Xu Yuanzhou's movements froze, he swallowed hard, and the smile on his face froze.
"Chu Yan, I won't dare to do that again. Don't make jokes like that. You know what? Talking about breaking up is scary to me."
Xu Yuanzhou said to Jiang Chuyan with a smile.
It seemed as if he didn't take Jiang Chuyan's words seriously, but in fact, Xu Yuanzhou's heart had sunk little by little.
The two grew up together, and he had been pursuing her for so long. Xu Yuanzhou actually knew very well that Jiang Chuyan was not the kind of person who would treat breaking up as a joke.
But Xu Yuanzhou couldn't help but feel a little lucky.
No.
Jiang Chuyan would never treat himself like that.
That person is the most nostalgic person and he can't bear to throw away even a doll that he has used for a long time. How could Chu Yan bear to throw him away?
Xu Yuanzhou kept comforting himself in his heart.
Beside him, Jiang Chuyan looked calm.
"I'm not kidding, you know."
He said to Xu Yuanzhou indifferently.
"Chu Yan, please, I don't want to listen—"
"Actually, I wanted to bring this up with you after we got back because I was a little worried you wouldn't be able to control your emotions. I also didn't want you to make a scene in a place like this, but you didn't give me the chance."
Xu Yuanzhou's voice suddenly tensed: "Jiang Chuyan! You, what the hell are you doing?!"
The boy wiped his face vigorously and his breathing became rapid.
"You're suddenly breaking up and blaming me for being angry. When have I ever been angry with you?! Now it's obviously you who's throwing a tantrum at me..."
Jiang Chuyan interrupted him softly: "Xu Yuanzhou, you know what I'm talking about."
"I don't know!" Xu Yuanzhou yelled, "I don't know why you're suddenly like this. Didn't we agree that we'd always be together? Didn't we agree to be together forever? Chu Yan, I don't understand. If you could break up with me so easily, why did you agree to be with me in the first place? You knew I couldn't live without you—"
"Back then..."
Recalling the past, Jiang Chuyan's voice unconsciously lowered a little.
"When my mother passed away, it was my aunt who took care of me. Her health was so poor, so I didn't want her to worry about you... At that time, you said that if I didn't agree to it, you wouldn't take the college entrance examination, so I agreed. After that, I kept working hard. I tried my best to be a qualified 'boyfriend', but... I'm sorry, I can't do it."
Jiang Chuyan lowered his eyes and no longer looked at Xu Yuanzhou.
"It was my fault."
He said.
Hearing this, Xu Yuanzhou grabbed Jiang Chuyan. The boy's expression was ferocious and he was almost emotionally broken.
"Jiang Chuyan, three years, three years, and now you're telling me you're with me to repay my mom? Are you kidding me? If you wanted to repay her, why did you end up with me? You fucking turned me into a lesbian, and now you're just calling it quits? Is there anyone in the world who repays others like you?!"
"So I want to correct this mistake," Jiang Chuyan's expression was almost numb.
"Let's break up."
He repeated it again.
Xu Yuanzhou's face turned ashen.
"I don't want it," he gasped, "Why do you break up with me? I won't agree. I absolutely don't want to—"
Before he could finish the second half of his sentence, he was interrupted by Jiang Chuyan.
"I'm tired, Xu Yuanzhou."
Jiang Chuyan sighed.
"When I agreed to this, I thought I would be your boyfriend, but in reality, you just treated me as some kind of…underground lover and babysitter. Every time you treat me like that, I feel disgusted. So, I'm sorry, let's end it here."
When he said this, Bai Ke's face appeared in Jiang Chuyan's mind, but seeing Xu Yuanzhou's unstable mood, he finally did not mention Bai Ke in front of him.
Perhaps this is the sadness of growing up together. Jiang Chuyan actually understands Xu Yuanzhou better than Xu Yuanzhou thinks... including the latter's subtle and hidden thoughts.
Jiang Chuyan didn't want to waste time listening to Xu Yuanzhou's excuses.
Therefore, his voice was calm and cold.
