197: Chapter 197 Baili Qing's Face

Then, Baili Qing crashed into a warm and solid embrace.

It was Qi Yun.

He had subconsciously opened his arms to steady himself when the elevator shook, and he happened to catch the staggering Baili Qing.

Baili Qing froze completely.

Her face was pressed against Qi Yun's chest, and she could hear that strong, powerful heartbeat—thump, thump—sounding exceptionally clear in the dead silence of the darkness.

And Qi Yun was also stunned.

The person in his arms was lighter and thinner than he had imagined, her frame so slender it felt like it might snap at the slightest touch.

But what came from her wasn't the expected sour, rotting smell, but a cold, sweet fragrance.

The most lethal part was the sensation of touch.

Almost all of Baili Qing's upper body was pressed against Qi Yun.

Through two layers of clothing, Qi Yun could feel her slender waist, thin shoulders, and the surprisingly soft yet elastic sensation at her chest.

"S-Sorry..." Baili Qing's voice rang out in the darkness, filled with unprecedented panic and embarrassment.

He must definitely despise me, ahhh, I want to die.

She wanted to break free, but the elevator swayed slightly again, forcing her to subconsciously tighten her grip on Qi Yun's arm.

"Don't move, hold onto me tight. The elevator might not be stable yet," Qi Yun's voice sounded above her head.

His arms wrapped around her waist, holding her more firmly in his embrace to prevent her from falling again.

This action caused Baili Qing to freeze completely, like a statue.

I'm... I'm being held...

His body temperature is so high...

The heartbeat is so loud... Is it mine or his?

He doesn't despise me.

Her mind went blank; all her killer instincts and social anxieties crashed in the face of this sudden intimate contact.

She was like an over-frightened small animal, not daring to move an inch, even holding her breath.

Qi Yun kept his voice as steady as possible:

"It should just be a momentary fluctuation from the power system switching. It'll be fine soon."

Baili Qing slowly relaxed a tiny bit.

This small movement allowed her to catch a floral scent.

Clean, warm, like the feeling of something dried in the sun...

With a scent like this, this person should be a good person.

What Baili Qing didn't know was that this was the scent of Xia Ran that Qi Yun had picked up.

She suddenly realized that this was the first time since becoming an adult that she had been in such close contact with the opposite sex.

No, not just the opposite sex. It was the first time she had been in such contact with a "human."

"Hum..."

The lights in the elevator flickered back on!

Light instantly dispelled the darkness.

The two were still in an embrace, left with nowhere to hide under the sudden illumination.

Baili Qing's first reaction was to shove Qi Yun away violently, her force so great that even Qi Yun staggered back a step.

During the previous jolting and hugging, her messy long hair, which always strictly concealed her face, had been completely brushed aside.

At this moment, she stood under the bright elevator lights, her entire face exposed to Qi Yun without any cover.

The moment Qi Yun steadied himself, he looked up at her—

And then, he froze.

He had seen many beautiful girls.

Li's cold and peerless beauty, Xia Ran's brightness, Yun Lin's world-toppling charm... but the face before him possessed another entirely different, almost fragile beauty.

Her skin was a porcelain-like pale from years of avoiding the sun, almost transparent under the lights, revealing fine, light-blue veins.

Her cheeks were thin and her chin pointed, carrying a sense of fragility from malnutrition.

Her eyebrows were thin and light, a natural light brown with a beautiful shape.

Her nose was small and straight, and her lip color was very pale—a faint pink. Her lips were beautifully shaped but were currently pursed slightly due to nervousness.

She looked quite young, with the lifeless pallor of someone who stayed indoors for long periods, but it was precisely the combination of this pallor and her delicate features that created a fragile yet stunning aesthetic.

Qi Yun watched, dazed:

"You're actually quite good-looking."

Baili Qing seemed to be scorched by these words and snapped back to her senses.

My face is exposed!

He saw it! All of it!

"Ah..." She let out a short, almost inaudible gasp, frantically using her hands to pull her hair forward, trying to hide her face again.

