Chapter 285: Time to Leave

Chapter 285: Chapter 285: Time to Leave

The vagrant stood at the gate of the fenced yard, watching the figure gradually approach from a distance.

The last thin rays of the setting sun seemed to gather entirely upon her. It wasn’t the heavy gloom of twilight; instead, it carried a newborn vitality.

In the hazy light, the intangible halo seemed to take on a warmth, a warmth that felt almost within reach.

Ji Huan saw the vagrant too. She raised a hand and waved the cloth bundle she was carrying at him, her pace remaining unhurried and leisurely.

A little tagalong trotted happily behind her.

With every step Ji Huan took, the little follower would pounce forward, nipping at the hem of her skirt and hugging her legs, having the time of its life. It would only behave for a few seconds after Ji Huan scolded it.

When they reached the earthen house, it finally let Ji Huan go and started running circles around the vagrant.

The vagrant stared at Ji Huan for a moment before asking, "Are you done with your work?"

’He’s finally over his awkwardness and willing to talk to me first?’

Sometimes Ji Huan found this man impossibly profound; other times, she thought he was utterly childish.

’How could someone be so contradictory?’

After a moment’s thought, she figured he probably had no experience interacting with girls. That would explain why his every word and action gave off that clueless-guy energy that screamed ’forever alone.’

"Just one phase is done, but I can indeed rest for a few days now. How are you doing today?"

The vagrant was standing at the yard gate, clearly not to wait for her. He must have just finished his walking practice.

Although he was off crutches and had removed the heel lift, his gait was still poor because the angle of his ankle wasn’t yet at ninety degrees. He could only shuffle along, basically taking a step with his right foot and then dragging his left foot up to meet it.

Moreover, due to a lack of strength, he could barely go a few dozen meters before having to stop, otherwise his knee would start to hurt.

Ji Huan knew the vagrant wouldn’t say anything other than "it doesn’t hurt," so she walked past him into the yard.

After a few steps, she heard no movement behind her. She turned back to see the vagrant still standing in the same spot.

"What’s wrong?"

A troubled look crossed the vagrant’s face as he pointed to his knee.

’So it does hurt a little.’

Ji Huan sighed, walking back to help him inside.

"I’ve told you again and again not to push yourself. Back then, it was understandable that you were worried, but you’ve recovered this much already. Why don’t you trust what I say? Haste makes waste. Safety first. Right now, we’re not aiming for speed, just stability. The most important thing is to recover fully. If you’re not patient and end up hurting yourself, that’s one thing, but don’t make more trouble for me. I’m going to be very busy. If you get injured again, I won’t have time to take care of you, nor do I have the money to hire a doctor for a second time."

Listening to her ramble on, the frown that had just been knitted on the vagrant’s brow gradually smoothed out, all traces of discomfort disappearing.

When Ji Huan asked again if it hurt, he paused for a moment, then nodded.

Exasperated, Ji Huan told him to wait there, then went into the main room and brought out a stool.

"Sit down and rest for a bit. I’ll go boil some water so you can apply a hot compress to your knee."

The vagrant opened his mouth, but then seemed to think better of it and closed it again.

Once the water was boiled, Ji Huan watched over the vagrant as he applied the compress, nagging him nonstop the entire time.

She thought the vagrant would at least feel a little ashamed, or even get angry. But when she looked up, she saw him looking completely at ease, seemingly in a good mood.

Ji Huan instantly deflated, losing all will to be angry.

After the compress, the water was thrown out. The vagrant indicated he was fine, and Ji Huan, sighing in relief, told him to stand up.

The vagrant stood up as instructed, keeping his feet together, heels touching, toes pointing forward, and knees pushed back, just as Ji Huan had said.

"Do you feel a stretch in your Achilles tendon?" Ji Huan asked.

The vagrant shook his head.

Ji Huan helped him over to the wall.

He couldn’t reach the wall; there was still some distance. This meant the angle of his ankle was the same as last week.

"Before I got here, how long were you walking before you felt the pain?"

