"Teacher Xu." Liang Shi was startled and instinctively shrank back, then looked helpless after being frightened. "What are you doing?"
It sounds a bit aggrieved.
Xu Qingzhu said, "I'll be closer to you so I can hear you better."
“I can’t explain it.” Liang Shi shook his head: “It’s beyond my linguistic comprehension. Anyway, it’s just… disgusting and repulsive.”
She took a deep breath and composed herself. "Okay, you don't need to worry about me. Go wash up and go to bed. You must be very tired after a long day."
"Why shouldn't I care about you?" Xu Qingzhu sat down next to her, her tone casual. "You haven't finished speaking yet."
"I'm done," Liang Shi said. "That's all."
"What's the story behind this?" Xu Qingzhu asked, glancing sideways. "It's impossible for someone to have this mentality without a reason. Have you encountered this situation before?"
Liang Shi: "..."
She paused for two seconds, then asked, "Professor Xu, have you considered becoming a psychologist?"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
“I have over ten years of experience in psychological counseling,” Xu Qingzhu said. “You can interpret it that way: long-term illness makes one a doctor.”
Liang Shi: "..."
After two moments of silence, Liang Shi said helplessly, "It's nothing serious, it's all in the past, go back and rest."
Liang Shi kept urging her to leave, but Xu Qingzhu wouldn't go. She even grabbed Liang Shi's hand that was reaching out to push her away.
He stroked her wrist with his fingertips, pressing them precisely where her pulse was, and whispered, "I want to hear about these little things."
Liang Shi suddenly stopped.
The cool fingers pressed on her pulse, gently pressing so hard that her tailbone went numb.
Liang Shi swallowed his saliva instinctively, swallowing back all the words he was about to say.
The lights in the hotel living room weren't very bright, and the color was dim and yellow. The two were already close together, and now that their eyes were locked, Liang Shi could clearly see Xu Qingzhu's facial features.
Her lips were a peachy pink, with a slight shimmer. Her nose was upturned and straight. Her eyes were perfectly spaced, and her dark pupils looked at her with deep affection, as if her whole heart belonged to her.
Liang Shi subconsciously licked his lips lightly, his tongue brushing against the edge of his lips.
Xu Qingzhu's fingers caressed her pulse again, and her cool voice rang in her ear, carrying a subtle yet alluring tone: "Teacher Liang, tell me."
The two simple words echoed in Liang Shi's mind.
Especially those three words she uttered earlier, so slowly and gently, with her tone rising slightly but then falling back down at the end, made Liang Shi wonder if it was just his imagination, but they sounded like she was being coquettish.
Liang Shi's heart suddenly softened completely.
My heart, which had been tense all night, can finally relax now.
Liang Shi looked at Xu Qingzhu and suddenly smiled, the corners of his mouth turned up, his head tilted to the side on the sofa, his body weight leaned back, and Xu Qingzhu's body also leaned back.
The two of them sat down on the sofa, looking like they were snuggling together.
Xu Qingzhu then rested her head on Liang Shi's shoulder.
Clearly, Liang Shi stiffened, but said nothing.
"Do you really want to hear it?" Liang Shi asked in a low voice, his voice filled with tenderness and affection.
Xu Qingzhu put her fingers together and touched her wrist as if taking a pulse, then responded softly, "Mmm."
“One time when I came home, I found three men in my house,” Liang Shi said. “They pried open my security window and were going through my things. When I saw this, I ran away and called the police, but they didn’t catch them. I moved house after that and changed to triple locks. Since then, I have never given anyone my house key or password. People can come to my house when I’m home, but no one can enter if I’m not here.”
The story was told in a dry, lifeless way, without a single adjective or any sense of atmosphere.
Even when Liang Shi told him about it, he didn't feel any danger.
However, at that time, Liang Shi was only seventeen years old and had not yet recovered from the grief of losing his loved ones.
A little girl came to the big city to make a living. She finally found a job and then rented a basement room. It was dark and damp, and at night she could hear rats squeaking inside the wainscoting, as if they were complaining about the bad environment.
The basement had only one window, which served as its ventilation opening and ensured sunlight during the midday hours when the sun was at its strongest.
The security windows were old and dilapidated; they could be easily opened with just a wrench or pliers.
In that bustling metropolis, there are countless people like her who rent basement apartments.
She was just an ordinary person among the masses.
Perhaps it was her optimism that prevented her from being defeated by life.
Even during the most difficult times in life, she was able to find joy amidst hardship.
But when she unlocked the door that day and found three burly men standing in her room, rummaging through it, she felt a chill run down her spine.
Her underwear was taken by those people and thrown on the ground. Her meager savings were rummaged through her pockets, and her neatly folded quilt was crumpled into a ball.
In a space of just over ten square meters, nothing in sight was spared.
Even the men sneered when they saw her; they weren't afraid at all.
Why would I be afraid?
She was just a weak little girl with no strength to even kill a chicken.
