Cherishing You As Always - Chapter 21

This was the first time I had ever been this close to her. I hadn’t expected her to wash my sleeve, but she did it anyway. This time, I was the one caught off guard. Without thinking, I blurted out, “Thank you.”

She kept scrubbing the ink-stained sleeve with her hands, and beads of sweat began to form on her forehead as light filtered delicately through the towering trees around us. I stared at her face. Her looks were slightly less stunning than Zi Hui’s, but her skin was fair and tender, her lips gently curled. Her eyes, lowered, revealed fluttering lashes. I smiled softly and said, “You’re beautiful.”

If it had been Zi Hui, she would have gotten angry upon hearing that, argued with me a little, and then accepted the compliment as if it were only natural. But this girl didn’t react. She just kept scrubbing the sleeve. Her head dipped slightly, exposing her snow-white neck. A stray lock of hair slipped down her forehead due to her movement. Without thinking, I reached out and gently tucked it behind her ear.

I had completely forgotten that she couldn’t be touched.

Just as I held her hair, she immediately looked up. Her eyes changed in an instant. I knew she was about to scream. So I acted first jumped to her side and pinned her down tightly, covering her mouth with my hand to keep her quiet. She clearly didn’t like being close to people. The moment I made a move, she started flailing kicking me, punching me, even grabbing my hair. I let out a howl from the pain and grumbled, “Hey, stop that! What are you doing? I didn’t do anything to you! If you don’t scream, I’ll let you go! Stop hitting me!”

Surprisingly, she felt pretty good in my arms. I had assumed she was skinny, but she was actually well-proportioned in all the right places. All of a sudden, I didn’t really feel like letting go.

She seemed to be tiring from the struggle, so I slowly said, “I didn’t mean to touch you just now. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything to you. Just don’t scream, and I’ll let go.”

Her head rested on my shoulder, and she couldn’t say anything. When she didn’t respond, I added, “Say something. Just say you won’t scream, and I’ll let go.”

I forgot that my hand was still over her mouth, so she couldn’t speak. Realizing I wouldn’t let go, she stomped on my boot with full force. The pain made me want to scream, “You vicious woman! Why so violent?!”

I clutched my foot and hopped around in pain. It hurt like hell. Truly, hell hath no fury like a woman.

She finally wiped her mouth and ran far away from me, saying timidly, “You… You covered my mouth and still expected me to talk? Do you even have a brain?”

That’s when it hit me she had a point. But damn, my foot… It hurt so bad. I frowned and said, “Did you have to stomp that hard? It really hurts. What if I broke a bone?”

I hopped over to a big tree, sat down, and started massaging my foot. When I took off my boot, it was completely red. It’d probably bruise later. I kept rubbing it.

She slowly shuffled over and sat down on the other side of the tree. After a while, she whispered, “Sorry.”

I dusted off my boot and slipped it back on. The bruise had already started to show. Hopefully, Zi Hui wouldn’t find out, or else I’d get another lecture. She’s even more nagging than my own mother.

“No need to apologize. You don’t owe me anything. I was the one who accidentally touched you, so I should be the one apologizing.”

Still, I was mad. Why is it that I’m the one hurt and I still have to apologize? Why is my life so unlucky? Ever since I came here, nothing good has happened.

I stood up and walked a few steps. It hurt a little, but it wasn’t serious. I turned back and saw her still sitting under the tree, unmoving. I couldn’t help but ask, “You really are a strange person. You’re very afraid of being touched, aren’t you?”

I didn’t expect her to answer, but slowly, she turned and said softly, “Since we’re living in the same courtyard, you were bound to find out eventually. I might as well tell you. I’m really afraid of being touched. So please, while we’re living together, don’t come too close to me unless absolutely necessary. Okay?”

I sat on the other side of the tree, leaned my head back, and looked up at the sky through the dense leaves.

“You’re a strange one. I know the whole thing with putting scissors under your pillow to ward off evil yeah, that was a lie, right? I might as well be honest with you too. I saw you sleepwalking last night. Is that also part of the reason you don’t want to share a room?”

Getting everything out in the open might make things less awkward between us in the future. I’m just not the kind of person who can hide things I have way too much curiosity for that. It’s practically a curse.

She stood up and leaned against the tree, still speaking in that gentle tone. “I didn’t mean to lie to you. Please believe that I have my reasons. I knew you must have been scared last night. I wanted to find a chance to explain. When I saw how frightened you were this morning, I knew you must have seen me sleepwalking. Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. If you’re really that scared, just hold out for this month, then talk to the professor, okay? I don’t want the professor to be disappointed in me.”

I stood up too and looked into her eyes. I spoke seriously. “I said it this morning, and I’ll say it again I’m not going to ask the professor to move me. Yin Yunchi, not everyone in this world is a bad person. If you’ve had bad experiences in the past, those are in the past now. I can tell you like the professor, but if you can’t even let someone touch your hand, what happens if one day the professor likes you back? What will he do then?”

Her face instantly turned red. After a pause, she muttered, “Do you always have to speak so directly?”

“I, Song Lanlou, never learned how to be a poetic gentleman or a sycophant. Telling the truth is just my style.”

She kept staring at me. I turned my head and leaned against the tree. After a long time, she finally said, “Song Lanlou, I’d like to get to know you again.”

I smiled lightly and said, “We’ve still got plenty of time.”

Was meeting you fate or just a mistake arranged by the heavens?
Maybe we’re just fleeting shades of colorless souls among the masses.
But meeting you brought color to my life.

They say once the red thread of fate ties two people together, they’ll be bound for life.
But if we’re not on opposite ends of the same red thread…
What then, for the rest of this life?