Heavy rain fell for several consecutive days, causing floods in many areas. In Jinning, several riverbeds overflowed, spilling onto the roads, and the rising water level of the Lotus River threatened to breach its banks.
During the morning meeting, Old Ni gave them a blistering scolding. Their performance this month was so dismal it was almost surreal.
Lili, the top performer of their group, had only closed a few scattered, minor deals this month. It was obvious she was completely coasting.
Yu Mo stole a glance at Lili sitting next to her. Lili didn't seem to care at all, winking at her with a face that looked remarkably radiant and fearless.
Yu Mo couldn't quite figure Lili out. She used to be a real workaholic, and her feud with Zhou Tao from Group One had started because she refused to lose in sales rankings. Suddenly, she seemed like a different person.
Old Ni was so angry he slammed two folders down before storming out in a huff.
The underperforming employees left in the meeting room dispersed listlessly.
Yu Mo and Lili left the room together, with Lili holding the glass door open for her.
She said suspiciously, "Yu Mo, do you realize your complexion has been exceptionally good lately?"
Yu Mo didn't show it on her face, but she agreed in her heart. It was strange; no matter how tired she was or how late she stayed up being tossed around the night before, her face in the mirror glowed every morning. Even so, Qi Lian always thought she was overworking herself lately and kept insisting on buying pigeons and old hens to nourish her.
She felt a bit guilty about it.
She just gave a vague smile and let the comment pass.
Lili walked to her own workstation, turning back to give her a few inscrutable looks.
Xue Shen sent Yu Mo several WeChat messages.
Her mother’s birthday was only a few days away, and it was inevitable that they would have to meet. There were many things to discuss, so she had removed him from her blacklist earlier.
"Mo Mo, where should I pick you up when the time comes?"
"Moye Road Subway Station."
"You don't have to be like this."
Moye Road was the largest station in the center of Jinning; one could be coming from anywhere in the city.
"I've prepared a gift on my end—a watch and a bag. For other supplements, I’ve gathered bird's nest, cordyceps, fish maw, donkey-hide gelatin, and iron-skin dendrobium—ten items in total. See if that works?"
"That’s already more than enough. You’re the one who worries about this every year. Actually, you don't need to do this anymore. Thank you, Xue Shen."
"You never need to say that to me, Mo Mo. I want to do it. My wife's surname will always be Yu, and my bond with your parents won't change."
Yu Mo sighed and set her phone aside.
At lunch, Qi Lian sent a message: *Do you eat durian? Should I buy a few for you?*
She was currently eating stir-fried rice cakes with the receptionist, Xiao Zhuang, at the Shaxian Delicacies downstairs. She replied casually: *I don't eat it. Don't buy any.*
Xiao Zhuang handed over her phone and said, "Sister Mo Mo, help me see which dress looks better. I want to wear it for my Qixi Festival date."
The two of them huddled together, flipping through pictures one by one.
Qi Lian messaged again: *They say durian is good for women. You'll get used to it after eating it a few times.*
Xiao Zhuang tugged at her arm. "Do you think this one is good? I love the color, but the neckline is a bit low."
Yu Mo didn't have time to talk to Qi Lian and just typed a few words: *I really don't eat it.*
She looked seriously at the photo and told Xiao Zhuang, "This color won't work; it'll make your skin look dark. And the neckline is indeed too low—it's not like you have anything to show off anyway."
She shot a mischievous glance at Xiao Zhuang’s chest. Xiao Zhuang tried to puff out her chest but ended up bursting into laughter first. The two of them giggled together.
Qi Lian messaged again: *Qi Shuai and the others all bought some. They said they're great.*
Yu Mo frowned at her phone, unsure what he was getting at. She could only say: *If you want to eat it, then buy it.*
There was no further reply from that end.
Xiao Zhuang asked her, "Sister Mo Mo, how are you spending Qixi? Do you need to buy a 'battle outfit'?"
Looking at Xiao Zhuang’s electric blue eyeshadow, Yu Mo didn't know how to answer.
That day, she finished work as usual. By the time she took the subway and transferred to the bus to reach the entrance of District One, the streetlights were already lit.
Outside the walls of District One, there was a row of auto repair shops. The road in front was always stained black with engine oil, and grown men often loitered there. Yu Mo always walked past quickly.
