Zhou Wan hesitated for a moment before kicking off her canvas shoes and stepping into his slippers.
The slippers were too big, fitting her poorly.
She bent down to neatly place her own shoes on one side of the shoe rack, noticing there were no extra slippers—only the pair she was wearing.
Lu Xixiao lived alone, and this spacious three-story house belonged solely to him.
"Can I turn on the light?" Zhou Wan asked.
"Suit yourself."
It was the first time Lu Xixiao had spoken, his voice raspy as if scraped by sandpaper.
Zhou Wan flipped the switch on the shoe rack, and the chandelier in the living room lit up.
Lu Xixiao, unaccustomed to the sudden brightness, furrowed his brows tightly and raised a hand to shield his eyes.
Zhou Wan surveyed the chaotic living room.
Liquor bottles lay scattered haphazardly across the floor, the ashtray on the coffee table crammed with dozens of cigarette butts, the air thick with the lingering stench of smoke and alcohol.
Zhou Wan went to open the window for ventilation.
Lu Xixiao lay on the sofa, watching the girl's busy figure from behind. He curled his lips, picked up a nearby bottle, and took a sip to moisten his throat. "What are you here for?"
"Jiang Fan asked me to check on you. He said he couldn't reach you."
Zhou Wan studied his face—pale to the point of sickness, though she couldn't tell if it was from injury or lack of sunlight.
Lu Xixiao scoffed.
"Are you hurt?" Zhou Wan asked.
He turned his head away without answering.
"Where?"
"What, you're going to bandage me up?"
Zhou Wan nodded. "Yes."
He chuckled lightly, stood up, and walked into the bedroom. Moments later, he returned with a bag of supplies, tossing it onto the coffee table. A roll of gauze tumbled out, unraveling in a long strip on the floor.
Lu Xixiao sat back down on the sofa, lifted his pant leg.
He wore loose gray lounge pants, with gauze wrapped haphazardly around his thigh—as if hastily coiled—and crimson blood seeped through the fabric.
He was lean and wiry, his muscles not bulging but etched with untamed, winding lines, showing no signs of disciplined training.
Zhou Wan’s eyes stung at the sight of the blood. She stared for three seconds before her face flushed bright red.
Lu Xixiao watched her reaction with amusement.
"Didn't you say you'd bandage me up?"
Zhou Wan fell silent. After a long pause, she took a step forward but went no further.
Having savored her expression enough, Lu Xixiao didn't press further. He sneered, straightened up, clamped a cigarette between his teeth, and unwound the blood-stained gauze, tossing it into the trash.
Zhou Wan averted her gaze and began tidying the mess on the coffee table.
The floor was littered with bottles. Scanning the room, she found the water dispenser and poured a glass of hot water.
On the shelf beside it stood a photograph of a beautiful woman with a gentle smile.
She had the same narrow, elongated eyes as Lu Xixiao.
Zhou Wan quickly deduced who the woman was from those eyes.
Lu Xixiao's mother.
By the time she brought over the warm water, Lu Xixiao had already changed his bandage and was leaning back on the sofa, reaching for another drink.
Zhou Wan approached and grasped the bottle. "You're injured. You shouldn't drink."
He disliked being restrained. Lifting his eyes, his gaze turned cold. "Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?"
Zhou Wan paused, released her grip, and set the glass of warm water on the coffee table in front of him.
He finished the remaining alcohol and threw the bottle into the trash.
"Lu Xixiao."Zhou Wan didn't know his past, but she could see the boundless pain beneath his calm demeanor. She tried to comfort him, to encourage him, hoping he wouldn't continue sinking into despondency.
"If your mother were still alive, she wouldn't want to see you like this," Zhou Wan said softly.
Lu Xixiao's movements paused abruptly as he straightened up.
The motion was too sudden, tugging at the wound on his leg, yet he didn't even furrow his brows.
"Zhou Wan," he said coldly, enunciating each word, "who do you think you are?"
Zhou Wan froze completely.
Right. Who did she think she was?
She and Lu Xixiao weren't even friends—what right did she have to stand on the sidelines of his pain and offer advice?
