Chapter 25
After the man achieved his goal and left, the customers dispersed and the store was quiet for a long time.
Lu Siyuan was not as calm as he appeared. He held Gu Fang's hand tightly for a long time, and his fingertips trembled slightly.
Gu Fang was anxious to take him to the bathroom, but Lu Si didn't react at all. He let him drag him there, and let him take out a tissue, dip it in water and wipe his hair continuously, and wipe his shirt over and over again with a dry tissue.
Lu Si came to his senses belatedly and held up the hand that Gu Fang had used to beat him.
"Does it hurt?"
Gu Fang forced a smile across his eyes and shook his head. Afraid Lu Si hadn't seen it, he repeated, "It doesn't hurt."
"But you can't wear the clothes anymore," Gu Fang pursed his lips, "You'll catch a cold."
"It's okay." Lu Si closed his eyes, his expression returning to his usual calmness. "Don't worry, it will be done in a moment."
Gu Fang took out a tissue and continued to wipe Lu Si's clothes as if he was wiping away something dirty that disgusted him.
The milk tea has clearly been wiped dry.
Lu Si seemed oblivious to his actions. He glanced at his disheveled self in the mirror and said slowly, "I'm very short of money, Gu Fang."
He seemed to be explaining everything that happened tonight, but this explanation skipped the man's identity and went straight to the root cause, which seemed inexplicable.
Gu Fang's voice unconsciously lowered, and he lowered his head and asked softly, "Are you in urgent need?"
"Very, very much." Lu Si said calmly, "Most of the misfortunes in my life can be explained by this reason."
Gu Fang felt like his heart was broken, and it felt so sour and painful that he felt dull pain every time he breathed. He lowered his eyes to hide the redness in his eyes.
"I don't understand." He wiped Lu Si's clothes persistently.
"I know," Lu Si said with a faint smile on his lips. He stopped his movements and reached out to carefully press down his black baseball cap. "Of course you don't understand."
"I'm sorry," Gu Fang felt guilty about his life for the first time. He felt helpless because he couldn't understand Lu Si's situation. Tears were sore that they were about to fall. "I don't understand..."
Lu Si was just tidying up the loose hair that had stuck out of his hat, carefully tucking them behind his head and pressing them down carefully. His voice was low and cold, almost coming into Gu Fang's ear.
"Every time this happens, I feel lucky that you don't have to go through the same troubles as me - at our age, this kind of trouble is almost hopeless and powerless."
Lu Si's gentleness almost melted Gu Fang. He wanted to say several times something arrogant like "I can lend you money, or I can support you."
But Gu Fang had an intuition that the reason why Lu Si confessed this to him was because Lu Si knew that he would never say such words to him.
After leaving the milk tea shop, Gu Fang leaned against the empty bus stop, the light from his phone dimly illuminating his chin. The night breeze blew by, and under the warm yellow streetlights, the sycamore leaves rustled like waves.
A car stopped beside him, and the manager of a custom clothing store rolled down the window to greet him, handing him a plain paper bag without any logo.
Gu Fang nodded his chin towards him: "Thank you for taking this trip."
"No problem," the manager smiled. "We're off work right now, so it's just a side trip."
This store is the closest one nearby, and I just happened to add their WeChat a while ago.
When he returned, he didn't see Lu Si at the counter. It seemed he had gone to the back warehouse to sort things out. Gu Fang put the paper bag down, walked out of the store, thought for a moment, and left a message for Lu Si.
-I'm leaving first. Remember to change your clothes in time to avoid catching a cold.
After walking a few more steps and waiting for the bus at the intersection, Gu Fang was still worried and took out his cell phone to continue sending messages.
-You don’t have to return the clothes to me. I bought them for you.
After careful consideration, Gu Fang added in a way that made his statement even more obvious.
-A thank you gift for helping me during the last estrus period.
At five minutes past 11, Lu Si closed the door with a "click". When he bent down to change his shoes, his side-parted hair got messy and hung down disobediently. He ignored it and stood up to glance at Lu Qi's room.
The lights are still on.
Lu Si picked up the plain paper bag on the ground, didn't turn on the lights in the living room, walked lightly, took a set of clothes from the closet in the room, and went straight to the bathroom.
Warm water sprinkled over the head, and mist instantly filled the entire space.
Lu Si smoothed his wet hair, his eyes blank, watching the fog gradually sinking. It seemed as if something in his heart was sinking as well.
When I came out of the shower, the lights in the living room were already on. Lu Qi's voice came from the kitchen: "Brother, I made some midnight snacks and I'll heat them up for you. Oh, and by the way, your phone just rang. It seemed to be WeChat."
Lu Si wiped his hair casually and glanced at the phone on the table.
It’s Dad calling.
He hadn't replied to Gu Fang's message yet. Lu Si opened the chat with Gu Fang and typed carefully.
-Thanks.
