This was their first chat.
Xu Li had a dream.
It was very dark in my dream, there wasn't a single ray of light.
Muddy, chaotic, broken.
Xu Li pleaded desperately in a darkness from which she could never escape.
Something was approaching in the darkness. Xu Li tried hard to see clearly, but she couldn't make it out no matter what she did.
Fear, anxiety, unbearable.
My heart was pounding violently in my chest, making it hard to breathe.
The only sound was the wind, which sounded like a person's sobbing. The wind carried the smell of rust, which entered the nose and made one's throat itch.
The air felt like damp cotton wool, carrying a strange, nauseating odor, like moss in a sewer, making it hard to breathe.
A pair of ferocious faces kept approaching, with a burly body but sunken cheeks.
Xu Li couldn't see his expression, but she could sense his evil and fierceness, as well as the ruthlessness revealed in his own eyes.
It's both frightening and disgusting.
Suddenly, Xu Li lost her footing and was pulled by a tremendous force before being roughly pushed to the ground.
Xu Li tried desperately to shrink herself, but her body felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and she couldn't move an inch.
Like fish on a chopping board, they are at the mercy of others, unable to fight back.
Every muscle in her body screamed in resistance as the other party, with undeniable aggression, gradually broke through Xu Li's mental defenses.
In the sticky darkness, the outline of the shadow became clearer and clearer, yet its face remained obscured. Only a hand, damp and cool, reached out aggressively.
...
Xu Li woke up with a start and sat on the edge of the bed to calm herself down.
Xu Li broke out in a cold sweat, which seeped into the thin fabric of her clothes and clung to her skin. It carried the chill of a lingering nightmare, making her feel stiff all over, as if she were immersed in ice water and wrapped in a layer of oppressive heat, even though she was awake.
I've lost count of how many times I've had this dream, and how many times I've woken up from it on nights like this.
Xu Li was used to the night, but she couldn't adapt to it.
To be precise, it's that I don't want to recall anything related to the night.
An orange nightlight was turned on by the bedside, which Xu Li bought specifically because she is afraid of the dark.
Before going to sleep each night, Xu Li would turn on the small bedside lamp so that Xu Li wouldn't be too scared if she woke up in the middle of the night.
Xu Li glanced at the time; it was 3:15.
Zhou Junchang should have been asleep by now. Although Xu Li didn't actually plan to go find Zhou Junchang, she still thought about what he had said to her that night.
He said he was downstairs and that Xu Li could contact him if she needed anything. These words struck Xu Li like a chord.
If Xu Li really went to him, she would probably feel much more at ease.
Although neither of them said it, it was very clear to Xu Li.
Xu Li dislikes, and even fears, contact with people. Those unfamiliar touches make Xu Li feel extremely uncomfortable. But today, in Zhou Junchang's arms, Xu Li actually calmed down.
Xu Li was indeed very scared at first, but after she learned that it was Zhou Junchang, she felt much better. So, in the darkness, Xu Li lay quietly in Zhou Junchang's arms for a long, long time.
It wasn't like he was unapproachable to everyone else, because Zhou Junchang was someone who could comfort Xu Li, a special person.
For her, Zhou Junchang was no longer someone she resisted.
Xu Li lay back down in bed, covering herself up completely, trying to fall asleep again.
Because only when you're truly asleep can you feel how quickly the night goes by.
But Xu Li couldn't sleep.
Whenever Xu Li wakes up in the middle of the night, she can hardly fall back asleep. As soon as she closes her eyes, those scenes, those sensations, those dream scenes flash through her mind over and over again, and every single image makes Xu Li feel nauseous and dizzy.
The following night, Xu Li slept intermittently and very lightly.
Xu Li arrived at Tianguang Hall on time, even earlier than usual.
After working for a while, Xu Li went downstairs to check and found that Zhou Junchang had not yet arrived.
Xu Li sat on the sofa and opened her chat with Zhou Junchang.
Xu Li didn't know if Zhou Junchang was waiting for her. If he was, would it be a bit unethical for her to just come down like this? But if he wasn't waiting for her, would it seem like she was just being presumptuous to send him a message?
Could it be that Zhou Junchang just happened to be a little late today?
Xu Li opened the chat interface and prepared to type.
"I have arrived at Tianguang Hall."
No, that's not like Zhou Junchang was waiting for me.
Are you awake?
No, it would make it seem like I care a lot about Zhou Junchang.
Are you coming today?
No, it's not like I need to talk to Zhou Junchang about something today.
...
After typing back and forth a few times, Xu Li felt it wasn't quite right. Finally, as if she had given up completely, she was about to put down her phone when she saw Zhou Junchang send her a message first.
"woke up?"
"Um."
"The store should have electricity today."
"Yes, I've arrived."
"good."
The chat has ended.
Then, the two of them stopped talking.
This was their first chat.
Zhou Jun usually takes a taxi to Mingyue Night. The store had a sudden power outage yesterday, and many things were not prepared. He didn't continue to take care of things afterward last night. He was supposed to go to Mingyue Night earlier this morning, but he didn't sleep well last night and actually overslept a little today.
