Chapter 149: Redemption
The whistling sound of the kettle boiling in the kitchen was calling. Su Yu broke free from the warmth of her palm and stood up to walk to the kitchen.
“Don’t go, don’t go. I… I’m scared.”
Just as Su Yu stood up, his wrist was grabbed by Xia Qian Ge. The touch was cold and stiff, but her grip was exceptionally tight, like a shipwrecked sailor in the vast, deep sea, holding on to a small boat but unable to find a single, elusive island. Until the monstrous waves fell, the boat was instantly shattered, and she held onto Su Yu’s hand, clinging to the only remaining piece of wood.
Su Yu turned his head and saw the girl biting her pale lips, her red-rimmed eyes staring at him. Her sickly pale face was streaked with conspicuous tear stains. Because of his brief departure, her eyes were once again filled with tears. She was as stubborn and childish as a child who liked to cry in her childhood, yet she was also humbly begging him not to leave.
He suddenly didn’t want to do anything. He was pulled by the girl’s weak force and sat down by the bed again. He touched the girl’s dry and tangled dark hair and said with a smile, “It’s really okay now.”
But Xia Qian Ge just stared at Su Yu. She gathered her strength from somewhere, half-knelt, and suddenly broke free from the blanket, hooking her arms around the boy’s neck. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, greedily breathing in the boy’s clean and fresh, sunny scent.
She held on very tightly, clinging to the piece of driftwood floating on the vast sea. Whether the end of the drifting was an island or an abyss, she plunged in without hesitation. She was indulging in this hard-earned gentleness. The grief in her heart made her want to cry out in a hoarse voice. The tears that flowed down her face soaked the thin fabric of the boy’s back. She could feel the boy’s trembling. This piece of driftwood floating on the sea was also not calm.
“I’m all alone… I’m scared.”
Xia Qian Ge’s voice trembled. She pressed even closer, as if she had crossed mountains and rivers, crossed a chasm. The two of them hugged each other in the cold night, the window creaking, and huddled together. She slowly bent down and pressed her weight on the boy, her chest and abdomen pressing against him without a gap. She could even feel his warm heartbeat.
She was tightly wrapped in warmth. She felt as if she were melting, dripping onto the boy’s slender shoulder blades. The cry in her throat stopped the moment her vocal cords melted. Her flesh and blood rushed to merge with his body. They would become one. Then she would never be lonely, crying alone in the deserted night. She slightly raised her long, white neck, a few unintelligible whimpers escaping from between her lips and teeth. Her soul seemed to be trembling.
I really want to… die.
“The hot water is about to get cold. Go take a hot bath.”
Su Yu felt the girl’s still-cold palm and whispered in her trembling ear.
“Oh~ I know.”
The girl obediently agreed, but she clung to him even more dependently. Su Yu felt as if he had become her small haven in the wind and snow. The bricks and tiles were all warmed by his body temperature. She curled up in this warmth, like a well-behaved and sweet little kitten, stretching out its small paws to him, revealing its pink, soft pads without any defense.
His heart instantly melted into a pool of pink, viscous liquid. All his defenses were crushed by the strong wind at that moment. The only thing he didn’t forget was to build a wall to block the still-cold wind and snow for her.
…
Xia Qian Ge slowly locked the bathroom door. She leaned against the door, naked, and slid to the floor. The vermilion ceramic floor was a little cold. The old-fashioned wall-mounted bath light was making a buzzing sound, and the warm yellow light illuminated the narrow bathroom, which was only two or three square meters. The bucket was filled with the hot water the boy had prepared for her, at just the right temperature.
She soaked a towel in the slightly hot water and gently wrung it out over her head. The hot water trickled down from the top of her head. The water droplets bounced and slid down the curve of her hair, leaving clear watery trails on her fair and smooth skin. The faint warmth dispelled the long-accumulated cold in her bones, and a faint, ambiguous blush appeared on her pale cheeks.
She didn’t know how much strength it had taken her to move away from the boy. When the fresh and warm, sunny scent of him was gone, every cell in her body was clamoring to pounce back.
Her addiction and illness had flared up at the same time. Her consciousness was fragile, and she was lost in a field of alluring and seductive poppies, unable to break free.
