The surroundings were quiet, and the monotonous light of the box spread out in Xu Shiyue's sight.
Lu Shizhen's voice was vague, with a slight smell of alcohol, and his words sounded a bit depressed and world-weary.
Xu Shiyue didn't quite understand why Lu Shizhen suddenly said such a thing. In her opinion, the day had gone smoothly.
Just because they don't understand doesn't mean they will ignore it. Xu Shiyue carried half of Lu Shizhen's weight on one shoulder, as if he could feel her sadness.
Xu Shiyue stared at the vague shadow in his peripheral vision and asked calmly, "Why do you hate it?"
Lu Shizhen's body's tolerance for alcohol was extremely low. Just a few drops of two different kinds of alcohol mixed together, and she lost her ability to fight, and even her mind was not clear. She would answer any questions from people she trusted: "Because the people in this world are too nice."
"Is it okay?" Xu Shiyue was puzzled.
"Not good." Lu Shizhen shook his head.
The thick long hair rubbed against Xu Shiyue's shoulders and neck, feeling a little itchy.
Xu Shiyue's doubts intensified, and he asked, "Why?"
"Because then I will always remember you." Lu Shizhen slightly raised his head which was resting on Xu Shiyue's shoulder, his eyes were somewhat sincere, "No one can forget the first time."
It seemed like many questions were circling in Xu Shiyue's mind. She asked again: "What's the first time?"
Lu Shizhen was asked many questions, and didn't realize that Xu Shiyue had too many questions. He just counted on his fingers, childishly and seriously: "It was the first time I felt the warmth of my family, the first time someone cared about me, the first time a group of people were willing to protect me..."
Having said this, Lu Shizhen paused.
She looked up at Xu Shiyue who was sitting next to her, and then held her hand wantonly, saying: "It's also the first time I've served as a guide stick for someone."
The girl giggled twice as she spoke, and then like a dog asking for praise, she wagged her tail and asked, "Xu Shiyue, am I doing a good job as a guide stick?"
Xu Shiyue never thought that a young lady like Lu Shizhen would be willing to describe herself as a "guide stick", but her hand was holding herself hotly, reminding her that what she just said was true.
The warm hand seemed to be exerting some force, but in fact the force was very gentle, just like in the past.
After a pause, Xu Shiyue nodded: "Well, you did a good job."
Lu Shizhen was very satisfied to hear Xu Shiyue's affirmative evaluation, and the smile on his face became even more intense.
She laughed again, and her shaky body leaned back on Xu Shiyue's shoulder.
The drunken breath brushed the girl's hair hanging by her ears, and the crisp syllables vibrated her eardrums.
If we say “first time”, it was also the first time that Xu Shiyue felt the joy of another person so truly.
Obviously this happiness does not belong to her, yet it seems to belong to her.
The corners of her mouth also rose uncontrollably.
"You know, I was always taken care of by others before. They thought I couldn't do anything, and they didn't let me do anything." Lu Shizhen was recognized and seemed to open up. He leaned on Xu Shiyue's shoulder and talked about his own things. "But you see, I can still do it, right? I'm very reliable, right?"
Xu Shiyue was a little confused after hearing what Lu Shizhen said before, but then she thought of the two large boxes of luggage that Aunt Sun had packed for them.
She couldn't deny the reliability that Lu Shizhen had brought her these days, so she nodded: "Yes."
However, Xu Shiyue thought that her nod would make Lu Shizhen happier, but she found that Lu Shizhen's expression suddenly changed after that.
The weight on his shoulders disappeared again, and the light cast a layer of brightness on Xu Shiyue's vision, which was then covered by a shadow.
The scent of roses passed over Xu Shiyue's nose like the wind. Unexpectedly, the distance between her and Lu Shizhen was suddenly pulled very close.
Xu Shiyue's eyes, which were always calm, suddenly opened wide, and Lu Shizhen's face, which suddenly rushed towards him, was reflected in his dark pupils.
Their noses were almost touching.
Or maybe they have already collided.
Plop, plop…
The tepid air was made even hotter by the air conditioner, and Xu Shiyue's unclear outline became clearer because of the single magnification.
The person in front of her looked the same as she remembered, with a pair of sharp eyes under thick eyelashes, but at this moment they looked a little incongruous and pitiful.
Lu Shizhen was staggering, trying hard to look Xu Shiyue in the face seriously.
She felt a little aggrieved and asked vaguely: "Then why don't you give me extra points... Why do you always deduct points from me..."
"Bonus points?" Xu Shiyue's mind had not yet calmed down from the sudden shortened distance, so she did not understand what Lu Shizhen meant. She thought she was worried about the physics exercises he had graded for her. "You didn't do it perfectly, how can I give you extra points?"
After hearing this explanation, Lu Shizhen became even sadder, and the distress hidden in her heart was revealed on her face: "What should I do to be perfect? What should I do to make you really like me?"
Boom.
Boom.
The scent of roses wafted through the monotonous space, overwhelming the aroma of the leftovers on the table.
I don’t know if it’s because the girl’s eyes are too sincere, or because the close distance makes any words tinged with burning ambiguity, Xu Shiyue’s heart skipped a beat.
She suddenly realized that Lu Shizhen's "plus points" and "minus points" did not seem to be a simple number that existed in reality.
Not physics.
These were the scores she earned by trying hard to please herself.
"Why do you want these points so much?" Xu Shiyue asked for some unknown reason.
"Because only with enough points can I find a place like this one in the future." Lu Shizhen said.
