Li Jin Yi regretted it.
When Ye Meng took out her toiletries bag, makeup case, and a package of disposable transparently wrapped black lace underwear from the trunk, methodically arranging them into every corner of his living space, placing them intimately alongside his belongings, he knew this woman had come prepared.
Li Jin Yi’s hair was almost dry. He wore loose-fitting home clothes with a towel still hanging around his neck, watching somewhat speechlessly as she took out what he estimated to be a lipstick rack containing at least twenty lipsticks and placed it on the washstand next to his lonely razor.
He stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the bathroom doorframe, and sincerely asked, “Do you need to apply so many lipsticks in one night?”
Ye Meng calmly invited him to pick one.
Li Jin Yi, with one hand in his pocket, pondered for a moment before casually pointing to the one that looked longest and most economical.
Ye Meng nodded, neatly arranged everything, and then unhurriedly applied the lipstick he had selected—Armani Apple Red. Once applied, it had a rich saturation, shimmering brightly, wrapping her distinct lip contours. It was as alluring as a freshly picked rose, its petals holding clear, full dewdrops, making one want to taste it to see if it was sweet.
Ye Meng merely stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, looking up at him and softly breathing in his ear, asking in a low voice, “Does it look good?”
Li Jin Yi realized she had many tricks up her sleeve but still honestly “mm-ed” in agreement. Then he reached out with one hand to grab her waist, pulling her into his arms, and tilted his head down to kiss her. This time, Ye Meng acted coy, slightly turning her head to avoid him. Li Jin Yi was stunned, then heard her teasing him: “Should I wear this one to work tomorrow?”
Li Jin Yi raised his head, leaning back against the wall with his eyes lowered, looking at her lazily, and sneered, “Want the young guys at the company to come over and ask for your WeChat?”
“Yes, I’ve never liked losing,” Ye Meng leaned in his arms, looking up at him with proud coquettishness in her eyes, mature and charming yet bright and moving. She said, “Especially to little sisters who are still wet behind the ears.”
Li Jin Yi didn’t know if she was serious. It was true that Ye Meng liked to have the upper hand in everything. Although there might not be any younger men there who interested her, the feeling of going from being the center of attention to being ignored was indeed unpleasant. Especially for this nearly thirty-year-old sister who was particularly sensitive about age.
He showed understanding, coldly uttering an “oh” before turning around, shuffling in his slippers to the bedroom, ready to turn off the lights and sleep.
…
Ye Meng wasn’t in a hurry to go in; she wanted to smoke a cigarette outside to calm down. She stood in the quiet corner of the small courtyard, faintly illuminated by the yellowish street light beyond the yard’s fence. Li Jin Yi thought her pajamas were too revealing and had given her a set of his T-shirt and pants, which now hung loosely on her. Ye Meng squatted while smoking, her slender, pale fingers holding a thin ladies’ cigarette between her lips. She squinted slightly, her gaze scattered without focus, appearing to be staring at the little yellow dog that had been lying silently all day, but the little yellow dog knew she wasn’t looking at it. It knew that this woman, who appeared calm, aloof, yet worldly, never looked at anything with her full heart.
Ye Meng took a drag on her cigarette as she squatted. Smoke dispersed from her lips; she lightly flicked the ash and tilted her head back, exhaling heavily. Watching the ethereal wisps of smoke gradually dissolve into the thick fog of night, she was like a small fish, head tilted back, mouth open, blowing small smoke rings at the vast, boundless night sky, as if dissolving something, or perhaps just playing out of boredom.
She was just a bit confused now. She had been through several short-lived relationships, but none had left her feeling as uncertain as this one. In this relationship, she seemed to have the upper hand, but in reality, Li Jin Yi was still the one setting the pace—this was what made her most uncomfortable in this relationship. She disliked being manipulated, especially by her boyfriend.
Tonight, after work, she had originally planned to go straight back to the dormitory with her colleagues, but in the end, she drove back here just to see him once. This was indeed not a good sign for her. Most frightening was Li Jin Yi’s cold, detached attitude toward dating, his arrogant stance that he could withdraw at any time, which inevitably made her feel discouraged and hesitant. Should she cut her losses in time, or continue this reckless entanglement with him?
