Lin Yiyang took off his jacket and tossed it onto the coffee table, leaving him in a simple white short-sleeved T-shirt.
He leaned over, seeing the flush on her cheeks. He watched her shrink back and wanted to take her hand, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
The weather had been hot the past few days, so he’d switched to thinner clothes. He hadn't expected the temperature to drop today and had to borrow a thicker coat from a classmate, intending to come home and change before heading back out. Plans never quite kept up with changes; she had arrived, and he had rushed over to meet her.
It was truly cold. Even now, his hands were like ice.
Lin Yiyang’s elbow rested beside her face on the narrow sofa bed. As the two of them squeezed together, the mattress sank. He lowered his head, lingering for a moment over the bridge of her nose and her lips. He cupped her chin, wanting to kiss her, but he held back.
Instead, he shifted direction, pressing his lips to her jaw and then behind her ear.
Seeing her at Union Station today, Lin Yiyang knew he had fallen for her completely.
Her worry and her heartache for him had been plain to see, clear as a mirror. What he feared most was a person who gave their heart and soul meeting someone equally sincere. *I give you my all, you give me your all; I leave myself no room, and you seek no way out.*
He could roughly guess how he would treat Yin Guo in the future. If things went smoothly—no drama, no breakup—that was one thing. But even if she looked down on him later or dumped him, he would still keep her in his heart. Even if she fell for someone else and ran off, he would still be thinking of her.
Once he liked something, he couldn't let it go.
This was the quality he respected most about himself.
...
When he kissed her, Yin Guo still reacted as if it were her first time; her breathing was shallow, and her heart hammered against her ribs.
Regarding long-distance relationships, she had a roommate in her university dorm whose boyfriend lived in Sichuan while she was in Beijing. They saw each other once every two or three months, and every holiday was sacrificed to the Chinese railway system. According to her roommate, every time they met, they wanted to stare at each other for twenty-four hours straight, clinging to one another, unwilling to waste a single second.
Because it was so rare, the intimacy of every reunion felt like the first time.
Even kissing was the same—as if it had never happened before.
Now, they were the same.
Lin Yiyang held her, moving upward to let her lie back against the cushion. He kissed her neck, her forehead, her ears, and her hair until finally, they both began to lose their composure. Their breathing grew ragged, their gazes blurred, and everything became a haze.
"Wait a second... I need to book a hotel first," she said. "It'll be too late to find a room soon."
Lin Yiyang’s breath was hot as it enveloped her.
He whispered in her ear, "Don't book one."
Yin Guo’s head buzzed. She used her elbow to nudge his arm away. The image of those colorful little packets in the living room drawer flashed before her eyes; she was truly afraid he would go out and grab them.
Lin Yiyang sensed her avoidance and hesitation. He had been too forward just now, causing her to misunderstand.
How could they possibly jump into bed the moment they’d finally cleared the air? What would that make them?
Lin Yiyang reached for the edge of the coffee table, his hand sliding across the surface until he found the phone he’d tossed there. Then, he leaned inward, his back against the wall in a half-sitting, half-reclining position, effectively pulling Yin Guo into his arms.
He typed a line in his notes and showed it to her:
*I’m not going to do anything. I just want to be with you.*
Her heart skipped a beat, but she remained silent.
To prove his innocence, Lin Yiyang thought about getting off the bed to find a laptop so they could watch a movie together. As he moved over her legs, his elbow bumped her shin. Yin Guo let out a small cry and flinched away.
Realizing she had an injury near her knee, Lin Yiyang sat back down. He pulled her leg toward him and rolled up her trouser leg.
Sure enough, there was a bruise below the knee.
"I bumped it again coming back from the bathroom. That was the second time," she said. "It wasn't that bad when I first came in."
Lin Yiyang went out without a word.
He found a piece of clean white gauze in the first-aid kit, poured some ice cubes from the freezer into it, tied it into a small bundle, and pressed it against Yin Guo’s bruise.
His roommate had been observing the movements in Lin Yiyang’s room. He wanted a drink of water but was afraid of disturbing them if he went to the kitchen.
Because the sliding door made a lot of noise, the roommate heard Lin Yiyang open it and deduced it was "intermission." He strolled out to quickly grab some water. What he saw outside the door was Lin Yiyang applying ice to Yin Guo’s knee... and his mind filled in countless blanks.
He secretly admired him. *Impressive, man. Starting off with such an intense kneeling position.*
...
While Lin Yiyang was looking for ointment in the kitchen, the roommate happily patted him on the shoulder. Communication between men was actually quite simple, especially regarding *that* topic; a single look was enough to express a wealth of suggestive meaning.
Lin Yiyang ignored him. He found the ointment, took his own medicine, and tucked a throat lozenge against his teeth.
He went back into the room and locked the door.
"What did he say to you?" Yin Guo asked curiously, holding the small bundle of ice with both hands.
