While Jiang Ren was washing up in the bathroom with cold water, Meng Ting stood waiting by the door. She felt as if something was behind her but didn’t dare to look back.

Knowing she was still frightened, Jiang Ren took her hand as he came out after drying his hands.

“Want to see some of my old photos?”

Meng Ting nodded.

Jiang Ren opened his room and took out a photo album from a drawer.

Aware she needed a distraction, Meng Ting opened it to look. She was quite curious about what Jiang Ren used to look like.

“Have you always had silver hair?”

“What, not handsome?”

In the photo, the young man wore an army green uniform, his silver hair standing out among the other cap-wearing youths. His expression was lazy; while others stood at attention, his hands were in his pockets. He must have been punished often for that.

She finally smiled and nodded, “Handsome.”

Jiang Ren was just teasing her, but seeing her eyes sparkle as she genuinely called him handsome, he scoffed, “Little liar, you think I don’t know better?”

Since dyeing his hair in seventh grade, he had been fierce-looking. No girl in his class experiencing her first crush had liked him.

Later, when there was finally one, she fell for Wen Rui after just one meeting.

Thinking of this, he closed the album.

He asked lazily, “What do you think of Wen Rui’s looks?”

Of course, Meng Ting remembered Wen Rui’s appearance. When she saw him that night, Wen Rui wore gold-rimmed glasses, looking rather scholarly. Objectively speaking, he was good-looking.

Meng Ting thought for a moment and answered honestly, “He’s alright.” However, she didn’t like him, so his looks seemed unappealing to her.

Jiang Ren narrowed his eyes, “Is he more handsome or am I?”

She couldn’t help but smile, her lips curving, “Jiang Ren, you wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

“Tell me.”

“You’re more handsome.”

He didn’t believe it one bit. If he was handsome, why hadn’t anyone pursued him in middle school? Wen Rui visited his school once, and many girls liked him. When they saw Jiang Ren, they acted like scared quails.

He irritably ran his hand through his hair, deciding not to dwell on this.

He brought up the important matter, “It’s almost eleven now, and your school is far away. You should stay here for the night.”

Meng Ting had never stayed overnight at a boy’s house before, but Jiang Ren was her boyfriend. Although she felt a bit embarrassed, she nodded. After watching the horror movie, she was too scared to walk home at night.

Jiang Ren glanced at her.

He found a shirt in his wardrobe for her, “It’s one of my old shirts, cleaned. It’s quite long, it’ll have to do.”

Then he gave her the new towel, toothbrush, and the pack of disposable underwear, “Use these for now.”

Meng Ting was stunned, “You bought these just now?”

“Mm-hmm.”

So he had planned all along that she wouldn’t be able to return to school today? Her cheeks flushed red. Jiang Ren chuckled softly, “Go take a shower. I won’t do anything to you. There’s another room next door.”

Although he could be crude, he usually kept his word.

However, once Meng Ting turned on the shower, alone, she started remembering scenes from the horror movie. One scene showed the male protagonist seeing a bloody-faced female ghost in the bathroom mirror.

“Jiang Ren.”

“Mm?”

“Are you outside?”

“I am.” Jiang Ren took a deep breath, his voice hoarse, “Don’t be afraid.”

Listening to the sound of water, he cursed softly under his breath.

Meng Ting suppressed her fear and quickly washed herself and her hair. Jiang Ren had been tall even in middle school, just not as muscular as now. His white shirt was very soft, but being white, it was also somewhat see-through. Meng Ting had no choice but to wear her underwear, buttoning up carefully before opening the door.

Jiang Ren leaned against the wall, turning his head to look at her.

Damn!

The shirt was indeed long, almost like a short dress on her. The young woman was delicate, her cheeks steamed pink from the hot water. Crucially, she had curves in all the right places.

Yet her waist was slender, and her long, straight legs were fair and slender.

Her proportions were perfect, flawless in every aspect.

Meng Ting lifted her porcelain-white face, saying awkwardly, “Jiang Ren, I think…”

For the first time, he didn’t let her finish. He entered the bathroom silently, shutting the door with a bang.

On a summer night, the wind that had been blowing suddenly turned to rain. His silence made Meng Ting anxious; she had originally wanted to tell him it seemed to be raining outside.

Alone in the space outside, she felt uneasy.

