Chapter 19: Three in one

A moment of silence.

Xu You's palms were sweating coldly, it was the first time she was caught on the spot and her mind went blank.

"I ......" Xu You bit his lower lip, his throat dry.

The scalpel in his hand was almost too tight to hold, the sharp edge still resting against the veins in his neck.

Xu You was about to withdraw his hand, but Min Duan approached without fear, his neck a red line, and he still stared at her silently.

Close enough for breaths to intertwine, noses to touch.

Feeling the warm liquid on her fingertips, Xu You was stunned, and only then did she see the blood flowing down the scalpel and onto her hand. Min Duan's cold white skin and the bright red blood formed a visual color difference, like a blossoming red plum on the snowy ground.

By the sight in front of him, the pupils of his eyes suddenly shrunk, Xu You's hands trembled, and his voice trembled: "Duan ......"

Before she could finish her sentence, her next word was covered by warm, cool lips.

With his waist circled so hard that he couldn't pull back his hand, he just pressed it against the blade and kissed her frantically.

The blade hadn't penetrated any further, and the blood was already wetting the back of her hand, flowing down the tiger's mouth and into her palm.

Min Duan pried open her teeth and drove in to intertwine with her.

Deeper and deeper, the blade went a few more inches into his veins and blood gushed out, sliding over his collarbone, wetting his black and white pajamas.

"Duan ...... Well."

Min Duan no longer gave her a chance to catch her breath, and like a demon, his eyes were covered with a black mist that could not be melted, while underneath it was covered with extreme madness.

Xu You anxiously raised her foot and kicked him, but he didn't move a bit, and even held her leg in place.

Unable to move, and tormented by the situation, Xu You broke down and cried out, tears falling down.

Min Duan stopped abruptly and let go of her.

"Bam," the blood-red scalpel fell to the wooden floor.

"Die ah you ......" Xu You cried and got angry, lifting her foot to kick him again.

Min Duan's voice was low and dark, "Don't cry." He wanted to raise his hand to wipe her tears, and just as he was about to touch her face, noticing the blood on his hand, he stopped his movement and lowered his head to her, trying to kiss away her tears.

Xu You thought he was coming again, and was so angry that she pushed him away with one hand, and wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and said in a sob, "If you, if you want to die, die far away by yourself, and don't be here, getting in the way, getting in my way."

She glared at him fiercely, thinking that she was very powerful, but in fact, her almond eyes were glistening with water, the corners of her eyes were red, like a cat with fried fur, and there was no trace of her power, so Min Duan felt very soft.

Xu You didn't want to pay attention to him and wanted to get something to bandage him, but Min Duan held her wrist and pressed it against the wound on his neck.

The arteries under her skin throbbed in her palm, and Min Duan smiled, gazing lovingly at her, "I would die by your hand."

Even just now, he was still in the extreme fantasy of being killed by Xu You's hand, the thought made his body heat up and his blood boil, almost melting his veins.

The short span of twenty-five years felt unbearably long to him, and in the darkened room, where the change of day and night and the alternation of spring and summer had nothing to do with him, the only bit of emotion he had was a distaste for the scent of the living.

Beyond that, there was nothing, and if his days were a pool of stagnant water, then he should be a lifeless monster in the mire at the bottom of the pool, not knowing why he lived, and likewise not fearing death.

After getting to know Xu You, he tastes sweet and sour food, notices the change of temperature as she is afraid of both cold and heat, and notices the passage of time as time with her always passes by in the blink of an eye.

He grew to have a wealth of emotions because of her, and would be happy, sad, frustrated, and sadly lost.

None of this repulsed him, and he envied Xu You for being so alive, and for becoming alive himself.

If he had been marching through the endless night, she was the bright light at dawn that was impossible to move away from, that made the heart yearn and long for more.

He was glad he had found this glimmer of light, even if the years before had been so gray by comparison.

But with the things that can not let go, will want to fill, will suffer, he is afraid of Xu You leave, more afraid of Xu You forget him, if the death of her hands, can always occupy a corner in her heart, then he begged for it.

He was even morbidly tempted to feel the death of his body at her hands in detail.

