Fall - Chapter 6

That night, Yue Can followed Bo Wanzhao in a daze.

They returned to the old street and alley they had passed by in the car earlier. The weather was poor, and the night market had already closed, leaving the area deserted and shrouded in a misty haze.

Sharing an umbrella, their shoulders occasionally brushed against each other.

As they turned into a narrow alley, Yue Can glanced at Bo Wanzhao beside her. The close proximity allowed her to see Bo Wanzhao’s profile with exceptional clarity. The dim light in the alley cast a particularly soft glow on her face, though Yue Can couldn’t shake the feeling that this gentleness was merely a superficial facade.

Throughout the walk, Yue Can hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back. After walking a short distance with her head down, she finally called out, “Bo Wanzhao…”

Bo Wanzhao looked at her. “What is it?”

Yue Can gazed at her serene and beautiful features. “Don’t you ever get angry?”

“What would I be angry about?” Bo Wanzhao asked.

“I…” Yue Can felt guilty. “I was rude to you.”

“It’s fine,” Bo Wanzhao replied.

Yue Can didn’t understand. “What do you mean, ‘it’s fine’?”

Bo Wanzhao repeated, “I’m not angry.”

Bo Wanzhao’s consistently calm tone and expression convinced Yue Can that she was telling the truth. Yue Can was speechless. For some reason, she found herself wishing Bo Wanzhao would show some anger. She recalled that ever since they’d met, Bo Wanzhao had seemed like someone devoid of emotions. Yue Can had never seen her angry, but she’d also never seen her happy…

Before she knew it, they had arrived.

Bo Wanzhao closed her umbrella, shaking off the raindrops, and unlocked the door.

Yue Can followed Bo Wanzhao inside. When she saw the layout of the room, she fell silent. The space was cramped and oppressive, the house as dilapidated inside as it looked from the outside.

Bo Wanzhao was certain Yue Can had never seen such a run-down place. She felt no shame about it; people who struggled just to survive had already endured enough, and there was nothing to be ashamed of. She simply thought Yue Can would find the harsh environment unbearable, perhaps unable to stay for more than a few minutes.

“I’ll take you back later,” Bo Wanzhao said.

Yue Can snapped out of her reverie and looked at her. “Didn’t you say you’d take me in?”

Now it was Bo Wanzhao’s turn to fall silent. Yue Can’s words clearly implied she wanted to spend the night. Bo Wanzhao waited three seconds, giving Yue Can time to change her mind.

Yue Can had no intention of backing down. She stared at Bo Wanzhao, standing her ground with the stubbornness of someone who had decided to stay put.

Bo Wanzhao: “……”

It was getting late. Bo Wanzhao picked up her keys. “Stay here. I’ll go buy toiletries.”

Yue Can thought of the dark, narrow alley outside, the rain, and the lack of people—the atmosphere felt like a horror movie set. It was too dangerous to be alone. She followed Bo Wanzhao. “I’ll come with you.”

Bo Wanzhao assumed Yue Can was afraid of being left alone. “Okay.”

The convenience store was a ten-minute walk away. The rain hadn’t let up, and the wind blew raindrops sideways, soaking them both by the time they returned to the apartment.

Bo Wanzhao: “You should shower first.”

Yue Can noticed Bo Wanzhao was wetter than she was and started to protest, but Bo Wanzhao had already grabbed pajamas and was urging her toward the bathroom. Yue Can had no choice but to make it quick.

Soon after, Yue Can emerged from the bathroom with her hair still dripping wet, the bedroom just a few steps away.

The apartment was much smaller than Yue Can had imagined, barely fifty square meters in total. The living room and dining area were combined, just large enough for a modest square dining table. The bedroom was slightly larger, sparsely furnished with a bed by the window, an old desk with peeling paint, and an outdated wardrobe. Everything in the room was simple and unadorned, containing only the bare necessities, yet it was clear the owner was meticulous about cleanliness and order.

Returning to the bedroom, Yue Can saw Bo Wanzhao on the phone. Judging by the conversation, she guessed it was Tan Ming.

Bo Wanzhao was telling Tan Ming that Yue Can wouldn’t be going home tonight and would be staying with her.

“…Ah, that little troublemaker. I’m sorry to bother you again.”

“It’s no trouble at all.”

“She’s such a handful. Thank you so much, Wanzhao. You’re always taking care of her.”

Tan Ming continued to fuss over the phone, finally relieved that Yue Can was with Bo Wanzhao.

“My mom called?” Yue Can asked, her hair still dripping wet. She and Bo Wanzhao were about the same height, so the pajamas fit her reasonably well.

“Mm-hmm.”

Yue Can ventured a guess, “Is she so mad she wants to skin me alive?”

Bo Wanzhao put down her phone. “She asked me to tell you she’s calmed down. Come home tomorrow—she won’t skin you.”

No one knows a daughter like her mother, Yue Can thought, recognizing the familiar tone.

Bo Wanzhao placed a hairdryer on the table and added, “You can sleep here tonight. I’ve changed the sheets—they’re clean.”

“What about you?” Yue Can asked.

“I’ll sleep in the next room.”

Having already shamelessly crashed here, Yue Can couldn’t bring herself to take the master bedroom. “I’ll just sleep in the other room.”

Bo Wanzhao wanted to stop her, but Yue Can had already headed for the other door.

When Yue Can opened the door, she froze in disbelief. This wasn’t a room at all—it was a storage closet, barely four square meters, with only a small window. The cramped space felt suffocating, but a narrow folding bed inside showed signs of recent use.

“I’ll just stay here,” Bo Wanzhao said.

“How can you live here?” Yue Can asked, astonished. Even if it was a storage room, it was impossibly small—how could anyone live in such a cramped space?

