Chapter 66: Dear Starry

Chapter 66 Dear Starry

Xu Zhou had initially summoned them to the convenience store to retrieve the two large bags of snacks they’d bought. So, when Assistant Liu found the paper bags outside, he and his assistant promptly left. But Xu Zhou, for his part, stayed with Xu Xingli for the entire night shift.

The next morning, the moment the shift changed, Xu Zhou wasted no time calling a driver to take Xu Xingli back to his dorm.

He still had to go to work at the company. As he departed, he instructed Xu Xingli, "Get some good rest today, and remember to apply the medicine to your hand on time."

Xu Xingli was so sleepy his eyes could barely focus. He nodded casually in response, but after taking a couple of steps, he suddenly turned around.

Xu Zhou was watching him through the open car window.

Xu Xingli felt a rare pang of awkwardness. He raised a hand to touch the tip of his nose, trying to make his tone sound as normal as possible: "Thanks for last night. I owe you one."

Hearing this, the person in the car paused, then a faint smile touched his lips. Xu Zhou smiled gently, his voice soft: "Alright, you owe me one."

This time, it was Xu Xingli who stopped dead in his tracks.

No, buddy. Aren't you going to be modest? You just admitted it??

He just wanted to be polite, so why did he agree?! Why doesn't this person play by the rules?!

After saying that, Xu Zhou turned to tell the driver to start the car, then turned back to see Xu Xingli's bewildered expression, and the curve of his lips became even more pronounced.

"I'm leaving. Don't walk alone at night recently," Xu Zhou advised him one last time before he left.

Public safety abroad was not as good as in China, and Xu Xingli, having stayed in Country A for so long, was well aware of this. To prevent the man from that day from seeking revenge, he had specifically swapped shifts with his boss and hadn't scheduled any night shifts recently.

On the seventh day of Jian Ran's disappearance, this person suddenly sent him a message, saying that something had happened at school and he had to rush back, and that he would come to visit him next time.

Xu Xingli shrugged helplessly, replied "OK," and was about to walk up to his dorm building when the aunt downstairs suddenly called out to him.

"Xu—Xing—Li—is that right?" The aunt called out his name somewhat awkwardly. After getting confirmation, she smiled, leaned over, opened the front desk drawer, and took out something palm-sized.

"Here you go. A boy personally delivered it just now. It's a letter," the aunt pointed, her expression filled with emotion. "People still write letters in this day and age. You must be very important to him."

Xu Xingli was startled at first, then reached out to take it. The envelope was a simple design, sealed with a dark blue and gold wax seal, the pattern of which was a galaxy.

His breath hitched, and his heart stopped for a moment. He almost immediately guessed whose letter it was.

He didn't even wait for the elevator, quickly ran back to his dorm, tore open the envelope, and unfolded the letter. The first line that caught his eye was written in elegant and unrestrained handwriting—Dear Starry.

Xu Xingli's heart beat a little fast, thumping against his chest. His gaze shifted downwards, continuing to read—

[It will snow tomorrow, remember to keep warm. Remember to apply medicine to your hand injury.

Remember to be happy.

—Xu Zhou]

Other than that, there was no other superfluous information.

Xu Xingli looked at the letter from all angles, front and back, but couldn't find any overlooked words. His heartbeat almost instantly calmed down, and he pursed his lips speechlessly.

Well, this person just put all his online bravado into writing letters. It was truly disappointing.

Xu Xingli sighed, refolded the letter, put it back into the envelope, and then placed it in his suitcase.

From that day on, Xu Xingli received a letter every afternoon, rain or shine, on time.

The content of the letters varied in length; sometimes it was just a simple "good night and sweet dreams," other times it was holiday greetings and well wishes, but they never exceeded a hundred words. The letters always began with "Dear Starry" and always ended with the four words—"Remember to be happy."

Xu Zhou never revealed anything about his own life in the letters, and Xu Xingli never wrote back. But Xu Zhou seemed very familiar with Xu Xingli's life; sometimes when the school held events, Xu Zhou would always know about them immediately and mention them in his letters.

Xu Xingli was not surprised; school events were publicly announced, so it was normal for Xu Zhou to know.

Oh no, now he didn't even mind Xu Zhou doing this; he even felt that Xu Zhou had made great progress just by doing this much.

Was this the legendary "boiling a frog in warm water"?

Putting another letter into his suitcase, Xu Xingli looked at the various envelopes filling the box and couldn't help but inwardly scold himself.

A Che, sitting in a swivel chair with headphones on, won a game and immediately cheered, spinning several circles. Finally, he saw his aloof roommate staring blankly at his suitcase and casually asked, "What's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly so interested in your suitcase? Do you want to go back to China?"