Meeting his dependent yet paranoid gaze, Xu You finally understood what the system actually meant when it said that the trust value reached a safe range of 80 or more, meaning that by reaching this level, the mission target would willingly let you do it, and as long as you were ruthless, the mission would be completed in the end.

It's no wonder that as a host, you don't need big skills to kill the "gods" of the world that have a protagonist's aura.

At this time the system prompted again, "Please ask the host to pick up the props and complete the decapitation task."

"I don't want to," Xu You looked at Min Duan and said, word for word, "You have to live."

If the target of the mission was really some kind of murderous, inhuman pervert who threatened her life, she might be able to do something about it.

But Min Duan is just a guy who asks for two extra tablespoons of honey when she's making powdered milk, just a guy with a sweet tooth in her eyes.

If the rewarding temptation for killing five such people was her resurrection back to her original world, then she would prefer to wander forever in the endless void of time and space.

She couldn't break through the last line of defense in her heart.

--

Xu You heard the alarm clock go off once before being pushed off as she rested with her eyes closed, she took a moment to slow down and opened her eyes to sit up.

Perhaps because of the recent mental stress, coupled with the need to take care of Qi You's physical and psychological emotions, she did not sleep well for several days in a row, squinting a bit in the afternoon, not much use, at this time only feel dizzy and tired.

Xu You rubbed his eyes, "What time is it?"

"Ten minutes past four in the afternoon," Min Duan handed over a teacup, "Have some to moisten your throat."

Xu You only then noticed that her voice was dry and sandy, took the cup of tea, which was brewed with jasmine tea, she didn't think much about it, and drank a cup of it.

Min Duan watched her quietly.

Xu You put down the tea cup and said with some hesitation, "What's wrong?" Always feel where strange, but where strange, she can not say for sure.

"You look tired," Min Duan said, "or don't go out tonight and rest at home."

Tonight she had to go out to the Hua An Hotel to deal with Shaosi Xu, and she had to be at the hiding place at least by six. Xu You hadn't told Min Duan, so he shouldn't have known, but looking into his clear eyes, she had a vague feeling that he knew something.

Whether he knew it or not, it wouldn't stop her from doing what she was going to do.

Xu You just wanted to get out of the bed, but his hands and feet suddenly lost their strength, and his body tilted forward uncontrollably.

Min Duan reached out and embraced her.

Xu You found more and more sleepy, the surge of tiredness eroded her consciousness, eyelids continue to droop and sag, baffled, she saw the side of the teacup, "You gave me ...... What kind of medicine have you ...... Min Duan , why ......"

In the last scene before closing eyes, Min Duan's clean and quiet teal brown eyes.

Why.

Xu You asked again in his mind before completely losing consciousness.

Min Duan carried her back to bed and meticulously tucked her in, he sat on the edge of the bed for a while, quietly watching her sleeping face.

A moment later, he leaned over and dropped a kiss on her brow.

"Sweet dreams, my girl."

--

After the driver stabilized the car, Shaosi Xu got out, took the elevator, and headed for the reserved presidential suite.

That's when Lanlan Lin called, "Where are you?"

Shaosi Xu rubbed his brow, "Just finished a meeting, now to the hotel."

Lanlan Lin : "That business deal didn't work out, I'll find you a new partner?"

Shaosi Xu plugged in her card and opened the door to her room, "Well, say again."

Lanlan Lin heard his somewhat tired tone and said nothing more, saying good night and hanging up.

Shaosi Xu closed the door and turned around to find someone behind her, who was all wrapped up in a tight bundle, revealing only a pair of chilled eyes.

Shaosi Xu's breathing tightened and a cold sweat broke out, "You, who are you ...... Security, where's the security guard?"

--

"Rumble--" the thunder in the sky like thousands of drums beat in unison, pouring rain straight down, smashed windows crackling, windowsill jasmine was knocked to the ground, delicate and tender white petals like the snow is about to melt.

Lightning streaked across the sky once more, leaving the dimly lit interior open for a moment.

Xu You sat up in shock: "Min Duan!!!"