Today, two men whistled at her. She stole a glance; they looked like local thugs. One of them had eyes like slits, as if they'd been cut by thatch. She didn't dare look further and quickened her pace.
One of the men shouted behind her, "Hey, why are you running? I heard that guy Qi Lian is a real stallion. Are you enjoying yourself?"
Yu Mo’s heart skipped a beat. She didn't dare look back, clutching the strap of her bag and almost sprinting forward. She had thought they were just bored punks, but they were targeting her because of Qi Lian.
When she got home, she heard the sound of running water from the bathroom, and her heart suddenly felt at ease.
On the kitchen floor sat four bulging durians, each larger than a basketball. She could smell them from a distance.
She put down her bag and walked over, tentatively tapping them. Even someone like her who didn't eat them knew these must have cost nearly two thousand yuan. She couldn't understand this man—he wore fifteen-yuan T-shirts but bought thousands of yuan worth of durian.
Qi Lian came out of the bathroom wearing only a pair of cotton shorts, the water on his upper body not yet wiped dry.
He saw Yu Mo, paused for a moment, then walked over to pinch her cheeks and kiss her for a while. "Tired?"
Yu Mo pointed at the durians. "You like eating these?"
He shook his head. "I don't. I bought them for you."
Yu Mo found it absurd and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I told you I don't eat them. Why did you buy so many when they're so expensive?"
Qi Lian went straight to the kitchen, took out a knife, and instructed her, "Get some plates to put them in."
He crouched on the floor to open the durians, saying to Yu Mo, who was crouching beside him, "Maybe you'll like them if you try them a few more times. Other men's women say they love them, so I wanted you to try them too. Just in case you do like them, one or two wouldn't be enough."
These were indeed high-quality durians; the tips were creamy, the skin thin, and the flesh thick.
The shells were pried open one by one, revealing golden, plump fruit. Yu Mo hurried to take them, saying happily, "These are really good durians. Just looking at them makes me happy. Why are you so set on me eating durian? They're so expensive."
"How expensive can they be? As long as you like them, I'll buy them for you. I'll buy as many as you want."
The extracted fruit filled three large plates. The two of them stared at the three plates of bright yellow flesh, looking at each other.
Qi Lian said, "Eat!"
Yu Mo took a deep breath, pinched her nose, and put a small piece in her mouth.
A few seconds later, she began to gag, her lips pressed tight, not daring to move.
Seeing her like that, Qi Lian leaned over, supported the back of her head, and used his tongue to sweep the fruit into his own mouth, rescuing her from her misery.
Yu Mo kept her mouth open, making "ah-ah" sounds as she scrambled to find water.
By the time she finished drinking and returned, Qi Lian looked as if nothing had happened. She handed him the water bottle.
Qi Lian tilted his head back and downed more than half the bottle in one go, then tossed it casually; the bottle landed accurately in the trash can.
He said to Yu Mo, "Come here."
Before Yu Mo could get close, he pulled her in with one arm, cupped her face, and kissed her passionately, sucking her tongue until it hurt.
"You have to compensate me. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't touch this stuff. It's like a mouthful of shit."
Yu Mo couldn't help it and burst out laughing.
He tugged her hair and narrowed his eyes in warning. "Be serious. You can't be disgusted by me; I'm not even disgusted by you."
Yu Mo laughed uncontrollably. Qi Lian had no choice but to let her go, giving her bottom two slaps. "I'm cooking. Go play."
Yu Mo followed him into the kitchen and asked about the problematic durians, "What about these? Give them to Xiao Xiao and the others?"
Qi Lian took out several ribs and raised a heavy cleaver. With a few swift, powerful strokes, he chopped the ribs into uniform pieces.
He asked Yu Mo, "Braised or stewed with potatoes?"
"Sweet and sour ribs."
"Fine, just make sure you eat plenty. Give the peeled ones to Qi Shuai. Give the unopened ones to Jiang Yuan; tell him to say he bought them so he can get in his wife's good graces. He's a stubborn mule; no matter how much I tried to persuade him this afternoon, he wouldn't buy any, complaining they were too expensive. He's more unyielding than a revolutionary soldier."
