Don't mess with that Miao boy, he's sickly and perverted.

Fainting on the street isn't embarrassing; what's embarrassing is being seen by someone you know.

I don't know which distant relative exaggerated what they said to my parents, and it almost scared them out of their wits.

What others call low blood sugar sounds like "possession by a ghost" to parents.

After much thought, I decided to go to Jiming Temple to pay my respects.

They even brought their maternal grandparents along. Grandma said that having the whole family involved showed their sincerity.

Chai Xiaomi finally managed to return to Suzhou from Nanjing during her holiday, but now her parents are rushing her back to Nanjing. Jiming Temple is packed with people during the holiday, so she's not going.

She nestled on the sofa, munching on ice cream, watching the family packing their things in a seemingly superstitious manner. She couldn't help but kindly remind them, "I heard from a classmate that Jiming Temple is only effective for praying for marriage. What you're praying for won't work. You can go if you want, but can I not go?"

"Nonsense, praying for the safety of your children works too. I'm praying for you, you have to go." Her mother gave her a reproachful glare.

Grandpa noticed his granddaughter's laziness and exchanged a quick glance with her. He sat in his wicker chair and slowly sipped his tea. "My dear, you've worked so hard studying. Why don't you rest well indoors during your vacation? We'll go over there. But Mom is making a big fuss. The little one has low blood sugar; she just needs some extra nutrition."

Grandpa's words earned him a flick on the forehead from Grandma, but successfully saved Chai Xiaomi's holiday time.

The whole family took the opportunity of burning incense to go on a two-day trip, and she was able to stay home as she wished.

I thought it would be nice to stay home alone.

However, her insomnia became increasingly severe.

In the dormitory, I can barely fall asleep by treating my roommates' breathing as white noise, but when I lie back in my own cold and quiet room, I just can't fall asleep.

As soon as she closed her eyes, the soft breathing sound from her memory lingered in her ears, along with the octopus-like embrace that wrapped around her.

After taking a few melatonin pills, I actually felt more alert.

She lay blankly on the bed, staring at the ceiling light in a daze.

Looking back on these recent days, she often experienced auditory and visual hallucinations, and felt completely disoriented, as if she were immersed in a dream from which she could not wake up.

In the cafeteria, K-pop fans huddled together excitedly discussing their favorite idols. Occasionally, the word "wuli" would pop out, and she would be momentarily stunned before lowering her head to continue eating, her tears falling into the fragrant clay pot noodles.

Taking an evening stroll, she would pause when she saw a small daisy sprouting in the roadside green belt. Bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun, she would look up at the sunset and inexplicably shed tears, feeling that it was not beautiful, far inferior to the valley that day.

When watching KPL, I especially like to focus on the marksman position.

I sometimes stare blankly when I see the cotton ball pressed onto my skin during a blood test.

At the sugar figurine stall in the food street, she would pester the owner to draw a string of hairs.

I'm always drawn to anything related to the Miao people that I see by chance.

Even a classmate's unintentional joking remark about her being an "idiot" could instantly bring her to tears. Her classmate thought she was overly sensitive and became much more reserved in her speech afterward.

......

No one knew the reason for her unusual behavior.

Only she knew that the longing in her heart was like an endless rain, each drop falling into empty space, converging into a river that could never be returned to.

When her best friend Qiuqiu learned that she had severe insomnia, she specially called to keep her company on the phone for a long time.

"I think it's probably because it's too quiet at home with no one around," Qiuqiu chattered on the other end of the phone, offering suggestions. "You could try listening to music, or watching mukbang videos. I love watching mukbangs to fall asleep. Oh, and listening to audiobooks is super effective too—the more boring the better. Try online math lessons; they'll put you to sleep instantly, hahaha!"

Chai Xiaomi adopted the first approach.

She connected to the Bluetooth speaker and casually clicked on the daily recommendations.

She broke down as soon as the intro to the first song started.

G.E.M. (Deng Ziqi) – "No Matter How Far Away, We'll Be Together"

She stared at the screen, and at one point suspected that she was being monitored in real time by her phone.

During her late-night brooding moment on Cloud Music, she ultimately couldn't bear to switch songs.

As the night drew to a close, thunder rumbled outside the window, and raindrops, accompanied by strong winds, pounded against the glass. In the distance, the neon lights along the Jinji Lake blurred in the rain, turning into a flowing patch of light that was reflected in the wet night.

