Chapter 9 Numb.09 Hand Up

Touch...touch her?

Xu Wu's voice was as clear and pure as jade, gently drifting into Jie Ying's ear along with the evening breeze at the end of October.

He froze, unconsciously squeezing and crushing the bottle of mineral water in his hand, leaving a small dent in the bottle from his thumb.

Is this a dream? Otherwise, why would he feel so lightheaded?

No... Even in a dream, Xu Wu would not say such a thing.

Jie Ying bit his lip, and as he lowered his eyes, a fleeting look of confusion crossed his vision, replaced by an indescribable excitement. The intense pleasure brought by being allowed to touch by the gods quickly filled and dominated all his senses; his lifeless blood seemed to be boiling and clamoring.

It was a very strange feeling, like my heart was suffocating and I was about to die.

His heartbeat was no longer normal, and Jie Ying felt that he could no longer control this organ that belonged to him. However, he was gratified that he was willing to kneel down and offer it to the girl in front of him.

The sounds of shallow and heavy breathing mingled and overlapped in the large clubroom.

Xu Wu took in Jie Ying's conflicted micro-expressions without moving, noticing that Jie Ying's index finger, hanging by her side, trembled slightly, revealing its lean and slender bony shape.

The next second, she watched as Jie Ying hesitantly raised her hand and reached out to her—

Don't run, don't move.

Xu Wu's vision was only focused on the sickly-skinned hand in front of her. She instantly broke out in a cold sweat, her whole body tensed up, her jawline stiffened, and her palms were sweaty, but she still brainwashed herself and forced herself to stand still.

She was prepared to shove Jieying away and rush to the bathroom to vomit.

Until one corner of her dress was gently pinched.

In an instant, the dying tide receded rapidly, and the nearly drowning mouth finally struggled to emerge from the sea, gasping for its first breath of fresh air.

Xu Wu was stunned. She stiffly lowered her head and stared at the hand that was carefully clutching the hem of her clothes. The index finger was slightly bent, slender and white, with a pale pink hue at the tip, like a peach blossom.

"Is...is this...okay?" Jie Ying stared intently at her with his dark pupils, speaking slowly and haltingly.

Seemingly afraid that Xu Wu might change her mind, she added a little more force within the range that Xu Wu had tacitly agreed to, and slightly pulled out that piece of clothing.

If it weren't for his trembling hands, you wouldn't even notice it unless you looked closely.

He didn't touch her at all.

It was just a scrap of clothing that was touched, but Xu Wu inexplicably felt that Jie Ying's cool and refreshing aura completely cling to her, sticking to her skin through the clothes.

"Hands up," Xu Wu said slowly.

Unlike before, Xu Wu didn't react with the same level of aggression. Perhaps it was Jie Ying's double-dealing and misinterpretation that gave Xu Wu a few seconds to catch his breath.

Upon hearing this, Jie Ying's ears twitched, followed by a blush that swept over his ears and cheeks. He pursed his lips, feeling as if he were about to catch a fever, and the coolness from the bottle of mineral water in his hand was simply a drop in the ocean.

His skin is naturally fair, so even a slight blush on his face is very noticeable, like a Samoyed crouching in a corner hugging itself and longing for its owner to pet it.

"Will you... feel uncomfortable...?" Jie Ying raised her eyes, and with each breath, her eyes faintly revealed something that could be described as fanaticism and obsession.

He spoke slowly, but his hand moved upwards following Xu Wu's words, his fingertips gently and slowly tracing her arm. The ticklish sensation from the contact between his nails and her skin made Xu Wu's pupils widen suddenly.

She couldn't quite describe the feeling; it was like a tingling, electric current coursing through her body, instantly raising goosebumps all over her skin.

“...That’s enough.” Xu Wu gritted her teeth and uttered three words, suppressing the urge to push Jie Ying away and forcibly restraining herself from making any excessive reaction.

"Is it okay?" Jie Ying loosened his grip a little, his gaze meeting hers intently.

The afterglow streaming through the window fell directly into his eyes, making his already amber pupils look like some kind of wildfire, unbelievably beautiful.

