Chapter 79: Want to Come Sleep in My Bed Tonight
After enjoying a late-night snack, Chen Mo and Su Yuqing stepped outside to find that a fine, drizzling rain had started to fall.
"Spring is almost over, and it’s still raining so much. We just had a huge downpour two days ago, and now it’s raining again."
A customer nearby grumbled, holding his briefcase over his head as he ran out.
Chen Mo and Su Yuqing exchanged a glance, then smiled at each other. Unbothered by the fine rain, they walked into the misty curtain together.
The fine drizzle wasn’t uncomfortable like a drenching downpour; instead, it created a certain kind of mood.
Raindrops fell from the eaves, shattering on the ground like a million tiny stars.
As Chen Mo took out his key to open the door, Su Yuqing subconsciously reached out to brush the raindrops from his shoulder.
Her fingertips brushed against the warm side of his neck, and both of them froze.
Chen Mo suddenly turned, his fingertips hovering half an inch before her face as he wiped away a raindrop from her cheek.
The girl instinctively closed her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering like the wings of a butterfly.
The warmth from the pad of his finger traveled through the cool moisture, so gentle and comforting.
The motion-sensor light in the hallway flickered, melding their shadows into a single, intimate form.
Back inside the quiet of the apartment, standing just inches apart, they could feel their own breathing quicken.
Outside, they could look at each other with ease, but now, alone together late at night, their minds began to wander, making them both feel a little shy.
Chen Mo was the first to break the silence, the warm light from the entryway tracing his profile in gold. "We just ate. How about we watch an episode of something before bed?"
"Okay," Su Yuqing said with a nod and a smile.
After pouring two glasses of lemon honey water, Chen Mo came back and sat down beside Su Yuqing.
As Su Yuqing cupped the glass and took a small sip, the rich sweetness of honey mixed with the fresh tang of lemon spread across her tongue.
The blue light from the television made her profile flicker in and out of the darkness. A show called *Legal Focus Today* was playing.
"Last time, we discussed the family annihilation case. The crucial breakthrough was..."
Before the voice could finish, the suspenseful music swelled dramatically. The blanket on Su Yuqing’s lap slipped partway down, revealing her pale toes curled at the edge of the sofa.
Once the recap of the previous episode concluded, the show moved on to the current case: a rape, murder, and dismemberment. It opened immediately with a lightly censored crime scene photograph of the body.
At the sight, the girl swallowed a startled gasp and unconsciously grabbed Chen Mo’s cuff.
The fabric crumpled in her palm. Just as she realized and was about to let go, Chen Mo turned his hand over and gently enclosed hers within his.
Chen Mo’s thumb brushed over her flushed wrist. He teased, "Your pulse is racing faster than a killer’s when the murder weapon is discovered."
Su Yuqing was about to retort, but a sudden clap of spring thunder outside made her shrink an inch closer into Chen Mo’s side.
The moment the citrus scent of his body wash filled her senses, her fear began to subside.
The remote had fallen into the gap in the sofa. As Chen Mo leaned over and reached around Su Yuqing to retrieve it, his breath grazed the small red mole behind her ear, making her skin tingle.
After retrieving the remote, Chen Mo smiled and gently patted the top of her head. "Should we change the channel if you’re scared? This rerun of *Legal Focus Today* is analyzing the dismemberment case. It’s definitely a bit gruesome."
Su Yuqing looked up into his smiling eyes, feeling as if he were underestimating her. She shook her head stubbornly. "I’m not scared!"
She said the words, but her body betrayed her by snuggling a little closer to Chen Mo.
Chen Mo’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He took her restless hand and pressed it against his chest, right over his heart.
Feeling the steady, powerful beat of his heart, Su Yuqing was filled with a profound sense of security.
The warm wall lamp cast their two shadows onto the sofa, where they merged into one. As Chen Mo adjusted his posture, a rebellious little cowlick on top of Su Yuqing’s head brushed against his chin, tickling him.
The moment the documentary showed a close-up photo of the victim’s headless body, it looked horrifying, even with the light censorship.
Su Yuqing suddenly gripped the hem of Chen Mo’s school uniform, her knuckles pressing through the cotton fabric against his abs.
Chen Mo let out a muffled grunt. Placing his palm over the back of her cold hand, he noticed her fingertips were trembling. "Let’s not watch this anymore."
He had just started to reach for the remote when a sudden bolt of lightning outside illuminated every detail of Su Yuqing’s deathly pale face.
The instant Chen Mo turned off the TV with the remote, a deafening thunderclap exploded right over the balcony.
Su Yuqing threw herself into his arms, burying her head in his chest like an ostrich hiding in the sand.
’She seems to be terrified of thunder. No wonder she was so scared and helpless being home alone last Friday night.’
’So it wasn’t being home alone that scared her, but being home alone during a thunderstorm.’
’It’s just that last Friday, she hadn’t dared to get too close to me, so she’d been holding back.’
But after spending the last two days together, and especially after Chen Mo had recalled their childhood connection, Su Yuqing had grown much bolder around him.
In truth, it wasn’t just boys who worried about offending girls by being too forward or intimate.
Girls were the same way with boys; before a relationship was official, they would also be careful about the distance and degree of their physical contact.
So, no matter how terrified of the thunder Su Yuqing had been last Friday, she could only keep it to herself, not feeling it was appropriate to tell Chen Mo directly. And yet, Chen Mo had still been able to see her fear.
’I was only gone for about two hours, but she had been on the sofa, restlessly fidgeting with her feet. She had been terrified of the thunder, but also worried because I wasn’t home yet.’
’If I had been home, both of those anxieties would have been eased.’
Only now, at this very moment, did Chen Mo truly understand the depth of Su Yuqing’s fear of thunder.
Watching Su Yuqing tremble in his arms, he didn’t know why she was so terrified of thunder, but he suspected it had to be connected to something from her childhood.
’Otherwise, a normal person, even one who was afraid of thunder, wouldn’t be *this* terrified.’
’This is beyond a normal level of fear.’
’It’s more like a terrible memory has been awakened, leaving her anxious and terrified.’
The hem of Su Yuqing’s school uniform shirt had ridden up, revealing a sliver of her pale waistline.
Chen Mo pulled her shirt back down. His hand hovered in the air for a moment before finally resting gently on the ridge of her spine between her prominent shoulder blades. He pulled her closer into his embrace and began to soothe her.
The girl in his arms was like a startled fawn, and her damp hair still carried the faint aroma of green onions from the wonton noodles at Xu’s.
"You’re so scared... want to come sleep in my bed tonight?" Chen Mo joked, trying to lighten the mood.
But then Su Yuqing lifted her gaze to meet his. Her trembling eyelashes were like ripples on moonlit water, and her eyes truly held a trace of hope.
In the end, though, she just shook her head. "I’m okay now."
Some things were just a confusing mix of anticipation, nervousness, and shyness.
The desires of the heart weren’t always so easy to speak aloud.