Chapter 1 Numb.01 What You Left Behind
The small room was eerily quiet, with only the scratching of a pen on paper and the blinding white light from the ceiling lamps. The oppressive and silent atmosphere made it hard to breathe.
Xu Wu sat upright, holding the water cup in both hands, trying to warm his already cold palms with the negligible warmth.
She lowered her head slightly, pursed her lips to conceal her emotions, and the strands of hair falling down her cheeks effectively hid her seemingly focused but actually unfocused eyes, which appeared to be staring at the calm surface of the water in the glass.
"Knock knock—"
A short while later, the sound of knuckles tapping on the table opposite him pulled Xu Wu back to reality.
She blinked her eyes, which were a little sore from not moving for a long time, her hands unconsciously clenching the cup, and looked up towards the source of the sound—
Across from me sat a policewoman with short hair, who looked very capable. To make her feel nervous, I softened my expression and tone, pushed the record in my hand in front of her, and said gently, "If there are no problems, let's sign here."
They even thoughtfully pointed out where she needed to sign.
Upon hearing this, Xu Wu moved his stiff fingers and very slowly picked up the black pen on the right side of the table. He lifted the cap, lowered his eyes, and wrote his name in the signature area of the record.
Even though she tried to appear calm on the surface, the slight trembling of her hands while writing betrayed her inner turmoil.
The policewoman noticed this small movement. She turned to look at her colleague outside the glass window, and when she looked at Xu Wu again, there was more sympathy in her eyes.
After confirming that the other party had signed, she gently comforted them, "It's okay, don't think too much about it. You can go for psychological counseling when you have time."
Xu Wu simply shook her head. She hadn't said another word since the statement was taken, and the water in her cup remained untouched, as if it only served to keep her warm.
Seeing that she was about to get up, the policewoman quickly stood up as well, saying, "I'll see you out."
“...Thank you.” Xu Wu’s voice was a little hoarse. Her tone was cool and clear, much like the ice that never melts on the peak of a snow-capped mountain, yet it carried a touch of warmth that neutralized the aggression of her facial features.
At seventeen, a time when development should be in full swing, Xu Wu was excessively thin. Coupled with her tall stature and lack of body fat, years of malnutrition had resulted in her exposed skin appearing unhealthy and sickly white.
As the policewoman accompanied her to the police station entrance, she couldn't help but glance at Xu Wu. Xu Wu remained expressionless, but she didn't notice the clenched fist at her side.
"Alright, then I'll..." The policewoman stopped, about to say that she would drop her off here and tell her to be careful on her way home.
The next second, a middle-aged woman's heart-wrenching cry, mixed with screams and insults, approached rapidly. The policewoman didn't even have time to react before she felt a gust of wind brush past her side, and a sharp sound exploded in her ear—
"What exactly did you say to my son that made him jump off the building?!"
Xu Wu was grabbed by the collar and thrown to the ground. The back of her head and back hit the ground hard, and she immediately felt dizzy and her vision blurred. Accompanied by waves of pain, she groaned and frowned. Her already frail body was knocked down by the impact, and she even wondered if she had broken a few ribs, otherwise why would she feel so numb from the pain?
"Calm down!"
The policewoman and her colleagues frantically tried to pull the middle-aged woman, who was on the verge of going crazy, away from Xu Wu, but she wouldn't budge. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, her eye bags were swollen and she looked disheveled, and a few strands of white hair had fallen from the side of her face.
Xu Wu was shaken until he felt dizzy. Even though his stomach was churning, his eyes remained calm and indifferent. His naturally slanted eyes made him even more aloof. He held tightly to her wrist, which was gripping his collar. Although he wasn't in great health, he was quite strong, even stronger than a middle-aged woman.
The middle-aged woman winced in pain. She regained her senses slightly and met Xu Wu's calm eyes. Her lips trembled, and she tried to speak again.