Finally, her gaze fell lightly on the little yellow dog. She knew this dog didn’t like her much; its eyes were always full of fear and vigilance when looking at her, and a bit of indescribable resentment, as if she had usurped its master. She self-mockingly curled her lips into a smile, gently extinguishing the cigarette on the ground, consoling it without lifting her head as she pressed down, “Don’t glare at me. In your master’s heart, I’m not as important as you.”
After saying this, Ye Meng sighed, wrapped in the damp, cold night breeze, and went inside.
She quietly removed her makeup, washed herself clean, and took a blanket to sleep on the sofa. If they slept together, she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t do something to him. Li Jin Yi slept covered with a blanket; he seemed to have little sense of security, sleeping with even his head covered, a huge bundle with neither head nor tail visible, looking particularly pitiful. She bent down and couldn’t resist pulling back the blanket to kiss him lightly on the lips, softly saying, “Baby, good night.”
Li Jin Yi opened his eyes, saw her holding the blanket, and was startled. “Where are you going?”
Ye Meng presented herself as someone who kept her word. “To sleep on the sofa. Otherwise, you want me to lie next to you like a corpse?”
Li Jin Yi lay on his back, his gaze clear as he stared at her for a while. Thinking she was playing hard to get, he decided to ignore her. He didn’t believe she could spend the whole night on the sofa. He said indifferently, “Fine, close the door on your way out.”
“…Mm,” Ye Meng kissed his lips again, naturally reminding him, “I’ll get up at six tomorrow. Don’t worry about me; I’ll leave directly. I’ll order breakfast for you to be delivered. Just get up before nine to eat it. The next time I come back will truly be at least two weeks later—”
The moon hung clearly outside the window, like a fried egg yolk, the most beautiful golden yellow. The room had no lights on, the curtains were open, and the faint moonlight seemed to permeate in, making the room dim. His gaze was like warm water poured over a glacier, seemingly about to melt her.
Li Jin Yi suddenly raised his head and bit her lip, saying in a low voice, “What if I miss you during these two weeks?”
Ye Meng’s heart tightened suddenly like a wound spring, and the jumbled emotions she had in the courtyard instantly vanished. She reluctantly sucked on his lips, kissing him back: “Just say the word, and I’ll come back to you.”
“Mm,” he replied softly.
The room was quiet, the two kissing intimately, the sound of their pecking becoming increasingly clear. Even the little yellow dog in the courtyard, bored to the point of growing mold, suddenly sprang up energetically from the ground, stimulated to the point of running in circles around the fenced yard to release hormones.
In the end, Ye Meng slept beside him, nestled in his arms. Just before falling asleep, she drowsily murmured, “What’s the name of the dog outside the door?”
“It’s my grandmother’s,” his voice was full of drowsiness, “she calls it Ping An.”
“Ping An doesn’t like me very much,” Ye Meng said plaintively.
“It doesn’t like anyone,” Li Jin Yi couldn’t sleep anymore. He sat up, leaned against the headboard, and lit a cigarette in the clear moonlight, putting the lighter back on the nightstand. He said, “Next time, buy some sausages to coax it. It’s easily coaxed.”
Ye Meng still lay on her side, her hand propping up her face, smiling with her eyes closed, “Are you easily coaxed, or is it?”
“Don’t know,” Li Jin Yi extinguished his cigarette, looked down at her, and pinched her ear, “Are you comparing me to a dog?”
Ye Meng still smiled, saying with implication, “That dog is more capable than you.”
Li Jin Yi could certainly understand her meaning. With one leg bent, he leaned drowsily against the headboard, silently looking at her for a while. Then he took another cigarette, casually bit it, not looking at her, and said indifferently with lowered eyes as he lit it, “Why did you break up with your last boyfriend?”
Ye Meng instinctively opened her eyes. Lovers always probe tentatively, wanting to know each other’s past. But she hadn’t expected Li Jin Yi to suddenly ask this on impulse. Her memory was also blurred; it was a bit too long ago, something from four or five years back.
“I forgot. Forgot if he cheated or I cheated.”
Li Jin Yi held a half-lit cigarette in his mouth, the spark in the dim room like a fuse that could explode at any moment. He leaned against the headboard, one slender arm resting on his bent knee, looking down at her with dark eyes, seemingly never expecting such an answer.
Ye Meng, nestled in the blanket, laughed uncontrollably, finally ending up lying on his chest, laughing so hard she got a cramp. Li Jin Yi firmly pinched her chin, with a somewhat helpless tone: “Can’t you say something truthful?”
