Chapter 61: Shifting Eyes

Chapter 61: Shifting Eyes

Thunder rumbled in restless, violent waves, and white lightning cracked across the colliding clouds. Rain poured down, splashing ripples into the murky, pooled water.

Bai Li froze. As Grandma Qin spoke, that dream seemed to transform into a translucent cinematic frame unfolding right before her eyes.

A man soaked in rain, holding an ash urn, his spine rigid, yet a streak of bright red staining the corner of his mouth.

She turned abruptly, grasping Grandma Qin’s hand, her voice trembling slightly. "Granny, I heard that my brother was bleeding too. What happened?"

"This..." Grandma Qin hadn’t expected her not to be entirely in the dark. The girl’s delicate palm was exceptionally endearing, and the urgency in her eyes was not feigned, which brought a measure of comfort to the old woman’s heart.

"That day happened to be when old man Zhou from next door was hospitalized. His son came looking for life-saving money, demanding ten thousand yuan right off the bat. The other neighbors were also afraid Xiao Ye would run off and not repay the debt, so they started pulling and shoving, and a fight broke out. Xiao Ye didn't fight back against these elders who had watched him grow up. Later, he left by himself and nobody knew where he went."

Bai Li was shocked by Grandma Qin’s words.

She raised her eyes to look at the curtain of rain. Someone was walking straight down the alley entrance.

Holding a black umbrella, moving at a steady, unhurried pace, his slender figure was heavily blurred by the lines of rain, making it hard to see clearly.

Yet Bai Li recognized at a glance that it was Fang Ye.

Perhaps because of the scars on his wrists, he usually wore a jacket, as if that could somehow conceal all the suffering he had endured.

Bai Li sat beneath the leaking eaves, watching him draw closer from afar, feeling the desolate chill of the rainy season.

There is a drawback to being too sensitive.

Every injury can be felt with doubled empathy.

When Fang Ye finally reached the porch, Bai Li could clearly make out his face. The old wall clock pointed to half-past three; it was not yet time for work to end.

Clutching her bag, Bai Li called out softly, "Brother, why are you here?"

Fang Ye wore a black shirt and black trousers. His pale skin and pitch-black hair formed a striking contrast—dazzlingly white and starkly dark.

"The rain was too heavy, so I came to pick you up."

Grandma Qin stood up, retrieved a bag of assorted candies from the cabinet, and placed it in Bai Li’s hands, kindness in her eyes. "Go on back, go on back. With this heavy rain, be extra careful on the road."

Bai Li didn't want to accept it, but Grandma Qin insisted it was a token of thanks and refused to take no for an answer.

Fang Ye watched the scene warmly, offered a brief word of thanks to Grandma Qin, and then turned his gaze back to Bai Li.

The corners of the girl's eyes were red, looking as though she were on the verge of tears.

Fang Ye sighed, shifting slightly to the left. "Alright, let's go home."

They held each other's gaze for a long time.

Bai Li said goodbye to Grandma Qin and silently walked to his side. The black umbrella sheltered the space above her head, and the dim light grew even darker in its shade.

For some reason.

The closer Bai Li got to Fang Ye, the harder it felt to breathe.

The mist in the alleyway drifted, and visibility was shockingly low. To accommodate the girl's pace, Fang Ye slowed his steps as well.

Bai Li’s little white sneakers stepped into the puddles, and she asked curiously, "Brother, how did you know I was here? It’s not even time for me to get off work yet."

"The owner of the teahouse called me. Since it was raining so hard and you hadn't come home yet, he worried you didn't bring an umbrella, so I followed the way here."

Bai Li nodded. So he had been worried about her.

Yet through the watery mist, she looked up at Fang Ye's profile. He was truly handsome, and truly too calm.

If she had been the one to go through all these things...

I'm afraid...

I'm afraid she would have gone mad long ago.

Bai Li could not describe the feeling in her heart.

Aside from heartache, she only felt that she was unworthy: he had never been treated well by others, yet he wanted to turn around and treat her well.

"Something you want to tell me?" Fang Ye noticed her gaze, fixing his dark eyes on Bai Li.

The summer rain fell desolately, devoid of the distraction of chirping insects.

Bai Li knew she shouldn't pick at someone's scars, and that the things she had heard should be buried deep in her heart.

Clutching her soft white bag, another question slipped past her lips.

"Why are you so good to me?"

Logically speaking, Fang Ye had every reason to ignore her. He didn't owe her anything, nor was there any bond of blood between them.

Besides, Fang Ye didn't look like the type of person who liked meddling in other people's business.

Holding the umbrella, Fang Ye's gaze was remarkably serene. "I only have one sister. What do you mean, why?"

"Just like that?"

"Mm, just like that." Fang Ye nodded casually, walking out to the main road where cabs could be hailed, and flagged one down.

Bai Li lowered her head, pretending to play on her phone while actually lost in thought.

Could it be that her brother was simply an extreme sister-con?

Did this also mean... that she would never, in this lifetime, get to hear Fang Ye confess his feelings again?

After all, the person he loved was his sister.

Not her.

Her chest tightened for a moment.

Sitting on her left, Fang Ye turned his head slightly, taking in her pensive expression.

His fingers tapped irregularly against the back of his phone.

For some reason, he recalled playing games at the lounge bar, and the stunned, bashful look in the young girl's eyes when he spoke of his affection.

He closed his eyes.

He began to meticulously recall the oddities of these past few days.

And recounting the past, he wanted to know precisely when the young girl had acquired a pair of eyes that loved to dart away and hide.

The distance from the old district to the new eastern district wasn't far, but detours were necessary due to road construction.

After looking at her phone for a while, Bai Li felt dizzy, a rising wave of nausea churning in her stomach, so she didn't dare look anymore.

Glancing sideways to see Fang Ye with his eyes closed, she simply copied him, leaning against the car seat and closing her eyes as well.

She only intended to rest for a moment, but within two or three minutes, she actually drifted off to sleep.

The car swayed back and forth as it navigated past puddles, and Bai Li's body unconsciously drifted, sliding sideways to rest against Fang Ye's shoulder.

As if she had finally found a proper, comfortable angle to sleep, her furrowed brow gradually relaxed.

Fang Ye opened his eyes abruptly.

Seeing the young girl leaning against his shoulder, he smiled silently.

...

Bai Li was awakened by Fang Ye.

When she woke up, she was the only one left in the car, and the door was still open, making it clear that she had fallen asleep.

She scrambled out of the car, followed him upstairs awkwardly, and retreated to her own room.

The torrential downpour had continued for several days. Water levels had surged drastically, and the lake was rising at an alarming rate.

The Lingjiang City Administration issued an advisory urging major enterprises to suspend work, and some lower-lying areas were already submerged.

Bai Li was forced to take a few days off.

Despite this rare break, she had no desire to rest at all; instead, she spent the whole night working hard to create anime characters and submit them to a manga studio.

Fang Ye hadn't gone out either, but Bai Li observed that he seemed extremely busy. Occasionally, just as he sat down in the living room, his phone would ring instantly with an incoming call notification.

And then he would retreat to his room once more.

On the fourth day of the torrential rain, near its end, Bai Li and Fang Ye were eating together.

The phone resting on the right side of Fang Ye vibrated once again.

Bai Li was already used to it. Usually, during meals, Fang Ye wouldn't answer calls.

Yet this time, after glancing at the number on the screen, he put down his chopsticks and stood up, leaving behind a single sentence: "You eat first, leave the dishes for me to wash."

Would you all like to read some mild heartbreak?

(End of this chapter)