He reached out, wanting to touch her. But worried that he might scare her, he had to let his hand fall back, futilely.
Perhaps, for both of them, this utterly unimaginable first encounter, the most important thing wasn’t to see each other’s face, nor to converse, but simply to first beco familiar with each other’s presence.
Thinking this through, he reached out to support himself on the wall beside him, and then followed the wall, feeling his way through the room with his hand. He touched the wallpaper with its distinct ridges and indentations, then found a long sofa placed against the wall. He held onto the armrest and sat down on one side.
He knew that she was at the other end of the sofa.
Separated by darkness, both he and she were "observing" each other with their own thoughts and imagination.
He even felt a small sense of shyness, placing his hands flat on his knees, sitting up straight, looking ahead, waiting for her judgnt.
.
His feelings were not wrong; she was indeed using her thoughts and imagination to "observe" this newcor.
Though they were separated by darkness, unable to see or hear, this relatively enclosed space still retained symbols that allowed other senses to perceive.
For example, his scent, the rhythm of his breathing, the restraint in his movents... all were unique symbols belonging to him.
The first impression she got from him was his scent.
Refreshing, with a faint fragrance. Not the usual shampoo and body wash, nor the detergent sll in clothing fibers, but more likely a light cologne, or even the scent of aftershave. From this small habit, one could tell that this man’s taste would not be too low.
Next was the rhythm of his breathing. Not deep and heavy, but light and even. This composed and unruffled breathing frequency, even in adversity, demonstrated his calmness and composure.
And his movents were all asured, with no sudden disturbances, each action was gentle and unhurried, even sounding elegant.
Combining these impressions, a vague silhouette ford in her mind.
A man, with a good educational background. And from the choice of cologne scent, one could see he was relatively young.
Shi Nianxin exhaled quietly.
Although still unfamiliar, although the other party was unwilling to pay attention to her, at least in such an environnt, it was more comfortable to be with soone like him.
She also relaxed quietly—initially, in such a room, and her being a girl, if the other had any ill intentions, she’d have no one to call for help, nowhere to escape.
.
In this darkness and silence, neither of them spoke, just repeatedly "observing" each other with thoughts, sketching the other’s image in their minds.
It was unclear how much ti passed; in this scenario, ti had beco a redundant concept.
Until there was noise outside the door again, soone was opening the door.
Tang Yanqing moved suddenly, instinctively wanting to get up.
Sitting on the sa sofa, as he moved, she sensed it. She quickly reached out and pressed him down: "Don’t worry. They should be bringing food now; it’s okay."
She was here first, thinking she might be more familiar with everything here than he was, so she should take care of him.
Moreover, she was the daughter of a police officer. Before the police could find this place and safely rescue them, she also had the responsibility to protect him.
Holding him down, she stood up first.
Having lived in the darkness for a few days, she gradually developed a sense of direction, able to walk steadily to the door without seeing. So she did not ask him to get up, and walked to the door herself.
She didn’t realize, her little hand had accurately placed on the back of his hand. That small hand was sowhat cool, but its soft touch was sothing he could not ignore.
He remained seated, did not get up.
She walked steadily to the door in the darkness, where a small door in the door opened. Along with a glaring light being pushed in were, indeed, two al boxes.
Shi Nian accepted them, felt them over to make sure of the quantity, then walked back, standing in front of him, feeling her way to hand him one of the al boxes.
He took the al box with a frown, a sudden sourness in his heart, almost bringing him to tears.
So this was how she had been eating these past few days!
In the darkness, unable to see their hand in front of their face, having no idea what was in the al box. Moreover, back then, she was the only one in the room, and she not only had to face the darkness but also face solitude, chewing down loneliness and despair bite by bite...
He hated himself, despised himself!
He heard the soft rustling sound of a al box being opened on her side, then the room was filled with the sll of food. Her movents were orderly, then she began to chew lightly.
He couldn’t resist turning his head "to look" in her direction in the darkness.
He knew very well that he wouldn’t see anything, yet he didn’t dare blink, fearing that even a blink would cause him to shed tears.
But his movents seed to disturb her, she stopped chewing, listened for a mont in the silence, then asked softly, "Why aren’t you eating?"
She also heard his breath suddenly turning short and anxious, indicating a change in emotion.
He must be upset, or encountering so difficulty.
He still didn’t answer.
Shi Nian seriously thought for a mont, then suddenly understood.
She forgot, he was just shut into the darkness, not yet as familiar or adept at navigating darkness as she was. She rely placed the al box in his hand, but in reality, he might not be able to eat it by himself.
Just like when she was first shut into the darkness, panicked and at a loss, right?
She put down her al box, carefully closing its lid, then moved to his side, speaking gently: "I’ll help you."
She reached out in his direction, searching for the al box and the disposable chopsticks.
She touched his hand first.
He was holding the al box with both hands, his fingers enveloping the box, long and strong.
She frowned slightly, quickly moving away her hand, softly apologizing: "Sorry."
Then recalibrated the distance in darkness, accurately captured the al box between his fingers, and pulled it from his grasp.
She felt her way to open the al box lid, then broke the disposable chopsticks open, still not handing it to him, keeping it in her hand.
She let him hear her smile in her voice: "Today’s dish might be stir-fried pork with green peppers. Whoa, they’re being extra generous today, is it because they have a new guest, which is you?"
Tang Yanqing frowned slightly.
It wasn’t stir-fried pork with green peppers; it was with hot peppers.
The sll of green peppers and hot peppers is quite different.
But for her to guess that it was stir-fried pork with green peppers just from the scent was already quite remarkable.
She heard him still not speaking, only faintly humming through his nose, feeling a little annoyed.
But she held it in, instructing him: "Open your mouth, I’ll feed you."
He froze, unable to help but "stare" at her through the darkness.
If the one shut in here with her wasn’t him but soone else, would she be so kind to that person, would she personally feed that person?
She didn’t even know who he was, and she was willing to feed soone?!
Shi Nian didn’t hear him say "ah—," so she frowned: "I know you feel embarrassed, and I know you could find your mouth to eat yourself. But when first shut into the darkness, your balance and sense of direction get disoriented; you might find your mouth but not necessarily find the al box accurately every ti, let alone telling apart the rice from the dishes."
"I’ll help you this ti, and you’ll gradually adapt; next ti you can do it yourself."
He felt sowhat embarrassed, also hating himself for being so useless, so he reached out to take back the al box.
Accidentally, his fingertips slid across her hand.
She let out a low cry of surprise, while he felt a string of electric currents slide through his fingertips, straight to his heart.
Shi Nian awkwardly shifted a bit away, carefully adjusting his breath: "...Since you also feel embarrassed, let teach you another way."
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