Chapter 123 Comfort
Yun Zhan took off his earphones, reached out, and placed his fingertips on Wen Sixue's earlobe.
Wen Sixue's skin was very delicate, and every inch that Yun Zhan's fingertips touched would turn pink. Wen Sixue's body began to stiffen, and her thin shoulder blades were like a startled butterfly, its wings instantly folding, and every muscle tensed up.
The girl's face instantly drained of color, and Yun Zhan caught a glimpse of the panic that flashed in her eyes.
Wen Sixue's reaction was strange...it didn't seem like the reaction one would normally have when listening to music.
Moreover, she seems to be deliberately hiding something.
Yun Zhan's gaze darkened, and his heart sank as well.
"Don't you like this? Then I'll take the headphones off."
Yun Zhan slowly removed the earphone from Wen Sixue's ear, but her hand did not leave immediately.
Yun Zhan had just finished fishing, and her fingers were still icy cold. She deliberately pinched Wen Sixue's small ear with her hand. This action seemed intimate, but it was actually to test her hearing.
If you tap a spot on the auricle, a person with normal hearing will likely have a significant reaction...
Looking at Wen Sixue's evasive eyes, Yun Zhan roughly knew what was going on.
“Ah Xue, we’re partners, I won’t be angry. You don’t need to hide anything from me. If there really is a problem, we should solve it together.” Yun Zhan gently took her hand and patiently persuaded her. She had enough patience for Wen Sixue and didn’t want to force her to admit anything.
My serious expression just now was simply a sign of heartache and panic.
There was no reproach in Yun Zhan's tone: "Tell me, what's wrong with your ears?"
Wen Sixue's heart pounded like a drum, and the touch of Yun Zhan's fingertips felt like an electric current, making her tremble uncontrollably with every touch.
She knew that Yun Zhan's eyes could see through everything, and any pretense she put on in front of her was useless.
It seems she can no longer hide what happened in the illusion.
Embarrassment and grievance welled up in her heart. Wen Sixue could not look directly at Yun Zhan's probing gaze. She choked a few times and slowly turned her head to the side to avoid Yun Zhan's gaze. Her long eyelashes drooped down, covering the vulnerability in her eyes.
"...It's nothing serious." Wen Sixue lowered her voice, trying to make her tone sound calm: "I accidentally injured my ear once in the illusion before, and my hearing... is just a little bit impaired."
Of course, she wouldn't reveal everything; she only vaguely admitted to some of the facts, hoping to get away with it.
However, she was facing Yun Zhan.
A transmigrator with extraordinary observation and analytical abilities, Yun Zhan has traveled through more than twenty worlds. She has encountered all sorts of people, and no deception can escape her eyes.
The moment Wen Sixue said "just a little bit short," Yun Zhan realized something was wrong with her.
"Wen Sixue is lying to me."
Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of Wen Sixue, Yun Zhan started talking to 21.
She didn't want to put pressure on Wen Sixue, so she decided to use Pressure Pressure 21.
This guy definitely knows something.
"Ah, yes...you noticed." 21 gave a vague answer, trying to get away with it.
"Tell me, why did she lie to me?"
"Haha, maybe it's because she doesn't want you to worry? I think... this kind of white lie is a way of showing her love for you, right?" 21 was starting to panic. It actually knew what was going on; it could easily find out with a simple test, but it had promised Wen Sixue to keep it a secret.
Yun Zhan snorted inwardly, then changed the subject: "So how did you know it was a white lie?!"
"Ahem, host... I..."
Oh no! I've gotten myself into this mess.
"Tell me the truth." Yun Zhan's voice turned cold; she was already angry.
She recalled that Wen Sixue's reaction just now was definitely not the reaction one would expect from someone who "has a little hearing loss." Her face was filled with the panic of having her secret exposed.
Yun Zhan recalled that when Wen Sixue spoke to him, her body would always subconsciously lean to the right.
Everything was traceable back to that time.
When she went skiing before, she called Wen Sixue's name in a noisy environment. If Wen Sixue was standing to her left and behind her, she would be a beat slower to react.
What saddened Yun Zhan was not the deception, but an indescribable heartache and struggle.
