Meng Chu tossed and turned that night, unable to find restful sleep.
Yet somehow, she slept more peacefully than ever before.
Though it wasn’t quite winter yet, the October night had grown chilly.
On such a night with a faint coolness in the air, Meng Chu only felt the warmth of a body beside her, making her want to snuggle closer.
At first, Meng Chu lay stiffly, as if not quite used to it.
But no one spoke.
Cheng Jinyu didn’t bring up the matter again, nor did he offer any comforting words.
He simply held her gently, letting her rest against his embrace.
Finally, when steady breathing began, Cheng Jinyu slightly opened his eyes and looked at the person in his arms.
Sure enough, this time she was truly asleep.
Not like before—pretending hard to be asleep when she wasn’t.
Even though the room was pitch black, so dark it felt like you couldn’t see your own hand, Cheng Jinyu still lowered his head earnestly to look at the person in his arms.
Every moment of tonight echoed in his mind.
When he found out Meng Chu had returned home early, he didn’t hesitate to drive over to her place.
By the time he arrived, it was just as Meng Chu was leaving in the police car.
He didn’t call ahead but knocked on the door instead.
Unexpectedly, her door didn’t open—instead, the neighbor’s door swung open.
The neighbor looked surprised and asked, “Who are you looking for?”
“Meng Chu,” Cheng Jinyu replied politely.
Immediately, the neighbor said, “Are you her friend? She already left with the police. You better hurry over.”
The neighbor assumed he was a friend called by Meng Chu, since any girl in such a situation would surely need a friend by her side—otherwise, how terrifying and upsetting it would be.
Cheng Jinyu frowned immediately. “Police?”
The neighbor nodded. “Yeah, she left in a police car, probably heading to the hospital. She even split her head open.”
“She got hurt.”
Cheng Jinyu dared not speak further, but the moment he heard those words, his mind went numb.
In all this time, he had never lost composure like this.
He kept asking the neighbor, “What exactly happened? Was there some trouble?”
Seeing he didn’t know anything, the neighbor hurried to explain: “Just a while ago, the girl who lives in 1201 in Building 11 came home. Then a man showed up. They somehow got into a scuffle inside her home. I heard something smashing the security window, along with cries for help. I rushed out and saw the man run out with blood on his head.”
“The neighbor girl said the man tried to take advantage of her while drunk. The man said he was drunk and came to the wrong place—that he lived in 1201 in Building 10, but this is Building 11.”
The neighbor kindly explained the whole situation to Cheng Jinyu.
But after hearing it, only one thought filled his mind.
She was shouting for help.
She was calling for someone to save her.
Cheng Jinyu took a deep breath and suddenly sank into painful memories.
In those memories, he too had heard someone shout for help.
But he could do nothing.
As the memories surged like a tide, they nearly overwhelmed Cheng Jinyu.
Just as his consciousness returned, he felt the person in his arms—like a drowning person finally clutching onto driftwood.
He couldn’t help but tighten his arms around her.
In the pitch-dark room was Meng Chu’s light and steady breathing.
That sound settled deeply in his heart, soothing the turmoil that had long raged within him.
———
Morning.
Meng Chu slowly awoke from deep, peaceful sleep and was about to turn over when she felt something heavy on her waist.
She reached out to push whatever was on her waist aside.
To her surprise, the thing she touched was smooth and soft but also quite heavy.
Huh?
Meng Chu suddenly opened her eyes wide.
As her eyes opened, her awareness slowly returned.
She tilted her head slightly toward the face so close beside her—though it was too dark in the room to see clearly, she could just make out a rough outline.
Meng Chu had stayed in this room for two days and had noticed that Cheng Jinyu’s curtains had excellent blackout effects.
Her own rented place had curtains provided by the landlord, but they weren’t particularly good.
Every dawn, she never had to worry about waking early, because as soon as it was light outside, the curtains were practically see-through.
Fortunately, Meng Chu had always been a good sleeper; if it was troublesome, she’d just wear a mask.
Now she stared at Cheng Jinyu for a long while.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she gradually could make out his features instead of just a silhouette.
