Spring Night of Misty Rain - Chapter 35

Compared to the exhaustion of her previous depressive episode, this time Shen Zeyu was clearly more aggressive.

Before Xu Luosu could say a word, Shen Zeyu leaned down, cupped Xu Luosu’s buttocks with both hands, engaged her core, and lifted her up with gritted teeth.

Xu Luosu was scared to death. Her arms hooked around Shen Zeyu’s neck as she cried out, “Wait… wait a minute… hey… Senior Sister… Senior Sister…”

Ignoring her, Shen Zeyu held her legs and carried her toward the elevator. Xu Luosu was terrified that they would both fall, so she had no choice but to comply, clinging to her like a koala on a tree. However, the “tree” was too slender, and the “koala” was a bit too long; even though Xu Luosu tried her best not to shift her weight onto Shen Zeyu, they still looked precariously balanced, a sight that would make anyone’s heart jump.

As they stumbled toward the elevator, the assistant, Cai Yi, stood outside the door, dumbstruck. It took her a moment to recover before she pushed their luggage inside. Shen Zeyu, walking in front, heard the footsteps of the others and snapped her head back. Her gaze was sharp and defensive, causing Cai Yi to stop in her tracks instantly.

Shen Zeyu frowned, her voice icy: “Get out!”

Whenever she was in this state, she was like a nesting hawk, loathing anyone who set foot in her territory. Cai Yi was terrified by her gaze and instinctively looked to Xu Luosu. Xu Luosu, still hanging on her, signaled for her to leave. Cai Yi gave an “OK” sign and silently slipped out of the villa.

With no outsiders left, Shen Zeyu carried Xu Luosu into the elevator to the second floor. She kicked open the door to her room and headed straight for the closet. She leaned down and placed Xu Luosu inside the closet, which was padded with blankets, then knelt halfway before her. She used her hand to brush aside the girl’s loose bangs, her eyes remaining a constant, pained red.

Xu Luosu looked up and surveyed the room. The curtains were drawn tight, and the interior was very dark. There wasn’t a single blanket on the bed; they all seemed to have been dragged into the closet.

Sitting on the soft “bed,” Xu Luosu looked up at Shen Zeyu. “Have you been sleeping in the closet all this time?”

Shen Zeyu nodded. She pressed her hands against Xu Luosu’s shoulders, pinning her down. “Sleep.”

The closet was only 1.5 meters long—not nearly enough for Xu Luosu to lie down. When she reclined, half her body was in the closet while her feet rested on the floor. Wrapped in a wool blanket, Shen Zeyu knelt on the floor and sprawled across the girl’s chest, pinning her so she couldn’t move.

Xu Luosu was a bit uncomfortable. She had just stepped off a plane, travel-worn and likely not smelling her best, and Shen Zeyu was so close…

Xu Luosu lowered her gaze to the fluffy head burrowed in her arms and raised a hand to stroke her hair. “Have you been eating properly these past few days?”

Shen Zeyu was exhausted. Hearing Xu Luosu’s voice, she reached up and covered the girl’s mouth. “Sleep.” The implication was clear: Shut up and sleep with me.

Xu Luosu had researched a lot of data; when a depressive episode strikes, there is no logic to be found. Usually, the patient’s consciousness isn’t fully clear, but their territorial biological instinct is very strong.

Xu Luosu thought for a moment, removed Shen Zeyu’s hand from her mouth, and wrapped her arms around the woman. She gently rubbed her black hair, her tone softening significantly: “But I’m so hungry. I just got off the plane and haven’t eaten a thing…”

She sat up slightly and whispered in Shen Zeyu’s ear, “Let me take a shower first. We’ll eat together, and then I’ll stay and sleep with you, okay? Don’t worry, I definitely won’t leave.”

Her voice was like a gentle spring breeze, smoothing over the rough scars and pain on Shen Zeyu’s body. Shen Zeyu looked up, her eyes misty with sleep. “Do you have to?”

In the dim closet, Xu Luosu cupped her face with both hands, her expression tender. “But I’m so hungry…”

“Fine.” Shen Zeyu suppressed her irritation and reluctantly climbed off her, kneeling on the floor. “Then go take a shower.”

Xu Luosu stood up and rubbed her cheek. “Wait for me a moment. I’ll go get my suitcase and come back up.”

She was about to head out the door when her pant leg was suddenly grabbed. Xu Luosu looked down and saw Shen Zeyu sitting on the floor draped in a blanket, pointing at her own clothes: “Wear mine.”

Xu Luosu tried to resist: “But—”

Shen Zeyu reached out, pulled down an oversized black silk shirt, and handed it to her. “Go shower.”

The commanding tone left Xu Luosu with no choice. Under these circumstances, she knew it was best not to provoke Shen Zeyu. She let out a long sigh and answered, “Alright.”

She took Shen Zeyu’s shirt and a pair of disposable underwear into the bathroom. Amidst the sound of rushing water, she called out to Shen Zeyu, who was crouching outside the door: “What do you want to eat? How about some seafood congee? Or do you want eel rice?”

Outside the bathroom door, Shen Zeyu crouched in the corner, draped in her blanket and nodding off. With Xu Luosu talking to her, she felt she had to respond, so she said drowsily, “I don’t know. I don’t want to eat, I want to sleep. Hurry up and wash, then come sleep with me.”