She suddenly smiled, the curve of her lips rising, her smile becoming more and more wanton, and finally turning into a crazy and neurotic laugh. She covered her mouth tightly with her hand, and the laughter from her vibrating vocal cords was blocked and swirled in her cranial cavity. She laughed and laughed, and tears slid down her cheeks, falling with a plop into the cleavage formed by her squeezed, snow-white breasts.
This was a gift from the gods, in pity for her all-night prayers. It had brought her the vision she had fanatically fantasized about, satisfied her dark and evil thoughts, and tried to redeem her lowly soul, which was trapped in hell.
The moment before the gift arrived, her tired body was as fragile as a thin sheet of paper in the cold wind. She could clearly feel her life slipping away from her fingertips like her lost body temperature. Her vision was so dim that she couldn’t see a single ray of light. She was about to die… she was clearly aware of this fact, but she couldn’t stir up a single ripple in her heart.
Suddenly, the rhythm of a phone ringing sounded in her ear. Her consciousness was gradually attracted to it. She listened to the ringing… stopping… ringing, like the flickering flame of her precarious life.
She heard it… the call of the gods.
Warm tears couldn’t stop flowing down. At that moment, she was willing to offer her faith, to completely convert to the gods, to become the most devout believer.
She wanted to… live!
…
Xia Qian Ge came out of the bathroom wrapped in the boy’s down jacket. Her body temperature had begun to return a little. The red of life appeared on her pale face. She tiptoed on the floor and looked at the hot water the boy had prepared for her at the bathroom door. She couldn’t help but smile, and happiness turned into a sweet syrup that rippled in her heart.
She walked out of the bathroom, but she didn’t see the boy in the living room. She sniffed the lingering warm scent on her collar and looked around. Finally, she was attracted by a rustling sound.
She looked sideways and saw the boy’s shadow at the entrance. Her heart settled, and she quickened her pace and walked over.
Xia Qian Ge was stunned for a moment. She saw the boy holding a few fiery red couplets and gesturing at the door.
“You’re done showering? Are you warmer?” Su Yu noticed Xia Qian Ge. He looked at the girl, who was still barefoot. “I’ll put up the spring couplets and the Fu character, and then I’ll go in. You can go and lie in bed for a while.”
“I’ll help you… otherwise, it will be crooked.”
Xia Qian Ge took the tape without a word, her cheeks puffed out. She stood at the door and refused to leave, like a stubborn little hamster.
“Alright then. Tell me if it’s crooked.”
Su Yu shrugged helplessly and looked up to prepare to put up the Fu character on the door.
“Um… it’s a little crooked.”
“To the left?”
“A little to the right. Then to the left… and then to the right.”
“Are you tricking me? Is this so much fun?”
“Haha, you’re so silly, Su Yu. Wuwu~ don’t knock my head!”
…
“What about now? Is it crooked?”
Su Yu frowned. He waved his hand in front of the girl’s dazed gaze.
“Hmm? Why aren’t you speaking?”
“Nothing. I’m probably just sleepy.” Xia Qian Ge came back to her senses. She glanced at the square Fu character on the door, holding back the moisture in her eyes, and nodded vigorously. “Mm-hmm, it’s not crooked!”
“Then go back to bed. It’s cold outside.”
The boy went into the house first, his nagging voice still echoing in her ears. Xia Qian Ge reached out and touched the Fu character on the mottled wooden door. The Fu character should be put up during a reunion, just like… now.
She smiled brightly, and the ocean that had been floating for who knows how many days and months immediately evaporated. The sky was torn open, and a dazzling light suddenly shone through. The hurricane suddenly disappeared, and the driftwood she was holding turned into a large, vibrant island. A lush forest filled her vision with a deep green.
“Why didn’t you drink a single sip of the hot water I poured for you? It’s already cold.” The boy’s voice came from the house.
Xia Qian Ge stuck out her tongue and ran into the house barefoot. She gently closed the old wooden door, and the cold night wind was blocked outside. The room was as warm as spring. She stuck out her tongue playfully and replied sweetly.
“It’s the New Year… you’re not allowed to be fierce with people!”
TFTC