Ye Meng was completely awake again. She crawled out from under the covers, took a cigarette from him, and leaned against the headboard, exhaling smoke at him: “I’m joking. I forgot. It was just some trivial little things. I told you before, it’s not a lie that I only date this way with you. With them, it didn’t matter if we didn’t contact each other for ten days or half a month, but with you, it’s different. I want to send you messages all the time—” She exhaled smoke despondently, “Perhaps this is karma.”
Li Jin Yi smiled slightly, turned to look out the window, and didn’t continue the conversation.
Ye Meng didn’t speak either. The two smoked their cigarettes intermittently, occasionally sharing a kiss. Time, like an old woman, flowed predictably and slowly. During the last cigarette, Ye Meng finally couldn’t resist. In the decadent atmosphere filled with swirling smoke, she looked straight at him, swung her leg over his body, and arched her smooth, concave back. Kneeling, she crawled down, raising her head to look at his dark eyes through the smoke. She was like a freshly bloomed, gorgeous rose, yet also like an innocent little flower bud, full of interest in his body, extremely curious, yet afraid of frightening him. She leaned close to his ear, carefully and particularly pleasing him, “Are hands okay?”
After a long while, he nodded in agreement. Satisfying her curiosity.
She was extremely considerate of his emotions, asking softly, “Does it hurt?”
“It’s fine,” he said, though he still felt a bit nauseous, but looking at her made it better. So in the dim room, though the surrounding air was as hot as fire as if someone had placed a small fireball inside, the egg-yolk-like moonlight seemed about to be burnt by this atmosphere. His cool yet darkly desirous gaze remained fixed on her face. Ye Meng knew he liked to watch, so she always raised her head to meet his gaze. Ye Meng felt she would melt in his restrained, suppressed eyes. Li Jin Yi finally leaned against the headboard, closed his eyes, coughed softly, and reminded her hoarsely, “Wrap it with tissue, don’t get it on yourself.”
…
The next day, after Ye Meng left, Li Jin Yi stayed in the bathroom for a long time. Only when his phone vibrated gently on the washstand did he rise somewhat weakly from the floor and glance at it.
[Meng: Baby, I ordered porridge, delivery at 8:30. Eat it as soon as you get it; it’s not good for your stomach when it’s cold. Also, the phone is being delivered today, watch for the courier. Heart]
Following that, Li Jin Yi noticed a red dot on her avatar in his social media feed. He clicked on it and saw she had just updated a post.
[Meng: You don’t have to say I love you to say I love you——《for him》Troye Sivan]
There were already a few likes and comments below. Yang Tian Wei, who seemed to live on social media, was always the first to like and comment, [Little Yang’s Fried Buns: Oh, this young lady also likes Troye? Is this about being in love, or what? This song was written by Troye for his boyfriend, are you gay now?]
Ye Meng must have bought a beachfront property on social media, as she replied almost instantly, [Reply to Little Yang’s Fried Buns: If your brother isn’t gay, I’m not either.]
Yang Tian Wei was still slow to catch on, replying, [Reply to Meng: How could my brother be gay? He’s a steel-straight man.]
Just as Ye Meng was about to reply, her WeChat vibrated, and Li Jin Yi had responded.
[LJY: Don’t use your phone while driving. Call me when you get back.]
[Meng: Okay, baby.]
[LJY: Mm, my grandmother might be discharged after one more round of chemotherapy. Will you take back your things next time you come?]
[Meng: Was it comfortable yesterday?]
[LJY: …Mm.]
[Meng: Then next time still hands.]
[LJY: …Drive your car.]
Ye Meng was greatly amused and decided to stop teasing him. While waiting at a red light, just as she tossed her phone back into the armrest box, the screen unexpectedly lit up with a call. Looking at the name, she curled her lips. It had been a while. She put on her Bluetooth earpiece, both hands on the steering wheel, her gaze on the countdown of the red light ahead as she casually answered, “Hello.”
“It’s me.” The male voice on the phone was clear and magnetic but different from Li Jin Yi’s deep and lazy tone. This person was softer, with a more rounded timbre.
“I know,” Ye Meng said lazily.
Gou Kai said, “I’m downstairs at your place. Where are you?”
Ye Meng was full of questions, not even noticing that the traffic light ahead had changed, “What are you talking about?”
Gou Kai patiently repeated, “I’m in Ning Sui, downstairs at your place.”