Zhou Jun looked at their chat history but didn't receive any new messages.
When Zhou Jun woke up today, he turned on his phone, and the screen was still on the chat interface where he was waiting for Xu Li's message from last night.
Zhou Junchang hadn't seen any messages and was about to exit when he saw the other party typing on his phone screen.
Zhou Junchang stared at the screen waiting for Xu Li's message, and then he saw the phone screen repeatedly changing between "typing" and "nickname".
At first, Zhou Junchang thought that Xu Li might have accidentally clicked on it, but after so long it was still "typing", Zhou Junchang had no idea what Xu Li wanted to say.
Zhou Junchang could only send a message first, and knew that Xu Li had already gone to work.
Ah Feng is on vacation today and is still asleep in bed. Zhou Jun checked the time, went into the bathroom to wash up quickly, and then went to Mingyue Night.
Hu Hei was helping out at the store today. When he saw Zhou Junchang come over, he went over to talk to him.
"What happened last night?"
Unlike Ah Feng, Hu Hei was not as open-minded. He could see through some things but kept quiet.
Hu Hei nudged Zhou Junchang's shoulder and teased, "I even came downstairs this morning to see if you were here yet."
This morning, Hu Hei went to clean the private room first, and then when he went out, he saw Xu Li standing in front of the bar looking for someone.
Hu Hei was also very perceptive; he didn't say anything and only came out after Xu Li left.
Zhou Jun often changes into his work clothes and casually asks, "Who is it?"
I don't know if they're pretending not to know or if they're simply not interested.
"Do you really want me to tell you?"
Seeing Zhou Junchang's indifferent expression, Hu Hei secretly whispered a name in Zhou Junchang's ear.
Zhou Junchang simply replied with a single word: "Oh."
"Keep pretending."
…………
Another day has passed in a rush.
After returning from a food delivery, Hu Hei informed Zhou Junchang, "She's gone."
They both knew perfectly well who she was.
Zhou Junchang didn't even glance at him, and instead looked down to find a fruit knife to cut the fruit platter.
Hu Hei, with a "brother, I understand you" expression, hummed a little tune smugly.
Hu Hei said, "I see you guys only see each other a few times a day. Brother, let me give you a suggestion: come early in the morning and leave early at night. When it's time, just stand here and don't move. If there's anything to do, just let the other brothers do it."
"..."
"But I'm genuinely curious about when this happened?"
"..."
What do you see in her?
"...
"So, do you feel that Xu... she likes you?"
"..."
"What about your feelings for them?"
"..."
Zhou Jun often takes away the fruit plate that hasn't been cut yet, and then moves it to the other side along with the fruit knife and the remaining uncut fruit.
Hu Hei pretended to try to persuade him to stay, saying that he wouldn't say anything more.
Zhou Junchang ignored him.
One person silently continued cutting fruit with their head down.
After that, Hu Hei really didn't say anything more and went to deliver the food with the tray.
But only Zhou Junchang knew that he had pondered Hu Hei's words many times in his heart.
Zhou Junchang had no idea when this happened; he only realized something was wrong when he became aware of it.
Like? Favor?
Zhou Junchang neither knew nor wanted to explore these issues; none of that mattered.
Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my fingertip; I had been cut by a knife.
Blood beads instantly appeared on my finger, and the blood flowed down my finger.
Zhou Junchang then came to his senses and stared blankly at the cut on his hand for a moment.
The bright red stood out starkly against the light-colored cutting board, as if it were a warning to Zhou Junchang.
The blood dripped onto the cutting board and instantly spread, rendering the fruit unusable.
A colleague nearby saw this and brought Zhou Junchang a band-aid.
Zhou Junchang looked at the rather deep wound, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved into a smile. He was actually lost in thought about this matter.
Zhou Jun often rinsed his hands under the tap, and the water was instantly stained light red before quickly returning to its original color.
Didn't you think there was nothing worth exploring? Didn't you not care at all? Didn't you think this result was meaningless? Then why are you pondering it so much?
Zhou Jun often pressed his bleeding wound, trying to use the pain to clear his mind.
However, he had to admit that such minor pain made it difficult for him to stop thinking about the problem.
When Hu Hei returned, he received a phone call. Because it was a bit noisy in the store, Hu Hei took the phone and went outside.
Hu Hei pressed the answer button while gesturing to Zhou Junchang.
Zhou Jun nodded to indicate that he understood and then continued doing his own thing.
Another brother took the knife from Zhou Junchang and helped him cut the rest of the fruit.
One of the guys asked, "Where's Hu Hei?"
"I went outside to answer a phone call."
As they were talking, they heard a noise at the door, and everyone turned to look.
Perhaps it was a real premonition, but everyone felt that something was wrong.
Hu Hei rushed in from outside, his eyes red, his phone slipping from his hand, his voice trembling: "Car accident! There was a car accident!"
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