A beautiful summer night

"Boom——"

Lightning flashed across the sky, followed three seconds later by a deafening clap of thunder, causing the French windows to tremble violently.

Jiang Baichuan saw Yun Li's bloodless face, filled with disgust and fear, through the lightning that had struck down earlier.

It's unclear whether her soul, startled by the thunder, returned to its place on its own, or whether Jiang Baichuan's call awakened her.

Tears streamed down her face, wetting Jiang Baichuan's hand that was cradling her face; they felt as if they could burn his skin.

She heard Jiang Baichuan's voice.

It was like grasping at a straw.

It was as if a glimmer of light had been seen in the darkness.

She remembered.

That voice once flashed by outside the equipment room door.

The tears came too quickly, like water bursting its banks, surging down and completely blurring her vision.

It turns out he once appeared in the memory he was desperately trying to forget.

It turns out that she and he had already formed a bond.

“Jiang Baichuan…”

Yunli sobbed uncontrollably: "Jiang Baichuan..."

“It’s me, I’m here, I’m here…” Jiang Baichuan patted her back to help her catch her breath, responding to her with his voice, while using his other hand to wipe away her tears haphazardly.

"I'm scared, I'm so scared!" Yunli sobbed, using all her strength to utter these words, "I hate it so much!"

She hated her cowardice in her youth, hated the injustice of fate, and hated that no one stood by her side.

Jiang Baichuan swallowed back the words "Don't be afraid, I'm here" that were on the tip of his tongue, realizing that Yun Li's fear wasn't about the present but about the past.

He wasn't there at that time.

He wasn't there when Yunli was most helpless.

It felt as if something had viciously pierced his chest. Jiang Baichuan remained silent, holding Yun Li tightly, a dangerous glint appearing in his gloomy eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, Yunli, who had suppressed this emotion for many years, finally found release tonight. She calmly left Jiang Baichuan's embrace and said palely, "Turn on the lights."

Jiang Baichuan had noticed her abnormality long ago.

Even if I don't say it tonight, I'll have to say it someday.

She didn't want to hide anything from Jiang Baichuan.

The lights came on. Yunli, who had just been crying her eyes out, had red and swollen eyes with tear stains still visible at the corners of her eyes. Jiang Baichuan returned to her side. Half of Yunli's clothes had been torn off, leaving half of her chest bare.

Ignoring his own safety, he sat down in front of Yunli and reached out to pull the blanket tighter around her.

No one broke the silence.

Yunli stared blankly at him, her tears welling up again and swirling in her eyes.

Jiang Baichuan panicked: "Don't cry, I won't do anything."

It would have been better if she hadn't said anything, because as soon as she did, tears started falling again, landing hard on the back of Jiang Baichuan's hand as he was about to wipe them away.

"Jiang Baichuan, you're disgusted with me." Yunli looked at him with teary eyes.

"No, no way, impossible." Jiang Baichuan denied it completely, only looking at her firmly. He had a lot to say, but when the words came to his lips, he didn't know which one to say first.

He said none of those statements were correct.

Yunli looked away and wiped away her tears with her own hand: "Then why didn't you hug me?"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Baichuan pulled her into a tighter embrace, his heavy breaths falling on her neck as if he were letting out a sigh of relief: "I was afraid you'd remember something unpleasant."

Yunli wanted to cry again, but she couldn't be bothered to stop. She couldn't control her tears, so she could only sob and say, "Jiang Baichuan, I think I'm sick. I'm not afraid of you, and I want to sleep with you, but I feel so disgusted..."

"I'm scared. I'm scared just thinking about the feeling of being touched..."

She explained, her voice trembling, using no words that were particularly obscure.

But it was precisely because of this that Jiang Baichuan understood what she meant.

"Do you think I'm with you just to sleep with you?" Jiang Baichuan's tone was heavy. This was the only time he hadn't comforted her when she was crying so hard. Instead, he grabbed her shoulders, forced her to look into his eyes, and then scolded and lectured her.

"Yunli, do you really think I'm a beast who only wants your beauty?"

Yunli sobbed, "Isn't that right?"

Jiang Baichuan: "..."

With a headache and furrowed brows, Jiang Baichuan opened his mouth weakly, his newly built-up momentum instantly shattered by Yun Li.

"No." His tone became calm, his eyes held a deep affection, and his attitude was very firm, forcing Yunli to look into his eyes. "Matters between men and women, if they exist, they are the icing on the cake; if they don't, it doesn't matter. Yunli, I only want you; nothing else matters."

Yunli shook her head: "It's important, everyone has desires..."

"What does it matter?" Jiang Baichuan said solemnly. "You can't accept me, but I can accept you. There are many ways to relieve desire. As long as you're willing to touch me, you can use your hand..."

He paused, his gaze deep, and gently lifted his finger to caress Yunli's lips: "Use this..."

"Slap—" Yunli forcefully knocked his hand away.

Jiang Baichuan realized he had gone astray, so he pulled her back into his arms and sighed heavily, "Don't be afraid."

Yunli opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Having cried so much that he seemed to have run out of tears, he slammed his head heavily onto Jiang Baichuan's shoulder.

"Jiang Baichuan, didn't you want to know why I transferred schools back then?" Her voice was soft, drawing Jiang Baichuan into the memories that had cast an endless shadow over her.

"Because I feel humiliated, I am afraid..."

Jiang Baichuan's heart sank suddenly.

He understood.

Yunli's fear is related to the matter of transferring schools.

Whether it was transferring schools or the fear that slowly rose in her heart whenever her neck was touched, it was all related to one thing.