She truly didn't want to... didn't want to use her prized observational skills to analyze her lover as if he were an enemy. Nor did she want to use rational logic to maliciously speculate about the lies hidden behind every subtle expression of Wen Sixue's.
She loved her, so she should have unconditionally believed every word she said.
Yun Zhan was in the midst of a fierce internal struggle.
"Alright, I'll tell you what happened in a bit. Don't ask Wen Sixue anymore." 21 was completely defeated. Let it discuss this matter with Yun Zhan.
"OK."
Yun Zhan nodded, "That's for the best."
Yun Zhan looked at Wen Sixue's slightly trembling shoulders and sighed softly, "So that's how it is. You should go and rest first. I'll take you to see a doctor when we get back to China."
She didn't want to pressure her anymore.
late at night
Wen Sixue was probably really tired. Yun Zhan told her to go to her room to sleep, so she went to bed early. After Yun Zhan stopped asking her any more questions, her tense nerves relaxed, and she quickly fell into a deep sleep on the bed.
“Let’s talk on the balcony,” Yun Zhan said to 21.
"Um."
Wen Sixue seemed to be having a nightmare, as she was sleeping restlessly with her brows slightly furrowed. Yun Zhan carefully placed her hand under the covers before quietly getting out of bed.
Yun Zhan didn't dare turn on the light, so he went to the balcony alone.
The sliding doors to the balcony rattled softly in the wind. Yun Zhan, holding onto the cold railing, slowly lowered his head.
The cold wind, carrying the chill of the night, rushed into her open collar, making her hair stick to her cheeks in a messy manner. Her fingers gripped the railing tightly, her fingertips icy cold.
"twenty one."
A moment later, a gentle electronic voice sounded in her consciousness.
"I'm here," 21 replied to Yun Zhan, and also brought up the footage from the illusion: "Your emotions are very unstable right now."
"What's wrong with me?" Yun Zhan asked, his voice slightly hoarse.
“I’m monitoring your vital signs and emotional fluctuations, Yun Zhan. Your data has been very erratic since this afternoon.”
21's tone was calm: "If you knew the truth, your data would probably be even more confusing."
Sometimes, it's better not to know certain things.
I promised Wen Sixue before that if things were exposed, I could only talk about what happened to my ears at most. As for my fourteen years of lifespan, that was something I absolutely could not say.
"Tell me." Yun Zhan's eyes were cold, and his tone was resolute.
21's tone became serious.
"Do you remember the illusion where you were trapped by Bai Jichen? At that time, Wen Sixue made the choice for you so that you could live, but there was a price to pay. The price was the loss of hearing in one ear, nothing more."
Yun Zhan's shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably, not because of the cold, but because the sob in his throat was about to burst out.
One ear may not seem like much... but it's a lifelong matter.
21 deliberately avoided mentioning lifespan, because if it had, it couldn't imagine how crazy Yun Zhan would have become.
"Besides this, is there anything else?" Yun Zhan's voice was almost inaudible, with a tremor he himself was unaware of.
21 paused for a moment before answering in an almost sighing tone.
"That's all. Later, when Bai Jicheng asked Wen Sixue what she really wanted and why she was willing to risk her life to help him, Wen Sixue's exact words were: 'I don't need anything, as long as she can live.'"
She practically gave up her own life, willingly taking the risk for Yun Zhan. But 'conservation of cost' is a fundamental rule of the world, and Bai Jichen needs to take something of equal value from her to maintain balance.
The narrative of 21 has ended.
The balcony was deathly silent.
Only the wind whistled past.
Yun Zhan's body slid slowly down the cold railing and finally squatted on the ground. She curled up into a ball, lowered her head, and rested her forehead weakly on her cold knees, burying herself in her arms.
"It's because of me again... How much more do I have to do for her..."
Yun Zhan slowly squatted down, hugged her knees with both hands, buried her face in her arms, and felt the cold wind blowing, making her back feel cold.
"I'm sorry..." Yun Zhan finally managed to squeeze out a voice, his tone thick with emotion and his shoulders trembling violently, "I'm sorry..."
Tears soaked her sleeves, but she didn't want to look up; she just wanted to curl up into a ball.
The balcony light was on, casting a long shadow on the ground. She was curled up in a small space. Yun Zhan didn't cry out, but her breathing still trembled slightly uncontrollably.
