Chapter 81 A lone man and woman, she was gambling, gambling that he would once again "heartfelt" towards her...

Rain started falling again outside the window, and the cold phone pressed against her ear was warmer than her palm.

As soon as the call connected, she heard a barely audible yawn through the receiver. But the next second, He Ming's drowsiness vanished, and his voice tightened at the end: "Don't be afraid, I'm coming right away."

The wait for his arrival felt exceptionally long. The pain in her abdomen grew increasingly intense, and Zhu Liushuang weakly slumped onto the table, feigning sleep. In her dazed state, she heard police officers questioning a drunk man. There were sounds of physical contact, but she didn't want to investigate what was happening.

Her mind was foggy, and a loom seemed to have taken up residence in her ears, clanging and clattering endlessly. With each ringing in her ears, she mentally noted down a number. When the number accumulated to one thousand, the glass door of the police station was suddenly pushed open, and raindrops, falling gently under the lamplight, rushed into the room on the wind.

He Ming's dark green coat was covered in water droplets. He closed his umbrella and hurried inside. When his gaze fell on the figure slumped over the desk, a fleeting look of heartache crossed his eyes.

"Liu Shuang—" he called to her as he crouched down, the hem of his clothes brushing against her thin skirt.

Zhu Liushuang slowly opened her eyes; the bright lights in the room made her eyes feel hot and painful.

A tear silently slid down her cheek, without her even noticing.

“Senior…” she replied weakly to He Ming, her eyes fixed on his neck. Half of his shirt collar was sticking out from the collar of his dark green coat, while the other side of the collar tip was hastily rolled into the folds of his sweater.

Zhu Liushuang was speechless: He arrived so quickly that he didn't even have time to tidy his clothes.

The female police officer in the same room tactfully made room for them: "Sir, Miss Zhu is probably too frightened. Please comfort her. I will come back to take her statement after she has calmed down."

The open wooden door was gently closed, and He Ming, still half-squatting, asked her in a low voice, "What happened?" He had hung up the phone in a hurry and didn't have time to find out what had happened.

"I..." She moved her lips, finally finding her voice, "I suddenly got my period, so I went downstairs to buy sanitary napkins. On my way back to my room... someone deliberately bumped into me at the corner of the hallway. That person grabbed my hand and wouldn't let go..."

Zhu Liushuang's voice lowered, and the rest of her words stuck in her throat.

"And then? Did anyone help you?" He Ming asked patiently.

She shook her head and said, "That man was drunk and said some offensive things. He didn't care about the security cameras in the hallway. When he came up to me, I took the opportunity to kick him... I found an opening and ran downstairs as fast as I could and called the police."

He Ming's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. She brushed the matter aside lightly, but he knew it was just a facade of calm.

"Liu Shuang, you did very well, very bravely." His eyes were unusually gentle, and he lowered his head slightly, looking directly at her pale face.

Zhu Liushuang curved her lips into a weak smile: "Did you see that drunkard when you came over, senior? He was incredibly arrogant, even fighting with the police... He clearly bumped into me first, but he's twisting the truth. I was going to kick him in the groin, but I only kicked his lower abdomen. He got off easy..."

The loom in my ears stopped clamoring, and that face with a mouthful of yellow teeth no longer flashed through my mind.

Zhu Liushuang sniffed, and her previously bewildered heart finally settled down.

He Ming straightened his knees and pointed to the door: "I'll go call the policewoman from earlier. Let's finish the statement as soon as possible so we can go back and rest."

"Okay—" She propped herself up on the table and sat up, with a faint mark still on half of her face. "I'm sorry, senior, for making you worry."

————

After giving her statement and returning to the hotel, Zhu Liushuang was greeted by staff members who kept apologizing to her in the lobby.

"Ms. Zhu, I'm so sorry for the unpleasant experience. We can upgrade your room for free..."

Looking at the bowing young woman, Zhu Liushuang did not hold a grudge against her. After all, the person who deserved punishment had already been detained.

"It's alright, I'll stay in my old room," she said, glancing indifferently at the other person's tired eyes.

"In that case, we'll give you a complimentary breakfast buffet worth 128 yuan and a gift box of local specialties. Someone will hand you the specialties when you check out tomorrow." The woman in stiletto heels followed them across the marble floor.

Not wanting to put the other party in a difficult position, Zhu Liushuang nodded in acceptance.

The young man seemed relieved and thanked her with a sigh of relief.

"The large number of guests during the National Day holiday was due to our poor service. The hotel will definitely strengthen security patrols and strive to create a safer and more comfortable environment for our customers. We also hope that Ms. Zhu can give our hotel a good review later. Thank you very much."

As I approached the door, the other person handed me the bag: "This was found by security personnel in the hallway. Please check if anything is missing."

Zhu Liushuang took the bag and glanced at it briefly. On top of it were her newly bought underwear.

Seeing her in a daze, He Ming asked, "Is it too little?"

An unnatural expression appeared on her face. She snapped the paper bag shut and placed it beside her: "No...nothing is missing."