Xu Yuanzhou's lips trembled, and he met Jiang Chuyan's eyes, and a huge panic came over him like a tide.
"I was wrong, I was wrong, Chu Yan, I will change... I never treated you as an underground lover, I... I just... I was just scared."
Jiang Chuyan didn't say anything else.
But the more Jiang Chuyan acted like this, the more panicked Xu Yuanzhou became.
"I'm cowardly, I'm timid, yes, I don't dare to come out, but I have my reasons..." Xu Yuanzhou's eyes were filled with tears unconsciously.
Gradually, he took Jiang Chuyan's hand and knelt weakly in front of him.
"You know, my mother's health collapsed because of my brother's death.
The boy's voice gradually choked.
"My brother is amazing. Everyone said he was a blessing from heaven to our family. He was very smart and had been admitted to a prestigious university abroad in high school. People would ask him to be a model whenever he walked down the street. Anything I didn't understand, anything I couldn't do, I could just ask him and he would readily give me the answer... And what happened? My brother turned out to be gay. In the middle of the night, he slipped out the window and had sex with a male teacher on the rooftop. When they were discovered, the two of them were so frightened that they fell straight off the building..."
"Chu Yan, do you know? When he died, my brother didn't even have pants on."
"When I followed my mother to look for them, I found so many people on the street, surrounding my brother and the teacher, pointing and talking at them."
"My brother was... he wasn't even dead yet..."
"He was just lying there, and the people next to him were shining flashlights on them, and they were actually laughing."
"Back in the day, everyone in the compound would give my brother a thumbs-up and praise him, saying he was a great guy. But what happened after that? After that, my brother became that 'gay who loves to mess around so much he doesn't even have pants to wear'..."
When he said this, Xu Yuanzhou was already crying.
"I've always considered my brother my idol, but... I really can't do anything about it. I'm scared. Whenever I think of the cupboard, I feel like I've become my brother, lying on the ground, watching people pointing fingers at me. I can't handle this. I can't stand it."
"You don't have to bear it."
Jiang Chuyan said softly.
"As long as the two of us break up, all the pressure will be gone."
The handsome, pale and good-looking young man simply spoke indifferently to his former lover.
Xu Yuanzhou looked up in surprise. He looked at Jiang Chuyan and didn't understand why this always considerate and gentle person seemed so cold at this moment.
He had a very strong feeling that Jiang Chuyan had really made up her mind this time - Jiang Chuyan was really going to leave him.
A huge despair came over him, and the only thing Xu Yuanzhou could do was to hold Jiang Chuyan even tighter.
"I can do it. I beg you, Chuyan, please wait for me. As long as you don't break up with me, I can tell everyone that I, Xu Yuanzhou, I, Xu Yuanzhou, am a fucking homosexual, my wife's name is Jiang Chuyan, and I will love you for the rest of my life——"
Just at this moment, a rustling sound suddenly came from the grass beside the two of them.
Suddenly it sounded like someone was walking towards me.
Xu Yuanzhou, who had been shouting just a second ago, suddenly fell silent the moment he heard the noise. Panic filled his eyes, and he instinctively shook off Jiang Chuyan's hand, stumbling back a few steps.
However, after that rustling, the grass returned to its original calm.
Just now, it seemed that there were only small animals passing by, and no one came.
"…"
In the silence, Xu Yuanzhou froze in his tracks. He then realized what he had just done.
The color suddenly drained from his face.
"Xu Yuanzhou, you don't have to force yourself."
When Jiang Chuyan looked at Xu Yuanzhou, there was only understanding in his eyes.
Obviously, he was not surprised at Xu Yuanzhou's reaction.
"As friends, I hope we can part ways amicably. Don't make it too awkward. After all, the other members of the study group are still here. You don't want this to become known to everyone, do you?"
Jiang Chuyan used the gentlest tone to say the cruelest words to Xu Yuanzhou.
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Chuyan turned around and left without hesitation, leaving Xu Yuanzhou sitting dejectedly on the ground.
