Chapter 92: Fever
On the plate was a freshly cooked dish of shredded pork with green peppers over rice, still steaming. The ingredients were vibrant and alluring, and the aroma was appetizing. Su Yu was really hungry. He didn’t care about the heat and quickly devoured the food.
Xia Qiange sat across from him, her elbow propping up her cheek as she tilted her head and watched him eat.
The boy’s hair was a little curly and messy. After he had washed it, it was wet and drooping on his forehead.
It covered his eyebrows and eyes, which she really liked. She licked her red and full lips and stood up to pour a glass of water.
“Why are you eating so fast? No one is going to steal it from you.”
“Th-Thanks.”
Su Yu subconsciously reached for the glass of water, but before the other party’s hand could leave the side of the glass, his fingertips touched the girl’s cold and smooth skin. He pulled his hand back as if he had been electrocuted and let her slowly push the glass in front of him.
He was still feeling guilty about what had happened at the elevator. The other party didn’t mind that he was a dead soul and even thoughtfully took care of his food and lodging. Everything should have been pure and clean. It was he who had defiled this white sheet of paper, which should have been spotless.
He was uncontrollably afraid and terrified of this. He was afraid that the other party would leave in anger because of his transgression. And fear would always make one subconsciously lower their status and bend their spine.
He was silent and didn’t speak. All that was left between them was the faint sound of chewing. He was as dazed as a doll that was being refueled.
The plate was soon empty. Su Yu put down his bowl and chopsticks. For a moment, he didn’t know what to do. In fact, he wanted Xia Qiange to speak first, to ask about his past, about what had happened in these few blank years.
Was it like complaining, so that the other party would pity him? When had he become so miserable…
He didn’t know, and Xia Qiange had never asked. She took the plates and bowls on the table and went into the kitchen. The sound of trickling water soon came from inside, leaving him alone in the living room, staring blankly at her back as she washed the dishes with an apron on.
The first time he had seen the girl, the emotion in his heart was fear. It was the kind of fear that made him want to hold his head in his arms and hide. He was both unwilling to let the other party see his pathetic appearance, which was like a stray dog, and he was also afraid that there was a knife hidden under the girl’s smile, which would grab him and make him fall into the abyss again and again.
The various trajectories of his previous life had long since gone out of control, and he couldn’t see the road to the future. They were shrouded in darkness, and all the people and things had become extremely strange. He could only rely on himself to judge. A single wrong step would lead to eternal damnation.
Su Yu inexplicably remembered the business card that he had crumpled into a ball and thrown into the trash can. He was like someone who had clearly won the lottery but had accidentally lost the ticket. He couldn’t help but wonder what would have happened if he had admitted his identity at that time. This made him inexplicably think of the words “I love you.” He had now found the lost lottery ticket, but the redemption time for the prize had long since expired.
Otherwise, how could she not mention his experience at all? If she cared, she would definitely care about his past. But how could she not care… how could she…
His thoughts stopped at that moment. Something in his nerves was rampaging, roughly pushing aside his messy thoughts, and he got a very sad answer.
The him on the phone was just an imposter with a similar voice. The confession was also completely unknown whether it was true or false. If he mentioned it again in person, perhaps the other party would just laugh it off and tell him that it was just a whim. Even if there was… it was all in the past. The thing he held in his hand as a treasure was just an expired lottery ticket.
Su Yu slowly stood up and walked into the kitchen. The narrow and cramped space could only accommodate him standing behind the girl. He bent down to shrink his body so that he would not disturb the other party.
A thin layer of sweat was on his back. He was indignant and felt that this kitchen was really too small. It was so tight that he couldn’t breathe. The sweat moistened his hair, and it was wet and sticky in front of his eyes, which made him even more annoyed.
Xia Qiange rinsed the bowl under the water and turned to look at Su Yu behind her. She pursed her lips and smiled. Her hair, which was draped behind her, was tied up. Su Yu then realized that Xia Qiange was still wearing earrings. A shell-shaped crystal earring. With every smile and frown, the earring would sway gently, with a naive and youthful look that he was familiar with from his school days.
She tilted her head and asked him, and her makeup made her look even more mature and bright. With a glance and a turn of her head… she was so charming that it was captivating. “Is there something you need?”
“No… no. Do you need my help?”
Su Yu was flustered for a moment. He regretted it as soon as he had said it. The bowls and chopsticks in the sink had already been washed clean. His words were a little unnatural.
“Haha, I’m almost done. You can wait outside.”
Although he had carefully observed, he still couldn’t see any emotion on the other party’s face that had seen through his thoughts. He suddenly let out a sigh of relief.
The light from the ceiling cut out his figure, and a silent and gray shadow was cast, which completely enveloped his girl. He suddenly got a sense of satisfaction from this childish behavior, and the corners of his lips couldn’t help but rise. The girl would probably see his foolish appearance when she turned her head.
Su Yu restrained his expression and calmly took a few steps back. After he had moved a little away from the girl’s warm and soft, delicate body, his breathing suddenly became less stagnant, and his back also straightened up, and a sense of having survived a disaster arose.
Xia Qiange seemed to be completely unaware of the strangeness behind her. She put the washed bowls and chopsticks into the cupboard, hung the apron on the wall, and shook the water droplets from her hands before she pulled down the hair tie that was holding her hair and let her fluffy and soft hair pour down.
She turned her head and found that Su Yu was still standing at the door. Her eyes were a little surprised. She smiled and walked up to Su Yu. When she was not wearing high heels, she could only reach Su Yu’s shoulder. She had to raise her head slightly to meet his gaze.
Xia Qiange suddenly reached out, and her smooth and delicate palm was on Su Yu’s forehead. The touch was warm and soft. She frowned, and she seemed to have not noticed the strangeness of the boy whose forehead she was touching at all.
If that exquisite and slender hand could be a little lower, and it could stay on the left side of his heart for a while, she would probably be able to hear the sound of a nest of little deer pounding in his chest. And if she held that well-defined hand, she would be able to feel a patch of wetness in his palm.
Su Yu didn’t understand what this sudden action meant, nor did he have time to think about it. He took a quick breath, and his body instantly tensed. The muscles on his back were clearly outlined under his shirt, and his bent back was as stiff as a full-drawn bow.
He was as nervous as if he were being aimed at by a dark gun muzzle.
“It’s still a little hot…”, Xia Qiange sighed, as if she were worried about his body. “Take another dose of medicine in the afternoon, and then get some sleep. I still have to go back and sort out the case. I’ll come back in the evening.”
Will you come back in the evening?
Su Yu’s heart inexplicably beat faster, and he felt an uncontrollable excitement. But he soon frowned again and caught some information.
“The case?”
“Yeah, I’m interning. I’m learning from a senior in a law firm in Lin’an.”
Yes, he remembered what Gu Chuan had said. It should be a very good law firm, even better than in his previous life.
Su Yu lowered his eyelashes sadly. The long and short shadows of the two of them were squatting at their feet. It had been too long, and a huge and cold chasm had been dug between them again, which was filled with countless realities.
His mood suddenly became low again.
