uninvited guest
At half past eleven, the lights in the dormitory were turned off on time.
Darkness enveloped the entire room again.
Lu Yu lay on the bed, but he couldn't sleep at all.
He turned his head and looked towards the next room. In the darkness, he could only see a vague outline. He could hear the steady breathing of Shi Guang.
The hustle and bustle of the day subsided at this moment, and the chaotic thoughts that had been deliberately ignored resurfaced in my mind.
He remembered the way time collapsed in the thunder yesterday afternoon.
He knew that beneath the iceberg of time lay a bottomless, turbulent sea of suffering. Yesterday's rainstorm and thunder had merely stirred up a small wave on that sea.
He didn't even dare to think about how this thin boy would face the next, bigger wave alone.
Just as Lu Yu was daydreaming, outside the dormitory building, in the distant sky, there was suddenly another rolling thunder, which was the unwilling echo of the rainstorm.
Almost at the same time, Lu Yu clearly heard a gasp from the bed next to him. Then, there was the rustling of fabric and the subtle sound of a body curling up due to tension.
Lu Yu's heart suddenly tightened.
He knew that time was beginning to be afraid again.
He lay in bed, motionless, but all the muscles in his body were tense. He was thinking, struggling.
What should he do?
Pretend not to hear? Or...
He remembered yesterday afternoon, under the podium, when he covered Shi Guang's head with his coat and the trembling subsided instantly. He remembered the reliance he showed when he helped him up from the ground, when he leaned his entire weight on him without reservation.
An idea, an extremely bold and even somewhat extraordinary idea, suddenly popped up from the deepest part of his heart without any warning.
He didn't even have time to think about whether this idea was reasonable or whether it would scare the other person.
His body reacted before his brain did.
In the darkness, Lu Yu took a deep breath and suddenly sat up from the bed. He didn't make any sound, but relied on his familiarity with the dormitory layout and climbed down the ladder of his bed quietly.
Then he walked to Shi Guang's bed and looked up at the tightly closed curtains.
Finally, he gritted his teeth, grabbed the edge of the bed with both hands, exerted force with his arms, and turned over and climbed up cleanly and neatly.
The upper bunk of the bed was not spacious, and for a tall boy like Lu Yu, it seemed a bit cramped. As he turned over, his knees inevitably hit the bed board, making a slight muffled sound.
It was this slight sound, like a needle, that instantly pierced the tense world of time.
In the darkness, the shivering body curled up in a ball suddenly stiffened.
He noticed it.
He realized that an uninvited guest had broken into this small refuge that belonged only to him to protect himself from all harm from the outside world.
Fear reached its peak in an instant.
"No……"
A sobbing voice pierced Shi Guang's throat. He wanted to retreat to the innermost corner of his bed, to escape the unknown and immense threat that had suddenly appeared in his territory. His movements were filled with the most primitive panic, like a young animal trapped in a cave with no way out.
Lu Yu's heart was deeply hurt by his appearance.
"Shi Guang," Lu Yu spoke immediately. His voice was deliberately kept very low in the darkness, like the tail note of a cello, steady and soft. He tried hard to make his tone sound non-aggressive. "It's me, Lu Yu. Don't be afraid, it's me."
The movement of time stopped.
He froze in place, unable to tell whether what he saw was reality or another, more real nightmare. He could smell the familiar scent of sunshine coming from that person, and he could also feel the weight of the bed sinking because of his presence.
It's Lu Yu...
Why is he here?
Is he here to... hurt me too?
Just as Shi Guang's sanity was about to be completely devoured and he was about to fall into a new round of panic, the uninvited guest reached out to him. Lu Yu did not touch him, but tentatively placed his palm on the bed beside Shi Guang.
"I'm here," Lu Yu's voice sounded again, with a clumsy but extremely sincere soothing tone, "I won't hurt you. It's thundering outside, and I'm afraid you'll be scared."
That hand just stayed there, like a silent promise, a warm beacon.
Shi Guang could feel the warmth from that hand seeping in little by little through the thin sheets. It was not the temperature that frightened him in his memory.
sense of security……
It had been so long since he'd felt this way.
As the next thunder rolled across the sky, the person who had been huddled in the corner moved.
He no longer retreated, but like a drowning man grabbing the only piece of driftwood, he suddenly used all his strength to rush towards the source of warmth!
He hugged Lu Yu tightly!
Lu Yu's body stiffened instantly. He hadn't expected Shi Guang to react like this. He could feel Shi Guang's face buried deep in his chest, his cold nose and scalding tears instantly soaking through his pajamas. He could feel Shi Guang's thin body trembling in his arms like a leaf in the wind. He could even hear Shi Guang's rapid, disordered, sobbing breaths, utterly terrified.
"Don't..." Shi Guang's hands tightly grasped the clothes on Lu Yu's back, and he repeatedly murmured the words that were locked in the deepest part of his heart.
“Don’t… don’t hit me…”
“…I didn’t…I really didn’t steal the money…”
“…Please…”
Lu Yu was completely pinned to the spot by these whispers. His mind was blank, and he could only stiffly allow the person in his arms, like a wounded little animal, to absorb the pitiful warmth and security from his chest.
"Mother……"
“…Run…”
"...Wine... Wine again... It stinks..."
