Chapter 28

"You're lying!" He Xi followed without hesitation, refutation with reason and evidence, "You say you're nice, then why don't you reply to my messages? Why don't you cut your hair even though it's grown so long? Why don't you smile when you see me? Am I some kind of disgusting person?"

He Xi was so angry when he saw Bai Shu, who was completely unmoved, and said, "Bai Shu, you've been acting strangely since you got injured before the college entrance exam, right?"

"From then on, you acted as if nothing had happened in front of me, you acted abnormally, and you acted gentle, all of which were just an act, right?"

"You basically... waited until I went to college, then pushed me out without hesitation, wanting to deal with this all by yourself..."

"Bai Shu, you big fool!" He Xi howled near the busy gate of Anhui University, crying like a little madman, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You say it!"

"Why do you have to hide away and bear it all by yourself when we can all share the burden?!"

Bai Shu's shoulder trembled as if pricked by a needle, and he stumbled. After a while, he recovered. When he turned around, He Xi saw an even colder and more ruthless face. "It seems that you won't give up unless I let you try."

"If you want to follow me, then follow me." He looked at her meaningfully, "I also want to know, will you pull me out of the abyss, or will I drag you... into hell?" He slowly raised his eyelids, his tone curious, but with a dangerous warning in his eyes.

He Xi laughed mockingly. Bai Shu thought that this would scare her away, but she wasn't afraid! He Xi rushed forward without hesitation and hugged Bai Shu's waist tightly, "I'm going to rely on you today."

"You have no shame." Bai Shu's eyes flashed with annoyance, and he used his words to hurt her.

"If you say so, then so be it." He Xi answered cheerfully. She didn't take this bit of aggression seriously.

Bai Shu didn't struggle, but he lost his patience: "You really don't want to leave?"

“I’m not leaving!”

"Want to help me, huh?"

"Yeah! Just like when you came here to help me!"

"Okay, very good." Bai Shu smiled, grabbed He Xi's arm and dragged him forward, "Then let me see how sincere you are."

He Xi was so happy that he followed without him having to make any effort. "Where are you going?"

"Will you follow me wherever I go?" Bai Shu turned around, "I'll give you one last chance."

"Nonsense! Forget giving me one chance. Even if you give me a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand times, my answer will still be the same: bullshit!"

"You..." Bai Shu was speechless, "You are so brave and fearless, and so naive that it's ridiculous."

"Just consider it a compliment from you!"

The wide road stretched out under their feet. Bai Shu pulled He Xi through the crowds and traffic. He Xi followed Bai Shu through the streets and alleys. When he looked up again, Bai Shu stopped at a hotel.

He Xi: “?”

She secretly looked at Bai Shu's face. He threw their ID cards to the front desk lady without any expression and said, "Get a room."

A buzzing sound sent countless bees flying through He Xi's brain. Her only reaction was dilated pupils and slightly open mouth. She didn't pay attention to what Bai Shu said next, or the expression on the front desk manager's face. When He Xi finally reacted, Bai Shu turned the door lock, pushed open the door, and pushed her inside.

What he saw was a dark, cramped room, simply furnished, with the bed and table taking up most of the space. The air was filled with a damp, moldy smell, and He Xi frowned uncomfortably.

Bai Shu slammed the door shut, turned around and looked at her leisurely.

He had a playful smile on his face and looked He Xi up and down with a frivolous look.

He Xi took an uncontrollable step back, and Bai Shu's expression was like, "I knew it!" "With your guts, you dare to imitate the little stalker girls in the movie Youth Pain?"

"Don't look down on me!" He Xi lowered his eyebrows, rushed to Bai Shu in two or three steps, stood on tiptoe and lifted Bai Shu's collar.

Bai Shu was forced to lower his head and saw that the girl's eyes were full of rebelliousness.

He seemed to be irritated, gritted his teeth secretly, and suddenly held He Xi's face with a fierce look in his eyes.

