The feeling was like the edge of a piece of scratch paper slicing your fingertip, or a hangnail by your nail that you tear deeper and deeper, or an inflamed wisdom tooth, or the flesh on the inside of your cheek that you accidentally bite while eating…
The smaller the wound, the more it wears you down.
Ruan Xi thought, maybe this logic applied to Cheng Daichuan as well.
The wound on the back of Cheng Daichuan’s neck was about the size of half a fingernail, the whole patch of skin peeled off.
He was pretty tolerant, never complained, but Ruan Xi could feel the tension in his muscles whenever she got close.
It must hurt, right?
Ruan Xi held up a cotton swab, feeling guilty.
When Ruan Xi was little, she was mischievous, and scraped her knees from falling countless times.
Ruan Xi’s parents were busy with work, and her grandpa was a lazy old man who only cared about playing Go and the erhu, so every time Ruan Xi clutched her knees and cried, it was her grandma who helped her tend to her wounds.
Back then, there weren’t such convenient iodine cotton swabs; it was always a big bottle of medicine poured onto a cotton ball, wiped directly onto the wound.
Every time, she had to wait for her grandma to gently blow on it and say, “All done,” before she dared to open her eyes.
That habit, formed since childhood, made Ruan Xi always feel like blowing on it was some kind of magic, able to stop the pain.
She did the same for Cheng Daichuan, leaning over and gently blowing.
But in the end, she blew him away…
At first, Ruan Xi didn’t even realize it.
She patted his shoulder and said, “All done,” then counted the number of cotton swabs left in the box and asked, “Can I use two?”
The water in her right ear still felt like it hadn’t been cleaned properly, and it felt stuffy— she wanted to use the cotton swab as a regular one.
There were no more cotton swabs left in the bathroom, and it was already so late; she didn’t want to trouble the staff again.
Cheng Daichuan stood up in silence, put on a T-shirt, stuffed a Bluetooth Earphone in his ear, lowered his head to tap on his phone, and finally said, “Go ahead.”
Ruan Xi went to the bathroom to deal with her ear, and when she came out again, she saw Cheng Daichuan had changed his shoes, and only then did she realize he was about to go out.
Ruan Xi was caught off guard: “…Where are you going?”
Cheng Daichuan meant that he couldn’t sleep, so he was just going out for a walk and would be back soon.
Ruan Xi quietly glanced at the time on her phone. It was now 11:17 p.m.
Why couldn’t Cheng Daichuan fall asleep?
She had already packed their schedule as full as possible. They’d just danced so hard her bones felt like they were about to fall apart, yet he still had the energy to go out for a stroll?
Even without any side effects from the seasickness medicine, Cheng Daichuan still couldn’t sleep.
Ruan Xi felt just like her phone battery, energy below ten percent, about to shut down at any moment.
Still, she said, “I’ll go with you.”
Cheng Daichuan picked up the room card. “No need, you rest. I’ll just wander around and be right back.”
No need?
Her exhausted body seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but mentally she didn’t feel comfortable— there was even a tiny bit of disappointment.
After Cheng Daichuan left, Ruan Xi finally sighed.
She slumped onto the sofa, dejectedly hugging the Yurong Sleeping Bag she’d opened earlier, absentmindedly folding it up…
If it had been before, Ruan Xi wouldn’t have cared whether Cheng Daichuan wanted to go out alone or not— she’d definitely have teamed up with Shi Chao, grabbing and tugging at Cheng Daichuan’s arm without letting go, until he gave in and agreed to bring them along.
Liking someone is so hard.
You can’t act shameless like good friends do, and you can’t honestly express your feelings either.
And tonight she’d actually done a full skincare routine, even sprayed perfume on her nightdress.
She’d looked so good, and he hadn’t even taken a proper look before leaving.
Ruan Xi thought gloomily:
In Cheng Daichuan’s eyes, maybe I’ll always be the female version of Shi Chao—nothing will ever change.
I’m not even as good as Shi Chao, I can’t play soccer!