Xu Yuanzhou wanted to chase Jiang Chuyan, but his body was completely unable to move.
Watching Jiang Chuyan's back walking further and further away, Xu Yuanzhou finally whimpered in pain.
"No, no, Chu Yan... I just, I was just careless."
He repeated it nervously, as if that was exactly how Xu Yuanzhou would hear it.
"Listen to me, I...I..."
I love you.
The sweet taste of the licorice slices in his mouth had not completely disappeared, but at this moment, Xu Yuanzhou had already felt very clearly that from that moment on, there was no possibility for him and Jiang Chuyan.
Xu Yuanzhou grabbed his hair in pain.
"Clatter…"
The bushes behind him rustled again.
Xu Yuanzhou calmed himself down and cast a vicious look behind him.
Someone was watching him, yes, someone was definitely watching him.
An extremely clear idea came to the boy's mind.
The man was hiding there just now, which is why he... he lost his last chance to stay.
Xu Yuanzhou jumped up from the ground and rushed to the bushes. He pushed aside the lush branches, trying to find the person who was hiding and peeping.
Sure enough, he dug out a face from among the lush green leaves.
It was an inhuman face.
The skin was shrunken and withered, like an orange left on the radiator for too long. Even the scalp was wrinkled, with only a single, sparse, dry hair hanging down. The lips were pulled together from extreme dryness, making the teeth stand out. The teeth were grayish-yellow and incomplete, and the gums were dark. Within the dark crevice, something could be vaguely seen moving.
And that vicious gaze emanated from the depths of its empty and deep eye sockets.
Obviously, this is a poorly made mask.
After all, a normal mask wouldn't have so many densely packed eye sockets.
This may be why the mask was discarded here.
"rustle--"
There was that subtle friction sound again. Just as Xu Yuanzhou stared at the worn mask, a bug almost as long as his forearm, swaying its slender body and densely packed limbs like a centipede, crawled out from the depths of the mask's damaged and dry pharynx.
It seemed to possess some special intelligence.
When the bulging head stretched out, it swayed slightly towards Xu Yuanzhou.
Under the sunlight, the fleshy tentacles on its head, as fine as grapefruit segments, swayed a bit—
With a "crack", Xu Yuanzhou stepped on it in anger.
*
"Brother Chuyan? Why are you the only one back? Why hasn't Brother Yuanzhou come back yet? Did you two have a conflict?"
When Jiang Chuyan returned to the small building, he happened to see Bai Ke coming down from the second floor.
Perhaps because he was full, the boy had returned to his familiar self. He rolled his eyes, sizing Jiang Chuyan up with interest.
Jiang Chuyan blinked and looked at Bai Ke intently.
To be honest, seeing Bai Ke's cunning look, Jiang Chuyan even felt a little relieved... Finally, Bai Ke was no longer the weird greedy and gluttonous look before.
"He's still not feeling well. I asked him to get some fresh air outside. He should be fine after a while. But I don't think Xu Yuanzhou will go to Luolong Cave with us."
Jiang Chuyan replied calmly.
Bai Ke immediately stretched out his "Oh" and the corners of his mouth gradually turned up, showing his joy that was visible to the naked eye.
"That's such a shame. That Luolong Cave sounds very interesting."
He said.
When He Yuan met up with Jiang Chuyan with his bag for the mountain trip and was about to set off, Bai Ke stopped at the door.
"What's wrong?"
Jiang Chuyan looked at the other person without surprise.
"I'm sorry, Brother Chuyan, I'm not feeling particularly well either."
As Bai Ke spoke, he subconsciously stroked his belly, which was slightly swollen from eating too much.
He licked his lips.
"I think I should rest in my room for a while. Brother Yuanzhou and Liu Tianyu are both drunk and bleeding from the nose. The three of us can take care of each other here, and you two can go out without worry."
The reasons Bai Ke gave were impeccable.
"Then I'll trouble you."
Jiang Chuyan was silent for a moment and responded calmly.
In fact, he knew very well what Bai Ke was planning at this moment - after all, the other party had been trying to pry his girlfriend away for so many years.
