Yun Li heard the soft drip and felt the arms around her tighten. She turned her head, tilting her chin up to look at him. Fu Shize stared back at her, his face expressionless.
It seemed as if he was waiting for her to continue.
Feigning composure, Yun Li pried his fingers open and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water, her mind racing.
She hadn’t told her best friend about their relationship, and when Deng Chuqi asked, she hadn’t acknowledged his identity either.
It wasn’t right, admittedly.
Would he be angry about this?
Yun Li peeked out from the kitchen. Fu Shize had his eyes lowered, his emotions unreadable. Perhaps she was overthinking it. She returned to the sofa, took a sip of water, and said, “Let’s continue watching the movie.”
Fu Shize fiddled with the remote control, showing no intention of pressing play.
Yun Li nudged his knee, casually urging him to start. After a few seconds, Fu Shize pressed play. Yun Li got up to turn off the lights, and the movie projected onto the wall.
She sat back down on one end of the sofa. Fu Shize lay on the sofa, his upper body leaning against the other side, one leg tucked in.
It was a popular romance film, without any suggestive or inappropriate scenes. Most of it depicted pure, heart-fluttering moments and romantic natural scenery. After a while, Yun Li shifted her body, moving a bit closer to Fu Shize.
The room was illuminated only by the light from the projector, reflecting on his face. Yun Li turned to look at him. He was staring at the screen, his expression calm and natural, not seeming angry.
But his arms were crossed over his chest.
She moved even closer, sitting in front of him.
She wasn’t watching the movie at all, tentatively trying to ensure he wasn’t upset. After a while, the person behind her stopped resisting and pulled her into his embrace.
Seeing him finally relent, Yun Li relaxed.
The movie was only an hour and a half long, with a satisfying ending. As the music played, Yun Li tilted her head back to look at him, only to find him leaning against the sofa with his eyes closed.
He had fallen asleep.
“…”
Yun Li thought the movie was a bit too innocent, but surely not that boring.
She observed his sleeping face, his eyelashes distinct, his eyes narrowed at the corners. Yun Li reached out to touch his eyelashes. His brows furrowed, and his closed eyes trembled slightly.
He was having a nightmare again.
She remembered the first time she saw him curled up on the sofa in EAW’s break room, his shoulder blades sharp and prominent. She realized that whenever night fell, an invisible dark mist seemed to envelop him, trapping him endlessly within it.
Yun Li gently stroked his brow. As if soothed, the tension in his face gradually eased. Encouraged, she lightened her touch even more, until he opened his eyes and caught her fingers.
It caught her off guard.
She instinctively tried to pull back, but he held her in place, calmly returning her hand to his brow. He closed his eyes again, maintaining a steady breathing rhythm.
Yun Li: “…”
There was no need to pretend to sleep like that.
…
Before leaving, Fu Shize forwarded Yun Li the address of the Sky Restaurant. He had made a reservation for New Year’s Eve dinner. The restaurant was on the top floor of Tianqi Mall, a revolving restaurant with a view of the entire city at night.
She called Yun Ye. The siblings usually spent New Year’s Eve together, and it felt strange that her companion this time wasn’t him. Yun Ye was leaning against the bed, playing a game on his tablet. He put the phone aside and asked without looking up, “What is it?”
Yun Li, feeling she had the perfect New Year’s Eve plan, asked politely, “How are you spending New Year’s Eve tomorrow?”
“New Year’s Eve?” Yun Ye glanced at her, indifferently replying, “What’s there to celebrate without you?”
Yun Li was taken aback. The young man’s features had matured over the years, but his eyes still held that familiar look. She habitually teased, “How sentimental of you.”
Changing the subject, she asked, “How come Mom and Dad are letting you play games?”
“This game is about the biological tree. I’m just reviewing what we learned in biology class,” Yun Ye explained. Suddenly, he turned off the tablet, got up from the bed, and shuffled towards the camera in his slippers.
Yun Li: “Don’t break the floor with your jumping.”
Yun Ye: “…”
He picked up the phone, flopped back onto the bed, and brought his face close to the camera, wearing his usual scowl. “Are you spending New Year’s Eve alone?”
When with Yun Ye, Yun Li was used to multitasking, like browsing E-station or playing games. Without looking at him, she casually replied, “Why do you care?”
Yun Ye retorted, “I don’t. I just hope you’re as miserable as I am.”
They bantered about daily life for a while before hanging up. Her phone buzzed with a red envelope from Yun Ye, simply titled [For Yun Li’s New Year’s Eve].
“…”
Why did she feel a bit guilty?
After calling Yun Ye, Yun Li dialed Deng Chuqi. The other end was silent at first. Yun Li quickly apologized, “Qiqi, don’t be angry. I was planning to tell you next time we met.”
“It’s okay, I’m not too heartbroken,” Deng Chuqi laughed, pretending to be aloof for a moment. “Was that voice Xia Xia’s uncle? You two got together in just a few days?”
