Obscuris Labyrinth

Zhao Yuxuan usually worked until around nine o'clock in the evening. Even on his last day, he still planned to work a full shift. The afterglow of the evening was gradually swallowed up by the night. Long Yue came to deliver boxed meals as usual. At this time, when Zhao Yuxuan opened the boxed meal, he found that in addition to the familiar chicken leg, there were also several appetizing braised pork balls in it.

Zhao Yuxuan, who was about to leave here, couldn't help but think of all the special care Long Yue had given him during this period. He felt that, out of both sentiment and reason, he should say goodbye to her properly. So, he waited patiently until Long Yue had sold all the boxed meals and the people around gradually dispersed, leaving only a rather quiet space. Then he slowly walked forward and said sincerely, "Long Yue, thank you for the chicken leg and the braised pork balls."

All along, Zhao Yuxuan had always been cold in front of Long Yue. So his taking the initiative to strike up a conversation at this moment made Long Yue's big, round black eyes instantly sparkle with surprise. She said somewhat playfully, "Hey, Zhao Acai, after adding dishes for you for so many days, you finally are willing to say thank you today."

The corners of Zhao Yuxuan's mouth turned up slightly, revealing a faint smile as he replied, "It's because you usually only add one dish, but today you added two. I really feel a bit guilty."

Long Yue looked at Zhao Yuxuan's kind smile, and there seemed to be a hint of infatuation in her eyes. She said softly, "Zhao Acai, you look really nice when you smile. It's a pity that you always smile at others, but always keep a straight face with me, as if I owed you money."

Hearing this, Zhao Yuxuan smiled at her again and said gently, "All right. Today you've cleared the 'favor debt', so I'll smile a few more times."

Long Yue burst out laughing at this. There was a small canine tooth showing in her smile. As if suddenly realizing something, she quickly covered her mouth with her hand, then stared at Zhao Yuxuan without blinking and said softly, "Zhao Acai, if you could be like this to me every day, I would be extremely happy. You don't know that I don't have a single friend here. Those... those men are so bad. They always deliberately say dirty words in front of me. I feel extremely disgusted when I hear them, but I don't dare to offend them. Otherwise, they won't buy boxed meals from me."

Zhao Yuxuan knew very well that the men Long Yue mentioned were those porters. Many of them were unmarried, and even those who were married, because they had been traveling around all year round, led very hard lives. Due to being short of money, their lives were extremely dull except for work, but their instinctive physiological needs made them restless. And Long Yue, although dressed very plainly, was undoubtedly a young and beautiful girl. Near the Xingyao Transportation Hub, such a young and beautiful girl was as rare as a precious treasure, and naturally would attract these men's covetous eyes. They often deliberately told dirty jokes, and some even used very blatant and vulgar language to tease her. And for the sake of making a living, she could only endure it with a forced smile. This was the helplessness in life. Indeed, she was in great need of a true friend.

However, at this moment, Zhao Yuxuan could only sigh silently in his heart. There was really nothing he could do. Hatred was like a flame that burned in his heart and never went out. It was the only thing that supported him to live. The reason why he could endure such hardship and fatigue was all because of this "hatred" in his heart. In front of this "hatred", he simply had no time or couldn't afford to care about other things.

Zhao Yuxuan thought it was time to tell Long Yue that he was leaving, so he said slowly, "Long Yue, there's something I want to tell you."

Hearing this, Long Yue's eyes were immediately full of interest. She said cheerfully, "Good. Tell me. I want to hear you talk more. I can go back later today. Let's find a place and have a good chat."

Zhao Yuxuan quickly waved his hand and said, "No need to find a place, Long Yue. I'm leaving tomorrow."

Hearing this, Long Yue was stunned for a moment, and her eyes were full of surprise. She hurriedly asked, "Leaving? Where are you going?"

Zhao Yuxuan replied calmly, "To Xiling. It's very far from here."

As soon as he finished speaking, Long Yue's face changed, and her voice trembled involuntarily, "To... Xiling... It's so far away."

Zhao Yuxuan nodded affirmatively, indicating that it was indeed so.

Long Yue suddenly became very worried. She quickly asked, "Why are you leaving? Is that your hometown?"

Zhao Yuxuan shook his head and said, "It's not my hometown, but I have very important things to do there."

Long Yue heard this and asked further, "Will you come back?"

