Under the rain that was growing heavier, the two figures quietly looked at each other.
At this moment, beneath the dim yellow glow of the streetlights, the silhouette of the girl gradually became clearer.
The soaked coat clung tightly to her body, revealing a body that, though somewhat thin, still held the graceful curves of a girl in her twenties.
Her long, jet-black hair flowed smoothly over her shoulders. A few strands, wet with rain, draped across her small face, as if accentuating the snow-white tone of her skin.
Through the faint veil of rain, that snowy-white complexion did not fade, instead became even more striking, like a thin layer of powder gently embracing a flawless face.
It's just that, her lips looked rather pale, and together with that white skin, her whole aura seemed a bit drained of life.
But, amid it all, what stood out the most were her eyes.
Her smooth, curved lashes drooped gently, framing a pair of pomegranate-red eyes. They carried a quiet, indescribable sadness, while at the same time casting a veil of mystery one could not easily pierce.
To be honest, when Jawed first saw her, his very first thought had been to simply ignore her.
To him, everyone in this world had their own fate.
And he, just a stranger, had better not interfere with the fate of others.
Yet, that thought, for just a moment his eyes met hers, faltered.
From within those crimson pupils, Jawed could see the exhaustion, a flicker of despair, and even emptiness.
A gaze listless, weary, and dark.
Exactly like his own eyes at this very moment.
Perhaps because he could read those emotions so clearly, Jawed could no longer ignore her.
He stood there in silence for a while, then finally squeezed out a question to break the stillness:
"Uh..... mn..... Hey, miss, are you okay?"
"..."
In response, the girl simply stared at him, saying nothing. The silence made Jawed feel a little awkward.
"Uh, did you get caught in the rain? Do you want me to call a taxi to take you home?" he tried to ask again, hoping to dispel the uncomfortable atmosphere.
Yet, what came back to him was only another stretch of silence. Just when it seemed that the stillness would go on forever, the girl's pale lips gently moved:
"Home.... I..... don't have one, I think." She said, her voice hazy, as if unsure.
The answer, abrupt and fragmented, only deepened the sense of mystery. But Jawed remained patient, trying to continue the conversation: "Then do you have the number of any family or friends? I can help you contact them."
"I, family, I..... I don't.... I don't remember. I.... it feels like I don't have any."
She clutched her head, her lashes knitting together slightly, as if trying to recall something, yet unable to remember anything.
Her expression dimmed for a moment, her eyes empty, yet a trace of deep, profound sorrow flickering within.
The words Jawed had been about to say, now caught in his throat.
He looked at her, at her sorrowful figure, a sudden pang pierced his chest.
He was not someone accustomed to feeling sympathy for others. After all, he had witnessed far too many miserable lives during his time in the orphanage.
He himself was wretched enough, with neither the strength nor the heart to care for anyone else.
And yet, at this moment, he felt an ache for this girl, someone he had only just met.
As if, she were an old acquaintance, someone immeasurably important to him.
Right now, he no longer knew what to say next. Just like that, the atmosphere around them slowly sank back into a suffocating and awkward quiet.
Grrrrrr—
Suddenly, a low rumble echoed, shattering the tension.
Time seemed to freeze. The girl's face faltered for a brief moment, then a faint blush slowly bloomed across her pale cheeks, like a peach gradually ripening.
"You're hungry?" Jawed asked.
"U..... um." The girl replied, lightly holding her slender stomach.
The guy fell silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke up:
"Then, would you like to come to my place? There's not much, but it'll do for a meal."
***
Jawed admitted, he had been a little impulsive when he made that suggestion earlier.
After all, a girl suddenly being invited to a stranger's place, no matter how you think about it, it could never sound innocent.
And yet, right now, there was already a slender figure behind, like a little tail following after him.
She just lowered her head beneath the coat he had lent her to shield her from the rain, quietly following behind him.
After a while, before their eyes, a flickering hologram sign slowly appeared, leading straight into a run-down housing block.
