He Xi Qian Yu slowly turned around.
He didn't immediately walk back to her, but just watched her quietly from a few steps away.
"It's not 'meddling'." He finally spoke, his voice carrying a strange penetrative power that directly struck her chaotic heart, "Your business is my business."
With that, he no longer kept his distance, but slowly stepped forward and stood before her. Then, without any hesitation, he opened his arms and gently embraced the girl who was curled in the shadows, seemingly about to shatter at any moment.
Dong Xiang's body stiffened slightly the moment his arms closed around her. She could even clearly feel the steady heartbeat from his chest and his body temperature transmitted through the thin fabric.
This sudden intimate contact was far warmer than the previous touch.
She instinctively wanted to resist, to push him away, like a bristling hedgehog raising all its quills. However, the warmth enveloping her quietly disintegrated her taut nerves.
He Xi Qian Yu didn't use force, just held her steadily. His jaw rested lightly on her hair, which was covered by her jacket, one palm rested on her rigid back, and the other hand protected the back of her head, pressing her vulnerable face into his shoulder, shielding her from the messy scene outside.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment. The wind pouring in through the broken window also seemed to be blocked by this embrace.
Dong Xiang's stiff body began to tremble subtly, no longer the previous cowering, but a precursor to collapse after being suppressed to the extreme.
The girl's forced dam finally completely burst.
"Wuu..." A choked sob, suppressed to the extreme, broke through her tightly clenched teeth and escaped from deep within her throat. Immediately after, hot tears, like a bursting flood, surged out, instantly soaking the fabric of his shoulder.
Dong Xiang's fingers, clutching his jacket, turned white at the knuckles from the force. She buried her face deeply into his shoulder and could no longer suppress her heartbroken sobs. The crying carried the accumulated pain, grievances, anger, and worry for her brother, like the mournful cry of an injured young beast, echoing in the empty ruins.
He Xi Qian Yu tightened his arms around her, holding her even closer to him. His palm gently patted her back, again and again. His other hand consistently protected her head, as if shielding her from the entire cruel world.
He felt the violent trembling of her body in his arms and her hot tears, his jaw resting on the top of her head, as he looked out at the deep night sky through the window, his gaze complex.
Dong Xiang's crying gradually changed from heart-wrenching wails to intermittent sobs, and the trembling of her body slowly subsided, leaving only her shoulders occasionally shrugging.
Her taut body softened little by little in his embrace, like solid ice melting in a warm current. She still clutched his clothes tightly, as if that was the only link connecting her to this cold world, her face buried in his neck, her breath filled with his clean scent, mixed with the saltiness of her own tears.
In the shattered coffee shop, only Dong Xiang's gradually calming sobs and his steady, regular heartbeat intertwined. The two seemed like they would continue to embrace like this forever,
Until...
A deliberately softened but still not completely concealed sound of footsteps, accompanied by gasps that were suppressed but still seemed abrupt, came from the dilapidated entrance of the coffee shop.
"Uh... that..." Koma Enji's somewhat bewildered voice cautiously sounded, "Are we... are we... uh... not at a good time?"
His and Ru Jian Xuan's figures appeared at the doorway, silhouetted against the faint light outside, both their faces showing shock and a hint of helplessness.
Koma Enji's eyes were wide, his mouth slightly agape, clearly quite surprised by the embracing pair before him. And Ru Jian Xuan, though maintaining a calm expression, had eyes that were slightly widened, also filled with surprise.
She quickly scanned the shocking destruction inside the shop, her gaze finally resting on the figures embracing in the center of the ruins, her expression becoming complex.
Dong Xiang's body stiffened abruptly the moment Koma Enji's voice sounded, all vulnerability and dependence instantly replaced by a strong sense of shame.
She almost instinctively tried to break free from He Xi Qian Yu's embrace, her movements so fast they were almost clumsy.
He Xi Qian Yu's arms instinctively tightened for a moment, then slowly loosened after feeling her resistance. He didn't immediately look at the doorway, but lowered his head, his gaze heavy on the top of Dong Xiang's head, which was almost shrinking into his jacket collar, and the crimson blush rapidly spreading to her earlobes.
"Cough..." Koma Enji coughed awkwardly, scratching his characteristic curly hair, his eyes darting around, not daring to look directly at the center, "Uh... the manager got a call, was worried, and told us to come back first to check... we ran into a small problem on the way, so..."
His gaze couldn't help but sweep over the mess on the floor, "My god, was this place run over by a CCG tank?"
Ru Jian Xuan was much calmer than him. She quickly composed her surprised expression and stepped into the shop, carefully avoiding the glass shards on the floor.
Her gaze swept over the entire scene—shattered doors and windows, overturned tables and chairs, a cracked bar counter... Finally, her gaze returned to He Xi Qian Yu and Dong Xiang, who was almost hiding in his shadow.
"Bronze Tree members?" Ru Jian Xuan directly stated the key point. Her eyes were questioning as she looked at He Xi Qian Yu.
He Xi Qian Yu nodded, as if in answer. He shifted his body, subtly shielding Dong Xiang to a safer position behind him, blocking her from Koma Enji's and Ru Jian Xuan's gazes.
"There were others. But they're all taken care of." His voice returned to its usual calm.
Dong Xiang, using He Xi Qian Yu's body as a shield, quickly wiped her face with her sleeve, trying to dry her tear stains. She took a deep breath, forced herself to straighten her back, and stepped out from behind He Xi Qian Yu.
Although her eyes were still red and swollen, and tear stains remained on her face, the familiar cold light had re-coalesced in her purple eyes, with only her slightly trembling fingertips silently telling of everything that had just happened.
"Mm." Ru Jian Xuan didn't ask further, just responded faintly. She fully understood what Dong Xiang needed at this moment—not questioning or comfort, but the maintenance of outward calm and dignity.
She turned to Koma Enji, who was still gawking at the mess on the floor, "Don't just stand there, Koma. Go find a broom and trash bags, clear up these shards first so no one gets hurt."
"Ah? Oh! Right, right, right!" Koma Enji seemed to awaken from a dream and immediately turned to the back kitchen to find tools, moving as if to escape the awkward scene.