residual heat

As night falls, the sensor lights in the corridor emit a dim light.

Ye Shu stood at his door, keys in hand, looking slightly exhausted. Not physically, but rather a kind of transitional weariness between the bustle and the stillness of the world. He seemed to have switched back to solitude, the slightly warm aura around him, warmed by the mountain breeze and the warmth of the sun, slowly fading.

Chen Xu leaned against the opposite wall, yawning, his eyelids almost drooping, but he still forced himself to speak: "...Next time, next time, how about we go to that newly opened wetland park? I heard that at dusk it's full of water birds, which is really beautiful... But there might be a lot of mosquitoes... I'd have to bring mosquito repellent..."

Ye Shu inserted the key into the lock and turned it gently, with a soft click. He pushed the door open, and the room was filled with a silence and darkness even deeper than when he left. Only the neon glow of the city outside the window seeped in faintly, outlining the vague outlines of the furniture.

He did not go in immediately, but turned sideways and looked at Chen Xu, who was almost falling asleep while standing.

"We're here," he said. His voice was exceptionally clear and gentle in the empty corridor.

Chen Xu woke up suddenly and rubbed his eyes: "Ah? Oh, we're here." He stood up straight, shook his head, trying to dispel the sleepiness, "Then you should go in and rest! You must be exhausted today... although you can't tell..." He muttered the last sentence in a low voice.

Ye Shu's gaze lingered on his troubled face for a second, then he nodded very slightly: "Yeah."

He stepped into the dark room and prepared to close the door.

"Hey, wait!" Chen Xu suddenly remembered something. He pressed the door panel and pulled out his phone from his trouser pocket. The light from the screen instantly illuminated a small part of his excited face. "Photos! I almost forgot! I have to send them to you!"

He fumbled with the camera, pulling out the photos he'd taken on the mountaintop today and handing them to Ye Shu like he was presenting a treasure. On the screen, the rosy glow of the sky and earth behind him was visible, along with Ye Shu's calm, even slightly blurred profile.

"Look at this one! It's amazing! If I hadn't captured it quickly..." Chen Xu chattered on and on.

Ye Shu's gaze fell on the screen, watching himself, who seemed to be melting into the light and shadow, without any ripples in his eyes, neither admiration nor disgust. He stared for a moment, then raised his eyes and looked at Chen Xu: "Send it to me."

"Okay! Right away!" Chen Xu lowered his head and began to operate WeChat, his fingers moving quickly. "I sent it to you! Remember to receive it! The original picture! You can use it as a wallpaper!"

Ye Shu's phone vibrated slightly in his pocket, but he didn't check it.

After sending the photo, Chen Xu contentedly put away his phone and yawned again, tears welling up in his eyes. "Alright, mission accomplished! I'm leaving now! Go to bed!" He waved his hand and turned towards the elevator, his steps dragging with fatigue.

Ye Shu stood inside the door, watching his back. The sensor light lit up again as Chen Xu moved, casting his lively yet tired figure against the cold wall, then completely disappearing as the elevator door opened and closed.

The corridor returned to darkness and silence.

Ye Shu stood quietly for a few seconds, then slowly closed the door.

“Click.”

A slight sound completely isolated the two worlds inside and outside.

The apartment fell into complete silence. Without turning on the lights, Ye Shu took off his coat in the darkness and hung it up, his movements so gentle as if he didn't want to disturb the silence. He walked to the window, not checking to see if Chen Xu's car had left, but simply staring out.

The city lights are like falling stars, dense and twinkling, filled with artificial bustle and a constant sense of alienation. It is completely different from the vast nature on the mountaintop, but in essence, it seems to be a manifestation of the world.

He stood there for a moment before walking to the sofa and sitting down, without intending to turn on the light.

The moonlight moved slowly, and finally a ray of it passed through the window, shining obliquely on the floor in the middle of the living room, like a pool of clear and cold silver water.

Ye Shu pulled his phone from his pocket. The screen lit up, a cold light illuminating his face. He opened WeChat and saw the photo Chen Xu had sent. His fingertips hovered over the screen for a moment, but he didn't save it or set it as wallpaper. He just looked at it.

Watched for a long time.

Then he exited WeChat and turned off the phone screen.

The room was once again filled with darkness and the moonlight.

He leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes. The air still seemed to linger with the faint scent of forest grass, the greasy aroma of chicken soup, and Chen Xu's sunny, energetic energy, but these were rapidly dissipating, assimilated by the inherent, cold, lonely atmosphere of the apartment.

His breathing became extremely slow and long.

No one knew what he was thinking. Perhaps he was thinking nothing at all. He simply existed. Like one of the countless lights outside the window, on or off, it made no difference to the universe.

After a long time, he moved very slightly, raised his hand, and gently touched the corner of his lips with his fingers.

There still seemed to be the warmth of the chicken soup on the top of the mountain, and a little bit of... extremely faint, almost illusory warmth brought by the forced, noisy care.

The moonlight flows quietly.

He maintained this posture, like a statue lost in eternal contemplation, or like a mortal who was simply tired and taking a rest.

The night was still long, and his loneliness was ancient and familiar, like breathing.