Si Yiheng: "Sweat dripped into my eyes."
Shu Yu hesitated no longer and wiped the sweat from Si Yiheng's brow.
In the cramped, damp space, they were very close.
Shu Yu's slender, fair fingers occasionally brushed against his skin.
What he smelled wasn't the musty odor of mold—
It was the light citrus scent of Shu Yu.
The sunlight made Shu Yu's profile look soft and fuzzy.
It also cast a silhouette of Si Yiheng's Adam's apple slowly bobbing, projected onto the mottled, water-stained wall.
Their two shadows began to overlap.
Shu Yu: "Si Yiheng, is that better? Are you still hot?"
Si Yiheng's voice was a little hoarse, "Not hot anymore. I'm almost done—you go out. It's stuffy in here."
Shu Yu obediently stepped out.
At that moment, Shu Yu didn't think much of it.
But later, after Si Yiheng left the rental to go to work,
when she was alone and remembered the scene of wiping his sweat, Shu Yu's eyelashes fluttered.
She couldn't help but sketch a few lines on her tablet—that silhouette on the wall.
Realizing what she was doing, Shu Yu quickly deleted the rough drawing.
In the first eighteen years of Shu Yu's life, she had never met anyone like Si Yiheng.
For the next half month, Shu Yu and Si Yiheng lived together day by day.
Si Yiheng would always bring something home—a delicious slice of cake, some expensive fruit, or clothes bought by mistake.
Shu Yu really wanted to ask Si Yiheng how he could accidentally buy women's clothing.
Si Yiheng just replied, "Slipped."
Shu Yu was speechless—how slippery must his hand be.
One piece of clothing cost two or three thousand yuan, yet Si Yiheng's whole outfit combined couldn't have cost that much.
She asked him to return it, and Si Yiheng would perform a clumsy move, tearing off the price tag by "accident."
Then he'd look at her with calm, deep eyes, "Can't return it now. What do we do?"
Shu Yu: "..."
Shu Yu could only stammer, "Then I'll give you the money for the clothes."
Si Yiheng: "Mm."
Si Yiheng agreed readily, but when Shu Yu transferred the money, he'd never accept it.
When Shu Yu asked him about it, Si Yiheng would say plainly, "Forgot to accept it."
Si Yiheng agreed to everything yet didn't follow through on anything.
Shu Yu always felt like she was easily wrapped around his finger.
She wanted to buy him things too. Si Yiheng pointed at a fifty-yuan shirt and said, "I like this one."
Shu Yu: "..."
But such a gift in return was completely unequal.
Si Yiheng: "You think I'm not worth a fifty-yuan shirt?"
"Is that so..."
Shu Yu: "..."
Shu Yu quickly interrupted, "No, you are! I'll buy it for you!"
Seeing Shu Yu flustered, Si Yiheng couldn't help but curl his lips slightly. He ruffled Shu Yu's hair. "How are you so cute?"
Shu Yu's ears instantly turned red—why did he pat her head?
Si Yiheng chuckled softly, his crisp voice like a spring breeze brushing past, stirring the heart.
"Want to pat mine back?"
Si Yiheng took Shu Yu's wrist and lowered his head.
Shu Yu pressed her lips together, then touched Si Yiheng's stiff hair. "You're not cute at all."
Si Yiheng, in an excellent mood, replied, "Mm."
Si Yiheng let go of Shu Yu, and she returned to her room with the dress.
Shu Yu hugged the gift box, her heart pounding wildly.
Could it be that Si Yiheng... likes her a little, and that's why he's so kind to her?
But Shu Yu didn't dare to be sure. It was like what Si Yiheng had said—
Si Yiheng was lonely, so after they began sharing the apartment, he treated her as someone close.
Perhaps Si Yiheng just thought of her as a little sister.
Being good to a little sister—that was only natural, wasn't it?
Another weekend night.
She was a freelancer; she had no days off. As long as there were commissions, she would paint.
Recently, she'd had quite a lot of work.
