"I... I want water," An Lisi said softly. Although her voice was almost inaudible, I was lucky enough to hear it.

"I'll get it for you... Just sit still and don't move," I said as I helped her sit upright. She seemed to be cooperating, which made me feel somewhat relieved. I went to the faucet and filled a glass of water, handing it to An Lisi. She took it and drank it all in one gulp. She seemed very thirsty.

"Is there anything else you need?"

"I... I..." An Lisi's complexion turned pale, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

"What is it?"

"Can you help me... get the small box under the wardrobe?"

"The small box?" I looked under the wardrobe, but it was too far and too dark to see if there was a small box. However, since An Lisi mentioned it, I walked over, crouched down, and reached in. I felt a small box.

"Is this it?"

"Yes... please give it to me." Although I was curious about what was inside, An Lisi seemed eager to have it. I handed it to her.

An Lisi anxiously opened the lid, revealing two syringes filled with some liquid. My first instinct was that it was drugs.

An Lisi picked up one of the syringes, her expression resembling that of a drug addict. Her hand trembled, sweat appeared on her face, and her lips turned pale. She aimed the needle at her arm, which was already covered in needle marks and starting to ulcerate.

"What are you doing?" I couldn't just ignore her injecting drugs again, so I reached out to grab the syringe from her hand.

She seemed to suddenly realize what I was doing and threw the water glass at me. Unfortunately, I couldn't dodge it and was hit on the head. The pain temporarily paralyzed me, and I could only watch as An Lisi injected the drugs and then showed a look of pleasure and excitement.

Is this how drug addicts behave? I felt a sense of fear after witnessing it. After ten minutes, the euphoric feeling from the drugs faded, and An Lisi seemed unable to keep her eyes open, as if she could fall asleep at any moment.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" Maybe it wasn't her intention, but it angered me that she disregarded her own life.

An Lisi didn't say anything and just lay down on the bed.

I felt like she wouldn't listen no matter what I said, so I stood up. The spot where I was hit throbbed with pain, and when I touched it, it seemed swollen. Even if I wanted to get angry, there was nowhere to vent, so I sighed and endured it helplessly.

"I'll come back tomorrow..." After saying this, I left. On the way back, my mother kept questioning me because I had a bandage on my head. Although I made up an excuse, saying that something had hit me, my mother scolded me for not being careful and warned me not to go out too much. If I were grounded, it would be troublesome. Fortunately, my mother only scolded and lectured me.

Later, just like when Zhiye applied a cold compress for me, I endured the pain and suffering.

*****************

After school, I still went to the door of the rental house where An Lisi lived. I had witnessed her injecting drugs yesterday but couldn't stop her. Instead, she had thrown a water glass at me, hitting my head. Even now, the pain still lingered, although the swelling had subsided.

I knocked on the door, not knowing if she would open it. After all, she wasn't very welcoming to me.

"An Lisi, I'm here to bother you again today," I said, waiting outside for a while before the door slowly opened.

"Why... are you here again?" An Lisi asked.

"I said I would come back today, and... my purpose hasn't been achieved yet."

"What purpose?"

"To keep you away from that thing and get you back to school." I said without hesitation.

"...If you don't want to get hurt, please stop bothering me." An Lisi showed a hopeless expression.

"Even if I will be hurt, I won't back down... I can't just watch you die," I said seriously.

"You should think it through... When I have an episode, I even have thoughts of killing people... Aren't you scared?"

"Of course, I'm scared."

"Then please don't bother with me..."

"But I can't do that... Even if I'm scared, even if I'll get hurt, I will still go without hesitation."

"There's no point in doing that."

"Who said there's no point... If it can bring An Lisi back to school, if it can let An Lisi live a healthy life... These are meaningful. That's my hope. Even though I don't know how far away success is, if I give up just like that, I might regret it for the rest of my life."

"I don't want to go to school, and this thing gives me a sense of security, you know? Stop saying pretty words," An Lisi's emotions were a bit agitated.