“Jiang Ren, it’s raining.”

Boom!

When the thunder struck, Meng Ting finally couldn’t resist approaching the bathroom door.

“Jiang Ren.” She was terrified. “There’s thunder.”

Yes, there was thunder.

It covered his heavy breathing. He closed his eyes, not making a sound, listening to Meng Ting “report the weather” out of fear of ghosts.

The young woman’s voice carried a wronged, crying tone, soft and coquettish.

Jiang Ren knew she was scared. With no one in the room, she wouldn’t leave. She’d wait for him to come out.

Outside, the wind blew strongly, chilling her legs, but Meng Ting didn’t dare to close the living room windows.

“Will the rain blow in?”

Jiang Ren’s attention was split between his hand movements and her dependent voice. He replied perfunctorily, “Mm.”

“Jiang Ren, can you shower faster? I’m scared.” The curtains billowed in the wind. Jiang Ren’s apartment wasn’t on a high floor, so the shadowy trees outside were faintly visible.

Inside the bathroom, apart from the sound of rushing water, it was exceptionally quiet.

Just like in horror movies when the entire room falls silent.

The autumn wind made the crystal lamp tinkle. She had taken twenty minutes to wash her hair and shower.

He didn’t know how long he had been in there, probably over fifty minutes, but that thing still wouldn’t come out.

Jiang Ren said softly, “Meng Ting.”

She responded instinctively.

Jiang Ren was breathing heavily. After a while, his dark pupils dilated slightly.

Jiang Ren pressed his lips together, then took six minutes to wash his hair and body.

When he came out after showering, he met a pair of anxious, misty eyes.

She was wrapped in a towel, shivering from the cold. Meng Ting looked up at him.

Jiang Ren’s collarbone was exposed. He frowned and picked her up, “Why didn’t you close the windows?”

“I told you earlier that the windows weren’t closed. I was too scared to go over there,” she said. Her face, which had been pink earlier, was now pale. “But you just said ‘mm’.”

“…”

Jiang Ren tucked her into the guest room bed. Fortunately, it was summer, and although it was raining, the air was just stuffy and hot.

Jiang Ren brought a hair dryer to dry her hair. She was wrapped in the air-conditioned blanket, only her delicate feet and small head peeking out. Jiang Ren focused on drying her hair, avoiding looking elsewhere.

She had been out in the cool wind for an hour; he was worried she might get sick.

Feeling a bit safer now, Meng Ting told him, “This is the second floor. When the wind blows, the tree shadows look scary. In the movie, there was one time when the female ghost was in the tree, and the male lead turned around and saw her…”

Her hair was soft. Jiang Ren listened to her absently.

He finished drying her hair first, then roughly dried his own in a couple of passes. Then he closed all the windows in the house and unplugged all the electrical appliances.

He said, “Go to sleep. If you’re scared, sleep with the lights on. I’ll be next door.”

Meng Ting nodded.

Jiang Ren lay on the bed, tightening his belt to the point of discomfort. His veins were throbbing now.

After watching that horror movie, most of the kids from the military compound had nightmares when they went home.

Thunder rumbled. He looked out expressionlessly, then closed the curtains. Out of sight, out of mind. He left all the lights in the house on.

Around three in the morning, he heard a knock on the door, very soft. If he hadn’t been paying attention, he wouldn’t have heard it at all.

Jiang Ren got up and opened the door. She was looking down at her toes, not speaking.

“Had a nightmare?”

Meng Ting nodded, “I’m sorry.” She had only knocked very lightly, thinking if he was asleep, he wouldn’t hear. She didn’t expect him to still be awake.

Jiang Ren said, “Come in.”

He pulled her in and shut the door with a bang.

By this time, the rain had stopped, and the night was quiet.

Jiang Ren looked down at her, “What are you afraid of?”

She looked up. The man’s pupils were pitch black. “You know it’s fake, right?!”

Meng Ting nodded, “But…”

He looked at her fiercely, “You’re driving me crazy.” He pinned her against the door. “Ghosts are fake, I’m real. What’s the use of being afraid of them? You might as well be afraid of me.”

Meng Ting was stunned. He took her hand, half coaxing, half tricking, “Be good, help me undo my belt.”

She pulled her hand back, looking at him in terror.

