Kind Ying Huai Saves Qi Qi

Xie Qizhi wasn't sure how long he had been sitting in the dark, clutching a beam of light. It seemed very short, perhaps only three to five minutes, before the familiar doorbell rang. The phone call hadn't ended, and Ying Huai's voice came through the line, sounding a bit distorted: "It's me, come open the door."

Yet it also seemed like a very, very long time—long enough for his limbs to gradually grow numb, and for unknown things to swirl in the infinite darkness, drawing closer to him, their sharp claws scratching at his hem and toes.

He didn't like the darkness.

This feeling was like the clock hands being wound back to the distant past, back to his childhood when he lay in bed all day, lacking the strength even to turn over.

As a long day neared its end, the shadows of trees crawled from the floor onto him, then from his body onto his face. The window rattled in the night wind. He sobbed in that fear, his chest like a broken old pipe, gasping for breath, his sobs echoing against the walls, with no one to answer and no one to care.

He fell asleep in fear and woke up in fear, day after day, all alone, left in the darkness all night.

The sound of the doorbell turned into knocking—"knock knock," two steady beats, a two-second pause, then "knock knock" again.

Gradually, it beat in time with the heartbeat in his body.

The phone wasn't held firmly and fell into the darkness with a "thud." Xie Qizhi didn't dare lean down to pick it up. Gripping the flashlight, he carefully stepped off the sofa, his bare feet treading on the cold floor.

When the door finally opened, Ying Huai saw Xie Qizhi standing there barefoot, clutching the flashlight. The beam of light shone on his face; even from this difficult angle, he didn't look bad at all. His long, thin lashes were illuminated, looking as soft as velvet, and his chin was sharp and thin. The way he looked at others was just like a wronged child.

Ying Huai walked in carrying the cake. He didn't ask why it took him so long to open the door, and with his left hand, he lightly pulled the door shut.

He placed the cake on the coffee table. Xie Qizhi looked over and asked: "Why did you bring it up?"

"I was the one who ordered it." Ying Huai leaned down to pick up Xie Qizhi's phone from the floor, noticing the boy sitting with his legs tucked on the sofa—one leg under his thigh and the other curled behind the coffee table, revealing five tiny toes.

Ying Huai looked twice, seemingly finding his improper sitting posture an eyesore. Through the thin pajama pants, he directly grabbed Xie Qizhi's calf and pulled it down, waiting for him to put on his indoor slippers properly before standing up and continuing, "The delivery couldn't be made, so I came over to see what was wrong."

Xie Qizhi gave an "Oh," awkwardly pulling his legs together, and said to him: "I thought my brother bought it."

"Yeah, yeah." Ying Huai said irritably, "All the good things are done by him, and all the bad things are done by me."

Xie Qizhi said nothing, watching him turn on his phone's flashlight and walk toward the sideboard to take two frosted glass cups, then to the refrigerator to pick a bottle of jasmine tea.

Every step was without hesitation, so familiar it was as if this were his second home, not Sister Lin's house.

Xie Qizhi asked him: "Are you thirsty? The water pitcher is on the cabinet."

"It's not for drinking." Ying Huai said, reaching out his hand to demand Xie Qizhi's flashlight.

Xie Qizhi hesitated for a few seconds before handing it to him.

Ying Huai unscrewed the jasmine tea and filled one glass cup. The flashlight was slightly larger than the mouth of the cup; the light source facing down happened to sit steadily. He placed this cup on the left side of the coffee table.

Then, he placed his phone on the right side of the coffee table, turning the frosted glass cup upside down over the phone's light source. He used his long fingers to hold the cup, adjusting the angle slightly, and the blinding light immediately became much softer.

One on the left and one on the right, like two small round lamps. The darkness was dispelled, and the area around the coffee table lit up.

Xie Qizhi watched him without blinking, his pupils dilating slightly, his grey-blue eyes looking particularly radiant.

Ying Huai then took out the included birthday candle, struck a match to light it, and asked him: "Where is your makeup mirror?"

"In my room—" Xie Qizhi paused, saying angrily, "I don't wear makeup, that's just a normal mirror!"

Ying Huai went straight into his room, saying casually: "Right, right. No makeup, just looking in the mirror for half an hour every morning and evening because you like admiring yourself."