It's just that Jiang Chuyan didn't bother to care about Bai Ke's little actions before, and now that she has broken up with Xu Yuanzhou, it's even less likely that she would care.
The only problem might be that Bai Ke doesn't go, so only he and He Yuan will go to the cave.
Jiang Chuyan glanced at the dark-skinned boy with a spring breeze on his face at the door, and the strange feeling in his heart came back.
Was it an illusion? The atmosphere between the two of them was like...
"Then I congratulate Shao and Chuyan on having a pleasant date. Make sure you have fun!"
Bai Ke glanced quickly between He Yuan and Jiang Chuyan, rolled her eyes, and teased with a smile in a joking tone.
"You two finally got rid of us, the burden..."
Jiang Chuyan's lips moved, but before he could speak, he heard He Yuan interrupt Bai Ke indifferently.
"What date? We're just here to do our study assignment." After a pause, He Yuan added, "Also, you're not familiar with us, so it's best to cut back on your jokes. It'll only make you look unfunny and boring."
"you--"
Bai Ke hadn't expected He Yuan to be so rude the moment he opened his mouth. She wanted to lose her temper, but when she remembered that the other person was He Yuan, her momentum instantly weakened. So she could only stand there, her face blue and red, looking ridiculous.
After He Yuan finished his words, he didn't even glance at Bai Ke. He just grabbed Jiang Chuyan and dragged him out the door.
"He Yuan, you just..."
"Okay, forget about that kind of thing that spoils the fun. You're just an idiot who's taking advantage of others. Only you can make people feel so disgusted." He Yuan glanced at Jiang Chuyan and whispered rudely.
"We have to get back before dark, so we need to leave quickly now."
He pulled Jiang Chuyan again and urged him.
"Thanks."
Jiang Chuyan was stunned for a moment and said thank you in a low voice.
Although He Yuan behaved normally, Jiang Chuyan knew very well that He Yuan was standing up for him.
"Crack…Crack…"
At this moment, Jiang Chuyan seemed to hear the chewing sound again.
At the last second before going down the stairs, Jiang Chuyan couldn't help but look back, only to find that Bai Ke was holding a bag of snacks that he had found from somewhere, sitting by the fire with his back to them and eating.
He seemed to be quite open-minded and not very angry.
"…"
However, when Jiang Chuyan saw Bai Ke eating again, he couldn't help but frown slightly.
It was as if an invisible finger carefully pinched his heart.
An inexplicable unease slowly spread, but if I really looked into it, I couldn't find the root cause. After all, for an energetic young college student, eating and sleeping poorly while out and about, eating the snacks I brought with me wasn't a big deal.
Jiang Chuyan forced himself not to think too much.
"First words?"
He Yuan's call came from downstairs.
Jiang Chuyan quickly replied, "I'm here."
Then he jumped down the stairs and followed He Yuan into the mountains.
*
According to the map provided by He Yuan, there is a small path behind Longzhao Village that leads directly to Luolong Cave.
That was the path trampled out by the villagers when they went into the mountains every day. Thanks to this road, the journey into the mountains was actually much easier than Jiang Chuyan had imagined.
The weather is nice today. There is a breeze blowing across the mountains, the grass and trees are lush, and the scenery is green all around. It is quite pleasant.
Jiang Chuyan didn't look at it for long, but just kept walking with his backpack on his back.
But even when he was so focused on getting on with his journey, he could still feel... the tall boy walking in front of him not far away was secretly looking at him from time to time.
Jiang Chuyan was actually not too sensitive to gazes. After all, he had that kind of face. From childhood to adulthood, no matter how introverted Jiang Chuyan was, he was the kind of person who grew up under the watchful eyes of others. He had long been accustomed to occasional peeping and scrutiny.
but...
He Yuan's gaze was different from everyone else's.
It was just a quick glance, but it seemed to carry a strange warmth.
Finally, when He Yuan turned around to look at him again, Jiang Chuyan raised his head expressionlessly and stared straight at He Yuan.