She rolled out of bed, turned on the light, and looked at the clock in the distance to see that it was already three in the morning, completely missing her pre-prepared plans.

In fact, she is not too angry, plan this kind of thing as long as there is a motive, not once there will be a second or third time, besides Min Duan does not know her plan, may just see her recently too tired, want to let her have a good night's sleep.

Besides, the medicine made by Min Duan is really different, she not only doesn't feel tired now, but also feels energetic, and her mood is not so bad, it's true that the substance determines the consciousness, and when the body is good, the spirit is also better, for example, the mood of a patient is not the same as the mood of a healthy person.

What she really minds is that Min Duan drugged her without consulting her. She'll have to talk to him. She can't do that in the future.

Another thunderbolt exploded in the sky, Xu You Inexplicably some panic.

No, it's not just that.

She didn't even have time to put on her slippers, she ran to the guest room and knocked on the door with a few clicks, " Min Duan , are you asleep?"

After knocking several times continuously and waiting for a while, there was still no movement inside, which indicated that Min Duan was not inside at all, in the past, as long as she came to the door, before she knocked on the door, Min Duan would open the door, his five senses were much sharper than normal people.

Where did he go?

Where could he go at this time of night, in this weather?

What is it that he must do at this time?

Xu You's heart was like a burning weed, panicked and anxious, on fire.

"Spend fifty points to locate Min Duan's position." Xu You said to the system.

Whenever it came to this kind of thing targeting mission objects, the system gave her the location without saying a word: "Ten meters northwest of you."

Ten meters? Isn't that right in front of the house?

She immediately ran over to open the door, the door opened a big black thing fell down on her face, Xu You startled, did not have time to hide, was directly pressed to the ground, but fortunately the door behind the place to lay the blanket is thick enough, and did not knock very painful.

Xu You's ear was the sound of disordered and heavy breathing, very hot, Xu You looked sideways, only to notice that it was Min Duan, who was wrapped in a black coat, and his face was also covered tightly, only revealing a pair of eyes.

Only these normally clean and translucent eyes were closed at the moment.

" Min Duan, what's wrong with you?"

Xu You noticed that something was wrong with him, he was soaked with rain and tiny droplets of water were hanging on his thin eyelashes, but she felt the warmth of his body through his body.

Obviously his body temperature was more than ten degrees lower than normal.

Xu You had a hard time dragging him back to his room, although Min Duan was not an ordinary person, it was not too comfortable to have cold and wet clothes hanging all over him.

She called for a basin of hot water and tried to change Min Duan's clothes, removing the black material before realizing that he was reddened, his veins protruding and his muscles twitching in spasms.

The palms of his hands were already clawing out bright red blood from his own claws, and he couldn't say a word, trying to suppress the hiss in his throat.

" Min Duan, don't scratch, don't scratch." Xu You's eyes burned as he watched, holding his palm, and as soon as he wrenched it away, he used his other hand to grab across his neck, lifting a layer of skin right off.

For a moment, Xu You couldn't hold back, his vision blurred and tears fell from his eyes.

A crystal tear slipped past his brow, Min Duan's eyelids twitched, his eyelashes fluttered like flapping butterfly wings, and he opened his eyes, but they were bright red like blood.

"Don't ...... be afraid." His voice was muffled beyond words, shaking from the pain he endured.

"Just tell me what to do," Xu You wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "and you'll be okay."

"You go to the lab and get your medication, it's in the ...... second or third shelf of the medicine cabinet." He took two or three breaths to complete his sentence.

Xu You took the key and immediately ran to the lab, grabbing three injections and seven vials of medicine, large and small, as Min Duan had said.

Min Duan got the bottle of medicine and ate it directly without looking at it. Seeing that he was going to take the injection, Xu You took it first: "I'll do it." The main reason is that it's hard for him to take medicine in his current state, let alone using injections.

But Xu You has not used this stuff, and has never given anyone an injection, after extracting the potion, the needle against his bruises is a little soft, a bit of teeth into it, and did not hit the right spot.

Min Duan didn't react, looking at her quietly, his gaze full of dependence.

