Li Feiling stayed outside for another fifteen minutes. Sunk into her own thoughts, she worried about what might happen next. As she re-entered the hotel though, her eyebrows furrowed and frown deepened as she noticed a cracked wine glass sitting in the trash can.
At least it's not strewn across the floor...
Strolling through the upper floor and to the elevator, she patted her waist. A faint smile of relief flashed across her eyes as her fingers traced the outline of her pepper spray. Though an evening dress, she’d commissioned this outfit to have a few secret pockets—ones able to hold a few insurance measures for late night conversations.
Once she arrived by the elevators, she pulled out her phone to pass a few moments. After flicking through a few apps, she paused with her finger above the screen. A second later, she opened a messaging app as the elevator dinged. The doors slid open, and she walked in. One hand pressed a floor button while the other typed on her phone.
[Are you still awake, Xia Ruyun?]
Only a couple seconds passed before her phone buzzed, on it, a message glowed.
[Yeah. Everything alright?]
Typing out a quick response, she sent it out as her elevator came to a stop.
[Can I come over for a second?]
[Sure]
Li Feiling, unable to resist smiling, pressed the button for another floor as the elevator’s doors closed once more to take her downward.
---
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The door opened, revealing Xia Ruyun dressed in sleepwear. Faced with Li Feiling in exquisite makeup and an evening dress, she flinched for a moment before a quiet apology slipped through her lips.
“Don’t worry about it,” Li Feiling laughed, closing the door behind her as she entered the hotel room. “You keep your room well-organized, I respect it.”
Xia Ruyun murmured a “Thank you” as she walked over to the counter and grabbed a steeping teapot. She put the teapot down on the small coffee table she had dragged in front of the couch. Patting the spot next to her, she poured out two cups of tea as Li Feiling walked over with a smile tugging at her lips. “How are you? Is everything alright? He didn’t do anything, right? Were you too harsh?”
Taking a seat beside Xia Ruyun, Li Feiling tapped her chin for a moment as a smile sprouted on her lips. She looks so cute when she’s worried... but I shouldn’t say that.
She extended her arm and laid it across the back of the couch. Shaking her head and crossing her legs, she reached over with her other hand to grab the tea Xia Ruyun had poured for her. “Don’t worry, I’m just fine. I don’t think I was too harsh. He seemed to take it... decently.”
Xia Ruyun motioned for her to keep talking.
“Well, I came to find you because I’m just a little worried about him. You know, we’ve both been near him a lot recently because of all the scenes we’ve been in together,” Li Feiling mused as her fingers tapped against the cup’s side. Staring up at the ceiling, she mentioned the broken wine glass before sighing. “I can’t say much though right now, since I’m the cause of it all. So, could you go check in on him tomorrow morning? He deserves the care. Plus, by now, I’m pretty sure you’re closer to him than me. You’re a friend while I’m more of an... idealistic dream he chased.”
“Sure...” Xia Ruyun’s eyebrows creased. She stared into the teacup while pondering where Wu Linjie might end up tomorrow.
“Also, take this,” Li Feiling pulled pepper spray out from her dress’s hidden pocket. With Xia Ruyun taking it with a grateful nod, she shifted her hip with a grin. “Didn’t expect this dress to have pockets, right? Kinda crazy, but it’s from a commission.”
“Interesting,” Xia Ruyun nodded with an eyebrow-raise before making a mental note to commission some of her own. “I have pepper spray though, are you sure you don't want to keep this?”
“It’s a gift from me,” Li Feiling blew a kiss while winking.
Silence...
A second later both of them snorted and laughed before Li Feiling wiped a fake tear. “No reaction at all? What a shame... A-Anyway, where is this tea from, it tastes great.”
“From a place called Leaves of Dawn, I decided to buy it on a whim, but I’ve been loving their leaves. They taste divine,” Xia Ruyun shrugged, deciding to not mention how her heart fluttered for a moment as their conversation began to digress. A quiet atmosphere filled the room as gentle conversation flowed between the two of them. The dim lighting let sleepiness seep in, and, by the time 2 am rolled around, Xia Ruyun had dozed off while leaning against Li Feiling’s shoulder.
“What to do...” Li Feiling smiled to herself as she stared down out the window and off into space.
A few minutes of pondering later, she eased herself out from under Xia Ruyun. Unsure as to whether she could lift Xia Ruyun to the bed without waking her up, she instead elected to lower her bit by bit until she laid flat on the couch; pillow under the head and blanket over the body.
After tidying the tea up, she turned back to look at Xia Ruyun one last time before slipping out of the hotel room. Her heels tapped against the elevator’s metal floor as she savored the late night’s peacefulness.
Ding.
The elevator doors eased open and Li Feiling walked out. As her figure disappeared down the hall, her hand wandered to her still-warm, exposed shoulder. “What are these feelings? And why does the night feel so much more lonely...”
---
4:41 am.
A loud stream of expletives punctured the sound of sobbing. On the desk sat a laptop, its screen displaying the remnants of an ill-advised trip to certain online forums. In the bathroom, a man with disheveled blond hair stared at himself. Sweaty with bloodshot eyes and tear-soaked cheeks, he fell quiet. His shoulders fell as he took a deep breath.
Sleepless nights were never fun.
He pressed his hands against his face and he closed his eyes. His eyebrows creased as intrusive thoughts tortured him and kept him awake. After reading forums, he’d been unable to cleanse his mind of the horrific strategies they peddled.
Why did I read them...
How is drugging someone the bare minimum?
He knew their immorality and he recognized their condemnable nature, but... but his irrational desperate side clung onto them like the last embers of hope. Shouting out another loud expletive, he couldn’t help but murmur. “Why am I thinking like this... Why... Why can’t my brain shut up...”
He grimaced as darkness began seeping into his mind. With every new delusion, his mind spiraled as his rational mind lost more and more ground against sleep deprivation. “Why did it turn out like this?”
His thoughts took him to the glass wall. Pressing his hand against it, he stared out into the still dark outside world. Like the cars racing through the night causing dots of light to flash across his eyes, thought after thought roared through his mind.
Wu Linjie stood in silence. Motionless for hours. At times, tears would fall once more as reality reared its ugly head. At other times, expletives would leak out as he fought himself. His eyes darkened as the sky brightened. A deep frown etched itself across his lips as the world began to stir. After dragging himself away from the window, he grimaced and clutched his head.