Xiao Jinang is a highly intelligent anthropomorphic system that can replicate almost all human emotions. So he knows that tears, a salty liquid, represent pain in most cases. Even if you cry tears of joy, they are inevitably mixed with some bitterness from the long years.
Xiao Jinang touched the tear marks on Ming Zhou's cheek with his fingertips. A trace of confusion flashed in his eyes. He didn't understand why the other party was crying. He asked in a low voice with concern: "Doctor Ming, are you hurt?"
He half-knelt on the ground after he finished speaking, lowered his head and rolled up Ming Zhou's pants. As expected, he saw a dark purple mark on his knee caused by the edge of the coffee table. Just as he was about to get up to find the medicine box, his wrist was suddenly grabbed tightly by Ming Zhou.
Mingri's fingertips were as cold as ice, his face was pale and ugly, his breathing was heavy, and he was even more panicked than the day when he lost his way in the mall.
He tightly grasped Xiao Jinang's hand, his dark hair soaked with cold sweat, his eyelashes gleaming in the light, but his eyes were out of focus and lifeless. He asked in panic, "Why is it so dark?"
Mingri could no longer distinguish reality from illusion. He fumbled around on the ground, as if trying to find something, then stumbled to his feet, accidentally touching the cold corner of the table and the cold wall, and finally found the light switch and pressed it hard.
There was only a slight "click" sound.
His vision was still dark.
Ming Zhou looked up, trying to open his eyes wide, as if he was determined to watch something light up in front of him. He pressed the switch again and again, his pale fingertips sticky and slippery due to cold sweat, and the chandelier in the room flickered with his movements, dazzling his eyes.
"Why is it so dark..."
"Why… "
Cold sweat dripped down Ming Zhou's chin. He was extremely nervous and uneasy. He whispered to himself, repeating the same sentence over and over again. The cat cowering in the corner was also startled by the frequent flashing lights. It meowed softly and turned around in circles in a panic. Its voice was sharp and hoarse.
Ming Zhou is very much like that cat.
And the cat also looked very much like Ming Zhou.
Xiao Jinang came to his senses upon seeing this, and hurried forward to stop Ming Zhou's actions. He tightly grasped Ming Zhou's cold hands, wrapped them in his palms, preventing him from moving, and whispered to comfort him: "It's okay, it's night now, so it's dark, just wait until dawn."
"No...it won't be dawn..."
Such a dark sky has never been bright in the past thirty-five years.
Ming Zhou was trembling all over. He suddenly pushed Xiao Jinang away, and with red eyes, he pinched his neck tightly with his hands. Tears fell from his eyes and fell to the ground: "Why am I not dead yet?"
He pinched himself tightly, breathing rapidly, his knuckles turned blue with strength, and with red eyes he kept asking, "Why am I still alive..."
"Why am I still alive..."
Ming Zhou couldn't help but slide to the ground. The coolness from the floor spread throughout his body. Outside the window, there was wind and rain, lightning and thunder. He seemed to be back to that crumbling night.
The woman with blood on her body turned around and walked out of the dark room step by step, ignoring the crying child, slowly walked to the window of the tall building, and then jumped down.
It’s too dark, really too dark…
That woman shouldn't have blinded herself, she should have taken herself with her when she jumped...
Mingri couldn't see anything, but he could still smell the sour smell of rotten rice. His stomach spasmed and twitched, and he finally loosened the hand that was strangling his throat. He couldn't help but lie on the ground and retched, as if he wanted to vomit out all the rotten past he had swallowed.
Xiao Jinang didn't know what happened, he only knew that Ming Zhou had a dark feeling. He was worried and hesitated for a moment. Finally, he gently placed his palm on Ming Zhou's back, as if he was afraid of disturbing something. He slowly patted him to comfort him and whispered, "It's okay..."
He said, "It's okay..."
Xiao Jinang had just finished a shower, and his body was still damp. After coming into contact with the air, it became cold again. He reached out to help Ming Zhou up from the ground, then hugged him a little awkwardly, gave him a warm and well-intentioned hug, and rested his chin on Ming Zhou's forehead, rubbing it gently: "You are afraid of the dark, right?"
As if to cheer him up, Xiao Jinang's slender fingertips slowly gathered a ball of white light, which flashed dazzlingly in the dark room. He leaned against Ming Zhou's head, then covered Ming Zhou's eyes with his slightly cool palms, and the other's dark vision brightened up little by little.
It was as if a faint light suddenly appeared ahead. Although I still couldn't see anything, it dispelled the endless haze that had existed for decades.
Xiao Jinang had little energy left, and he had no way of curing Ming Zhou's eyes, so he could only bring him some comfort in this way.
And this method is undoubtedly effective. Ming Zhou, who had been struggling violently just now, suddenly calmed down. He held Xiao Jinang's hand tightly, as if he was afraid that the other party would leave. His strength was so great that his joints turned blue.
Xiao Jinang sat on the ground, covering Ming Zhou's eyes with one hand and patting his back with the other, whispering comfortingly: "It's okay, don't be afraid, it's okay..."
Although he didn't know what happened to Ming Zhou, his appearance was undoubtedly pitiful. He wanted to help him, not for the mission, nor for anything else, but simply to help this person.