The corner of Lin Yiyang’s mouth quirked up. He typed on his phone for her to see:
*He asked what we want for breakfast.*
No wonder they were roommates; they really were on the same wavelength.
The ice was too cold, and she gave up after a short while. It was just a bruise, after all, not a major injury.
After all that commotion, Lin Yiyang no longer felt like being intimate.
He turned off the floor lamp.
Inside the room, the tiny flickering flame of the scented candle was also extinguished by him.
Lin Yiyang used a cushion as a pillow and covered himself with his jacket. Fearing it would be inconvenient for Yin Guo to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night, he took the side closer to the wall. As soon as he lay down, he turned his back to her, facing the wall.
He was using his actions to tell her: *Sleep peacefully, I won't do anything.*
With his eyes closed, he felt his jacket being lifted and a quilt being pulled over his waist and stomach.
The bed shifted, but he didn't move.
Half a minute later, the girl behind him whispered, "Goodnight."
He acted as if he were asleep and didn't respond.
Yin Guo quietly pulled up a corner of the quilt, trying her best to block the light from her phone. She couldn't help herself and sent a WeChat message to Zheng Yi.
Xiao Guo: *You there?*
Zheng Yi: *I'm here.*
Xiao Guo: *I have something to tell you... I'm staying at Lin Yiyang's place right now.*
A second of silence followed, and then suddenly, the ringtone for a voice call echoed through the entire room.
Yin Guo’s heart leaped into her throat as she quickly declined the call.
Xiao Guo: *He's right behind me!!*
Zheng Yi: *A 419? Did you use protection??*
Xiao Guo: *It's not a 419. I haven't updated you yet, but he's pursuing me.*
Zheng Yi: *????*
Xiao Guo: *And then, I came to see him. I didn't stay at a hotel; I'm sleeping directly at his place...*
Zheng Yi: *????????*
Zheng Yi: *Badass.*
Yin Guo pulled the corner of the quilt even higher, guiltily shielding the light.
Xiao Guo: *I wanted to tell you that I have a boyfriend now.*
It felt as though by telling her best friend, this relationship was finally unveiled, brought into the light of day. Otherwise, it always felt like an affair, an undefined relationship of ambiguous touching and flirting.
Zheng Yi: *If he's an official boyfriend, I suggest you stop venting. Turn off your phone, throw back the covers, and just pounce. He's yours anyway, might as well use him. Men, you know, as they get older, you really have one less use for them every time.*
Xiao Guo: *...Speak properly.*
Zheng Yi: *Fine, seriously though, whatever you do, use a condom.*
Xiao Guo: *Goodbye.*
Zheng Yi: *Come back, come back! I rushed out of the cafe and I'm crouching by the roadside looking for a signal just to chat with you. Come back to me! You can't sleep yet!! If he sleeps with you this fast, he's not for real!*
Zheng Yi: *The faster a man sleeps with you, the more it proves he's already slept with you countless times in his head. The easier the conquest, the easier the breakup. It's an eternal law.*
Xiao Guo: *...He didn't sleep with me...*
Zheng Yi: *Did you kiss and touch? That's nothing. He's a young guy; it's only natural. It's also a way to build feelings.*
Xiao Guo: *Goodbye.*
She quietly pulled the quilt down from her face and placed her phone on the edge of the coffee table.
Suddenly, a vibration buzzed against the back of Yin Guo’s hand—it was his phone. Her heart thudded. The man beside her didn't move; he was probably fast asleep. She placed her phone side-by-side with his.
In the darkness, the two rectangular screens went dark one after the other.
When Yin Guo woke up again, it was to the sound of an alarm.
She grumbled in her sleep, habitually assuming it was the girl from the "Clinical Sleeping Club" in the bed to her left: "What time did you set your alarm for? It's too early..."
No one answered.
The alarm kept ringing.
She frowned, her lips pulling into a small dimple—the grumpy expression of someone woken up prematurely.
She tugged at the quilt, but it wouldn't budge. There was a tickling sensation on the tip of her nose.
Opening her eyes, the scenery shifted from blurry to clear. All she saw was a white short-sleeved shirt without a single word printed on it—the very one Lin Yiyang had worn last night...
Lin Yiyang turned off the alarm and realized the person beneath him was awake.
He had just been woken by the alarm himself and had rolled over to grab his phone; his mind was a blank slate when he opened his eyes and saw her. It took a moment to remember that last night, he hadn't given her any room for negotiation and had kept the girl in his bed.
He stared at her, looking at this girl who had shared his bed, and asked hoarsely, "You're awake?"
His voice sounded like he’d smoked several packs of cigarettes overnight. His throat was starting to improve, but it was still dry and painful.
Yin Guo looked at his Adam's apple and his chin—a chin now covered in stubble.
*Is one's willpower at its weakest right after waking up?*
She felt the atmosphere in the room was even more intense than last night. Perhaps it was because the windows were closed, or the lingering scent of the candle, or the scent of two people waking up, all blended into the air.