Bo Wanzhao fell silent. For a long time, this had been her home.

Yue Can thought the solution was simple. “Just let me borrow half your bed.”

Bo Wanzhao hesitated.

So you’d rather sleep in a storage room than share a bed with me? Yue Can felt a pang of inexplicable hurt. “Do you not like me?”

“That’s not it.”

“Actually, I’m very well-behaved when I’m asleep,” Yue Can insisted. “I don’t move around at all.”

Hearing the notorious troublemaker describe herself as “well-behaved” struck Bo Wanzhao as both amusing and absurd.

“And I’m really warm too,” Yue Can added, sounding like she was trying to sell herself.

Bo Wanzhao considered the master bedroom’s 1.5-meter bed. It wasn’t too cramped for two people, and they could even maintain some distance between them. Exhausted from a long day, she lacked the energy to prepare another room and nodded in agreement.

By the time Bo Wanzhao finished washing up, it was late at night. The rain showed no signs of stopping, and its relentless drumming stirred a vague restlessness within her. She anticipated another restless night.

In contrast to Bo Wanzhao, Yue Can found the natural white noise of the rain soothing. She drifted off to sleep almost immediately after slipping under the covers, the familiar scent of the bedding reminding her of Bo Wanzhao’s own fragrance.

When Bo Wanzhao returned to the bedroom after drying her hair, she found Yue Can already asleep, her body pressed against the wall. She pulled back the covers and climbed into bed, glancing at the other woman. Yue Can was breathing evenly in deep slumber, having adjusted remarkably quickly…

Bo Wanzhao turned off the light and lay down. Closing her eyes, the sound of the rain seemed even louder in the darkness. Despite her exhaustion, she struggled to fall asleep.

Rainy days were her least favorite, yet Naxia City’s rain always seemed to drizzle on endlessly. From a young age, she had resolved to leave Naxia and start a new life in a sunnier place. There was nothing left in this city to hold her back, especially now…

Weariness and frustration battled within her, with fatigue ultimately gaining the upper hand. Bo Wanzhao drifted into a light sleep, still hearing the relentless rain. Her brow furrowed tighter and tighter, as if the sound were pricking her skin like countless tiny needles.

The state between sleep and wakefulness is the most vulnerable, plagued by anxiety and nightmares that suffocate until you can barely breathe…

Bo Wanzhao jolted awake, gasping for air, cold sweat beading on her forehead. Her body trembled violently as she hugged her arms, her fingers brushing against rough scars. The scars served as a stark reminder that the nightmares were real.

She switched on the bedside lamp and sat up, scanning the room to reassure herself that she was safe now.

The sudden light startled Yue Can beside her.

“Mmm…” Yue Can murmured, turning slightly. Her eyes fluttered open, half-lidded, as she drowsily asked Bo Wanzhao, “What’s wrong…?”

“Nothing.”

“Mmm…”

Bo Wanzhao switched off the light and lay back down, but sleep eluded her.

In the darkness, Yue Can shifted slightly, tilting her head against the pillow. Her disciplined sleeping habits were a result of years spent in the school dormitory.

Bo Wanzhao felt a warm presence draw closer—Yue Can’s head gently resting against her shoulder. This warmth brought her a subtle sense of security.

Yue Can was indeed warm. Beneath the covers, Bo Wanzhao could feel waves of heat radiating from Yue Can’s body. For a fleeting moment, she longed to close the distance between them, to let that warmth completely envelop her. But she fiercely suppressed the impulse.

Skin hunger—an intense craving for physical touch, hugs, and affection—manifested when Bo Wanzhao felt emotionally distressed. It wasn’t until she studied psychology in college that she realized her symptoms were a psychological condition.

Bo Wanzhao fell asleep late that night, but once she drifted off, she didn’t plunge into nightmares.

The rain had stopped sometime during the night. The next morning, the sky was clear, and golden sunlight streamed through the glass, casting radiant reflections across the room.

Having slept only four hours, Bo Wanzhao still woke up promptly at seven. She brewed a cup of instant coffee with hot water, grabbed her laptop, and went to the living room to work at the dining table.

Around eight, she returned to the bedroom to fetch something and found Yue Can still sound asleep in bed.

Yue Can was notorious for her ability to sleep. Severely sleep-deprived during the school year, she typically slept until noon or later during vacations unless someone woke her.

Sunlight streamed through the window, landing directly on Yue Can’s face, causing her to unconsciously furrow her brow.

Seeing this, Bo Wanzhao walked to the bedside and reached out to draw the curtains closed.

The curtain didn’t block the light entirely, but filtered it into a soft glow.

Bo Wanzhao glanced down and saw Yue Can’s pale, delicate face. Yue Can’s eyes were still closed, her long lashes casting a peaceful shadow across her cheeks, a stark contrast to her usual rebellious demeanor.

Though Yue Can typically acted defiant and unapproachable, challenging everything and everyone, her true nature was revealed in sleep. Her entire being softened, from her hair and face to her body, radiating an aura of harmlessness.

Bo Wanzhao gazed at Yue Can’s face for a moment. She looks quite docile, she thought.

Yue Can murmured, her eyes still closed, “Bo Wanzhao…”

Hearing her name, Bo Wanzhao tensed.

“You’re so annoying…”

Bo Wanzhao realized Yue Can was talking in her sleep.

Yue Can continued to mumble, “…Did I do it right this time…?”

Bo Wanzhao paused, her gaze lowering slightly. Leaning closer, she whispered, “Wrong again. Do it again.”

The soft words seeped into Yue Can’s dream.

Yue Can’s brow furrowed, and she whined, “Ah… just kill me already…”

Bo Wanzhao continued to stare at the sleeping figure. Then, a faint, cold smile flickered across her usually impassive face.