Out in the open

Míngzé had really hoped that she would have been able to tell him anything. That way it would be a lot easier to decide what to do next. But there was nothing. With his brows knitted he looked at her, repeating her answer in his head.

“Are uh— are you hurt anywhere?” He did not want to ask those questions, but he had no other option. Lányù was right, it was important to know if she might have any bruising. These questions however made him feel uncomfortable and he desperately hoped the answer was no.

“I don’t really know how much more I can do for you,” Míngzé confessed. For now she could stay here, but he did not feel comfortable letting her stay. All he wanted was for her to be well and the cops could definitely help with that. They might be able to determine who she is and give her the help she needs.

Her answer only worried him more, especially after his brief conversation with Lanyu. So she had some cuts and was bruised. Even though she told him it was because she'd fallen, there was no saying if she was telling the truth. Mingze gritted his teeth and nodded once. What if the bruises were worse than she made them out to be? "Do they need medical attention?" he decided to ask her, keeping his gaze lingering on her. How easy it would be for her to lie, and all he could really do was accept her answer.

The moment she told him she would leave, he straightend his back and looked at her in surprise. Had he said something worng? Did his questions go too far? Mingze was lost for words. It would be wrong to sent someone like her away.

"Where will you go?" Previously she'd told him there was nowhere she could go to, but perhaps that had been a lie already. There really was no telling if all she said was true. "It's probably best if I call the cops or maybe an ambulance? They can help you better than I can," Mingze told her. If she indeed fell earlier, maybe that was why she was acting so strangly.

It was difficult for him to trust her word on it. Nothing about any of this made any sense. But at the same time he really had no other option than to believe her. If she thought her wounds were fine, he had to take her word for it. Then again, those things were probably the least of her problems.

As he expected, she had no idea where she would go and Míngzé couldn’t help but shake his head. It was best if she left with an idea of where to go. Which is why it was a good idea to get professional help, only she did not want those either. “Are you sure?” he asked. For a moment the idea crossed his mind that she had done something wrong, which was why she did not want him to call the authorities. “There is only so much I can do, but it’s their job. I’m sure they can help you,” he urged her.

“You can stay here until they arrive.” Míngzé had nowhere he needed to be, so it was fine. “I still have some leftovers from yesterday that you can have.” Even though her whole story started to worry him more and more, he could not throw her outside just like that.

Míngzé was left speechless as she stood up. In his mind he went over everything he had said and learned, and there was only one reason he could think of that could’ve caused this reaction. Calmly he raised from the couch himself, folding his arms loosely over his chest. “Yeah, no, it’s no problem.” Except that it was. Who exactly had he invited inside his apartment? Someone who reacted like this when he offered to call the cops had something to hide. That much he knew.

His golden eyes rested on her as he could see her figure move towards the door. “Did I say something wrong?” Míngzé had to ask now that she was basically running away from him. “Is it because I want to call the cops?” WIth how she was behaving now, he would definitely call them even though they would never make it in time. They might go look for her. In this state, she could not go far after all.

While she reassured him it was not anything he had done, he could not shake off the feeling. She left too abruptly. There was something she wasn’t telling him and he could not force her if she did not want to. The frown on his face only deepend. Everything she said made no sense at all. She hinted at something, but because his own incapabilities Míngzé had no idea what it was she was referring to.

“If you want to go, go. I can hardly keep you here.” She was just a stranger he’d helped for a moment. That was it. Or maybe she had planned this all along, but when she said there was nothing of value in his apartment, she left again.

Míngzé could hear the door open and was greeted by the horrible yellow light they used in the hallways. Next thing he knew the door closed again and she was gone. He would not chase after her, but he did grab his phone to call the police anyway. They probably knew what to do about this.