He Xi closed his eyes in fear, but a soft kiss fell on his lips.

Instantly separate.

He Xi opened her eyes with trembling eyelashes, and Bai Shu pushed her away in panic as if he had been caught doing something wrong.

Bai Shu turned sideways and looked back, "Haven't you realized it yet, He Xi? I've changed."

"The me now is nothing like the simple and gentle person you imagined." He paused, "On the contrary, I'm complicated, rough, and even... disgusting."

"Are you scared?"

He Xi: “…”

"That's just the beginning." As if he still felt he wasn't bad enough, he moved his feet, turned around, and raised He Xi's chin with his fingers.

The other hand pushed aside He Xi's bangs, tapped her forehead, and moved it gently down.

Word by word, "Your eyebrows are beautifully shaped. What would it look like if you frowned at the tips of your eyebrows?"

"You have beautiful eyes, perfect for overflowing with tears."

"Your lips are so pink. If you suck hard with your teeth and cheeks, will they melt like jelly?"

"And your... cheeks, they're as soft as marshmallows. Let me dye them a shy pink with my teeth, okay?"

This white tree was strange, very strange. He Xi's disordered breathing became a fluctuating electrocardiogram. She instinctively wanted to escape, but her feet were nailed to the ground, unable to move.

Bai Shu's cold fingertips paused at the chin for a moment, then slid towards He Xi's neck, winding down like a drop of rain.

He Xi's breathing was trembling. She thought Bai Shu's fingers were going to continue moving down, but suddenly a furry head rubbed against her neck.

Bai Shu's heavy breathing could be heard next to her ears, his breath sprayed on the back of her neck, and his lips were only millimeters away from her ears.

It's so itchy. He Xi didn't dodge, she felt the boy lose his strength all of a sudden, and the thorns on his body were slowly retracting.

She couldn't see Bai Shu's expression at the moment, but he was already shrouded in a sad aura.

She couldn't turn a blind eye or pretend to be deaf and dumb. She was the one he had helped, the one he had encouraged, the one who had become a better person because of him... She had already fallen in love with him without knowing when.

She recalled the girlish thoughts she had hidden in a leather box when she was in high school. Now she knew them without even having to take them out.

The answer was clear the moment it was written.

He had too much sorrow in his heart that he didn't want to reveal, and she couldn't get an answer with gentle inquiries. But if she had a determination, she would do it.

He Xi pushed the boy's shoulders away, and under his surprised gaze, she stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips, holding them tightly.

I raised my eyelids to meet his dark eyes, and counted to 60 seconds before letting go of his head.

"Bai Shu..." Her voice trembled, and her eyes were firm in contrast. "You can do whatever you want to me."

"As long as, as long as you can feel better."

He was the sad one, but she was the one crying.

"As long as you feel better, it doesn't matter what you do to me." The girl's face was full of the piety of a sacrifice, pure to the point of death.

It made him look like a dark rat in a gutter.

Bai Shu raised his head, chin held high, and gazed down from behind his drooping eyelashes. He looked at He Xi, who had humbled him to the extreme, and the anger in his heart grew instead of diminishing. Did she know what she was saying?

Does she know how dangerous this sentence is to a man, even if he loves her?

Bai Shu resisted, pushing He Xi away. His movements reached a climax, and his emotions were uncontrollable. "Where do you get your confidence from?"

"Why should I accept everything just because you treat me well?"

"Why do you think you can change me?"

"He Xi!" Bai Shu shouted, "Mind your own business first!"

"You can save me temporarily, but can you save me forever?" Bai Shu stared hard into He Xi's eyes, "You, can't!"

He let out a deep breath, opened the door of the room, and strode out.

The door slammed against the door frame and then opened, and the wind from the corridor rushed in, and He Xi woke up immediately.

She was not frightened by Bai Shu's words, but her mind was in a mess.