Xu You a chaotic heart suddenly also quieted down, a deep breath, biting the lower lip and tried again, finally tied the right position, the medicine can be slowly injected.

By the end of the three injections, Xu You was sweating profusely and dehydrated.

Min Duan closed his eyes, "You go out."

"I'm not out," Xu You's voice was damp with crying, "I'm not afraid."

She took hold of his wrist.

It was the longest and hardest night Xu You had ever felt, with Min Duan sweating with chills, having heat spasms, and several times breathing so weakly that no one could notice.

Until dawn broke, the wind weakened and the rain stopped.

Min Duan's breathing finally began to stabilize, his temperature also stabilized, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he met Xu You's red eyes.

Xu You wanted to speak and stop, stop and language, a jumble of emotions and scattered questions eventually turned into a sigh of relief at the moment, none of them knowing where to start, just glaring at him.

Min Duan laughed.

"You still laugh, you still know how to laugh, what are you laughing at ah just laugh." Xu You continued to glare.

She waited, expecting Min Duan to explain what was going on last night, but he suddenly asked, without a word, "Did you see the news?"

Xu You : "......" Completely unable to keep up with his train of thought, he was like that last night, what kind of mood is she in to watch the nightly news?

Xu You said with a stern face, "I didn't watch it, what news are you watching, is this the time to watch the news?" So why don't you explain what the hell was going on last night.

You've been to the gates of hell, haven't you? You came back with half your life hanging by a thread.

Min Duan didn't have the strength to get up, so he had to tell her, "Take a look."

Xu You speechless for a moment, had to follow his thoughts to pick up the phone to read the news, a open browsing page, the news title is extremely hot to attract the eye.

- Shaosi Xu sleeps with a beautiful woman and exposes her father's corruption.

- Shaosi Xu and Lanlan Lin's relationship breaks up and they secretly sleep together at night.

- Shaosi Xu claimed that the luxury houses and villas were all obtained by Xu Tengwang's bribe.

-Related departments have intervened in the investigation ......

Xu You then went back and found a lot of coded pictures, which can be seen as men and women in close proximity to each other, with only two faces showing. The body is coded, only two faces are shown, one is Shaosi Xu, the other is a big wavy beauty.

The video was quickly deleted, but there was still some audio left, and Xu You listened to it, and it was really Shaosi Xu saying, "You're still soothing, Lanlan Lin is too condescending and doesn't even scream as well as you do."

"My dad collected half a million dollars from someone the day before yesterday and turned around and I asked him for it."

"Isn't there a road building project still in the planning stages, another one when my dad takes it down."

......

The latest video only features Shaosi Xu stuck in front of a hotel door, where he says in exasperation, "I didn't, it wasn't me, I never said those things."

The reporter asked him, "How do you explain the videos and photos that have been circulated? It is said that the audio has also been checked by professionals, and the voice in the audio is 98% similar to your voice."

Shaosi Xu was stuck speechless.

The reporter pressed on, "Please respond."

......

After reading, Xu You shut the phone, kind of understand Shaosi Xu capitalized a cartwheel, the proud son of the sky fell into the mire overnight.

Min Duan: "Happy?"

"Huh?"

Min Duan gently lifted his lips and repeated, "Now, are you happier?"

Xu You froze and opened his mouth, "You ......"

"Not a difficult task," Min Duan said in a relaxed tone, "just go to that hotel, manipulate him into being intimate with a woman, and then get him to tell some truth, record the video and upload it."

But there were so many people in the hotel, so many people and vehicles on the way back and forth, and he was going to be in unfamiliar surroundings for so long.

...... So had an attack and held back until I got home from doing my business and couldn't even open the door.

Obviously his tone was still so weak now, his face all fragile and pale, the redness of his eyes not yet faded.

Instead, he smiled at her and said, "Are you happier?"

At that exact moment, a ray of warm sunlight in the early morning shone in and fell on his body, his eyebrows and eyes seemed to be tinted with a halo of light.

Sour and swollen emotions festered from his heart, Xu You, his nose sore and eyes burning, averted his gaze, his voice low and soft: "How did you know?"

Min Duan : "It was your unhappiness that told me."