Ugh, so annoying, so annoying!
Ruan Xi, full of frustration, pressed the sleeping bag down hard, forcefully stuffed it into her suitcase, then turned and looked at the sleeping bag she’d bought for Cheng Daichuan.
After a moment’s thought, she folded that one up too.
Cheng Daichuan’s birthday was at the end of May, when Ruan Xi’s school hadn’t started summer vacation yet.
No one might believe it, but this Yurong Sleeping Bag was originally meant as a birthday present for the cleanliness-loving Cheng Daichuan.
Ruan Xi hadn’t mentioned it to him because she wanted to wait until he acknowledged it, until she got a compliment, and then proudly announce the reason.
But now it seemed, this birthday gift wasn’t much of a success— maybe it wasn’t even as practical as Cat Litter.
The first time Ruan Xi ever gave Cheng Daichuan a birthday present was in High School Second Year, Second Semester.
They’d been friends for a year, and with Shi Chao the big blabbermouth, Ruan Xi had long known when Cheng Daichuan’s birthday was. She’d been pondering for ages what to get him.
On her way home from school, Ruan Xi once saw a boy—not sure which school he was from— who, in terms of height and build, looked quite similar to Cheng Daichuan.
The boy was wearing a really nice Pinstripe Sweater Set, both style and color were great. Ruan Xi had wanted to find the same one, searching both online and in stores for a long time, but never found it.
Later, she ran into that boy again. Although she wasn’t usually the type to approach strangers, she mustered her courage and ran over to block his path.
The boy was surprised, and his friend teased, “So popular, huh?”
Ruan Xi ignored everything else, looking very serious: “Hi, I’d like to ask where you bought your sweater set?”
After getting the purchase link, Ruan Xi happily checked it out.
The price was four digits.
She simply couldn’t afford it, so she sighed long and hard like a wildflower with a blue blossom.
Shi Chao came off the field to get water, noticed Ruan Xi being strangely quiet, and asked, “What’s wrong, was today’s reading tough?”
Ruan Xi put down her Chinese textbook and told Shi Chao about the sweater.
Shi Chao was super casual and said, “No need, Daichuan doesn’t lack clothes. That’s not practical. Why not get something useful?”
Ruan Xi blinked: “Like what?”
Shi Chao was about to go back on the field, but before leaving, he waved his hand. “Isn’t it obvious? Cat Litter.”
“…Cat Litter? Will that really work?”
“Why not? Cat Litter gets used up fast, and Aisila uses a ton!”
Ruan Xi thought, since they were childhood friends, Shi Chao’s advice must be right, so she just went with it…
On Cheng Daichuan’s birthday morning, after running with Ais, he ran into the deliveryman downstairs.
He signed for a full eighty jin of Cat Litter, looking confused.
Eight hefty bags were piled up at his feet.
Cheng Daichuan looked up and spotted Ruan Xi sneakily spying on the balcony, hands on her hips, smiling.
Ruan Xi felt she must have messed up somewhere. She poked her head out the window and explained she’d only meant to buy fifty jin, but the store had a promotion, and buying more saved ten yuan…
Plus, she’d heard Aisila used a lot.
Ais let out two very indignant “meows,” cursing up a storm.
Cheng Daichuan just said, “Come down.”
Ruan Xi ran downstairs, nearly tripping over the Cat Litter bags, and fell in front of Cheng Daichuan, steadying herself on his arm. “Cheng Daichuan, happy birthday.”
Cheng Daichuan chuckled in his throat. “Thanks. I’m pretty happy.”
That gift was so embarrassing for Ruan Xi she didn’t talk to Shi Chao for three hours, all the way until she got to her grandma’s house.
This time… she couldn’t blame anyone else.
She’d picked the Yurong Sleeping Bag herself.
Ruan Xi folded up the Yurong Sleeping Bag she’d given away, took it back, and tried to cram it into her suitcase.
When she’d come, the sleeping bag was vacuum-packed and fit just right, but now the suitcase wouldn’t close at all.
