Chapter 18: The Rooftop at 2 A.M.

Lin Ci rolled over in bed and buried his head in the pillow.

“I’m never going on stage again, even if it kills me. That was public torture.”

He was exhausted, so tired he could barely speak.

Gu Mianmian was quiet for a few seconds, then replied in a low voice.

“That’s good, Senior.”

She spoke softly.

Lin Ci was too sleepy by then and didn’t hear her clearly.

He mumbled a reply, closed his eyes, and fell dead asleep.

2 a.m.

Lin Ci suddenly opened his eyes. His whole body felt unbearably hot.

He looked up and saw letters on the dorm air conditioner.

Was the heater broken in the middle of the night?

Was this crappy dorm even fit to live in?

The room was so dry and hot it was hard to breathe.

He threw off the blanket. His body was drenched in sticky sweat.

“When is someone going to fix this damn air conditioner?”

Lin Ci muttered, propping himself up on the bed frame.

He was about to get down for a drink of water when he noticed Gu Mianmian’s bed across the room was empty.

Her blanket was folded neatly.

Lin Ci froze, thinking he was seeing things. He rubbed his eyes, but the opposite bed was still empty.

No way.

Where did that girl run off to in the middle of the night?

He hurried down the ladder, slipped on his sandals, and walked to the desk.

The desk was empty. Gu Mianmian’s phone was gone too.

A knot formed in Lin Ci’s stomach. Most of his sleepiness vanished.

He quickly opened the dorm door. The hallway was silent, lit only by the sound-activated light overhead.

Lin Ci checked the public restroom first.

It was empty.

He then hurried to the public balcony. Nothing there except a row of hanging clothes.

Finally, he looked at the iron door at the end of the hallway leading to the rooftop.

The door that was usually closed.

Now it was ajar.

Cold wind poured through the gap. It hit Lin Ci and made him shrink his neck.

Lin Ci pushed the iron door open and climbed the concrete steps.

The wind on the rooftop was strong.

He immediately spotted Gu Mianmian sitting on the concrete ledge.

She was curled into a ball, arms wrapped around her knees.

The night wind billowed her oversized white shirt.

Lin Ci sighed and walked over quickly.

He took off his jacket and draped it over Gu Mianmian’s shoulders.

“It’s the middle of the night. You came up to the rooftop to catch a cold? Are you trying to get sick again?”

The sudden weight made Gu Mianmian tremble.

She didn’t turn around, just shrank her head deeper into the jacket.

The jacket still carried Lin Ci’s body heat and that faint milky scent.

“Senior, the wind is strong.”

Her voice was very soft.

“Why aren’t you sleeping? What are you doing on the rooftop?”

Lin Ci crouched beside her and asked in a sour tone.

“I can’t sleep.”

Gu Mianmian hugged her knees, her voice muffled inside the jacket.

“I counted three thousand sheep, and I still can’t sleep.”

Lin Ci felt helpless.

“If you can’t sleep, lie down and rest with your eyes closed. Coming to the rooftop to count sheep makes you a weirdo.”

He simply sat down on the concrete ledge.

The cold wind made him shiver, but he didn’t leave.

The two were silent for a moment.

Gu Mianmian buried her face in her knees, voice barely audible.

“Senior, have you ever thought… if one day you disappeared, would anyone care?”

Lin Ci turned to look at her.

He thought the girl was overthinking again.

Was it her orphanage experience that made her so insecure about the world?

“You want to ask if anyone would care if you disappeared, right?”

Lin Ci saw right through her.

Gu Mianmian’s body stiffened. She didn’t answer.

“Of course someone would.”

Lin Ci said it without hesitation.

“Who?”

Gu Mianmian finally lifted her head, her voice trembling.

“Me. Otherwise why would I come up here in the middle of the night to freeze with you?”

Lin Ci looked at her, tone frank and matter-of-fact.

The wind was strong, but those words landed clearly in Gu Mianmian’s ears.

Gu Mianmian slowly turned her head.