If a person cares enough about another person, then the slightest change in her mood is something he can be keenly aware of, and over time it becomes something as natural as breathing.

Since Qi You's accident, Xu You hardly smiled, when she took the anatomy book and asked him how to prevent people from bleeding to death while removing the organs, he paid extra attention to Xu You's outing and sent puppets to watch her secretly, besides visiting Qi You in the hospital, she also went to Hua An Hotel to step on the spot.

He didn't need to think to know that Xu You was trying to do something to Shaosi Xu, he wasn't sure about what exactly, but since she was unhappy, he had to find a way to take it out for her, so he sent his puppet to follow Shaosi Xu again, and ascertained the information that he had stayed over at Hua An Hotel last night.

He'd gone out and taken calming pills and carried some on him, but the place was too far and too strange and he'd been out too seldom, so to be sure he still had to see to it in person, and he didn't want to be too much of a mess in front of her, so just bracing himself to come back was already the limit.

"I'm not happy." Xu You said suddenly.

Min Duan froze.

"At your expense," Xu You said softly, "I will not be happy."

--

"Cousin, I want to go abroad." Qi You, lying on the hospital bed, said to Xu You, who was packing a thermos box.

Xu You: "Going abroad?"

"Yeah," Qi You's slimmed down face broke into a smile, the first time she'd smiled in so many days, "Seeing him get his comeuppance, I seem to have let go of some of it, so I want to go abroad for another break and do something I like."

Shaosi Xu's final outcome is a real treat for all of them, with her father serving a life sentence, her fiancée breaking off the engagement, her company going bankrupt, and her debts mounting as she lives in the gutter, dodging debt collectors.

"Well, take care of yourself then," Xu You said, "and keep in touch."

She had just picked up the thermos box and stood up straight, when she realized that a twinge of abdominal cramps, dizziness, and before she had time to slow down, she went straight to black and lost consciousness.

I don't know how long it took, but when Xu You opened his eyes again, he woke up with a headache and a pain in his stomach, and his eyes were blinded for a while.

"Cousin ......"

Xu You slowed down the God, a moment before the sight focus to see clearly in front of Qi You, her own hospital bed is not lying down, eyes red sitting next to look at her.

There must be some kind of dogfight going on again.

"What's going on?" Xu You asked the system, "Don't play dead, come out and give an explanation."

System: "When the mission target's trust value reaches 80, it enters the decapitation mission phase, which is the countdown phase, the system can only support the host's energy in this world for three months, so it is necessary to lay the groundwork for the host to leave the world."

Xu You asked expressionlessly, "So what kind of padding law am I in now?"

System: "Stomach cancer."

Xu You : "......" Okay, this is the biggest pain in the ass for foodies.

The system added icily and mercilessly, "Plus brain cancer."

Xu You: "............" Is she afraid that her death will not be complete?

The system spread its hands, "There's no way, the medical treatment in this world is too advanced, a stomach cancer can't exterminate you in three months."

Xu You: Listen to this, what a terrible speech, the questioner is sad and the listener is in tears.

Qi You could not hold back, tears rustling down, "Cousin sister, should we tell cousin husband he ......"

Xu You decisively said, "Don't tell, don't let him know."

"Then you ....." She couldn't go on.

"But what about your treatment," Qi You said worriedly, "He's always going to know, and it's not like he's going to stop treating you because he's afraid he'll find out."

After Shaosi Xu's incident, Xu You realized that Min Duan was too sharp, and that he would notice the slightest sign, so it was too difficult to hide it from him, so he had to be prepared for everything this time.

"I'll go abroad with you in a while." Xu You said.

--

"Back?" As soon as he heard the movement of the door opening, Min Duan stopped what he was doing and ran to her.

Xu You could now see Min Duan standing in the foyer as soon as she opened the door, a smile on his face, and if there was a tail behind him, it would probably be wagging, reminding her inexplicably of the Shoujia's big dog.

Min Duan has a lot of mud on his hands and a small shovel.

Xu You changed your shoes and put your bag in the living room, and saw the mess on the balcony. When she was not at home, Min Duan was organizing the jasmine flowers that had been destroyed by the storm last night, replanting them, pressing down the soil, and putting the petals back into the soil one by one.

