The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Ye Shu looked down at the fluffy rabbit hood in his arms and the pair of pink ears trembling slightly from sobbing. He softened his voice and tried to ask:

"It's okay, it's okay... I'm not afraid anymore. By the way, why aren't the lights on?"

The little head in his arms rubbed against his wet shirt, and after several seconds, a muffled sound came:

"No...no power...it suddenly went dark...and then...a huge clap of thunder..."

"No way, I just came up in the elevator, and the elevator still has power."

Ye Shu moved slightly and said:

"Please loosen your grip, let me see what's wrong."

But after he finished speaking, the arm gripping his waist didn't loosen; instead, it tightened even more. However, since his left hand was temporarily immobile, he could only hold on tightly with one hand.

Ye Shu sighed, realizing that the thunder must have really frightened her.

He didn't force it anymore, and just stayed in the position of being hugged by the "koala," like a crab, he moved sideways inside.

"Pat-pat, pat-pat".

He reached for the light switch, pressed it a few times, but nothing happened.

"The thunder must have tripped the power. I'll call the property management, it'll be fine in a bit, don't worry."

While comforting An Suxue, he laboriously pulled his phone out of his pocket with one hand. He simply wiped the water off the screen on his clothes and dialed the property management office.

Throughout the entire process, An Suxue clung tightly to him like a human pendant, her face buried in his chest, only trembling slightly and occasionally letting out a small, suppressed sob.

The property management's electrician arrived quickly and, after inspection, confirmed that the tripping was indeed caused by lightning. He simply turned the circuit breaker back on.

The lights in the room came back on, and Ye Shu could clearly feel the tense body of the person in his arms relax a little.

But she still didn't let go, only burying her face deeper, as if she wasn't used to the sudden light, or perhaps... she was embarrassed to face the sudden light, and to be so out of control as she hugged him under the light.

"Um... the power's back on, everything's alright now."

Ye Shu also felt a little awkward, and he spoke as if coaxing a child:

"I...I need to change my clothes first, it's really uncomfortable being all wet. You...you could sit on the sofa for a bit, okay?"

This time, the arms wrapped around his waist slowly loosened.

An Suxue lowered her head, the shadow of her bunny hat covering most of her face, revealing only a reddened nose and tightly pursed lips.

She didn't say anything, but turned around and picked up the carrot pillow she had just thrown on the sofa. She slowly moved to the side of the sofa, curled up and sat down, burying half of her face in the soft pillow, only revealing a pair of slightly reddened eyes. She secretly glanced at Ye Shu quickly, then quickly lowered her eyes again.

The inexplicable emotions Ye Shu felt made him almost afraid to meet her gaze after that one look. He didn't say anything more, turned around and quickly went into his room to change out of his soaked clothes.

When he changed into dry pajamas and came out haphazardly drying his hair with a towel, he found An Suxue still curled up on the sofa in the same position, like a frightened little animal trying to hide herself.

The rain outside showed no signs of letting up, and thunder continued to rumble overhead. Fortunately, there was electricity back at home, and someone else was there. An Suxue hugged a cushion and curled up on the sofa, feeling less scared.

Or rather, she seemed to have forgotten about being scared, because her mind was filled with the scene of her holding Ye Shu just now.

"Are you feeling better?"

Ye Shu walked over and sat down at the other end of the sofa.

An Suxue hugged the cushion, nodded slightly, but still didn't look up.

Looking at her adorable appearance, Ye Shu felt that indescribable feeling spreading through her again.

He suddenly remembered something, got up, walked to the entrance, picked up the two plastic bags that were wet from the rain, and returned to the coffee table.

"Have something to drink, something sweet, it'll help you relax."

He took out one of the cups, inserted the straw, and gently pushed it in front of An Suxue:

"I just threw together some leftover ingredients from the shop, and the taste... should be alright."

An Suxue looked at the drink and finally loosened her grip on the pillow. She reached out her right hand and carefully picked up the slightly cool drink. Her fingertips seemed to tremble slightly when they touched the glass.

She lowered her head and began to sip the drink through the straw.

The slightly sweet drink with the fragrance of jasmine slid down her throat, seemingly suppressing the lingering fear in her.

Seeing her start to drink quietly, Ye Shu breathed a sigh of relief. Being able to eat and drink was a good thing.

He stood up and stretched his somewhat stiff shoulders:

"Then you keep drinking, I'll go get something to eat. What do you want for dinner? Noodles? Or fried rice?"

An Suxue held the cup, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said in an almost inaudible voice:

"……It will be all right."

It’s okay.

Ye Shu felt a bit of a headache. The three hardest types of food to cook in the world are "anything goes." Incidentally, the other two are "whatever" and "whatever."

He smiled helplessly, turned, and went into the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, he felt a headache coming on looking at the crammed-full container. Sometimes, too many choices can be a problem.

"Then... I'll just stir-fry some pork and fry an egg, quick."

Ye Shu turned around and shouted loudly towards the living room:

"How about stir-fried pork? And a fried egg too?"

"Um."

An Suxue simply nodded in response, because her mind wasn't on dinner at the moment.

She was holding her drink, turning her head to look at the figure in the kitchen, wearing an apron and busy at the stove. Unconsciously, she was gently biting the straw in her mouth, forgetting to continue drinking.

My heart seems to be beating a little faster than before.

It wasn't the kind of speed that's frightening, but rather a... unfamiliar, indescribable feeling, like something furry scratching at the softest part of my heart.

It's itchy, and I'm a little panicked.

She wasn't like this before.

In the past, when she encountered thunder, power outages, or anything that made her feel extremely scared and helpless, her first reaction, and only option, was to hide.

They retreat into the depths of their consciousness, forcibly relinquishing control of their bodies to other personalities, forcing them to confront and deal with the situation.

She's like an ostrich burying its head in the sand when it encounters danger, thinking that if it can't see it, the danger doesn't exist.

But today... today is different.

As darkness fell upon the room, as a thunderous roar that seemed to cleave the world apart sounded overhead, as boundless fear threatened to overwhelm her.

She heard the sound of a key turning in the lock, then the beam of light illuminating the darkness, and then his voice.

At that moment, it felt as if something pierced through the fear in her heart and gently tugged at her.

She didn't know how she managed to break free.

It was as if the body had gained consciousness on its own, and before the brain could even process it, it had already rushed headlong into that beam of light and that sound.

Hug him.

This was the only incredibly clear instruction in her chaotic mind at the time.

Then, she actually hugged him.

It was a warm, damp, somewhat hard chest, and his muscles stiffened for a moment before slowly relaxing, along with the gentle pats he gave me on my back.

Safe.

Darkness and thunder were still outside, but within this small, enclosed space, the wind and rain were kept at bay.

So... you can feel safe without switching or running away?

This realization, like a tiny seed, quietly fell into her heart, a field she had never cultivated before, after being soaked by tonight's rain and fear.

Now that the tide of fear has receded, the seed has begun to stir restlessly, wanting to break through the soil.

As she watched the busy figure in the kitchen, her cheeks began to burn uncontrollably again. She quickly lowered her head, hiding half of her face in the shadow of her hat, leaving only her eyes visible as she continued to peek.

What exactly is that itchy, flustered, and slightly sweet feeling in my heart?

she does not know.

It's just that something seems to be sprouting in my heart.