It was mid-afternoon when Yu Mo and Qi Lian took a taxi back to District One.
Yu Mo hopped out first, clutching her laptop bag and one of Qi Lian’s bags. She turned back to help him, but he was already standing right behind her, moving with surprising agility.
Qi Lian gestured for her to hand over the laptop and the large duffel. Yu Mo stepped aside. "It’s fine, I can carry them."
Qi Lian acted as if he hadn't heard a word. He reached out and snatched both bags, effortlessly hooking them in his right hand. His left hand, wrapped in thick layers of gauze, hung uselessly at his side.
He wore a black down jacket, unzipped to the chest to reveal a grey T-shirt underneath, paired with grey sweatpants. The biting cold seemed to have no effect on him.
Days of suffering had stripped every ounce of fat from his face, leaving his features sharp enough to be described as "chiseled." A shadow of dark stubble circled his jaw, giving him a look that was decidedly unfriendly. If not for the stark white bandage, one would never have guessed he had just been discharged from the hospital.
He had left early without even telling Qi Shuai and the others.
If he hadn't left, the nurses might have kicked him out anyway. Visitors had come in wave after wave, their noise drawing complaints from both the staff and the other patients.
When Yu Mo asked who all those people were, Qi Lian had simply sighed in frustration. "All sorts."
The security booth was empty. In the middle of the day, Jiang San was nowhere to be found. A thin, long-haired lapdog was tied up near the entrance; its charcoal-grey fur was matted into clumps, and it looked weak and precarious. Like the Lotus neighborhood itself, everything about the dog exuded an air of decay and hopelessness.
The sun had not yet set, and the wind was still. Along the roadside of the residential complex, elderly people sat in small groups, soaking in the twilight of their lives. A few toddlers in open-crotch pants, their bottoms flushed red from the cold, rolled around their grandparents like little round balls in their thick padded jackets and sleeve protectors.
Second Great-Uncle came rattling down the road on his tricycle. A large white megaphone was mounted on the handlebars, and the back was piled high with scrap metal. He greeted Qi Lian, his eyes lingering on Yu Mo for a moment before he slowly pedaled past them.
On the sparse evergreen shrubs lining the path, colorful bedsheets and heavy cotton coats were draped out to dry.
The two of them strolled toward home at a leisurely pace. As they walked, they shared a knowing smile, glancing at each other before looking away, unable to suppress the upward curve of their lips.
This road held many stories.
"Back then, your high heels used to go *clack-clack-clack* every day," Qi Lian reminisced. "I’d just walk behind you, watching your hips sway."
"How long did you follow me?"
"I don't know. I just remember it was cold like this. I didn't realize then that the woman who’d be the death of me had arrived."
Yu Mo dodged a round little toddler and pressed closer to Qi Lian, leaning against his arm. "Did you never think about saying hello?" Her dark eyes sparkled with playful light in the sunshine.
"No," he said firmly. He paused, then added, "Who knew you’d come running up to find me yourself? I sold myself for two hundred yuan."
Yu Mo laughed brightly, her expression triumphant. "No, you even bargained against yourself. You drove the price down to a hundred yuan just to sell yourself into my service."
"Never to be free again. Working like a dog, bringing my own wages, and crying and begging for the job even when refused." Qi Lian laughed at his own description, his white teeth flashing in the sun. "When the kids ask later, I'll tell them you were the one who made the first move, not me."
Yu Mo didn't mind. "Fine, I don't care. But you’re strange. If you didn't have any designs on me back then, why were you so good to me? I didn't see you being that nice to anyone else."
"I really didn't have any designs on you at first. But it was the strangest thing—seeing you like that made me uneasy. I just felt you were pitiful, and I couldn't walk away. The more I pitied you, the deeper it got, until you were under my skin. If anyone tried to pull you out, they’d take my soul with you. I can say with a clear conscience that the thought 'this woman is pretty good, I want to get her' never once crossed my mind."