He did it with patience and care.

Xu You crouched and watched for a while, and also rolled up his sleeves to join the action.

Min Duan didn't stop her just because it was troublesome and dirty, in fact he enjoyed spending time with Xu You, even if it was just doing something quietly.

In fact, Xu You had done countless mental constructions on the way back, but the moment she saw Min Duan, it was hard for her to calm down, and she had been trying hard to pretend to be as natural as usual.

Under Min Duan's probing gaze, she continued to smile extremely naturally.

After rearranging the jasmine flowers on the balcony and windowsill, Xu You went to the restroom to wash her hands, and Min Duan followed her and said, "You have something on your mind, and it has to do with me."

Xu You footsteps, "......" She's too hard.

Xu You turned on the faucet and washed the mud from his hands, then deliberated on the wording and said, " Min Duan , the maple leaves of the mountainous Chiba Lake are all red, I want to go and have a look."

"Going for a couple days?" He asked.

Xu You drew a tissue and wiped his hands, "Three days."

The man at his side was quiet for a few seconds before slowly saying, "Okay, I understand."

Xu You held back his emotions, but he couldn't help but look at him sideways, while Min Duan had already lowered his eyelids, making it difficult to see his emotions.

After dinner in the evening, Xu You washed the bag of strawberries he bought and made three jars of strawberry jam for him, "You eat one jar a day, I'll be back when you're done."

Min Duan didn't say anything, hugging the jar and squatting to the side, silently watching her organize her luggage.

After a while, he said, "Where's your thermos?"

Xu You: "Bring it."

"Coat?"

"Bring it on."

"Scarf?"

"Bring it on."

Min Duan: "Where are the gloves?"

Xu You: "Bring it on."

Min Duan said softly, "What about me?"

--

In the early morning, the Sun shows a corner of the sky, and the sunlight pours onto the somewhat yellowed leaves, like a subtle layer of gold leaf.

Min Duan escorted Xu You downstairs and handed her the suitcase she was carrying.

"I'm just going to check it out," Xu You said as he took the suitcase, "and take more pictures of you if it looks good."

"Uh-huh." Min Duan forced down the loss in his heart, he didn't need those pictures, he only wanted Xu You by his side, but Xu You wanted to go and see them, he shouldn't have stopped it, otherwise she would have one less minute of fun and one more minute of regret.

Xu You pulled the suitcase and left, do not dare to turn back, for fear that if you turn back, you will regret, since you have made a decision, then you can only go all the way.

Min Duan stood still, silently watching her ever-distant back until she disappeared.

He didn't know how long he stood there before he came back to his senses, and the loneliness of his surroundings without her presence made his breath ache.

Min Duan walked upstairs and went to his room, taking out the strawberry jam Xu You had made for him, he took out a spoon and dug a large spoonful and ate it.

After a few moments, he murmured, "It's not sweet."

It turns out that the people who made the stuff aren't there, and even the stuff has lost its flavor.

Xu You arrived at the place with a disheveled mood, is a quite secluded mountain, halfway up the mountainside concave into a large mouth, the water between the mountains there converged into a lake, the surrounding maple leaves red like fire.

She dragged her heavy steps halfway up the mountain again, honestly she used to love traveling to see nature, she just wasn't in that mood at all now.

Because it was a weekday, not many people came to visit, a few scattered people were taking pictures, and two or three people were sketching with their drawing boards in their hands.

The surface of the lake on the leeward slope is as flat as a mirror, surrounded by a circle of red maple leaves reflecting around the lake, and the middle of the lake is emerald green, blending together like a painting, very beautiful.

Xu You took out his cell phone and took pictures and sent them to Min Duan.

The black-painted room was airtight, thick and depressing, and Min Duan retreated back into his original dark room, sitting numbly in the corner without a single ray of light as far as the eye could see.

Nothing wanted to be done, or nothing made sense to him anymore.

Until his phone lit up with a faint light, and his eyes lit up slightly, he immediately picked it up and opened it to check for messages.