Xu Xingli was startled, brought back to his senses by the call. He shook his head, reached out to close the suitcase, and stood up.

A Che started another game, spun back in his swivel chair, and then suddenly spun back a few seconds later.

"Starry," he called.

Xu Xingli looked over.

A Che blinked: "Tomorrow is Christmas. Our basketball club is going to a dinner party at the pizza place near the school. Come with us!"

Seeing Xu Xingli frown, he quickly added, "Come on, Starry! Our old friends want to see you, and the team members are always pestering me to bring you along. You know how noisy those girls and those smelly boys are! I feel like I'll need a hearing aid if this keeps up; they don't even treat me like a human!"

To show his sincerity, he even put down his phone, clasped his hands together, and looked at Xu Xingli pleadingly with blinking eyes.

Xu Xingli pursed his lips, but finally agreed.

A Che couldn't keep his mouth shut. Within an hour, the news that Xu Xingli was going to the basketball club gathering spread through the group chat. The girls in the basketball club were thrilled. When they saw the two arrive, they swarmed around them.

Speaking of which, Xu Xingli was once a member of the basketball club, though A Che had dragged him into it. He had good physical stamina and was tall. Because he practiced taekwondo, his strength was also outstanding, and he almost became the forward for their school's basketball team.

However, at that time, he was busy with piano competitions and also working part-time, so he really couldn't manage it all and withdrew from the team, which caused quite a stir at the time.

The school basketball team had undergone a renewal, with many new members joining. Xu Xingli couldn't recognize all of them but still smiled and responded to their enthusiasm.

The two were surrounded and led to their seats. Xu Xingli sat next to A Che. The people at the table were excited and boisterous until the pizza was served, which barely managed to calm the situation.

A Che looked at the younger students who were grabbing pizza without any regard for their image, and helplessly rubbed his forehead: "Is this the breath of living people? I'm not that out of control at my age."

Xu Xingli's lips curled upwards: "You're not much better. You insisted on singing love songs on the main road when you were drunk, and we couldn't stop you—mmph!"

A Che immediately reached out and covered his mouth. But it was a step too late; the team members nearby were already looking over, gossiping.

"Senior A Che did that too?"

"What happened next? What happened then?"

"..."

More than a dozen people swarmed over again, chattering and asking questions, almost driving A Che to a breakdown on the spot.

In the midst of the chaos, Xu Xingli suddenly felt a gaze.

It was the same gaze that had been spying on him before.

Since Xu Zhou started writing to him, this gaze had not appeared again. Now that he detected it again, he felt uncomfortable.

This gaze was more secretive, more sinister.

Was Xu Zhou here?

Thinking this, he instantly looked up, glancing around. Aside from people, there was no sign of the figure he expected.

Why was he still hiding? Was he such a terrifying person? So afraid to face him.

He frowned slightly, stood up from the crowded seat, and when a few girls asked him where he was going, he just smiled and casually said he was going out for some fresh air.

A few minutes later, he stopped at the alley entrance next to the pizza shop. After waiting a few more minutes, a dark figure slowly approached him from behind.

He took a deep breath, and as he turned, he said, "I told you I don't like being followed. Can you please stop... mmmph!"

Before he could finish speaking, a hand clutching a handkerchief suddenly reached out and forcefully covered his mouth.

Perhaps because it was dark, the person's aim was a bit off, covering the wrong spot. As he was about to try again, Xu Xingli reacted, smoothly executing a perfect over-the-shoulder throw.

This time he saw what the person looked like. A black coat, a scarf covering most of his face, only his eyes visible, just like the person in the convenience store.

And that sinister, malicious gaze.

Xu Xingli suddenly realized, wasn't the person following him Xu Zhou?

Realizing this, Xu Xingli suddenly felt a chill. His abdomen suddenly cramped, and a wave of nausea washed over him, making him feel sick.

"Damn it!" He swore the only curse word he had uttered in the past two years, looking down at the man on the ground. He clenched his fist and spoke indifferently, "Don't follow me, and don't try to sneak attack, or it won't be as simple as an over-the-shoulder throw today."

After saying this, he walked away without looking back.

As he was about to exit the alley, hurried footsteps came from behind him again. Xu Xingli took a deep breath, his lips tightly pressed together. Just as he was about to turn and throw a punch, a sharp, cold glint suddenly flashed in his peripheral vision.

"Xingxing!"

A familiar figure darted out from nowhere, lunging behind him, reaching out to intercept the cold light.

The next moment, a few drops of bright crimson blood splattered onto Xu Xingli's face. His eyes widened.

