han asked if there was another emotionally unstable child from the special education department causing trouble again.

As the girl’s continuous screaming and refusal to participate in class continued, her parents reached their breaking point.

The girl bore a strong resemblance to her mother, but around the latter’s beautiful almond-shaped eyes, deep lines had formed. Her eyes, now clouded with worry, gave her an aged and sorrowful appearance.

Qin Han, while investigating the reason for the girl’s classroom scream, was also trying to reassure the parents.

Perhaps it was because the weather had been overcast in the afternoons these past few days. Perhaps it was because a student who had been making progress suddenly regressed without any apparent cause. Perhaps it was because the parents’ negative emotions had affected her. Qin Han herself felt a subtle sense of gloom.

On Wednesday afternoon during activity class, the school suddenly announced over the loudspeaker that all homeroom teachers and assistant teachers were to attend a meeting in the conference room.

After settling a student in her class, Qin Han grabbed her notebook and hurried to the conference room with the other teachers.

The principal’s face was grave as she announced that a student from the deaf-mute department had lost his grandmother.

Qin Han knew the student—a first-year middle school boy whose parents had abandoned him, leaving only his grandmother to care for him.

Every day, the old woman would wake early to send him to school and pick him up in the evening, rain or shine. But the elderly woman had reached her twilight years, and she passed away suddenly last night.

With the grandmother’s death, the student had lost all family support.

The school was actively applying for more subsidies from relevant departments and seeking public support for him.

Another piece of heavy news.

The only good news came from a WeChat message from his father.

The message contained photos of two diamond rings.

During her lunch break, Qin Han called her father. Father Qin asked for her opinion, “Which ring do you think would suit Mom better?”

“You’re giving Mom a diamond ring?”

“Yes, I’m planning to propose to your mother again.”

Father Qin chuckled over the phone. “When we were young, we didn’t have the means or understanding of romance. There was no such thing as a proper proposal—just a family dinner to settle the marriage arrangements. Now that I have the chance, I want to make it romantic.”

After chatting with her father for a while, Qin Han hung up feeling suddenly homesick for Zhang Yuqing.

She thought for a moment before dialing his number.

The phone was answered quickly, “Hold on.”

The voice was muffled, clearly not speaking to her.

Soon, the sound of fabric rustling came through the line. Zhang Yuqing must have removed his mask, and his voice became clear, “Little girl, have you eaten yet?”

“I’ve eaten. Did I disturb you? Are you busy?” Qin Han asked.

She didn’t notice the slight melancholy in her voice, but Zhang Yuqing did.

He paused briefly, then said with a smile, “What’s wrong? You’re being so formal after two days without kissing me.”

Zhang Yuqing’s teasing instantly lifted most of Qin Han’s heavy mood.

Before she could respond, his voice came through the phone again, “You can call me anytime. I told you that ages ago, didn’t I?”

Qin Han recalled a scene from many years ago when she stood on her dormitory balcony, talking to Zhang Yuqing.

It was early in the university term, before military training had even ended. She’d asked him if she could call him during her free time.

He’d said, “Anytime.”

Indeed, he had told her that long ago.

She could call him anytime.

As the cafeteria crowd thinned, Qin Han returned to her table with her phone, casually clearing her empty tray while chatting with Zhang Yuqing about the weather and recent campus events.

She told him about the deaf-mute department boy who had lost his grandmother. But at a certain moment, Qin Han suddenly realized that Zhang Yuqing was also a parent of such a child. Afraid Zhang Yuqing might worry about Dandan, she quickly changed the subject and talked about her father’s plan to propose to her mother again.

“Father showed me two diamond rings and asked which one Mother would prefer more.”

Zhang Yuqing asked her, “Do you like diamonds?”

“It’s okay. But teachers can’t wear rings, and I can’t do nail art either,” Qin Han said.

After hanging up, Qin Han finally smiled again and took her teaching materials to the classroom.

Some parents said that Miss Qin always had a smile on her face, making them feel that life was full of hope.

