Night fell.
Su Ci watched Lu Zhe preparing dinner in the kitchen. She walked over and offered, "Do you need any help?"
He coldly refused, "No."
Lu Zhe was wearing a blue and white summer school uniform. The young man looked both handsome and youthful. Su Ci was used to seeing him in suits, so seeing him in a school uniform gave her a sense of novelty.
Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at him.
Lu Zhe skillfully stir-fried the vegetables. When he reached for an empty plate, Su Ci had already obediently handed it to him.
He glanced at her briefly.
There was no dining table in the living room, so Lu Zhe brought out a foldable table from the small storage room and set it up.
Noticing that Lu Zhe's legs seemed to be giving him trouble, Su Ci quietly went to the kitchen to fetch a damp cloth and began wiping the table. After finishing, she looked at Lu Zhe with hopeful eyes, seeking praise, but the young man didn't even glance at her. Instead, he silently went back to the kitchen to bring out the dishes.
Lu Zhe had only prepared two simple dishes: scrambled eggs with tomatoes and stir-fried cucumber with sliced pork.
Su Ci wasn't picky and ate obediently.
The dining table was eerily quiet.
As she ate, she occasionally stole glances at Lu Zhe.
His condition seemed worse than she had ever seen before. His face was pale and slightly sunken, with a noticeable sickly appearance.
Su Ci pursed her lips. Over the past few years, Lu Zhe's condition had been stable after taking medication. A week before she had arrived, his illness had been completely cured.
She had almost forgotten how he looked when he was sick.
Lu Zhe ignored Su Ci's scrutinizing gaze. He ate quickly but not messily. After finishing, he cleared the dishes and took them to the kitchen, leaving Su Ci no chance to help.
Su Ci felt as though she had gone back to the time when she first met Lu Zhe.
No, back then, Lu Zhe knew she was a transformed rabbit. He hadn't been this cold and distant. Now, he was indifferent, not even sparing her a glance.
To Su Ci, whether it was the Lu Zhe from her previous life or this one, they were the same person.
She had been spoiled and cherished by Lu Zhe for so long that his sudden coldness was hard to bear.
Su Ci propped her chin on one hand and tried to communicate with Fu Gui again, but there was no response.
Lu Zhe finished washing the dishes quickly. By the time he came out, Su Ci had finished her daydreaming.
She stood up and looked at him with shimmering eyes. "I'll go clean the storage room."
She really didn't want to clean, but the way he looked at her with such unfamiliarity made her hold back from acting cute and asking to sleep with him.
"Mm," Lu Zhe responded briefly before heading back to his room.
Su Ci bit her lip and went to open the door to the small storage room.
Inside, there were a few cardboard boxes, a broken chair, and a metal shelf. The room hadn't been opened for a long time, and it smelled damp and musty.
Su Ci sighed. She didn't mind too much since Lu Zhe had slept here before, and so could she.
She started by moving the cardboard boxes out. The boxes had been sitting there for a long time, and as soon as she touched them, her hands were covered in dust.
Su Ci puffed out her cheeks and continued moving the boxes.
Next, she moved the broken chair out. Finally, there was only the heavy two-meter-tall metal shelf left.
Su Ci, who was used to being pampered, had never done much housework or heavy lifting. The weight of the metal shelf was too much for her.
As she struggled to move it, her finger accidentally brushed against a sharp edge of the shelf, and it immediately started bleeding.
The sharp pain made Su Ci frown. She looked at her dirty, bleeding finger and felt frustrated.
In his room, Lu Zhe was lifting dumbbells. The numbness in his arms was getting worse. Although exercising didn't help with his ALS, or perhaps it was completely futile, he remained disciplined and continued to work out every day.
A knock on the door interrupted his routine. Lu Zhe paused, put down the dumbbells, and went to open the door.
Su Ci stood there, her beautiful brows furrowed, her eyes glistening with tears, and her face full of grievance.
Seeing him, she held out her hand and said in a pitiful voice, "Lu Zhe, I'm hurt. I'm bleeding a lot."
Her small hand, covered in dust, had a red cut on one finger, with blood seeping out.
"I hurt myself while moving things. It really hurts," she said. The pain was real, but it was within her tolerance. She exaggerated it for Lu Zhe's benefit.
"Wait a moment," Lu Zhe said, turning back into his room. He returned with a first aid kit and handed it to her.
Su Ci didn't take it. Instead, she said pitifully, "I can't bandage it myself with one hand."
Lu Zhe was silent for a moment before picking up the first aid kit and walking out.
Su Ci sat down on the sofa and automatically stretched out her hands to Lu Zhe. Both hands were dirty, covered in dust.
Lu Zhe gestured for her to wash her hands first.
Su Ci blinked and said matter-of-factly, "You should wash them for me. I can't do it with one hand injured."
When Lu Zhe didn't respond, she snorted lightly, "You've held my hand before, kissed me, and done even more intimate things. Washing my hands shouldn't be a big deal. What are you hesitating for?"
Lu Zhe's dark eyes stared at her intently. "That wasn't me."
Su Ci retorted, "The you from the next life is still you."
It was just a matter of time. To her, they were the same person. She wouldn't stop loving him just because this was a younger version of him.
No matter how many lifetimes, as long as he was Lu Zhe, she would always love him.
Lu Zhe didn't respond. Instead, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the kitchen. He placed her hand under the running water.
Su Ci suppressed a smile and continued to complain, "It's not clean yet. You should scrub my hand."
Lu Zhe remained silent. He bent down, his cold hands gently holding hers under the water, and began to scrub lightly.
Soon, her hand was clean and fair again.
Lu Zhe casually handed her a tissue to dry her hands.
Back on the sofa, Su Ci stretched out her clean hand to Lu Zhe again, asking him to apply the medicine.
