Mr. Lizard Outside the Window - Chapter 20
Chapter 20: The Man in the Woods
Though they had been living together for days, this was the first time Banxia had clearly seen Xiao Lian in his human form.
If it weren't for the elaborate meals appearing on her table every day, she would have dismissed the figure she had glimpsed that night as a strange dream.
Banxia hurried forward, a mixture of concern and a secret thrill coursing through her. I'm finally going to see him, she thought. The lizard who makes me delicious meals and fills my room with snacks… what does he actually look like?
And in such…a revealing way.
The winter bamboo grove was covered in dry leaves, each footstep producing a crisp rustling sound.
Crunch, crunch. Banxia took two steps forward, and the figure in the bamboo grove froze.
He stopped trembling, stopped speaking, his hands still covering his face, his pale body half-buried in the leaves, as still as a dead animal.
Banxia's sharp ears picked up the sound of the rain falling on the dry leaves and the man's slow, heavy breathing.
She was suddenly reminded of a scene from her childhood.
It had been a winter day, the mountains covered in snow. She had seen a dying stag on the mountain path near her village. The magnificent creature, its chest torn open by some wild animal, lay bleeding in the snow, barely breathing.
It had looked at her with its large, sad eyes, its breath coming in slow, heavy gasps, just like this.
Is Xiao Lian afraid?
No one would want to be seen like this, their vulnerability and shame exposed to a stranger.
Understanding his reluctance and fear, Banxia felt a pang of sympathy. She took off her coat, draped it over some bamboo stalks to create a makeshift curtain, shielding the naked figure from view.
She crouched down in front of the curtain, holding the umbrella over it. "It's okay. I won't peek. We'll go home when you're ready."
The rain began to fall, soft and gentle.
Separated by the coat and the umbrella, neither of them was fully protected from the rain.
But Banxia patiently waited, crouching in the rain, holding her violin case close, tilting the umbrella towards the bamboo grove.
True to her word, she didn't peek. Her gaze fell on a pair of bare feet protruding from beneath the bamboo stalks.
Against the dark mud, the skin looked incredibly pale, stretched thinly over the bones, the blue veins clearly visible.
Like someone who hadn't seen sunlight in a long time, malnourished, almost skeletal. It reminded her again of the dying stag in the snow.
Raindrops trickled between the toes, washing away the mud, revealing the stark white skin. Shiny black scales appeared, spreading from the slender feet up the ankles.
A low groan came from behind the curtain. The rain-soaked toes curled.
The dark bamboo grove, the steady drizzle, the strange, unsettling scene… there was a certain beauty to it.
Banxia suddenly felt her throat tighten. She looked away from the wet feet.
A large, black tail emerged from beneath the coat, flicking through the bamboo leaves, stopping just beside her foot.
She couldn't bring herself to look at the human legs, but for some reason, she reached out and touched the cold, black tail.
The rain suddenly intensified.
From behind the curtain came a series of low, suppressed groans.
In the darkness, under the pouring rain, the small umbrella seemed like the only refuge.
Banxia patiently waited, crouching in the rain.
Beyond the bamboo stalks, pale feet struggled against the rain, a black tail thrashed in the mud. The strange transformations continued for a while, the pained groans gradually subsiding.
The rain slowly stopped, droplets falling from the bamboo leaves.
A normal-sized gecko emerged from under the wet coat and looked up at Banxia, holding the umbrella in the rain.
Banxia crouched down and extended her hand. "Xiao Lian, come here."
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