Chapter 111: Flash Spirit

Actually, Xu Nian had thought about this issue before.

Yang Shuli was a very simple person, but at the same time, he seemed quite complicated.

However, Xu Nian had never shown any curiosity about the strange things that appeared on Yang Shuli before.

Because if these were things meant to be shared, Yang Shuli would have already confided in him at the dining table.

If Yang Shuli didn’t say anything to him, then it wasn’t something Xu Nian could learn directly from him, or rather, it was something he needed to find out on his own.

For example, Xu Nian had wondered why Yang Shuli always grabbed onto someone’s hand tightly every time they crossed the street, holding on so firmly that it was almost impossible to break free. Even if one tried to pull away, they could only do so while still hanging onto Yang Shuli’s hand.

He had also been curious about why Yang Shuli ate so frequently. Clearly, Xu Nian could tell that Yang Shuli didn’t care whether the food was good or bad—he didn’t discriminate at all.

It was as if eating was purely a task, like completing a mission or snacking as part of some condition being met.

Like an NPC who had to perform a certain action to satisfy a requirement, but no matter what the conditions were, Yang Shuli’s final action was always just eating.

Anyway, Xu Nian would follow whatever Yang Shuli did. Being by his side was truly comforting for him.

But Yang Shuli now wasn’t necessarily like that anymore.

Xu Nian couldn’t dig deep into Yang Shuli’s past and start questioning him right now. Just seeing Yang Shuli’s mental state was enough to make Xu Nian hesitant to make any sudden moves.

His mind was racing.

Traffic lights, the crosswalk, the fallen seashell, Yang Shuli’s murmured words just now—

It was clear that before Yang Shuli met him, there had been something in his life significant enough to leave a deep impression and psychological shadow on the little Yang Shuli. Something bad had happened to him.

Xu Nian didn’t even know whether he should feel happy or sad about this.

Happy that he was clearly someone important enough in Yang Shuli’s heart to make him look so panicked despite everything seeming fine.

Sad because Yang Shuli carried such a massive psychological trauma that even Xu Nian wasn’t sure if he could fix it.

But for now, he should be worried. He needed to keep up the appearance of normalcy.

He wore that gentle smile as always, letting Yang Shuli’s hands grasp his own.

Yang Shuli held both his hands tightly, as if afraid that Xu Nian might slip away if he wasn’t careful.

Xu Nian let Yang Shuli hold on, letting him lead him to this side of the street and stubbornly waiting out the last few seconds of the green light. Then, they waited through another red light before finally crossing once the green light fully lit up, with Yang Shuli’s hands firmly clutching his as they moved forward.

“Um…” Xu Nian started to speak, but before he could finish, Yang Shuli fiercely glanced back at him.

To Xu Nian, it looked almost cutely fierce.

Alright, successfully shutting him up and stuffing his words back down.

Yang Shuli didn’t even bother with the umbrella she’d dropped earlier, grabbing Xu Nian’s hand in a hurry to cross to the other side of the street with the green light.

Only then did Xu Nian visibly exhale in relief.

She turned to Xu Nian and said, “From now on, whenever we’re walking, especially when crossing the street, don’t ever let go of my hand first.”

At this moment, Xu Nian became the passive one, unable to say a word and just nodding repeatedly.

There wasn’t a single car on the road, and the only pedestrians on the street were the two of them.

Yang Shuli was definitely afraid of something, but that something seemed to exist only in his mind.

Xu Nian and Yang Shuli walked through the rain all the way to the hotel. Their drenched bodies seemed somewhat out of place in the neat lobby.

In the hallway leading to the rooms, Yang Shuli still held Xu Nian’s arm tightly, as if afraid he would slip away.

This kind of behavior didn’t make Xu Nian feel valued; it only made his expression grow even more serious.

Yang Shuli’s problem was far more serious than he had imagined.

“Dorm Leader.”

The voice behind made Xu Nian instinctively turn around. It was Ye Qingchang, standing right at the door of the room.

But Yang Shuli didn’t look back. With stubborn resolve, she blocked out all distractions, intent on pulling Xu Nian into the room.

Or rather, she wanted to pull him into a place she considered safe.

Only after entering the room did Yang Shuli finally release her grip on Xu Nian’s arm and collapse onto the bed as if completely drained.

Xu Nian didn’t disturb her with words at this moment but silently pulled out a chair to sit beside her.

He watched Yang Shuli lying on the bed, eyes wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought about something.

After a moment, it seemed she snapped back to reality, her eyes once again shining with life. She propped herself up on the edge of the bed and stared intently at Xu Nian.

“I want to eat something.”

Xu Nian’s face grew even grimmer.

*****

Ye Qingchang’s hand was still raised mid-wave, watching Yang Shuli drag Xu Nian into the room without so much as a glance back at her.

She was sure she hadn’t been mistaken—the two of them were a rare pair anywhere, and even Xu Nian had looked back at her once.

But her dorm leader ignored her completely, not even turning her head as she disappeared into the room.

Such rude children.

Pouting, Ye Qingchang wanted to turn and return to her own room.

She spent quite some time making excuses for the messages from her electronic pet. She was already exhausted.

Suddenly, a strange, terrifying aura swept over her, causing her entire body to tremble uncontrollably.

She looked down the hotel corridor toward the stairwell, where someone was standing.

The golden hair that had been dried by the sun on the beach was now soaked through by the heavy rain. His freshly changed clothes were drenched as well, and he held a beach mat in his arms.

The beautiful eyes beneath that golden hair seemed to harbor endless fury.

It was as if the wrath of the heavens had descended in all its terrifying glory.

Ye Qingchang felt something was seriously wrong and immediately ran back to her room to close the door.

But just before she could shut it, the rolled-up beach mat was tossed at her by Liu Xie, jamming the door open just enough to buy some time.

Then Liu Xie stood blocking the doorway.

“Do you know how desperate I was when I woke up and found no one beside me and it was still pouring rain?”

“I don’t know. Actually, I sleepwalked just now and accidentally came to the hotel,” Ye Qingchang was struggling to hold on.

“Then tell me, why is your body dry? Not a single drop of rain on you?”

Liu Xie squeezed his head through the door crack, staring at the nearly exhausted Ye Qingchang.

“here’s, Jonny!”