The night wind blew back the thick bangs covering her forehead.

For the first time, Lin Ci saw her full face under the moonlight.

Her skin was unhealthily pale, but her features were delicate.

Malnutrition had left her cheeks thin and her jawline sharp.

In those dark eyes that were usually gloomy, tiny specks of light now flickered.

It was an emotion she rarely showed.

“Senior, can I lean on you?”

She asked softly, testing.

Lin Ci looked at her frail figure, and his inner straight-guy protective instinct surged again.

“Lean on me. It’s not like I’ll lose a piece of flesh.”

He generously patted his shoulder.

Gu Mianmian didn’t hesitate. She slowly rested her head on Lin Ci’s shoulder.

Her cool cheek pressed through the thin sleeve, bringing a real warmth.

Lin Ci’s body tensed slightly.

He was in a girl’s body now. His shoulders were much narrower and softer than before.

When Gu Mianmian leaned close, he could even smell a faint lemon scent in her hair.

Gu Mianmian’s fingers crept out and clutched the edge of Lin Ci’s sleeve.

She didn’t grip hard, just rested them there lightly.

Lin Ci didn’t pull away.

In his eyes, this was just a love-starved girl seeking comfort from her only friend.

“Senior, you’re so warm.”

Gu Mianmian closed her eyes, brought her nose close to Lin Ci’s neck, and inhaled the soothing milky scent.

Lin Ci rolled his eyes.

“Of course I’m warm. I just came out of a heated room.”

He complained, but shifted closer to Gu Mianmian, blocking some of the wind for her.

The two sat on the rooftop for a long time.

The wind gradually died down. Gu Mianmian’s breathing became even, clearly sleepy.

Seeing her drowsy, Lin Ci reached out and helped her up.

“All right, back to the dorm. If you stay out any longer, you’ll be on an IV drip again tomorrow.”

Gu Mianmian’s eyes were half-closed. She let Lin Ci pull her along obediently.

Lin Ci half-supported, half-dragged her back to the dorm.

Back in the dorm, the air conditioner vent seemed to be working normally again, no longer so stuffy.

Lin Ci settled Gu Mianmian in bed and tucked her in.

“Sleep like a good girl. No more running around.”

He warned in a low voice.

Gu Mianmian lay obediently, but her eyes were wide open.

Lin Ci climbed back into his upper bunk and pulled the blanket over himself.

He thought Gu Mianmian would fall asleep soon.

But in the darkness, Gu Mianmian kept her eyes open.

She stared at Lin Ci’s outline on the opposite bed for a full ten minutes.

Deep in those dark eyes churned a barely perceptible obsession and possessiveness.

Lin Ci turned over, still thinking.

This girl keeps running to the rooftop. What if one day she can’t take it and jumps?

He had to keep an eye on the rooftop door from now on. Absolutely no letting her go up alone at night.

He had no idea that in Gu Mianmian’s world,

from the moment he said “I’d care” on the rooftop, the word “friend” had lost all meaning.

What she wanted had never been an ordinary friend.

The next morning.

Lin Ci was woken by sparrows chirping outside.

He sat up, rubbing his sore neck. The weight on his chest made him sigh again.

He climbed down the ladder and instinctively looked at Gu Mianmian’s bed.

It was empty again.

But this time, there was no burnt sandwich on the desk.

Only a sticky note held down by a cup.

Lin Ci walked over and picked up the note.

On it was Gu Mianmian’s neat handwriting.

“Senior, I went to interview for a new part-time job. I already quit the skewer place with Old Zhao.”

“Breakfast is from the cafeteria. It’s in the thermos. Remember to eat.”

Lin Ci read the note and pursed his lips.

“Fast worker. Quitting is good anyway. Saves that guy at the barbecue place from causing trouble every day.”

He stuffed the note into his pocket and touched the thermos beside it.

The thermos was still warm.

Lin Ci opened the lid. Inside was a bowl of warm white porridge and two peeled eggs.

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