Yu Mo woke up suddenly in the middle of the night.
For the first second or two after opening her eyes, there was a flicker of fear in her gaze. She strained her ears, but heard only the silence of the night, and slowly, her heart began to settle.
Habitually, she reached out toward the other side of the bed. Her hand was halfway there before she remembered that Qi Lian wasn't home, leaving a hollow ache in her chest.
She rolled over and lay on Qi Lian’s pillow, pressing her face against the cotton fabric. Only when she caught the faint, lingering scent of him did she feel a sense of security.
With her eyes closed, she marveled at how little time it had taken for her to become unaccustomed to his absence. She had grown used to his scent, his warmth, the routine of eating with him, and sleeping beside him.
the power of habit was truly terrifying.
She reached for her phone on the nightstand and checked the time: 1:30 AM. Unable to suppress the urge to talk to him, she sent a message: *Are you asleep?*
She didn't expect a reply after hitting send, so she tossed the phone back onto the nightstand, intending to go back to sleep.
But before she could even finish rolling over, Qi Lian’s phone call came through. The ringing was like a clap of thunder in the dark night, making her heart race.
"Hello..."
Yu Mo spoke, her voice low, husky, and soft—unlike her usual tone, perhaps because she had just woken up. She didn't even realize that a wide smile had spread across her face.
"Why are you still awake so late?"
Qi Lian’s voice was intentionally lowered; he likely had people around him. Over the phone, it sounded especially deep and carried an indescribable intimacy.
Hearing his voice made Yu Mo’s heart melt. She almost forgot how to speak, her voice coming out soft and syrupy, like aged osmanthus honey, soaking the listener in sweetness.
"I just woke up suddenly..." she said languidly.
"Scared? Or do you miss me?" There was a hint of a smile in Qi Lian’s deep voice.
Yu Mo, being thin-skinned, didn't answer his question. Instead, she asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"Can't sleep, we're rushing the job! I have to keep an eye on the progress. There are floor mats at the site; I'll sleep for a bit if I get tired. Don't worry about me. Go back to sleep, or you won't be able to drift off once you're fully awake."
"Take care of yourself. You can't keep pulling all-nighters like this."
"Okay," Qi Lian’s voice was so tender it could have dripped. "I'll head back as soon as I'm done. You can call me whenever you want to find me—anytime."
Both hung up with a sense of lingering affection. Buoyed by that sweet feeling, Yu Mo soon fell asleep, the corners of her mouth still curled upward.
She was startled awake a second time. In the pitch-black night, the hair on her arms stood on end.
There was someone in the room!
Just as she realized this, a dark shadow lunged toward the bed.
A second later, she was pulled into a pair of arms. Her scream had barely started before it was swallowed up.
"Shh, it's me. Don't be afraid," a familiar voice whispered tenderly in her ear, comforting her.
She reached out and tightly hugged his burning-hot body.
"Why are you back?"
"I was worried. I was afraid you'd be too scared to sleep alone. I knew you missed me, so I came back to see you."
"Didn't you say you were rushing the job and had no time?"
"I'll head back before 7:00 AM. Just consider this my sleep time. A few hours won't make that much of a difference," he said, nuzzling the top of her head.
Yu Mo pushed at him, thinking he was crazy. "Have you lost your mind? It takes hours to drive back and forth. How can you be so reckless?"
Qi Lian’s large hands pinned her down. "Don't move around. If you spark another kind of fire, I really will die of exhaustion on top of you. It’s fine, I know what I’m doing. Just let me hold you for a while and I won't be tired anymore."
"Then stop talking. Go to sleep, right now."
"A few more minutes won't hurt. Let me say a few things first. Duo'er, why don't you buy clothes? I haven't seen you bring anything new home."
"Huh?" Yu Mo was stunned for a moment. "I have too many old clothes to wear as it is; there's no need to waste money. Why? Are you saying my clothes don't look good?" she asked suspiciously.
Qi Lian kissed her forehead and said, "It's not that they don't look good. Old clothes are from the past; that shouldn't stop you from buying new ones now. You used to love buying clothes, so why don't you now?"
"There's no real reason. Life teaches you lessons. No, Qi Lian, why are you asking this? Isn't it good to save money?"
Qi Lian pulled her tighter into his embrace, sounding somewhat displeased. "No, it's not. I don't need you to save money for me. I just need you to be happy—happier than before. You have to trust me; I can provide for you. Buy whatever you want! If short clothes are in style this year, we'll buy short ones. If long ones are in next year, we'll buy long ones. And those bags no bigger than a palm that cost six or seven thousand—go buy one of those too."
In the cardboard boxes piled in her corner, any bag she pulled out at random cost far more than a few thousand yuan; a few were even at a level that would make Hermès collectors scream.
She rubbed her face against Qi Lian’s chest and said, "Okay, I'll buy one if I see something I like."
"What do you want for the Qixi Festival? Just say the word, and I'll buy it for you."
"Can you give me that rosewood Grandmaster chair you mentioned last time?" she asked tentatively.
Qi Lian looked at her face and sighed. He often felt a sense of frustration, as if he had strength but nowhere to apply it, yet he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.
Fine, forget it. As long as she was happy. In any case, he was watching over her. If she insisted on carving a trench between them, he would just fill it in. If he couldn't cross it, no one else would even think about it.