"You're just deceiving yourself... I don't know why An Lisi got involved with that thing, I don't understand why An Lisi has a sense of disgust towards going to school, and I haven't seen your parents appear even after all this time. Maybe these questions aren't that important, but what's most important now is that An Lisi, you must stay away from that thing, and I will make sure you stay away from it," I said firmly.

"But this is the one thing I can't do."

"Then look at yourself now... Compared to yesterday, the black pigmentation on your face seems to have deepened, and your arms full of needle marks have started to fester. It might even get infected and become a serious matter that can't be taken lightly."

"Even so... You don't need to worry about it."

An Lisi seemed to want to close the door again, but I held it with one hand and said in a strong tone, "I'm sorry... I've made up my mind about this matter. No matter how many setbacks I face, I won't give up."

"..." An Lisi fell into silence, lowering her head as if she was troubled by something...

"I know you don't want to become like this, right?" An Lisi remained silent, still troubled. Her eyes seemed helpless.

"Can I really do it?" An Lisi muttered with lack of confidence.

"Of course you can... as long as An Lisi is determined."

"I... don't know," An Lisi shook her head uncertainly.

"Anyway, let's go inside and talk first..." I suggested, and when An Lisi heard it, she let go of the door and I entered the room. Then we sat on the floor, facing each other.

"Since An Lisi has the desire to break free from drug control, as long as there is this desire and determination, it can definitely be achieved."

"It doesn't seem to be that simple... I've been injecting drugs for several months now... Even if I resist, I can't control myself when the addiction strikes."

"Then... try going to some rehabilitation centers?"

"No... I won't go..." An Lisi shook her head unwillingly. But if not through a rehabilitation center, then how can she overcome the addiction? This problem puzzled me. Just like what was said before, even if An Lisi is willing to cooperate, how to help her overcome the addiction is still a question.

"Anyway, I'll think of a solution..."

"Why are you helping me... Didn't you say we were complete strangers? And I didn't have a good attitude towards you back then. Why don't you hold a grudge and instead come to help me... help someone like me?" An Lisi's face became gloomy.

"I said this is not something that can be ignored," I replied.

"So it's out of sympathy?" An Lisi's expression changed, and I realized that if I promised like this, An Lisi might become uncooperative again.

"Well... it's more like that kind of uncontrollable feeling of caring about someone... Although I can't figure it out myself, I just can't not care... Whether you think I'm a fool or sick, it doesn't matter. The most important thing is that I want to help An Lisi, that's all."

"..." An Lisi fell into silence, and the atmosphere became a bit awkward.

"By the way... I bought some snacks when I passed by the convenience store... You can eat them if you're hungry." I opened my JK bag and took out all the snacks.

An Lisi looked at the snacks that were poured out, feeling a bit stunned.

"In any case, supplementing nutrition is also an important part. I will bring some other edible things gradually," I said. An Lisi just looked at the snacks on the floor without saying a word.

"It seems that these things have no nutrition at all..." I said somewhat disheartenedly. After all, snacks couldn't possibly have any nutrition, and it seemed that An Lisi didn't like to eat snacks. It looked like I failed.

"Why did you buy these things for me... I clearly..."

"If you don't eat anything, your body won't hold up. An Lisi, your body is not very weak, but buying these things was a bit thoughtless," I said apologetically.

An Lisi fell into silence again. I took out my phone and checked the time. It was already 6 o'clock in the afternoon.

"It's getting late, I have to say goodbye," I stood up and said.

An Lisi still maintained the same expression, and I didn't know what she was thinking.

"I will think of a solution. As for that thing, An Lisi, try not to touch it," even though during a drug addiction, people are completely out of control, but I could only say that.

"I think... I still can't control myself from touching that thing, and also... it's gone..." An Lisi looked somewhat panicked.

"Then try your best to overcome it..."

"I can't overcome it..."

"What should we do then?"

"Can... can you lend me some money..." An Lisi was planning to throw away the money to buy drugs.

"If that's the case... it will only worsen things, right...?"

An Lisi remained silent.

"Try to overcome it as much as possible... I will think of a solution as soon as possible... I will come again tomorrow," I said as I left, hoping that she wouldn't find another way to get money to buy drugs. I felt uneasy about it.