Chapter 1 Dust 1
Have you ever seen darkness?
There is no light in the world you can see.
It was like being thrown into a silent black hole.
Seoul, Korea.
It was the summer of 2010, and the heat was sweeping across the entire city of A. I stood under the shade of a tree outside the school and called Chen Qiaoluo. After a long while, he picked up the phone and asked lazily, "Miss Zhu, why are you calling me so late in the afternoon? What can I do for you?"
"I'm not going to teach you anything." Maybe because I've been exposed to the scorching sun for too long, I started to curse, "Chen Qiaoluo, did you skip class again? Tell me, how many times have you been here this week?"
My accusation made Chen Qiaoluo burst into laughter. He said, "Hello Zhu Yun, how dare you criticize me? It's 3:30 now, class time, and you called me. Aren't you also skipping class unconsciously?"
"Hmph, what do you care about me?" I said narcissistically, "I can still keep up with my studies without attending classes, but how can you, a stupid person like you, not work harder?"
"Yes, yes, Miss Zhu is talented, cute and smart." Just as I was immersed in Chen Qiaoluo's hypocritical praise, he continued to ask, "Seriously, why are you calling at this time?"
"Nothing much, I just heard that there's a new ice skating rink opened on Tianchang Road, and I wanted to invite you to go there together."
"Ice skating?" I heard Chen Qiaoluo hesitate for a moment, but he quickly rejected me, "Miss, go by yourself. I have something to do now, so I can't accompany you."
As soon as Chen Qiaoluo finished speaking, I got furious: "Chen Qiaoluo, what can you do if you're idle all day long?"
"Please, Miss Zhu, which eye of yours saw me doing nothing?" Chen Qiaoluo asked weakly.
"You skip classes every day, aren't you just idle?" I asked directly, holding my breath, "What's the matter with you? If you don't tell me today, I won't believe it."
Chen Qiaoluo on the other end of the phone paused for a few seconds, then said helplessly: "Okay, okay, I'll admit it. I saw a beautiful girl a few days ago, with that figure and that look, wow. I've been skipping classes recently just to chase her."
I had never expected Chen Qiaoluo to say something. I was stunned for a few seconds, and then I heard him say, "I won't talk to you anymore. That beautiful lady is here. I'm hanging up first."
After saying that, before I could give any response, Chen Qiaoluo hung up the phone.
Humph, this guy who forgets his friends for the sake of beauty.
I cursed angrily in my heart, put away my phone, hailed a car and headed towards Tianchang Road.
Actually, I don’t want to go out and play alone, but there’s no point in just going back to school.
The skating rink is on the underground floor of Baicheng Building. As soon as I walked down the stairs, I felt it was dark.
Maybe because it was Wednesday, there were few people in the skating rink. After paying and changing into skates, I walked onto the ice. I am not unfamiliar with skating. My dad has taken me to almost all the skating rinks in this city, big and small. I can even say that I am an expert at it.
But I don't know if it's because of me, I always feel a little bit lack of energy, and I stumble a little bit after sliding around. After thinking about the reason, I think it must be because Chen Qiaoluo didn't give me face. Thinking of him, I couldn't help but feel depressed again. This boy actually gave up playing with me for a beautiful woman. I can't stand it.
Just as I was furious, my feet suddenly slipped and I rushed out uncontrollably. Three seconds later, I fell to the ground beside the fence in a "big" shape.
The staff hurried over to help me up and asked worriedly, "Miss, how are you? Are you feeling unwell?"
I took a long time to calm down before waving at them and saying, "I'm fine."
"Ah, your knee is bleeding."
The scream made me lower my head to look. My originally white knee was now broken and bright red blood was oozing out.
Two people carried me to the rest area outside the stadium and one of the girls said worriedly, "Go to the hospital to get bandaged, otherwise it will be bad if you are left with scars."
"No, it's just a minor injury."