He used to not use his cell phone when he was alone, but then Xu You went to the supermarket to buy groceries, and when he saw any fresh vegetables or tasty snacks, he would call and ask him if he wanted it, and that's how he got into the habit of carrying a cell phone with him.

There were so many unknowing habits that started because of her and became difficult because of her absence.

The message on her cell phone was a picture of her wrapped in a large red scarf, her dark soft hair wrapped in a tousled, slightly disheveled mess, somewhat dappled by the daylight seeping down from between the leaves of the trees.

smiled in her sunshine, a fine light in her eyes.

It turned out she was so starkly good looking out there that she told the maple leaves behind her to fade.

It was so good that it laced his windpipe with gravel, and his breath brought out the pain of friction, and he wanted to close his eyes and couldn't tear them away.

"Ring-ring-ring," the cell phone rang, Xu You called.

Min Duan took a deep breath, tried to suppress his emotions, and when he picked up the phone again, his tone was the same as before, calling softly, " Xu You ."

" Min Duan, did you eat the strawberry jam?" Xu You asked.

Min Duan: "Eat."

"You eat slower, don't eat three cans a day, eat one can a day, I'll go back and make you a new one the day it's finished," Xu You said, "And the recipes, I'll go back and write you more when I've learned almost everything."

"Good." His voice was low and soft.

--

The day Xu You came back was a cloudy day, she dragged her suitcase and saw Min Duan standing downstairs waiting for who knows how long.

The moment he saw Xu You, there was a gleam in his dull eyes, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a smile as he reached out to take her suitcase.

Xu You pulled the scarf down a bit, revealing his chin, "Didn't I say to call before coming down, this side is less crowded, but there will be people passing by from time to time, when you ......"

"That's okay." He said.

Xu You sighed and pulled him towards the stairs.

Opening the door and sweeping in, not much had changed, after all, he'd only been gone for three days.

Min Duan, on the other hand, has changed dramatically.

In the following days Min Duan was especially clinging to her, he followed her in almost everything she did, and he didn't sleep in the middle of the night, always hovering by her door, as if he was afraid that she would sneak away in the middle of the night.

On top of that, she felt that Min Duan was trying his best to please her.

Trying hard to learn to cook all kinds of food for her, carefully talking to her, speculating on her psychology, and whenever she took an interest in something, he immediately got it back.

For example, if she just wanted to eat a few chestnuts, he told the puppet to carry back a box.

The slightest thing that would make her happy, he wouldn't hesitate to do.

Xu You doesn't like it, but there's nothing he can do to change Min Duan's state; he's too afraid of losing her, and she's destined to leave this world.

Two days later, Xu You bought a big box of strawberries and a big jar of icing sugar. While she was washing the strawberries in the kitchen, Min Duan suddenly asked in a troubled tone, "Are you leaving again?"

Xu You's hand movements lurched, biting her lip before saying, "Yes, the snowy scenery in the north is beautiful, I want to go and see it." She was really close to being unable to speak.

"Fifteen days?" He scanned the fifteen glass jars that lay on the table.

"Uh-huh."

Xu You didn't dare to look up at his expression, the strawberries on her hands seemed to have thorns, making it a bit difficult for her to wash them.

Min Duan tightened his teeth and pressed his fingertips into his palms, desperately trying to restrain the soreness in his heart.

She was leaving again, leaving again, and it was so beautiful out there, and there was nothing he could do to keep her.

Min Duan lowered his eyes, "I don't want it."

"Hmm?"

"I don't want strawberry jam," Min Duan said, word for word, "If strawberry jam is just a parting gift for later, I'll never eat it again, never again."

The bright red strawberry in her hand was like his squeezed heart.

So prickly.

It hurts like this.

--

Xu You or go, take the car to the north, looking out the window of the fast receding buildings and trees, heart and heavy and blocked.

Min Duan is so dependent on her that she has no choice but to let him constantly adjust to her absence, for three days, half a month, and then disappear completely.

Give him a mental preparation of what to expect and then let him get used to the next few days without her.

When Min Duan is the only one left in the large room, he retreats back into his dark room, where the only light is his cell phone screen, and he looks at the picture of Xu You outside over and over again.