She couldn't face Bai Shu, who was so awake and frightening, in this confused state. He Xi straightened her hair and walked out of the room.

She was completely dazed even after getting off the high-speed train. She was torn between her own conscience and her own desires, and ultimately couldn't figure it out: should she stick to her original intention? She only wanted to help Bai Shu, but he clearly refused. Was her unwavering support actually bad for him?

He Xi walked along the street in a daze, blending into the throng of people and unknowingly reaching an intersection. The traffic lights flickered in his peripheral vision, and He Xi suddenly remembered that Bai Shu had been injured before the exam, standing in this exact spot, or perhaps on the opposite side. In just a dozen seconds, he had saved a junior high school girl from death.

Liar! How could he scare her if he didn't even believe it? How dare he?

The moment He Xi figured it out, she turned and ran to the high-speed rail station, where she bought a ticket for the next train back to Ansan. Her heart raced the entire way, and she trembled with excitement. She couldn't wait to rush over to Bai Shu and expose his clumsy lies!

-

It was already evening. He Xi got off the high-speed train and frantically called Bai Shu. Her finger trembled on her lips, "Answer it, answer it, answer it quickly, Bai Shu!" She was so anxious she was on the verge of tears.

With a beep, the call was finally connected.

"Where are you?"

The silence on the other end completely annoyed He Xi. "Okay, you don't want to tell me, right? I'll go to your school to find you. I'll go to your dormitory to find you. I'll patrol the whole school with a loudspeaker and shout your name!"

A helpless sigh came from the other end, "You haven't returned to school yet? Where are you?"

"High-speed rail station!" He Xi said unhappily.

He Xi squatted on the ground and waited, and finally a pair of sneakers appeared in his sight. Bai Shu put his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt and looked at him like the night when he accompanied her to watch the stars in high school. He Xi's tears suddenly flowed, and she grabbed his clothes and collapsed and screamed, "You can do it, why can't I?"

"I saw the news. The girl you saved was only in the first grade of junior high school. If you hadn't showed up, she would have lost focus and her young life would have ended. So, Bai Shu, if you can do this for others, why can't you do it for yourself?"

"It's because I did it!" The toughness in Bai Shu's words gradually collapsed in the face of He Xi's stubborn eyes. "I now know how much it costs."

"I'm not afraid!" He Xi screamed and swore to him, "Bai Shu, do you know what I'm afraid of..."

"My future life will be without you!"

He Xi's hair mixed with tears was stuck to her face, and her beautiful eyes were like a spring that would never dry up. Bai Shu completely surrendered and held her tightly in his arms.

"Don't cry..." He spoke dryly, gently stroking her back, his voice surprisingly soft, "Please don't cry, okay."

"Then just listen to me!" He Xi sniffed, his voice muffled.

Bai Shu closed his eyes and said, "Okay."

“Just like before!”

"good."

"Don't ignore me, don't say 'no' to me, don't push me away, don't..."

"Okay..." Bai Shu agreed to everything one by one, "As long as you don't cry, I'll listen to whatever you say."

The young man's gentle voice fell into the girl's ears. Her heart was pounding and her eyes were trembling. She didn't know where she got the courage from, but she pulled the young man's neck down and bit his Adam's apple.

Bai Shu pushed He Xi away almost in embarrassment.

He Xi raised an eyebrow and smiled at him with curved eyes, "It's even."

"I forgive you for kissing me." She turned her eyes away and said unnaturally.

Bai Shu reacted, lowered his head and quickly pecked He Xi on the forehead, "Then you also kissed me... This is even."

He Xi was caught off guard. He touched his forehead and looked up, complaining, "Childish!"

"You're such a childish fool." Bai Shu replied subconsciously.

By the time he realized what he had said, both of their faces were red.

-

Bai Shu rejected him with indifference, and He Xi made a fuss with tears.

She broke back into his world with a strong attitude that would not give up until the end.

And then...he just stayed away.