I finally managed to drift off to sleep around 3 or 4 a.m., but soon I was dragged out by a nightmare.

Outside the window, the rain continued to fall.

In my dream, it was also pouring rain.

She dreamed—

The beautiful iridescent stone hung in mid-air, shimmering with colorful patterns of light.

The boy sat calmly in the center of the circular rotating array, enveloped in a seven-colored halo.

His face was serene and peaceful, and his gaze was gentle.

Crimson blood threads stretched from his entire body, like fine silk threads, flowing endlessly...

It was delivered into the body of the girl lying on the bed.

She was wearing only a plain white dress, and all her jewelry had been removed.

As the blood flowed in, her cheeks gradually turned rosy.

The boy's face gradually turned deathly pale until the last thread of blood was drawn away. He seemed to have all his strength drained away and slowly collapsed.

"Li Li!!!"

Chai Xiaomi suddenly woke up from her dream, trembling as she called out the name she had been longing for.

The pillow was already soaked with tear stains.

She looked down, staring blankly at the string of silver bells on her ankle. She gently plucked them a few times, but no sound came out.

I remember when she was found after she went missing, she woke up in the hospital and her clothes had been changed into a hospital gown. But her mother said she couldn't get the anklet off no matter what she did, and they almost had to use pliers, but she stopped them.

She brought nothing back with her.

It seems that only it can prove that all of that was not a dream.

"Lili..."

But no matter how many times she called his name in her heart, the bells never rang again.

A few crisp doorbell rings pulled her back to reality from her chaotic thoughts.

Chai Xiaomi then realized that it was already seven o'clock in the morning.

"Who is it?" She glanced down at her slip dress, hurriedly put on a coat, and left the bedroom.

"Miss, your items require your signature upon delivery."

Who's the kind person who comes to deliver a package so early in the morning?

Normally, packages are left at community collection points or parcel lockers, and the only companies that deliver to the door are SF Express and JD.com.

Did Mom buy some fresh food in the live stream again?

The deliveryman's voice came through the heavy door panel, sounding like it was coming from inside a glass bottle, or like it was being deliberately lowered.

"Wait a moment." Chai Xiaomi became more cautious and peered through the peephole.

A deliveryman, dressed in all black, was standing at the door.

The baseball cap was pulled down very low, obscuring his eyebrows and eyes in the shadow of the brim. The zipper of his black windbreaker was pulled up to its highest point, revealing only a small section of his pale nose.

I must have been caught in the rain, my clothes were damp, and I could feel the chill through the crack in the door.

You can't see anything else.

This is not good.

This outfit doesn't look like that of a deliveryman at all.

Could it be a thief scouting the place? Or a deranged murderer?

Chai Xiaomi's heart was pounding, and crime documentaries kept popping into her head.

"You...you can just leave it at the door, okay? I can't come out right now." She tried to make her voice sound as calm as possible.

"It's a live animal, so you need to sign for it yourself."

Living thing?

That sounds even more suspicious.

Her mother only ever buys frozen meat; she never buys live meat.

"No way? Did you send it to the wrong place? My family would never buy live animals."

However, the other person's next words made her eyes widen instantly.

"It was sent by the Transmigration Bureau. Are you sure you don't want it? I'll just throw it away."

The Transmigration Bureau? Is that a fried dough stick?!

It turns out that the bookstore wasn't her hallucination!

it is true!

"Wait, wait, wait!" Chai Xiaomi, disregarding her fear, flung open the door. "Yes, yes, where should I sign?"

She practically snatched the package from her, and a receipt and pen were then handed to her by the other party.

Chai Xiaomi quickly wrote her name on the box.

I was writing when I suddenly realized something was wrong.

It came from a woman's sixth sense; although the person in front of her had covered his face completely, she could clearly feel that his gaze was fixed on her legs.

A very strong gaze.

She had put on a sweatshirt before opening the door, and zipped it up, but the beige lace slip dress underneath wasn't very long, with only a strip of lace peeking out from under the sweatshirt, leaving her two pale legs exposed.

Her hand trembled, and the last character "米" (rice) was written crookedly.

Just then, a voice came from above, its tone seemingly deliberately altered, deep and slow: "Chai, Xiao, Mi. Your name is so beautiful."

Her head buzzed, alarm bells blaring! She didn't dare look at the man again, especially since his hand, which was reaching out to take the receipt, was wearing a motorcycle-style black glove.