"Didn't you leave a suicide note? Why didn't you read it?" Xu Wu spoke before she could, stating the facts in a cold tone, even though the impact to her head and the smell emanating from the middle-aged woman in front of her were making her taste buds feel nauseous.
Seemingly struck by her words, the middle-aged woman froze for a moment, and the police officer took the opportunity to separate the two.
The middle-aged woman was helped to sit down by the two men. Her eyes were vacant, and she kept muttering "I'm sorry."
Meanwhile, Xu Wu, who had been helped up by the policewoman, was still not recovered. The intense dizziness almost made her fall again. Her head was throbbing, and she was gasping for breath, clutching her chest. She took several deep breaths before she could barely feel better. Her stomach was cramping, and she forcibly suppressed the urge to vomit.
"Are you alright?" The policewoman brought her a glass of water in a disposable paper cup, looking at her with concern. As she sipped the water, she patted her back and whispered comfortingly, "You were the last person Ji Lin saw before he jumped. His mother is also heartbroken from losing her son. Don't mind her."
Xu Wu finished her drink, held the paper cup in her hand, and gently shook her head. She couldn't make any large movements right now. Then, her gaze passed over the policewoman and fell on the middle-aged woman sitting on the bench, wailing loudly. She recalled Ji Lin's earlier comments about his mother—
A mildly mentally ill person with an extremely strong desire for control, and also prone to domestic violence.
Xu Wu thought that it was indeed quite accurate.
As she turned to leave, the policewoman stopped her. Seeing that she was in a bad state, she was worried and prepared to have a colleague drive her home.
It was almost ten o'clock, and there were no more buses at the bus stop. Walking would take more than half an hour, so why not save some time and money? Xu Wu certainly wouldn't refuse, and even felt that the pain was worth it.
As the police car drove out of the police station, a light drizzle began to fall outside. It soon intensified, with raindrops continuously pattering in front of the car, and falling again after the wipers swept them away.
Looking out the glass window at the dazzling city shrouded in a hazy rain, Xu Wu stared absently at the rain streaks on the window, unaware that she had arrived at her destination.
"Did you bring an umbrella?" the police officer in the driver's seat asked her through the rearview mirror.
Xu Wu opened the car door and roughly calculated the distance to run back in his mind: "It's a two-minute walk, no problem."
Two seconds later, a folding umbrella was handed to her.
Xu Wu paused for a moment, then looked at the police officer, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"Here, take this. Don't get sick."
Xu Wu accepted the gift without hesitation and thanked him sincerely.
The cool breeze of the early autumn rainy night brushed against her skin, and Xu Wu couldn't help but shiver. By the time she reached her doorstep, the chill hadn't completely dissipated, but it finally relieved her suppressed nerves a little, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Wu took out the key from his pocket, inserted it into the keyhole and turned it. Then he turned the doorknob to open the door. Just as he was about to enter, he looked up and saw the boy sitting on the sofa in the living room.
His bangs were too long, partially obscuring his eyebrows and eyes. He sat leaning against the left side of the sofa, his right leg crossed over his left, his hand supporting his head. His wrists were fair, and there was a small, barely noticeable mole on the lower right side of his lip.
Rain streaks flowed down the large window behind me, and the only sound in the quiet air was the volume of the television playing.
Hearing the door open, the man's pale amber and indifferent pupils shifted slightly, meeting Xu Wu's gaze, which was still standing in the doorway. His pupils clearly reflected the girl's overly pale face.
"You...you're injured?" The boy glanced at her briefly before frowning, putting his leg down, and walking towards her. Contrary to his appearance, the four words he uttered were hesitant and hoarse, like fragments of sandpaper, yet also cold and clear with a hint of moisture.
He was tall and slender with excellent proportions, the only thing that seemed out of place was his eyes, which were always hidden under his bangs, making it impossible to discern his emotional changes.
Xu Wu paused for a moment, then frowned and asked, "Why are you here?"
