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In the dead silence and darkness, there were only the suppressed sobs and the heavy and slow beating of the heart.

Lin Xiyan curled up, his face buried in the soft coat, trying to grasp the last bit of illusory comfort. The slight sting on his wrist was like a mark that would never fade away, reminding him of his loss of control and imminent collapse.

Just when his consciousness was becoming groggy and he was about to be dragged into chaos by exhaustion and tears, the phone beside his pillow suddenly vibrated violently without any warning. The screen suddenly lit up, and the faint blue light instantly pierced the darkness, accompanied by a rapid, exclusive ringtone.

It’s Jiang Yibai.

Lin Xiyan shuddered as if struck by thunder, his heart suddenly tightening and almost stopping. He stared at the names and profile pictures jumping on the screen in horror, as if they were some kind of monstrous beast.

Why would he call...at this time?

Panic gripped him. He didn't dare answer. The way he looked now, with his tear-swollen eyes, his trembling voice, and the pain on his wrist... he absolutely couldn't let him know.

The ringing persisted, over and over again, sounding particularly harsh and intimidating in the dead silence of the room, each ring like a knock on his tense nerves.

Just as he was about to turn off the ringing sound with trembling hands, the vibration stopped abruptly.

The screen went dark.

The world fell into a heart-wrenching silence again.

He had just breathed a sigh of relief when his phone started vibrating again! This time, it was even more urgent and more unyielding.

He knew Jiang Yibai's stubbornness.

Without warning, tears welled up in my eyes again. When the ringing was about to happen for the fourth time, a desperate feeling of despair and a deep, unspeakable longing finally overcame my panic.

He stretched out his trembling hand, his fingertips were cold, and he could barely hold the phone. He pressed the answer button randomly and even accidentally touched the speakerphone.

“…Xiyan?”

Jiang Yibai's voice immediately rang through the receiver, hoarse from being woken and thick with sleepiness, but even more so, a subtle nervousness. "Why aren't you asleep yet? I just thought I dreamed about you... and then I woke up. I saw location sharing was still on, so I... gave you a call. Did I wake you?"

He tried to make his tone relaxed, even with a hint of drowsiness and coquettishness from someone who had just woken up.

Lin Xiyan bit her lower lip tightly, not daring to make a sound. But her tears flowed even more fiercely, silently sliding down and dripping onto the coat in her arms. Her breathing became broken and rapid from the effort she put down.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for two seconds.

Just two seconds.

The confusion and coquettishness just now disappeared without a trace in an instant. Jiang Yibai's voice suddenly tightened, penetrating the receiver with incomparable clarity, with a sharp alertness: "Xiyan? What's wrong with you? Speak!"

Lin Xiyan wanted to shake her head in panic, wanting to say that she was fine, but she couldn't utter any syllables. She could only make an extremely slight, crying sound.

"Are you crying?" Jiang Yibai's voice suddenly rose, and all his lazy sleepiness was completely torn away, leaving only utter anxiety and panic. "What happened? Tell me! Lin Xiyan! Speak!"

His tone was so urgent that it almost sounded like a shout, but there was no anger in it, only overwhelming worry and fear.

"No... I'm fine..." Lin Xiyan finally managed to squeeze out a broken voice, which was extremely hoarse and had a strong nasal tone. "I just... had a... nightmare..."

Even he himself didn't believe this.

"Don't move!" Jiang Yibai's voice was firm and unquestionable. In the background came the rustling of people quickly putting on clothes, the chaotic sound of footsteps, and the crisp sound of keys clashing. "Wait for me! I'll be there soon!"

The call remained on. I could clearly hear the whistling wind and the increasingly rapid sound of running footsteps. His breathing, ragged and chaotic, could be heard through the receiver.

Lin Xiyan gripped the phone like a scorching coal, unable to let go, yet unable to hold on. He could only helplessly listen to the voice on the other end, a voice that signaled the other party's desperate rush to his destination. Every second felt like torture.

Time became extremely long.

I don’t know how long it took, maybe only a few minutes, but it felt like a century.

There were rapid, almost frantic footsteps in the corridor, rushing up three or four steps at a time! Then there was the heavy, anxious knocking on the door, almost breaking the shabby door panel.

"Lin Xiyan! Open the door!" Jiang Yibai's voice sounded outside the door, with heavy panting after running and unconcealable panic.

Lin Xiyan seemed to be nailed to the bed, unable to move.

The person outside the door seemed to have completely lost his patience.

"Bang!" A loud noise!

The door lock seemed to have been violently kicked open! The old wooden door slammed against the wall, groaning under the weight.

A figure with a cold aura rushed in like a whirlwind!

There was no light in the room, only the faint light from the mobile phone screen and the sporadic moonlight outside the window.

But that's enough.

Jiang Yibai's gaze instantly locked onto the figure curled up on the bed, and... the familiar black coat he was clutching tightly in his arms. And then there was the faint, almost imperceptible smell of... blood in the air.

His pupils suddenly constricted! His breathing suddenly stagnated!

He didn't even have time to turn on the light. He took a few steps to the bedside. With the dim light, he could clearly see Lin Xiyan's pale, tear-stained face, his hollow, red and swollen eyes filled with panic and despair, and... the glaring, thin red mark on his left hand, which was no longer bleeding but still hideous!

The air seemed to freeze.

Jiang Yibai's body shook imperceptibly, and the color drained from his face instantly. In those purple eyes, all the anxiety and panic were instantly replaced by a huge, almost crushing heartache and fear.

There was no questioning, no reproach, not even a hint of anger.

There is only bottomless heartache.