The label of the clothes was torn off, Lu Si didn't know the price and it was difficult to transfer the money.
-As for that, you're welcome.
It was a consensual thing, and he was the one who took advantage of the other party with ulterior motives.
He put on his headphones and went to the balcony to talk to his dad. Dad must have heard something from Lu Jianye and came to warn him.
"No need to give him face." Xie Qinghe said calmly, "Tell him to get lost. If he really pesters me, either call the police or have him come to me."
"Xiao Si, you can't handle him." Someone seemed to be passing by, and Xie Qinghe should be outside. He lowered his voice, "He is a scoundrel. If he does it once, he will do it countless times."
"I understand." Lu Si lowered his brows and slowly squatted on the balcony, fingertips fiddling with the slender leaves of the small pot of orchid. His tone was indifferent, as if he was mentioning someone completely unrelated to him, "This is the last time."
"Do you and Xiaoqi have enough living expenses?" There was silence on the other end.
Lu Si softened his tone a bit: "That's enough. Dad, go and get busy."
"I'll be back during the Spring Festival," Xie Qinghe said in a gentle tone, revealing a bit of the softness of an Omega father. "I've almost paid off the first installment. I'll be back by Spring Festival once I finish my work at the pharmaceutical factory."
Lu Si hummed softly, "Don't tire yourself out."
As if worried that he didn't have enough money, after hanging up the phone, my father still transferred some money to him.
Thinking about the recent cool weather and the cold orchid not being cold-resistant, Lu Si brought the flower indoors. Sister Xi said that cold orchids usually have buds in August and September, and those that are well cared for will have bloomed in October.
It was already mid-October, and just as Lu Si had expected, the orchid still hadn't bloomed. Resignedly, Lu Si twisted its slender, dark green leaves with his fingers and sighed.
His eyes dimmed, but he wasn't actually surprised, just a little disappointed that it was just as expected.
——The delicate flowers are indeed not suitable for such a damp and dark environment.
The midnight snack on the table was a bowl of hot tomato and egg noodles.
After tasting it carefully, Lu Si drooped his eyelids wearily and picked up another chopstick: "Too much salt."
Lu Qi chuckled: "Then boil some water."
Even as he said this, Lu Qi went to get him the thermos, then went back to the bathroom to pick up the dirty clothes. As he passed the basin, he noticed the clothes soaking in it.
"Brother," Lu Qi poked his head out of the bathroom, "Do you want to wash the basin by hand?"
Lu Si took the bowl and drank some soup, then hummed.
Lu Qi looked at him as if he was a monster, his eyes seemed to say "What a lazy bum, actually wants to wash his own clothes by hand".
Wait...is this her brother's clothes?
Lu Qi picked up the black turtleneck sweater in the basin and a white work hooded jacket. The texture felt surprisingly comfortable. Whether it was the cut-out or the design, it didn't seem like something her brother would buy at that price.
Lu Qi also couldn't find any labels or brand logos.
Lu Qi glanced at her brother and forced herself to suppress the doubts in her heart. No matter what, her brother—a stingy man who would split a dollar in half to spend—buying new clothes was a good thing.
After washing the dishes and pots, Lu Si returned to the room, sat at the table and opened the notes that Gu Fang had sent him last time. He seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, but his mind was not on the notes at all.
...Gu Fang.
These two words were written abruptly on the draft book that was full of marked words.
Lu Si suddenly came to his senses and wanted to erase it, feeling guilty, but he felt that this was not auspicious. After thinking for a while, he turned to a new page.
Lu Si was originally memorizing words, but when he was idling, his pen automatically drew a five-pointed star.
……Star.
Lu Si sighed, thinking of the note, and couldn't help but open the drawer and take out the note from the notebook inside.
A line of neat small regular script.
"You are the only star in the universe that shines wildly (little star)."
He was a little... no, very, extremely envious of Xie Ziyao.
Just a few bangs on the drums would likely hit a silly little fan. With a one in a billion chance, that person would still be Gu Fang.
I guess fools have good fortune.
"Brother, you hand-wash the clothes in the basin," Lu Qi poked his head in as his door was not closed, "Why don't you hand-wash the clothes in the laundry basket?" It was obvious that the clothes in the basket were even dirtier, stained with an unknown milky liquid.
Lu Si picked up the water on the table and took a sip, saying, "Lazy."
The desk was next to the door. Lu Qi could make out the handwriting on the note. Although he couldn't recognize it clearly, the star was still fresh in his memory. He blinked, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes: "Isn't this Gu..."
"What are you worried about?" Lu Si interrupted her calmly, his pair of dark starry eyes locked on her face.
Lu Qi swallowed the last word, scoffing with disdain, "Are you really that narcissistic? You're still reading it over and over again?"
Lu Si spun the pen around, a look of confusion on his face, not quite understanding.
"What's the meaning?"
