MY - 55

She knew the person was at the window.

Lu Nandu sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Jiang Xi, who was now sitting up on the bed.

After a brief moment of silence, he said, “There’s only one.”

Lu Nandu had said that “they” were screaming, not just one person, but now he said there was only one.

Before she could ask anything, he spoke again.

“A lot of people downstairs are screaming,” he paused, his voice calm, yet it felt as if every word was being torn from his flesh. “There’s only one by the window.”

When he finished speaking, Jiang Xi’s spine went cold.

But even so, her face was completely expressionless. She turned her head and glanced at the window.

At this time, Lu Nandu was observing her expression very carefully.

Seeing Jiang Xi’s expression freeze for a moment, he gave a bitter smile. “You can’t see, can you?”

Jiang Xi was a little surprised and turned her head to look at him.

It turned out that Lu Nandu knew that others couldn’t see anything when he was having an episode.

He looked at her, his voice hoarse. “Do you think I’m a lunatic, just like them?”

He was anxious and scared.

With just one word from Jiang Xi, he would fall into hell and become one with the ghosts.

Lu Nandu was sitting on the floor. Jiang Xi lowered her gaze and looked at him. She reached out and ran her fingers through his short hair at the back of his head.

She ruffled the hair at the back of his head, met his gaze for a few seconds, then put her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug.

“No.”

She paused for a few seconds and said, “I can’t see them, but I know they’re outside.”

Lu Nandu was buried against her stomach, his lips parted, and his nose tingled.

Jiang Xi sensed his emotions and ruffled his hair again. “I know they’re there.”

For so many years, Lu Nandu had never heard anyone say that. Not a single person had ever said that.

So many people, no matter who they were. They would only say that he was a lunatic, spouting nonsense, and that his mind was not clear.

But he really did see them.

Lu Nandu was stunned for a long time. After a while, he finally raised his arms and hugged Jiang Xi, as if she were his last resort.

His lips trembled slightly, and his voice was suppressed. “Big sister.”

He was buried against her stomach, and after a few seconds, he spoke again.

“Jiang Xi.”

Jiang Xi was stunned. Lu Nandu rarely called her that. She could feel his shoulders trembling slightly.

“Hmm,” she said. “I’m here.”

Lu Nandu hugged her even tighter.

There was a thin layer of shirt fabric behind her waist, and something warm and sticky seemed to stick to her skin.

Jiang Xi instantly understood what Lu Nandu had been doing on the sofa just now.

To recognize her and to stay awake so he wouldn’t hurt her, he could only attack himself to regain his senses.

It was brutal and beastly.

Jiang Xi was not very surprised, but she didn’t say anything either. She just quietly held him.

After an unknown amount of time, she turned her head and glanced at the window.

She knew there wouldn’t be anyone there, and that was the case. It was impossible for anyone to be there.

She stared at the window for a long time. In fact, she had had a vague guess ever since she figured out that the source of Lu Nandu’s fear was the window.

Time ticked by. When the curtains were blown by the wind again, as if she had finally made a decision, Jiang Xi turned her head back.

She let go of Lu Nandu.

But Lu Nandu was still hugging her tightly.

“Lu Nandu,” Jiang Xi reached out and cupped his face. “Look at me.”

Lu Nandu hesitated for a moment and finally looked up.

The night poured in. His eyes were dark and deep, and his brow bone was high and heroic.

Jiang Xi met his gaze and said word by word, “No matter what I ask you next, you have to answer me truthfully, okay?”

Perhaps he knew that the questions she was about to ask were not what he wanted to hear, and he might even be extremely resistant to them.

But Lu Nandu finally nodded, just like any other time, and obediently agreed. “Okay.”

As long as she asked, he would answer.

Jiang Xi was not at all surprised by his answer.

Lu Nandu had always been like this. Although he was naughty and loved to argue with her, he would never refuse her when it came to serious matters.

Except when she told him to leave, he wouldn’t listen.

Jiang Xi’s thumb gently stroked his cheek.

“The person at the window...”

Lu Nandu’s emotions instantly tensed up, but she didn’t give him a chance to avoid it and continued, “Is she covered in blood?”

