Afternoon
The couple turned the car's air conditioning and heater to the highest setting. The woman looked at Meng Chou's hands, which were red from the cold, took off her cotton-padded coat, turned around and looked back, saying, "Child, take off your soaking wet coat first, and wear my clothes for now."
“We didn’t bring any extra clothes when we came.” Seeing that Meng Chou didn’t take the clothes, the person who was sitting in the passenger seat leaned forward again. “It’s very cold today. Look at your hands, they haven’t warmed up at all.”
Just as Meng Chou was about to refuse, the person next to him sneezed loudly. He lowered his chin slightly and glanced at the tomboy who was huddled in the back corner with his arms wrapped around his thighs.
"Thank you." He reached out and took it, handing it to the person beside him, his voice still indifferent. "Here, put it on!"
Seeing that she was unmoved, Meng Chou shoved the clothes into her arms, "You don't want your wet clothes to get the cotton-padded coat that someone kindly gave you wet too, do you?"
"Take off your coat and put it on quickly." He said, turning away from her and staring at the gloomy sky outside the car window.
"I'm a boy, I should take care of girls. I'm not afraid of the cold," Meng Chou said stubbornly, seemingly trying to comfort the woman who gave him the cotton-padded coat.
Only he knew that as he said those words, he quietly tucked his stiff, numb fingers into his sleeve.
The woman caught Meng Chou's words perfectly, and her surprised voice became sharp as she asked, "You mean the child who fell into the water is a girl?"
“Yes, she’s a girl.” Meng Chou closed his eyes, indicating that he wouldn’t watch her change clothes. “She’s an idiot who doesn’t even value her own life.”
“No, that’s not it!” Yu Xi retorted. “I just thought, maybe this way I can see my mother who gave birth to me, and I won’t have to go hungry or cold anymore.”
Seeing the bruises on her arm, tears welled up in the woman's eyes. She choked back sobs as she said to the man driving, "Do you think it might be Xin Xin watching from heaven, telling us to save this girl so she can come and see us for herself?"
"Xin Xin also drowned, do you think it could be her?"
She asked the man, secretly wiping away her tears, and after a long pause, the man finally managed to say, "We're driving, don't talk about these things."
Meng Chou could hear the pain and helplessness hidden in his voice. The atmosphere in the car fell silent for a moment, with only the woman's low sobs remaining.
"Why did you jump into the lake?" Meng Chou tried to distract the couple and also asked the question that had been bothering him. "I don't want to lecture you, I just feel that if you die like this, those who have always bullied and suppressed you will be even happier."
"But those who love you will be very sad."
"Seeking death is the most despicable thing!"
Yu Xi lowered her head, biting her lower lip, and almost squeezed out a few words from her throat, "I'm an orphan. All my friends have been adopted. The parents who adopted me hate me. Nobody loves me. Even if I get lost and disappear, nobody will be sad."
She spoke casually, as if she didn't care at all.
As soon as she finished speaking, the atmosphere in the car became even quieter, as if everyone had been stung. They never expected that such words could come from the mouth of a girl who looked to be only in junior high school, in this day and age.
The faint sound of a woman sobbing could be heard from inside the car, and the mournful weeping became even more pronounced after hearing Yu Xi's words.
After a long pause, Meng Chou said, "If nobody cares, then live for yourself."
As she said those words, Yu Xi glanced up at him. The light streaming in through the car window shone directly on him, and Meng Chou was facing away from that beam of light. She couldn't see his face clearly, but that tall, slender figure was etched into her heart in that instant.
Like a brand, it cannot be erased no matter how much time passes.
Live for yourself.
This statement proved prophetic, becoming something Yu Xi pursued for the rest of her life.
"What's your name?" She buried her head in the collar of the woman's large cotton coat, curling her legs up as well, leaving only her eyes showing, making her look like a round, chubby rice ball.
Meng Chou raised his chin slightly and continued, "No need to thank me, and you don't need to know my name. Even if it were anyone else jumping into the lake today, I would have saved them."
What an arrogant little brat!
Yu Xi silently complained to herself, but still said, "Thank you."
That afternoon, the lake water was icy cold, colder than any winter she had experienced since, just like the water that was now completely submerging her in the bathroom.
She willingly sank down, offering no resistance, letting the water completely engulf her. What was more unbearable than the feeling of suffocation was the water rushing into her nose and ears, threatening to strangle her.
The boy would never again rush to save her with the same selfless courage he showed when they first met that afternoon.
The effects of the □□ were carried away by the icy water. Yu Xi was now clearly aware of what she was doing, but she had no desire to escape the prison of the water and instead gave up struggling.
"Yu Xi!" An urgent shout pierced through the thick layers of water and came straight towards her.
