*Thud!*
A fluffy pillow slapped against my face.
Having lost our bedding, we were exposed to the biting air, shivering from the cold.
No, perhaps the sword-drawn tension in the atmosphere was also a reason for the trembling.
“Why do you keep clinging to such a small matter!? That happened so long ago that it should have been forgotten by now, yet you keep asking and asking and asking! I said, I forgot!”
Su Xixia sat cross-legged at the head of the bed.
The moonlight illuminated her body, making it appear even whiter, like a perfect plaster sculpture.
Unfortunately, plaster doesn’t blush or cry.
“We have to resolve these small things first before we can live in peace! If you don’t have a guilty conscience, why are you being so secretive?”
Things had escalated into an argument, which was truly beyond my expectations.
The scene where she had previously shown weakness and told the truth did not repeat itself.
‘Why did she choose to argue with me over the newspaper incident, which was clearly a smaller matter?’
“I don’t have a guilty conscience; I just forgot! Believe it or not!”
This time, she didn’t even give me a chance to reason with her, stubbornly insisting she had forgotten about the red pen.
It was a waste of effort to keep pressing her.
The window creaked in the wind.
It was so cold…
“Su Xixia. I’ll give you one more chance… tell the truth.”
“Sob… waa — it wasn’t easy to finally have a happy life… a stable income, and someone always by my side… why… why do you have to cling to such small things!?”
She wiped her tears while trying to cover her body and glaring at me; her behavior was truly pathetic.
I felt a strange sense of satisfaction in my heart.
I had originally intended to maintain this relationship while getting her to tell the truth… but it seemed that was no longer possible.
“Crying won’t help. I still remember your family’s landline number from the student directory. I can call them anytime.”
I hadn’t wanted to use that move.
You only have yourself to blame.
You, who keeps lying about “small things,” were the one who destroyed this rare, peaceful life first!
“Think carefully about what right you have to say those things now. You were the one who lied first!”
I couldn’t hold back and said those hurtful words.
Her body shook violently, and tears and snot dripped down her chin onto the bed.
The fierce expression on her face began to crumble as she gradually curled into a ball.
“Waa… I’ll die… Mingshan… if my family catches me and takes me back… I’ll die! Do you understand? I don’t want to go back, ugh… waa — “
She pleaded so bitterly that even my heart began to ache.
The satisfaction I felt moments ago had completely vanished.
Was it really necessary to go this far just to get the truth?
“Th-then tell the truth.
If you tell the truth, I won’t call…”
I knew that even if I did call, she wouldn’t actually die if she went back to her hometown; she was saying that on purpose.
Even so, my heart softened.
“Ugh… waa, no… it’s not…”
“What?”
To hear what she was saying, I crawled toward her from the foot of the bed.
“Mingshan… Mingshan!”
she suddenly cried out and lunged at me.
“Whoa?!”
I cried out in surprise, and by the time I realized what was happening, she had already pinned me down.
Her face was right in front of mine, looking unsightly, smeared with tears and snot.
“Xixia, what are you doing?”
I actually felt a hint of killing intent from her eyes, which seemed to be emitting a red light.
Perhaps it was just the chill brought by the wind.
“…Mingshan, if I go home, I’ll be forced to marry Uncle Zhao from the village entrance… do you remember him? The dark, short one… the man with the foul mouth.”
I certainly remembered.
That guy’s family was very wealthy, and he did nothing all day but loiter around the school gates after classes to harass the female students.
A few had apparently followed him, and they never returned to school after that.
Was Su Xixia’s family actually arranging for her to marry someone like him?
A strong sense of indignation filled my heart.
How despicable… even if she was lying, I couldn’t help but soften at the thought of her marrying that guy.
Because she was my… my… what?
At that thought, I realized I hadn’t accepted her confession yet.
Our relationship could still only be described as friends with benefits.
“Xixia…”
I called her name, unsure of how to respond for a moment.
“Mingshan, I only have you… my body is only for you to touch… if I’m taken back, I’ll find a way to kill myself. That house isn’t my home… this is my new home. Please… please don’t take even this away…”
Tears kept dripping onto my face, turning from warm to cold.
It turned out that this shabby little apartment of mine was so important to her.
This was the only place where she could truly live.
For this, she was willing to restrain all her past ferocity and humble herself to beg me.
“Let’s make a deal,” I said softly, turning my face away because I couldn’t bear to look at her.
“Tell the truth, and never lie to me again. Then, I’ll accept your feelings and promise never to kick you out of here. How about it?”
I reached out and cupped her face from memory; there was still lingering warmth where her tears had flowed.
“……. Okay. Mingshan… I like you.”
After she finished her confession, her body seemed to suddenly snap like a broken string, and she collapsed on top of me.
She was so cold…
“Xixia, where did you kick the blanket to…? Hey!”
There was no response.
In such cold weather, her body must have reached its limit.
I held her as we lay on the bed and pulled the blanket over us, confirming that she had fainted from the cold.
Not long after I continuously transferred my body heat to her, her body trembled a few times as if she were waking up.
She murmured:
“Mingshan, I found that newspaper at the door. It already had the red circles when I picked it up. I tore off the front part and left the last part with the recruitment section for you.”
She narrated the truth in a weak voice, which also confirmed my suspicions.
She wasn’t the one who had recommended the job to me.
“Why did you tear off the other parts?”
“…There were other places circled in red on it.”
Her voice grew smaller.
“Which ones!?”
So, that newspaper contained other information besides the job recommendation!?
If Moyou was the one who did it, she had been trying to tell me something from the very beginning.
‘Was she angry with me because I hadn’t noticed?’
“I’m sorry… I really can’t remember those…”
“Huh?”
“It was probably just a reminder to look patiently at the recruitment section at the back, or something like that.”
Her voice was as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz, but at least she didn’t seem to be lying.
The matter wasn’t over… did I still have to ask Moyou in person to find out that information?
That would be so awkward…
Just then, Su Xixia squirmed in my arms, and her breath gradually became warm.
“Mingshan, I told the truth. Hurry and hold me tight… we had a deal, right!”
“…… Alright, I promise. I’ll hold you tight. And from now on, I will definitely never kick you out.”
“I won’t lie to you anymore either.”
In this way, she and I officially became boyfriend and girlfriend.
Looking at her full lips as they gradually approached mine, and the tears glistening in her eyes, I closed my eyes and kissed her.
I was unsure of how much I actually liked her; I simply didn’t want to see her meet a tragic end.
The relationship we had reached was a twisted kind of love.
Once that reality sank in, this deep kiss felt a bit more tender compared to the countless previous ones controlled by desire.
Unlike the emptiness that followed the satisfaction of lust in the past, a certain part of my heart felt warm.