"..."
The stars in the sky were few and far between, and it was quiet indoors.
In the boundless darkness, there was suddenly an extra trace of light.
Stunned, Ling Ye suddenly felt his nose getting a little sore as he looked at that light.
Immediately afterwards, the warm, tender, and soft...Little Xiji stuffed itself into his arms.
The little Shiba Inu was dazed as it opened its watery eyes and tilted its head in confusion. "Woof?"
"Little Xiji is very obedient, can you let it accompany you?" asked Xiang Yi whose voice was mellow and sweet, like a heavenly melody in the night. "I once read in a paper that pets can effectively relieve human anxiety and tension."
Ling Ye's Adam's apple rolled and he finally managed to suppress his incessant coughing. He said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you..."
"You're welcome." Xiang Yi gazed at him calmly and didn't discriminate him or try to give him any life advice. Instead, she asked, "Do you need me to close the door?"
She did not demand him to be normal and strong or force him to try and get better.
Yet for the first time, Ling Ye felt that he was being respected.
He heard his own nearly broken murmur. "Sister Xiang Yi... can you not go?"
Before Xiang Yi could answer, the angelic and pretty young man with exquisite features, said self-deprecatingly, "How can I deserve..." His fingertips curled up hard and he murmured, "I'm sorry, Sister Xiang Yi."
Xiang Yi blinked gently and pointed in the direction of the bookshelf. "I'll leave a crack in the door while I go outside to read. If you're afraid, knock twice on the door and if I hear you, I'll also knock twice on the bookshelf. Is that okay with you?"
Ling Ye looked at her in disbelief. He didn't even know if he nodded, and by the time he came back to his senses, he was shrouded in darkness again.
The difference was that there was a chubby Shiba Inu in his arms, rubbing itself against his chest and actively baring its belly for him to rub it.
There was a small night lamp beside him, which was extremely dim and faint but stubbornly glistening against the infinite darkness.
He looked through the gap in the door to see that the area where the bookshelf was had been lit up. The light seemed to have a fatal attraction to him and for a moment, Ling Ye suddenly understood why moths are destined to swarm towards light.
That beaming light is what the heart yearns for.
He tentatively knocked twice on the door lightly before quickly retracting his hand.
He was afraid she wouldn't hear him but also afraid that she would.
He was conflicted and stuck in a dilemma.
A few seconds later, the calm and composed sound of bones being knocked against solid wood came in through the door.
All the confusion and agony seemed to have been muted at this moment.
Ling Ye's heart was beating extremely quickly as he clenched his fist.
The system sensed his abnormality and remained silent.
Even though the salvation was short-lived, it was still salvation.
At least in this moment, the host is blissful.
...
...
Xiang Yi was reading a book attentively when she suddenly sensed another figure beside her.
Unable to hold himself back any longer, the figure tugged the corner of her shirt.
"Sister Xiang Yi."
Xiang Yi looked in the direction of the sound and discovered that Ling Ye had come over at some point and was now sitting cross-legged on the floor, looking up at her without blinking and facing her with his pretty face.
"Is there something wrong?" Xiang Yi frowned and said, "The floor is cold, get up."
'Sister Xiang Yi is showing me concern.'
This realization made Ling Ye feel excited yet miserable.
"Sister Xiang Yi, can I keep staying by your side?"
"Sister, I will be very good."
"Sister..."
His voice was nasally and he sounded like he was acting coquettishly or even pleading her.
Xiang Yi said calmly, "Ling Ye, don't get lost. You should go home."
Hearing this, Ling Ye suddenly laughed bitterly.
He said, "Sister Xiang Yi, not everyone wants to go home."