Lian Qiao squatted in the flower bed for a long time and finally regained his strength. Staggering, he left the school.
When he returned to the hotel, he nearly ran into Little Apple. Little Apple was shocked when she saw him and hurried up to help him sit down. She asked, "What's wrong with you? You look so bad and you're sweating profusely. Do you have a fever?"
She raised her hand to touch Lian Qiao's forehead but Lian Qiao subconsciously swatted her hand away and said weakly, "Don't touch me."
"…" Little Apple's expression froze, embarrassed.
Lian Qiao couldn't control his emotions due to being uncomfortable. Seeing Little Apple's embarrassed expression at that moment, he realized that she had good intentions and suddenly felt a bit bad. After thinking about it, he didn't know whether to apologize or not.
He vaguely felt that Little Apple had a crush on him. It's no wonder, after all, after going through life and death together, it is inevitable that there will be a drawbridge effect (Note). Moreover, both of them like games and there is no obstacle in communication, and the game terms that pop up from time to time make them feel very positively about each other.
It's rare to feel this in an instance. When he was fighting hungry ghosts that time, he discovered that, although he and Little Apple had never cooperated before, they had a natural tacit understanding. This is of course because of having 'game thinking' from playing games for many years. However, if others see it, it is inevitable that they might misunderstand.
What Lian Qiao is most afraid of is RenDong misunderstanding, so he has deliberately kept a distance from Little Apple these days.
However at this time, Little Apple was simply worried about him and just wanted to see if he had a fever and didn't have any ulterior motives when it came to physical contact with him. He slapped her hand away like this, not only embarrassing her but also making her sad.
She is a girl after all…
After a short hesitation, Lian Qiao finally sighed and apologized: "I'm sorry, I…"
"It's okay." Little Apple waved her hand and interrupted him, as if she didn't care about his rude behavior. "What's the matter with you? Where did you go just now?"
"…" Lian Qiao fell silent.
Little Apple: "It's something you can't talk about again? All right."
She has already fully understood the natures of Lian Qiao and RenDong, this dog pair of men. Anyway, they don't treat her as one of their own and hide everything from her. But that's natural after all since the two of them are a couple and she is just a teammate who met them by chance in the instance. It is also reasonable for them not to share clues with her.
So she stopped asking and instead took two steps back and said, "Can you go upstairs by yourself?"
Their rooms are all on the second floor of the hotel. The hotel is small and there is no elevator. The receptionist doesn't direct them and Little Apple couldn't find anyone else to help. She knew that Lian Qiao was very repulsed to have physical contact with her, so she had to step back and stand by.
"I'm fine, I just have a headache." Lian Qiao stood up with the armrest of the sofa. Cold sweat dripped down his face, his whole body was shaking and he was about to fall down again.
"Hey!" Little Apple subconsciously gave him a hand and said helplessly, "Are you okay?!"
This time, Lian Qiao didn't push her away and instead smiled wryly: "It's over, I'm really not good. Maybe I really do have a fever?"
"My ass, you don't have a fever." Little Apple originally wanted to say that it was cold when she touched her forehead just now, but when she thought of his rejection of her, she felt a thorn in her heart and changed her words midway, "…you are sweating so profusely, even if you have a fever, the fever has already subsided."
Lian Qiao's face was pale and bloodless and it was not an option to let him just sit in the lobby of the hotel. In the end, it was Little Apple who helped him upstairs. As soon as he entered the room, Lian Qiao fell limply on the bed, as if he was sick.
Feeling pity for him, Little Apple poured him a cup of hot water. Lian Qiao closed his eyes after saying thank you, as if he had no energy to do more.
Little Apple hesitated again but couldn't help asking: "Are you all right? Do you want me to call a doctor over for you?"
There is a community hospital in the newly unlocked block. Thinking of this, Little Apple felt a little regretful. If she had known that he was so weak, she should have dragged him to the hospital just now. Now that he has been helped up by her, it will be another ordeal to get him back down. And he already found her repulsive…
Lian Qiao didn't speak but slowly opened his eyes, looking at the ceiling in a daze.
Little Apple felt that being alone in the room with him made the atmosphere a bit weird. She didn't know what was wrong with her but she just didn't want to stay here any longer for no reason, so she said, "I'd better go and call the Monk back. I'll get him to help you to the hospital later… how about I go to school and call Xu RenDong back?"
She turned her head to leave but Lian Qiao suddenly called out to her: "Wait, Little Apple."
"Why?" Little Apple's heart skipped a beat when she heard her name being called.
