"Is there?" Elliana Lyle instinctively touched her own forehead, and as soon as her hand made contact, she winced with pain.
"Ow—"
"How did this happen?" Nancy quickly leaned in towards her, reached out to brush aside the stray hair in front of Elliana's forehead, revealing the lump hidden underneath.
A bruise, the size of a one-yuan coin, looked frightening at first glance.
"How did this happen? Does it hurt?" Nancy scolded and comforted simultaneously, gently blowing on her with her mouth.
Elliana waved off Nancy's hand, gesturing with hers, "It's nothing, just got hit by a pebble earlier. You wouldn't believe how that tire kicked it up."
"Let's head back, I'll get you some ice," Nancy said, holding her hand as they walked towards her home.
At Nancy's doorstep, under the eaves of the clay house, there was a long bench. Elliana recalled coming here before, sitting there in the evening with Nancy and her parents.