I rejected her kindness and took out my phone to check if it was broken. When I flipped to the most recent contacts, I saw Chen Qiaoluo's name again, and I felt even more depressed. This bad guy, if he hadn't stayed with me, I wouldn't have been so unlucky. I cursed him to never have a girlfriend.
Just as I was mumbling to myself, there was a sudden noise outside the door. I turned around and saw a few young men who looked like gangsters walking in. The two girls beside them also returned to their work positions.
After the fall, I have no strength left and can only stay here to rest. Just as I was looking down at my phone, a shadow suddenly appeared above my head. When I looked up, I saw those young men looking at me with wretched faces.
"Hey, little sister, you come here to play alone. Do you want us to accompany you?" The young man in the lead spoke with ill intention.
Entertainment places like skating rinks, bars, and billiard halls are where bad boys gather. I looked at them with disgust, curled my lips, and said coldly, "Get lost."
"You're still a little hottie!" The young man smiled obscenely and stretched out his hand to touch me.
I turned my face away from his "dirty hands" and stood up with the help of a chair. I dragged my still aching leg and took just two steps before I was stopped: "Don't be like this, little sister, there's nothing wrong with everyone playing together."
"Bah, who wants to play with you guys?" I looked at him and said coldly, "Get out of the way, don't block me."
As if seeing that I was not going to give in, the young man suddenly got angry and grabbed my wrist.
The pain in my wrist made me want to break free, but that hand held me tightly.
"Let go." I turned to look at him and said sternly.
"Let go?" The young man laughed sinisterly and said, "Will you let others have what you got?"
His question left me speechless.
Just as I was confronting him, a boy's clear voice suddenly interrupted: "Jin Shaokai, this is my place. It's not good for you to make trouble like this."
I looked over and saw a handsome boy standing there. He had a faint smile on his lips and deep eyes. I felt the hand holding my wrist loosen, and I took the opportunity to break free.
"Master Xu." The young man called softly.
"What Young Master Xu? I'm just the same age as you. Just call me Xu Xuan." The boy smiled indifferently, but that smile was full of indifference.
“I dare not.” Jin Shaokai took two steps back and said in a panic, “I didn’t know this was your place, Master Xu. Please forgive me if there is anything wrong.”
"It's okay. Guests are welcome. If you want to play, I'll have someone arrange it for you right away," he said.
"No, that's fine. We have something else to do. We'll leave now."
After saying that, Jin Shaokai looked at the people behind him and called out, "Hurry up!"
The group came and left quickly, disappearing at the door in a few seconds.
I looked back at the boy in front of me. He was wearing a clean white T-shirt and shorts, without any extra accessories. His smile was fake but still clear. Such a boy looked like a good student from the outside, but I never thought he would have such a deep background.
As if sensing my inquiring gaze, he turned around and looked at me, chuckled for a while, and asked, "What's so good about me?"
Like a cat being grabbed by the tail, my face flushed and I immediately retorted stubbornly: "Who said I was looking at you? You are so narcissistic."
"Okay, you didn't look at me." He smiled, handed me the shoes I had put aside, and said, "From your appearance, you must be a student. Don't come to places like this alone in the future. It's too messy."
Hearing him say that, I couldn't help but find it a little funny: "This is your place, isn't it inappropriate for you to say that? I've never seen a boss like you who chases customers away in my life."
"How is it, now you see me?" Xu Xuan smiled at me and suddenly asked, "What's your name?"
"Hello, Zhu Yun." I replied without any hesitation.
"Hello, Mr. Zhu?" Xu Xuan frowned in confusion and said, "How could someone be called this name?"
"Hey, hey, hey, don't get it wrong, it's not the Jun of gentleman, it's the Yun of Wen Tingyun," I explained.
"Oh, I see." Xu Xuan replied thoughtfully, and then asked, "How old are you this year?"
"Seventeen, what's wrong?" I asked in confusion.