"Or are you trying to say you like me?" Lu Xixiao stared at her. "You don't want to see me like this?"
He let out a light laugh, the sound dripping with sarcasm and devoid of any warmth.
"Fine, then let's date."
He grabbed Zhou Wan's wrist and yanked her forcefully toward him.
His hand was scorching hot, but his eyes and voice were icy cold.
Zhou Wan stumbled and fell onto the sofa, collapsing against him.
Lu Xixiao wrapped his arm around her waist, tightening his grip to force her closer.
Zhou Wan stiffened, immobilized by the excessive proximity.
The current Lu Xixiao was too dangerous—his extreme calm teetered on the brink of irrational loss of control. The scent of alcohol on him made it hard for her to breathe.
He pinched her chin, forcing her face upward, and leaned in with a cold expression.
Zhou Wan turned her head away forcefully, a choked sob escaping from deep in her throat: "...Lu Xixiao!"
He suddenly released her. Zhou Wan fell back onto the sofa, bracing herself with her hands as she gasped for breath, her heart still racing.
But it was clear Lu Xixiao hadn't actually intended to do anything to her—he merely wanted to provoke her true reaction.
"Playing with me, is that it, Zhou Wan?"
He coldly watched the blushing girl before him, his tone devoid of emotion as he stated with utter calm, "Zhou Wan, you don't like me."
He raised his hand and clamped it around her slender neck, roughly pulling her up and pressing her against the back of the sofa.
"Then why did you deliberately get close to me?" he asked coldly, enunciating each word.
He was too clear-headed and perceptive.
Zhou Wan's little tricks had never escaped his notice.
From that night at the arcade, when she said, "It's the 'Wan' from 'draw a carved bow to the full like the moon,'" he had already seen through her.
He simply hadn't bothered to call her out when he was in a better mood. Now, he was done pretending and no longer gave her any face.
Zhou Wan remained silent.
She didn't know how to explain.
No matter how you looked at it, she had been the one to scheme first, to take advantage first.
It was all her fault.
Lu Xixiao's hand around her neck tightened unconsciously.
It wasn't enough to suffocate her, but the pressure against her jawbone was painfully intense.
She choked out a cough: "Lu Xixiao."
Frowning in discomfort, she murmured, "It hurts..."
Lu Xixiao released her, but his sharp gaze remained fixed on her.
"Lu Xixiao," Zhou Wan stood up, picked up her backpack from the floor, and said softly, "I'm sorry for disturbing you. I won't appear in front of you again."
No matter how much she hated Guo Xiangling, she shouldn't have done this.
It was immoral and unfair to Lu Xixiao.
Zhou Wan gave him a slight bow, then turned and left.
Lu Xixiao watched her retreating figure.
She looked so frail, as if a gust of wind could knock her over, as if the slightest pressure could break her.
As she pressed the door handle and slowly pulled the door open, the faint glow from the streetlights outside spilled into the living room, illuminating her silhouette and casting a soft, golden halo around her.Lu Xixiao suddenly recalled that day outside the hospital.
He had argued fiercely with Lu Zhongyue and strode away, with Zhou Wan chasing after him, panting as she tightly clutched the hem of his clothes.
Behind her, the setting sun was sinking.
The halo of light also set her aglow, gentle and romantic.
Still catching her breath, she looked up at him with clear eyes and asked, "Do you want to eat noodles?"
"Zhou Wan," Lu Xixiao suddenly spoke.
Even he himself didn't know why.
He just felt that if Zhou Wan walked out of this door, they would truly have nothing to do with each other from then on.
Lu Xixiao thought he didn't like Zhou Wan—she was dull and plain. But in some ways, she was very similar to him. She was often quiet, never asking questions, as if devoid of curiosity, yet it also seemed that he didn't need to say anything for her to understand.
When she was by his side, Lu Xixiao would feel a rare sense of calm.
Like a tranquilizer that belonged only to him.
Zhou Wan stopped in her tracks but didn't turn around.
Lu Xixiao leaned back into the sofa, sinking into it, closed his eyes for a moment, and without looking at her, said hoarsely, "Zhou Wan, I'm hungry."
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