He suddenly leaned down, but his movements became extremely gentle at this moment. He stretched out his arms and carefully took the curled up, shivering body on the bed, coat and all, and tightly wrapped it in his arms, holding it horizontally.

Like holding a fragile, frightened child.

Lin Xiyan was held rigidly by him, feeling as light as a feather. He subconsciously struggled, but was held even tighter.

Jiang Yibai held him and sat down on the edge of the bed, letting him sit sideways on his lap, almost completely entwined in his embrace. One hand tightly wrapped around his back, while the other hand trembled and gently lifted his injured wrist. The cold touch of his fingertips made Lin Xiyan tremble violently.

"Don't be afraid... It's okay... I'm coming..." Jiang Yibai's voice was very low and hoarse, ringing close to his ear, with lingering gasps and a suppressed, broken tremor, "Does it hurt? Hmm? Tell me..."

He lowered his head and gently pressed his forehead against Lin Xiyan's cold forehead, their breaths intertwined, trying to warm him with his body temperature.

Lin Xiyan was held tightly in his arms, her body tightly wrapped in that familiar and reassuring aura. The barrier she had been holding tightly against him finally collapsed completely.

Tears welled up like a dam breaking. His silent tears turned into uncontrollable, low sobs, and his body shook violently and uncontrollably, like the last dead leaf in the autumn wind.

Jiang Yibai said nothing, but just hugged him tighter. One hand clumsily but gently stroked his thin back over and over again, while the other hand still carefully supported his injured wrist, and his fingertips lightly stroked the cold skin around the wound, avoiding the wound.

"It's okay... it's okay... just cry it out... I'm here..." He kept coaxing her in a low voice, his voice was hoarse and every word seemed to be squeezed out from his sour heart.

The person in my arms cried for a long time, as if to let out all the grievances and despair that had accumulated over a lifetime. The crying gradually became weaker, leaving only intermittent, pitiful sobs.

Jiang Yibai felt the fabric of his clothes on his chest, completely soaked by his tears, and it felt icy cold. His heart felt like it was soaked in acid, swollen and painful.

Finally, Lin Xiyan moved very slightly, her head slightly raised from her chest, and looked at him with tearful eyes. Those amber eyes were filled with a dazed mist and a deep, almost desperate confusion. Her voice was hoarse from crying, broken into pieces:

"Jiang Yibai..." He choked with sobs, each word carrying a heavy, wet feeling. "The true meaning of emotion... for me... is always separated by an insurmountable fog..."

He took a deep breath, tears rolling down his face again, a mixture of endless confusion and pain: "I can't tell... its shape... nor do I know... how to measure it... and I don't understand... how... to give it back in equal measure..."

His voice grew fainter and fainter, finally swallowed by sobs, leaving only helpless trembling and tears. Like a scarred boat completely lost in the vast sea of ​​fog.

Jiang Yibai listened to his broken confession, saw the bottomless pain and confusion in his eyes, and felt his heart aching as if it was about to be torn apart. He didn't answer immediately, but tightened his arms, pressing him deeper into his arms, and gently rubbed his chin against the soft top of his head.

After a moment of silence, he gazed into Lin Xiyan's tear-stained eyes with his purple eyes, filled with heartache and tenderness, amidst the reassuring embrace and warm body temperature. He spoke each word clearly and slowly, as if making a solemn oath, or stating the simplest truth:

“Love is not a puzzle to be solved, nor a debt to be repaid.”

His voice was low and gentle, with a strange, soothing power.

"Maybe... it's just that the pain I feel holding you in my arms right now is greater than anything else."

"It's just that even though I know it's freezing cold in the middle of the night, I still have the urge to rush to your side."

"It's just that when I saw you crying, here—" He gently grabbed Lin Xiyan's uninjured hand and pressed it against the violently beating spot on his left chest, "—it felt like it was being tightly grasped, and I couldn't breathe."

He lowered his head slightly, and his forehead touched Lin Xiyan's again. Their eyes met, and he couldn't dodge.

"It doesn't require you to struggle to identify it, nor does it require you to painstakingly measure it, nor does it require you to think about how to 'return it'."

"As long as you exist and are willing to accept, that is all that matters to me."

After he finished speaking, he gently kissed away the teardrops hanging on his eyelashes, treating him with care as if he were a rare treasure.

"So, don't be afraid." He murmured softly, his tone filled with unquestionable firmness and tenderness. "The fog will dissipate. I will always be here, waiting with you until the day it dissipates."

The person in his arms stared at him blankly, tears still flowing, but a faint light seemed to finally seep through the bottomless confusion and despair.

Jiang Yibai looked at him, so fragile that he seemed to be broken at the slightest touch. The pain in his heart turned into deeper pity and a firm determination to "raise him better."

Still too fragile, he thought. He needed to be more careful, more patient. He needed to coax her slowly and raise her well.

He hugged her tightly again, like guarding a lost treasure, his chin resting on the top of her head. His voice regained some of his usual sticky and coquettish tone, but with an unquestionable meaning:

"Now, close your eyes. Don't think about anything. I'm here."

Lin Xiyan was wrapped tightly in his arms, listening to his steady and strong heartbeat, feeling the warmth and firmness that almost melted him, and his nerves, which had been tense to the extreme, finally relaxed a little bit.

Extreme exhaustion and exhaustion from crying washed over him. He gently and submissively closed his eyes, but tears continued to silently fall from his eyes.

Only this time, it wasn't out of despair.

Outside the window, the night is still dark.

But in the room, the warmth of the embrace and the gentle yet firm protection seemed to have woven an impenetrable net, which finally temporarily trapped the darkness that tried to devour everything.