Xie Qizhi frowned, asking curiously: "Are you spying on me?"

"Who would spy on you? You said it yourself." Ying Huai walked out with a round mirror, changing his tone to say, "Brother Ying Huai, I grew another 15cm this year. Lately, I really like looking in the mirror to see what's changed. I look for over half an hour every day. If you saw me now, you probably wouldn't recognize me, right? Although I'm not like before, I think it's a positive change. I don't know if you'll believe it, but I think I'm much more handsome than before——"

His voice stopped when Xie Qizhi grabbed the candle, holding it up with a fierce little face like "if you don't shut up, believe it or not I'll burn you," glaring at him.

"Don't throw it." Ying Huai was amused by him, leisurely walking over to pry Xie Qizhi's fingers apart and take the candle. "If you throw it, you won't have a birthday candle anymore."

He placed the round mirror on the coffee table, facing Xie Qizhi, with the candle in front of the mirror. The light reflected from the mirror onto the wall behind Xie Qizhi, bright and with a pale yellow halo, softly enveloping him.

Ying Huai asked: "Do you feel more comfortable now?"

Xie Qizhi instinctively nodded, not even bothering to be angry anymore, looking up at him as if seeing a second Edison who had saved his mother.

It was only good for a minute; after that, he still had to be angry.

Ying Huai: "Why are you glaring at me again?"

Xie Qizhi questioned him: "You didn't bother to reply to my messages, yet you even brought up my old messages to mock me?"

"You dared to send them, so why are you afraid of others laughing?" Ying Huai raised an eyebrow in surprise, firmly grabbing Xie Qizhi's hand that was about to swing at him, pressing it down and saying, "I looked at them again two days ago and thought they were so cute, so I just shared them with you."

Xie Qizhi didn't want to pay attention to him, trying to struggle twice, but Ying Huai held his wrist tightly; he couldn't move at all.

The difference in strength was too obvious, making Xie Qizhi even unhappier.

Ying Huai asked him: "Unhappy?"

Xie Qizhi pulled back, turning his face away and not admitting it: "No."

Ying Huai let go, observing his sulking face, and laughed as he asked: "Really? If not, then give me a smile."

Why are you so close? Xie Qizhi grabbed a throw pillow and pressed it against his face: "...Go smile by yourself!"

While Ying Huai was busy opening the cake, Xie Qizhi casually took the burnt match, hid it behind his back, and drew a little dog on his shirt.

Ying Huai pretended not to notice, waiting until he finished drawing before catching him and ruffling his hair vigorously.

Xie Qizhi wouldn't be outdone, standing on tiptoe to headbutt his chin. Ying Huai winced in pain, and Xie Qizhi turned to run away. As he rounded the corner, he wasn't paying attention and bumped into the upside-down glass cup on his phone.

With a "crash," the cup fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.

This side was quickly swallowed by darkness. The light from the phone also shifted, shining directly onto Xie Qizhi's suddenly pale face.

He stood frozen in place. Someone grabbed his hand, pressed him down onto the sofa, and carefully checked if his feet had been injured by the glass shards before feeling relieved. He pulled him into a comforting hug.

"Don't be afraid, it's okay. Shattered is safe."

His palm was dry and warm, stroking the back of his neck, his fingers sliding down the neck bone, then lightly pinching the back of his neck.

Xie Qizhi got goosebumps from the pinch, instinctively struggling a bit. His head suddenly felt heavy; Ying Huai's chin was resting on his soft hair. He held him and said: "Stop messing around, be good."

There was a great opportunity right in front of him to bully Ying Huai. Just by lifting his head a bit, he could make him bite his tongue and see if he still wanted him to be good.

With his face buried in Ying Huai's chest, Xie Qizhi suddenly smelled a very light scent on him—it was a scent Xie Qizhi liked.

He suddenly became quiet, his lashes drooping, like a kitten being held by the scruff of its neck, losing all ability to act, only lazily leaning against Ying Huai, feeling the gentle pats on his back.

"Qi Qi, there's nothing to be afraid of, I'm here." Ying Huai's voice, which was always deep, had such moments of tenderness. He coaxed him clumsily, just like comforting a child who had just woken from a nightmare. "Today is your birthday, you must be happy."

Xie Qizhi blinked and gave a "Yes."