Her hand was soft and delicate, with slender, pale fingers and a faint pink hue at the tips. It was beautiful and refined.
Lu Zhe dipped a cotton swab in disinfectant and applied it to her wound.
The sting made Su Ci flinch.
"Does it hurt?" Lu Zhe asked.
"Of course it hurts. It's such a big cut," Su Ci said, looking at her finger. The skin was broken, and her finger no longer looked perfect.
Lu Zhe glanced at the wound again. It was just a small cut, not deep at all. If it were on him, he wouldn't have paid much attention to it.
He suddenly realized how delicate Su Ci was.
"Alright, be careful when you wash your hands," Lu Zhe said, letting go of her hand and packing up the first aid kit before heading back to his room.
Su Ci was stunned. Was he just going to leave her like that?
Then she saw Lu Zhe come out of his room again. He went into the storage room, moved the metal shelf for her, and started sweeping the floor.
Compared to Su Ci's snail-like pace, Lu Zhe quickly cleaned up the storage room.
The room was aired out, and the damp smell lessened, but the air inside was still unpleasant.
Su Ci stood nearby, her dark eyes fixed on Lu Zhe as he worked. She eagerly asked, "Are you thirsty? Should I get you some water?"
"No," Lu Zhe replied curtly.
Somehow, Lu Zhe had brought out a foldable bed. Su Ci recognized it immediately—it was the same bed Lu Zhe used to sleep on, and she had slept on it too, though back then, she had insisted on sleeping with him.
Lu Zhe's voice was cool as he said, "You can sleep in my room. I'll sleep here."
Su Ci wasn't having it. She couldn't bear the thought of Lu Zhe sleeping in the storage room again. She grabbed his shirt with her uninjured hand and said, "Then let's sleep together."
"No," Lu Zhe refused outright.
Su Ci gave him a sidelong glance. "The smell in here is bad for your health. Just move the foldable bed back to your room. We can sleep in the same room but not the same bed. What are you afraid of?"
Lu Zhe didn't respond.
Su Ci didn't want to give him time to think. "Are you worried I'll do something to you? But every time we've slept together, it's always you who took advantage of me."
Lu Zhe gave her an awkward look. She really had no filter.
Finally, Lu Zhe was worn down by Su Ci's persistence. He moved the folding bed into his room. The space in his room wasn’t large, so he could only place the folding bed side by side with his own bed.
Su Ci also walked in, her eyes scanning the room. A sense of familiarity washed over her—nothing about the decor had changed.
Even Lu Zhe's bed still had the same dull, gray-toned bedsheet.
"Lu Zhe, I want to take a shower," Su Ci said as she sat down on the edge of the bed. She looked up at him, busy adjusting the folding bed. "I don’t have any clean clothes to change into, so I’ll have to wear yours."
Beside her, Lu Zhe paused, the pillow in his hands momentarily still.
Su Ci was familiar with everything in this house. When she stepped out of the shower, her body was still warm and damp, her face flushed pink, and her dark eyes glistening with moisture.
She was wearing one of Lu Zhe’s black T-shirts, the hem long enough to cover her thighs.
Su Ci pushed open the door to the room, facing Lu Zhe, who was sitting on the folding bed. "I’m done," she said.
Lu Zhe’s gaze inadvertently fell on her legs—slim, straight, and pale. Her delicate ankles were adorned with a clumsy, almost silly-looking little rabbit charm. Her petite feet were tucked into a pair of oversized blue slippers, making them appear even more dainty and delicate.
He quickly looked away, refusing to linger.
Su Ci shuffled over to the bed in the too-large slippers.
"I’m going to shower," Lu Zhe said, standing up. He grabbed the clothes he had prepared and limped out of the room, as if he couldn’t stay a moment longer.
As the night deepened, Lu Zhe returned from his shower to find Su Ci already lying in bed.
It was summer, and the heat was stifling. The room didn’t have an air conditioner, only a creaky oscillating fan.
Su Ci, feeling the heat, had forgone the blanket and was lying on her side.
When she saw Lu Zhe walk in, her eyes lit up. But before she could say anything, Lu Zhe flicked off the light, clearly not in the mood for conversation.
The room plunged into darkness.
Su Ci turned her body toward the folding bed. In the faint moonlight streaming through the window, she could see Lu Zhe lying flat on his back, one arm draped over his eyes.
The young man’s tall frame looked cramped on the folding bed. Su Ci shifted closer to him.
Reaching the edge of the bed, she whispered, "Lu Zhe, doesn’t it feel uncomfortable sleeping on the folding bed? We can switch if you want."
Lu Zhe refused outright. "No need."
Silence settled over the room again, broken only by the hum of the fan.
After a while, Su Ci’s voice broke the quiet. "Lu Zhe, are you asleep?"
Lu Zhe didn’t respond.
Su Ci pressed on. "Are you hot?"
This time, Lu Zhe answered. "No."
Su Ci knew he wasn’t sleeping. She propped herself up slightly. "Do you want to know what you’re like in the next life? Do you want to know about us?"
Lu Zhe remained silent.
Su Ci, now intrigued, continued, "In the next life, you fall in love with me at first sight. You chase after me relentlessly. You’re so into me..."
Lu Zhe listened quietly as Su Ci rambled on about how much he adored her in this imagined future. But the boy beside her showed no reaction.
Su Ci deflated, lying back down on the bed. She lifted her legs slightly, her delicate feet arching in a way that was almost teasing. "Lu Zhe, I miss you."
"If it were you in the next life, you’d definitely be holding me right now," Su Ci murmured softly. "I want to go back."
On the folding bed, Lu Zhe lay with his eyes closed. The faint, sweet scent of Su Ci’s skin filled his senses.
His lips pressed into a thin line, but he still didn’t respond.
