The cold wind slipped through the crumbling courtyard walls with a soft rustle.
Pu Yu held Yuan Su tightly, feeling every tremor in his back.
"Get up..."
A long time passed before Yuan Su finally stirred.
His voice was unbearably hoarse, carrying a forced calm. "The ground's cold. You'll get sick."
Pu Yu shook her head, stubbornly refusing to let go. "If you won't get up, neither will I."
Yuan Su tried to push her away.
But the moment he raised his hand, it fell heavily again, drained of strength.
Pu Yu sniffled, forced down the sob caught in her throat, and took his arm, using all her strength to lift him:
"So you do know the ground's cold... Come on. Let's go inside."
The boy's body was as heavy as a tree.
Pu Yu staggered, nearly dragged down by his weight, but she gritted her teeth and refused to give an inch.
With her support, Yuan Su swayed to his feet.
The moment he stood, his vision went black. Dizziness surged over him like a tide, and he unconsciously leaned most of his weight onto that slender shoulder.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered.
"Stop talking." Her eyes red, Pu Yu helped him step over the scattered clothes and smashed boards, inching into the wreckage of the main room.
The light inside was dim and bleak.
Their home, once poor but tidy, now looked as though bandits had ransacked it.
Drawers hung wide open, medicine bottles had rolled everywhere, and splintered wood littered the floor.
Pu Yu helped Yuan Su sit on the only stool that had survived.
He bowed his head, his disheveled black hair hiding his eyes and brows. Only his long neck remained exposed, its veins slightly raised, its pallor betraying his defeat.
Pu Yu turned to look