Su Zhinian's diary had mentioned more than once that he would space out like this after returning from Hai Nan. When Song Qingchun saw this sentence, she had not paid it much mind. It was not until now, when she saw how soulless Su Zhinian, that she realized the depth of sorrow and loneliness that was behind that one simple sentence.
Song Qingchun's heart rocked with pain. She walked one step forward to stand beside the man. She moved her lips to shatter the silence on the balcony. "What are you looking at?"
Half a minute after she said that, Su Zhinian slowly turned his head toward her. When he saw her, a flash of surprise dyed his eyes. Am I hallucinating?
Su Zhinian's lips moved, and he whispered her name as if trying to find out whether she was real or not. "Qingchun?"
"Yes…" Song Qingchun turned around to smile at Su Zhinian then nodded empathetically. "…It's me."
Why isn't she with Qin Yinan? Why is she here? Is this a side-effect from the tranquilizers? But she seems so real…
Just as Su Zhinian was lost in his illusion, a night breeze picked up and tousled her hair. Her hair swept his face. It tingled him, and the sensation was so real that Su Zhinian unconsciously reached out to touch his own face. Her silky smooth hair intertwined with his fingers. He lowered his head to stare at the black hair in his fingers for about two seconds before his whole body shivered.
So, it's not an illusion, it's real… she's really here…
As the thought settled in Su Zhinian's mind, his eyes wandered all over her body. When he saw that she was standing in the balcony in her bare feet, his brows furrowed deeply. The next second, he pulled his slippers off, bent down, and helped her put them on.
Su Zhinian's slippers were too large for her feet, but they retained his body temperature. The warmth slowly reintroduced senses to her frozen feet.
He originally wanted to ask why she was back, but when he noticed how dirty and cold her feet were when he helped her put on the slippers, he stood up, grabbed her arm, and pulled her back indoors. She had not even dressed the injury on her feet. He was reminded of how the cold would affect her menstrual cramps.
He pointed at the sofa, signaling for her to sit down, as he walked into the bathroom. After about ten minutes and the sound of plenty of water rushing, Su Zhinian came back out with a small tub filled with warm water.
He squatted down before her, placed the tub down, and reached out to help ease her feet into the water. This was the first time someone had helped her wash her feet since she was a child, so Song Qingchun could not get used to it. She pulled her legs back instinctively and said softly, "Thank you, I'll do it myself."
As if her words fell on deaf ears, Su Zhinian tightened his grip on her ankles to stop her from escaping. With his head lowered, he focused on scrubbing out the blood stains and dirt from her feet.