For some unknown reason.
The moment she saw him, the moment he actively asked about her situation, the grievance Shu Nian had been suppressing inexplicably surfaced again, and her eyes gradually reddened.
“Yes, he came over and scolded me for no reason,” Shu Nian hung her head, her voice nasal, handing him her phone to see, as if she was tattling, “My phone got dropped too.”
Xie Ruhe took her phone and examined it briefly. Noticing that the screen was somewhat unresponsive, he put his phone in Shu Nian’s hand and said softly, “Use this one for now.”
Shu Nian nodded.
Because they lingered, the elevator doors automatically closed and continued to ascend. Occasionally people passed by, their gazes unconsciously drawn to them, before quickly hurrying away.
Xie Ruhe checked her other hand and asked, “Besides here, are you injured anywhere else?”
Shu Nian shook her head, “No.”
Xie Ruhe turned to press the down button of the elevator and slowly exhaled, “What did he say to you?”
Shu Nian couldn’t bring herself to say it, and still kept her head down without making a sound.
Seeing this, Xie Ruhe slightly bent over, lowering his head to look at her. He tilted his head, meeting her gaze, the fierceness in his eyes gradually dissipating as he coaxed her softly, “Don’t be unhappy.”
Shu Nian sniffled, holding back her tears.
Xie Ruhe touched the corner of her eye with his fingertip, the corner of his mouth curving upward as he repeated in a gentle voice, “Nian Nian, don’t be unhappy.”
Shu Nian stared at him, her eyes round and large, with slightly downturned corners, like a little puppy. She looked up at him, with a faint mist of tears in her eyes, appearing utterly pitiful.
Xie Ruhe’s voice was slightly hoarse, his tone intimate yet cold.
“I’ll help you get rid of all the trash.”
The two left the building.
Shu Nian’s emotions had calmed down a bit.
Except for the harsh words Xu Zeyuan had said, which Shu Nian couldn’t bring herself to repeat, she roughly recounted everything else to Xie Ruhe: “I had just come out of the bathroom when he suddenly grabbed my wrist, and then…”
“Mm.”
“Later, Miao Man saw us.” Shu Nian rubbed her eyes hard. “They don’t seem to be a couple yet, probably Xu Zeyuan was still pursuing Miao Man. She came over, hit Xu Zeyuan, and scolded him.”
“Did she scold you too?”
“No.” Shu Nian honestly said, “She protected me, she’s a good person.”
Xie Ruhe made another sound of acknowledgment, “That’s good.”
“Anyway, it’s all over now, I didn’t suffer any real harm.” Shu Nian was silent for a while, then recalled Xie Ruhe’s words from earlier, “Don’t go looking for him.”
Xie Ruhe paused for a moment without responding.
Shu Nian sniffled, “We should just live our own lives.”
He lowered his eyes and casually agreed with a “fine.”
Shu Nian was led by Xie Ruhe toward the parking lot. She forcibly erased the previous events from her mind and changed the subject, “When I was in the recording studio, did you go home?”
“No.” Xie Ruhe pointed in a direction. “I was in that coffee shop.”
“You didn’t go back?”
“No.”
“…” Shu Nian’s mood sank again. “I feel like I’m taking up so much of your time.”
“Hmm?” Xie Ruhe didn’t see any problem with this, his tone indifferent, “If you don’t use it, wouldn’t it be wasted?”
Shu Nian asked, “But don’t you need to write songs?”
“I can write anywhere.”
When they reached the car, Xie Ruhe opened the passenger door for Shu Nian. After she got in, he closed the door and walked to the other side.
Sitting in the car, Shu Nian watched for his movements.
Xie Ruhe’s footsteps stopped as if he had seen someone, his gaze fixed on a certain spot. Not long after, he opened the car door and said to Shu Nian, “I’ll go buy you some milk tea.”
Shu Nian was stunned and said softly, “I don’t want any right now.”
Xie Ruhe asked, “Is there anything else you’d like to eat?”
“I want to eat a soy milk box.” Shu Nian had already fastened her seatbelt, but as she said this, she lowered her head trying to unfasten it, “I’ll go with you, and while we’re at it—”
“No need.” Xie Ruhe interrupted her, saying with an unchanged expression, “It’s too sunny outside, you wait here. I’ll be back soon.”
Shu Nian hesitantly withdrew her hand, looking at the blinding sunlight outside.
Then, she heard the sound of Xie Ruhe closing the car door.
Shu Nian watched his back through the window, wondering which dessert shops were nearby. She lowered her head, rummaged through her pocket, and took out the phone inside.
Seeing it, Shu Nian remembered that she and Xie Ruhe had exchanged phones.
Shu Nian hadn’t used Xie Ruhe’s phone much before and rarely touched it. Her brain suddenly short-circuited, and she habitually unlocked it with her fingerprint. To her surprise, it unlocked.
The screen showed their WeChat conversation.
Shu Nian’s expression froze, thinking that Xie Ruhe hadn’t set a lock screen.