This was a rhetorical question, and Xu Wu realized it.

Two seconds later, she turned her head away from that gaze and resumed the coldness she only showed when facing Jie Ying: "Let go."

The moment she finished speaking, she clearly noticed that Jie Ying paused for a few seconds and did not react immediately. Only after receiving her warning did she reluctantly lower her fingertips.

The warmth left on her skin was fleeting, quickly extinguished by the cool breeze that blew in, but Xu Wu felt an unprecedented heat, as if someone had deliberately poured scalding hot water on her when she was a child, and the heat lingered for a long time.

Jie Ying rubbed her fingers together, raised her hand, and gently sniffed it.

It was just a fleeting touch, not even a proper handshake, so naturally it couldn't be said that it would be tainted with any scent.

But he knew what Xu Wu smelled like, so he seemed to smell a very faint freesia scent from the young girl.

Worst of all, while he felt greedy, he couldn't control his desire for more. The deep-seated desire to devour Xu Wu left him in a miserable state day and night.

"Are you a pervert?" An annoyed voice reached her ears, filled with disgust and loathing, but when Jie Ying looked up, she was still naturally drawn to the two moles on Xu Wu's face.

Xu Wu has two moles on her face, one above the other, located below her left eye, which are so beautiful they look like naturally formed tears.

Jie Ying quickly lowered her eyes, not daring to look at her: "I...I'm sorry."

"Always so self-righteous, saying disgusting things." Although Xu Wu still felt a little discomfort in his arm, he could still frown and comment.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes..." Jie Ying lowered her head even further, the three simple words stuck in her throat.

"You do have a good sense of self-awareness." Xu Wu chuckled. She knew what the other person wanted to say, but she deliberately steered the conversation in a different direction, completely changing the meaning.

Then she saw Jie Ying's shoulders tremble slightly, and she glanced at the bottle of water he was holding, asking, "Did you buy this for me?"

Jie Ying nodded haphazardly and presented the bottled water like a treasure.

Fearing that Xu Wu wouldn't drink because of him, he didn't hold his outstretched hand, but took two steps back.

Xu Wu didn't answer; she simply said, "Give me your phone."

"Hmm," Jie Ying almost didn't react. After hearing the click, she hurriedly pulled her phone out of her pocket, then pulled a napkin from her left pocket and wiped the phone from top to bottom before handing it to Xu Wu.

"Secret, secret, secret, the password is..." He got stuck.

"I know." Xu Wu was not surprised at all. After pressing the digital lock on the screen a few times, he unlocked the screen and entered the homepage.

It's her birthday—

0709.

Jie Ying didn't know what she wanted to do with his phone, but that didn't diminish the pleasure he felt when he saw his possession in Xu Wu's hands.

He could even imagine the phone as himself, though there was a hint of unspoken jealousy in it.

"Don't look at my hands and think disgusting things." Xu Wu said coldly, then casually tossed the phone back into his arms, picked up the mineral water, and turned to leave the club.

Jie Ying caught it steadily, and in her panic, she instinctively wanted to chase after him, but her peripheral vision caught sight of the friend request screen on her phone and she paused.

"Five: I've accepted your friend request. We can start chatting now."

The profile picture is a black and white anime girl's portrait, showing her looking back.

It fits Xu Wu very well; in some ways, it's very similar to her.

So that means...

Jie Ying held his phone, his eyes wide open. Suddenly, he felt a sense of disbelief, and a tightness rose in his chest. He carefully and repeatedly read the verified message more than a dozen times.

I realized—this was Xu Wu's WeChat message.

They exchanged contact information.

I took his phone just now to...

Jie Ying slowly covered his face, then slowly squatted down and hugged himself. He knew that he must be blushing terribly and his heart was about to burst.

My phone vibrated.

Jie Ying came to his senses and saw that Xu Wu had given him three yuan.

He suddenly felt dizzy. Had some incredible lucky day struck him today? If so, he would never spend those three dollars in his life.

Jie Ying tremblingly reached out her hand and carefully tapped "Receive".

