After work, Yu Mo walked out with Lili.
Lili’s complexion had taken a turn for the worse lately, looking even more haggard than before. It was as if her previous period of radiant, peach-blossom beauty had been a predatory loan against her future vitality.
Yu Mo asked about her family situation, but Lili’s responses were listless. She answered only what was asked, like a primary school student dragging herself through an exam.
Since Yu Mo wasn't in high spirits either, the two eventually lapsed into silence.
After walking a short distance from the office building, Yu Mo suddenly bolted to a halt. she released Lili’s arm and looked around wildly, her expression bordering on frantic.
Lili stepped forward to steady her. "What’s wrong? What did you see?"
Yu Mo gripped her arm in despair. "Nothing... I just constantly feel like someone is watching me. It’s happened more than once. Maybe it’s just a delusion. I’m going crazy."
"You’ve been very off lately. Did something happen?"
Yu Mo’s smile looked more painful than a sob. "I’m just in a terrible mood. Lili, let’s go out and find some fun, okay?"
***
Past eleven that night, Xue Shen received a call to pick up Yu Mo from the bar street.
Supported by Lili, Yu Mo’s face was as red as a tomato, and she could barely stand.
He took Yu Mo into his arms and said coldly to Lili, "Don't let me see this happen again."
Lili watched the black car vanish into the distance, her entire body trembling.
Xue Shen helped Yu Mo into the back seat. She couldn't sit upright and kept swaying, so he had no choice but to pull her into his embrace.
Yu Mo suddenly reached up and hooked her arms around his neck, murmuring affectionately, "Qi Lian, I don't want to drink anymore. My head is so dizzy..."
Xue Shen’s body went rigid. He didn't dare move. It had been so long since Yu Mo had spoken to him like this; he only received this kind of treatment when he was mistaken for someone else.
The girl he held in the palm of his hand was already branded with the marks of another man.
That man had a pair of wild, untamable eyes. Even in dusty, drab clothes and shoes, his raw masculinity was impossible to suppress. His girl liked that kind of man.
A man full of vitality, vivid and real.
Many people didn't dare meet Xue Shen's gaze, but that man had not flinched under his scrutiny. He had guts, and he hid them well.
He should have known—Yu Mo would never fall for a man weaker than herself.
***
After the colorful lights of Christmas faded, the streets and alleys began to bustle in preparation for New Year’s Day.
On New Year’s Eve, Yu Mo’s father arrived, and the family gathered for a reunion dinner.
At the table, Yu Mo ate three large hairy crabs. Her mother teased her, "A while ago you said you weren't feeling well and wouldn't touch a single one. Now that you're better, you've lost all restraint. Just like a child."
Xue Shen moved the crab platter away and said, "Don't eat too many, or your stomach will act up. If you like them, I'll have the housekeeper make them for you every day."
Though fireworks were banned, there were always those bold enough to ignore the rules. The sound of firecrackers occasionally echoed through the residential compound.
It was a vibrant, bustling New Year’s Eve.
After dinner, she and Xue Shen sat in the living room for a while to watch the New Year’s Gala.
After a few boring comedy sketches, the phone in her pocket vibrated. She took it out for a casual glance, and her heart began to beat louder than the music on the television.
Maintaining a calm facade, she walked away, closed her bedroom door, and then retreated into the bathroom, locking that door as well.
"Hello?" she whispered tentatively.
The call was connected, but no one spoke.
She waited. On the other end, there was only the crackling sound of a long string of firecrackers.
She couldn't help but cry out, "Qi Lian!" Those two syllables, which had only rolled through her teeth, her heart, and her dreams, finally leaped from her mouth. It was as if her deepest secret had finally seen the light of day. Her tears followed immediately.
There was still no voice on the other end, as if the call had been placed by accident.
Sobbing, she pressed the end button.
She slumped down onto the toilet lid, but the phone rang again. She stared at the flashing name, weeping uncontrollably.
The phone rang persistently. As soon as it timed out, it rang again. The caller was obsessively demanding a result.
Yu Mo wiped her tears and answered.
The person on the other end was determined to remain silent.
Yu Mo cleared her aching throat. "Qi Lian, where did you eat tonight? What did you have? I had dinner with my parents today. I ate three hairy crabs. Do you like crabs? I’m doing well. I was just watching the New Year’s Gala with them. Are you watching? Watch the Jiangsu TV one; the Hunan TV one isn't very good this year."
She heard the sudden burst of television noise from the other end of the line.
She began to cry silently, unable to go on, biting her lip to keep from making a sound.
Listening to a popular idol singer breathlessly finish a song through the phone, she eventually hung up.
Almost the next second, the phone rang again. She understood. She pressed answer, set the phone aside, and went to shower and do her skincare routine.
She even put the phone in her pocket and went back to the living room, only to find the TV on and the room empty.
Her parents didn't stay up late, and Xue Shen, who was always busy, had only been keeping them company out of politeness. Once they went to bed, he had surely gone to the study to work.
She walked over and sat on the designer white sofa.
The TV was still broadcasting the Jiangsu TV New Year’s Gala. She noticed that the sound coming from the phone was a few seconds behind her own television.
She sat quietly, not really processing what was on the screen.
Outside, the firecrackers started up again. The TV began the boisterous countdown.
The sound of firecrackers from the phone was so loud it nearly drowned out the TV. The people of Lianhua had always treated regulations like dirt.
The New Year had arrived.
"Happy New Year," Yu Mo said softly.
A moment later, she realized the call had been silently disconnected.
Sitting on the soft sofa, she felt as though she had aged so much she would never be able to stand up again.
By then, would she have forgotten that there was a man who always wore T-shirts and flip-flops, whose hair was as short as wheat stubble, and who could lift her onto his shoulders with a single hand?
He used to hum a song to her often. What song was it? She had never asked; at the time, everything had seemed so trivial and ordinary.
She took out her phone. She had to find it. She wouldn't allow herself to forget anything related to him.
She was tone-deaf. She tried the "identify song" feature on the music app many times but couldn't find a match. She felt a surge of grievance—would they not even give her this one small memory?
After many attempts, the app finally provided three possible songs.
She clicked on them.
The first wasn't it. The second had a very long intro. She waited.
The bullet comments for this song were sparse. She glanced at them, and one made her breath hitch.
*“You took half my life, and you ask if I’ll remember you? I will hide you in my heart and carry you with me until the moment I close my eyes. Even if everyone else forgets the story of you and me, even if you forget it too.”*
The user’s nickname was: **Jinpu East Street Primary School.**
She felt as if she had been punched in the chest. She couldn't control a sudden wave of dry heaving.
She was like a fish tossed onto the shore, mouth agape, gasping for air.
Jinpu East Street Primary School faced north. It had a small storefront entrance, and there used to be two stone lions out front, though no one knew where they had gone.
That was her primary school.
She had once shown Qi Lian a photo of herself from primary school. She had two little braids by her ears, eyes as dark as black grapes, and a very spirited smile.
Qi Lian had been unable to put the photo down and had taken a picture of it with his phone. Back then, he had said, "If only I had gone to that school back then. Then your whole story would have been about me."
Qi Lian, Qi Lian!
***
That winter, Jinning saw two unusually heavy snowfalls. It wasn't enough to accumulate on the roads, but it gathered on eaves and trees—enough to make those who rarely saw snow dance with joy.
That night, Qi Shuai treated Qi Lian to a lamb spine hot pot at Fatty’s BBQ.
The weather was too cold for anyone to sit outside the stall. The two storefront rooms were packed to capacity. As the hot pot boiled, white steam rose straight to the ceiling, filling the room with the damp, warm scent of mutton.
Qi Shuai crudely dumped an entire plate of meat into the broth with a loud *clatter*, impatiently waiting for the water to boil again.
He asked Qi Lian, "Bro, did you take that girl Jiang Yao brought last time? Jiang Yuan is smug as hell about it. I saw your eyes were glued to her. I didn't feel right asking then."
Qi Lian drank half a glass of beer. A plume of steam rose from the pot in front of him, obscuring his expression.
"Sleeping with a woman is simple."
He didn't want to say more. For people like them, they would soon forget that a girl named Yu Mo had ever existed.
Perhaps many years later, they would only remember there was a woman—what was her name again?—who had made him lose his mind for a while before vanishing, like seawater washing over a beach and then receding, leaving no trace.
They wouldn't understand, and they didn't need to.
His gaze met that of Fei-ge, who was sitting a few tables away. Fei-ge’s table had been provocative all night, waiting for this exact moment.
"Brother Lian, in such high spirits, out for hot pot with just the two of you? Not like me—it’s annoying, surrounded by people every day. Can't get a moment of peace."
Qi Lian coldly looked away as if he hadn't heard a word.
"Hey, I’m talking to you. Where’s my delicate little sister-in-law?"
Fei-ge provoked him with a thuggish leer.
Qi Shuai immediately clamped a hand on Qi Lian’s arm. "Bro, stay calm. Those pieces of trash aren't worth it."
The look in Qi Lian’s eyes was like forged ice.
Qi Shuai felt a sense of impending doom. His brother’s current aura was wrong; he was afraid he wouldn't be able to hold him back.
He quickly pulled out his phone to call Jiang the Fourth.
One of the punks at the other table shouted, "If Brother Lian is tired of her, let us have a taste! She’s such a prize."
The group erupted into a chorus of lewd laughter. The regular customers in the restaurant fell into a deathly silence.
Qi Shuai hadn't even finished dialing when he looked back, his soul nearly leaving his body. Qi Lian was gripping a wooden bench, walking toward that table like a Rakshasa demon.
Qi Shuai roared into the phone, "Fuck! Get here now! There’s five or six of them!"
He couldn't care about anything else and rushed forward.
The punks at the table were intimidated by Qi Lian’s sheer presence; they shrank back, no one daring to lead the charge.
Qi Lian swung the bench and smashed it directly onto the back of the punk who had spoken.
Everyone’s expression changed.
"Mention her one more time, and I’ll twist your head off."
Fei-ge stood up, his face livid. "Fuck you, Qi Lian! You have to look at the master before you beat the dog. You’ve got a death wish. Everyone, get him!"
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 羊蝎子火锅 | Lamb Spine Hot Pot | A popular Beijing/Northern Chinese dish using lamb vertebrae. |
| 罗刹 | Rakshasa | A type of demonic being in Hindu/Buddhist mythology, used here to describe Qi Lian's terrifying appearance. |
| 听音辩歌 | Identify song by sound | A feature in music apps (like Shazam or QQ Music). |
| 津浦东街小学 | Jinpu East Street Primary School | The name of Yu Mo's primary school. |
| 胖子烧烤 | Fatty’s BBQ | The name of the restaurant. |
| 飞哥 | Fei-ge / Brother Fei | A local thug/rival. |