As for Si Yiheng, he worked on weekends too.
At 7:48 that evening, a torrential downpour came out of nowhere, pouring down without any warning.
Shu Yu looked at the sky and texted Si Yiheng.
LittleFishSwimming: Did you bring an umbrella?
But by eight o'clock, she still hadn't gotten a reply, and the rain was only getting heavier.
Shu Yu grabbed an umbrella and went downstairs, hoping to see Si Yiheng from the door.
She sent him another message.
LittleFishSwimming: Si Yiheng, are you okay?
Still no reply.
Just as Shu Yu was about to brave the rain to find him, a man fully soaked to the bone appeared in her line of sight.
Shu Yu hurried over and held the umbrella over Si Yiheng.
Si Yiheng was surprised to see Shu Yu there, but he quickly understood—she had come to wait for him.
Si Yiheng gripped the umbrella handle and pushed it back to shield Shu Yu. "Hold the umbrella for yourself."
"I don't need it."
Shu Yu pressed her lips together, slightly annoyed. "Of course you don't. You're already soaking wet."
"Don't rush home in a rain like this."
Beneath his wet, dark strands of hair, Si Yiheng's dark eyes looked straight at Shu Yu. "But I wanted to get back as soon as I could."
As long as he imagined that in the heavy rain, their leaky, run-down rental might let in wind and rain,
Si Yiheng couldn't bear to come home late, leaving Shu Yu alone, not knowing what to do.
Only then did Shu Yu notice that his pants were torn, with faint traces of blood.
Shu Yu blinked, feeling a heaviness in her chest—like storm clouds heavy with water vapor.
Weighted down, about to rain.
"Let's go home."
Si Yiheng: "Mm."
Once home, things weren't much better. The windows were old, water had seeped in through the cracks, the lime plaster on the wall was soaked and peeling, and a puddle had formed on the floor.
Shu Yu was stunned—that wasn't the case when she'd left.
Si Yiheng grabbed a rag and a basin to wipe up the water, letting the rag soak completely, then wrung it out into the basin.
Shu Yu quickly followed his example and pitched in to clean up.
Si Yiheng: "Go rest over there. I've got this."
Shu Yu: "No."
Si Yiheng said softly, "Are you upset?"
Shu Yu kept wiping the water off the floor, head down. "No, I'm not."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to. Next time..."
Si Yiheng paused.
Shu Yu stared at him. "Why did you stop?"
Si Yiheng: "I can't leave you home alone. If you had to mop the floor by yourself, you'd feel really sad."
Shu Yu had nothing to say—Si Yiheng was right. She would be sad all alone.
But she also didn't want Si Yiheng to get hurt.
Shu Yu lifted her fair face and looked at Si Yiheng. "Take your time next time."
"You can let me be sad for a little while."
Si Yiheng's heart softened even more. "Okay."
But he didn't want to make Shu Yu sad.
He had learned from Iron Egg about Shu Yu's past in this world—he knew that no one had been kind to her before.
People would repeatedly leave her in a corner and break her heart.
But he couldn't.
The rain outside continued to fall, and the two of them kept repeating the same motions,
so that the house wouldn't be flooded.
They worked until nine, when the rain finally slowed.
Shu Yu's arms were sore with fatigue. Si Yiheng said, "Take a shower first, before you catch a cold."
Shu Yu nodded. After she finished showering, Si Yiheng had already made ginger soup.
Shu Yu cupped her bowl and drank. Si Yiheng went to take his shower.
The sound of rain outside the window, the sound of water in the bathroom, and the dim, yellowish light inside the room.
At this moment, Shu Yu felt a peace of mind she had never known before.
After finishing her bath, Si Yiheng sat down at the dining table and picked up the other bowl of ginger soup to drink.
The two of them sat facing each other like this.
Si Yiheng glanced at the mottled walls and listened to the hum of the old air conditioner.
Finally, his gaze settled back on Shu Yu's pale, delicate face.
Si Yiheng thought to himself that it was time to find a better place to live.