His eyes were tightly shut, so the striking and aloof black irises were hidden.
But it was good—especially since his prominent brow bone gave his face a three-dimensional quality, unlike most people’s flat features.
“Awake,” he said softly, speaking the two words slowly.
Meng Chu didn’t know how he knew, startled that he could tell she was awake.
She opened her eyes fully again and met Cheng Jinyu’s sharp, clear gaze head-on.
“How do you know I’m awake if your eyes are still closed?” she asked, genuinely curious.
Cheng Jinyu smiled lazily. “Breathing.”
Breathing?
Her breathing?
Just by the way she breathed, he could tell if she was asleep or awake?
“People who are asleep breathe differently,” he explained quietly.
Oh.
So that’s how it was.
As soon as she said this, Meng Chu realized how intimate the moment felt.
They were lying in the same bed, sharing the same blanket.
Though they had shared a bed before, that time she was drunk and her memories were just panic upon waking.
This time, she was fully conscious.
Meng Chu bit her lip, hesitating whether to get up.
Suddenly, she felt her hand move—it turned out she had been touching Cheng Jinyu’s hand resting on her waist the entire time.
She originally wanted to pull her arm away, and Cheng Jinyu was about to move her hand too.
But as her elbow began to retreat, her fingertips were gently caught.
Cheng Jinyu’s palm slid down from her fingertips, and his fingers intertwined with hers.
Their ten fingers laced softly together.
On the bed that morning, they held hands like that.
There was a secret, subtle probing, and quiet, averted gazes—the kind of suppressed desire that was almost palpable.
They wanted to do something, yet restrained themselves.
Even though they had just woken up and were lying quietly.
Her heart pounded in her chest like she had just run a three-thousand-meter race.
Violently, almost frighteningly so.
“Hungry?” Cheng Jinyu suddenly asked.
Meng Chu hesitated but finally nodded.
She wasn’t really that hungry, but the excuse helped her get up.
This way, she wouldn’t feel so anxious.
After she agreed, Cheng Jinyu let go of her hand and sat up, preparing to get out of bed.
Meng Chu still lying there, asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Not really,” Cheng Jinyu shook his head.
Meng Chu said, “Then forget it. I’m not very hungry either. Why don’t you just sleep a bit more?”
On such a rare holiday, she was pulling him up to make breakfast.
That sounded a bit inhumane.
“No,” Cheng Jinyu said, sitting at the edge of the bed and glancing at her.
Meng Chu remembered he once said he didn’t like to lie in bed lazily, so she teased, “You don’t like lying in bed? Are you still a young person of this era?”
“No,” Cheng Jinyu denied slowly.
Meng Chu was puzzled—wasn’t that what he meant?
Then his lazy voice sounded again in the dark room: “I’m afraid if I lie down again, your heart won’t calm down.”
Huh?
He heard that?
Meng Chu immediately held her breath, afraid this would make her heartbeat worse.
When she heard the door close, she gently pulled the blanket up over her head.
How could he hear it?
Was her heartbeat really that loud?
Meng Chu couldn’t help but place her palm over her left heart.
Through the flesh and blood, she could feel a pounding—thump, thump, thump.
Indeed, it was loud.
———
Meng Chu lay still for a while to calm herself.
But when she returned to quiet, memories of last night slowly resurfaced.
She wasn’t the type to be timid or afraid, but that terrifying experience—even for her—was hard to shake off.
She was a little scared to recall it.
Even though she had been so brave and handled it well at the time.
The thought still made her tremble.
Just now, with Cheng Jinyu here, she was okay.
But as soon as he left, the memory came back.
Her heart, still beating excitedly a moment ago, now felt like it was weighed down with heavy lead, making her feel listless.
Originally lying down, Meng Chu couldn’t help but get up.
She went to the bathroom to wash up.
But as she looked up at herself in the mirror, she couldn’t help but close her eyes tightly.
She always felt as if there were hands on her back, pushing her into that black, dark house.
After washing, she immediately left the bathroom.
When she reached the kitchen door, she saw someone inside holding a frying pan.
He was probably making fried eggs.