Could it be... that they're afraid of leaving fingerprints?

No one has ever complimented her name since she was a child. Her best friends might say it's cute, but one sarcastic person did say it was ugly.

Chai Xiaomi shoved the receipt into his hand and quickly slipped inside.

"Bang!"

The door closed.

"Thank you, goodbye!" she added through the door, her voice short and hurried, still managing to be polite.

But there were no footsteps outside the door.

She leaned against the door, her heart pounding as if it would jump out of her throat, clutching the delivery box without daring to move for a long time.

After a few seconds of silence.

She heard a very faint sound, like something fiddling with the door lock.

a bit.

Two times.

The electronic combination lock emits a faint electrical sound.

Chai Xiaomi felt a chill run down her spine, and her hands holding the express delivery box began to tremble.

She tiptoed away, her mind racing. Calling the police was too late, and hiding in the room was useless—this person knew how to pick locks! The balcony—yes, there was an air conditioner platform on the balcony; she could ask the neighbors for help.

She rushed to the balcony, pushed open the window, and shakily climbed out.

Fortunately, the platform is spacious enough.

Unexpectedly, the accumulated rainwater made the area extremely slippery, and she didn't even have time to stand firmly before her foot slipped!

The moment she felt weightless and plummeted, she didn't even have time to scream; she only had time to close her eyes.

The sound of wind and rain filled my ears.

There was no pain as expected.

A pair of hands caught her steadily, one supporting her back and the other cradling her knees, pulling her firmly into their arms and carrying her back inside the window.

The moment we got close, a familiar scent filled the air.

"you--"

She suddenly opened her eyes.

Looking up at his face, which was mostly obscured by the brim of his hat, so close that she could even see the curve of his eyelashes.

The man glanced down at her, a hint of helplessness in his heterochromatic eyes: "Idiot, why are you running?"

*

At Jiming Temple, Chai Mingde and Yao Xue followed the old man to burn the first incense of the day.

The two elders were in good health and were reluctant to leave after completing the round of prayers.

The old lady suddenly slapped her thigh: "Oh dear, we should pray for a good marriage for our daughter. She's in college now, it's time for her to have a boyfriend!"

Chai Mingde immediately objected: "Mom, the millet hasn't even become rice yet, it's still small, what's the rush?"

Yao Xue rolled her eyes at him with obvious disdain: "You started pursuing me in high school, why didn't you say I was too young back then?"

"It's so normal for young people to date these days. There are plenty of college students who get married. If you don't hurry up and find someone, all the handsome ones will be taken."

Chai Mingde choked for a moment, then argued, "They all say online that if you come to Jiming Temple alone, you'll be widowed for three years. Forget it."

"What do you know?" The old lady waved her hand and said in perfect Mandarin, "That's called cutting off bad relationships and finding a good one. Those widows are just people who have had their bad relationships blocked. Our girl has never been in a relationship before, but her good match came as soon as she asked."

Unable to argue with his elders, Chai Mingde reluctantly went to ask for a marriage match for his daughter.

He stood in front of the hall, holding three incense sticks, muttering, "He's still young, what's the rush?" But his hand had already respectfully raised the incense above his brow.

The moment I closed my eyes, all that awkwardness and reluctance vanished.

He remembered his daughter riding on his shoulders to watch the amusement park parade when she was little, remembered her turning back to smile at him the first time she carried her little schoolbag to school, remembered how he tossed and turned all night on the night of her college entrance exam, unable to sleep...

He thought to himself, "How time flies! In the blink of an eye, my daughter has reached the age where she should be making this kind of wish."

He took a deep breath and earnestly said to himself:

May Buddha bless my daughter so that she will never suffer injustice or heartbreak in this life. The person she meets doesn't need to be rich or powerful; I just want someone who loves her more than I do, is more reliable, knows how to make her happy, and loves her more than I do.

After making his wish, he opened his eyes and found that his eyes were a little hot.

An elderly woman nearby leaned over and asked, "Is Xu Haozai?"

He gave a muffled "hmm" and strode out.

After taking a few steps, he quietly turned back and bowed again towards the hall.

*

The six-year-old got up to go to the toilet, and ran back to his room in a panic.

"Mommy, Mommy, I saw Batman! Batman really can fly!"

The woman, annoyed at being woken up from her rare holiday nap, rolled over and said, "Where did this Batman come from? Go bother your dad, don't bother me."

