Chapter 16
A strange and tacit balance was formed between Su Rui and Ling Yao.
At school, they still lived in two different worlds. Ling Yao was the center of the crowd, while Su Rui was the quiet fringe. They never initiated conversation, and rarely even looked at each other.
But the invisible bond of text messages was reconnected and became more...natural.
Su Rui still shared some trivial matters, but she was no longer so cautious, and occasionally even included a tiny complaint: "The math teacher stayed ten minutes late today, and I almost missed my job in the cafeteria."
Ling Yao's replies were still delayed and brief, but they were no longer just simple "hmm" or "oh." Occasionally, he'd throw in a few words with his own unique style: "You're so long-winded." or "You deserve it."
The tone was still not good, but it made Su Rui feel... close. It was as if they shared a secret space that could not be revealed to outsiders.
And Ling Yao seemed to have started to habitually do something "conveniently".
For example, one day Su Rui mentioned that the photography album he often read at the library seemed to have been borrowed and never returned. The next day, the thick and expensive album appeared in his drawer.
For example, he noticed that Su Rui always wore thin clothes in winter, and her fingers were frozen red. The next day, Su Rui found a pair of soft and warm sheepskin gloves in the drawer. There was no logo on them, but they felt great and were the perfect size.
Every time, Su Rui would send a message to say thank you.
Ling Yao's reply is always: "It's just for fun. Don't talk nonsense."
Su Rui stopped asking questions, and he was no longer panicking. He slowly began to accept this awkward kindness. He could even accurately detect that little bit of clumsy concern beneath Ling Yao's impatient and fierce appearance.
This feels good, like secretly carrying a hand warmer in your pocket on a cold winter day.
But he didn't know that behind this "convenience" was Ling Yao's increasingly clear possessiveness.
To Ling Yao, Su Rui was like a unique and fragile little animal he had discovered. This little animal could only stay within the boundaries he had designated, accepting his feeding and protection. He could dislike it, he could tease it, but he would never allow anyone to touch it, or even allow it to stray too far on its own.
Ling Yao himself didn't know when this thought first became clear to him. Perhaps it was when he saw Su Rui smiling gratefully at someone else? Or perhaps it was when he heard someone else wanted Su Rui to help take a photo?
In short, he doesn't like it.
That day, Ah Zhe came over again and said half-jokingly, "Brother Yao, I heard that the arts committee member from the next class wants to ask Su Rui from your class to help take some photos for the sports meet. I didn't expect that little unknown person to be so useful."
Ling Yao was looking down at his phone. He paused, not even looking up, and said coldly, "He's busy."
"Ah? How do you know? Have you asked?" Azhe was surprised.
Ling Yao raised his eyes and glanced at him, his eyes carrying a look that brooked no argument: "I said he's busy, and that's it. Why all that nonsense?"
Ah Zhe was frightened by his look. He touched his nose and said awkwardly, "Okay, okay, if you say you are busy, then you are busy..."
Ling Yao ignored him, lowered his head, and tapped the screen a few times with his fingers.
Soon, Su Rui received the message. "During the sports meet, stay put. Don't join in the fun."
Su Rui was stunned by this nonsensical, overbearing order. He had indeed received the request from the Arts and Culture Committee, and was still hesitating whether to agree... How could Ling Yao know? And why not?
He hesitated for a moment and replied: "Why? I might..."
Before the message was finished being edited, Ling Yao's new message popped up, with obvious displeasure: "I told you not to go, so don't go. Don't understand?"
Su Rui looked at the words and pursed his lips. He felt a little bit dissatisfied, but more than that, he felt a strange... feeling of being controlled.
This feeling is not entirely bad, it even has a weird illusion that someone cares about it.
He finally deleted the unsent question and slowly replied: "Oh."
Ling Yao looked at the obedient "Oh" on the screen, his tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and a hint of satisfaction flashed across his eyes.
Look. This is what his little fox should look like.
Stay within his sight and listen only to his words.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com