Chapter 6: Movie
The twisted wooden branches, like the nails of a demon, were scraping against the window. The rain was out of control, and even the sound of thunder was fiercely drowned out.
The air conditioner was blowing cold air with a whirring sound, and the room was gloomy. The streetlight was shining in from outside the window, and it was in a fragmented way on the wall. The air was both cold and stuffy, and his chest was blocked. The orange-yellow light in the bathroom, the window was tightly closed, and the sound of water was splashing on the floor.
His long black hair, which reached his ears, was scattered. It was wet and cold. His eyelids were half-covered, and the expression on his face was blurry. He had just taken a cold shower, and he was much more awake.
The sound of the water had stopped. After a while, the orange-colored bath light had dimmed. A snow-white foot had come out, and a wet and damp footprint was on the floor. A hot air, which was mixed with a floral fragrance, had rushed over, and it was spreading in the narrow space.
Gu Zhi was only wearing his shirt, and she was vacuum-packed underneath. It was a little cold. Her slender waist was graceful, and her naturally slightly curled, wet hair was lazily draped over her shoulders, revealing her snow-white and beautiful neckline.
She was holding the side of the door with her hand, and she was standing there and was looking at him. She was lazy, elegant, and full of charm. She was like a delicate flower that had bloomed to its ripeness. She had lowered her eyes, and her upturned, long and narrow eyeliner was nonchalant. Her charm and maturity were not an imitation of a day or two. It was as if it had been soaked into her bones, and the unintentional revelation was even more captivating.
It was not the first time that Su Yu had understood her temptation. At this moment, in the hazy and indistinct night, there was a shocking beauty.
He had subconsciously pursed his lips, and they were already dry.
“The bed is made. In that room.” Su Yu had pointed to the only room in the house. He had booked a single room. The sofa in the living room was also very small, and it could not accommodate a person. He was going to make do for one night.
“What about you?”
Gu Zhi had walked up to him with her bare feet. Her well-proportioned and small legs were white and were shining. The fine blue lines were on her porcelain-white instep. She had tilted her head, and a few drops of water with her body temperature had accidentally splashed on his forearm.
She had just taken a shower, and her face was flushed, and her breathing was slightly panting. If the tone of her voice had been a little sharper, and a little thinner, it would have been a bit like the sound he had heard from her countless times before.
He had shrunk back and had said, “I’ll sleep on the sofa. Anyway, you’re leaving tomorrow.”
Gu Zhi was stunned for a moment. She had seen that under his bangs was a pair of soft and perverse black eyes. They had been filled with a blatant hatred for her before. Now they were empty, and there was nothing. They were ignoring her like the air.
For a moment, he couldn’t tell which was better. Anyway, when he had hated her, his heart had not been so uncomfortable.
A frightening and terrifying thought had suddenly appeared in her mind. She had thought that in that dark and bloody basement, the final ending was that she had died in his hands. Perhaps… it would have been better like this.
“Then you can sleep inside. I’ll be fine outside.” Gu Zhi had sat down next to him. After she had been washed with water, the neroli fragrance on her body was as if it were even stronger. It was like an early flower that was covered with dew in the morning.
Su Yu had glanced at her and had said with a blank expression, “Then okay. Cover yourself with a blanket. Don’t catch a cold.”
He had walked a few steps and had seen her hugging a blanket on the sofa. Her long and slender legs were curled up, and her whole body was trying its best to curl up, but it couldn’t fit. Her face, which had been washed of its makeup, looked very pale, and it was so cold that it was as if it would break with a single touch. He had gone back and had found the remote control on the coffee table, and he had turned up the temperature of the air conditioner.
He had thought for a while, and his tone was not cold and not hot. “Go to sleep early.”
She had said okay, and she had really half-lain down. She was not fighting for anything, and she was so well-behaved that it was ridiculous.
Was she completely cured after a serious illness? It was so easy that he couldn’t believe it. Or was she hiding it too deeply?
But it didn’t matter. He had no patience to test it anymore.
…
It was very late at night, and he was a little insomniac.
He was tossing and turning, and he was half-asleep and half-awake. When he had fallen asleep, he would have a dream. The background of the dream was black and white and red, and it had given him a sense of a desperate suffocation for no reason. He had woken up with his back wet, and the cold air had dried his sweat, and his chest was stuffy.
Su Yu had touched the cup by the side of the table, and the glass was empty. He had grabbed a handful of his hair with a dry look and had sat up. The dark black night was silent. He had subconsciously glanced at the crack in the door, and a hazy and indistinct light was seeping into the room. A light spot was on the wooden floor.
He had stood up, and he had stepped on the floor without a sound. He had pushed open a crack in the door. The TV was on in the living room, and the lights were off. The screen was flickering in the shadows.
The late-night movie channel was playing a very old animated love movie. The picture was black and white. He had seen it a long time ago, and he couldn’t remember the plot clearly. He only vaguely remembered that it was a regrettable tragedy.
She was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, and her whole person was curled up in the bedding. The light was seeping into her pale face, and her long and narrow eyes were soft and were filled with water. She was watching it seriously, so much so that she had not noticed when he had walked to her side.
When he had gotten closer, he had on the contrary, felt that her tall and graceful self looked like a small one. Her dark black hair was smooth, and it was on her neck, and her beautiful ears were exposed. They were thin and small, and they were pink and tender, and they were as if they were transparent. He had never had such an opportunity to look at her frame by frame. Looking at her like this, she actually showed a bit of a childish and naive look.
Perhaps she really was like a child who was not satisfied. Because no one had ever taught her, she didn’t understand anything. She didn’t understand the interaction between people, she didn’t understand sharing, she didn’t understand love… she always had a strong possessiveness for the things that were marked with her own mark. She would cry and make a fuss and would not let go. When she found that no one was paying attention to her, she would even show a violent and aggressive look.
She didn’t understand. So she could only instinctively adopt the most stupid, most direct, and most ineffective method. I just have to lock him in the safe where the toys are kept, and then he will always be mine, and no one can snatch him away.
“Aren’t you asleep yet?”
Su Yu sat down next to Gu Zhi, staring at the small TV screen.
“Huh?”
She seemed to have been startled. Her whole person had shrunk back a little. When she had found that it was him, she had slowly moved back. In the meantime, she had also carefully looked at his expression.
“I… I can’t sleep.”
“Is it because of this place? Are you not well yet?”, Su Yu had pointed to his forehead. He had only later known the reason for Gu Zhi’s abnormal physiological state back then.
“No.” Gu Zhi had shaken her head. She had said, “It’s just insomnia. It started after the wedding.”
“What about the medicine?”
“My head will hurt if I take the medicine. The doctor told me to take less… psychiatric drugs.”
“Oh.”
He had nodded and had roughly understood. His gaze had turned to the screen again.
“Aren’t you going to sleep?”
She was a little confused. She had bitten her lip and had finally made up her mind to ask him.
Su Yu had shaken his head. “I can’t sleep. I seem to have insomnia too. Maybe I have a little fever from being in the rain.” She had said sorry, thinking that he didn’t know she had come.
“Did you become stupid after your surgery?”, Su Yu had smiled, and his tone was playful. He had pulled the atmosphere to a warmer place. “You used to be so meticulous. You were hiding behind a tree in a long dress. Only a blind person wouldn’t be able to see you.”
Gu Zhi didn’t make a sound. A pair of dark black eyes were looking at his profile. The movie was about to reach its climax, but it was suddenly meaningless.
After a long while, her hand was on the back of his hand, which was on the blanket. He had no reaction. After a long while, she had moved some of the blanket to him. This time, he had turned his head and had glanced at her.
Her heart had skipped a beat. She had quickly said that she was afraid he would get a fever.
He had smiled and had asked her to watch the movie seriously.
The room had darkened, and only the sound of the movie was left.