"What are you looking at?"
He asked bluntly.
"!"
He Yuan's peeping was caught off guard by Jiang Chuyan. The boy's originally steady and brisk steps paused, and he stumbled and almost fell.
"careful!"
Jiang Chuyan quickly pulled him away.
He Yuan held Jiang Chuyan's hand with a flushed face and stood still. After being caught by Jiang Chuyan, he kept his eyes down and dared not look in the other direction.
"I, cough... I just... you seem unhappy today."
He Yuan stuttered.
Jiang Chuyan's eyelashes trembled slightly.
"Not unhappy, though."
After a moment's silence, he spoke softly.
He just...
He just had a headache afterwards.
After all, breaking up with someone like Xu Yuanzhou is a very troublesome thing.
In fact, Jiang Chuyan was not unaware of the death of Xu Yuanzhou's brother. He even knew that when Xu Yuanzhou's brother was alive, the Xu family did not care much about Xu Yuanzhou, the second son who was inferior to his brother in all aspects.
Therefore, Xu Yuanzhou's self-esteem and inferiority complex are much stronger than those of ordinary people.
After his brother passed away, the Xu family poured too much love and indulgence into Xu Yuanzhou, eventually turning Xu Yuanzhou into a person who looked very normal on the surface but was actually willful and inferior.
Jiang Chuyan could guess that after he returned, Xu Yuanzhou would definitely create a series of troubles in order to "save" him.
Thinking of this, Jiang Chuyan couldn't help but feel a little listless.
"Give--"
At this moment, a candy suddenly appeared in front of Jiang Chuyan.
Jiang Chuyan looked up at He Yuan in surprise.
"Milk hazelnut chocolate candy. It's said that eating chocolate can make people feel better."
He Yuan said seriously and placed the chocolate candy in Jiang Chuyan's palm.
Jiang Chuyan looked at the candy rolling in his palm, and always felt that the scene before him was familiar.
"Sugar again?"
He asked.
"What's wrong? Something wrong with the sugar?"
He Yuan asked.
Hearing him ask this, Jiang Chuyan couldn't help but look at the other person seriously.
"That's you... If you were an ordinary person and tried to cheer someone up with a few candies, you'd probably get scolded."
"What are you scolding me for?"
Seeing that He Yuan was really surprised, Jiang Chuyan couldn't help but smile.
"Call you cunning."
He's the kind of cunning poor man who can't even talk about money and tries to fool people by folding paper cranes out of little stars.
"I... I'm scheming? Wait, damn—I just think you look listless! I, I'm not that kind of person—"
It was not until this moment that He Yuan finally understood, and his expression suddenly became extremely wonderful.
Seeing He Yuan's exasperated look, Jiang Chuyan didn't know why she wanted to laugh. When she looked at He Yuan again, she saw that even his neck was red.
After explaining for a while, He Yuan finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing: "If I were to chase someone, at least I'd fly a helicopter and scatter roses all over the playground, okay..."
"Oh? Really?"
Jiang Chuyan raised his eyebrows and glanced at him.
But He Yuan looked at him deeply at this moment.
"Really? What's the matter? You don't believe it?"
He said.
Jiang Chuyan was stunned. Only then did he realize that something was amiss between him and He Yuan.
Jiang Chuyan suddenly woke up.
He coughed lightly, and when he spoke again, he was as gentle as usual.
"...It's not that I don't believe it, but I feel that what you said seems completely different from the impression I have of you."
Jiang Chuyan responded politely.
He Yuan's gaze fixed on Jiang Chuyan's face, and his light-colored eyes flashed slightly.
"Oh, so what do you think of me?"
He asked.
Jiang Chuyan was stunned for a moment.
...What kind of impression should I have of He Yuan?
Aloof?
Introverted?
arrogant?
In fact, no matter how bad a person's personality is, it is not difficult for Jiang Chuyan to be polite and say something casually.
But at this moment, he was stuck.
Because, he found that when he thought about it carefully, he couldn't even remember what He Yuan looked like in school.