Before he could react, Xu Zhou had already pulled him behind him by the shoulder, then kicked away the man who lunged forward. The small knife, stained with red blood, clattered to the ground.

The man tried to pick up the knife, but after a few steps, Xu Zhou stepped on his hand again.

"Ah!" A piercing scream rang out.

Blood was still flowing down Xu Zhou's arm, dripping onto the ground, slowly spreading.

He seemed to feel no pain, only grinding the man's hand forcefully, his voice chilling: "I told you, if you're not clean next time, you won't want these hands anymore."

Xu Xingli stared blankly at the constantly bleeding arm. Hearing this, he finally came to his senses, immediately kicked the small knife away, and then pulled Xu Zhou.

His tone was extremely anxious: "Let's go to the hospital! We can't delay any longer! Xu Zhou, let's go!"

But Xu Zhou seemed not to hear, staring intently at the man struggling in pain on the ground. The man was almost in agony to the point of fainting.

"Xu Zhou!" Xu Xingli desperately called out to him, then remembered something and dialed A Che's number. He was extremely flustered and didn't know what he had said. When he realized it, he was already pulling Xu Zhou into a taxi.

Xu Zhou's arm wouldn't stop bleeding. After such a long time, he was a bit exhausted, leaning against the car seat with his eyes half-closed, his breathing soft. Xu Xingli took off his own clothes and desperately pressed them against the wound. Finally, when his clothes were completely soaked with blood, he couldn't hold back anymore, and tears streamed down his face like an unstoppable flow of blood, one by one.

He cried silently, but Xu Zhou immediately noticed his tears.

He reached out his uninjured hand, wanting to cup Xu Xingli's face, but Xu Xingli shook his head, refusing.

Finally, having no other choice, Xu Zhou said softly, "Don't cry."

Xu Xingli cried incessantly, sniffing, and cursed fiercely, "I told you to leave, but you wouldn't. You just had to stay there and deal with him! What if it's too late and delays treatment... What if..."

He trailed off here. Xu Zhou thought he was crying too miserably, so he immediately reached out and put his arm around Xu Xingli's neck, pulling him into his embrace, and gently patted his back to comfort him.

"I'm sorry." His voice was low and soft, his tone revealing heartache and guilt, "I made you worry."

Xu Xingli was sobbing, gasping for breath, and immediately buried his face in Xu Zhou's neck when he was hugged. Xu Zhou almost instantly felt the extremely hot dampness on his collarbone.

"I have nothing to do with you anymore, Xu Zhou," Xu Xingli suddenly said.

Xu Zhou stiffened.

"You are not bound by anyone. No one is someone you must sacrifice your life to protect," Xu Xingli's voice trembled, his tone muffled, "Including me."

"I don't want to be trapped by you either, you know?" he finally said.

Xu Zhou was silent for a long time.

Later, Xu Xingli stopped sobbing. Just as he was about to push him away, Xu Zhou's hand, which was on the back of his neck, pressed him back into his embrace.

"I can't do it."

Xu Xingli's eyes widened, then quickly lowered.

"Xingxing, which is more important: killing that person just now, or taking me to the hospital?"

Xu Xingli thought to himself, isn't that a stupid question? He could still distinguish between killing and saving lives.

But Xu Zhou's hand tightly protected his neck, saying, "Tell me the truth."

Xu Xingli was so flustered by him that he couldn't breathe properly. Just as he was about to curse, Xu Zhou buried his face in his neck.

The breath on his skin was so hot, it felt like it would burn through his heart.

"Take you to the hospital." Xu Xingli couldn't help but shiver, quickly surrendering.

"Am I more important?" Xu Zhou was still asking.

Although he didn't know the connection between these two questions or how Xu Zhou was making such a leap, with every word he spoke, his frighteningly hot breath landed on Xu Xingli's neck, forcing Xu Xingli to subconsciously say, "Yes."

Xu Zhou hugged him even tighter.

"Is it me?"

Xu Xingli was getting impatient. He reached out and pushed him, saying, "It's you. You heard right. And don't keep repeating it."

But Xu Zhou still didn't let go.

Xu Xingli completely exploded, starting to struggle, his tone unpleasant: "I'm suffocating! Let go! You..."

His words suddenly stopped.

A warm, damp patch spread on his shoulder.

Xu Xingli's body stiffened, his eyes widened. He tilted his head slightly, his voice incredulous: "...Xu Zhou, you..."

He didn't finish the rest of his sentence, because a tear landed heavily on the back of his hand.

Only then did Xu Xingli belatedly realize. Xu Zhou was crying.