Chapter 40 "Want me to hold you while you sleep?"...

Zhou Yiyang went downstairs and was startled by the scene in the alley: "What happened?"

Red Hair was stunned by Sheng Yu's kick and couldn't groan.

“I’m here to rent a room, and he’s the real estate agent…” Tang Ci’s voice choked as she saw the two girls behind Zhou Yiyang looking at her. She struggled in Sheng Yu’s arms for a moment, “You, you put me down first.”

As she moved, the wound on her knee was aggravated, and she frowned slightly.

"That's all." Sheng Yu said impatiently.

Tang Ci had no choice but to lower her eyes and briefly recount what had happened.

Hongmao is an employee of the landlord of the apartment building upstairs, and is responsible for showing Tang Ci the apartment.

The two disagreed on the rent. Hongmao insisted that he had no right to lower the price. Tangci grabbed her luggage and was about to leave. Hongmao was afraid that the business would be lost and the boss would scold her, so he insisted on taking Tangci to see the room first and then letting her decide.

That's why the two of them were pulling at each other just now.

After Tang Ci finished speaking, the red-haired man lying on the ground sighed and said he wanted to call the police.

"..." Zhou Yiyang looked at Sheng Yu's protective stance, and then at the shoe print on the red-haired man's clothes. In an instant, he understood everything. He scratched his head and reached out to the red-haired man: "Brother, I'm sorry, it's all a misunderstanding. Get up first and we'll talk."

Red Hair frowned and slapped Zhou Yiyang's hand away: "I'm not your buddy. Just because there's a misunderstanding doesn't mean you can hit someone!!"

Sheng Yu sneered: "Does your boss know you're stealing customers' luggage?"

Red Hair opened his eyes wide and shouted, "Who stole the luggage? I was just trying to help her carry it."

Sheng Yu lifted Tang Ci's injured knee upwards: "Is this your kindness?"

Red Hair swallowed hard, and when he spoke again, his voice was much weaker: "Who knew she was so weak, she collapsed as soon as I pulled her..."

Sheng Yu, with a sullen face, pretended to kick him again.

Red Hair sprang to his feet, waving his hands and backing away: "Hey hey—if you hit me again, I'll really call the police!"

Fearing that Hongmao might really pursue the matter and cause trouble for Sheng Yu, Tang Ci quickly said, "Since we've both suffered losses, let's call it even, okay?"

Her voice was gentle and non-aggressive, and the red-haired man nodded vigorously as he descended the steps.

Sheng Yu didn't say anything more, and carried Tang Ci to the clinic along the street, with the rest of the people following behind.

"Wait a minute!" Red Hair suddenly called out to them from behind. When Tang Ci turned around, he asked apologetically, "Are you still renting a place? Our place is really good value for money."

Tang Ci knew some of the rules of bargaining. The best time to bargain was when the merchant called out to a customer who was leaving. She put her hands on Sheng Yu's shoulders and said to Hong Mao, "Lower the price by another two hundred."

Red Hair hesitated, looking troubled.

"No rent." Before Hongmao could make a decision, Sheng Yu interrupted their debate.

"A discount of two hundred is still a good deal," Tang Ci told him softly.

Sheng Yu freed one hand to open the glass door of the clinic: "I have a house nearby, you can stay for free."

Tang Ci shook her head: "I still have to pay you rent."

Sheng Yu didn't seem to hear her, so he didn't respond.

Hearing this, Ye Jiao, who was following at the back, glanced at them in surprise.

The doctors and nurses in the clinic were busy. Sheng Yu carefully placed Tang Ci on a chair and went to the counter to find a doctor.

Only after the doctor examined the wound and said it was nothing serious did his tightly furrowed brow relax slightly.

The doctor lifted Tang Ci's leg to clean it. The nurse was too busy, so he casually asked Sheng Yu to lend a hand: "Young man, help your girlfriend roll up her pants."

Sheng Yu knelt down in front of Tang Ci without complaint, his slender fingers avoiding the wound as he rolled up Tang Ci's trouser leg to her thigh.

Suddenly exposed to a large area of ​​skin in front of Sheng Yu, Tang Ci's calves instinctively flinched.

Sheng Yu pressed down on her ankle: "Don't move."

Tang Ci nodded, her legs stiff.

The doctor then frequently ordered Sheng Yu around, calling her "your girlfriend" repeatedly. Coupled with Sheng Yu's already striking appearance, people in the reception hall kept glancing at them.