"X: [Payment received from Five for 3.00]"

Xu Wu leaned against the wall outside the club, watching Jie Ying accept the money. His brows relaxed slightly, and then he clicked into Jie Ying's WeChat Moments.

Unsurprisingly, it wasn't open; there wasn't even an entry point to click on it.

Jieying's profile picture is a large headshot of a black cat, revealing only a pair of green eyes, clear as jade immersed in water.

Xu Wu had searched all the phone numbers that sent the text messages one by one, but the WeChat accounts that came up were either untraceable or had been deleted, and none of them matched Jie Ying's.

However, it cannot be ruled out that he may be using multiple phone numbers.

X: ^_^

Xu Wu ignored him and focused her attention on his profile picture.

That kind of person actually uses such an adorable cat.

Thinking about it, she gently poked the other person's profile picture twice with her index finger.

Then it vibrated slightly—

I patted the X.

Xu Wu: "!"

She paused for a moment, then immediately locked her phone and put it back in her pocket. Without looking back, she turned to leave, her steps unusually fast, so much so that her back view appeared flustered.

"What a joke!" Xu Wu said, walking away in frustration.

That disgusting person will definitely...

Before her anger could rise, she nearly collided with Fu Xi who was coming from the opposite direction. She grabbed the railing in the stairwell and stopped abruptly, her upper body leaning forward slightly due to inertia.

Once she regained her balance, she heard Fu Xi ask, still shaken, "Why were you walking so fast? You scared me to death."

"It's nothing." Xu Wu clearly didn't intend to say more. Instead, she asked, "Why did you come here?"

"I went to your classroom but couldn't find you. I asked around and they said you were here, so I just came to check on you." Fu Xi didn't mind that she kept quiet about it. He noticed the water in her hand and asked in surprise, "Is this what you're having for dinner?"

She knew that Xu Wu would intentionally control her weight when she had time, including controlling her sugar and salt intake, but she was still shocked to see her only drinking water this time.

It's truly admirable that some people are so thin; if it were her, she would have been completely captivated by food long ago.

In particular, Xu Wu's thinness wasn't just skinny; she was well-built and had a good figure.

That alone is enough to make Fu Xi shout with envy.

"No," Xu Wu denied, but after thinking for a moment, he still handed her the bottled water. "Want some? It's untouched."

"That's great!" Fu Xi happily took the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

"Hmm," Xu Wu asked, "What do you want to see me about?"

"Ah..." Fu Xi sighed, looking worried, and said, "The senior who was originally supposed to play the prince suddenly said he couldn't come. He said that he would be too busy with all the exams later, so he withdrew."

Xu Wu glanced at the mineral water that Fu Xi had taken a small sip of, then quickly looked away: "Does Chu Lian know?"

“I just found out. He said his head is about to explode.” Fu Xi shrugged. “If he weren’t a senior in high school, I would have just dragged him over here.”

Xu Wu was amused by her idea, and could imagine the image of Chu Lian clinging to the pillar, a chaste and virtuous man who refused to submit.

"Ask someone else, what about your class?"

"Most of them are just trying to skip evening self-study; not a single one is reliable."

Who else do you think could it be?

"That's why I came to you, I just didn't expect it."

"I'm not an expert." Xu Wu chuckled, then clearly felt her phone vibrate wildly in her pocket, but she remained unfazed.

"So who do you want to be your male lead?" Fu Xi suddenly asked.

Xu Wu was caught off guard by these words and choked for a moment. After realizing what they meant, she half-jokingly said, "Actors can choose their own lead actors?"

"Isn't this a multi-possibility scenario?" Fu Xi remembered. "By the way, what were you doing in the club just now?"

"Communicating with mental patients." Xu Wu leaned against the railing, took out his phone, and swiped his fingers across the message screen, looking at the dozen or so text messages that started with the number 17.

[+86 17xxxxxxxx0: Was it fun acting with him, Wuwu?]

【+86 17xxxxxxxx0: Why doesn't he just die? ^_^】

A note from the author: