Chapter 17

Many people quickly gathered outside the building. Most were wearing pajamas and slippers, some walking dogs, some holding cats, some carrying bird cages. A large crowd gathered by the roadside chatting while watching the fire trucks arrive.
Cheng Lang asked, "Where's your crutch?"
Shuangyun said, "It was too bumpy going downstairs. I don't know which floor I dropped it on."
Cheng Lang was still holding her. The distance between them as they spoke became very close.
Perhaps because he'd just run up over twenty floors, Cheng Lang's body temperature was very noticeable. Shuangyun pressed against him, feeling like leaning against a warm bed in winter. He held her very steadily. She almost didn't need to exert any effort.
"How did you fracture your leg?" Cheng Lang asked.
"Bouldering fall."
"When?" Cheng Lang asked again.
"That weekend after you gave me a ride home. I went to a newly opened bouldering gym. I wasn't familiar with that route and fell."
Cheng Lang didn't ask any more.
But Shuangyun turned her head to look at him, smiling expectantly: "You're not surprised at all when you hear I do bouldering. Teacher Cheng, did you look at my WeChat Moments?"
Cheng Lang also looked down at her.
Shuangyun's hair was scattered on his arm. Because of their position, her cheek was very close to him, and even the cunning in her eyes was clearer than before.
Cheng Lang admitted frankly: "I took a look."
"Was it nice?" Shuangyun asked.
"Very impressive." Cheng Lang said.
Shuangyun laughed and buried her face in his chest.
Her hair had fallen off her shoulders, revealing her slender, rounded shoulders. The street's incandescent lights were bright, making her skin even more so.
She was even smaller than he'd imagined. When not holding her, Shuangyun displayed a "huge" personality—her voice, her energy, her image.
But when actually holding her in his arms, all the illusions collapsed into a real human body. Cheng Lang thought, she had a small frame but great energy.
Shuangyun: "Teacher Cheng, I can hear your heartbeat."
Cheng Lang's heart was racing at this moment.
Shuangyun looked up and saw Cheng Lang's ears were red. He looked straight ahead and didn't respond to Shuangyun's words.
From this angle looking at Cheng Lang, she could also see his clear jawline and high nose bridge. Shuangyun's hand rested on his back, also lightly touching his back muscles.
"Do you like sports too?" Shuangyun asked.
Only then did Cheng Lang's chest resume breathing.
"Running."
"When?"
"Every morning at five."
"Where?"
"The botanical gardens."
"Call me next time?" Shuangyun said.
Only then did Cheng Lang's gaze return to Shuangyun. He looked at Shuangyun, then at her leg in a cast.
Shuangyun laughed. "When I'm better."
In the apartment building, firefighters quickly identified the cause of the smoke alarm—someone at a party hadn't removed the packaging from a frozen pizza before putting it in the oven.
With the danger cleared, everyone gradually entered the building, queuing for the elevators.
It was somewhat crowded. Shuangyun wanted to get down from Cheng Lang.
"Can you walk without the crutch?" he asked.
Shuangyun nodded. "Of course." Then held onto Cheng Lang's arm.
Cheng Lang didn't refuse.
After waiting through several elevator rounds, the two finally went up.
Almost every floor had been pressed. The elevator stopped floor by floor. When it reached the 10th floor, Cheng Lang didn't get out.
Shuangyun leaned against the elevator glass, laughter ringing in her heart.