"And later? When I wanted to sleep with you, why did you keep hiding?"
Qi Lian looked down at her with a sidelong glance. "I never said I was unwilling. You were just playing with me. If I didn't even refuse when you treated me like an object, what would that make me? Eventually, I gave in, didn't I? And then *you* were the one who didn't want to anymore."
"If you were given another chance, would you still be willing to go with me? That day?" Yu Mo looked up at him, her voice serious.
Qi Lian looked at her, then turned his gaze toward the end of the road. He saw his past self—despondent, dripping wet, eyes full of grey despair, stumbling along that very path. The pain was still vivid in his memory.
"What do you think?"
When they reached the base of the building, Yu Mo pointed to the fifth floor of the opposite block. "Is that apartment of yours finished?"
"Long ago. It’s been rented out for months."
"I’ve been gone for so long."
As she spoke, she was one step ahead of him on the stairs. Qi Lian crooked his knee and playfully nudged her backside as if to discipline her. "You finally realized!" he teased.
Yu Mo laughed and ran up the stairs, looking back like a little squirrel.
Qi Lian opened the door, and she squeezed past him. Seeing the sunlight streaming through the living room window and onto the floor, her footsteps faltered for a second. Everything was exactly as it had been. The people and things here had remained silent, waiting for her.
She walked slowly through the room, her fingers trailing over the coffee table, the screen, and the sofa. For a moment, she felt as if a lifetime had passed.
She sat on the sofa and watched Qi Lian set the bags on the dining table. She patted the seat beside her, signaling for him to come over. "Hey, why are my things still here? Didn't you say you were going to tear everything down?"
Qi Lian looked at her expressionlessly. He crossed the room in three long strides and sat heavily beside her. Ignoring her provocation, he reached out with his large hand, pulled her head toward him, and pressed his lips firmly against hers.
Yu Mo thought she heard him mumble a few words against her mouth: "Mind your own business." She wasn't entirely sure.
When he finally pulled back slightly, he rested his forehead against hers. His hand remained behind her head, their breaths mingling.
"I was gone. Did you really plan to keep all this forever?" Yu Mo whispered, her breath shaky.
"If I want to. I’ll never tear it down. We’ll live here forever," he whispered back. His breath felt like invisible hands tickling her very soul. She wanted to bite him. Instead, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck.
When she opened her eyes again, she spotted a Grandmaster’s chair next to the sofa. She let out a gasp and, forgetting the tender moment, scrambled over to it like a puppy. she sat down and lovingly stroked the armrests, which were polished to a deep patina from years of use.
"You finally brought it here."
Qi Lian leaned back lazily against the sofa, his long legs stretched out. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he watched her excitement.
"Yeah. Since we’ve been together, that’s the only thing you ever asked for. Even if it were the moon in the sky, I’d find a way to pluck it down for you."
He tilted his head slightly, gesturing for her to look toward the screen.
Yu Mo walked over suspiciously, her fingers tracing the shell inlays and the brass hinges of the screen. Suddenly, a weight settled in her chest, making her eyes well up. She turned to look at the man opposite her, her lips pressed tight in shock.
Qi Lian gave a rare, tender smile. "Come here! Why are you making that silly face? Don't tell me I bought a fake."
Yu Mo rushed over and threw her arms around his neck, pressing her face against the hot, thumping pulse in his throat. "Where did you find it?" she asked softly.
"It wasn't hard. It just took a bit of money."
"What are you after, Qi Lian?" She couldn't help herself. She knew she could never have done the same; sometimes, this man completely exceeded her understanding of the world. "I was gone. You did all this, and I might never have known."
"I don't know what I'm after. Maybe nothing. I just thought that if you were happy, I’d be happy too. In my heart, you never left."
Yu Mo’s eyes grew hot. She pressed her face even closer to him. "What else are you hiding from me? Did you secretly go to my office building?"