The faces of Chen Shihan, Zhao Qiyang, and Wu Junhui immediately flashed through Zhao Yuxuan's mind, and he couldn't help but feel a bit gloomy. He slowly shook his head and said, "Maybe yes, maybe no. This city doesn't belong to me."

Long Yue became even more worried. She raised her voice and said, "Why doesn't it belong to you? Why doesn't it belong to you? Do you not want to do this job anymore? I know it must be. A person like you can't be used to doing this kind of job."

Speaking of this, she gently bit her lip, lowered her head and was silent for a while, as if making a certain decision in her heart. Then she slowly raised her head and glanced at Zhao Yuxuan and said, "Zhao Acai, do you know that my family has actually made some money from the boxed - meal business at the Xingyao Transportation Hub over the years?"

Zhao Yuxuan really didn't expect her to suddenly mention this, but still nodded and said, "Of course. Your family's business is so good. You must have made some money."

Under the dim light of the platform, Long Yue's face gradually flushed with shyness. She said nervously and expectantly, "Zhao Acai, don't... don't go. I'm the only daughter in my family, and I also helped earn the money. I've long wanted to open a small restaurant by myself, but there's no one to help me. Can you stay and help me take care of it? Let's... let's work together. Our future life will surely not be worse than others'."

How could Zhao Yuxuan not understand the deep love in this girl's words? He looked at Long Yue and sighed softly, "Long Yue, do you know me?"

Long Yue also stared at him intently and said firmly, "Zhao Acai, don't think I'm stupid. I know you're not someone who does dirty and tiring work. There must be something you don't want others to know. I don't want to ask because I know you're not a bad person. Even if you... you did something stupid in the past, you're still not a bad person."

Zhao Yuxuan knew that Long Yue must have misunderstood him as a fugitive or something, but her words really made a warm current rise in his heart. He said, "Thank you, Long Yue, for believing in me so much. But I really can't stay."

Long Yue never expected that even after she had mustered so much courage to say these words, she still couldn't persuade Zhao Yuxuan. A disappointed look immediately appeared on her face, but she still said somewhat unwillingly, "Then leave me an address or a phone number. If there's anything in the future, I can ask you for help."

Zhao Yuxuan still shook his head and said apologetically, "Long Yue, I can't give you anything. I'm sorry."

Long Yue looked at him, and despair gradually showed in her eyes. She said "Zhao Acai, is there really no place for me in your heart? Is it because of this canine tooth of mine that you dislike me? I can have it pulled out. If you think I'm uneducated, I can study. I can study. Actually, I had very good grades in junior high school. It was my parents who forced me to drop out."

Zhao Yuxuan suddenly let out a long sigh. His heart also couldn't bear it a little, but he still said, "Long Yue, stop talking. I'm just a passer - by, a passer - by who has been here for about ten days and whom you know nothing about. I know you are in great need of a friend right now, but I'm not the person you're looking for."

Hearing this, Long Yue didn't say anything more. Silently, she took out a cake that had been opened and had red candles inserted from under the fast - food cart. She just looked at Zhao Yuxuan quietly, with a desolate smile on her face, and said, "Zhao Acai, do you know that today is my nineteenth birthday? My parents are busy making money all day long. Besides myself, no one remembers my birthday. I originally planned to spend it with you, but... but now it's not necessary."

As she said this, her eyes were immediately filled with tears. Then, suddenly, she began to cry, while crying, as if to vent the grievances and anger in her heart, she suddenly threw the cake to the ground. The originally delicate cake instantly became a mess. Then she stomped on it twice hard, and after that, she didn't look at Zhao Yuxuan any more. She pushed the fast - food cart and left in a hurry.

Zhao Yuxuan didn't expect that today was Long Yue's birthday either. No wonder she added an extra dish for him. Watching Long Yue leave sadly, his heart couldn't help but throb, and an indescribable emotion spread in his heart. He really wanted to comfort her, but his feet seemed to be nailed to the ground and couldn't move at all. Because he knew very well that the reason why Long Yue fell in love with him at first sight was that she was at the Xingyao Transportation Hub every day and had very few contacts with boys. Moreover, she was already nineteen years old, exactly the age when she was eager for love. His appearance just filled her fantasy of love in her heart. So perhaps this ending was the best. He must not send the wrong signal to Long Yue. He believed that Long Yue would soon forget him.

On this day, Zhao Yuxuan saw two girls cry for him. One was unexpected, and one made him feel guilty. But what he didn't expect was that he would see the tears of a third girl, and the tears of this girl were the last thing he wanted to see.