Where Winter is Warm Where Summer is Cool

An instant later, a bright, red, peony of blood bloomed through, staining the front of his white shirt.

I gaped at him dumbfounded. Is he crazy!?

The hot and slick feeling on my hands forced me to realize that it was not an illusion!

I pushed him away desperately and Xi Xichen staggered back two steps before slumping against the wall behind him. Even though I was now a certain distance away, I could still smell the blood.

“You are crazy! You are crazy!”

The blood-stained saber slipped out of my hands, and before I knew what I was doing, I turned and ran deeper into the secret tunnel.

Why did he do this?  Extremely ridiculous, extremely ridiculous!

The tunnel was so pitch black I couldn’t even see my own fingers. I dragged my heavy legs as I ran desperately with the wind rushing past me and my panicked heart beating loudly in my ears.

I didn’t stop until I tripped on a stone and fell to the ground, knocking my knees heavily on the stone path. Adrenaline coursed through me, making me feel both panicked and alive.

Xi Xichen, why are you here? Why are you here?  How…how did it get this messed up?

I don’t know how long I sat there before I finally stood up and limped back.

When I saw him sitting on the ground with his back against the wall and his eyes closed, a bolt of fear ran through me and I raced over to him and grabbed his shoulder.

“Xi Xichen!” I found my voice trembling, “I didn’t mean to run away!”

He slowly opened his eyes, his mouth looking more gentle than ever before.

“I will take you out.” He stretched out his hand and stroked my face. “Anjie…”

The remaining torch fell to the ground, and the flame flickered for a moment before finally dying out. “I don’t regret anything for you.”

Such intimacy in the sudden darkness made me feel even more at a loss.

“If I knew this would make you stop and listen to me for a while, I would have done it sooner.” He said, his breathing weak.

“You really are…a lunatic.”

“Sorry, I scared you.” His voice was apologetic. “I just didn’t know what to do.”

I lightly mocked, “You Xi Xichen, who are so capable? How can anything stump you?”

“I have always been helpless with you.” The gentle voice felt a little unnatural.

He put his head on my shoulder. “We have to get out of here quickly, or I might die here. ” His voice was getting weaker and weaker.

I gritted my teeth as I helped him stand with difficulty. “I was stupid to stroll through such a shabby place. You are even more stupid for committing self-harm.”

“What should I do now?” I asked. “The torches are all gone, where can I go?”

“There should be more on the wall nearby. I’ll look for it.”

“Your injury…” I stopped him a little bit helplessly. “I’m here, let me find it. You stand still.”

I heard him chuckle in the dark. “I won’t move.”

I turned and patted the wall before quickly finding another one. But in the dark, I didn’t know where Xi Xichen was. I didn’t want to call for him, so I stretched out my hand like a blind man walking.

A minute later my hand was grabbed by a warm hand, and his five fingers intertwined with mine.

“Found it?” he asked.

“Yeah.” I pulled my hand free and gave him the torch. He rubbed the sapphire on the wall and a small flame burst forth through it again.

In the lit up space I saw his pale face. “You–”

“I’m okay.” He covered his mouth and coughed. “This secret road seems to have no fork in the road so we can walk to the end,” he said, his voice strained. “We should be able to reach the exit soon…Anjie?”

It hadn’t been long since we’d become trapped, but I felt like I had gone without food and water for three days and nights.

I bit my lower lip as dizziness swept through me. I tried to hold on, but my body shut me down, and I fell into the engulfing darkness.

I smelled a delicate, minty fragrance wafting through my nose and I felt warm and dry. I expected to open my eyes to a snow-white ceiling and blue sky with white clouds outside a window, but when my eyes fluttered open, there was no sky and no ceiling, just the mottled corridor and a flickering flame. I sat up with a groan. The warmth I was feeling seemed to have been a dream.

A suit jacket covered my body and a checkered square was wrapped around my knee to staunch the small injury there.

Xi Xichen knelt down and sat beside me, eyes full of anxiety. He looked relieved and somewhat embarrassed at the same time.

The light scent between my lips and teeth had not yet completely dissipated, and I subconsciously touched my lower lip as I looked at him.

It was undeniable that he was good-looking, with his clear skin, angular face, tall nose, and handsome features. Seeing that I was staring at him intently, he turned his face to the side and coughed slightly.

His right hand was hanging at his side, and without the cover of the suit, the crimson peony on his white shirt was now more discernible.

I had slept for a while, so my mind was now clearer.

The now almost black, blush on his chest shirt did not seem to be dyed.

I looked at his right hand again. Why is the blood dripping more now than when I had first seen it?

Did the hand get hurt again?

When?

A sudden thought flashed through my mind, and my whole body went cold!

I have been deceived by false appearances again! Why did I forget? There are great depths to Xi Xichen, how could he ever do something that would hurt him?

The previous bewilderment and worries he’d caused me now coursed through my mind. It had apparently now become a joke to laugh at me.