Knowing she didn't want to answer, Jieying didn't say anything. She just clenched and unclenched her hands at her sides, as if she had gone through an extreme internal struggle. Her furrowed brows relaxed slightly as instructed.
“You… fell, fell down.” Because of his stutter, he spoke very slowly, but it was quite pleasant to hear, so Xu Wu patiently waited for him to finish.
Fortunately, he was always concise, and after speaking, he opened his hand, revealing a Rilakkuma keychain lying quietly in his palm.
The fingers have distinct and long joints, and a healthy rosy color extends to the fingertips with a faint pink tinge, making them suitable for art sketching and medical anatomy.
Xu Wu's gaze fell on the pendant, and he said expressionlessly, "Throw it away."
She cannot accept something that has been handled by someone else returning to her hands.
Even though this pendant had been with her for two years.
not to mention-
Xu Wu and Jie Ying confronted each other, wondering how he had managed to find the pendant that she had lost two weeks ago.
On the other hand, Jie Ying nodded and accepted the pendant, her expression revealing nothing unusual.
Xu Wu stepped aside to make way, the meaning of which was self-evident.
Jie Ying glanced at the umbrella she had casually placed on the shoe cabinet outside, then left without saying anything.
The moment the door closed, Xu Wu could no longer hold back. She rushed to the bathroom, braced herself on both sides of the sink, bent over, and vomited violently.
She hadn't eaten much today, so she couldn't vomit anything, only some acid from her stomach.
After vomiting, she almost collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. The taste of vomit filled her throat, making her feel extremely uncomfortable. Her eyes were filled with saline solution, and the corners of her eyes were red and watery.
After finally catching her breath, Xu Wu weakly shuffled to the living room, leaning against the wall. Her head was throbbing, and she looked even more exhausted than before.
She noticed the sofa where Jieying had just sat, and the faint scent of his presence seemed to linger in the air, not unpleasant at all, and even miraculously relieved her physical condition, which was nearing its limit.
Xu Wu remembered the Rilakkuma keychain again; she knew Jie Ying had no intention of throwing it away.
She couldn't help but gag, and weakly walked to the other side of the sofa, sat down, and pulled out a few wet wipes to wipe her arms and chest, all of which were the places that had been touched by others at the police station.
The thought of someone else's scent lingering made her rub even harder until her skin turned red and bled, and her fingertips, gripping the wet tissue, trembled with pain from being rubbed.
After crumpling the wet wipes into a ball and throwing them into the trash can, Xu Wu took a breath and collapsed onto the sofa. Before losing consciousness, her last thought was that she hoped Jie Ying wouldn't break the umbrella.
A note from the author:
Finally, I've started writing! Hooray! Sending red envelopes! [cheering]
Updated every night at 9 PM
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Copywriting:
Yan Xi felt utterly disgusted by Shen Hui's superficial perfectionism. The eyes hidden behind his glasses were always gentle and polite, which made her seem like a clueless bug in comparison.
So, taking advantage of the fact that he wore a hearing aid, Yan Xi would always turn around and curse him in secret.
He eventually fell into a deep sleep after drinking at a party.
When Yan Xi woke up again, she was in an unfamiliar room. Her head was throbbing, and when she opened her eyes, she froze.
This is a study, and the bookshelves are filled with cassette tapes, all of which bear her name.
Her gaze froze as she looked at the man leaning against the desk, arms crossed, looking down at her.
"So much talk about me behind my back." He slowly pressed the play button on the recorder.
The noise was accompanied by a barrage of insults delivered without a single breath.
Yan Xi's body tensed as she watched him walk towards her step by step, and then stop in front of her.
The other person bent down slightly, reached out and pinched her chin, the pain forcing her to look up and meet his gaze.
"What should we do?" His eyes were unfathomable as he ran his fingers over her lips, his voice laced with amusement. "How about we repay her with this mouth?"
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