She hadn't dared to think it before, assuming it was just her imagination, but now she was almost certain. This fool.
"There were a few times I felt like I couldn't hold on anymore," he said softly. Then his tone shifted. "You always wore so little, shivering like a frozen quail. What was the point of that?"
"You’re the quail! I dressed so beautifully, I was clearly a peacock. You don't understand!"
Qi Lian gently stroked her head. "I only cared about whether you were cold. Besides, is there anything you don't look good in?"
"Qi Lian, why didn't you ever say anything? From beginning to end, you never said a single word to ask me to stay. You should have told me these things!"
"What more could I have said? I said I’d give you everything. I said I’d give you half my life. I said no matter what happens, don't leave me. Wasn't that enough? Did you listen to a single word? You’d rather cry until you couldn't stand up as you walked out of my house than stay with me. I figured you had your reasons, and I didn't want to make things hard for you. Was I supposed to force you to stay and be miserable? I couldn't do that. I could only let you go."
He affectionately rubbed his chin against her face. "Every time I said that if I saw you again, I wouldn't let you leave, I was just bluffing. I’d harden my heart over and over, but in the end, I was just afraid of making you feel wronged."
Yu Mo couldn't stand the prickle of his stubble and pushed him away. "Your beard is scratching me."
Qi Lian laughed. "Then shave it for me."
Yu Mo had no idea how to shave a man, but with one of them brave enough to teach and the other brave enough to learn, they found joy in the simple task. They laughed even before a word was spoken.
She tried to apply the shaving foam to his beard, but he was too tall. Even on her tiptoes, she struggled. "I can't reach," she said, giggling like a child.
Without a word, Qi Lian wrapped his right arm around her waist, lifted her effortlessly, and set her down on the bathroom vanity. He leaned in to accommodate her, bracing his uninjured arm beside her.
Yu Mo couldn't stop laughing because it tickled. She laughed so hard she couldn't hold the razor steady.
Qi Lian didn't dare move his mouth, his voice muffled as he scolded her, "Behave," though his eyes were brimming with mirth.
When Yu Mo finally made a stroke, she saw the muscle in Qi Lian’s brow twitch. "Did I cut you?" she asked in a panic. "Did I hurt you?"
"It’s fine," he mumbled. "Keep going."
Yu Mo didn't dare be careless anymore. She stifled her laughter and focused intently on the task at hand.
Their faces were barely a hand’s breadth apart. When Qi Lian lowered his gaze, all he could see were Yu Mo’s fluttering eyelashes and her pale, velvet-soft skin. As her hand brushed against his face, his heart swayed, as if being teased by a pair of invisible hands.
"Done."
Yu Mo wiped his face with a towel to finish and then leaned in to peck his lips, her gesture filled with unspoken tenderness.
Qi Lian remained in that position, unmoving, looking as if he had lost his very soul.
"Let's go," Yu Mo said, patting his cheek.
"Where?" he asked, dazed.
Yu Mo leaned in until she was almost touching his face, her hand moving downward. "Where do you think? Why don't you ask *him*? Ask him if standing guard is hard work."
Qi Lian’s expression didn't change much, but he closed his eyes, his brow twitching slightly. When he opened them again, he hooked an arm around Yu Mo’s waist and pulled her up. His gaze was heavy with both longing and indulgence.
Her waist was so thin, so soft—like a noodle. He wondered if it was even as thick as his arm.
He held her and asked softly, "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something first?"
Yu Mo, afraid he couldn't support her with one arm, clung tightly to his neck, her breath hitching against his skin. "No... I want to eat *you*. Is your hand okay?"
Those words were like a spark falling into a pile of dry hay. With a *whoosh*, the fire roared to life. Qi Lian’s arm tightened around her, his grip almost losing its restraint. He lowered his head and devoured her breath, his kiss fierce and desperate.
"Even if I lost an arm, it wouldn't stop me from fucking you."
His words, like his breath, scorched her ears.
***
**Glossary**
