Chapter 21 Numb.21 Touch it, okay?
Xu Wu couldn't count how many times he hadn't slept well lately. Either he would be startled awake in the middle of the night by a nightmare, or his mind would be filled with unspeakable images. The quiet and dark environment only aroused his imagination more.
She's even considering whether to buy melatonin again.
Actually, her sleep has never been very good; she's a light sleeper, easily woken up by the slightest noise. For a period, she even had to rely on melatonin to fall asleep. After developing a tolerance to one pill, she would take another, finishing the last bottle of sixty pills in less than a month.
Later, fearing she would become dependent on melatonin, Xu Wu eventually gave it up completely. She didn't buy any more after she finished the first dose, and was able to fall asleep, albeit for a longer time.
The darkness of the environment would make all her senses tense. She might feel sleepy with her eyes closed, but she would immediately wake up as soon as the lights were turned off.
That day when she was twelve years old was like a nightmare growing in her heart. Ugly vines and strips of paper would emerge from the ground late at night, pinning her to the bed.
She wasn't afraid of the dark; she was afraid of being touched.
After morning reading ended, Xu Wu sat down and pinched the bridge of her nose. Her lack of sleep and fatigue were clearly visible, and the dark circles under her eyes were impossible to hide.
"Xu Wu." The class monitor walked over, placed the form in front of her, and pointed to the place where a signature was required: "This is the list of those who won't be attending the parent-teacher conference. You just need to sign it."
Xu Wu nodded, took a pen from the table, lifted the cap, lowered his head, signed his name, and returned it to the class monitor.
The moment the form was handed to her, she inadvertently noticed Jie Ying's name on it out of the corner of her eye, and unconsciously tapped the table with her index finger.
No one attended his parent-teacher conference either.
Xu Wu thought to himself, "This is a disgrace."
The form only had four names on it. Apart from her and Jie Ying, there were two other people she wasn't very familiar with. They were just classmates, but she wasn't sure she could remember their names.
"Xu Wu, your dark circles are a bit heavy." Xia Ni came over, and since her classmate in front of her wasn't there, she decided to sit down for a while.
"Hmm," Xu Wu calmly pulled the next class out of her desk and placed it on the table. "I didn't sleep well last night."
"She's sleeping so badly, she's practically the national treasure of our class." Xia Ni chuckled, and before class started, she rested her chin on her hands and asked, "Hey, how about we go out for dinner this Saturday?"
"No need," Xu Wu refused without even thinking.
"Huh?" Xia Ni paused for a moment, then added, "Hey, don't be such a homebody. It seems like you rarely participate in group activities."
Upon hearing this, Xu Wu raised her eyes and gave her a light, fleeting glance.
She didn't understand what was so great about participating in small group activities. Going there would just mean watching these people put on an act, especially that Liu Tan. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was some big leader on an inspection tour. He acted like he was currying favor.
The boastful leader and his sycophantic lackeys.
This combination is much more entertaining than variety shows.
"I have something to do that day, so I can't go," Xu Wu said with a smile.
This was her usual excuse. It was fine once or twice, but after a while, Shani and the others gradually stopped believing her.
“What could possibly be wrong?” Shani continued to persuade, “Come on, it’ll only be a little while, it won’t take up too much of your time.”
Xu Wu smiled. She didn't quite understand Xia Ni's insistence on her attending small group activities. How could someone be so oblivious to social cues?
"We'll see," Xu Wu said succinctly.
The class bell rang, and Xia Ni hurriedly told her to send her the time later before getting up and returning to her seat.
Xu Wu frowned. Good heavens, when did she say she was going?
Forget it, I'll just find an excuse to cancel later.
She never wanted to waste a single moment on such meaningless social interactions.
Thinking this, she pulled the book lying open on the table a little further out, so that it just covered the small movement under her thighs, and then used this cover to pull her phone out of the drawer to check her messages.
The chat history with Jieying is completely blank. Apart from WeChat Sports messages and news pushes, the only other message he has left is the one she sent him last night asking how his face looks.
There was no reply from the other party.
Why shouldn't I reply?
Xu Wu frowned. Had something really happened?
Thinking of this, she turned her head and glanced in Jie Ying's direction—
I can't see it clearly.
Xu Wu squinted. She was slightly nearsighted, which was fine most of the time, but when she looked at things in the distance, they were always blurry, as if she were wearing a filter.
Jie Ying had her head down, almost buried in the book, and her right cheek was completely obscured from view, so Xu Wu couldn't tell whether the swelling had gone down.
She's not very strong... right?
Xu Wu sighed and replied to the message with his eyes down.
Fu Xi: Do you still need that ointment for reducing swelling? I'll bring it to you after class.
Five: Thanks.
She had planned to visit a pharmacy when she left home in the morning, but since it was still early, most of the shops downstairs, except for the breakfast shop, were not yet open.
Xu Wu usually keeps most of the medicines at home, such as ibuprofen for fever reduction or pain relief, and none of them are for reducing swelling.
I had no choice but to ask Fu Xi again, and luckily she said she had another one at home that she hadn't used yet, and I could bring it to her if she needed it.
Last night, she saw that Jieying's status kept showing "typing is in progress," but after waiting for about ten minutes, it stopped and no message came.
Xu Wu couldn't tell if he was still in pain. Even after turning off the lights, he tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. He closed his eyes at 11 p.m. and finally managed to rest for a while at nearly 3:30 a.m.