But her hair had become somewhat tangled during the jolting; the more anxious she became, the more she struggled, and several strands of hair stubbornly clung to her cheeks.

Instead, it made that panicked little face appear faintly through the strands, adding a touch of messy beauty.

Looking at her panicked state, Qi Yun found it somewhat amusing.

"Need some help?" he asked.

"N-No need!" Baili Qing finally managed to pull most of her hair back in front of her face, returning to her "vagrant" appearance, though the tips of her ears and her neck were flushed deep red, betraying her inner turmoil.

She kept her head down, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her ragged shirt—a habitual movement when she was extremely nervous.

The elevator resumed its smooth operation, slowly ascending toward the top floor.

But the atmosphere had completely changed.

Baili Qing kept her head buried low, wishing she could shrink into the floor.

But her heart was beating incredibly fast, and those two words echoed repeatedly in her ears:

"Good-looking."

He said I'm good-looking...

Not an ugly freak, not a monster, not "that gloomy fellow"...

But good-looking.

A strange and burning emotion welled up from the deepest part of her heart.

It had been far, far too long since she had heard anyone comment on her appearance—other than those words filled with malice.

An elementary school classroom, afternoon.

Several boys surrounded her, jeering.

"Ugly girl! Ugly freak!"

"Look at her hair, it's like a chicken coop!"

"She has a pimple on her face, how disgusting!"

"Stay away from her, it's contagious!"

An eraser hit her forehead.

The laughter grew even louder.

That was the last time she was "exposed" to the gaze of others.

From then on, she began to grow her hair long—the longer the better, ideally long enough to cover her entire face.

She learned to lower her head, hunch her shoulders, and minimize her presence.

I really want to kill them.

Later, she came to the island, where the law no longer existed.

She found that killing was much simpler than getting along with people; dead people wouldn't judge your appearance, wouldn't mock you, and wouldn't look at you with disgusting eyes.

She used her hair and ragged clothes to build armor, wrapping herself into an "unpleasant vagrant whose face couldn't be seen and whose gender couldn't be told."

This was best; no one would notice her, no one would approach her, and she was safe.

But just now...

That man, the moment he saw her face, said she was "good-looking."

His gaze at the time... was genuine amazement.

Baili Qing quietly lifted her eyelids a bit, stealing a glance at Qi Yun through the gaps in her hair.

Does he really think I'm good-looking?

Or was it just politeness?

But if it were just politeness... would he use such a simple word as "good-looking"?

And when he held me just now... his arms were so strong, his chest so warm...

Her face grew even hotter, and she quickly lowered her head again.

What am I thinking!

Could I perhaps be liked too?

Could someone actually like me?

While Baili Qing was lost in thought.

The elevator went "ding" and reached the top floor.

The doors opened, and Baili Qing's floor was the first to arrive.

Baili Qing "floated" out with stiff limbs, not daring to look up the whole time.

Maybe this is the only person who will ever think I'm good-looking.

Baili Qing paused her steps, turned her head back and said:

"Do, do you want to, um, get to know each other?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Baili Qing regretted it. What did she mean by 'come sit in my room'?

Before Qi Yun could answer, Baili Qing hurriedly continued: "I said the wrong thing, goodbye!"

After saying this, Baili Qing rushed back to her room at a speed akin to running away and slammed the door shut with a "bang."

Leaning against the cold door panel, she slid down to sit on the floor, panting heavily.

Her heart was beating so fast it felt like it would jump out of her chest.

She slowly raised her hand, looking at her pale and slender fingers, and then, as if possessed, she gently tucked the long strand of hair that she always deliberately let hang down behind her ear.

She stood up and walked to the bathroom mirror.

The person in the mirror was pale and thin, her eyes misty with moisture from her excitement, and her lips bitten red by herself.

Is this... what he meant by "good-looking"?

She looked for a long time, then reached out, her fingertips gently touching her own cheek in the mirror.

"Good-looking..." She silently repeated the word, and the corners of her mouth uncontrollably curled up bit by bit.

Qi Yun watched the socially anxious girl run back to her room; this girl was quite interesting.

However, after this, they probably wouldn't meet again.