Chapter 1 — The Whole Class Is Infected Except Me

In my previous life, on the day class beauty To Tu called on the whole class to donate blood, I rushed downstairs and stood in front of the blood donation car. "This car has no license! It's not safe!" To Tu stood at the car door, crying and saying: "Hua Ninh, do you have to ruin what I do for the whole class?" The whole class listened to me so they dispersed. To Tu turned to contact the next class. The class next door donated blood, got featured in the newspaper, and even got extra points on the college entrance exam. Our class did not benefit at all. After that, the whole class blamed me. From cold violence to punches and kicks, from a dead mouse in a desk drawer to broken ribs on the gymnasium. Before lying on the ground and breathing my last breath, I still tried to scream: "The person in the next class has a fever! That's the initial symptom of HIV! You guys go get checked—" Lam Chieu's shoe sole stepped on the back of my hand. He bowed his head and said: "You're already here and you're still lying." When I opened my eyes again, I was back to today. To Tu held the microphone and stood in front of the blood donation car, her white dress blowing in the wind, her smile just like her previous life. "Hua Ninh! The whole class is only missing you!" Lam Chieu stood at the car door and waved at me: "What are you waiting for? Come on up!" I leaned against the railing of the third floor hallway, looking at the white blood donation car with its doors wide open. This time, I won't rush down again. "You guys go away. I won't donate." Let them take their lives and donate them themselves. 1. "Hua Ninh, the whole class is only missing you. In the end, will you donate or not?" Lam Chieu put his hands on my desk, his whole body pressed close. I raised my head to look at him. I have looked at this face for eighteen years. Lam Chieu and I have been childhood friends since childhood. Two houses are opposite each other. Every Tet, his mother packs banh cuc and brings a bowl to my house. When I had a fever, he even skipped class and climbed out the window to bring me my homework. But in my previous life, this same face looked at me when his foot stepped on the back of my hand. My ribs punctured my lungs, all I coughed up were pink blood foam. I can't make a sound. He bowed his head and looked at me. “You're already here and you're still lying.” I bowed my head, ignored Lam Chieu's urging, and continued to solve the problem. Behind me, someone started urging me. Tran Loi tapped on the table. “What are you waiting for?” Phuong Vien continued: "The only thing missing is you, how difficult it is to say it out loud." The female students sitting at the back of the class snorted coldly. “If I knew this in advance, I shouldn't have called her in the first place.” I looked at each person in turn. In my previous life, when I was lying on the ground, they surrounded me, kicked me, looked at me and laughed at me. “I have anemia, I don't donate.” Lam Chieu took a step forward. "Last time I saw your health checkup card. Your hemoglobin index is normal, who are you fooling? "To Tu has been running around for a week, her father even personally contacted her. The whole class respects her, are you the only one who does well? "The whole class agreed, but you were the only one who didn't donate. So how should the emulation flag be hung? How should the school radio be read? "You alone pull the whole class's leg, don't you know anything in your heart?" Behind him, someone shouted: "If you're anemic, donate a little, it won't take your life." Is that necessary?” I don't look at them. I just looked at Lam Chieu. “I don't donate.” Lam Chieu's face immediately darkened. “Hua Ninh, I misread you. You are such a selfish person.” To Tu finally spoke, his eyes were red. “Hua Ninh, do you hate me that much? I just want to contribute my efforts to the class.” I looked at her face. “Tears save a little.” I stood up. “There will be times when you need to use it later.” The whole class immediately exploded. “What the hell are you talking about?” “Who are you cursing?” “Speak more cleanly!” Tran Loi jumped up, Phuong Vien also stood up, Chu Duong took a step forward. The girls' voices became harsh: "To Tu, don't cry! Don't pay attention to her!” Tears fell from To Tu's eyes, but his voice was deliberately kept low: "Forget it... Don't argue anymore... It's my fault... I shouldn't have made everyone feel awkward... If there are any activities in the class later, don't