She's good out there like that. She belongs in the sun.

Why couldn't he himself stand with her?

Rubbing his fingertips over the screen for a moment, he stepped into the lab and poured out a large number of pills, pulling out a large injection.

......

After half a month, Xu You came back and saw Min Duan waiting downstairs.

The moonlight was thin, the wind was blowing, and the streetlamps stretched out his shadow. Xu You knew the mood was painful, and you lowered your eyes.

Min Duan took her suitcase and the two of them went upstairs.

When he went to his room to change clothes, Min Duan took off the black trench coat he was wearing, Xu You realized that he had lost so much weight, emaciated so much, and the obvious greenish-gray under his eyes looked like he hadn't slept well.

But as soon as he saw her, his eyes filled with laughter.

"I've learned to cook fifteen more dishes according to your recipes, so let me cook for you later."

"I've been taking care of the jasmine flowers with great care, but because of the winter, they've faded quite a bit."

"The rooms I've cleaned, just as they were before you left."

"I've bought a lot of storybooks for when you come back and tell them to me, or I'll tell them to you."

" Xu You ," he softened his voice, his eyes loving, "I miss you so much."

Xu You pinched the clothes in his hand in silence, in the past, when Min Duan put his heart and soul into what he did, she would praise him, even if it was just a simple two sentences, he would be happy, because he felt that she had him in her eyes.

Only now, she couldn't show anything more.

Min Duan sensed her silence and fell silent as well, hiding the loss under his eyes as he smiled and said, "You're tired after traveling all the way, go to your room and rest first, I'll call you when I've prepared the meal."

Xu You nodded and went back to the bedroom and flopped down on the bed, letting out a long breath.

At this time, the cell phone beeped, Xu You opened it to see Qi You's short message: [Cousin, the procedures for going abroad have been completed, to determine the date of departure you tell me, I'll go to book a ticket].

Xu You: [Okay, three days later.]

In just half a month, Min Duan had changed so much that Xu You almost thought he was a different person.

He used to not love to smile, at most some laughter in his eyes, will bend the corners of the lips, but now he has been smiling, belongs to the gentle kind of smile, do things have become meticulous and considerate, everything, as if overnight from a boy into a man.

Xu You became the one being taken care of instead.

When she mentioned leaving for the third time, the man's calm gaze shattered in an instant, and he forced himself to hold back, still crooking out a smile, "Okay, I'll wait for you to come back."

This time, what surprised Xu You the most was that Min Duan followed her out and drove her to the airport.

She had been nervous about his state all the way, afraid he would have an attack because of it, wondering what he had done, and with all the people and traffic along the way, he had only broken out in a cold sweat, and was in a fairly stable state.

Xu You held his hand tightly, "How's it going?"

"It's okay, it's okay." Min Duan lifted his hand and touched the top of her hair.

When she arrived at the airport, there were even more people around, Xu You felt him tense up but kept insisting on sending her to the airport, gritting her teeth to hold back the sourness in her eyes, she sniffled and lowered her head, not daring to look at him, " Min Duan , bye."

Then she turned around with her suitcase, her whole heart sinking with the pace.

The two of them pulled apart, a number of pedestrians passed between them, the announcement in the airport was echoing, Min Duan watched her back, and suddenly an aching sense of uneasiness bubbled up in the bottom of his heart.

" Xu You!" He stepped forward and took her hand, looking down at her expression.

Min Duan's eyelashes trembled, followed by a soft tremor in his breath, "Will you come back?"

Xu You paused and raised her head, meeting his flustered eyes, "A lifetime is so long, there is always a time to return." She smiled, as she had when she first met him, the arc of her raised smile bringing out shallow pear swirls.

Min Duan lowered her eyes, removed her mask, pulled down her scarf, leaned down and dropped a soft kiss.

Xu You looked at him blankly.

Min Duan rewrapped the scarf around her, revealing only her large, bright eyes.

"I'll wait for you, Xu You."

"I'll be waiting for you to come back."

"This time I can accompany you to the airport, next time I can accompany you to see the world."

When the time comes, we'll never be apart again.