Yun Li felt embarrassed now, softly admitting, “Yes.”
Deng Chuqi: “How did you two get together? How’s it going?”
Yun Li gave a rough outline, omitting the details.
“You chased him for so long with no results, and now that you stopped, things are moving at lightning speed,” Deng Chuqi commented. “But looking at it this way, the person he wanted to ask out before was probably you.”
After discussing this, Yun Li didn’t forget her original question: “He asked me to have dinner with him on New Year’s Eve. Does that mean he wants to spend New Year’s with me?”
“Of course it does,” Deng Chuqi pondered, “I can’t figure out Uncle Fu’s thoughts. I originally thought he was asexual, but now it seems that might not be the case.”
Yun Li was confused: “What do you mean?”
Deng Chuqi suddenly turned serious: “Lili, you need to protect yourself. New Year’s Eve is just until midnight, don’t stay overnight.”
Yun Li: “…”
The next day, after lunch, Yun Li sat at her dressing table, spending a long time on her makeup. She took out a camel-colored sweater dress from the closet.
Before changing, she sent Fu Shize a message: [Can you send me a full-body photo of what you’re wearing today?]
Fu Shize didn’t ask why, and after a few minutes, he sent a photo.
A deep gray sweater and light gray casual pants.
Yun Li: [What about the coat?]
Fu Shize sent another photo.
A black trench coat.
Looking at his photos, Yun Li chose a similar deep gray fitted sweater and skirt from her closet, along with a long black wool coat.
After trying them on, Yun Li took a photo and sent it to Fu Shize.
Caption: [We’re wearing a couple of outfits today.]
Yun Li left early, first going to Haitian Mall to look for a gift for Fu Shize.
After wandering around the mall, Yun Li stopped in front of a fragrance store.
He had trouble sleeping.
Yun Li chose a vetiver-scented candle, which she sampled. It had hints of lemon and lemongrass. She had the scented candle packed in a small box and placed in an elegant paper bag.
Standing by the roadside, Yun Li was composing a message, planning to ask Fu Shize to pick her up at Haitian Mall. The two malls were some distance apart. She stood by the road, unaware of what was happening behind her.
Suddenly, she heard someone cry out, “Thief! Thief!”
Yun Li looked to her right cautiously but saw nothing unusual. Then she heard hurried footsteps behind her: “Get out of my way!”
Caught off guard, Yun Li was knocked down from her left rear. The gift bag she had been holding flew out of her hand.
The thief stumbled after bumping into her but quickly regained his balance and continued running, snatching her gift bag as well.
Everything happened so suddenly that Yun Li, kneeling on the ground, felt somewhat dazed. “My things…”
Someone continued chasing after the thief, and within seconds, both disappeared.
Her phone rang in her pocket. Yun Li brushed the dust off her knees and struggled to stand up. She took out her phone; the caller ID showed Fu Shize. She answered softly, “Hello?”
“Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”
Yun Li looked around, “I’m on the road behind the north entrance of Haitian Mall.” A sharp pain shot through her right hand. Yun Li switched hands to hold the phone, her movements becoming awkward. She looked at her right hand; when she fell, the back of her hand had scraped against the concrete, leaving a large area of broken skin with blood and dirt mixed.
Yun Li glanced at it, finding it quite gruesome, and quickly looked away. She felt frustrated, “I might be late.” She had fallen and lost the gift.
Fu Shize: “What happened?”
When she was young and came home after falling, Yun Yongchang would always scold her harshly, saying she was troublesome. Out of instinct, Yun Li didn’t dare to explain the situation directly. With Yun Yongchang, it was out of fear.
Fu Shize patiently asked again, “What happened?”
His tone put Yun Li at ease.
Not wanting to worry him too much, Yun Li changed the subject, “The restaurant you booked seems hard to get into. I might be late. Can we delay it a bit?”
Fu Shize ignored her question: “North entrance of Haitian Mall, wait for me there.” The call didn’t end, and Yun Li heard the sound of an engine starting. She thought he had forgotten to hang up, but then she heard—
“Keep the line open.”
Not wanting Fu Shize to come and find her gone, Yun Li stood in a visible spot by the roadside, gently blowing on the wound on the back of her right hand.
Fu Shize’s car arrived quickly. After Yun Li got into the passenger seat, he drove to a temporary parking spot by the road.
He turned off the engine and his gaze moved from the top of her head downwards, not missing a single spot, scanning every inch of her skin.
Under his laser-like stare, Yun Li asked again, “Can we push back the time for that restaurant?”
The person beside her remained silent. He unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned towards her. Yun Li was startled, but Fu Shize had already found her injury. He gently supported her hand, frowning, “What happened to your hand?”
This was impossible to hide now. Yun Li said frankly, “I bought you a gift, but it was just stolen…” As she spoke, his jet-black eyes visibly cooled, as if they were about to destroy the Milky Way in the next second.
Yun Li tried to comfort him instead: “That person bumped into me, and I just fell. It’s not a big deal, just some broken skin.”