Chapter 6 Abyss
Cars were coming and going on the roadside, and the morning in H City had begun to get busy. Jiang Jinyue held his glasses and mask tightly in his hands. Even though he knew that no one would pay attention to him, he was still so nervous that his whole body was stiff, as if there were countless pairs of malicious eyes watching him in the corner.
"Okay, let's start now and treat the disease." Lu Qingmian suddenly stretched out his hand to Jiang Jinyue.
Jiang Jinyue lowered his head in confusion, staring at Lu Qingmian's hand again and again, "What are you going to do?"
Lu Qingmian: "Desensitization, shouldn't treatment start from the most painful part? From now on, I will help you with desensitization. You can use me as an experiment and touch me wherever you want."
Lu Qingmian walked forward, closing the distance between him and Jiang Jinyue, still holding out his hand.
"Now, do you want to try holding hands?"
Jiang Jinyue lowered his eyes and stared at Lu Qingmian's hand.
After looking for a long time, he slowly reached out and moved closer.
Lu Qingmian did not urge him, but looked down at Jiang Jinyue's slow movements.
Jiang Jinyue's hand was half hidden in her sleeve, with only a section of her slender white fingertips exposed. The fingertips, which should have been a healthy pink, were now a little pale. When she was about to touch Lu Qingmian's fingers, she suddenly turned and gently grabbed Lu Qingmian's sleeve.
The force pulling his cuffs made him pull down. Jiang Jinyue looked up at Lu Qingmian, his eyes flashing with panic and caution under his messy bangs. He was afraid that Lu Qingmian would criticize him for this.
Lu Qingmian was stunned for a moment, chuckled, and said nothing. He put down his hand and walked along the side of the road with Jiang Jinyue, who was holding his sleeve like a little tail.
Jiang Jinyue thought they were going home together, but he saw Lu Qingmian taking him to another street.
He tried to hold back, but couldn't help asking cautiously, "Where are we going?"
Lu Qingmian deliberately shook his arms, causing Jiang Jinyue to shake as well.
"Eat breakfast, aren't you hungry?"
Jiang Jinyue was very hungry, but he was afraid of unfamiliar environments, especially unfamiliar and crowded environments. Even queuing up to buy buns was extremely difficult for him, let alone walking into the store to have breakfast.
He loosened his grip on Lu Qingmian's sleeves and turned to run, but Lu Qingmian grabbed his collar and pulled him back.
"Jiang Jinyue, trust your personal doctor."
Jiang Jinyue lowered his head and leaned forward, afraid that Lu Qingmian's fingertips hooked on his collar would touch his skin. Fortunately, Lu Qingmian let go immediately and did not touch him intentionally.
Lu Qingmian raised his hand again, "Let's go?"
Jiang Jinyue took a deep breath, as if he had made a huge decision. He put his glasses and mask back on his face, grabbed Lu Qingmian's sleeve again, and walked one step behind him.
Lu Qingmian glanced sideways at the dark head beside him. He did not force Jiang Jinyue to take off his glasses and mask. He just led him into the alley and took the initiative to avoid the crowd.
"The store we are going to isn't crowded, so I'll let you sit in the corner. Also, next time I'll wear clothes with longer sleeves." Lu Qingmian said in a light tone.
Jiang Jinyue paused, raised his head and quickly glanced at Lu Qingmian's profile, then immediately lowered his head and responded in a low voice: "Um... Thank you."
The shop Lu Qingmian was talking about was at the very end of the alley, with its door wide open and no sign. It only sold a few fixed kinds of noodle soup.
It was still early at this time. The shop owner was a white-haired old man who was sitting on a small stool at the door, dozing with his neck tilted.
Lu Qingmian took Jiang Jinyue in and skillfully led him to the innermost position.
There is a small table in the innermost corner, with a wall pillar protruding from the back, forming a very enclosed space.
Lu Qingmian pulled out a chair, let Jiang Jinyue in, and then sat next to Jiang Jinyue.
There was a distance of half a meter between the two of them. With Lu Qingmian blocking the way outside, even if someone came into the store, they would definitely not touch Jiang Jinyue.
Jiang Jinyue put his legs together and placed his hands awkwardly on his legs, as nervous as a child going out with his parents for the first time.
Lu Qingmian briefly asked Jiang Jinyue about his taste and ordered two bowls of noodles from the old man who followed him in. Jiang Jinyue didn't even need to communicate with the old man during the whole process.
In the years since then, Jiang Jinyue sat in a restaurant to eat for the first time. He did not feel the fear and panic as he had imagined, but instead felt an indescribable sense of peace.
The noodle soup was served quickly, steaming hot and garnished with beautiful chopped green onions.
Lu Qingmian didn't say anything, just ate noodles quietly. Jiang Jinyue didn't say anything either. He took a few bites of the hot noodles, and his mood gradually relaxed. His tense body was no longer stiff, and he even happily swung his toes while drinking the noodle soup.
Jiang Jinyue was happy when his toe hit something, thinking it was a table leg, and didn't take it seriously.
Lu Qingmian paused with his chopsticks in his hand, feeling Jiang Jinyue tapping the toe of his shoe again and again, but finally did not move.
Jiang Jinyue had a small appetite and felt full after eating a bowl of noodle soup. At this time, several people had already come into the small noodle shop. Jiang Jinyue put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth carefully, and put on his mask again. He didn't feel particularly nervous at all.
Lu Qingmian was not in a hurry to leave. He had finished his noodles long ago and was looking at Jiang Jinyue with his chin supported.