"Then I won't bother you any longer." The staff member bowed again, then hurriedly left in his high heels.

Zhu Liushuang hesitated to open the door, her finger hovering over the doorknob and the room key in her hand.

"Liu Shuang?" The man behind her reminded her at the right moment.

She suddenly turned around and gripped He Ming's clothes tightly. They were so close, she stared at his firm chest in silence.

The man almost backed away, but she tilted her head back, revealing a face that looked like it was about to cry, making herself appear pitiful.

"Senior... could you wait until I fall asleep before you leave tonight?" Her voice was barely audible, trembling with tears. "I'm still so anxious."

Zhu Liushuang knew that, given He Ming's style, he would probably just stand at the door and offer a few words of comfort, then say "Goodnight, don't overthink it" to her.

But she didn't want him to leave so soon; she wanted him to watch her fall asleep.

When people are frightened, they always want to find someone they can trust to rely on. At this moment, he is her "backbone" in this secluded corner. Her panic and fear are real, but she is not as weak and helpless as she appears at the moment.

During the time she spent with him, Zhu Liushuang discovered that He Ming was actually a very soft-hearted person.

Therefore, she magnified her vulnerability to the extreme, displaying it fully to him.

She was gambling, gambling that he would "soften his heart" on her again.

The man looked down at her, his dark eyes gazing at her silently, as if he were pondering something.

A helpless sigh escaped his lips, and He Ming patiently said, "Okay."

She won her bet!

Zhu Liushuang was overjoyed, but on the surface she still had to maintain a "seeing enemies everywhere" expression.

"Beep—" The sensor lit up and the door opened.

The room was pitch black, with only a few scattered lights outside the window.

After inserting the room key, all the appliances in the room started working. Under the lights, the cold pork rib porridge on the glass coffee table was particularly eye-catching.

He Ming walked to the sofa and sat down, his gaze sweeping over the barely touched lunchbox.

Are you hungry?

"I have a small appetite. I ate a few bites and felt full, so I stopped eating."

Zhu Liushuang thought he would blame her for wasting money, so she hurriedly explained. Unexpectedly, the question He Ming asked was completely different from what she had imagined.

"I'm not hungry—" she shook her head and pouted, "The pork rib congee tastes pretty good, it's a bit wasteful to leave so much."

He Ming ignored her words and asked directly, "It's getting late, do you want to take a shower... and get some rest?" He paused when he said the word "shower," and coughed to cover his embarrassment.

Zhu Liu was still carrying paper bags in both hands. She nodded blankly, then quickly walked to the bathroom, clutching the things in her hands.

Standing in front of the sink, she looked at herself in the mirror with an embarrassed expression.

Want to take a shower?

However, the decision to stay overnight in Yunhe was a spur-of-the-moment thing, and she didn't even bring her pajamas.

I was exposed to wind and rain during the day, and ran all night, my clothes were constantly getting wet and then drying again. The sticky feeling all over my body was really uncomfortable, but not showering seemed like an option.

There are bathrobes in the closet in the room, why don't we just use these?

Zhu Liushuang grabbed a handful of hair in frustration before making a decision.

The glass door opened a crack, and she peered through the doorway, secretly observing He Ming's movements. The man sat casually on the sofa, legs crossed, looking at his phone.

She simply opened the door and walked out with her head down.

The man who heard the noise couldn't help but look up.

"I...I'm just grabbing some clothes," she explained casually, heading towards the wardrobe with her head down.

A man and a woman alone in a room, she was about to take a shower... it all seemed so ambiguous.

The moment she took off her bathrobe, Zhu Liushuang's face inexplicably turned red.

She was as bold as she had been when she tried to persuade him to stay, and now she was as flustered as she walked back, her eyes fixed straight ahead, a blush creeping up her cheeks to her earlobes.

Perhaps sensing her nervousness and unease, after the bathroom door was closed, He Ming stood up from the sofa and called out, "Liu Shuang, I'm going out to get something. I'll be right back."

There was a rustling sound outside the glass door, followed by the sound of the door closing.

She knew that he was making an excuse to leave at this time probably to ease the awkwardness between them.

————

Hot water is the best medicine for healing fatigue. After taking a shower and coming out of the bathroom, Zhu Liushuang felt like she had finally come back to life.

The pain in her lower abdomen was getting worse, so she picked up some ibuprofen from the table and swallowed it.

The huge room was empty, with distant mountains stretching out in the distance. A dark shadow loomed like a giant monster in the night. Goosebumps rose on her arms, and she quickly pressed the switch on the electric curtains.

He Ming... isn't he back yet?

Should she send him a message?

Just as she was staring blankly at her phone, He Ming's message arrived first.

Have you finished washing up? I'm outside the door.

Looking at the message box again and again, Zhu Liushuang felt a surge of emotion welling up inside her.

Was he... waiting outside the door the whole time?

Colorful bubbles rose continuously from her chest, blooming into bright flowers on her face. Joy turned into hurried footsteps as she ran to the door and opened it with a "click."

