AGN -Chapter 132 Friends Should Be Honest with Each Other

The office was in complete chaos.

Director Qu had been crying, but Qin Huai’s sudden entrance startled her so much that her tears instantly stopped. She fumbled frantically, first trying to put gloves on Qu Jing, then realizing she should pull her sleeves down first.

In her panic, she used too much force and pressed against the bandaged wound on Qu Jing’s hand. Qu Jing flinched in pain, and Director Qu quickly let go.

After all that scrambling, Director Qu ended up holding a half-knitted colorful glove, stepping forward as if to shield Qu Jing behind her.

Unlike Director Qu—who seemed to wish she had eight hands one moment and a towering body the next so she could block everything—Qu Jing didn’t react much.

The moment Qin Huai entered, she instinctively pulled her hands behind her. But once she realized his gaze had already fallen on her, and there was no hiding it, she lowered her head and quietly brought her hands back.

Meanwhile, Qin Huai delivered the best acting performance of his life.

He pretended he had simply walked in by accident while looking for Director Qu. He showed a hint of surprise—carefully controlled—not letting it turn into shock. He glanced briefly at Qu Jing’s arm, then quickly looked away, acting as if nothing had happened, calmly waiting for Director Qu to finish her flustered routine before speaking.

“Director Qu, everything is ready on our side. We’re just waiting for the children to come make buns together. I came to find you and pick up the documents as well.”

He spoke slowly, each word drawn out, as if carefully chosen.

Seeing that Qin Huai was willing to play along, Director Qu let out a long breath. She looked at Qu Jing with concern, hesitated for a few seconds, and seemed to make up her mind.

“I’ll go call the children. I’ll give you the documents when you leave, so they don’t get dirty.”

“Jingjing… help me take care of Xiao Qin. Go… go… pour him some tea… no, I mean—just help me look after him.”

Then she left.

She walked quickly, without looking back, as if afraid she might lose the courage to leave if she hesitated even a second.

Now only Qin Huai and Qu Jing remained in the office.

Qin Huai knew—it was time to test their relationship.

He believed all the glutinous rice cakes, jujube yam pastries, and tangerine peel tea she’d had these days hadn’t been for nothing. Nor had all the chatting with the elderly.

Qu Jing said nothing. She didn’t try to hide her arms either.

They stood there in silence.

The air itself seemed frozen.

“Are you coming to the cafeteria tomorrow?” Qin Huai asked first. “I’m making glutinous rice cakes with jujube-yam filling. You might have to come a bit later—I’ll probably only finish them around eight or nine in the morning.”

“And I’ll most likely oversleep tomorrow and start work late.”

Qu Jing looked up, trying to tell whether Qin Huai was deliberately changing the subject or genuinely acting natural. She stared at his expression for a full minute or two before her lips trembled slightly.

“Don’t you think it’s scary?”

“It is,” Qin Huai nodded.

At that, Qu Jing finally seemed to relax, letting out a breath. She bit her lip, making her already pale lips even paler.

“I don’t actually have a UV allergy.”

“I figured,” Qin Huai said. “In fact, I figured it out a long time ago.”

Qu Jing poured him a glass of water and gestured for him to sit. Then she slowly removed the glove from her other hand and rolled up her sleeve.

That arm was just the same.

Covered in scars—new over old.

“I’ve been like this since I was very young,” she said. “I don’t remember exactly when it started. I only remember once in elementary school, I didn’t get full marks on a math test. I was very angry, very upset, and I hated myself.”

“I don’t know why I felt that way. That night, I couldn’t sleep. I snuck into the kitchen and cut a deep wound into my arm with a knife. There was blood everywhere.”

“By the time I realized what I had done, I had already lost a lot of blood. I was wiping the floor while blood kept dripping from my hand. I knew I couldn’t hide it, so I went to find Director Qu.”

“She took me to a small clinic to bandage it and bought me candy to cheer me up—but it didn’t help. After that, whenever my grades weren’t good, or I couldn’t solve homework problems, or I felt like I couldn’t study… I would remember the feeling of the knife going into my arm.”

“It hurt—but the pain made me clear-headed, made me happy, made me calm.”

“I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t control myself. Many times, I wasn’t even aware when I picked up the knife. By the time I realized, my hands were already covered in blood.”

“At first, Director Qu kept taking me to the clinic. Later, she didn’t dare anymore—she bought a medical kit and learned how to dress wounds herself.”

“She didn’t understand psychological illness. She thought I was being bullied at school. She bought me candy, cakes, dolls, new clothes. She knitted many gloves, bought long sleeves, helped cover my scars. She even called the school and lied, saying I couldn’t be exposed to sunlight so I wouldn’t have to attend PE.”

“But eventually, someone saw. Once, after class, my glove slipped, and a classmate saw my scars. He was terrified. The teacher thought I was being abused at the welfare home and called the police.”

“By then, I was already in middle school. The police told Director Qu I might have a psychological problem, so she took me to see a psychologist.”

“Did it help?” Qin Huai asked.

Qu Jing shook her head. “They prescribed medication. I took a lot of it every day—but I still couldn’t control myself.”

“I don’t know why. I can’t explain it. In middle school, classmates called me a monster. Later, I transferred schools.”

She looked at the scars on her arms.

“I’m really happy that you… and Sister Hong and Mr. Luo care about me and are willing to be my friends. During this time, my mood has been very stable. I haven’t hurt myself for a long time.”

“I thought I was better.”

“But a few days ago, I saw an Alzheimer’s patient in my clinic. His condition was already severe. His granddaughter is in college, but in his memory, she’s still a middle school student. Every afternoon, he calls his son, asking him to pick her up from school.”

“He wasn’t originally treated at our hospital. His son brought him to me because he found him too troublesome, asking if I could make him better.”

“I couldn’t do anything.”

“That night, I felt extremely restless. I stared at the research papers on my computer, but couldn’t read a single word. I hated my own incompetence, my uselessness. I hated that even though this is my specialty, I can’t cure any patient—I can only slow the disease.”

“And when I finally started to feel a bit better… my arm became like this again.”

She looked at Qin Huai.

“Maybe my classmates were right. I really am a monster.”

Qin Huai fell silent.

What could he say?

He knew the reason she acted like this might be tied to her obsession—something deeper, something she herself didn’t understand anymore. Even if he explained it, she wouldn’t believe him.

Qin Huai picked up the gloves from the table and handed them to her.

“Let’s go make buns. The children are probably already working—we shouldn’t slack off either.”

Qu Jing forced a small smile. “Thank you.”

“Will you tell Sister Hong and Mr. Luo?” she asked.

“Do you want me to?” Qin Huai replied.

She thought for a moment and nodded. “Tell them. Mr. Luo is too smart—you can’t fool him anyway.”

“And if Mama Qu knows my friends know my secret and don’t mind, she’ll feel a little better.”

“She’s blamed herself all these years, thinking she delayed treatment and caused me to become like this.”

“She’s the person I owe the most. I don’t want her to feel worse.”

Qu Jing put her gloves back on, pulled down her sleeves, and wore her mask—returning to her usual appearance.

“Let’s go. Time to make buns.”