Although the place where they were sitting was secluded, it was also close to the kitchen. Customers who came and went to get noodles would occasionally bump into Lu Qingmian who was sitting outside. No matter how they were bumped, Lu Qingmian's shoulders did not shake at all, and he would definitely not bump into Jiang Jinyue who was sitting next to him.
This small corner of the noodle shop became Jiang Jinyue's absolute safe space at this time.
Lu Qingmian's gaze was too focused, and Jiang Jinyue realized it later. She began to feel uncomfortable and shrank back inwards. She stared at the empty bowl in front of her, which had even been drained of its soup, and whispered:
"I still don't understand, why are you helping me?"
Lu Qingmian: "I told you, I'm very curious about you."
Jiang Jinyue moved the fingertips on the edge of the table, slowly turned his head to look at Lu Qingmian, still puzzled in his clear eyes.
"What's so curious about me..."
Lu Qingmian suddenly leaned forward and got closer to Jiang Jinyue.
The suddenly shortened distance made Jiang Jinyue straighten his body instantly, but he had already shrunk into the innermost part, with a wall behind him and no way to retreat.
Lu Qingmian's dark eyes rippled with emotions that Jiang Jinyue couldn't understand. He turned his gaze away, but suddenly heard Lu Qingmian say, "After all, this is the first time I've seen a little rooster that can transform into a human."
"Little...little rooster?" Jiang Jinyue's eyes widened.
He pointed at himself, "Me?"
Lu Qingmian had already retreated to his seat and asked as a matter of course, "What else?"
Jiang Jinyue opened and closed his mouth to refute, but he was never a man of sharp tongue. In the end, he could only lower his head dejectedly, looking pitiful.
Lu Qingmian had no sense of bullying at all. He stood up and extended his sleeve to Jiang Jinyue.
"It's time to go."
Jiang Jinyue looked up and noticed that most people in the noodle shop had left.
He grabbed Lu Qingmian's sleeve and left the noodle shop with Lu Qingmian.
The two of them walked slowly along the roadside and returned to the Rhine community.
When the elevator stopped at the 12th floor, Jiang Jinyue let go of Lu Qingmian's sleeve and left the elevator first. "Thank you for what happened this morning."
"You're welcome." Lu Qingmian replied casually, and with a step of his long legs, he walked out of the elevator.
Jiang Jinyue was stunned, watching Lu Qingmian walk to the door of 1203 where he lived before him. Seeing that Lu Qingmian did not go over, he urged him.
"What are you standing there for? Open the door."
Jiang Jinyue walked over and took out the key, "Aren't you going home?"
Lu Qingmian was the first to walk in after Jiang Jinyue opened the door. "How can I treat you if I go home?"
Jiang Jinyue followed him into the house and the door closed behind him. He was still standing at the door holding the key, obviously unable to keep up with Lu Qingmian's thoughts.
Lu Qingmian was already sitting on the sofa, as familiar as if he was back home.
He looked at Jiang Jinyue and said matter-of-factly, "You don't think that pulling my sleeves is a cure, do you?"
Jiang Jinyue shook his head.
Lu Qingmian patted the sofa beside him, looking like a big bad wolf waiting for Little Red Riding Hood to walk into a trap, and he was very careless.
"Jiang Jinyue, come here."
Jiang Jinyue moved over step by step and sat on the other side of the sofa, pressing his body tightly against the armrest.
Lu Qingmian didn't care. He simply stood up and took a step forward to sit next to Jiang Jinyue. The distance between the two was even closer than when they were in the small noodle restaurant, less than half a meter.
The close distance made Jiang Jinyue's hair stand on end. He was like a frightened little rooster. He just stared at Lu Qingmian blankly and even forgot to run away.
Lu Qingmian took off his coat and threw it behind him. Wearing only a loose short-sleeved shirt, he looked at Jiang Jinyue and opened his arms generously. "Come on, touch it."
Jiang Jinyue's brain started to shut down: "Touch, touch what?"
Lu Qingmian: "Touch me, today is a big opening sale, you can touch me as much as you want until you are no longer afraid or repulsed."
After Jiang Jinyue entered the room, she quietly pulled the mask down to her chin. Her rosy lips were slightly open, and she couldn't even speak.
He watched Lu Qingmian, with that cold and handsome face, making this gesture of embracing the world. He moved his butt and moved back a little, almost sitting on the armrest.
Lu Qingmian raised his eyebrows, lowered his arms, the curve of his lips narrowed a little, and his black eyes stared at Jiang Jinyue.
Jiang Jinyue subconsciously looked into Lu Qingmian's eyes.
Those eyes were very dark and heavy, and usually looked like there was a layer of fog between them. They seemed to understand something, but in the blink of an eye, it seemed as if they understood nothing.
But sometimes the fog dissipates, and the eyes like the abyss look straight at you, making it impossible to look away.
Just like now.
Lu Qingmian looked at Jiang Jinyue, the deliberate joking expression on his face disappeared, the curve at the corner of his mouth disappeared, and he reached out to Jiang Jinyue again.
"Jiang Jinyue, don't run away."
Jiang Jinyue slowly slid down from the armrest of the sofa. He seemed to be staring into the abyss, and was attracted by the abyss. He slowly stretched out his hand towards Lu Qingmian.
The hand was hesitant and nervous. It did not touch Lu Qingmian's hand, but raised it slowly and carefully.
The abyss is supposed to be freezing cold.
Jiang Jinyue's fingertips trembled and touched the corner of Lu Qingmian's lips.
The abyss is so warm.
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