"What did you go to get, senior?" Zhu Liushuang asked softly, her smile almost impossible to hide.

Fortunately, the man had his head down and didn't notice anything amiss.

He Ming slowly raised his head, intending to show Zhu Liushuang the hot water bottle he had borrowed from the front desk, when his gaze slid over the girl's open nightgown collar.

His fair skin, like the morning frost of late autumn, settled in the depths of his eyes, impossible to dispel.

His Adam's apple bobbed as He Ming shifted his gaze to the walnut-colored wooden door, the plastic bag rustling softly in his hand.

"It's cold outside, come inside quickly," he said stiffly.

Seeing his unusual reaction, Zhu Liushuang quickly realized that she had forgotten to put on her coat.

The hotel provided a loose-fitting robe, and although she tried her best to tighten the belt, the deep V-neck design was impossible for her to cover up.

Could he be mistaken for someone trying to seduce him?

"Boom—" Her rationality collapsed, and Zhu Liushuang blushed from her cheeks to the roots of her neck, even her collarbone was stained with rouge.

"I was so busy opening the door that I got a little cold." With that, she grabbed her collar and ran back inside as if fleeing. She steeled herself and burrowed into the covers.

The man at the door touched the tip of his nose, calming his erratic breathing, before pushing the door open and entering.

The motion-activated lights went out, leaving only a warm yellow table lamp on in the room.

Zhu Liushuang covered herself tightly with the blanket, leaving only her fluffy head sticking out.

The atmosphere was too delicate, and she was afraid that she would make things worse if she tried to explain, so she simply kept quiet. Her large, glassy eyes blinked in the dim light, cautiously fixing on He Ming.

He came in.

He picked up the kettle from the table.

He went to the washroom to get water.

He took out an old-fashioned hot water bottle from the plastic bag?

A pure white sheet covered her pointed chin, and Zhu Liu's eyes were full of surprise: "Did you go to the front desk to get a hot water bottle just now? What's it for?"

The electric kettle was running for a while, and the noise was getting louder and louder. He Ming's voice was mixed in: "The policewoman at the police station told me your menstrual cramps are a bit severe..."

She couldn't hear the second half clearly, and tears welled up in her eyes. Zhu Liushuang thought sentimentally: Would it be embarrassing to cry at this moment?

While he was soaking in the hot water bottle, she hastily wiped away the tears that welled up in her eyes with the bed sheet.

When he turned around, there was no trace of moisture in his eyes.

"Be careful, it's hot. Covering it with this should make you feel better."

"Thank you, senior." Zhu Liushuang said, her arms wrapped tightly around the hot water bottle in the blankets.

"Sleep peacefully." The light cast his shadow on the edge of the bed and on the floor.

"Okay, goodnight, senior." Zhu Liushuang deliberately turned over to sleep facing inwards.

The surroundings quieted down, so quiet that she could clearly hear her own breathing.

She had thought that what happened that night would keep her awake. Now she realized that what was keeping her tossing and turning wasn't anyone else, but someone sitting on the sofa.

After turning over for the tenth time, Zhu Liushuang deeply regretted the time she had spent together with him through underhanded tactics.

When I close my eyes, he's the image in my mind.

She quietly opened her eyes, and he was still in her sight.

She started counting sheep in her head, her gaze falling on the glass door of the bathroom, where there was a drop of water that she had accidentally spilled.

"Can't sleep? Let me turn off your bedside lamp." The man's voice suddenly reached your ears as you counted to the eightieth sheep.

Zhu Liushuang suddenly opened her eyes, and what she saw were his swaying legs and the hem of his clothes.

"Hmm—" she mumbled sleepily.

The switch was pressed, and darkness enveloped the surroundings. Zhu Liushuang looked at his position with an air of self-righteousness.

So as not to disturb her sleep, he sat motionless in the darkness.

"Senior, I think I have insomnia..." Zhu Liushuang said with distress.

"Count sheep?" the man suggested helplessly.

Zhu Liushuang was both amused and exasperated: "I've already counted to the 500th one, but it's no use."

"Want to listen to some light music?"

"I had insomnia for a while, and I fell asleep by listening to my senior's radio program," she answered frankly.

"Hmm—" The fabric rubbed together, and he probably changed his position.

The darkness fueled her "unbridled" behavior. With a slight thought, Zhu Liushuang slowly spoke: "Senior, could you sing 'The Past Can Only Be Remembered' one more time? Every time I hear this song, I feel the whole world becomes quiet."

The room was silent; he did not answer.

Her fingers touched her abdomen; the hot water bottle was still warm, but no longer scalding. Zhu Liushuang covered her head and buried it under the covers.

Time flies and never returns; the past can only be reminisced about...

Her heartbeat was no longer in sync with the second hand of her watch; she closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

-----------------------

The author says: "Time flies and never returns; the past can only be reminisced." —From the song "The Past Can Only Be Reminisced"

[Milk tea][Milk tea] Sprinkle with sugar