Chapter 10 : š'š¶ š¾š¼š®š š½šø š²š½
It started with something small.
It always did.
ā
Lu Zhen didn't show up for the morning lecture.
At firstā
no one noticed.
The classroom filled like usual, students taking their seats, voices blending into the background. The professor started on time, the rhythm of the day continuing without interruption.
Everything was normal.
Exceptā
the seat in the back.
Left side.
Empty.
ā
Lin Xu looked at it once.
Then looked away.
He didn't say anything.
Didn't ask.
Didn't react.
But for the first timeā
he noticed the absence.
ā
The second lecture passed the same way.
Still empty.
Still quiet.
Stillā¦ wrong.
ā
By the time the day ended, the sky had darkened again.
Rain clouds gathered above Linyun City, heavy and unmoving.
Lin Xu stood near the campus gate.
Not waiting.
Not exactly.
But he didn't leave either.
ā
"ā¦You're blocking the way."
The voice came from behind him.
Low.
Flat.
Familiar.
Lin Xu turned.
Lu Zhen stood there, hands in his pockets, expression unchanged.
Like nothing had happened.
Like he hadn't been gone all day.
"ā¦You didn't come," Lin Xu said.
Lu Zhen shrugged slightly.
"I wasn't feeling like it."
"That's all?"
"Yes."
Silence.
Lin Xu studied him for a moment.
There was something off.
Not obvious.
Not visible to everyone.
But there.
His hair was slightly messier than usual.
His sleeves pulled down further over his hands.
His gazeā
a little more distant.
"ā¦Did something happen?" Lin Xu asked.
Lu Zhen's expression didn't change.
"No."
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
Another pause.
"ā¦You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"I already did."
"That doesn't mean it's true."
Lu Zhen's eyes flickered slightly.
Just for a second.
Thenā
"ā¦It doesn't matter."
The words came out quieter this time.
Not defensive.
Not sharp.
Justā¦ flat.
Lin Xu didn't respond immediately.
"ā¦You say that a lot," he said softly.
"What?"
"That things don't matter."
Lu Zhen looked away.
"ā¦Because they don't."
Lin Xu watched him carefully.
"ā¦Or because it's easier to think that way?"
Silence.
The rain started falling again.
Soft at first.
Then steady.
Lu Zhen didn't move.
Neither did Lin Xu.
ā
"ā¦You didn't eat, did you?"
Lu Zhen frowned slightly.
"ā¦What?"
"Today."
"ā¦That's none of your business."
"You didn't answer."
"ā¦I don't need to."
Lin Xu sighed faintly.
Not frustrated.
Justā¦ acknowledging.
"ā¦You should eat something."
"I'm not hungry."
"That's not the same thing."
Lu Zhen didn't reply.
Becauseā
it wasn't.
ā
They stood there in the rain for a while.
No umbrella this time.
No attempt to move.
Just standing.
Like neither of them felt like leaving yet.
ā
"ā¦You'll get sick."
Lin Xu said it quietly.
Lu Zhen let out a faint breath.
"ā¦I won't."
"You said that before."
"And I was fine."
"That doesn't mean you always will be."
Lu Zhen glanced at him briefly.
"ā¦Why do you care?"
The question came out more direct than usual.
Moreā¦ real.
Lin Xu didn't hesitate.
"Because I do."
No explanation.
No reason.
Just that.
Lu Zhen stared at him.
Something in his chest shifted slightly.
Unfamiliar.
Uncomfortable.
ā
"ā¦You shouldn't."
The words came out low.
Lin Xu tilted his head.
"Why?"
Lu Zhen looked away again.
"ā¦It's unnecessary."
"That's your answer for everything."
"ā¦Because it's true."
A pause.
Thenā
"ā¦I'm used to it."
The rain grew heavier.
The words hung there.
Quiet.
But heavier than anything else he had said.
Lin Xu didn't speak immediately.
He just stood thereā
watching him.
ā
"ā¦Used to what?" he asked softly.
Lu Zhen didn't respond.
His gaze stayed fixed ahead.
Unmoving.
Like he hadn't heard the question.
Or didn't want to.
ā
"ā¦You don't have to tell me," Lin Xu added after a moment.
Silence.
Thenā
"ā¦Good."
The answer came quietly.
But it didn't sound relieved.
ā
The rain didn't stop.
Cars passed by, lights reflecting off the wet pavement, the world continuing like nothing had changed.
But something had.
Just slightly.
Just enough.
ā
"ā¦You should go," Lu Zhen said suddenly.
"What about you?"
"I'll stay."
"In the rain?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Lu Zhen didn't answer.
Because he didn't have one.
Or maybeā
he didn't want to say it.
ā
Lin Xu looked at him for a moment longer.
Thenā
"ā¦Alright."
He didn't argue.
Didn't insist.
Didn't stay.
He turnedā
and walked away.
ā
Lu Zhen stood there.
Alone.
The rain soaking through his clothes, cold against his skin.
But he didn't move.
Didn't react.
Didn't care.
At leastā
that's what he told himself.
ā
"ā¦I'm used to it."
He repeated it quietly.
Like he needed to hear it again.
Like it would make it true.
ā
But for some reasonā
It didn't feel the same anymore.