As the first English class ended, Xu Wu got up and walked towards the back door of the classroom. Through the window, she could see Fu Xi waving at her from outside. As she passed Jie Ying's seat, she deliberately glanced at his face.
It seems less red, but I'm not sure if the swelling has gone down.
Xu Wu averted her gaze and looked at the ointment that Fu Xi handed her.
"I remember the bruises on your knees healed a long time ago, didn't they?" Fu Xi asked curiously.
"The rest of the parts aren't done yet," Xu Wu replied casually as he took the item.
"Hey," Fu Xi leaned against the railing and asked her, "Can Jie Ying dance?"
Xu Wu looked up: "Why are you asking this?"
“We can start rehearsing the dance tonight, and it’s not too difficult.” Fu Xi spread his hands. “Zheng Liangwen took the day off and can’t come, so I was thinking of having Xie Ying fill in for you as your partner.”
"I don't know," Xu Wu thought for a moment, "maybe."
"If you don't know, you can teach me."
"Also," Fu Xi hesitated for a moment, then walked over and whispered, "Shang Xu is coming too."
Upon hearing this, Xu Wu subconsciously glanced at Jie Ying's seat in the classroom. He was lying on the desk, seemingly catching up on sleep, with a few stray hairs sticking up. His head was resting in the crook of his arm, his face completely obscured.
"Come on in," Xu Wu said nonchalantly, "consider it a visit."
Since the roles have been decided, it's impossible to change them during rehearsals.
"...You make it sound so easy," Fu Xi retorted. "Do you know I can't even come up with a reason to politely decline?"
She really didn't understand Shang Xu. He claimed to be after Xu Wu, but he didn't do anything when they were in the same class in high school.
Why now? Besides, judging from Jie Ying's appearance, the chances of Shang Xuzheng winning are less than 10%.
“He’ll give up once he makes a fool of himself,” Xu Wu said. “I’m going in first.”
The second period's long break for morning exercises was canceled. Some of the girls in the classroom went out hand in hand to get water, while Xu Wu walked over to Jie Ying and tapped on his desk. When he looked up, she raised her chin and said, "Come out with me."
She originally planned to take Jieying to the rooftop. The rooftop of No. 1 Middle School has a place to eat, and the view from up there is good, so many students use it as a secret base.
However, it was temporarily sealed off after Ji Lin's incident, and it's unknown when it will reopen.
There is a small open space at the corner leading to the rooftop, but it is very narrow, barely enough for two people to sit side by side.
This is a blind spot; it's not captured by surveillance cameras, so naturally even passersby downstairs wouldn't notice it.
"Push your hair back." Xu Wu stood opposite him.
Jie Ying obediently reached out and tucked the hair on his right cheek behind his ear. If it was too short, he would use his hands to separate it. He even thoughtfully bent down slightly to make it easier for Xu Wu to see. The exposed face was not as swollen as yesterday, but his skin was fair, and it was still noticeable that it was different from his left cheek.
The crisp scent emanating from him clashed with Xu Wu's freesia in the air. The newcomer was completely unaware of his extremely aggressive behavior, which almost made him slowly lick the freesia clean.
Before long, Xu Wu could only smell Jie Ying's scent. He would surround her and kiss her skin, just like his master, until even her hair was covered with his unique fragrance.
Xu Wu pursed her lips, forcing herself to remain calm: "Did you apply the medicine?"
"No, no," Jie Ying said softly, her beautiful eyes crinkling. "It's not serious."
With its low-pitched tone and the confined space, the voice sounded like a spinning, pounding sound as it entered my ears, making my heart tremble and go numb.
Xu Wu paused, slowly shifting her gaze away, suddenly feeling somewhat hesitant to look directly into his eyes.
Did you see my message yesterday?
Jie Ying shook her head: "My hand, my phone is dead."
"So you're not coming back in the morning either?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Wu keenly sensed that her words were somewhat ambiguous, as if she were expecting a reply from him.
As expected, Jie Ying looked at her, his eyes slowly deepening with emotion, his joy visibly evident: "Wu is... waiting for me?"
"...Think what you want." Xu Wu held her breath, casually took out the ointment Fu Xi had given her from her coat pocket and threw it into his arms, saying awkwardly, "Apply it yourself."
Jie Ying caught it precisely, watching Xu Wu with his arms crossed and head turned away, a faint smile spreading across his face.
"Fog, why are you giving this to me?" he said slowly.
Xu Wu said with slight anger, "Otherwise what? Should I let your face stay swollen?"
Upon hearing this, Jieying hesitated for a long while before gently asking, "Does Wu like this face?"
He stared at her, his eyes flickering, and unconsciously tightened his grip on the ointment in his hand.
Xu Wu froze, opened his mouth to retort, but was stunned by Jie Ying's dark and unfathomable gaze the moment he turned his head. With just that one look, his heart was filled with burning passion.
The other person leaned forward, and the distance between them instantly closed, almost to the point where they could feel each other's warm breaths unconsciously entwining.
"Touch that fog," Jie Ying said, her eyes burning with desire, panting, "may I touch it?"
Author's Note: Congratulations to the lucky winner! [cheering emoji] Your luck is absolutely amazing! [droopy-eared bunny emoji]
Updates might be a little slower on Mondays and Tuesdays when I'm quite busy. [poor face]
Published chapters will also be revised from time to time [cat head emoji]
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