Lu Qi's eyes flickered as he pondered something, and he mustered up the courage to read the words carefully. Lu Si didn't try to stop him, but after Lu Qi finished reading, he saw a look of astonishment on his face, and teased him, "Brother, being a unique star in someone's eyes, isn't that beautiful? And that person is someone you love..."
Lu Qi deliberately stopped and arched his eyebrows, showing no sign of hiding his playful expression.
But under the desk lamp, her brother's face suddenly froze, his eyes seemed frozen, his shoulders and back were extremely tense, and his whole body was visibly shocked.
"...Me?" He murmured, his tone so soft that it was difficult to discern his emotions. "Is this...written for me?"
Lu Qi said, "He must be your fan. Every time you go on stage, he stares at you." She was confused and looked down at the note again: "And wasn't this given to you personally? Who else could he give it to if not you?"
After a while, Lu Si picked up the water and took another sip, swallowing with his Adam's apple to cover up the dryness in his throat.
Lu Qi seemed to have read something from his face. She stretched out her fingertips, poked the little star, and asked, "This is unique. Is there a second one?"
Lu Si's pupils narrowed slightly, and he instantly remembered that every time Gu Fang passed him a note, he would always add a little star at the end. He thought it was just a habit, but according to Lu Qi's words...
Does that star represent myself?
So you will only do it when it is related to you?
——That extra long and redundant star was actually himself?
During the performance next Monday, Xie Ziyao looked at him as if he were a monster, his fingertips trembling as he pointed at the bridge of his nose.
"Brother Lu, Dad Lu! Are you going to wear glasses on stage tonight? You never wear them before. What's wrong with you? Are you blind or has your eyesight worsened? Don't scare your son."
Lu Si glanced at him through the thin lenses. He tilted his head and continued to tune his guitar with one hand. The frame of his glasses slid down a little on his straight nose. He said casually, "Nothing. Is it really that surprising?"
"Tsk." Xiao Yuanshan seemed to know everything clearly. He came over and hugged Xie Ziyao's neck, rubbing his hair that was dyed yellow for the performance. "It seems that there are no people who care about our Yaoyaozi in the audience."
"Attention?" Yaoyaozi had zero experience in enlightenment, and chewed on the two words in confusion, "Off the stage?"
I'm totally confused.
When it was their turn to go on stage and the spotlights came on, many regular music fans were surprised by how different Lu Si was.
Lu Si's narrow and long phoenix eyes ignored all these gazes. He played the guitar expressionlessly and glanced at the audience.
He had never worn glasses on stage before, and the sudden clarity of his vision made him a little uncomfortable. Although the light below was extremely dim, Lu Si had always been able to spot the familiar figure, let alone now.
Sure enough, Lu Si quickly found the handsome boy who stood out from the crowd.
He changed into a white baseball cap today, and the mask still covered most of his face, with the brim pulled down very low. Only his deep blue eyes, dotted with bright light, were staring at a specific direction on the stage without blinking.
There was unconcealable joy in his eyes.
Lu Si had never felt so blind.
It was obvious who those clear and pure eyes were looking at. The starlight filled his eyes, nothing else.
Facing such a pair of eyes, Lu Si swallowed his dry throat and found that he had nowhere to hide. The venting he buried in the music was clearly recognized by Gu Fang early in the morning.
Apart from this, he was still not satisfied and wanted to get closer to his life.
Then, those eyes saw through the truth of his life, separating Lu Si from the abstract name. Their gaze was like a soft but irresistible blade, piercing deep into his soul.
Leaving a mark that goes beyond the stage and the audience, and beyond those sitting at the same table as you.
In Lu Si's short life, he had never encountered such a person, such eyes, and he wasn't sure if he would ever meet them again.
Only at that moment did he clearly feel the palpitations that surged like a tide. He was like a small boat, swept away by the tide, the overwhelming palpitations uncontrollable.
Lu Si was on the stage, and for the first time, his eyes showed a confused and dazed look.
The heart was still beating violently in the chest, and the blood in every part of the body was roaring under the skin.
I vaguely recall going to the temple with my grandmother and listening to Buddhist sutras. There were a few lines I often recited: "Life is filled with fear, and life is as precarious as the morning dew. From love comes worry, and from love comes fear. If you are free from love, there is no worry and no fear."
Still under the spotlight, Lu Si inexplicably recalled these words.
I remembered the incense in the temple, the dry and hard cushion, and my grandmother's big hand holding my little boy.
After thinking about it over and over again after that night, Lu Si finally had a vague clue.
Because the heartbeat when I woke up at that moment was so intense, my brain instinctively brought up other inexplicable memories to protect itself and divert the intensity.
Also because of that intense force.
On an autumn night when Lu Si was seventeen years old, before he tasted the sweetness of love, he first realized the fear of love.
This may be the difference in personal character.
The author has something to say:
*From the “Song of the Wonderful King Seeking the Dharma”.
Road. Humanity is awake.
Thank you for your help, sister~
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