Everything about He Yuan in my memory is just a vague shadow. When I really try to recall it carefully, I can't think of any specific deeds.
"laugh--"
"Hehehe——"
"&&%#￥#!"
…
Just when Jiang Chuyan was stunned, a few sudden chuckles interrupted his thoughts.
They were the delicate, childish laughter of little children, mixed with many indistinct whispers of strangers.
Where did this child come from in this deep forest?
Jiang Chuyan shuddered and looked up in surprise following the sound. At first glance, he saw a snow-white face behind an old crooked tree on the side of the road.
The child's pupils were very black and large, almost occupying the entire eye sockets, and his face was pale, without a trace of blood.
Their heads were all very large, while their bodies were incredibly hunched and thin in contrast.
At first glance, it looks like they only have one head.
They just climbed behind the old tree, smiling all the time and staring straight in the direction where he and He Yuan were.
Jiang Chuyan's breathing suddenly stopped.
"Child?"
Jiang Chuyan said in a daze.
But He Yuan suddenly grabbed his shoulders and pulled him behind him.
"Don't come near."
The boy's voice was solemn.
"Hey, you guys—"
Then he heard He Yuan shouting at those weird children.
"What are you doing hiding there?"
The children shrank back when they heard He Yuan's shout, but they didn't move and continued to look at them with a smile.
Jiang Chuyan could feel He Yuan's body tense up. The boy placed a hand on Jiang Chuyan's shoulder and shouted something in the somewhat awkward Longzhao dialect.
As a result, when they heard the latter part of the dialect, the children came out from behind the old tree chattering and came over hesitantly.
Only after getting closer did Jiang Chuyan see clearly that the reason these children looked so strange was purely due to malnutrition. It wasn't that their heads were too big, but that their bodies were too skinny. Their clothes were also extremely tattered, and several of the children didn't even have shoes.
Seeing them approaching, He Yuan took out a handful of candy from his bag and put it on the ground.
"&…￥%#￥—"
He muttered something to the kids.
Then, the children immediately rushed forward and grabbed the candies in their hands.
It was only then that He Yuan turned around and explained to Jiang Chuyan: "These are... children from the mountains."
"Mountain people?"
"Well, they are the descendants of those who were not accepted by the village and were driven into the mountains." He Yuan's tone was a little heavy when he said this. "Longzhao Village is not good, but the situation of those who were driven into the mountains is even worse. These children... sometimes gather on the mountain roads."
"What are you doing gathering on the mountain path? Kids this young can't do anything."
When Jiang Chuyan heard this, he was still a little confused.
"They'll try to get themselves something to keep themselves alive."
He Yuan spoke vaguely, then stepped back step by step facing the children.
It was not until they had retreated a long way that He Yuan grabbed Jiang Chuyan's hand and whispered something.
"Follow me, hurry up."
Jiang Chuyan stared at He Yuan, whose face was solemn, and a vague answer flashed through his mind.
The children in the mountains did look thin and helpless, but... there were a lot of them.
The trail is narrow, with steep dirt slopes on both sides and occasional cliffs.
If there is only one person going up the mountain...
…
Jiang Chuyan's heart tightened instantly.
Without saying much, he followed He Yuan and quickened his pace.
Fortunately, the mountain children got the candy and did not catch up.
They even seemed to be still there, playing innocently like other children of the same age in the outside world.
In the distance, the faint singing of children could be heard on the wind.
Jiang Chuyan didn't understand Longzhao's dialect, but he still vaguely felt that the song sounded a little familiar.
…
"Tinkle bells, tinkle bells.
Master Long, marry a bride.
Drink the wine first, then eat the soup.
Covered with red cloth and a long iron lock.
Good bride, with tears in her eyes.
Woohoo, carry me to bed,
Master Long married a good bride.
…
Good bride, hide and seek.
Gouge out your eyes and lie in the well.
Cut off the head and swing it under the tree.
The heart was dug out and the chest was opened.
Gurgle, come and drink the soup.
The bones are white and the meat is fragrant.
The bride is hidden in my belly..."