Tang Ci blushed under the doctor's gaze and whispered an explanation before the doctor could speak again: "Doctor, this is my classmate, not my boyfriend."

The doctor gave an unexpected "Oh," and before correcting himself, he jokingly said with a smile, "Then your classmate is a really nice person."

Ye Jiao stood by the door, looking at Sheng Yu's slightly furrowed brows, and smiled.

After the doctor finished bandaging her wound, he told Tang Ci to rest for a while and wait for the iodine to dry a bit before leaving.

Sheng Yu sat down in the chair next to her, glanced up at the wall clock, and asked, "Have you eaten?"

Tang Ci nodded: "I ate a piece of bread when I came."

"Wait for me here." Sheng Yu got up and went to the convenience store next door to buy some food.

As he came out of the convenience store carrying a large bag of food, he bumped into Ye Jiao, who was scanning a power bank at the entrance.

Sheng Yu handed her the open plastic bag: "Thank you for your help tonight. Have a bottle of water."

Ye Jiao, who hadn't been of much help, twitched the corner of her lips and took a bottle of juice from the plastic bag: "Looks like I wasn't wrong."

Sheng Yu was confused: "What?"

"Didn't that girl just deny your relationship?" Ye Jiao smiled slyly. "Handsome, I can see you're really interested. How about I help you out?"

Sheng Yu scoffed, ignoring her kindness, and walked past her.

Ye Jiao suddenly reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

Sheng Yu frowned: "?"

Ye Jiao smiled and glanced at the pharmacy's floor-to-ceiling window: "You have dust on your shoulder."

Sheng Yu turned his head and saw Tang Ci's profile through the pharmacy's floor-to-ceiling window. His face turned cold: "Mind your own business."

Ye Jiao hadn't expected such a strong reaction, and said dryly, "It was just a joke..."

"My affairs with her are none of other people's business."

Ye Jiao stomped her foot in frustration as she watched Sheng Yu's cold and aloof back.

/

After the iodine had dried sufficiently, Tang Ci pulled down her trousers and went to the counter to pay, only to be told by the doctor that Sheng Yu had already paid in advance.

She pursed her lips, returned to her seat, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and stood up just as Sheng Yu returned. He bent down to hug her, but Tang Ci took a step back and said, "No need, the wound doesn't hurt anymore."

Sheng Yu raised an eyebrow: "Can you walk?"

"That's fine."

Sheng Yu didn't insist, reached out and picked up her suitcase, tossing the plastic bag to Zhou Yiyang: "Take whatever you want to eat."

Zhou Yiyang didn't stand on ceremony, took some food and drinks, and then returned the bag to him.

Zhou Ying looked behind Sheng Yu and asked, "Where's Ye Jiao?"

"I don't know," Sheng Yu said calmly.

Zhou Ying called Ye Jiao and was relieved to learn that she had returned to the studio. Then she nudged Zhou Yiyang and asked, "Shall we go too?"

The two had only recently fallen in love and needed some time alone together. Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Zhou Yiyang said goodbye to them and went to a bar with Zhou Ying to continue their get-together.

Sheng Yu hailed a taxi, first helping Tang Ci into the car, then going around to the trunk to put the luggage in. After getting in the car and telling the driver the address, he leaned back in his seat and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Tang Ci looked at his indifferent expression and apologized softly, "I'm sorry to have troubled you for so long."

Sheng Yu put down her fingers, her brows furrowing even more, her emotions, suppressed all night, finally erupting: "What happened at your home? Why didn't you call me if something was wrong?"

Tang Ci was stunned by his question: "My dad sold the house." She curled her fingertips and said, "It's just to rent a place. I don't want to bother you with everything."

"All you ever say is 'trouble'," Sheng Yu's eyes narrowed slightly, his deep, porcelain-like voice turning icy: "Tang Ci, do you really think of me as just an ordinary classmate?"

The driver glanced at the rearview mirror because of his impolite tone.

Tang Ci's eyes stung, and she pursed her lips without saying a word.

The taxi sped along and stopped outside the gate of a luxurious residential complex in the southern suburbs.

Sheng Yu got out of the car first, took his luggage from the trunk and walked towards the gate of the community, with Tang Ci following behind with her schoolbag on her back.

The two walked one after the other on the clean and tidy street, with only the slight creaking of their suitcases making the only noise.

Because of the discomfort in her knees, Tang Ci walked slower than usual and gradually fell behind Sheng Yu by several meters.