He tucked her closer and said, "I'll bring it back for you next time I'm home. There's nothing you can't have. If you wanted my flesh, I'd carve it off for you. Now, sleep!"
Within two minutes, Qi Lian’s breathing became steady and long.
When Yu Mo woke up again, Qi Lian was already gone. She felt dazed, as if it had all been a dream, except for his scent still lingering around her.
***
Qi Lian arrived back at the Ancheng construction site after 7:00 AM. Outside, the sun was already blazing, but the interior of the site remained dim, the distinction between day and night blurred.
A few men were scattered about working. In a corner, two men lay snoring like thunder; one had his undershirt rolled up to his chest, exposing a fleshy belly.
Qi Lian walked around to check the progress made while he was away the previous night. For now, everything seemed to be under control.
He turned a corner in a hallway and entered the main hall, where he ran into Jiang Yuan coming in from outside.
Jiang Yuan’s hair was sticking up like a bird’s nest, and a dark shadow of stubble circled his jaw, his beard growing more lush than the lawn outside. With his large frame, he looked like a bear that had just run out of the mountains.
He saw Qi Lian and raised an eyebrow. "Where are you coming from? I didn't see you last night. Where'd you go?"
He looked his brother up and down, sensing something was off. Everyone else was disheveled and grimy, but Qi Lian looked out of place with how clean he was—even his beard was neatly trimmed.
"Just went out for a stroll," Qi Lian said casually.
Before Jiang Yuan could press further, the phone in Qi Lian’s pocket began to chime. Jiang Yuan swallowed his words and, rubbing his belly after finishing three baskets of steamed buns, went off to work.
"What do you mean you can't deliver?" He heard Qi Lian’s voice rise as he shouted into the phone, and Jiang Yuan couldn't help but stop in his tracks.
Standing three paces away, Jiang Yuan watched his brother’s brows knit together into a deep furrow. He had a premonition that something was very wrong. He knew better than anyone how important this project was to Qi Lian, and his heart began to sink.
He knew his brother’s character perfectly; Qi Lian was usually a man of few words and ruthless action. If something could make him lose his composure, it was no ordinary matter.
"Don't give me that bullshit. I haven't been in this industry for just one day. Just tell me the earliest I can get the goods."
Qi Lian’s voice had returned to a normal volume now, but someone who didn't know him wouldn't be able to hear the underlying emotion.
Jiang Yuan watched him pace aimlessly, the veins on his forehead throbbing.
"Hard to say? At least ten days? Fuck your mother!"
He kicked a switch box on the floor, sending it flying.
Jiang Yuan went over and asked, "What happened?"
Qi Lian gritted his teeth, exhaling several sharp breaths. "The custom No. 5 cables are out of stock. They say there's a rubber shortage and the cargo ships can't get in."
Jiang Yuan’s face paled. "Why didn't that grandson say so earlier? Without those cables, we'll have to stop work in a day at most. We won't be able to do a damn thing."
They both knew the consequences. Without the cables, missing the deadline was a certainty. With the mall opening and the series of events following it, they couldn't afford to take that responsibility.
Jiang Yuan opened his mouth and cursed the supplier’s ancestors for eighteen generations.
Qi Lian raised a hand to cut him off. "Shut the fuck up. Let me think."
He opened his phone and began scrolling through his contacts, telling Jiang Yuan, "Call every cable factory and hardware store you know. Ask if this is the situation everywhere and if anyone can rush an order."
Qi Shuai woke up late that day. By the time he finished a bowl of rice noodles and reached the site, he saw Jiang Yuan and Qi Lian pacing like ants on a hot pan. Jiang Yuan looked like he’d swallowed gunpowder, barking into his phone.
Even the most oblivious person would know something was wrong seeing this.
He stood there patiently for a while. As soon as Jiang Yuan hung up, he rushed over. After hearing just a few sentences, he exploded. "I'll fuck his ancestors for eighteen generations! What kind of bullshit is this? Fuck! Fuck!"
Qi Lian hung up his phone as well. He looked at Jiang Yuan and asked, "What’s the word?"
"Pretty much what that grandson said. Old Zhang told me the whole country is short on stock right now. No one has anything."
These words were like a giant boulder falling from the sky. With a *thud*, the faces of the three men turned ashen.
Qi Shuai, who had been raging a moment ago, was stunned into silence. He crouched down and clutched his hair.
Qi Lian shoved his phone into his pocket and started walking out, gesturing for the other two to follow.
"Everyone, come with me. We're going to find that grandson. We can't just sit here and wait for death. Even if he has to conjure them out of thin air, he’s going to get me those cables."
Hearing this, the other two instantly found their backbone and hurried to catch up. The three of them marched aggressively into the scorching summer sun.
***
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
安城 | Ancheng | The city where the construction project is located.
小朵儿 | Duo'er | A pet name for Yu Mo (literally "Little Flower/Bud").
红木太师椅 | Rosewood Grandmaster Chair | A traditional, high-backed Chinese armchair (Taishi chair).
5号电缆 | No. 5 cable | A specific type of custom electrical cable required for the project.
养马人 | Hermès collectors | Slang referring to enthusiasts of the brand Hermès (due to its horse logo).
七夕 | Qixi Festival | Chinese Valentine's Day.