Yu Mo smiled, then mentioned something else. "How do you chop ribs so easily? Is your knife special? Once I bought ribs that weren't chopped, and I tried, but I couldn't cut through them for the life of me. I had to cook them whole. Though, in the end, they were burnt, so it didn't make much difference."
"You chopped ribs? Do me a favor: from now on, don't you dare touch these big knives in the kitchen. If there's anything to be done, wait for me to come back. I'm not afraid of anything, except you getting a nick or a scratch somewhere."
In his heart, Yu Mo was like a thin-skinned, juicy fruit—one touch and she’d bruise.
Qi Lian put the ribs in the pot to blanch, then turned around to see Yu Mo crouching on the floor picking celery. He shooed her away. "Get up, get up. I don't need your help. If you crouch too long, your back will hurt again. Hurry up. My hands are dirty; if you're not afraid of the mess, I'll use them on you."
Yu Mo put down the celery and went to the sink to wash her hands.
She asked, seemingly casually, "Qi Lian, you know a lot of people around here, don't you? Everywhere we go, people greet you."
Qi Lian grabbed a handful of celery and stripped the leaves off in a few quick motions. He replied, "Quite a few. There are a lot of people in the village to begin with, plus some are old classmates, and others I met through work. I was quite social when I was in school; I have a lot of friends."
Yu Mo leaned against the sink, watching Qi Lian as he kept his head down. She wasn't sure what kind of "social" he meant, or if it was like the rumors she had vaguely heard.
"Do you still see those friends much now that you're working?"
Qi Lian glanced at her. "Depends on which friends. Some yes, some no."
The topic didn't end even when dinner was on the table. After Yu Mo finished a rib, she asked again, "Besides work, have you had anything else going on lately? Any conflicts with anyone?"
Qi Lian was putting a rib into her bowl. Hearing this, he pinched her chin and turned her face toward him, getting straight to the point. "Get to the heart of it. You've been beating around the bush for a long time. Ask whatever you want; I have nothing to hide from you."
Yu Mo asked very seriously, "Have you offended anyone lately? Is there anyone in this area who doesn't like you? You should be careful!"
Qi Lian’s brow furrowed. "Tell me exactly what happened. Or did you hear something?"
Yu Mo recounted the incident with the two thugs. She was too embarrassed to repeat the final comment, only managing to say haltingly, "Anyway, they mentioned your name."
Qi Lian’s expression remained normal. He didn't say anything else, only stroked her head and asked, "Were you scared?"
Yu Mo was anxious, yet he only cared if she was scared. She said, "I'm fine, but who are they? What do they want? Did you offend them?"
Qi Lian remained unruffled, patting Yu Mo’s head. "You don't need to worry about me. It's nothing. They're just street punks who saw how pretty you are and wanted to talk trash to scare you. Next time I see them, I'll give them a scare, and they won't dare do it again."
Yu Mo was skeptical. "Really?"
Qi Lian tilted her face up, stroking her peach-like cheek. Looking into her eyes, he warned her solemnly, "Xiao Duo'er, it's nothing major, but you have to learn to protect yourself. If someone whistles at you today, someone will dare to verbally harass you tomorrow. Listen to me and remember this: don't go to deserted places alone. If someone harasses you, scold them at the top of your lungs. Don't be shy and just run; make sure you stay in crowded areas, and then call me. Do you understand?"
Yu Mo had a vague feeling that things weren't that simple, but she couldn't read anything from Qi Lian’s face.
He even hurried her to eat. "Eat up. It won't taste good once it's cold. Eat these few pieces; you need to nourish yourself lately."
And so, Yu Mo pushed her doubts to the back of her mind.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 铁皮枫斗 | Iron-skin dendrobium | A high-grade traditional Chinese medicinal herb (Dendrobium officinale). |
| 阿胶 | Donkey-hide gelatin | A traditional Chinese supplement (E'jiao) used for blood nourishment. |
| 花胶 | Fish maw | Dried swim bladders of large fish, considered a luxury supplement. |
| 战衣 | Battle outfit | Slang for a particularly sexy or impressive outfit for a date. |
| 街混子 | Street punks | Local thugs or loiterers. |
| 小朵儿 | Xiao Duo'er | A pet name; "Duo" refers to a flower bud or blossom. |
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