Safety

Shen Ci's unfinished cry of "Ranran" drifted helplessly through the dimly lit stairwell like a kite with a broken string.

He looked at Qingran, at the little girl he cherished and protected, who now had her back to him, not even sparing him a glance.

That door, with only a crack open, was like an invisible, cold galaxy, completely isolating him from her world.

"Ranran..." Shen Ci's voice was broken and trembling with despair. He took half a step forward uncontrollably, reaching out his hand as if trying to grab something.

However, Qingran seemed neither to hear nor see. She simply turned slightly to the side, opening the door a little wider, and looked at Tan Huaiyu again with her red, swollen yet calm eyes. Her voice was still soft, but carried an undeniable firmness:

"Brother Huaiyu, come in."

This time, there was even a hint of...urging in her tone.

Or rather, it is an urgent desire to seek some kind of safe haven.

Tan Huaiyu took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil and complex emotions surging within him. He could no longer hesitate.

Qingran's current state was clearly not right. She had asked him to come in, perhaps because she needed him, or perhaps for some other reason. He couldn't provoke her any further.

"Okay, I'll be right in," Tan Huaiyu said to Qing Ran, trying to keep his voice as soft as possible.

Then, he turned his head and glanced at Shen Ci with a quick, apologetic, and complex look in his eyes. His eyes conveyed "Let me see how things go," "Don't be too sad," and "Leave it to me."

Shen Ci understood. His outstretched hand froze in mid-air, then slowly and helplessly fell to the ground. He watched helplessly as Tan Huaiyu stepped towards that door, towards that world that was now beyond his reach.

Tan Huaiyu walked to the door, and Qing Ran stepped aside to make room for him to enter. The instant Tan Huaiyu stepped inside—

"Bang."

The sound of a door closing, neither too loud nor too soft, echoed in the empty hallway, clear enough to send a chill down one's spine.

The door closed again behind Tan Huaiyu. It completely shut out the warm yellow light, the whispers inside, the small figure, and... the man outside who had suddenly lost all his strength and was almost unsteady on his feet.

The motion-sensor lights in the hallway turned on again because of the sound, casting a dim yellow light on Shen Ci's pale face.

He remained motionless in that outstretched hand position, like a sculpture that had instantly lost all life. His gaze was fixed and empty, staring at the tightly closed, cold door.

Just now, when that door opened, the warm light that flowed out briefly illuminated the last glimmer of hope in his heart.

Now, the door is closed.

The light went out.

The world was plunged back into darkness and silence.

He heard a sound of something breaking, perhaps the still-beating heart in his chest, or perhaps all the beautiful yet fragile dreams he had carefully constructed about the future.

"slowly……"

He murmured unconsciously again, his voice so low it was almost inaudible.

Tears, once again, rolled down silently and surgingly, sliding down her cold cheeks and dripping onto the equally cold ground.

He lost.

It wasn't because of that Zhao's foul language, nor because of Qi Shuo's anger and rejection.

He lost to the wall in her heart that had been rebuilt and even strengthened by him, a wall that felt cold and hard.

She no longer looked at him, no longer needed him, and perhaps... even started to fear him.

This realization was more devastating and utterly agonizing to him than any fist or any words could utterly destroy him.

The motion-sensor lights in the hallway slowly went out again due to the long silence.

Darkness completely swallowed the figure who leaned against the wall, slowly slid down to the ground, buried his face deep in his knees, and whose shoulders trembled silently and violently.

And inside the door—

As Tan Huaiyu stepped into the living room, he immediately sensed an atmosphere even more somber than outside the door.

Jin Jie and Xiao Jue stood in the center of the living room, their faces showing lingering anxiety and surprise at seeing Qing Ran open the door.

Qi Shuo remained standing by the window, but had turned around, his gaze fixed intently on Tan Huaiyu as he entered, then sweeping over the door behind him that had closed again. His eyes were sharp as knives, as if asking: Where is Shen Ci? Does he dare to follow me in?

After closing the door, Qingran hugged her rabbit doll and silently walked back to the corner of the sofa where she had been sitting, curling up again into a small ball.

She didn't look at anyone else, just kept her head down, her fingers unconsciously and repeatedly tugging at the long ears of the rabbit doll.

"Ranran?" Sister Jin quickly went over, squatted down in front of her, and said in a very soft voice, "Did you let Brother Huaiyu in because...is there something you want to say?"

Qingran did not answer immediately. She remained silent for a long time, so long that the air seemed to freeze.

Then, very slowly, she raised her head, her gaze unfocused, as if looking through empty space, her voice carrying a strange calmness and a barely perceptible tremor:

"Brother Huaiyu...am I dirty?"