Then she went back to the topic again: "I don't like this world. This world is so disgusting..."
Lu Shizhen spoke very quickly, and if you didn't listen carefully, no one would pay any attention to her vague first sentence.
It’s a pity that the person next to her is Xu Shiyue.
From hearing Lu Shizhen's "first time", to hearing her mention "plus points" and "minus points", and the drunken conversation on his birthday not long ago, Xu Shiyue's originally calm eyes narrowed slightly.
She lost something, but also gained something.
But the weight of gains and losses didn't seem to be so even, causing her heart, which had just skipped a beat, to suddenly go empty.
Xu Shiyue's mood suddenly became complicated, but her expression was calmer than ever. She asked Lu Shizhen again: "So you've been to other places, right?"
Her eyes could not reveal any emotions, and few people could tell her purpose at the moment with her calm appearance, let alone the drunk Lu Shizhen.
Lu Shizhen shook his head seriously, and stared at the person in front of him with his eyes filled with a bit of alcohol, and said word by word: "The world with you is my first world."
As if they were talking about something that he really liked, the smile on Lu Shizhen's face became even wider.
She turned slightly, looked seriously at the person she particularly liked outside of the book, and said as if confessing: "Meeting you is the happiest thing in my life."
"Xu Shiyue."
The girl's voice was not clear and contained some breath.
It was like a whisper in the ear, and the heat lingered between the two of them. Xu Shiyue suddenly heard a soft call of her own name in her ears.
In an instant, it was as if a warm breeze blew across Xu Shiyue's desolate heart, shaking the young bud called jealousy into disorder.
She felt that her mood at the moment was like riding a roller coaster, up and down, as if she was about to rush towards the distant sky.
A little dazed.
It was because of this that Xu Shiyue failed to control the staggering Lu Shizhen.
She leaned on his shoulders like this, and the chiffon material could not support the girl's face. Slowly, slowly, it slid down and fell directly on his legs.
Compared to the somewhat hard shoulder that he had leaned on just now, Lu Shizhen preferred this soft "pillow" that allowed him to lie down.
Perhaps due to his own obsession, Lu Shizhen's empty eyes gradually focused on the pair of hanging legs, and his sleepy eyes were once again filled with admiration as if he had found a treasure: "Xu Shiyue, your legs are so beautiful and soft..."
The girl's breath fell on Xu Shiyue's jeans as she spoke, and fell warmly on her legs through the gaps in the fabric.
As he muttered, the soft little face began to rub against it, which could not be summed up in just one offense.
Xu Shiyue narrowed his eyes and frowned slightly.
She really didn't like having any close contact with people, and she didn't like words that sounded frivolous.
If she went over again, she would definitely spread her legs and throw Lu Shizhen, who was coveting her, directly to the ground.
But now...
She is Lu Shizhen.
Doubts and sudden realization intertwined together, like a vine that suddenly grew up and instantly covered Xu Shiyue's eyes.
She opened her mouth, wanting to ask Lu Shizhen something more, but suddenly she felt a sense of entanglement.
This feeling is somewhat strange, yet familiar, carrying with it an irresistible force.
Then Xu Shiyue felt a breeze blowing in from the door, and the noisy sounds came in with it.
The door of the box was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a figure who was not familiar stood at the door, looking somewhat puzzled and stunned: "Ms. Xu?"
It’s Shen Yanxing.
Xu Shiyue didn't know how she could immediately sense the identity of the person standing at the door, even though they had only had a brief contact yesterday.
But she still called out: "Shen Yanxing?"
"It's me." Shen Yanxing nodded.
There seemed to be some confusion in her eyes. Looking at the empty box and the leftovers on the table, she explained awkwardly, "I... seem to have found the wrong room."
"It's like this." Xu Shiyue said in a calm voice, with an invisible sense of distance.
After a few words back and forth, the atmosphere between the two people became cold, just as the book sometimes makes readers feel.
Shen Yanxing pursed his lips lightly, and with a hint of excitement, he said to Xu Shiyue as if to start a conversation: "I watched your performance this afternoon. It was really good. It's great that the cello was not damaged."
Xu Shiyue remained indifferent: "Thank you for your help with the inspection yesterday."
Shen Yanxing waved his hand: "No need."
Although they talked about other things, there was still no progress between the two people, and the atmosphere was as cold as that between ordinary strangers.
It was not known whether the temperature in the box had dropped after the door was opened, or whether the atmosphere between the two was too cold. Lu Shizhen just lay on Xu Shiyue's legs, half asleep and half awake, shrinking his neck, and muttered: "October, cold..."
Xu Shiyue’s eyes paused suddenly.
She didn't know whether she had misheard Lu Shizhen's voice because it was too unclear, or whether she had simply not called out her last name.
The feeling of her heart skipping a beat inexplicably seemed to hit her heart, causing it to throb.
Shen Yanxing also heard these whispers, and immediately noticed Lu Shizhen, who was lying flat on Xu Shiyue behind the dining table. He put his foot back down for no reason, "Hey, what happened to Lu Shizhen..."
"She's sleepy." Xu Shiyue replied. She didn't want any third person to know that Lu Shizhen was drunk.
Especially Shen Yanxing.
"Do you need my help? I just took a taxi and can take you back." Shen Yanxing took the initiative.
"No-"
Before he could finish his words, the originally coherent syllables were broken into pieces in Xu Shiyue's vocal cords.
She suddenly felt that there was a force controlling her, making her accept Shen Yanxing's invitation and abandon Lu Shizhen in this place.
(End of this chapter)