Dark clouds loom over the city, threatening to crush it; the wind howls through the towers, heralding the coming storm.
Outside the restaurant, a fierce wind had risen, and it seemed a downpour was imminent.
Xu Yu supported the utterly drunk Liao Zhiping as they made their way out, with Su Anxi following behind. Lao Cai, seeing this, hurried over to meet them.
“Drunk?” Lao Cai glanced at the clothes Su Anxi was wearing, then turned to Xu Yu and couldn’t help but ask.
“Mm.” Xu Yu lifted his gaze to meet Lao Cai’s eyes and said to him, “Put today’s meal on my tab. I’ll settle it later.”
Lao Cai waved his hand and chuckled, “As if I’m afraid you’ll run off. Really, just take care of your friend.”
Xu Yu nodded. “Alright, we’re off.”
“Take it slow!” Lao Cai stepped forward to help hold the door curtain aside.
“I’ll go hail a taxi,” Su Anxi said, then dashed out ahead of them. The biting cold wind swept up from her feet, making her shiver inwardly. She tightened the oversized jacket wrapped around her.
Lao Cai walked alongside Xu Yu, watching the girl standing by the curb waving for a taxi. He smiled faintly. “She’s even wearing the girl’s clothes, and you still say you’re just friends.”
Xu Yu looked up, following Lao Cai’s gaze. Under the dim streetlights, the tall, slender figure was wrapped in a loose jacket that covered half her thighs, revealing only the hem of her skirt.
Below the skirt, her shapely, slender white legs were exposed to the air, shimmering under the light.
In truth, from the moment Su Anxi walked through the restaurant door, he had noticed every male in the room watching her—including himself, utterly captivated.
This was what they called the passage of time, transforming the once graceful young girl into the mature, alluring woman she was now.
So, even without her uniform, she could wear something this short?
A flicker of irritation crossed his mind, prompting him to stand up and greet her.
“It’s starting to rain. Go back inside,” Xu Yu said, avoiding a direct response to Lao Cai’s remark as two sudden raindrops snapped him back to reality.
“Alright, I’ll head in then. Be careful on the road,” Lao Cai replied without further ado, turning and walking back inside.
“Xu Yu,” Su Anxi called out after flagging down a taxi and pulling open the car door.
The raindrops were beginning to turn into streaks, and the wind grew increasingly fierce. Xu Yu hurriedly supported Liao Zhiping, taking three steps in two as he quickly made his way over.
He stuffed the already dead-to-the-world Liao Zhiping into the back seat, then looked up at Su Anxi and instructed, “You take the front. I’ll look after him.”
Su Anxi nodded, opened the passenger door, and got in. The rear door closed shortly after.
“Armed Police Hospital,” Su Anxi gave the address, and the taxi merged into the traffic.
Before long, rain began pelting against the windows and roof with a fierce, clattering sound. Droplets fogged the windshield, blurring her vision.
Su Anxi glanced into the rearview mirror at the two men in the back seat. In the semi-darkness, Liao Zhiping lay sprawled, mouth agape, snoring loudly. Beside him, Xu Yu wore only a black short-sleeved shirt, his arms crossed over his chest.
Due to the lighting, only the clean, tense line of his jaw was visible. His handsome face was completely hidden in shadow, his expression unclear.
She lowered her head and tugged at the zipper of the jacket she was wearing, pursing her lips. The faint scent of tobacco and fresh laundry detergent clung to the fabric—both belonging to the man behind her.
“Wife, come give your husband a hug,” Liao Zhiping’s voice suddenly broke the quiet of the car from the back seat.
Su Anxi looked toward the rearview mirror, her eyes widening as she saw Liao Zhiping draped entirely over Xu Yu's shoulder, hands already wandering.
"Wifey, hey, wifey, why are your boobs so hard?" Liao Zhiping's hands kneaded Xu Yu's chest, his expression and tone utterly asking for a beating.
"Pfft…" Su Anxi couldn't hold back, a snort of laughter escaping her.
The taxi driver, unfazed, chuckled as well. "Ah, you young people these days—can't hold your liquor but drink like there's no tomorrow. Get drunk and you'll hug and kiss anyone, man or woman, whether you know them or not. Look how inappropriate this is…"
No sooner had he finished speaking than another sound came from the back seat. "Pretty wifey, come give your hubby a kiss, muah… mwah…"
Hearing this, Su Anxi quickly turned to look, her lips curling into a smile as tears of laughter welled up in her eyes.
In the back, Xu Yu had planted a hand against Liao Zhiping's right cheek, pressing his left face firmly and unceremoniously against the window glass. Between them stretched Xu Yu's long arm, its muscle lines taut and defined.
"Don't let him drink anymore," Xu Yu calmly reminded Su Anxi.
Su Anxi cleared her throat quietly, suppressing her amusement, and said to Xu Yu, "Sorry, this is the first time I've seen him like this."
Xu Yu looked at Su Anxi, suddenly quirking one corner of his lips, though his tone turned cold. "If anyone should apologize, it's not you."
