Suo Ran ignored Cai Lang's warning. As he climbed the stairs leading toward the rooftop, one thought kept repeating itself in his head. Why should I listen to him? His hand tightened around the cold metal railing. He's not my guardian. He's not my friend. He's not even someone I know. The stairwell echoed with his footsteps. I'm not someone he can order around. I know what I'm doing. He has nothing to do with me.
Yet the memory of Cai Lang's calm voice refused to leave him. Be careful tonight.Suo Ran scowled. Easy for him to say. He shows up whenever he wants, disappears whenever he wants, and somehow expects me to trust him. He continued to walk with thinking .if he's right, that's not the point.He pushed open the rooftop door. Wind rushed toward him. The city spread beneath him in every direction, lights scattered across the darkness like fragments of another world.
The rooftop was empty. Wind swept across the concrete, and lights below flickered like distant stars.Suo Ran stepped closer to the edge, gripping the railing as his thoughts spiraled. You're already involved. The words echoed in his head. Involved in what? The scroll? Whatever was following him? Or something else entirely?Suo ran adjusted his hoodie and looked away. "I'm cold." Cai Lang watched him for a second. "That's a lie." "You seem very interested in calling me out tonight." "You seem determined to make bad decisions."
Suo Ran folded his arms. "There you go again." "Again?" "Talking like you know what's best for me." Cai Lang's expression didn't change. "I know this city better than you do." "That's not the same thing." "No!" Cai Lang agreed. "It's worse." The answer caught Suo Ran off guard. "What does that mean?" Instead of answering immediately, Cai Lang glanced toward the neighboring rooftops. His eyes lingered there for a moment before returning. "It means you're looking at the wrong problem." Suo Ran frowned. "And what's the right problem?" "The people who know you have the scroll."
"You keep saying people," Suo Ran said. "Who are they?" "The kind you don't want looking for you." "That's not an answer." "It's the only one you're getting tonight." Suo Ran groaned and rubbed a hand through his hair. "You know, normal people answer questions." "Normal people aren't being hunted." That made Suo Ran pause. The certainty in Cai Lang's voice was impossible to ignore. "You're serious." "I usually am." "Could've fooled me." A faint trace of amusement appeared in Cai Lang's eyes. "You only notice when I'm teasing you." "Because you do it constantly." "And yet you're still talking to me."
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "See?" "Don't start." "I didn't say anything." "You were about to." "Probably." Suo Ran rolled his eyes. For a brief moment, the tension eased. Then Cai Lang's expression changed. The amusement disappeared completely. He looked past Suo Ran, toward the darkness beyond the rooftop structures. "What?" Suo Ran asked immediately. Cai Lang didn't answer. His attention remained fixed elsewhere. A few seconds passed. Then he relaxed slightly. "Nothing." "That definitely wasn't nothing." "Maybe not." "You're impossible." "I've heard that before." Suo Ran stared at him. "Do you enjoy being difficult?" "Only when necessary." "And this is necessary?" "Apparently."
Somewhere below, a siren echoed through the city. For a while, neither spoke. Then Suo Ran asked quietly, "Why do you keep helping me?" Cai Lang hesitated and he replied,"You assume I'm helping." "Aren't you?" Cai Lang looked out over the city lights. "That's still being determined." "See? That's exactly what I mean." "What?" "Every answer sounds like half a riddle." A faint smile appeared. "Maybe you're asking the wrong questions." Suo Ran sighed heavily. "One day I'm going to get a straight answer from you." Cai Lang glanced at him. "Maybe." "I hate that word." "I've noticed."
Cai Lang looked toward the rooftop door. "You should go home." "There you go giving orders again." "Take it as advice." Suo Ran opened his mouth to argue then stopped. Because despite everything, despite the secrets and evasions and constant frustration, he had a feeling Cai Lang genuinely meant it. And somehow that bothered him most of all.Suo Ran remained standing on the rooftop long after Cai Lang disappeared through the stairwell door.He stared at the spot where Cai Lang had been only moments ago before letting out a frustrated sigh and running a hand through his hair. Unbelievable.....Who talks like that?
Suo Ran walked toward the railing again and rested his hands against the cold metal. The city stretched endlessly below him, glowing beneath the night sky.You should go home.
The memory of Cai Lang's voice echoed in his head.His grip tightened.Why should I listen to him?The thought came back stronger than before.He's not my friend. He's not my family. He doesn't get to tell me what to do.And yet...
Suo Ran frowned.If i truly believed that, why I spent the last several minutes arguing instead of simply ignoring him?Why did his warnings keep lingering in my mind?
Why did every instinct tell me to stay away while another part of me kept looking for explanations?What if that's intentional?
The thought made his stomach twist.What if every warning is just another way to gain my trust? Suo Ran exhaled sharply. "Trust.That word again"
He continued walk but Cai Lang's warnings refused to leave his mind. You should go home. Suo Ran frowned. He talks like he has the right to tell me what to do. Like he knows what's best for me I'm not someone who blindly followed orders. I can make my own decisions. I know what I'm doing. But even as the thought crossed his mind, another voice challenged it. Do you? Suo Ran grimaced.
That's not good.... He pushed away from the railing and began pacing slowly across the rooftop. Maybe he's manipulating me. Maybe every warning is calculated. Maybe every conversation is just another way to gain my trust. It would certainly explain a lot. Cai Lang was intelligent enough for that.So what does he want? That question bothered him more than any other. If Cai Lang wanted the scroll, there had been opportunities to take it. If he wanted information, there were easier ways to get it. If he considered Suo Ran a threat, he certainly wasn't acting like it. Nothing added up.
Suo Ran let out another sigh and stopped pacing. The city lights blurred slightly as he rubbed tired eyes. Trusting him would be stupid. "It's good to stay away from hi!" he told himself firmly. "The less I see him, the better."