Please call Hua Ninh too." The last sentence is very small. But the whole class heard it. The atmosphere was silent for three seconds. During those three seconds, all eyes were fixed on me. Lam Chieu's fist tightened and then relaxed. “The whole class went downstairs. Don't pay attention to her. It's up to her whether she wants to donate or not." The whole class crowded together towards the door. A few female students scolded as they went out: "What do you not know?" “Without her, our class would still win the honor.” “It's like no one really cares about her.” The classroom door closed. I sit alone. The corner of the table is misaligned. I adjusted it neatly, then stood up and walked out to the third floor hallway. To Tu was the first person to get on the bus. Lam Chieu is the second person. The whole class lined up in a long line, each person entering in turn. They don't know that the place they are entering is hell. 2. At lunch break after donating blood, the whole class was extremely excited. To Tu stood in front handing out bread and milk, gently saying to each classmate: "Thank you for the love you have given. It will definitely help those in need.” Tran Loi went everywhere taking pictures of the needle marks and shouted that he would post them to his friends. Lam Chieu walked over with a carton of milk and placed it on the corner of my table. “Didn't you say you were anemic? I give it to you, drink it and replenish your blood. Why don't you understand anything today? To Tu is so good..." Without waiting for Lam Chieu to finish, I bluntly interrupted: "Then you can keep the bread and milk she gave you to use. I can't bear this good will." Lam Chieu frowned, pulled up his sleeve, revealing needle marks on the inside of his left arm. “See? I donated four hundred milliliters, the wound is no bigger than the tip of your pencil. Do you need to go that far?” There was a ring of bruising around the needle mark. The cotton pad has been removed, the needle hole has not completely stopped bleeding. A tiny thread of blood remained on the surface of the skin. I stared at that blood, my whole body felt cold. HIV can be transmitted through blood. Just one drop is enough. Without thinking, I unconsciously leaned my upper body backwards. The chair leg rubbed against the ground and made a sharp sound. I took two steps away from Lam Chieu's arm. The whole class immediately fell silent. Lam Chieu slowly pulled down his sleeve, his voice became cold. “What are you avoiding?” “I don't avoid it.” “Apparently you just backed away. He looked at my arm like he was looking at something dirty. "This is the mark of donating blood, it's an honor. It's really impossible to talk to a selfish person like you." He threw the milk carton into the trash. The milk carton hit the wall of the box, making a very loud noise. "Okay. From now on, don't say I'm your childhood friend anymore. I won't care about you." He turned around and left. The eyes of the whole class also followed him away from me. I am not heartbroken by Lam Chieu's words of love. I just feel lucky that I escaped one life. I lay face down on the table alone. As soon as I closed my eyes, the scene in the dressing room appeared. Lam Chieu blocked me in the corner. The tip of the shoe continuously kicked my ribs, kicking and scolding: "If it weren't for you stopping me, the person donating blood would have been our class! The person who won the honor would have been our class! You alone ruined everything!" The whole class gathered around. Fists and feet rained down on me from all directions. Before lying on the ground breathing my last breath, I was still trying to explain. That car really has problems. The person in the next class has already started to have a fever. But Lam Chieu just stepped on the back of my hand, bowed his head and said: "You're already here and you're still making excuses." In the following days, the whole class seemed to no longer see my existence. No one talked to me. When I got food from the cafeteria, as soon as I picked up the tray, the person in front turned around and intentionally bumped into me, knocking over the food tray. Vegetable soup was spilled on my uniform, seeping through the fabric, causing my skin to burn. The person who bumped into me didn't apologize at all, and mumbled in a low voice: "She's the person from first grade who refused to donate blood. What a cold person." The people nearby burst into laughter. Lam Chieu sat not far away, his back facing me.

His spine was straight, as if he was completely inaudible. When they encountered him in the hallway, they both paused for a step. I actively avoided the side. He didn't look at me. A voice came from the side: "Hua Ninh, it's all your responsibility." I did not respond. He continued walking forward, without turning back. At night, I lie alone in bed. The ceiling is dark. I reached out and touched my ribs. Still intact. No pain at all. 3. The days after donating blood, the whole class was as happy as celebrating Tet. The principal praised the Twelve-First class as a learning example for all classes in the school. The homeroom teacher said class Twelve One was the best class of students he had ever led. All of that has nothing to do with me. I'm just waiting. Waiting to see when things will explode. Chu Duong was the first person to find To Tu. Before self-study that evening, he stopped To Tu in the hallway, his voice so hoarse that it was almost inaudible: "To Tu, my body hasn't been feeling well lately. I keep having a fever, my whole body has no strength, it's been going on for several weeks." Before To Tu spoke, Phuong Vien also approached. "Me too. Fever then goes down, fever goes down then fever comes back, taking medicine doesn't help either." Three female students who had called in sick also gathered around. One person pulled up his sleeve, revealing a thick red rash on his arm. “These things started to appear on my body… What happened?” More and more people gathered. More than half of the hallway was blocked. Some people looked towards the crowd, others came closer to ask what happened. “To Tu, is there really anything wrong with that car?” “Didn't your father personally contact you?” “Why are there so many people in the class with the same illness?” To Tu stood in the middle of the crowd. Her white dress was still clean and pristine. She smiled. "After donating blood, resistance will decrease, the body needs time to adapt. This is a normal phenomenon. Don't scare yourself." Lam Chieu stepped in and stood in front of her. "Are you guys interrogating a prisoner? To Tu has been running around for a week. Now that you feel uncomfortable, do you blame it all on her?" Chu Duong's lips moved, but he couldn't say a word. Someone said in a low voice: "But we are all sick..." The voice was not loud, but everyone heard it. Lam Chieu frowned and looked around. No one dared to speak up anymore. I stood against the wall in the corner of the hallway, looking at the scene before me. I saw the hand hanging next to To Tu's body, shaking. Fingertips continuously tremble. She clenched it, then released it, then held it tight again. Someone suddenly turned their head to look at me. "Hua Ninh, didn't you say that the car had a problem? Did you know what happened at that time?" I still leaned against the wall, not moving. Everyone looked over.