Just as she was about to jog a few steps to catch up with him, Sheng Yu seemed to notice something and slowed down.

The apartment is located on the 23rd floor, with the main entrance facing a full-length window overlooking the bustling night view of Nanling. The interior is simply and warmly decorated, with all the furniture brand new.

This house is even better than the most expensive one she saw today.

Tang Ci pondered for a few seconds, looking at Sheng Yu's indifferent expression, and did not immediately mention the matter of paying rent.

Sheng Yu beckoned her over, and as she walked over, he explained the purpose of each room to her.

After he finished speaking, Tang Ci pointed to the guest room on the left side of the corridor: "I'll sleep in that one."

Sheng Yu nodded and put the plastic bag from his suitcase on the table: "Eat these if you're hungry. There's a 24-hour convenience store downstairs, and the subway station is 50 meters to the left after you go out." He then took out his phone to check: "You can take Line 2 directly to the school."

Tang Ci nodded repeatedly and whispered thank you.

Sheng Yu glanced at her twice, then strode towards the door: "Call me if anything happens."

Tang Ci agreed, and watched him leave with his eyelashes lowered, keenly sensing that he didn't want to stay in the house any longer.

After a long day of running around, Tang Ci took a shower before pushing her suitcase to the guest room. She fumbled for the light switch on the wall, but with a click, the room remained pitch black.

She looked up at the overhead light, tried the switch a few more times, and then realized that the light was broken.

Tang Ci groped her way through the darkness and drew back the curtains. Using the neon lights outside the window, she quickly tidied the bed. As she put on the pillowcases, her peripheral vision caught sight of the bookshelf, and she stopped what she was doing.

Besides the neatly arranged medical books, there were also several photo frames on the bookshelf. The woman in the photos had a striking resemblance to Sheng Yu in terms of her eyebrows and eyes.

This is Sheng Yu's mother's house.

Tang Ci paused for a moment, sat down on the edge of the bed, and made another phone call to Tang Jianwei.

As expected, no one answered the phone.

The room lights were all off, and darkness, like a torrent, gradually enveloped her in the stillness, thick and suffocating.

Tang Ci clutched her phone and slowly, silently began to cry.

/

The scenery outside the car window returned to normal after being blurry.

The driver parked the car outside the hotel, reached out and turned on the overhead light. He pressed the button a few times, but the light remained off. The driver muttered, "Why is the light broken?"

Sheng Yu paused in his action of taking out his wallet, glanced at the timer next to it, and realized it was still early. After a couple of seconds, he said, "Let's go back the way we came."

The driver glanced at him and asked, "Have you forgotten something?"

Sheng Yu said "Mm".

The housekeeper called him at the beginning of the month, saying that the ceiling light in the guest room of the house in the southern suburbs was broken and he hadn't found anyone to fix it yet.

Thinking of that dark room, he anxiously tapped the chair: "Please hurry up."

Carrying the light bulb, Sheng Yu opened the door again and frowned as he looked at the room, where not a single light was on.

Sheng Yu turned on the living room light, walked to the closed guest bedroom door, and knocked: "Tang Ci?"

A few seconds later, a "hmm" with a heavy nasal tone came from inside the door.

With a jolt of fear, Sheng Yu immediately opened the door.

The living room light spilled into the dim room. Tang Ci, with her messy hair, got out of bed, looked up blankly, her narrow face covered in tears.

Sheng Yu swallowed hard, walked to the bedside, and wiped the water off her cheeks. "She hid and cried instead of calling me."

"Tang Ci, have you never learned your lesson?"

Tang Ci couldn't hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. Knowing that he hated polite words, she still sobbed and apologized, "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say—"

He gently smoothed her messy hair, then pressed the back of her neck and pulled her into his arms.

"Then I won't say."

The air was filled with the comforting scent of soap. Tang Ci slowly gripped the hem of his coat, tears welling up as she let out a soft, animal-like whimper.

Sheng Yu didn't speak, but gently patted her back with his palm.

After what seemed like an eternity, the tears finally stopped. Tang Ci still buried her face in his chest, sniffling, and said, "Sheng Yu, you look just like my mother..."

Sheng Yu chuckled softly in the darkness and gently ruffled her hair: "Did you cry like this when you were little?"

Tang Ci pressed her cheek against his trembling chest and shook her head shyly: "When I was little, I was afraid to sleep alone, so my mother would hold me to sleep like this."

Sheng Yu paused for a few seconds, then sighed helplessly, "Little Ci, do you want me to hold you while you sleep?"