When the second half of her sentence fell, Lu Nandu was completely stunned, staring at her intently.

Seeing his reaction, Jiang Xi knew her guess was very close to the truth.

But she still said, “Answer me.”

Lu Nandu’s lips parted. After a few repetitions, he finally let out a sound.

He said yes.

In a short amount of time, Jiang Xi’s palms had a thin layer of sweat. She was silent for a few seconds before asking, “What is that person doing?”

Lu Nandu’s gaze finally moved away from her face and looked calmly at the window.

Jiang Xi didn’t disturb him, noticing that his eyes were becoming colder and colder.

Her heart was pounding like a drum.

Lu Nandu could still see it. He wasn’t fully conscious yet.

Just as she was worried that Lu Nandu would lose control, he spoke calmly. “She’s not doing anything. She’s just watching me.”

This reaction was unexpected for Jiang Xi.

Before she could ask anything else, Lu Nandu looked away from the window and at her.

He said, “You should hide.”

Jiang Xi was stunned, not understanding why.

Lu Nandu said, “She’s going to hurt you.”

For a moment, Jiang Xi thought all her guesses were wrong. Had she guessed the wrong person?

She knew she was getting closer to the answer and finally asked.

“Who is she?”

Lu Nandu looked at her and fell silent.

Jiang Xi didn’t press him and just waited quietly.

After a long time, he finally spoke.

“Chu Xingru.”

His mother.

The sky was gradually getting brighter. A faint light appeared on the eastern horizon.

Jiang Xi lay on the bed, looking at Lu Nandu, who was snuggled up in her arms.

He was still in the same position as when he fell asleep last night, with his arms tightly wrapped around her waist.

Jiang Xi looked down at him for a long time.

His eyelashes were long, his nose bridge was high, his lips were thin and red, and his breathing was steady.

After a while, she took his hand off her waist and got out of bed.

There were indeed bloodstains on the sofa, and a knife had fallen on the floor. Jiang Xi glanced at it. It was the small knife Lu Nandu had used to attack her the first time.

She ignored it for now and pushed the door open to go downstairs.

Yesterday, she had noticed there was a first aid kit in the living room downstairs.

After getting the first aid kit and returning to the bedroom, Lu Nandu was still sleeping soundly.

Jiang Xi stood by the door and glanced at him, then walked over with the first aid kit.

The back of her shirt was stained with blood, and a little had rubbed off on the base of her legs. There were a few scattered spots on the white sheets. Jiang Xi sat down on the edge of the bed.

There were several gashes on Lu Nandu’s right hand, and some were still oozing blood.

But he didn’t feel anything at all.

Jiang Xi’s gaze moved away from his hand and fell on his face.

Yesterday, the reason why she had guessed that the source of Lu Nandu’s fear was his mother, Chu Xingru, was because of his fear of windows.

Lu Nandu’s mother had died by falling from a building, right in front of him.

But she didn’t know what had happened before Chu Xingru fell that would have caused such a big trauma to Lu Nandu.

Jiang Xi didn’t wake him up. She turned around, opened the first aid kit, and used clean water to clean his wounds.

Her movements were gentle. When she was finally applying the medicine, Lu Nandu woke up.

He didn’t move. He just stared at Jiang Xi.

Jiang Xi ignored him. After a while, she looked up at him, her voice calm. “Does it hurt?”

Lu Nandu hadn’t slept well last night, so his complexion wasn’t very good, but it wasn’t too bad either.

Perhaps because he was finally able to talk to Jiang Xi about the things he was afraid of last night, Lu Nandu’s mood was much better.

He grinned. “It doesn’t hurt.”

Just as he said that, Jiang Xi suddenly pressed down harder with the cotton swab in her hand.

Lu Nandu’s brows furrowed slightly, and he gasped.

Jiang Xi said to him, “Doesn’t it hurt?”

Lu Nandu: “It hurts, it hurts, it hurts.”

He sat up and tried to hug Jiang Xi. “I’m in so much pain. I need a hug from you to get better.”