"…" Lian Qiao propped himself up, sat up slowly, pursed his lips and said, "I…I have something to ask you. I am very troubled and I can't decide what to do. Can you…listen to me?"
Little Apple was taken aback.
Hey, is this the rhythm of heart-to-heart talk?
But shouldn't this kind of thing be discussed with his family's Xu RenDong?
Little Apple changed her mind and understood. What he wants to talk about must be something that Xu RenDong cannot know.
They're both really weird. Xu RenDong has something hidden from Lian Qiao and Lian Qiao also has something hidden in his heart which he dares not let Xu RenDong know. Their love story is so very intriguing and interesting?
Little Apple curled her lips, feeling a little complicated, but she still pulled a chair to the side of the bed. She said, "Tell me, what's the matter?"
Lian Qiao smiled weakly, lowered his head and pulled out something from his neck: "Have you seen this key?"
Little Apple glanced at it. It was a simple brass key so she said casually: "Where did this come from? It looks like a cosplay prop?"
"It's a hidden item I found in the first instance." Lian Qiao turned the back of the key and showed her the words engraved on it.
"Your name?" Little Apple subconsciously said, "Binding upon pickup?"
"No…" Lian Qiao frowned slightly, as if what he wanted to say was very complicated and he didn't know where to start. After a pause, he spoke again, "When we first got this key, none of us knew what it was for. It was engraved with my name on it, so it was always kept with me. Later, I gradually remembered. It's…"
"Remembered?" Little Apple sharply raised her eyes, "What do you mean by 'remembered'?"
Lian Qiao smiled bitterly: "I don't know. It's like… It's like… after working for many years, I suddenly remembered a text I memorized during the college entrance examination. It's almost the same feeling. I remembered something related to the key, for example… its function and the price that must be paid."
Little Apple was surprised and said, "What is it for? Isn't it for unlocking something?"
"It is for unlocking something, but it also has another purpose." Lian Qiao took a deep breath and said slowly, "It can help me clear the level."
Little Apple opened her eyes wide.
"How?" She gestured to the door, "Just open the door and pass the level?"
"I don't know." Lian Qiao shook his head. "I can think of only a few things. I only know that it is helpful for instance clearance but I can't remember the specific effect."
"What about the price that must be paid?"
"The price is…" He took another deep breath, "I will lose something very important."
"…"
Little Apple pondered for a moment, then asked, "You can't remember exactly what it is that you will lose, right?"
Lian Qiao nodded.
"I understand. No wonder you dare not discuss it with Xu RenDong." Little Apple smiled and there was a hint of bitterness in that smile for some reason. "If using this key will harm you, Xu RenDong will definitely not agree to use it. But now we are at a stalemate. More than half of the instance time limit has passed but there is no clue about the elevator and the button. Besides, this is your last instance so, if you don't use it at this time, you won't have a chance to use it, right?"
"Smart." Lian Qiao smiled, "You really have a strong comprehension ability."
"You praise me at this time but I can't be happy at all." Little Apple sighed, "So what do you mean? You want me to help you decide whether to use the key or not?"
Lian Qiao lowered his eyes and murmured: "You can't say that… This matter has been hidden in my heart for too long and maybe I just want to talk to someone…"
Little Apple snorted: "Then you shouldn't tell me. After all, the price of the key is 'you lose something', not I lose something. If you ask me, I will definitely tell you to use it. If the key can really open the door right now, wouldn't I stand to gain a lot? Even if you can't directly pass the level, unlocking a life-saving prop or something is also very good. Isn't asking me useless? And you are not afraid that I will steal the key and use it yourself?"
"I am the only one who can use this key." Lian Qiao smiled, "Besides, you wouldn't do such a thing."
"How can you be sure that I wouldn't? You can trust my character so much?"
"En."
"Why?"
"Because when you were in a crisis, you would rather protect him and hurt yourself. You are a good person. I believe in you."
"…"
Little Apple was caught off guard and was stuffed with dog food again, and this time the dog food was so bitter that it was hard to swallow. She let out a "bah", curled her lips and said, "All right."
"So…" Lian Qiao lowered his gaze, gently stroking his name on the brass key with his fingers, "Do you think I should use it?"
"Aren't you harming me?" Little Apple sneered, "You are afraid that you can't bear the consequences by yourself, so you drag me down with you?"
Lian Qiao was taken aback for a moment and his eyes widened in surprise: "No, I'm not…"
"No, you are." Little Apple said sharply, "You are afraid that something irreversible will happen to you after using the key so that Xu RenDong will be sad. But you are also afraid that you will be trapped in the instance and cannot get out. You want to take a gamble but you dare not, so you want me to make the decision for you? Lian Qiao, you are so ruthless. When something happens, you can put the blame on me, because I told you… No, because I didn't stop you from using the key!"
