Li Xiu followed Li Yu to school.
The weather was gloomy all the way, and the sky was gray. Li Xiu looked through the car window and felt breathless.
The car kept turning.
Li Xiu felt vaguely uncomfortable, so she had to rest her head on the car window and breathe in small sips.
Strangely enough, even though he'd already vomited up his breakfast, Li Xiu still had a lingering taste of scraps of paper in his mouth, causing his stomach to churn periodically. To distract himself, Li Xiu focused all his attention on the street scene outside the window.
strangeness...
Has the road from home to school always been this narrow?
The lingering feeling of disharmony that had been lingering since this morning became even stronger. Just as Li Xiu was staring intently out the window, an exceptionally tall figure suddenly caught his eye.
It was a boy wearing a strange paper mask.
The mask was crudely made and looked weird.
Her face was snow-white, with only two bright red spots on her cheeks.
The eyes were hollowed out, making the mask's eyes look extremely empty and deep.
He was standing in the crowd on the street. Even through the mask, Li Xiu could clearly feel that the man's eyes were staring straight at him.
Wait? Who's that?
Li Xiu thought she was dizzy and saw it wrong, but the next second the car passed an intersection and the boy appeared again.
This time, he seemed to be closer to Li Xiu.
The corners of the paper mask's mouth were curved, almost reaching down to the ears.
"Um?"
Li Xiu involuntarily tensed her back and sat up from the car window.
"What happened? Are you feeling unwell?"
Li Yu, who was standing by, had been looking at Li Xiu intently since he got in the car. He asked worriedly.
Li Xiu turned around in panic, but when he saw Li Yu, he shook his head for some unknown reason: "Ah, nothing, just a little carsick."
"Really? You didn't eat anything in the morning. Are you feeling uncomfortable now?"
Li Yu reached out helplessly and gently rubbed Li Xiu's head.
Li Xiu did not respond to his brother in time. He turned his head and looked out the window again, and the strange figure had disappeared.
This should have been a good thing, however, Li Xiu's heart began to tighten uncontrollably.
"A Xiu."
Li Yu's call came again from the side.
"Why not?"
"ah?"
Li Xiu's mind was full of the boy she had just seen. She responded a little late, but she didn't quite understand what Li Yu meant.
"A Xiu's brows are always furrowed." The cold fingers reached out and pressed against Li Xiu's eyebrows, rubbing them gently.
The young and handsome brother stared at Li Xiu without blinking, his tone somewhat lost: "I don't know what I can do to make you happy."
He clearly had the coldest and most handsome face, but at this moment he showed unprecedented helplessness in front of Li Xiu.
"Brother, why are you talking about this all of a sudden? I'm not unhappy, it's just... well, I'm not in a good mood today."
Li Xiu was so angry at her brother's sudden sadness that she stammered and began to explain.
"That's good." After hearing what Li Xiu said, Li Yu smiled as if relieved.
He took Li Xiu's hand, pressed it gently against his lips, and gave her a kiss as light as a feather.
"However, if Ah Xiu has any wishes, you must tell me, and I will definitely fulfill them for you no matter what."
His brother's cold lips landed on the side of Li Xiu's palm, causing a thin layer of goose bumps.
Li Xiu resisted the urge to pull his hand back and shook his head in panic.
"I, I don't have any other wishes. My life is good now. Dad, mom, grandma, and brother are all together in a lively atmosphere. I live a peaceful life..." As Li Xiu spoke, her voice lowered.
He looked at Li Yu and asked, as if possessed by a ghost: "If you ask me, what is my wish?"
Li Yu paused.
He tilted his head slightly, and his gaze towards Li Xiu became particularly strange.
"My... wish?"
Li Xiu blinked.
"Uh, yes, that's what brother's wish is. Brother, you always want to make me happy and stuff, and sometimes I also want to do something for you, even though I'm still a student. No, but didn't the teacher also say that it won't be a problem for me to be admitted to Jingbei University. When I go to college, I should be able to do something for you, right?"
Under Li Yu's particularly intense gaze, Li Xiu's voice became smaller and smaller, and he felt more and more guilty.