Qin Han just smiled. She also had someone who made her feel that life was full of hope.

That afternoon, the sky darkened again. Before 3 o’clock, it looked like evening outside.

Soon, heavy rain began to fall.

When Qin Han was packing up after work, she was a bit quiet. In truth, she knew why she felt so down.

She simply hadn’t yet adjusted to the relentless barrage of “unpleasant news.”

She understood that she had been too fortunate, her life progressing too smoothly.

Confronted with overcast skies, students’ academic decline, a parent’s death, two weeks’ confinement from Yaonan Alley, approaching menstrual period, and an inability to regulate her emotions, it was inevitable that she might appear somewhat melodramatic.

Qin Han didn’t want to spread these negative moods. Sitting in her office working overtime, she meticulously analyzed every item in the classroom that might provoke the little girl’s defiance and emotional outbursts.

She was the last to leave the office. After turning off the lights, the corridor plunged into a stormy darkness.

Raindrops pelted against the glass windows, the wind carrying a chill. Qin Han emerged from the office with her head bowed, but when she looked down, she saw a pair of long legs.

White sneakers, black work pants.

Qin Han’s gaze snapped upward. Zhang Yuqing leaned against the corridor railing, smiling.

He held a black umbrella, waving a greeting. “Miss Qin, a date?”

“What are you doing here?” Qin Han’s face lit up with surprise.

Zhang Yuqing pulled her under the umbrella, chuckling. “Here to pick up my girlfriend after work. And while I’m here, who’s making our little girl unhappy?”

“Am I that obvious?”

Qin Han, sheltered under Zhang Yuqing’s umbrella, tilted her head back to look at him. “But the parents all say my smile is so warm.”

Zhang Yuqing ruffled her hair with his free hand. “That’s because they’re just your students’ parents. I’m your boyfriend.”

“But how did the school gatekeeper let you in?”

“The gatekeeper probably knows me better than he knows you.”

The car’s heater hummed as they sat stuck in rush-hour traffic. The delay became an unexpected opportunity for conversation.

Zhang Yuqing didn’t press about Qin Han’s unhappiness. She didn’t speak of it, and he didn’t ask.

As he drove, he casually recounted stories from Yaonan Alley, Beibei’s infatuation with a white Samoyed puppy that didn’t return her affection, leading to the dog’s diminished appetite; Grandma’s silver bracelet that turned her wrist black within days, which she insisted was detoxification; Luo Shijin and Li Nan’s daily bickering; and the colorful cast of characters who visited his shop.

Even in her lowest moods, Qin Han couldn’t help but laugh uproariously at his tales.

From that day on, Zhang Yuqing came to pick up Qin Han every evening after work, driving her home.

With Zhang Yuqing’s companionship, the days seemed to fly by. More than half of the 16 workdays had already passed.

The deaf-mute student at school had found a foster family, and Qin Han had discovered the reason behind the little girl’s emotional outburst in class.

She excitedly shared these updates with Zhang Yuqing in the car, “We considered so many possibilities, but never imagined it was because another student has been wearing those little duck shoes lately. With all the rain these past days, she thought the storms were caused by her classmate’s footwear!”

Remembering her father’s call from yesterday, she added, “Oh, Zhang Yuqing, my dad mentioned they’re planning a trip with Mom in two days. They’ll be away for the Dragon Boat Festival too. I’ll come to Yao Nan for the holiday feast instead—I can bring some of Grandma’s zongzi.”

By the time she finished speaking, the car had pulled up to Zhang Yuqing’s apartment building.

Qin Han felt a twinge of embarrassment. “You’re so busy, yet you still come to drop me off every day.”

Zhang Yuqing parked smoothly, letting out a soft click of his tongue. He unbuckled his seatbelt and reached over to pinch Qin Han’s nose. “Little girl, have I been neglecting you lately? Why the sudden formality?”

Without waiting for a response, he leaned in and kissed her.

After the kiss, he murmured against her ear, “Stay with me for the Dragon Boat Festival.”