Cartethyia, May I Carry You?
Friday, 11:25 a.m.
Five minutes remained until the end of class.
There were no Friday afternoon classes at Star Torch Academy. There were only four morning classes, as usual, so once those were over, school was out. Naturally, there was no evening study session either, and classes wouldn't resume until Monday.
With five minutes left in class, Wuling was chatting on and off with Abu in his mind.
[A pair of fours.]
[A pair of eights.]
[A pair of kings.]
[Bomb.]
[...If I remember correctly, that's the fifth three this round.]
[*...*]
[Come on, Abu, tell me. What deck of cards has five threes in it?]
[Ahaha, maybe you counted wrong.]
["Huanglong profanity," we're playing in my head. How could I have counted wrong? Do you think I'm stupid?]
In the classroom, Wuling appeared to be staring blankly at his desk, but he was actually playing cards with Abu in his mind.
What he never expected was that Abu, the old rascal, would cheat right under his nose. He really had some nerve.
[That's the second time you've cheated today. Last time you pulled out a straight flush three of a kind on me. If you do it again, I'll crumple you up and kick you around like a ball.]
Wuling gnashed his teeth inwardly, though he remained perfectly still on the outside.
Transparent, fragmented spirit lights drifted through his sea of consciousness. Abu's tiny golden apparition curled into a ball and circled the deck guiltily.
[Oh, come on, it's just a casual game. We're playing for fun. Why take it so seriously?]
[But I'm not having fun right now.]
Abu instantly deflated. His apparition trembled slightly as he tried to bluff his way through.
[Don't be so serious~ Class is almost over, and there aren't any classes this afternoon. Wouldn't it be nice to win a round and be happy all day?]
[*...*]
In the sea of consciousness, Abu saw that cheating was hopeless and decided to give up all pretense, quickly throwing down a string of cards.
Wuling took a cursory look. Yep, four jokers, and he still had one in his own hand. Abu wasn't even bothering to make it an even number this time; he'd gone straight to five.
[All right, all right, no more cheating. I concede this round, okay?]
[Rover is the most magnanimous. Rover is the greatest.]
After that mindless barrage of flattery, Wuling was so angry he nearly laughed.
[I'm not buying you any more food. Go eat dirt.]
Hearing that, Abu immediately panicked.
[No! I was wrong, wrong, wrong! I really was wrong! Please, be magnanimous and spare me! Without good food, without good food I'll die, won't I? I'll definitely die craving it, won't I?]
Abu cried and made a fuss in his mind, trying to stir up that little bit of sympathy in Wuling.
But Wuling wasn't falling for it.
[Shut up. That depends on how you behave from now on.]
Just then, the bell rang. The teachers at Star Torch Academy didn't have a habit of keeping students after class, so although this one was only halfway through the lesson, the teacher still promptly packed up and left.
Wuling had nothing to pack, and he had plans to eat lunch with someone, so he was about to get up and leave as soon as class ended.
But suddenly, he felt something flying toward him from the side. The rush of air was strong, so it was probably a person.
With barely a moment's hesitation, Wuling reached out with both hands. Amid a whoosh of air, a warm figure crashed into his arms.
He looked down to see a girl with long yellow hair nestled against him. Her body was still leaning forward; it looked as though she might have tripped.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Cartethyia, held in his arms, realized what position she was in.
She raised her head and met Wuling's gaze as he looked down at her.
Their eyes met, and Cartethyia's eyes turned into spirals. Two faint blushes spread from her cheeks to her ears, growing deeper and deeper in color.
Wuling didn't know if it was his imagination, but he thought he saw a puff of steam rising from the top of Cartethyia's head.
"Um, Cartethyia, are you okay?"
Wuling gently steadied the slender body in his arms, his arm hovering politely behind her back to support her, not daring to hold her too tightly. He bent down slightly and softened his voice, afraid of frightening her.
The bustle of the recently dismissed class seemed to pause for a moment. A few classmates who hadn't yet left the room quietly glanced over in unison.
Hearing Wuling's gentle question, Cartethyia abruptly came to her senses.
Flustered, she braced herself against his shoulders and scrambled two steps backward on hands and feet, stumbling before finding her balance and hurriedly putting some distance between them.
Her long golden hair fell in disarray, covering half of her burning face.
"S-sorry!"
Cartethyia's voice was faint and trembling slightly. Her gaze darted about in panic, not daring to meet his eyes again, while her fingertips unconsciously rubbed a lock of hair beside her ear.
"When I was walking, I stepped on a schoolbag strap on the floor and lost my balance..."
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, her cheeks still burning hot.
The image of her crashing straight into his arms replayed in her mind over and over. With people watching them as well, her embarrassment kept surging up.
Wuling looked down and, sure enough, saw a schoolbag strap lying across the aisle. A classmate in front had probably left it there in passing.
"Oh, I see. It's okay, as long as you weren't hurt in the fall."
Wuling reassured her softly, then bent down, picked up the strap and placed it on an empty desk nearby.
"Don't rush when you're walking. The aisles are crowded after class, so it's easy to trip. I might not be beside you next time."
Cartethyia nodded gently, her long eyelashes fluttering constantly. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her wildly pounding heart.
Seeing that nothing else was happening, the others in the classroom left one by one.
"Mm, I'll remember. Anyway, thank you. It's a good thing you were there."
She lifted her eyes slightly and shot Wuling a quick glance before dropping her gaze again.
"I almost fell to the floor."
Wuling was about to reply when Abu's voice suddenly rang out in his mind, and a blue electronic screen appeared before his eyes.
[Cartethyia has sprained her ankle. As her friend, you should help her now.]
[New task: Help Cartethyia get to the infirmary for treatment.]
[Task reward: 200 system coins.]
Abo had actually sent him his first task at a time like this.
Wuling looked closely and suddenly noticed that Cartethyia's ankle was indeed twisted at an odd angle.
"Is your foot really okay? It looks a little strange to me."
Wuling spoke up to alert her.
Cartethyia looked down at her feet, then tentatively tried to take a step forward.
As soon as she lifted her foot, a sharp pain radiated from her ankle.
"Ah."
Cartethyia stumbled and was about to fall again, but fortunately Wuling reached out and steadied her in time.
"I think I sprained it. It hurts a little."
"I see."
After thinking for a moment, Wuling decided to take Cartethyia to the infirmary first. As for the meal, the school infirmary was right next to the teaching building, and their building was the closest to the school gate, so there was plenty of time.
"Can you hop on your other foot? I'll help you to the infirmary."
Leaning on Wuling's shoulder, Cartethyia moved her other foot slightly. She felt a sharp pain, though it wasn't as pronounced as before.
"I think I sprained my other foot too, just not as badly."
"Um, Wuling, you don't have to worry about me. It's probably just a minor sprain. I should be fine if I rest here for a while."
Cartethyia nestled in Wuling's arms without pulling away, gazing at him with a pair of bright blue eyes.
Wuling didn't think anyone could remain unmoved under that gaze. If someone could, then they had to be gay.
After all, how could he leave an injured person sitting here unattended and run off to eat?
It had nothing to do with whether the person was a beautiful girl or whether there was a task. Even if it were that bastard Calcharo, he would help, because this was the belief he, Wuling, had always held to.
"Cartethyia, may I carry you?"