The moral education teacherâs lesson today was a debate competition. After the first debate ended, she gave the students a ten-minute break and then wrote the topic for the next debate on the blackboard.
The second match started. The teacher smiled at Tan Rou and her teammate, and just as Tan Rou thought the teacher was going to call them up to debate again, the teacher shifted her gaze away.
She didnât choose any of the students who had already participated, but picked a fresh group of eight instead. This really infuriated the first speaker for the opposition from the previous debate. He glared at Zhuang Liu, blaming him for ruining his debate.
In reality, their teamâs failure couldnât all be pinned on Zhuang Liu. Aside from him, the other two debaters showed little interest in arguing their case, speaking carelessly and without evidence. The only thing was that Zhuang Liuâs indifference was far too apparent. He chose to skip whenever it was an option and when skipping wasnât possible, he would offer a vague answer.
Zhuang Liu had no intention of engaging in a staring contest with the first opposition speaker because all his attention was on Tan Rou. Tan Rou watched the debaters on stage intently; she seemed to really enjoy the debate competitions.
âDo you really enjoy debates?â Zhuang Liu asked, moving closer.
Without turning her head, Tan Rou replied, âDuring my four years of college, I spent two years in the debate club, and I was the ace debater of our schoolâs team. You should know, students in the sciences are often not good at debating, but I am an exception. My eloquence is excellent. Even students from the literature department canât get the better of me.â
Zhuang Liu couldnât help but laugh, âTan Rou, youâre truly amazing!â
Tan Rou said, âYou donât seem to like debates much, I hardly saw you speak just now.â
Zhuang Liu replied with a smile, âJust like you said, we science students are not particularly good at debates. Also, because of my leg injury in university, I didnât like participating in group activities and never took part in debates. The stand up, sit down format of speaking in debates was simply too difficult for me.â
Heâd been in a wheelchair for many years. Those days in the wheelchair caused him to miss out on a lot of the joys of life. When other guys were sweating it out on the sports field in college, he could only have Xiao Mo push him around the perimeter of the court.
Most guys like sports, and Zhuang Liu was no exception. Before the wheelchair, he enjoyed extreme sportsâbungee jumping, rafting; he loved them all. Unfortunately, after his legs became a problem, he never participated in those activities again.
âDoes it make you feel regret?â Tan Rou asked, âI mean, having been in the wheelchair for so many years, missing out on so much, does it make you feel regret?â
Zhuang Liu answered honestly, âBack then, I did feel a lot of regret. Being a teenager full of energy, while others could stand and run, I was confined to a wheelchair, which was incredibly painful for me. In order not to worry my mom, I always maintained a detached attitude towards what was happening in the outside world. My mom even thought I didnât like sports.â
Tan Rou felt a pang in her chest, âWhat sports did you like? When the weather gets warmer, I will accompany you to play.â
âItâs okay, the painful past is long gone. After meeting you, I no longer consider those missed experiences as regrets,â Zhuang Liu said with a smile. âIf the pain I suffered back then was so I could meet you, Iâd rather have had double the pain just so you could have come into my world earlier, to save me.â
âNo!â Tan Rou interrupted, âI donât want you to suffer. If possible, I wish you had never been hurt, and I had always lived with the Tao family. That way, we could have met earlier.â
At this, Zhuang Liu felt a renewed sense of regret. If Tan Rou had always lived with the Tao family, being Tao Zhiâs sister, she would definitely have been around him. He fantasized about such a scenarioâone day after school, Tao Zhi and he would walk out of the campus together, and a little girl with twin pigtails would be waiting at the school gates, greeting them with a âHi, Brother Zhuang Liu!â
With that thought, a happy smile spread across Zhuang Liuâs face.
Tan Rou thought todayâs shooting had made Zhuang Liu very happy, so she suggested, âLetâs continue with the shoot; I still have a lot of things I havenât done yet.â
Zhuang Liu nodded, âAlright, Iâm all ears.â