Chapter 185: Gift
A person emerged from the noisy and hazy rain. He no longer had the strength to lift his legs and continue running. He stumbled out of the curtain of water, his thick black hair wet and drooping, his bangs covering his dull eyes. His arms hung limply by his sides, as pathetic as a traveler who had just escaped from the mouth of a beast.
He gathered his last bit of strength, squeezing his sore muscles to lift his stiff thighs. He grabbed the railing and climbed the steps. The eaves of the building blocked the wind and rain behind him. After he had escaped the incessant rain, he suddenly felt that his body was frighteningly cold. His blood seemed to have frozen, no longer flowing in his blood vessels, so cold that he felt as if he had lost consciousness.
Su Yu turned his head and looked at the pouring rain behind him. It was as if a steel wire had been stirred into his brain, jamming the rotating axle. Only a numb obsession remained. He didn’t remember how he had gotten here, how long he had run in the rain, or at which stop he had gotten on the bus… and then at which stop he had gotten off.
The hazy curtain of rain was like a veil covering the truth, which had been mercilessly peeled away, cruelly revealing the reality hidden under the illusion in front of him.
The beautiful life he had thought he had, after the veil was lifted, had instantly turned into a ferocious monster, opening its bloody mouth to him, robbing him of all his vitality.
The bloody reality had already exhausted him. He had no strength left to think about the relationship behind it. It was like a building whose foundation had completely collapsed, losing all meaning of being saved.
Su Yu walked along the yellowish wall in the corridor, into the deep darkness. The moisture had seeped into the wall, and his wet clothes were stained with the dirty and accumulated dust, turning a turbid yellow.
He pressed the elevator button with a blank expression, watching as the elevator’s number slowly descended from the twenty-second floor. It stopped for a while on the fifteenth floor, and then fell straight to the first floor.
When the elevator stopped, the strong steel axle turned with a click, like the pounding of his heart in his chest. The door slowly opened in front of him. There were other passengers in the elevator, a middle-aged man who was covered in a raincoat. The other party looked at his pathetic, drenched appearance with some pity and then brushed past him.
Su Yu lowered his gaze and walked into the elevator.
He pressed the button for the floor he was going to. He stood in the corner, leaning against the metallic wall, silently waiting for the elevator door to close.
After a while, a few more crisp clicks sounded, and the elevator door creaked shut, as if a lock had been put on a cage. The space suddenly became narrow, and even the flowing air became thick and stagnant. His breathing seemed to be stuck, and he was facing a little bit of suffocating pain.
He stared at his reflection on the metallic elevator door. His face, under the poor-quality fluorescent light that was shining down from above, looked sickly and haggard. He was so tired that he couldn’t say a single word.
He had crashed through that constructed, false world, his head bleeding, yet he still hadn’t found the answer.
The rough steel cable, dragging the huge metal cage, began to slowly rise. The sudden feeling of weightlessness rampaged in his mind. The speed of the elevator seemed to have been deliberately slowed down, as if it were stripping him of his life, trapping him in a cage. He couldn’t find his almost-faint sense of existence, as if he were about to shatter into a speck of dust floating in the air.
…
Su Yu stood at the door. He reached out to press the doorbell, but then he suddenly remembered that the doorbell seemed to have been broken for a long time. So he had to gather his little remaining strength and knock on the door.
He held his breath, silently counting the beats of his heart. A glimmer of light appeared in his dim and dusty pupils, like a lost traveler praying for a lighthouse to illuminate the road ahead.
He heard the click of the lock turning, and his heart clenched.
The door opened, and a girl’s head popped out from behind it. Her pink lips were parted, and a hint of confusion flashed in her round, cat-like eyes… but it was quickly replaced by sadness. Her baby-fat cheeks were puffed out, and she asked with pity.
“Brother… what’s wrong?”
…
“Have a cup of hot water. Go take a shower later. Don’t catch a cold.”
Su Xi held a cup of hot water and handed it to Su Yu, looking at his wet hair, which was constantly dripping with water. “How did you get so wet? Did you forget to bring an umbrella and it started to rain?”
“…”
Su Yu was silent for a moment. He put the dry towel he had used to wipe his hair on the table and reached out with his stiff fingers to touch the side of the cup. The warm water soothed his stiff joints. He cleared his mind, temporarily escaping those trivial matters that he couldn’t figure out no matter how hard he tried. He let out a long sigh of relief.
The girl was cold. She was only wearing a sky-blue slip dress, revealing large expanses of her fair and delicate skin, as if she could squeeze water out of it. The girl was so fond of beauty, but she obviously didn’t have the heart to take care of herself when she was alone at home. Her seaweed-like, dark and shiny hair was casually draped over her shoulders, looking a little fluffy and curly. A few strands of hair were tangled together, and there was some static electricity, and they stood up alone, which was very cute with the girl’s face.
Su Yu’s heart warmed up a little. The mouthful of hot water he had just drunk was like a shot of adrenaline in his chest. It wasn’t completely broken yet… he thought silently.
He glanced at the rain hitting the glass and creating a hazy mist. The pouring rain that had just soaked him… and made him cold all over, now actually made him feel a strange sense of security and comfort. At least before the rain stopped… he could rest for a moment before the end of the world came.
Su Yu didn’t want the girl to worry for no reason. He parted the wet hair on his forehead, revealing his slightly bright pupils. A curve appeared on his pale lips. “It’s nothing. I was just passing by and forgot to bring an umbrella.”
“Wuwu~ is that so?” Su Xi still looked at him with some suspicion, her thick and curled eyelashes fluttering, and she glared at him. “I was happy for nothing. I thought you came back early to celebrate my birthday.”
“B-Birthday?”
“Yes. I wasn’t going to say anything. I thought you remembered.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t prepare any gifts.”
Su Xi shook her head, the little bit of grievance in her eyes quickly dissipating. She smiled nonchalantly. “It’s okay. The last time I celebrated my birthday was a long, long time ago.”
“Then when are you leaving, brother?”
Su Xi knelt on the chair, her arms propped on the table as she leaned forward, instantly shortening the distance between them. The girl’s skin was pure white, and her dark eyes were extremely dark. She tilted her head, her pure and good expression looking innocent and romantic. “I’m not afraid of thunder, but I’m very bored alone…”
“I… I’ll leave when the rain stops.” Su Yu hesitated for a few seconds and said.
“The rain stops?” Su Xi calculated the days in her heart and muttered in a low voice, “That won’t do.”
“What did you say?”
“Oh… nothing. I said I hope the rain will last a little longer. Then I can’t order takeout, and I’ll have you to cook for me.”
Su Xi covered her cheeks and looked at the undisguised fatigue in Su Yu’s eyes with a smile. The boy was trying his best to restrain his emotions, but the slight trembling at the corners of his eyes and eyebrows at a certain moment still revealed the hurricane that was raging in his heart.
The tip of her tongue licked the inside of her mouth, brushing past her sharp canine teeth. The excitement was frantically rushing in her nerves, and the strange organ in her chest was also pounding with excitement, like a little rabbit that was running around.
“I’m going to take a shower. I’ll… find a way to make up for the gift.”
“Mm-hmm, I believe you, brother.”
Su Xi still propped up her cheeks and lay on the table, squinting her eyes and smiling. She watched as Su Yu walked into the shower room, the curve of her lips smiling more and more wantonly.
So cute…
She thought of the white powder in the small bag.
Use coffee? No… coffee is refreshing. I can’t use coffee. That’s orange juice… or milk. She couldn’t help but start to fantasize again.
Zhiyan… why do you have to rack your brains to think of what gift to give me?
Your existence is the best gift for me… I like it very much.
