23 fear

After secretly watching Shen Yue enter his room. Xu Wenqi paced back and forth in front of his door several times. She was anxious to death to see his reaction. Would he hate it? She was so frustrated that she even sneakily pressed her right ear to his closed door in hopes of eavesdropping his reaction. Hearing no sounds for several minutes, Xu Wenqi felt slightly stupid.

'Of course, there won't be any sounds! Who would he even talk to?'

Just as she turned her heel to walk back into her room, she heard a loud shout coming from his room. Without even thinking, she frantically turned back around and opened the door. What she saw stunned her.

The argent glow of the moon landed on Shen Yue's profile, highlighting his abnormal scarlet eyes and tightly pressed lips. As his gaze locked with hers, she suddenly believed she was looking at a demon climbing up from the depths of hell. This, coupled with the complex emotions entwined in his eyes, caused her hold her breath for a moment. In his eyes was situated a deep glacial chill and a trace of madness. But behind the paranoia, the despondency, there was some other sentiment lingering there.

'It...it's vulnerability,' thought Xu Wenqi in a surprised manner.

She had never once seen Shen Yue so uncomposed in the times they had interacted together.

Before she could even open her mouth to say something, Shen Yue roared, "SHUT UP!"

He continued to yell non-stop, making Xu Wenqi extremely shocked. She hadn't said a word yet so who was he talking to? Moreover, there was no one in the room beside the two of them. An eerie frigid chill crept up Xu Wenqi's back and her hands were curled into a small ball, causing her nails to dig into the skin of her palms. She forced herself to remain calm as she tried to recall what she read before to help someone who is hallucinating. She walked as slowly as she could towards him, stopping a good distance away while calling his name softly.

"Shen Yue, what do you hear?" asked Xu Wenqi gently while trying to keep her voice from trembling.

"All of you, SHUT. UP." growled Shen Yue.

Xu Wenqi broke into a cold sweat with the words of Shen Yue. Her nails dug even deeper and broke the layer of her skin, oozing droplets of blood. She couldn't even feel the pain. Her mind was too preoccupied with the scene in front of her.

Pretending to be relaxed, she said quietly, "Shen Yue, let's talk. Tell me what you hear."

Shen Yue didn't respond as he suddenly dropped to the ground and curled up into a ball while clutching his head. His undulating chest rose and fell unevenly in a heavy manner.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" he shouted desperately.

Seeing his extreme reaction, Xu Wenqi panicked and squatted to his level. She touched his arm lightly. Feeling the soft hand on his arm, Shen Yue's pupil dilated wildly and he pushed her hard.

"GET OUT!"

Xu Wenqi fell on her back with a thud on the floor. Needless to say, it was quite painful for her fragile shoulders to be treated in such a rough manner. Ignoring the ache, she gritted her teeth and got up to sit near Shen Yue. She didn't dare attempt to touch him again.

Instead, she repeated in a low voice, "Can you tell me what you hear? I want to help you."

Shen Yue closed his eyes and his eyebrows were furrowed tensely. He gripped his head with a tighter grip. It was a long time later that he spoke up with a slight tremor.

"They said to destroy it. They said I'm a monster."

Xu Wenqi was relieved that he responded.

Exhaling in ease, she asked, "Did they say anything else?"

Shen Yue's eyelids flew open and he looked straight at her intently.

"They said to destroy you too."

The words rose all the hair on her body and bumps could be seen appearing on her arm. Xu Wenqi was frozen in fear. She drew in a sharp breath and closed her eyes to hide her unabashed terror. After clearing her mind, she reopened her eyes and she spoke as firmly as she could.

"You're not a monster."

Shen Yue looked at her eyes in search of a lie, a falsehood, a fictitious cover and he found... nothing. Not even a fraction of a pretense could be detected in her pure, transparent eyes. She looked so determined, so convincingly at him as if what she said was indeed the ultimate truth.

Afraid that Shen Yue wouldn't believe her, Xu Wenqi didn't stop repeating the same words over and over again in hopes that they would reach him. Xu Wenqi's voice collided with the voices he continuously heard, creating a sense of conflict in him. Who should he listen to?

It was a long time later that Xu Wenqi noticed that Shen Yue's breathing was much more stable and his eyes were gradually becoming less red. Despite her throat being quite sore, she didn't stop repeating the words in fear that he would suddenly relapse again.

unimportant note:

its 3 am ahh ╥﹏╥ i slept at 6 am yesterday hnjsndsj

i didn't think writing is v hard until now lol i have several more chaps to write ╥﹏╥

also ty to ppl who collected my other novel :)) i appreciate you all