All the suffering in the world should not be inflicted on the same person. That would be too unfair.
Xiao Jinang maintained that posture, motionless, until the noisy sound of rain outside the window gradually stopped, then he lowered his eyes to look at the person in his arms.
Ming Zhou closed his eyes and curled up in Xiao Jinang's arms, finding a long-lost sense of security. He finally let down his guard and fell asleep unconsciously, breathing heavily. But his face was still pale, his brows were furrowed, and he couldn't relax even in his sleep.
Seeing this, Xiao Jinang took back his hand that was covering his eyes, then gently adjusted his posture and picked him up from the ground. His figure was too tall, and he cast a faint shadow on the ground, with blurred edges, like an unreal dream.
Xiao Jinang walked into the bedroom quietly, trying not to make any noise, bent over and put Ming Zhou on the bed. He remembered something and turned to look at the other's legs.
Blind people always have many scars on their bodies. Those are the marks left on them by the world, and daylight is no exception.
Xiao Jinang sat down at the end of the bed and rolled up Mingzhou's trouser legs little by little. He saw that his thin and slender legs were covered with mottled and old scars. There was a brand new purple bruise on his knee, and the skin was broken. It was caused by being accidentally bumped on the coffee table just now.
Xiao Jinang vaguely remembered that there were cotton swabs and medicine in the bedside table. He squatted on the ground and gently searched, finally found the disinfectant and gauze, then gently treated Ming Zhou's wound, looking at his pale and transparent face under the light, feeling a little curious and a little distressed.
He was curious about what Ming Zhou had gone through to become what he is now. At the same time, he felt a little distressed, because the man in front of him was so gentle and elegant, but he was so scarred.
Driven by too many complicated emotions, Xiao Jinang finally made a move that violated the rules. He lowered his eyes to look at his fingertips, then looked at Ming Zhou who was still asleep, hesitated for a moment, and finally chose to gently place his fingertips on the other's forehead, closed his eyes and began to read the memories in Ming Zhou's mind.
At that moment, they shared all the darkness and pain of the past.
Xiao Jinang is just an intelligent system. His memory has been blank since the day he was created, so he has never experienced human malice and it is difficult for him to imagine how the pain of life can oppress a person.
So when he finished reading Ming Zhou's childhood memory, he was stunned. He could not imagine that this elegant and easy-going man in front of him actually grew up in that kind of environment.
"… "
After a long silence, Xiao Jinang slowly retracted his fingertips. He leaned forward slightly and gently rubbed Ming Zhou's face with his own, then left immediately, as if silently comforting something.
This warm friend who had bought him candy and ice cream and was willing to agree to all his requests...
Yes, in Xiao Jinang's heart, Ming Zhou was warm to him. Just like his name, every time he thought of it, he would think of the warm sun in winter. Xiao Jinang was even reluctant to use the word "villain" to describe Ming Zhou, because he was not bad at all.
That night, Mingzhou's diary, which had never been interrupted, was rarely interrupted for a day, as if it was some kind of foreshadowing that the dark and painful past would be cut off from him and drift further and further away.
And Xiao Jinang rarely looked at the messages in the group. He lay beside the bed and stayed there all day and all night.
That night, the rain kept falling outside the window. I couldn't see the bright moonlight in the sky, nor could I hear the cicadas chirping in the treetops. But in my dream, the lights were as bright as day, and the sky was bright and the sun was blue.
Ming Zhou lay in bed and gradually woke up at dawn. What he saw was the darkness that had accompanied him for many years. He moved his fingertips slightly, frowned unconsciously, and instinctively felt around to confirm where he was. However, as soon as he moved, a familiar voice rang in his ears: "Doctor Ming, are you awake?"
It's Xiao Jinang...
Ming Zhou heard his voice and froze. The box of his memory was unlocked and it surged like a tide. He suddenly remembered everything that happened last night. At that moment, Ming Zhou felt the blood flowing backwards, and even his face slowly lost its color, turning as pale as paper.
Ming is a calm and indifferent doctor during the day, and rarely has big emotional fluctuations because of anything. But yesterday, the things in the storage box suddenly got out of control, which was considered a pathological behavior in the eyes of others.
Ming Zhou was unwilling and unwilling to let others see this scene. At the very least, that person couldn't be Xiao Jinang...
"I… "
Ming Zhou subconsciously sat up from the bed, looking somewhat bewildered. He moved his lips, as if he wanted to explain something, but for a long time he could not utter a word, his lips were dry and cracked, without any blood.
Ming Zhou reached out his hand, fumbling for something in the darkness, and finally found Xiao Jinang's hand beside the bed. He clenched it tightly uncontrollably, his palms full of cold sweat: "I... I'm sorry... Yesterday..."
Ming Zhou didn't want Xiao Jinang to be afraid of him, so he tried hard to find a reasonable reason to explain his behavior yesterday. However, before he could come up with a good reason, a "hush" sounded in his ears.
"it does not matter."
Xiao Jinang put his index finger to his lips, signaling Ming Zhou that he didn't need to explain anything, then he gently held him in his arms, gave him a comforting hug, and patted Ming Zhou's back clumsily, whispering comfortingly:
"it does not matter."