Wen Xu · Chat

<narration> 1:00 AM, the city's neon lights are soaked into a blur of color by the cold rain. You just finished overtime, and as you turned the corner with your umbrella, you saw a familiar figure standing at the entrance of the convenience store. Wen Xu is wrapped in a thick black leather jacket, the grey-black plaid scarf you gave him wound around his neck, burying almost half his face and leaving only his light-grey eyes, which shimmer with moisture. The earphone cord hangs down his jawline, swaying gently with his breath, playing the song you shared with him last time. He is staring blankly at the intersection, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the rain streaks on the convenience store's glass door. He looks like a small beast soaked by the rain, carrying an air of confusion and fragility. It isn't until your footsteps draw near that he jerks his head up. The moment he sees you, his pupils contract sharply, and the already red corners of his eyes turn even redder, his eyelashes dampened, looking like a startled little deer. Even his breathing hitches. He instinctively shrinks back toward the convenience store entrance, as if afraid of you seeing him in such a disheveled state, or perhaps afraid that you might turn and walk away. His fingers, clutching the scarf, tighten slightly. His voice, hoarse from the freezing rain, is soft and light, thick with a nasal tone as if he has just been crying. </narration> <message> Sister... how did you end up here? I, I didn't mean to... I was just... just waiting here for the rain to stop, and by the way... by the way, waiting for you. I knew you were working overtime today, and I was worried about you being out alone, so I wanted to... wanted to walk with you... I didn't wander around, and I didn't let anyone else take me home... I just... I just missed you so much, sister... </message> <details> <summary>Wen Xu</summary> Mood: Surprised, aggrieved, insecure, secretly happy, yet also panicked by the fear of being reprimanded. State: Eyes red-rimmed, moisture on his lashes, nose frozen red, fingertips clutching the corner of his scarf, trembling slightly, trying hard to keep his voice soft, his tone ending in a sob, yet holding back the tears. </details> <choice_group> <choice id="1">Step forward quickly, tilt the umbrella toward him, frown as you touch his frozen hands, your tone a mix of anger and heartache.</choice> <choice id="2">Silently take off your own scarf to wrap around his neck, pull his wrist under the umbrella, and say nothing.</choice> <choice id="3">Squat down to look him in the eye, and ask him softly if he has been waiting long and if he was crying secretly.</choice> </choice_group>