Fortunately, she reacted quickly and ran away.
Having trained in sprinting during junior and senior high school, she unleashed astonishing power at this moment, sprinting all the way outside, out of her old neighborhood, and into the police station across the street.
For a period of time after that, it was her nightmare.
She often had trouble sleeping because of dreams about that incident, so she didn't allow anyone to set foot in her personal space without her permission.
After initially transmigrating, it took him some time to adjust to life with Xu Qingzhu.
However, because she was too busy and had too many things to think about every day, her minor obsession with cleanliness was not very severe.
She simply stated the matter briefly, without going into specific details.
It happened many years ago, there's no need for Xu Qingzhu to worry about it.
But it's clear that Liang Shi wasn't talking about what happened at the Liang family home.
Xu Qingzhu didn't ask where it happened.
Although I'm a little curious, now is not the time to ask.
Xu Qingzhu simply asked, "And then?"
“That’s all,” Liang Shi said. “That’s all.”
"Your story is boring," Xu Qingzhu complained. "It was supposed to be quite scary."
"It's alright, it's just that he's annoying," Liang Shi said. "Anyway, it's all in the past."
She spoke casually, but Xu Qingzhu, holding her pulse, knew that her heart was racing as she spoke.
Xu Qingzhu did not expose him.
The atmosphere was quiet afterwards. Xu Qingzhu leaned on Liang Shi's shoulder and told her about what happened that night, and also mentioned Meng Tong.
And when we're going to have dinner together on Sunday night.
Liang Shi asked in surprise, "I'm going too?"
Xu Qingzhu nodded: "Of course, do you think you can escape it?"
“Okay, I’ll go too,” Liang Shi said.
"You don't want to?" Xu Qingzhu poked her waist with her arm. Liang Shi felt a little ticklish and immediately reached out to block her arm, only to have Xu Qingzhu discover her weakness.
"Teacher Liang, are you ticklish?" Xu Qingzhu asked with a playful smile and a deep, enigmatic tone.
Liang Shi immediately sensed danger and shook her head: "How could that be?"
Taking advantage of her momentary lapse in attention, Xu Qingzhu's hand tickled her waist, as if someone had tickled her funny bone. Liang Shi grabbed her hand, laughing as she said, "Stop it..."
Xu Qingzhu's movements were like those of a nimble snake, wriggling around Liang Shi's waist, making it impossible for Liang Shi to catch her, especially since she was being poked so much that she kept laughing until tears streamed down her face.
Liang Shi's body went limp and he leaned back on the sofa. Helpless, he could only beg for mercy, "Teacher Xu, please let me go."
Xu Qingzhu's hand landed on her waist, her fingers twitching slightly, but she was a step too slow, and Liang Shi caught it just in time.
Liang Shi gripped her hands tightly, and without realizing it, he pulled Xu Qingzhu down and crashed into her.
This caused Liang Shi to grunt, and Xu Qingzhu's body shifted to the edge of the sofa.
The small sofa can only accommodate two people embracing tightly.
Suddenly, their smiles stopped, and their eyes met.
Xu Qingzhu's body was hanging on the edge of the sofa, and she could fall off at any moment.
"It's going to fall off," Xu Qingzhu said in a muffled voice.
Startled, Liang Shi immediately reached out and pulled her back, but instead wrapped his arms around her waist, and the two of them leaned close together.
As soon as Liang Shigang let go, Xu Qingzhu moved even closer to her, her hands, now free, resting on her waist and hugging her tightly. She buried her head in the crook of Liang's shoulder and whispered, "Our teacher Liang has worked hard. May you always be happy from now on."
Liang Shi: "..."
Her hand, suspended in mid-air, moved slightly as if playing the piano in the air, before resignedly falling down a few seconds later.
After a playful outing, her hair was loose, the hair tie was nowhere to be found, and her long brown hair hung down, even covering Xu Qingzhu's black hair, with a few strands tangled together.
In the cramped space, all that could be heard was the rustling of the wind through the windowpanes, the intertwined breathing of the two people, and their heartbeats.
Xu Qingzhu's slender, fair hand landed on Liang Shi's shoulder blade, moving down from top to bottom. Her cool voice carried a hint of allure as she coaxed him softly, "No one will invade your private space again. I will protect you."
Liang Shi's throat felt like it was blocked by something, and he couldn't speak because of the soreness and dryness.
After a long while, she lowered her head and buried it in Xu Qingzhu's hair, smelling the refreshing scent of oranges emanating from it, a clean and pleasant fragrance that made her feel incredibly at ease.
Liang Shi's voice was dull and slow, muffled, "Okay."
It's so touching it softens your heart.
//
The unexpected phone call startled Liang Shi awake. She groggily reached for her phone but instead touched the back of the person in her arms.
Her back was incredibly thin.
Liang Shi suddenly woke up, and Xu Qingzhu also sat up, shook her head, and looked like she had just woken up as well.