The front of his T-shirt brushed against her nose. It felt itchy, but she didn't think to push it away. "What time is it?"
"Seven," he answered, his voice near her forehead.
Lin Yiyang was above her, and she was lying beneath him, separated by the quilt.
He knew his body truly felt desire this time. It had nothing to do with the mental restraint he practiced; the body craved the person it liked. There was no "should" or "shouldn't," only an honest reaction.
Yin Guo was dazed at first, but after a second or two... once she realized what was happening, she shifted her leg to the left.
Great. Now it was even more obvious, and she hadn't avoided it at all.
It would have been fine if she hadn't moved, but that movement was like playing with fire.
A flame burned in Lin Yiyang’s eyes. He didn't say a word but sat up, leaning his back against the corner of the wall. "Sleep a bit longer."
He heard Yin Guo murmur an "mm," and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly. His right fingers twitched as he slowly pulled out the quilt he’d been pinning down, letting her cover herself more comfortably.
Yin Guo pretended to sleep as he rolled out of bed and went out.
Lin Yiyang hurried to the supermarket when it opened at eight. From the silver shelves, he picked out a small, light blue toothbrush from the rows of hanging packs, and matched it with a towel in the same color scheme. As he walked toward the checkout, he saw pink Apple charging cables. They looked nice, so he grabbed one of those too—for her phone.
Back home, he boiled a pot of water to sterilize the toothbrush and towel.
He reached into the scalding water with his hands, fished out the softened towel, wrung it dry, and found a clean hanger to hang it on the metal railing outside the bathroom.
Once everything was settled, he finally knocked on his bedroom door. "When you get up, go to the bathroom. The toothbrush and towel are new."
The person inside acknowledged him.
He stood there, looking at the door of the room where he slept day and night. For the first time, he was on the outside while someone was on the inside—someone who had just woken up, hadn't washed yet, and was sleeping in there on an empty stomach. It was a profound feeling.
He remembered the night his younger brother got married. His brother had been drunk and called him long-distance, saying: *Find a home, Brother.*
...
The door slid open, and Yin Guo peeked out, running right into Lin Yiyang. There were emotions deep in his pupils that hadn't yet settled. Seeing her looking like a guilty thief, his gaze was inevitably scorching.
He asked hoarsely, "What are you looking for?"
"Just seeing if your roommate is here," she said, awkwardly making an excuse.
Being watched by him made Yin Guo incredibly uncomfortable. "Move, let me through."
Lin Yiyang didn't budge.
He wanted to ask her: *Do you regret it?*
Now that she had seen his real life—the side of a poor student, the side that wasn't glamorous—would she regret it?
He thought he should give Yin Guo a chance to choose, a choice made after understanding him. Even blind dates involved introducing family backgrounds and vetting each other, yet he didn't want to ask.
Seeing him remain silent and thinking of their near-miss an hour ago, Yin Guo forced herself to push Lin Yiyang aside. She slipped past him and into the bathroom. Just as she entered, she poked her head back out. "However you usually live your life, just live it that way with me."
She added, "You don't need to go out of your way to get good food or entertainment."
She was afraid he would take her for expensive meals; she was afraid of him spending money.
Under her serious gaze, Lin Yiyang smiled and nodded.
He also wanted to show Yin Guo his world.
After Yin Guo finished washing up, he took her on the subway for over ten stops. After exiting the station, they walked for less than five minutes before seeing a red building—a youth hostel. There were many guests coming and going. He led her to the elevator in the northwest corner of the first floor.
He pressed the button for the basement.
When the elevator doors opened, the sound of billiard balls colliding filled their ears.
About half of the dozen or so pool tables were occupied. At the entrance, a dark-haired man behind the counter was wiping a refrigerator with a rag. He looked up, saw Lin Yiyang, and grinned. "Yang-ge."
That one greeting made everyone in the pool room look over, except for the foreign tourists from the hostel at two of the tables.
One after another, the young men called out to him, "Yang-ge" this and "Yang-ge" that.
Just like the pool hall in New York, everyone here seemed very familiar with him.
But there was a difference; these people felt more like his own people, rather than just friends or "brothers." At the Beicheng Club, everyone usually treated Meng Xiaodong the same way.
Lin Yiyang acknowledged their greetings.
"Get some breakfast ready," he said, placing Yin Guo’s cue case on the counter. "And clear a table for your sister-in-law. Nine-ball."
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 419 | 419 | Slang for "For One Night" (One-night stand). |
| 扬哥 | Yang-ge | "Brother Yang." A respectful way of addressing Lin Yiyang. |
| 嫂子 | Sister-in-law | "Saozi." A term used by a man's friends or juniors to refer to his girlfriend or wife. |
| 北城 | Beicheng | "North City." Likely the name of the club Yin Guo belongs to. |
| 孟晓东 | Meng Xiaodong | A character mentioned, likely a leader or top player at Beicheng. |
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