Symbiosis - Chapter 12

“Then why…” I noticed his arm hadn’t stopped bleeding. Blood still trickled down it. Frowning, I took his hand.

“If you’ve got somewhere to stay, why are you wandering around so late?”

“Don’t you know what Jinque Bay is like?” I led him into a better-lit part of the room. “People out there don’t care whether you’re a man or a woman, old or young, when they rob you.”

“I’m afraid of the dark,” he said with his head lowered. “I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk.”

“Isn’t it darker outside?” I let go and searched through the room, finally finding a bandage.

“A lot of places don’t even have streetlights. There aren’t any around here.”

I’d managed to find the bandage, but there really was nothing to disinfect his wound with.

After a little hesitation, I pulled his arm under the tap and rinsed the cut with running water.

He hissed in pain, curled his fingers, and tried to pull away. I slapped his wrist firmly and told him to stay still.

He glanced sideways at me, his expression unreadable and his brow faintly drawn. But he cooperated, allowing me to hold him without moving again.

Then he suddenly said, “There’s the moon.”

“What?”

He pressed his lips together and looked at me. “There aren’t streetlights outside, but there’s the moon.”

“The moon gives light too.”

The cold water quickly turned a faint pink, running over his white porcelain skin and into the sink.

I turned off the tap and looked closely. Only then did I notice he was paler than before. Whether from the cold water or the pain, sweat had formed along his forehead.

He looked pitiful, but I didn’t pay much attention. I released his arm and told him to sit aside, continuing:

“If you want to see the moon, why not open a window?”

“It’s different,” he said. “I just don’t like being alone indoors.”

I froze, my hand stopping halfway to the bandage.

People really did think so differently.

I’d lived with Shen Lin, forced to endure his unpredictable moods day after day, subjected to one sort of abuse or another every so often.

When he threw me out, I was happy, though this place was shabbier, damp, and sometimes leaked.

Unlike Xie Zhao, I liked being alone indoors.

Perhaps I’d paused too long. He looked up at me with faint confusion.

I came back to myself. Without continuing our conversation, I lowered my eyes and carefully applied the bandage to the wound on his wrist.

He didn’t mind that I hadn’t answered. He looked down at the bandage, then up at me again.

His lashes trembled, his brow tightening suddenly. “It really hurts.”

I paused again, almost wanting to call him a spoiled little thing.

It was such a small injury. How much could it hurt?

If it were mine, I probably wouldn’t even bother with it.

“What do you want me to do? I can’t make it stop hurting. Put up with it.”

I snapped at him, stood, and nudged his lower leg lightly with my foot.

“Get up. Go wash and get to bed.”

“Good timing, actually.” I turned toward the old storage cupboard. “The grocery shop where I did odd jobs closed last month. The owner gave me a pile of disposable toothpaste and toothbrushes, and travel-size shampoo and shower gel instead of my last two weeks’ wages.”

Still talking, I rummaged again, soon found a fresh set of toiletries, and tossed them into his arms. “Go on.”

He really was fairly obedient. Although he still had little color in his face, he stopped dawdling, got up, thanked me, and went into the bathroom himself.

About ten minutes ago, I’d been complaining about bringing a huge nuisance home.

Now he didn’t seem all that troublesome.

He was always so meek.

And his lashes were long and thick, his features beautiful. When his gaze fell on someone, it could easily make their heart skip a beat.