Fang Qianan knew that Li Xiu was very fair.
But he didn't expect that Li Xiu was so white.
Because it was time to go to bed, only a desk lamp was on in the room. Under the dim light, Li Xiu, who was changing clothes with her back to him, had skin as white as a handful of fresh snow, or a ball of delicate and soft cream.
The boy in the corner seemed to have every inch of his skin glowing.
His back was so slender, the lines of his shoulder blades appearing exceptionally delicate and refined, with a slight indentation running down his spine. His weight, which was too low for his peers, made his waist appear exceptionally narrow. Fang Qianan's hand unconsciously rose from his side, gesturing vaguely in mid-air. He felt as if he could support Li Xiu's waist with one hand. But what held Fang Qianan's gaze most was the red rope tied around Li Xiu's waist.
To facilitate movement, the red string was tied loosely. As Li Xiu moved, the string swayed gently around her narrow waist, making Fang Qianan's mouth dry and his tongue dwindle, making him feel completely disoriented.
Fang Qianan couldn't understand it. It was just a simple red rope, tied around a boy's body, but why did that red rope look so...that?
It felt like something inside me was on fire.
Fang Qianan's Adam's apple kept rolling. He knew he shouldn't continue staring at Li Xiu, but his eyes were completely out of control.
"What are you looking at?"
The gaze from behind was so strong that it could not be ignored at all.
Li Xiu put on his pajamas and suddenly turned to face Qian An's burning gaze. He asked with a frown.
It was just a casual question, but Fang Qianan suddenly shrunk back into the quilt, as if startled. Li Xiu's bed creaked several times as he moved, unable to bear the weight.
Li Xiu: ...
After a few seconds of pause, Fang Qianan put his fist to his lips and coughed lightly.
"I just wanted to see the red string Teacher Xu gave you today. You were so obedient that you tied it on right away?"
Li Xiu tilted his head in confusion.
"What else?" he asked, "It's better to believe it than not to believe it. You don't have it?"
Fang Qianan shook his head.
"I was planning on going back to my department, but I ended up fighting that old bastard. When I remembered later, my shoulder was already swollen... Well, now after what you've done to me, my hands are even more out of control."
As he was talking, Fang Qianan suddenly had an idea. He stared at Li Xiu and blurted out, "That's perfect, Xiu, can you help me tie it now?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Qianan reached out and grabbed his coat, took out the crumpled red rope from his pocket and intended to hand it to Li Xiu.
Li Xiu was silent for a few seconds.
His gaze slowly moved from Fang Qianan's palm to the other's face.
Although the boy did not actually refuse, Fang Qianan could clearly see the disgust and rejection in Li Xiu's eyes.
Sure enough, the next second he heard Li Xiu say quietly, "But, Fang Qianan, I remember that your hand was only injured, not broken."
"But shouldn't good friends help each other?"
Fang Qianan gritted his teeth and retorted to Li Xiu.
"When was I your friend?"
Li Xiu replied.
Fang Qianan was stunned, then suddenly remembered that just a few days ago, he had watched indifferently as a group of idiots unscrupulously bullied Li Xiu on campus.
For the first time in his life, the Prince of the Fang family felt what it meant to "regret beyond measure."
The tall boy froze on the bed, his lips moving once, but in the end he couldn't utter a single word - an apology was indeed too light a thing for the victim.
However, just when Fang Qianan was at a loss, Li Xiu's clear voice rang in his ears.
"Forget it, give it to me."
Li Xiu came to the bed and took the red rope directly from Fang Qianan's palm.
The young man lowered his eyes, leaned forward, and lifted the hem of Fang Qianan's clothes. Li Xiu put his arm around Fang Qianan's waist and wrapped the red rope around him.
Li Xiu's pajamas were very old, with a loose collar hanging down. Fang Qianan could even see a glimpse of Li Xiu's thin chest...
Damn, they are all men, why is Li Xiu's a pink one?
At this time, Li Xiu began to tie a knot on Fang Qianan's red rope.
Fang Qianan stared blankly at the young man so close to him, his mind completely blank. Now, if he just lowered his head slightly, it seemed as if he could touch the corner of Li Xiu's eye.
After realizing this, Fang Qianan's movements stiffened.
He just felt his heart beating so fast as if he was playing death rock.
…
Fang Qianan had to use a very stiff and awkward way to hide the embarrassment of the boy. Fortunately, this torment only lasted for a short while.
Li Xiu's fingers were quite deft, and within a few seconds he had helped the lazy and ignorant young master tie the red rope to ward off evil spirits.
"Anything else you need, Honorable Master Fang?"
He stepped back, looked at Fang Qianan's dazed face, and narrowed his eyes.
"Of course, even if you have any other instructions, I'll be sorry. I'm really sleepy."
Li Xiu said with a stern face.
Perhaps his warning finally had the desired effect. Although Fang Qianan looked strange, he did not act up again.
"Oh... then, good night."
Fang Qianan said this like a sleepwalker, then fell down and lay on the bed with his back to Li Xiu.
The whole bed became extremely narrow and crowded because he was lying down, especially since Fang Qianan was so tall that he had to bend his knees when he slept.
Li Xiu glanced at him and felt that Fang Qianan's posture would only make the bed more crowded. However, at this point, he really didn't have the energy to worry about these trivial matters.
