Chapter 58: Night Shadows (Second Update Seeking Recommendations)

  The second update is seeking recommendations and collections!

  Thank you for the rewards from Beifeng Qianqi, Ling Hongyan Weilao Junxianlao, Zhǐyào Hǎokàn Jiù Dǐng and Yì Xiǎo Yuè Bái four classmates!

  ================

  Tonight, Tokyo's night scenery is still beautiful. The dark curtain of the sky covers the last trace of blue, and the stars twinkle in the faint outline of the clouds, as if competing with each other. On the ground, the lights of countless households are lit one after another, like pearls inlaid on this towering, majestic city, making it shine with golden splendor.

  Only from the height of this hotel can you see the end of the distant view, and the undispersed darkness, like a splash of ink, spreading boundlessly between the mountains and the wilderness.

  Rare peace of mind, went out in the afternoon and met with Bao'er, two people wearing masks strolled around Yuan Suo for half a day, visited many shops, and bought some gifts with Bao'er's help to bring back when ending the trip and returning home in two days.

  Apart from that, they just played around on the streets. Although there were many places to play in Shibuya, for the two of them, Harajuku was still the safest place with its crowded streets. In the cold weather, there were no shortage of young men and women wearing masks, nor were there any lack of people dressed strangely, hiding their heads and showing off their tails. Any strange outfit on the outside would be a normal phenomenon in Harajuku, and no one would bother to care, so naturally, no one noticed that two people who frequently brushed shoulders with them were actually the popular singer Bo Er and An Junhe, who had recently gained popularity.

  In the afternoon, excitement exhausted and returned, big bags and small bags were carried back to their own room. Just as they had tidied them up, changed clothes and prepared to go downstairs to the dining hall for dinner, there was a knock on the door.

  An Junhe put on his coat while going to open the door, outside the door was a woman wearing a white sweater with very long sleeves that dragged all the way down to her fingertips, which made her slender figure even more striking, she slightly raised her head and looked at him.

  At this moment, my heart skipped a beat and then returned to calmness.

  He vaguely felt that the moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived. These days, he had been thinking about how to confront her. After careful consideration, he still thought it was better to let her figure it out herself, so he had been treating her with a distant enthusiasm, hoping she could truly understand his attitude and not be obsessed with one thing anymore.

  Thinking carefully, for her who has always been introverted but not stupid, the attitude he has shown in these few days should be enough for her to have a clear understanding.

  Looking down at her, An Junhe fastened the buttons on his coat and asked softly, "Is there something?"

  Her eyelids drooped slightly, her long eyelashes brushing against the autumnal water-like eyes, his inverted reflection clear and transparent in her pupils.

  She lightly bit her lower lip, her fingers clenched into fists as if to encourage herself, and then a slightly husky voice came from beside her ear: "......can... accompany me for a walk?"

  It seemed like he was afraid of not getting a response, so he paused for a moment before continuing: "There's something I want to... talk to you about."

  Looking back at the room that was more suitable for conversation just a few steps away, An Junhe thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay!"

  After such a brief conversation, An Junhe turned around and put on his mask, then closed the door. The two of them walked out of the hotel in silence, one after the other, onto the bustling streets outside. Cars whizzed by on the busy highway, pedestrians flowed like arrows on both sides of the sidewalk, streetlights casting a glow amidst the darkness. They wandered aimlessly among the crowds.

  February's Tokyo wasn't as cold as Seoul, but it wasn't warm either. The night wind blew gently, bringing waves of chill from the sky. After walking a few steps, she shivered slightly. She hadn't thought much when she came out, her mind was a jumble of thoughts, and now she felt cold because she was dressed too thinly.

  By chance, she turned her head and looked at An Junhe who was following closely behind her. If it were in the past, he would have definitely taken off his coat and draped it over her!

  Suddenly I miss the days when I was in Melbourne, missing the cold winter of the Southern Hemisphere, often wearing her coat with his body temperature and smell.

  As she thought so, her originally cold body suddenly warmed up, and a familiar scent surrounded her. She looked up in surprise to meet the deep eyes of the person behind her who was looking down at her with his head bowed.

  "Don't get frozen." he said softly.

  A moment of longing became reality, but she found that her heart didn't have a hint of joy, because she knew that this tenderness didn't only belong to her... She had tried hard to strive for it, but the final result was failure, not only did she fail to capture him, but instead slowly pushed him further away.

  "Thank you..." She tightened her coat and continued walking forward along the sidewalk in the wind until she reached a crossroads, where speeding cars cut off her path, and only then did she stop in confusion.

  Along with her, a group of young men and women were also stopped at this street corner. Their youthful age gave them enough physical strength to show off their fashion and beauty in the coldest season with thin clothes. They loudly spoke something in Japanese that she couldn't understand, naturally holding hands with each other in pairs.

  So envious!

  Her heart told her so.

  Then she saw a girl pointing behind her, saying something to the boy next to her. She also turned around - it was a small food stall, with a big sign in Japanese that she couldn't understand, but she didn't need to, as she smelled the aroma of grilled squid.