A little while later, the child ran back, "Daddy, Daddy, the rain has stopped! There's a rainbow! There's a rainbow!"

The man, still half-asleep, clung to his wife, humming incoherently, "Rainbow... then hurry up and make a wish, wish that Batman will come to our house and make breakfast."

The child leaned against the windowsill again and rubbed his eyes.

I clearly saw Batman dressed in all black just now, but the rainbow is still there, while Batman is gone.

at this time.

Across from the building.

Inside the living room on one of the floors.

The two stood facing each other.

Chai Xiaomi stood there without saying a word.

The boy's baseball cap was soaked by the rain, and water droplets dripped down the brim onto her cheeks.

Chai Xiaomi didn't blink, just stared straight at him, as if afraid that if she blinked, he would disappear like in her dream.

The rain outside has stopped.

But her vision became increasingly blurry.

Wu Li looked down at her, her eyes crinkling to reveal a cute little tiger tooth, her smile childlike.

He reached out and wiped the water droplets from her cheek with his thumb, unable to tell whether they were rainwater or her tears.

"You were so scared by my beautiful name that you ran away?"

His tone was as languid as ever, but his voice was trembling.

"Chai Xiaomi," he said, uttering her name.

"You said that daily necessities are the most ordinary things, but they are indispensable in everyone's life. You are an indispensable existence."

"Mimi, I can't live without you."

Chai Xiaomi asked hesitantly, "Am I dreaming...?"

Wu Li took her hand and pressed it against his face: "Why don't you hit me and see if I cry out in pain?"

Chai Xiaomi finally couldn't hold back anymore, and tears streamed down her face, landing on the back of his hand.

It was scalding hot, as if it would burn through his skin.

"You stinky Lili, I barely managed to save your life!" she sobbed, then angrily yelled, "You just messed around like that! If it weren't for You Tiao, you'd be dead already! Do you even know that?!"

He grabbed her wrist and pulled it to his chest; through their soaked clothes, she could feel his heartbeat.

Each strike was powerful and real.

Upon being scolded for the first time in a long time, Wu Li felt a lump in his throat and his nose sting.

"Feel it," he pressed her hand tighter, "It's still beating. Even if I die, it will beat for you for all eternity."

Chai Xiaomi cried even harder.

Wu Li could no longer restrain himself and pulled her into his arms. He held her so tightly, as if this small space was the only place in the world he could find refuge in. "I've been looking for you for a long, long time..."

Chai Xiaomi felt his desperately suppressed trembling and buried her face in his familiar chest: "How did you find me?"

"I was bitten by a poisonous scorpion that darted out from beside the sacred tree. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in a bookstore called the Transmigration Bureau. I also know all your secrets."

Chai Xiaomi was taken aback.

It's a fried dough stick.

Wu Li was brought along.

She turned to look at the delivery box on the table. Inside, a black scorpion was perched on the edge of the box, its tail hook curled up, trying to crawl out. Its six legs were scratching at the box wall, making a soft rustling sound.

Dissatisfied with her distracted gaze, Wu Li turned her head back.

He took her hand in his own, and they intertwined their fingers.

Palm to palm, cool to cool, slowly they warm up.

"Mimi...my Mimi..." he called out to her, his voice growing softer and hoarser with each call.

His fingers were clenched tightly, as if he was afraid that if he let go, he would be gone.

"I finally found you, you can't leave me again."

He really couldn't bear another separation.

Those heterochromatic eyes stared straight at me, wet, red, and shattered into pieces.

Like a dog that has been wandering for a long time, after going through many hardships, it finally finds its way home by following its scent. It is cautious and fearful, afraid that a foot will stick out from inside the door and kick it open.

But he doesn't know.

How long had the person inside the door waited for him?

The eyes that were looking at him were also wet.

"Welcome home, my husband."

"I'm sorry for letting you walk such a long way alone. From now on, I'll walk with you. I'll never let you be alone again, never."

"Let's start writing our story now, okay?"

"Not a supporting character, not a side story, not anyone's shadow, it's our story, from beginning to end, it's all about us."

A crack appeared in the clouds outside the window, and sunlight slanted in, falling on the boy's turbulent past, on the girl's smiling yet tearful face, and on their embracing shadows.

The light after the rain is bright and clean, capable of drying up all the gloom.

New shoots finally sprouted in that barren field.

【End of full text】