She tried a few times, but with her mind elsewhere, she lost patience, her chest stuffy. She tossed the suitcase aside and crawled back onto the bed.
After flipping through her album for a while, Ruan Xi picked a photo she’d taken during the Magic Performance and posted it to her Moments.
The photo was pretty good—
Ruan Xi had her back to the stage, holding up her phone, and Cheng Daichuan was facing her, looking right at the camera.
At least during the Magic Performance, he’d been smiling.
Ruan Xi put herself in Cheng Daichuan’s shoes, imagining an unfaithful family member as her own father.
Sorry, Old Ruan…
Just thinking about it made her unbearably sad, hard to accept. No wonder Cheng Daichuan couldn’t get over it.
All her little romantic disappointments faded, replaced by renewed worry for her “good friend.”
Ruan Xi glanced over at the single bed next to hers; the white Earphone Case sat on the neatly made sheets.
It was already past midnight. Where had Cheng Daichuan gone, and when would he be back?
Cheng Daichuan had been standing on the Deck, letting the wind blow.
There was no one else on the Deck; the wild wind raged, just enough to blow away the greedy desires that shouldn’t be there.
When he returned to the cabin and opened the door, the first thing Cheng Daichuan noticed was the sweet scent of osmanthus.
Ruan Xi was already asleep.
She was still wearing her pale pink French-style nightdress, lying on her side. Somehow, her skirt had gotten bunched up nearly to her waist, revealing her Safety Shorts and slender legs…
Cheng Daichuan kept a straight face, nearly lost his composure, and looked away—only to spot a few things on his bed.
His Earphone Case had been moved to the nightstand, and in the middle of the bed was a piece of paper filled with writing, a Paper Crane, and two boxes that looked like Bandages.
He didn’t know where Ruan Xi had gotten a length of Ribbon—thin, dark blue—tied around the neck of the Paper Crane in a bow, neat and tidy, just like the straps on her swimsuit.
Ruan Xi’s handwriting was very elegant.
She’d probably used the paper and pen from the room’s Opinion Book, and even started with a bilingual greeting—
To wuli best Close friend.
Cheng Daichuan pinched the note, lowered his head, and chuckled softly.
Ruan Xi had written that she didn’t know if she’d be able to wait for him to come back, so she was saying it here: she hoped he’d come back and get a good night’s sleep, because tomorrow she had a thousand plans she wanted to experience with him.
Cheng Daichuan smiled again.
She wrote that this year she still owed him a birthday present, and really didn’t know what to give, so she’d decided to let him choose.
“Cheng Daichuan, you choose. As long as you’re happy, I’ll do anything you want…”
Cheng Daichuan stared at the note, eyelid twitching.
The rest was so warm it was almost over the top:
Ruan Xi was worried the wound on the back of his neck might hurt if it rubbed against the pillow, so she’d brought Bandages for him to use.
She also wrote that if he found it inconvenient to put them on himself, he could wake her up for help.
This silly girl, Ruan Xi, really did treat him as a good friend and was genuinely looking after him.
Would she really go through fire and water for a good friend?
Cheng Daichuan looked complicatedly at the sleeping Ruan Xi, then continued reading.
“Also, just in case I snore and disturb your sleep (I don’t snore, I mean just in case) (just in case!!!), I brought Mouth Tape, so you can tape my mouth shut, or if you find me mouth-breathing, you can tape it too…”
The last line was: “Good night, sweet dreams.”
Signed: your best friend forever, Ruan Xi.
Cheng Daichuan sat on the single bed, picked up the thing called Mouth Tape and looked it over.
It was his first time seeing this stuff— a tiny box, like X-shaped medical tape.
Across from him, Ruan Xi was sleeping soundly, breathing evenly, her eyelashes obediently fanned out against her lower eyelids, her lips—soft and slightly parted from applying lip mask and balm.
Cheng Daichuan stared for a while, then tossed the tape onto the bed, leaned over, tugged her skirt down an inch, and pulled the blanket up over her.
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