Jawed's apartment lay deep inside an alley. From the outside, this old building, looked as if it had been repaired hundred times, seemed to have nothing to do with the futuristic technology of the city outside.
It was mainly because of that fat, stingy old landlord, swallowing all the rent money and never bought anything for the building.
He didn't even buy a single security camera, but instead hired an elderly guard already halfway into the grave.
When Jawed, or even the girl behind him, a complete stranger, walked through the gate, the old man didn't even bother to glance at them, much less stop them.
He continued leading her across the rickety staircase. They walked in silence, until Jawed's steps gradually slowed in front of a rotten wooden door.
"This is my apartment. I haven't cleaned up, so it's a bit messy inside. Please excuse it," Jawed said, cutting through the silence.
"Um.... Mn" the girl lowered her head, replying softly.
Jawed looked at the girl behind him, secretly let out a sigh. Well, in any case, he couldn't leave her alone right now.
In the end, he turned around and pushed the door open.
The flickering bulb lit up, covering the cramped room in dim light.
Mold speckled the four walls, shining faintly greenish under the weak bulb.
Dust covered the floor, a few pieces of clothing were scattered everywhere.
The entire space was only a few dozen square meters, cramming together a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom.
"Just sit there for a bit. I'll prepare something to eat," Jawed said, then rushed straight into the kitchen.
On her side, the girl obediently sat where she was and waited.
Only when the guy's figure disappeared did she finally relax her body, letting out a long breath.
Right now, her emotions were in complete turmoil.
Why did she follow this stranger? She didn't know.
Perhaps, at that moment, she had already collapsed, desperate and exhausted.
Or maybe it was simply because she didn't know where else to go.
At this point, not knowing what to do next, she could only sit and wait.
After sitting for so long that boredom set in, her gaze began to wander around the worn-down old house.
For some reason, this shabby, deteriorated scene gave her a strange sense of closeness.
Familiar, though she couldn't know why.
She kept looking around like that, until, her eyes suddenly froze.
Before her, amid the messy pile of clothes on the floor, a dark speck peeked out. It crawled and wriggled, slipping through the gaps between light and dark.
In that instant, the girl's entire body went rigid. A sense of unease surged within her, like a signal from a deep-seated fear etched into her mind.
Was that a—
"Kyah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
BANG!!!
A loud bang, like a hammer slamming into wood, rang out together with a sharp scream.
In the kitchen, Jawed, who had still been sighing while hesitating between canned meat and canned fish, jolted in shock.
He rushed out, only to witness an utterly unrealistic scene:
The heavy sofa, seemed immovable, was now flipped upside down, leaving a large crack gouged into the floor.
Based on that earth-shattering noise just now, this thing had been hurled down with tremendous force??!!
"It.... it..... has that terrifying creature gone yet?" Beside him, the girl pointed with a trembling finger toward the crack beneath the sofa, her voice shaking as she stammered.
Jawed took a closer look, under the sofa lay a crushed flat cockroach. Or rather, what was left of a poor little cockroach.
Piecing together what had happened, he was left speechless, eyes wide open.
DING DONG! DING DONG!!
Suddenly, the doorbell rang loudly. When Jawed hurried to open the door, appeared before him was a familiar figure, with his trademark bulging belly.
"Mr. Trunks?" he uncertainly called out the old man's name.
Right now, the man wore a scowling expression, his thick eyebrows tightly knitted together, as if someone had just stolen his precious pig.
"You scumbag! It's the middle of the night and you're still making a racket, do you think nobody else needs to sleep?! Not everyone has the time to loaf around like you poor lot!"
Before Jawed could say anything, the old man yelled, spit flying everywhere.
All of a sudden, his gaze slipped in the room, moving toward the girl inside.
In that instant, his eyes widened, his finger trembling as it pointed at her, and his jaw dropped as he mumbled:
"You.... you..... how could you bring a Mecha girl back to your place?!"
Hearing that, Jawed also turned to the girl with a surprised look.
"She.... she's a Mecha human?"
.....