"You're seventeen years old, so you should be in the second year of high school. If I remember correctly, today is Wednesday. Why are you here alone instead of attending class?" Xu Xuan asked.
His nagging made me roll my eyes. "Come on, handsome Xu, how long have I known you and you're controlling me like this?"
"Okay, I was a little abrupt." Xu Xuan shrugged and said, "If you come here next time, just come to me directly, don't come here alone. You are still too young and don't know how dark this world is."
I found Xu Xuan's words funny, and I put on my shoes while I responded. The wound that was originally bleeding was much better now, and the red blood clots against the white skin made me look a little embarrassed.
At this time, Xu Xuan also noticed my wound and waved towards the workbench. After a while, the little girl ran over and asked, "Boss, what's the matter?"
"Go to my room. There's an emergency medicine kit in the second drawer of the cabinet. Can you get it for me?"
As soon as Xu Xuan finished speaking, I hurriedly said, "Don't bother with that. This minor injury will heal in two days."
"What's the trouble?" Xu Xuan smiled and said, "It would be ugly for a girl to have scars on her body."
After saying that, he turned to the little girl and said, "Xiao Su, hurry up."
"Okay, I'll be there right away." Xiao Su responded and ran away.
The concern from Xu Xuan made me feel warm instantly, and my originally angry mood was also calmed down at this moment. This boy who I just met for only an hour gave me so much tenderness at this moment that I was a little dazed.
After a while, Xiao Su came over with a medical kit: "Boss, here you go."
"Well, go get busy first."
Xu Xuan took the medicine box and squatted down. He used his clean and slender fingers to hold a cotton swab dipped in medicine to help me clean the wound.
From where I was, I could only see the thick hair on his head. As for his expression, I couldn't see it clearly. But I knew that he must be serious at this moment. Just when I was feeling a little upset, the pain from the wound made me scream.
"Does it hurt?" Xu Xuan raised his head and looked at me, saying in a soothing tone, "Just bear with it. There's some dirt in the wound. If it's not cleaned up, it might get infected."
Xu Xuan’s words were like a painkiller, and I stood there in a daze for a moment.
I don't know how long it took before he put a band-aid on me. He stood up and said with a sigh of relief, "Okay, it's okay now. Go back now. There will be more people here soon."
"Yeah." I also stood up, waved at him and was about to leave.
After walking less than ten steps, Xu Xuan's voice came from behind: "Hello, Zhu Yun, leave me your phone number and come to play with me when you are free."
After exchanging phone numbers with Xu Xuan, I went straight home.
The lights in the city were gradually turning on. On the way, my father called me and asked me what I wanted to eat in the evening. At that moment, the pain in my knee and all the unhappiness in my heart seemed to disappear, leaving only the warm light in my heart.
As soon as I entered the house, my father ran out from the kitchen and said happily, "My daughter, I made your favorite braised pork today. You must eat it all in a while."
"I know, Dad." I changed my shoes and replied casually.
As soon as I finished speaking, I heard my dad scream, "Daughter, what's wrong with your knee? Why do you have a Band-Aid on it? Are you injured somewhere?"
My dad's string of worried words came at me like a machine gun. I couldn't help but roll my eyes and reply, "It's nothing serious. I just accidentally fell today."
"How can that be possible? My daughter is so weak, I hope she doesn't get sick from the fall. Come on, Dad will take you to the hospital."
Seeing my dad hurriedly taking off his apron, I quickly stopped him and said, "It's okay, Dad, I've taken care of it, don't make a fuss."
"But……"
Seeing that my dad wanted to continue, I interrupted him without hesitation and said, "Dad, I'm so hungry. I didn't eat anything at school for lunch today."
"Ah, you are hungry. Wait, Dad will cook the dishes soon."
After saying that, he quickly ran back to the kitchen.
I breathed a sigh of relief, put my schoolbag back in the room, changed my clothes and walked out. The food was already on the table.