This question, like a stone thrown into stagnant water, made the hearts of the three people in the room sink heavily at the same time.

Tan Huaiyu's breath caught in his throat. Looking into Qing Ran's calm yet turbulent eyes, he instantly understood why she had let him in.

The filthy words spoken in the office that afternoon, the accusations of "rape," "madman," and "idiot," were like the most vicious curses. They not only tore open her past wounds but also planted new thorns of "filth" and "impurity" in her heart.

After isolating herself and rejecting Shen Ci, whom she relied on most, she chose to ask Tan Huaiyu, who she considered relatively safe and was also a victim, for an answer, or rather, a confirmation.

Or perhaps she needs a relatively "outsider" to choose and evaluate her, rather than her family who unconditionally favor her.

In particular, Tan Huaiyu had saved her life, and she had a strange dependence on him.

Qi Shuo clenched his fists instantly, his knuckles cracking, his eyes surging with a destructive ferocity and heartache.

Xiao Jue frowned, his face grim. Jin Jie's tears welled up again. She wanted to hug Qing Ran, but she was afraid that her touch would make Qing Ran resist even more.

Tan Huaiyu forced himself to calm down. He walked to Qing Ran, not rushing closer, but slowly squatting down in front of her, maintaining a safe distance. He looked at her, his gaze more earnest and tender than ever before, his voice soft yet carrying a resolute strength:

"Ranran, look at me."

Qingran's eyelashes trembled, and her gaze slowly focused, meeting Tan Huaiyu's eyes.

“Listen carefully,” Tan Huaiyu said clearly, word by word, as if she wanted to engrave each word into her heart, “In this world, only those who do bad things and hurt others are dirty. For example, Teacher Zhao who said those bad things in Teacher Shen’s office this afternoon, he is dirty, utterly filthy.”

“And Ranran,” he paused, his voice softening yet becoming more resolute, “you have never hurt anyone. You are kind, you are pure, you are like an angel. The things those bad people say are the result of their own dirty hearts, their own wickedness, their attempt to throw mud at a pure person. But when mud is thrown at a pure person, it is the water that gets dirty, not the pure person. Do you understand?”

Qingran stared blankly at him, something seemed to flicker faintly in his empty eyes. She seemed to be trying to understand his words, or perhaps she was struggling with the inner voice that said, "I am dirty."

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Ranran,” Tan Huaiyu continued, her voice trembling slightly. “It was those bad people who were wrong. They don’t deserve to make you sad, they don’t deserve to make you feel bad. You are the best, the purest. Aunt Jin, Brother Qi Shuo, Brother Xiao Jue, and… Teacher Shen,”

When he mentioned Shen Ci, he saw Qing Ran's body stiffen almost imperceptibly, but he still insisted on continuing, "And me, all of us, know how good and pure you are. We will never think you are dirty, never."

Qingran's lips trembled slightly, and the tears she had been holding back finally fell like beads from a broken string.

She didn't make a sound, but cried silently, her tears quickly soaking the rabbit doll in her arms.

Jin Jie could no longer hold back. She stepped forward and gently hugged her daughter's trembling shoulders, sobbing softly. Qi Shuo turned his face away and wiped his eyes hard. Xiao Jue's eyes also reddened.

Tan Huaiyu didn't move, but simply watched Qingran cry. Sometimes, tears are the best medicine to wash away wounds.

After a long while, Qingran's crying gradually subsided, turning into suppressed sobs.

She leaned against Sister Jin's chest, her eyes red and swollen, her face streaked with tears, but the emptiness and lifelessness in her eyes seemed to have been washed away by the tears, and a faint light and... bewilderment returned.

She seemed to have... taken some of it to heart.

Tan Huaiyu felt a slight sense of relief, but the weight remained. He knew this was just the beginning.

That wall in her heart, that poisonous thorn, couldn't be completely removed with just one conversation. But at least, she was willing to let him get close, willing to listen to him, willing... to shed the tears she had held back for so long.

That's enough.

As for the man outside the door, enduring a slow, agonizing death alone in the darkness…

Tan Huaiyu's gaze involuntarily drifted back to the tightly closed door.

Shen Ci, can you hear me?

She asked, "Is Brother Huaiyu dirty?" instead of "Is Brother Chen dirty?"

Perhaps in her mind, you had already been categorized as someone who "might find her dirty," which is why she pushed you away and chose the relatively safer me.

What you need to face may not only be the walls around her heart, but also the new fears and uncertainties deep within her heart caused by you.

This road is more difficult than you can imagine.

But he may not know that yet.