Su Anxi was inexplicably silenced, the lighthearted moment from earlier now shattered by the current atmosphere.
She turned back around, sat properly, and said nothing more.
Outside the car window, rain pattered and poured; the wipers swished left, right, left, back and forth.
The car stopped beside the dormitory building next to the Armed Police Hospital. Su Anxi leaned forward to check the rain, which showed no sign of letting up, then turned to Xu Yu and said, "I'll help him inside. Sorry for the trouble today."
"Mm." Xu Yu opened the car door and, seeing Su Anxi also get out, pulled Liao Zhiping straight out and pushed him toward her.
Su Anxi had seriously underestimated the dead weight of a drunkard. She lost her balance and stumbled sideways. Seeing this, Xu Yu reached out from behind to steady her, the sudden force at her waist and back helping her regain her footing.
Then, Xu Yu glanced at Su Anxi without a word, simply swung an arm, crouched slightly, and hoisted Liao Zhiping onto his back. Carrying the man, he headed inside.
Su Anxi's eyes widened briefly before she quickly turned to pay the taxi driver. Then, holding her bag over her head, she hurried after him.
Liao Zhiping lived on the first floor. Su Anxi fished the keys from his pocket to unlock the door, stepping aside to let Xu Yu enter first before following him in and closing the door.
Xu Yu dumped Liao Zhiping onto the bed, stood by the bedside with hands on hips to take a look, then turned to Su Anxi, who had just walked in. "You go out first."
Su Anxi glanced at Liao Zhiping lying on the bed, then shifted her gaze to Xu Yu. "You're not planning to beat him up, are you?"
"I'm going to help him out of his wet clothes. Do you want to watch that too?"
"Then I'll go out first." Su Anxi turned and left, even closing the bedroom door behind her.
Su Anxi sat on the sofa, listening to the boiling sound from the water dispenser and the pitter-patter of rain drumming on the awning, her mind drifting.
Only when the tightly shut bedroom door opened and that tall figure emerged did she get up to fetch water, filling a transparent glass halfway with a brownish liquid.
"To prevent a cold," Su Anxi said, handing it to Xu Yu.
Xu Yu walked over and took it, his fingers brushing against hers. Seeing her flinch and withdraw her hand, he glanced at her, then tilted his head back and drank it all in one go.
"Leaving." He handed the cup to Su Anxi and headed toward the door.
"Wait a moment." Su Anxi noticed that Xu Yu's short hair and the nape of his neck were soaked with rainwater, while his back was relatively dry, likely because he had been carrying Liao Zhiping.
"Something else?" Xu Yu turned and stared at Su Anxi. Their eyes met, his deep and calm gaze still undisturbed by the storm.
Su Anxi placed the cup in her hand on the coffee table, then took off her jacket and walked over to hand it to Xu Yu. "Your clothes are wet. Let me find you something of Liao Zhiping's to wear for now."
Xu Yu took the jacket, but as Su Anxi started toward the bedroom, his brow furrowed. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed her slender wrist, saying, "No need."
"It's fine." Su Anxi smiled indifferently, pulling her wrist free from his large hand. As she reached for the doorknob, she continued, "Change into dry clothes so you don't catch a cold."
"I said no need." Xu Yu suddenly roared angrily, pulling Su Anxi aside and glaring at her intently. "What exactly do you want?"
Su Anxi froze, not expecting Xu Yu to lose his temper. She took a deep breath, her own chest burning with frustration. Lifting her head to meet his eyes, she suddenly fell silent.
"What do I want? Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Su Anxi curled her lips into a cold smile. A gust of wind blew in from the window, lingering on her body. A chill rose up her back, but she remained composed as she continued, "Xu Yu, from the first words you said to me at the landslide site that day, what exactly do you want?"
"I don't want anything," he replied.
"Good," she said.
Silence, stillness, as if separated by an eternity.
Xu Yu and Su Anxi looked at each other, the air between them freezing solid. Everything seemed fine on the surface, yet they had inadvertently touched each other's sore spots, allowing stubbornness to build an impenetrable wall between them.
Just like back then, in a scene eerily similar to this one, she said they should break up, and he said okay.
From then on, not another word was spoken. They went their separate ways, not seeing each other for nine years.
Neither of them knew that the breakup, which appeared calm on the surface, had left them both scarred and wounded, a pain so deep it felt like a matter of life and death.
Xu Yu turned around, jacket in hand, and opened the door. A draft of wind mixed with dampness rushed toward him, sending a bone-chilling cold through his entire body. His heart felt frozen, unable to beat.
He smiled mockingly to himself. Su Anxi, can't you just give in to me once? Just this once.
The door slammed shut from the outside. Su Anxi stood there in a daze, then suddenly burst into laughter. Amid the sound of the rain, her laughter grew louder and louder, her eyes growing redder and redder.
The clock on the wall ticked steadily, its hands marching backward as pieces of memory returned one by one to their box.
Those distant times were like candles, lit with a soft "sizzle"…
What exactly do you want?
That was exactly what she had asked him back then.