Jiang Ren was nearly going mad. His lips kissed her messily, his voice muffled, “Don’t you know how? Pull the end out, there’s a buckle…”

He almost forcefully guided her to undo it.

Meng Ting was on the verge of tears, “I’m not scared of the horror movie anymore. I want to go back to sleep.”

Jiang Ren ignored her.

Her slender waist fit perfectly in his palm. He was deeply moved.

Meng Ting wasn’t in the mood. For her, she just wanted to talk to someone, to release her fear of the horror movie. But Jiang Ren didn’t see it that way.

Her mind was full of horror movie scenes, while he could only think of her.

“You said you wouldn’t touch me.”

Jiang Ren said irritably, “Can I just touch you a little?”

Meng Ting’s face turned red, “I’m not mentally prepared.”

He wanted to curse. After a long while, he muttered, “Are you trying to kill me?”

“No.”

Jiang Ren wrapped her in his blanket. His eyebrows were sharp, with a youthful, fierce intensity, “Sleep! I’ll watch over you while you sleep!”

He dragged a chair over to the bedside. The angular features of his face had lost their boyishness. With his short hair, he looked fierce.

Meng Ting’s eyes were fixed on him.

“What are you looking at?! Stop looking!”

She pulled the blanket up a little, covering half her face. Only her delicate eyebrows and moist eyes were visible. Every time her long lashes blinked, she looked pitiful.

A natural advantage of her looks.

He laughed angrily, “Do I owe you or something? Alright, go to sleep. There are no ghosts. If one comes, I’ll beat it to death, okay?”

“Okay.” She pulled the blanket over her eyes. Where he couldn’t see, she was smiling uncontrollably.

Jiang Ren sat with his legs crossed. He couldn’t sleep anyway, so he might as well watch over her sleep.

Only when she finally fell into a deep sleep in the early hours did he doze off briefly?

Meng Ting had classes the next day. She had set an alarm and needed to return to school early. At the subway entrance in the morning, her sleepy appearance drew frequent glances from commuters.

Jiang Ren pulled her face into his chest.

Meng Ting was startled awake from her drowsiness.

“I’m leaving today. If anything happens at school, you can find Sun Yi.”

“Nothing will happen.”

He frowned, “The project in H City is urgent. I don’t know when I’ll be able to come see you again.”

“Then I’ll come see you when I have a break.”

“Don’t come,” he said coolly. “It’s messy and dirty at the construction site.”

The sight of him covered in cement and wearing a hard hat was enough for her to see once in this lifetime. Besides, he wasn’t usually this gentle. If she saw something, she might overthink it.

Jiang Ren said, “Let me know when you’re coming back. I’ll come pick you up.”

It was still early when they exited the subway station, not yet seven o’clock. There were only a few pedestrians on the street. Before parting, Meng Ting said, “When I was in middle school, my mom always said it wasn’t easy for me to like someone.”

Jiang Ren looked down at her.

It was the first time she had voluntarily mentioned her mother. Her eyes were gentle.

“She said that even though I loved dancing, I was willing to give up the opportunity for Shu Lan, saying I wouldn’t learn if I couldn’t. There was no father in my life, so I wasn’t very brave. When I was little, I saw other little girls being bullied, and their dads would come to school to stand up for them, fiercely warning the bullies. I was very envious, but I could only be more obedient because I didn’t have such a father. My mom couldn’t bear any more burdens.”

Jiang Ren said, “Don’t be afraid anymore.”

In the morning light, her smile was sweet and clear, “I’ve strived for many things in this life, but they can all be given up. There’s only one thing I won’t easily give up, Jiang Ren, and that’s you.”

Jiang Ren’s heart raced beneath his chest.

Meng Ting rarely said such things, and even she felt embarrassed after saying it. She tugged at the hem of his shirt, her slightly reddened cheeks nuzzling against his chest. Then, without another word, just as the light turned green, she ran across the street.

Very girlish and adorable.

People can become more lovable because of love.

He chuckled and cursed softly. The better she was, the more he felt he was letting her down. Other girls had college boyfriends with high education, always caring and available.

He was far away in H City, with only a high school diploma, not knowing when he could be by her side. He even let her classmates see that her boyfriend was uncultured and had a disabled right foot.

But he had strength, startup capital, and business acumen.

He wanted to give her the best of everything in the world.