Lian Qiao was stunned and hurriedly denied it: "No! That's not what I'm thinking!"
Little Apple sneered: "Even if you don't think this, the result will still be the same. If something happens to you, can Xu RenDong find you to settle accounts? Isn't the person he will look for, me?!"
"He won't." Lian Qiao kept shaking his head, "He is not such a petty person!"
"Come on. You're gay couple in a relationship. If you get killed, who knows what he'll do!" Little Apple pushed the chair away with a clatter, stood up and said coldly, "I beg you, don't get me involved, I want to live a few more years!"
With that, she walked towards the door. Lian Qiao stared blankly at her back, not understanding why she was so angry all of a sudden.
"Oh, by the way." Little Apple stopped at the door without looking back, "Although you have told me everything, you'd better not use the key behind my back. Otherwise, even if you die, I won't tell Xu RenDong the truth. I will make up any lie to bury you and let Xu RenDong be sad to death by himself. Don't think that you can silently sacrifice yourself and be a martyr. That's disgusting!"
After she finished speaking, she slammed the door hard.
Lian Qiao: "?"
Lian Qiao didn't understand why her mood changed so much all of a sudden and why she spoke in such a blunt manner, as if she had some blood feud with him. He was in a daze but at that moment Little Apple came back suddenly, kicking the door open with a slam.
"Are you still alive?" She was extremely irritable, as if she were a bandit that descended viciously. "So, are you going to the hospital or not!"
Lian Qiao: "…No, it's okay… you don't need to…"
"Okay!" Little Apple yelled forcefully, then slammed the door and left.
Lian Qiao: "…"
He stared at the door that was slammed repeatedly for a long time, and his heart suddenly warmed up.
What RenDong said is right, Little Apple really…
Was a good person.
When RenDong came back from school in the afternoon, Lian Qiao had almost recovered. He wanted to pretend that nothing happened but he never expected that Little Apple would expose him as soon as he came up.
"Lian Qiao has a problem here." Little Apple pointed to his head.
RenDong: "?"
Little Apple had a stinky expression but she still told him about the day's events.
"What did you get up to during the day?" After Little Apple left, RenDong put down his schoolbag and walked to the bed.
"Uh…" Lian Qiao secretly cursed Little Apple in his heart, but fortunately she only said that she was unwell and did not reveal the key. All of a sudden, Lian Qiao scratched his head and lied, "Just… I went to your school to peek at you, then accidentally slipped on the flower bed and hit my head."
RenDong frowned and leaned in front of him: "Let me see."
"It's all right, I didn't injure myself." Of course, Lian Qiao couldn't make a wound out on the spot, so he could only continue to lie, "I'm just a little dizzy and I'll be fine after I come back to sleep. Aha, it's a bit embarrassing, Little Apple really is… I specifically told her not to say anything.."
"Really?" RenDong was a little skeptical.
"Really." Lian Qiao nodded desperately, trying to make his expression look sincere.
RenDong stared at him for a while but couldn't find any clues, so he shook his head helplessly: "Why are you so careless?"
"It's just a guilty conscience." Lian Qiao said that he had a guilty conscience but felt even more guilty in his heart.
"By the way, how did you get inside this time?" RenDong asked curiously, "I've asked, this school doesn't have a backdoor."
"Uh…" Lian Qiao blushed a little but still honestly explained the matter of climbing into the dog's hole.
RenDong couldn't help laughing when he heard this. After thinking for a while, he took out a school uniform jacket from his school bag and gave it to Lian Qiao's hands.
"Tomorrow at three o'clock in the afternoon, I have a physical education class." He said, "When you come in, just wear my school uniform so you won't be suspected."
"Huh?" Lian Qiao was a little surprised, subconsciously stroking RenDong's school uniform with his fingers. At this time, RenDong was already sixteen years old and his body, appearance and face were already close to that of an adult. The school uniform seemed to still carry his body temperature, which made Lian Qiao think about it all of a sudden, "Do you want me to accompany you to PE class?"
"En."
"Why?"
RenDong smiled and his gaze slowly wandered over his lips. If there was a substance in that gaze, Lian Qiao had the illusion that he was being caressed by him.
"To pay back what I owe you."
***
The author has something to say:
Note: Suspension bridge effect: It means that when two people sway on the suspension bridge together, their heart beats faster because of fear and they will mistakenly thinks it is the feeling of heartbeat.
Are the last two paragraphs familiar?