He didn't know why. Li Yu looked the same as before, still with that doting look on her face with a slight smile, but the aura emanating from her made him feel uneasy and trembling involuntarily.
"so cute."
After a moment's silence, a sticky and trembling sigh escaped from Li Yu's bright red lips.
"I really like Xiu."
"elder brother?"
"A Xiu is the first human being to ask me this question. In all these years..."
Although he still looks like a teenager, Li Yu's tone now sounds as if he has lived for a long time.
Facing Li Xiu who was still confused, Li Yu suddenly stretched out his arms and hugged her tightly.
He buried his face in Li Xiu's neck, and for a moment Li Xiu's whole body trembled - he almost thought that Li Yu wanted to bite him.
However, after waiting for a long time, the sting in the absurd intuition did not come as expected.
Li Yu maintained that posture, breathing heavily and turbidly into the crook of Li Xiu's neck. Li Xiu could feel that Li Yu's body was shaking violently.
"Brother...Brother Yu?"
The brief moment of fear gradually faded, replaced by confusion.
Li Xiu carefully pushed her brother's body, but failed.
"Don't keep pushing me like this..."
Li Yu finally spoke, and the vague murmur was words that Li Xiu did not understand.
"I really want to devour you completely like this. But, you will cry, right? Even though it's cute, I still feel bad..."
"Forget it."
…
While Li Xiu was at a loss, the private car finally arrived at the school after turning countless corners.
Li Xiu was escorted directly to the classroom door by Li Yu. From this point of view, Li Yu's care for Li Xiu was indeed meticulous. Li Xiu had originally thought that his brother's excessive concern was unnecessary, until he arrived at the door of his classroom and saw his classmates sitting neatly and listening attentively, he realized that his legs were actually weak.
Is this... social phobia?
Li Xiu stood at the door of the classroom and stopped hesitantly.
"A Xiu, don't be afraid."
A pair of hands gently rested on Li Xiu's shoulders, and a cold breath was right next to his ears.
Li Yu said to him softly and affectionately, "Your classmates all like you very much, don't they?"
With the support of his brother, Li Xiuquan mustered up the courage to walk step by step to the classroom.
"Li Xiu, good morning."
"Li Xiu, nice to see you."
"Li Xiu..."
As soon as she stepped into the classroom, everyone greeted Li Xiu enthusiastically.
After a brief moment of confusion, Li Xiu was puzzled by his previous fear and hesitation. Yes, his classmates were just as enthusiastic, cheerful and easy to get along with as his brother said, but why was he so scared that he couldn't even walk into the classroom?
Li Xiu came to his seat and put down his schoolbag, only to find that Li Yu was still standing at the classroom door staring at him.
"I'll pick you up after school." Li Yu waved at Li Xiu and said with a smile.
"Oh, okay..."
Li Xiu indicated that he understood.
"Wow, Brother Yu likes you too much, right?"
Hearing the conversation between the brothers, a classmate with a blurred face spoke to Li Xiu word by word.
"It seems like your brother just wants to be by your side all the time."
"What's so strange about this? Li Xiu is so cute, it's normal for his brother to wish he could grow up on him."
Someone else echoed with a smile.
…
Facing the classmates who were talking at once, Li Xiu smiled somewhat stiffly.
"We are family, so it's normal for us to be close."
Weird.
Why do my classmates say such strange things?
Also, why did they all gather around his seat?
While thinking this, Li Xiu's eyes accidentally swept across his warm and friendly classmates, and suddenly, behind everyone, he saw a familiar face.
That boy—the boy wearing the paper mask.
Through the eye holes dug out on the mask, Li Xiu could even see that the other person's eye sockets were full of bloodshot.
He stared at Li Xiu with extremely sharp eyes.
Li Xiu's breathing suddenly stopped.
"Bang--"
Li Xiuyi pushed the table and stood up instinctively, and the loud noise seemed to scare others.
"Wow, Li Xiu, what's wrong?"
"Li Xiu?"
"Why are you so angry all of a sudden?"