With a muffled thud, the bathroom door was flung open, and the person submerged in the water suddenly opened her eyes. She looked out, her long, black hair floating in the water as she turned her face, as soft as the red silk dress she was wearing.
At this moment, Chen Miao's figure overlapped with Meng Chou's silhouette in his mind back then, and even the tone and scene were uncannyly similar.
Yu Xi was even more confused about whether she was in a dream or in reality.
Even though Meng Chou had already passed away, the person in front of him looked so much like him, that he could even be described as a perfect replacement for Meng Chou, a kind of android.
Afraid of offending her, Chen Miao deliberately picked up the dark red hairband she had left on the sofa before entering the room and blindfolded himself. The moment he opened the door, water gushed out with a "whoosh".
There was already a layer of water on the living room floor, and now the water level is rising even faster.
Chen Miao couldn't see where Yu Xi was, nor did he know the current situation in the bathroom. He could only grope forward with his arms, wanting to take a step and run in, but he was afraid that if he fell, he would not be able to help and would only cause trouble. After struggling with this, Chen Miao slowly moved forward step by step.
"President Yu, it's okay to be angry, but you mustn't do anything to hurt yourself." Chen Miao still wanted a response from her and continued, unwilling to give up, "Even if you hit me a couple of times to vent your anger, it would be fine. I'll worry if you do that, and Zeze will be sad too."
"President Yu, if you can hear me, please respond to me, okay?" As she finished speaking, Chen Miao's voice grew softer and softer, filled with an undisguised sadness.
He kicked the edge of the bathtub with his toes, slowly lowered himself down, and after a long while, he groped for a bath towel in the empty space beside him. Without saying a word, he wrapped the person who was still soaking in the water in the bath towel, picked her up, and walked out.
Yu Xi watched him complete this series of actions without saying a word, and was surprised to find that while holding her with one hand, he was also able to use the other hand to pull off the headband covering his eyes.
He hurriedly carried the person out of the room, but to get out of there, he had to go through the lobby on the first floor.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the hall was reaching its climax with clinking glasses. High-ranking officials who were on good terms with each other chatted and laughed, using this opportunity to strengthen their relationships.
They never care about superficial things; they care more about real interests.
"Don't go out, they're all here!" Yu Xi raised her fingers, which were already wrinkled from being soaked in water, and tugged at Chen Miao's sleeve.
Chen Miao looked down at the person in his arms and said with a smile, "Sister, don't worry about that. I have a way to make them not notice us."
Yu Xi didn't understand what he meant. She was soaking in the water and was suddenly pulled out of the water, and her brain hadn't even reacted yet.
The next second, Chen Miao picked up the fire extinguisher in the corridor with one hand and smashed it against the fire alarm again and again until it made a loud noise, attracting the attention of the staff on duty.
Chen Miao pointed to the leaking room and shouted, "There's a leak in one place, and a fire in another. You guys need to hurry and deal with it!"
The alarm sounded, causing panic among the already panicked crowd. Seeing the water overflowing on the ground, the staff on duty didn't think twice and immediately believed Chen Miao's words, rushing frantically towards the flooded room.
Yu Xi knew that she had been so focused on getting rid of the water that she had already destroyed the faucet in the bathtub, so what Chen Miao said was half true and half false.
Immediately, the lobby became chaotic.
The staff on duty immediately notified and arranged for these people to evacuate. When faced with danger, they didn't care about anything else and scattered in an attempt to save their lives.
No one listened to Gu Yuan's story about catching someone cheating. The few people who had originally planned to follow him to join in the fun all turned around and left.
They knew that a lively event was far less important than their own safety.
Gu Yuan's plan failed, and in his anger, he smashed the wine glass in his hand, the glass shards flying and scattering at his feet.
As the crowd hurriedly dispersed, he seemed to sense something and turned to meet Chen Miao's gaze. "Good, really good!"
"You've ruined a whole situation I've meticulously planned!"
Chen Miao happened to meet his gaze, returning a warning look without fear, as if to say: 'Who's afraid of who? With me here, you have no chance of succeeding.'
"I didn't expect you to be so smart." Yu Xi rested her head in his chest. She could clearly feel that Chen Miao's heart was not beating and that his body temperature was much lower than normal.
Even though she already knew all this, she wasn't afraid, nor did she think Chen Miao was any different from a normal person.
"So, sister, please don't send me away anymore. Wouldn't it be better to keep me by your side?" he said sincerely, each word spoken with utmost humility, like a stray puppy about to be abandoned, begging for shelter.
Yu Xi didn't answer him, she just smiled faintly.
She thought, "Let it be like this, it's fine this way."
At least, at this moment, they are keeping each other company.
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