  She looked at An Junhe who was following closely behind her, pointed to the snack stall and said with a half-coquettish and half-pitiful tone: "Buy me one string, okay?"

  Then he was stunned for a moment.

  ……

  Her back figure is very lonely!

  This is what An Junhe thought when he followed her and looked at her back as she walked forward.

  What flashed into my mind was what Bao'er had once said. She said that a woman's heart is actually very fragile and can be easily invaded by a figure, filling it up completely. He didn't know when his figure invaded her heart, perhaps even she herself wasn't clear about it. If everything could be remembered and calculated clearly, then humans wouldn't need to invent computers either.

  Bao'er said that if he didn't have that intention, then he shouldn't be so gentle with girls.

  These days I've been thinking a lot, and most of it is re-examining the emotional debts I've incurred, only to find that the main responsibility lies with myself.

  If he wasn't so good to them, perhaps there wouldn't be so many troubles. Unfortunately, he isn't the "An Junhe" in his dreams who can turn his back on someone with a cold and ruthless heart. He will soften up and subconsciously take care of girls when facing them. Just like earlier, although he knew he shouldn't provoke her again, seeing Lin Xiujing shivering in the wind made him bear it for a moment before finally unable to resist taking off his jacket to put on her.

  "This is also hopeless... " He thought with a bitter smile.

  Then he followed behind her, watching her walk silently and lonely in front of him. In his complex emotions, there was a hint of faint guilt. So, although she said she had something to talk about, after they went out, she didn't mention it at all. He wasn't impatient either, just quietly accompanying her, wandering aimlessly until the road ahead was blocked by the glaring red lights on both sides of the pedestrian crossing, only then did he stop.

  He saw Lin Xiujing in front of him, looking around blankly, then turned back to look at her, his scattered gaze passing through the distance between them and landing on a small food stall not far behind him. Then he was stunned to see her pointing at the squid pancake stall, half-coquettishly and half-pitifully asking him: "Can you buy me one?"

  This request is quite abrupt, and her behavior is also quite abrupt, before, she would never be like this.

  Something dawned on him, and An Junhe hesitated for a moment before turning to buy a string of grilled squid from the food stall. When he turned back, the green light at the pedestrian crossing lit up, and the speeding cars slowed down. On both sides of the road, people flowed back and forth, their faces flashing under the streetlights, but Lin Xiujing's figure was nowhere to be seen.

  His heart suddenly tightened, he threw down the grilled squid and was about to go find her when his phone suddenly rang.

  The faint ringtone, even the surrounding noise couldn't drown it out. He quickly picked up and anxiously asked: "Where are you?"

  "Across the street." Her slightly hoarse voice came from the receiver.

  An Junhe hastily tiptoed, looking towards the opposite side, where the dark shadows of people flowing together and the flashing neon lights of the shops on that side made him see only a blurry outline. He could only say: "Stand still and don't move, wait for me to come over and find you!" As he spoke, he struggled against the crowd, trying to make his way to the other side.

  But she stopped him, "Don't come over yet, I have something to say to you on the phone, in front of you... it's always hard to say!"

  He fell silent, and after a long pause, he said dryly, "Go on..."

  "Junhe, didn't you ever like me? Even just a little bit?"

  On the other end of the line, her voice trembled slightly, perhaps she herself knew that this question had an answer before it was even asked, and this was just her last struggle.

  He took a deep breath and replied softly in her increasingly urgent breathing: "No... sorry!"

  "No need to apologize... It's something I've long understood, Junhe is such a steady person, if there was even a slight possibility, he wouldn't have rejected me so coldly that night... I've long understood it, it's just that I refused to believe it all along... No need for apologies..."

  Listening to her gradually sobbing words, An Jun was silent.

  The wind blowing from the side, wrapped in cold air, cut his cheek incessantly. The green light of the pedestrian crossing had faded away, and the red light lit up again, and a large crowd was blocked at this street corner. He stood at the back of the crowd, trying hard to see if there was a frail little woman wearing his coat, crying in the cold wind under the dazzling neon lights.

  But in the field of vision, it is still vague and unclear over there, nothing can be seen clearly.

  On the other end of the receiver, her deep breathing sounds came through, as if she was trying to hold back tears. Then I heard her ask with a nasal tone, "Don't feel guilty, it's just a different choice! It's a bit regrettable, there's something I've never said to you... Can I hug you and say it out loud later?"

  An Junhe didn't respond, he didn't know how to respond, listening to her suppressed sobs, his heart suddenly rippled and a thread of confusion flowed in.

  "Not answering is equivalent to admitting it!" She said with a forced cheerful tone.

  A moment later, a warm and soft body suddenly wrapped itself around him from behind, and a wet mark spread across his back. The temperature of that wet mark was so scorching on this cold foreign night that it made him subconsciously turn his head, and in the dim light above, he heard her voice in front of him, trembling softly in his ear, saying:

  "I love you! I love you, An Junhe!"