"Good night."
After turning off the lights, Li Xiu carefully stuck to Fang Qianan's side and found a gap to lie down.
So crowded...
This was the first thought that came to Li Xiu's mind after he lay down.
It's not just because the single bed is now particularly cramped with two boys squeezed into it.
There was also the special smell of Fang Qianan mixed with medicine, and the unfamiliar body temperature from another person...
Fang Qianan's presence was so strong that it seemed to have substance. In the darkness, this presence was surging towards Li Xiu from all directions.
This made Li Xiu, who had never had close contact with any of her peers since childhood, feel unprecedentedly crowded.
It will probably be hard to fall asleep tonight...
Li Xiu thought with a wry smile in his heart.
But unexpectedly, wrapped in the unfamiliar body temperature and smell, Li Xiu fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
The young man, who was in a deep sleep, naturally had no idea what was happening. Long after he fell asleep, the boy beside him suddenly opened his eyes. His pupils trembled violently, and his strange double pupils shimmered in the darkness like will-o'-the-wisp.
A rough and muddy growl sounded, and the boy's curled knees slowly straightened after a long time.
Fang Qianan, who originally had his back to Li Xiu, changed his posture.
The huge boy lay on Li Xiu's single bed, looking like some ferocious beast ready to attack in the darkness.
The darkness could not block his gaze, and the boy's eyes kept wandering around, greedily licking the peaceful sleeping face of the boy beside him.
Then he stretched out his arms and pulled the boy into his embrace.
…
What should I do?
My Ah Xiu...
[What an unsuspecting child...]
[This is really worrying.]
*
late at night.
In grandma's room, the old woman, who should have been in a deep sleep, began to toss and turn frequently in bed.
"Woo…"
"It hurts... Mom... It hurts so much..."
"Wuwuwuwu… Wuwuwu…"
…
Faint crying sounds came from the depths of the dark night.
An expression of pain gradually appeared on the old man's face while he was sleeping, and his eyeballs began to tremble rapidly under his eyelids.
"Wuwuwu…"
Finally, amidst her sobs, grandma gasped and suddenly opened her eyes.
"Linlin——"
The old man turned sideways, supported the bed with his arms, and looked nervously in the direction where the crying came from outside the door.
But the crying that lingered in her sleep disappeared instantly after she woke up.
However, just as grandma squinted her eyes and looked outside the door, something seemed to flash through the gap in the door.
It seemed to be a white shadow.
Grandma suddenly stood up and murmured.
"Linlin? Linlin, why are you here now..."
The old man supported himself on the bed, hurriedly staggered to his feet, and staggered out of the bedroom after the shadow.
But there was nothing in the corridor.
It was very late at night.
It was so deep that even the wild cats outside the window fell silent.
In the darkness, the old wall clock on the wall made a regular "click" sound.
Grandma dragged her feet and slowly came to the living room. Her breathing was a little faster than before.
On this night, in this house, something seemed different. Even though her mind was no longer clear, at this moment, Grandma was extremely aware of this.
The red shrine in the living room was still lit, but at this moment, the electronic candle in front of the statue, which should have been burning forever, dimmed as if it had malfunctioned. There was only a wisp of red thread in the bulb, which was barely emitting a faint red light.
Although it was dark all around, in grandma's vision, the whole room was immersed in a hazy red glow.
A bone-chilling chill seeped out bit by bit from the red color that filled the room.
"Linlin? Is that you?"
A sticky and unpleasant fragrance floated in the air, like the stench of old blood stains piled together, or like some kind of spoiled and rotten incense.
"rustle..."
A small rustling sound came from the depths of the kitchen.
Grandma was breathing rapidly, and she turned her head tremblingly towards the kitchen.
The next second, her body began to tremble.
She saw something, a thing that did not belong to the world of the living, squatting on the ground with its body hunched over, chewing something in big mouthfuls.
The thing looked twisted and foul, its shadow so vast that it almost filled the entire kitchen.
"Crunch—Crunch—"
A clear chewing sound came from between its teeth.
"Hmm—"
Grandma covered her lips, forcing herself not to sob out loud in fear at seeing "it".
The old man backed away in fear.
However, the thing had already sensed Granny's arrival.
Its head turned 180 degrees, and its bluish-white face and the double-pupiled eyes embedded in it stared straight at Grandma.
["grandmother..."]
A strange, emotionless sound came from deep within its body.
Although it was calling "Grandma", it was obviously just imitating Li Xiu's way of speaking.
It grinned, its jaws wide open, revealing its sharp, gleaming teeth.
"I was just so happy today that I got hungry so quickly."
"Just go to sleep, Grandma. I'll be full soon."
Something seemed to be wriggling between its nailless hands, with smelly blood dripping down.
Grandma felt faint and staggered backwards, but accidentally stepped on something wet and cold and almost slipped.
The old man lowered his head in horror and looked at the ground, then he found that what he was stepping on was some strange thing that looked like a leather bag.
The thing was very soft, and the surface was an indescribable grayish-white color.
When grandma stepped on it, you could hear a wet, slimy friction sound coming from it.
A brightly colored advertising shirt was wrapped damply in the wide leather pocket. A red string stretched out from it like an umbilical cord, tightly connecting it to the things in the kitchen.