She actually hadn’t eaten in three days, but she had absolutely no appetite. She only wanted to sleep—sleep until the end of time. Xu Luosu was talking too much; she was tired of listening. Drowsiness made her impatient, and her tone became forceful.

The voice from the bathroom suddenly vanished. After a long while, Xu Luosu continued, “Then how about eel rice? I’ll have Cai Yi buy it and bring it over, okay?”

Shen Zeyu wrapped her arms around her knees, leaning her head down, and grumbled, “No!”

Xu Luosu tried another option: “Then Boatman’s congee?”

“I don’t like it.”

“Rice noodle rolls?”

“I hate those!”

“Just soy milk then, surely that’s fine?”

“I don’t like that either!”

“Then—”

The more Xu Luosu asked, the more annoyed Shen Zeyu became. “Why aren’t you finished washing yet?! Argh, hurry up! Otherwise, I’m coming in to wash you myself!”

She was fed up—not a single thing was going her way! Shen Zeyu snapped completely. A moment later, the sound of water stopped, and the “whirring” of a hairdryer began.

Hearing this, Shen Zeyu flew into a rage: “You’re not allowed to dry your hair in there! Come out here and dry it!”

Perhaps because she was usually too gentle and rarely showed emotion, her sudden increase in volume and violent irritability seemed exceptionally frightening. The hairdryer in the bathroom stopped. A moment later, footsteps approached, the bathroom door opened, and a thick scent of White Peach Oolong washed over Shen Zeyu.

Shen Zeyu looked up, following the lines of the girl’s perfect, fair legs upward until she saw a bright, moving face. Xu Luosu stood leaning against the bathroom door with her wet hair and the hairdryer, looking down at Shen Zeyu with an aggrieved expression. “You’re so mean.”

As she said this, Xu Luosu bent over and handed her the hairdryer. “Dry my hair for me.”

Shen Zeyu was lazy to the bone and didn’t want to do it at all. But since Xu Luosu had asked, she couldn’t refuse. She took the hairdryer, made Xu Luosu sit on the bed, and began drying her hair. Under the warmth of the air, the scent of the hair products dispersed. The familiar fragrance enveloped Shen Zeyu, causing her aggression to fade slightly.

Xu Luosu sat on the bed, handling work messages on her phone. She was only wearing the black shirt, which barely reached the tops of her thighs. Two buttons at the top were undone; if one looked down, they could see the spring scenery of her chest.

Shen Zeyu, standing beside her drying her hair, saw her playing with her phone and felt another spark of nameless anger. “Why do you love playing with your phone so much!”

While holding the hairdryer in one hand, she reached out with the other to snatch the phone, then tossed it to the side. “No playing with your phone!”

Xu Luosu looked up at her, looking helpless. “I’m just working.”

Shen Zeyu snapped, “No working either!”

Ordinary people with a fever or a cold become emotionally extreme; Shen Zeyu, suffering from mental illness, was even more prone to losing her reason. Xu Luosu didn’t know what to say to her, so she sighed and opened her arms to pull Shen Zeyu into an embrace.

Shen Zeyu’s movements froze. She looked down at the girl, only to see Xu Luosu looking up at her with tender eyes. “Alright, I won’t play. I’ll stay with you properly.”

Shen Zeyu: “…”

Shen Zeyu gave a huff and went back to drying her hair. Xu Luosu’s hair was long and thick; by the time it was fully dry, half an hour had passed.

By then, Cai Yi had moved Xu Luosu’s suitcase into her room and had delivered the eel rice and congee. But Shen Zeyu wanted to sleep, not eat. She pulled Xu Luosu back to the closet. This time she changed positions, lying sideways and curling up in the closet while holding Xu Luosu firmly in her arms, forcing the girl to lie with her.

The familiar scent filled her embrace, seeming to glue her shattered heart back together. Shen Zeyu was very satisfied. Holding the woman in her arms, she took a deep breath and said decisively, “Sleep!”

Lying in her arms and being held so tightly, Xu Luosu felt a very strange sensation. She was tall; since childhood, she had always been the one hugging others. People like Wang Wenqing and Zhang Jia had all been held in her arms and teased mercilessly. But this experience of being held by someone else was a first.

Strangely, she didn’t hate Shen Zeyu’s dominance. Rather, the dominance felt just right. Warm breath spilled against her ear. Xu Luosu felt hot all over. It was hard to turn over in the narrow closet. She curled her body and asked in a small voice, “Why don’t we sleep on the bed?”

The sheets in the villa were as white as hospital beds, always making her visualize her father’s funeral—rows upon rows of people in black clothes and white armbands. Shen Zeyu felt a bit afraid, and she gave a particularly haunting answer: “Because there are too many people on the bed. It’s not safe.”

Xu Luosu’s pupils trembled. She raised her hand and clasped the hand Shen Zeyu was using to hold her. “Are they only on this bed? If that’s the case… do you want to go to my bed?”

Shen Zeyu tilted her head, looking confused. “Huh?”

Xu Luosu turned slightly, brushed back Shen Zeyu’s bangs, and looked her straight in the eye. “The closet is too small; I can’t really turn around. If you’re afraid of people being on the bed, you won’t have to be afraid with me staying with you. So… let’s go to my room, okay?”