Words leaked out from the mouth of time one after another. They were like sharp keys, prying open the Pandora's box that time had wrapped in layers of coldness and silence.
At this moment, Lu Yu finally understood.
I understand why time is always alone.
I understand why Shi Guang is wary of anyone approaching him.
I understand why time collapses like this on a thunderstorm night.
It turns out that the seemingly lonely and indifferent iceberg is not an iceberg at all.
It was a glass house that had been shattered by the storm, and for the past half month or so, he had been foolishly throwing stones at its fragile walls.
An indescribable feeling, a mixture of heartache, anger and self-blame, erupted in Lu Yu's chest like a volcano.
He no longer had any hesitation or stiffness.
He raised his arms and hugged the boy, who was still trembling in the nightmare, tighter and harder in his arms.
"Don't be afraid."
"……I'm here."
"Don't be afraid, Time... I'm here."
Outside the window, the thunder gradually subsided and the rain began to fall.
In this small and dark world separated by the bed curtains, time seems to have lost its meaning.
After an unknown amount of time, the violent trembling of the person in his arms finally subsided bit by bit under Lu Yu's clumsy comfort. The rapid breathing also gradually became long.
He seemed to be exhausted and fell asleep.
But he still didn't let go of Lu Yu's hand. Instead, he held it tighter as if he was afraid that he would run away.
Lu Yu just kept that hugging position, not daring to move. He lowered his head, and all he could see was the boy's furry, black hair, and all he could smell was the scent of his body mixed with the salty smell of tears.
His heart had never felt so full and painful as it did at this moment.
He thought that perhaps he had made an irreparable mistake.
He shouldn't have climbed onto this bed, shouldn't have intruded into this person's world.
Lu Yu hardly slept a wink that night.
He didn't know how long he had remained in that rigid position, acting like a human pillow. He only knew that as the rich inky black outside the window gradually gave way to a hint of pale white, his arms and back had become numb and he had lost all feeling.
The person in his arms slept soundly and restlessly. From time to time, he would frown in his sleep, utter a few vague mutterings, and the arms around him would subconsciously tighten. Whenever this happened, Lu Yu would pat his back rhythmically like an experienced breeder until the person in his arms regained his breathing.
He had never felt that a night could be so long.
I have never thought that protecting another person is such a mixed experience.
When the first clear bird song was heard outside the dormitory building, Lu Yu knew that it was dawn.
He lowered his head, and with the faint morning light filtering through the gap in the curtains, he looked closely at the sleeping girl in his arms for the first time, up close and personal.
Shi Guang's face was still buried deep in his chest, revealing only his smooth forehead and thick, long eyelashes. His lashes seemed to still be stained with fresh tears, resembling the fragile wings of a butterfly in the morning light. His breathing was steady, and his sleeping form had shed all the coldness and defensiveness of the day, leaving only a defenseless softness.
Lu Yu's heart felt like it was being scratched gently by a feather repeatedly, making it itchy and painful.
He knew that he couldn't stay there any longer.
He must return to his bed before time wakes up and pretend that everything that happened last night was just a dream that no one knew about.
He was like dismantling the most sophisticated bomb in the world, trying to remove the arms of time that were wrapped around him like vines, little by little.
But as soon as he moved, the person in his arms immediately responded.
Shi Guang's brow furrowed again, and a disgruntled murmur escaped his throat. Far from letting go, he leaned even harder into Lu Yu's embrace, like a cat disturbed from its sweet dream, seemingly searching for a more comfortable position.
Lu Yu's body froze instantly.
He could clearly feel the soft hair of time rubbing against his chin, bringing waves of subtle itchiness.
He was completely at his wit's end.
Just when Lu Yu was in a dilemma, a very penetrating electronic prompt sound came from the bed opposite.
That was Sun Rui's alarm clock, which never failed to ring to the minute.
At that moment, Lu Yu's heart almost jumped into his throat!
He immediately held his breath, not daring to move. He could only pray that Sun Rui would quickly turn off the alarm clock as usual, and then quietly go to wash up in the dark.
However, today, the development of things was beyond his expectations.
He heard Sun Rui turn off the alarm clock.
He heard Sun Rui sitting up from the bed.
But then, there was no sound of him getting out of bed.
The entire dormitory fell into a dead silence that lasted for more than ten seconds.
In this dead silence, Lu Yu's mind raced. What should he do? Jump out of bed right now? Or pretend to sleep?
But he was holding a real person in his arms, how could he pretend?
Just as Lu Yu was having a fierce battle between his conscience and his desires, Sun Rui on the opposite side finally moved.
He made no sound, asked no questions, or turned on the light.
He just calmly glanced at the two people entangled on the bed, then he got out of bed quietly and walked into the bathroom.
Lu Yu: “…”
He knew that Sun Rui must have seen it. And with that guy's brain, he must have imagined ten thousand possibilities.
It's over.
Now, even jumping into the Yellow River can’t wash him clean.
He no longer hesitated, nor did he care whether he would wake up Shi Guang. He used all his tenderness and patience to forcibly pry Shi Guang's arms away from him, then slid out like a loach and jumped off the bed.
He had just landed and had no time to catch his breath.
A sleepy voice came from the bed behind me.
"...Lu Yu?"
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