The Male Lead Who Doesn't Like to Eat (21)

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Half an hour earlier, Xie Yu had just left his younger uncle. As expected, the man had once again filled both his hands and then his pockets with stomach medicine and an even larger bag of snacks. He walked out of the elevator and, as he passed by Sijiu’s apartment door, he stopped without knowing why.
Was she home? Didn’t she have a livestream today? If she did, maybe he could join her for dinner.
The thought jolted him, and he turned back at once, hurrying into his own place.

He dumped the two bags on the table without care, drank a glass of water, and went into the study.
He didn’t know how long passed before he suddenly heard barking from the neighboring balcony.
At first he ignored it. But the barking grew harsher, more vicious.

Xie Yu frowned and went to the balcony, where he saw the golden retriever.
In recent days the dog had been quiet. At home, Xie Yu only heard it bark a few times in passing; most of the time Sijiu would play with it, coaxing it into a ruckus.
Now it barked like this, yet there was no sign of her.
At the sight of him, it barked even more fiercely, wagged its tail wildly, and spun in place.
Could something have happened to her?

“Good girl, steady now. Don’t be so rushed.” he soothed the dog, then hurried back through the living room to the front door.

When he pulled it open, his next step hung in the air.
A girl had curled up by the threshold. Startled by the sudden opening, she shot up her eyes and looked at him in panic—tears on her face, eyes red and swollen. On her feet were disposable slippers, once-white now stained gray and black.

Xie Yu’s eyelids twitched; he instinctively reached for her arm and pulled her up.
“What are you doing here?”

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“What happened like this?”
Sijiu couldn’t control her sobbing. It was that kind of crying—so fierce it wouldn’t stop.
“Sorry… this morning when I left, I forgot my keys.”
Even as she spoke, more tears poured down for free.

She was crying because she forgot her key? And with those slippers—where could she have come from?
“Come inside first, then we’ll talk.”

As Xie Yu let go, Sijiu swayed and nearly fell. A reflex caught her, and he caught her, lifting her fully into his arms.
Xie Yu: …
“My feet are numb… they’re numb…”
“Just moments ago you were standing so steadily, and now that I let go of you your feet go numb? Your timing is off and your acting deserves a zero.”
“Shut up.”

Xie Yu’s arms shifted again. Sijiu was trying to guess whether he meant to carry her in or push her away.
The next second, he had both hands under her armpits, lifted her like a child, turned, carried her inside, and set her down on the sofa.
Sijiu: …
“You’re playing with me?!!!”
You know what you’re doing? Your timing’s so unpredictable I almost lost control of my expression.

The System chirped, “chit-chit-chit-chit,” as if it delighted in her confusion.
Even Xie Yu himself was startled by his own action. He had no idea he would react that way. Fortunately, she remained lost in her tears, so he quickly masked himself.

“Did you not keep a spare key?”
“The spare key is at a friend’s place,” Xie Yu started to say. “My phone is at home too… sniffling…”

“I left my phone at home too, sniff…”

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Xie Yu had never known someone could cry so much.
“Don’t cry,” he said, his expression darkening with an odd sensation inside him.
Most people, when they cry, don’t look very attractive, some of them even annoying. But there was nothing in her tears that triggered disgust—no wet, messy misery that made him want to turn away.
“Fine. Borrow my phone and call your friend.”
“I don’t remember her number…” she sobbed, looking up at him with wet eyes, all hurt and dependence.
It tugged at his heart.

“Don’t cry!” His voice snapped out in sudden irritation.
Though it didn’t quite reach a shout, it was still louder than usual.
He regretted the words the instant he spoke them. Sijiu, startled, met his gaze in silence.
His eyes stuck, unbidden, on the blood-red edges of her eyes, and his breath caught.
Suddenly he turned aside, voice cold, and said, “I’m not scolding you,” then left in an awkward posture.

“Sijiu: Where did he go?”
System: “Um… I don’t know. Let’s check the live stream together.”

In the scene, Xie Yu was standing in the bathroom, leaning on the washbasin, face damp with water, staring into the mirror as though not fully himself.
After a few breaths, he lowered his gaze once, then slapped the basin with his palm and muttered a harsh curse.