Jiang Xi pushed him away. “Don’t get medicine on my clothes. I haven’t bandaged it yet.”

Lu Nandu: “Nonsense. How are these your clothes?”

“These are my clothes. Whether they get dirty or not is my business.” After saying that, he ignored her protest and hugged her tightly.

Only then did Jiang Xi realize that she was still wearing his shirt.

She was holding the medicine in her hand. She didn’t hug him, nor did she push him away.

A minute later, she said, “Have you hugged me enough?”

Lu Nandu: “How could I have?”

Jiang Xi was so exasperated by him that she laughed and pushed him away. “Hurry up and let me re-apply the medicine.”

Lu Nandu didn’t mess around anymore and let go of her.

He held out his hand to her. “Here.”

Jiang Xi glanced at him, then lowered her eyes and used the cotton swab to apply the medicine to his wound.

After applying the medicine, Jiang Xi bandaged his wound. Without looking up at him, she said, “Let’s order some breakfast later.”

Lu Nandu hummed.

He then asked, “What do you want to eat?”

His wound wasn’t suitable for greasy food. Jiang Xi said, “Let’s have congee.”

Lu Nandu had no objections.

After bandaging his wound, Jiang Xi said, “After breakfast, let’s go to Xu Qingzhou’s.”

The two of them hadn’t mentioned what happened last night after they got up. Lu Nandu was stunned for a moment and looked up at her.

Jiang Xi met his gaze and said, “I’ll go with you.”

He probably misunderstood her just now, thinking she was going to leave.

Hearing her say that, Lu Nandu was relieved and let out a muffled hum.

It was already late morning after they finished breakfast.

Jiang Xi accompanied Lu Nandu to Xu Qingzhou’s place. Xu Qingzhou was already tending to the flowers and plants in his yard early in the morning.

Jiang Xi didn’t go in with him and waited for him on a rattan chair outside the yard.

In spring, everything was reviving. A few birds were chirping on the utility pole outside the yard, and there was still a lingering chill from winter in the air.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the courtyard gate was pushed open.

Jiang Xi was stunned, thinking it was one of Xu Qingzhou’s patients. She turned her head to look.

The courtyard gate had already been opened. Two seconds later, a woman walked in.

She had a beautiful face, was elegantly dressed, and had a gentle demeanor.

The woman hadn’t expected to see anyone in the yard and met Jiang Xi’s gaze.

Jiang Xi didn’t know this woman, but the woman’s eyes lit up when she saw her.

Jiang Xi was puzzled.

Liang Sirong looked at her and smiled. “You’re Jiang Xi, right?”

Even though she didn’t know her, Jiang Xi still stood up from the chair and nodded in greeting. “Yes. And you are?”

Liang Sirong walked closer and extended her hand. “A’dou’s mom.”

Only then did Jiang Xi realize that the woman in front of her was the Lu family’s matriarch.

She extended her hand and shook hers. “Hello.”

Liang Sirong smiled and glanced at the house. “Is A’dou inside?”

Jiang Xi nodded. “He went in a while ago.”

Liang Sirong turned back, pulled her hand, and sat down on the rattan chair next to her. “Then I won’t go in. Let me chat with you, dear.”

Jiang Xi hummed.

She poured a cup of tea for Liang Sirong.

Liang Sirong was here to see Lu Nandu. He hadn’t come home for the New Year.

“I was worried about whether A’dou was doing well here by himself,” she said, taking the cup of tea Jiang Xi handed her. “Now it seems I don’t have to worry. He must be having a great time.”

Liang Sirong smiled. “This child showed me your picture. He used to mention you often.”

Jiang Xi was stunned.

“The girl he’s been contacting frequently lately is also you, isn’t it?”

Jiang Xi didn’t know what to say and nodded.

Liang Sirong said, “Every time he gets a message from you, he gets as happy as a child.”

After chatting for a few more minutes, she took a sip of her tea, put the cup down, and suddenly asked, “Has A’dou ever told you about his past?”

Jiang Xi put down her teacup. “Yes.”

Liang Sirong smiled. “Do you mind if I tell you about those years he went through?”