…
But when Li Xiuzhen stood up and looked at the boy's position, he found that there was no one there.
Li Xiu stood there in a daze for a long time, completely ignoring the questions from the students around her.
I can hardly breathe.
The strange feeling that had been looming in his heart since he woke up in the morning was almost driving Li Xiu crazy.
Li Xiu's confusion and bewilderment persisted even until the teacher showed up for class. Li Xiu had always imagined himself as someone who could easily concentrate. No matter what happened in real life, as long as he picked up a pen and textbook, he could dive into the ocean of knowledge without distraction. But this time, Li Xiu discovered that his self-perception seemed wrong. The teacher was clearly lecturing, but he couldn't concentrate.
In a daze, Li Xiu's pen accidentally fell to the ground, and he subconsciously bent down -
At this moment, he seemed to see his classmates' toes pointing backwards, and with a "swish", they all twisted and pointed towards the blackboard.
Everything happened very quickly.
It was so fast that Li Xiu couldn't tell whether the scene he just saw was an illusion or reality.
Extreme panic made Li Xiu stand up suddenly. After hastily apologizing to the teacher, Li Xiu rushed out of the classroom.
He leaned his body against the corridor railing, breathing heavily.
The entire back was completely soaked with cold sweat, and the muscles were slightly cramped due to excessive tension.
After breathing in the fresh air for a long time outside the classroom, Li Xiu finally recovered a little bit of his blood. He was no longer so frightened and nervous that his brain had completely shut down. He finally had the time to think about what had just happened...
They're such kind and lovely classmates. And they all like me so much—No, no, focus, there's something wrong with them. Their feet, their feet just now all grew backwards, right? How could a normal person look like that?!
But my brother said, they...
Li Xiu bit her lips hard, trying to use the pain to stop herself from being distracted.
It happened that at this moment, he inadvertently raised his head and looked not far away from the teaching building.
His pupils then constricted.
Why...is his home next to the school?
It had taken him so long to get to school by car, but now, from the school corridor, he could see his brightly lit home. The villa was so close to the school, so close that he could even clearly see the expressionless figure standing still in his window.
dad.
Mother.
grandmother.
…
Their faces were pressed against the glass windows. As if they noticed Li Xiu's gaze, they suddenly raised their heads and smiled at Li Xiu with their identical faces.
"No--"
Li Xiu was so frightened that he stepped back repeatedly.
Then, a pair of hands suddenly rested on his shoulders.
Li Xiu suddenly turned around, and then, they looked at each other in surprise at a paper mask the size of a grinning mouth.
"Hmm…"
Before Li Xiu could scream, she was covered by a pair of hands.
He could smell the strong smell of blood on the other's palm. Fear swept over him and Li Xiu struggled desperately, but his movements were so weak and powerless under the shackles of the masked man.
He was dragged by the other party and ran wildly. The light around him suddenly became very dim.
"Help... wu... let go... of me..."
Li Xiu screamed and tried hard to break free from the terrifying and strange existence.
He felt the masked man put his hands on his face, squeezed his fingertips into his lips, and kneaded the tip of his tongue hard, as if he wanted to dig his tongue out directly.
Help!
Help, help, help...
Help me...
Li Xiu was unable to resist. As she felt a sharp pain at the tip of her tongue, she burst into tears.
"A Xiu...A Xiu! Wake up! Damn...Don't bite me, it hurts..."
"Shhhhhhhhhhhh..."
"Hiss, it hurts. Come on, you're so strong, just bite it. Can you please be quiet..."
"Damn it, Li Xiu, I'm telling you...if you keep going like this, you'll kill me..."
…
In the hazy state, a familiar voice pierced through the barrier of confusion and reached Li Xiu's ears.
The author has something to say:
Xiao Fang: Director, this line "I give you my life"…why is this the plot?
Xiao Fang: No, no, I didn't have any expectations. I just felt that everyone really liked the plot, so why did they just brush it off so perfunctorily?
Xiao Fang: What? It's no longer popular? Huh? Then what do people watch now...
Xiao Fang: Sea, what sea? Huh? We're not going there anymore. Okay.