"More than a quarter of an hour, but less than half an hour."

Ji Huan mulled it over.

Previously, in addition to foot soaks and foam rolling, she had gradually added resistance training, dorsiflexion exercises, and ankle flexibility drills for the vagrant.

Based on his current condition, they could probably also start doing double-leg calf raises, bed pushes with the injured foot, and double-leg calf raises with a single-leg landing.

"Double-leg calf raises are like this..."

Ji Huan put her feet together, intending to demonstrate for the vagrant.

Then she made a tragic discovery—even on her tiptoes, she barely reached the vagrant’s chin.

Ji Huan had always known the vagrant was tall, but it wasn’t until this moment, with him standing perfectly straight in front of her without any support, that she truly realized just *how* tall he was.

Like a straight poplar tree, or a towering pine, he possessed an imposing aura that seemed to pierce the clouds.

Ji Huan stared up at him in a daze, belatedly realizing why his posture had always seemed a bit awkward when she helped him walk. It turned out he’d been accommodating her, not even standing up straight.

And to think she had been feeling so good about herself, thinking she’d grown quite a bit since spring. In the end...

’But it’s not a fair comparison.’

She was, in fact, quite tall for her age.

The vagrant was a man, a grown man at that. It was no surprise he towered over her.

Hu Liang was one of the tallest in the village, but he probably wouldn’t measure up next to the vagrant. When his old clothes were sent over before, they were all a bit short on him.

With that thought, Ji Huan felt much better. She cleared her throat and continued the tutorial.

"...you can gradually increase the load on the affected limb, then slowly transition to single-leg calf raises... When you do the bed pushes with the ball of your foot, remember to keep your calf muscle tight... As for the double-leg calf raises with a single-leg landing, you raise both heels together, then land supported only by your injured foot... Do these exercises three to five times a day, for a quarter of an hour each time.

This current phase is mainly about recovering your calf muscles, so we need to focus on strengthening them. When you’re doing these exercises, you need to feel your calf muscles engaging for them to be effective.

You also need to focus on strengthening your ankle function to restore its normal range of motion as soon as possible. After that, we can talk about strengthening the Achilles tendon itself.

You have to remember which exercises to do at which time, and you have to master every movement. If you don’t do them correctly, it’s the same as not doing them at all, and it could even be counterproductive. I’m not just trying to scare you."

The vagrant had noticed Ji Huan’s little antics earlier. The corner of his mouth twitched up slightly, and in that moment of distraction, he didn’t quite hear what she was saying.

"If you understood, you understood. If you didn’t, you didn’t. What’s that look on your face? Are you smiling?" Ji Huan couldn’t believe her eyes.

The vagrant’s face went blank again. "Say it again."

Ji Huan: "..."

Patiently, she repeated herself. Once she was sure the vagrant had understood and learned the exercises, she saw that it was getting dark. Ji Huan went into the main room to light a lamp, and the vagrant followed her slowly inside.

"Give me the books you finished from last time. I borrowed some new ones for you. I was originally going to buy them, but Boss Fang is a good person. He said as long as they aren’t damaged or dirtied, I can just return them when you’re done. He didn’t even ask for a deposit."

Ji Huan felt a little bad. She’d been busy with the spice field lately and hadn’t taken on any work from the bookshop for some time. But Boss Fang wasn’t the type to turn his back on someone once they were gone; he treated her the same as ever.

The vagrant walked to the head of the *kang* and handed the books to Ji Huan.

Ji Huan flipped through each book. They were as clean and flat as when she had first given them to him, without a single crease on the corners.

"Are you sure you finished them?" she asked doubtfully.

The vagrant neither nodded nor shook his head. He only said, "You can test me."

’I’d have to be crazy to test you,’ Ji Huan thought.

She handed the new books to the vagrant, re-wrapped the old ones, and turned to leave.

Just as she reached the doorway, she suddenly stopped.

She turned back and met the vagrant’s heavy gaze.

Ji Huan hesitated for a moment, but asked the question anyway.

"When... are you planning to leave?"