The wind still carried a chill, and Yun Zhan squatted by the railing, his shoulders trembling incessantly.
Suddenly, a very light rustling sound of fabric came from behind. Wen Sixue walked out barefoot, her feet barely audible on the cold tiles, and she didn't disturb Yun Zhan, who was lost in guilt.
In fact, she had already sensed it when Yun Zhan woke up.
Wen Sixue was still wearing a pure white silk nightgown and clutching a beige cashmere blanket in her hand. When she walked behind Yun Zhan, she first gently draped the blanket over her trembling shoulders, then stretched out her arms and carefully wrapped them around her waist from behind.
Why are you here all alone?
Wen Sixue hugged her, her warm body pressed against hers, and the familiar scent of shower gel instantly dispelled the chill on Yun Zhan's back.
Yun Zhan's body stiffened abruptly, finally snapping out of his distress and self-blame.
She slowly raised her head, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes. As she turned, she saw Wen Sixue's hair falling over her shoulder, and those eyes that looked at her with heartache.
Tears welled up silently once again, streaming down her cheeks and landing on the back of Wen Sixue's hand that was wrapped around her waist.
"sorry..."
Yun Zhan opened her mouth, wanting to say something else, wanting to apologize to Wen Sixue, but her throat hurt too much and she couldn't make a sound. She could only let the guilt and heartache surge in her chest, and even her breathing was choked with sobs.
Wen Sixue didn't urge her to speak, but tightened her arms and gently rested her chin on the top of her head, like a mother comforting a wronged child, her fingertips gently stroking her messy hair.
"It's okay, baby."
Wen Sixue's voice was very soft, so gentle it was almost unbelievable: "This is not your fault. When I found out you lost your heart, I only had one thought: I couldn't let you die. It was my own choice, it has nothing to do with you, it was my own free will."
She spoke frankly, but Yun Zhan's shoulders trembled even more violently, and tears fell even more fiercely. The warm liquid soaked the back of Wen Sixue's hand and the collar of her nightgown.
Wen Sixue could clearly feel the pain in the person in her arms. She gently rubbed Yun Zhan's head and continued softly, "Do you remember? Before, when you took me home, we were in the living room when a drunk man came and knocked on the door. You told me to go to the room, and then you confronted the drunk man by yourself. You even said that you liked me and couldn't live without me."
At this point, Wen Sixue's voice carried a hint of amusement: "Back then, I thought, it's so wonderful to be cared for like this by you. So what I'm doing now is the same as what you did for me back then—it's all because I care. How can you feel that your efforts are a burden when you care about someone?"
"I helped you back then not so that you would feel guilty."
Wen Sixue's fingertips gently brushed against her earlobe, carrying a comforting warmth: "My only condition is that you don't take this to heart, and you don't live with guilt and pain for the rest of your life. Look, I can hear and speak now, I can go to class with you, and go to the library with you. Except for my left ear occasionally not being able to hear clearly, I'm no different from before."
He paused, then lowered his head and gently kissed the top of Yun Zhan's head, his voice full of tender expectation: "We still have a long way to go. I want to go to that coffee shop at the end of the alley with you for dessert, I want to see the flowers next spring with you, I want to graduate with you, and plan for the future together. I want to walk happily with you, instead of watching you always be sad about the past, okay?"
Seeing that Yun Zhan remained silent, only her tears were flowing more slowly, Wen Sixue gently patted her back again and began to comfort her, "Don't take all the responsibility on yourself, Yun Zhan. You've already been so good. You studied so hard to protect me, and then you took me out to play. You carried all the hardships yourself to put my mind at ease. But I also want to protect you, to protect your happy life, instead of letting you be trapped by guilt. Promise me you won't think about this anymore, okay?"
"Okay, I'll sit with you for a while, and then we'll go back to sleep."
"Aren't you cold? It's so windy, don't catch a cold." Wen Sixue's voice was very low, with a coaxing tone, and her fingertips began to slowly comb through Yun Zhan's messy hair.
She wasn't in a hurry at all. Instead, she gently brushed away the tear-dampened stray hairs clinging to her cheeks, her fingertips occasionally brushing against the corners of her reddened eyes, touching them only very lightly, as if afraid of hurting fragile porcelain.
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