In the past, Xu Zhinan could never have imagined that one day Lin Qingye would display such an expression before her.

His arrogance and brilliance had faded away. Now, he appeared desolate and lonely, like someone abandoned.

She hardened her heart, but before she could say that she no longer liked him, there was suddenly a commotion at the entrance.

Outside the door, four or five girls wearing high school uniforms were pointing at the tattoo shop’s sign, laughing and saying something. They looked like they were about to come in.

Xu Zhinan couldn’t think about anything else. Currently, the age group most interested in Lin Qingye would be young girls just like these.

If they recognized Lin Qingye and discovered him in her shop, she wouldn’t know how to explain once word got out.

Xu Zhinan didn’t want to become known to everyone in such a manner.

She grabbed Lin Qingye’s arm.

The young girl’s palm was slightly cold. Without saying a word, she directly pulled him to the workstation, then completely drew the curtain outside, leaving no gap whatsoever.

“Wait here for a while.”

After Xu Zhinan finished speaking, she glanced at him, lifted the curtain to go out, and closed it again without leaving the slightest gap.

As soon as she went out, those few girls came in.

They were wearing high school uniforms. Xu Zhinan looked at the words on their chests—Number Seven High School.

This meant they were Lin Qingye’s juniors from the same school. She remembered that Lin Qingye had also attended Number Seven High.

“Sister, are you the owner of this shop?” one of the girls asked.

“Yes, can I help you with something?”

Xu Zhinan nervously glanced at the workstation to the side, afraid that the intoxicated Lin Qingye might cause some trouble.

Fortunately, he seemed quite well-behaved at the moment, not making any sound, quiet and still as if he didn’t exist.

“Of course we’re here to get tattoos,” the girl said.

Xu Zhinan looked at them and asked, “Are you adults?”

The girl was taken aback. “Is there a law that says minors can’t get tattoos?”

“The law doesn’t specify, but my shop doesn’t provide services to minors.” Xu Zhinan recovered from her earlier emotions and softened her voice again as she explained to them, “Although tattoos fall within the realm of art, you’ll find that many jobs in your future will have restrictions regarding them. So I don’t recommend getting tattoos at such a young age. It can be very troublesome if you regret it later.”

After hearing her explanation, the girl smiled and rested her chin on her hand, leaning on the table. “What a coincidence, sister. I just turned 18 a few days ago, so that should be fine, right?”

Xu Zhinan’s expression remained unchanged as she asked, “Did you bring your ID card?”

“…”

The smile on the girl’s face froze. Having no choice, she couldn’t help but complain, “Why are you stricter than bars and internet cafes?”

Xu Zhinan was good-natured and spoke slowly and gently, “This is for your good. It might also affect your college entrance physical examination. When you’re older and have thought it through but still want a tattoo, you can come back to find me.”

Hearing her speak this way, the girls couldn’t feel any anger and could only leave.

Xu Zhinan flipped the “Welcome” wooden sign on the door frame to show “Closed” instead, and finally let out a sigh of relief.

Half the lights in the shop were turned off. She walked back to the workstation, pulled open the curtain, intending to ask Lin Qingye to leave, only to find he had already fallen asleep.

He wasn’t lying on the workstation but sitting in the chair with his head resting on the bed surface.

Xu Zhinan paused, standing to the side, watching him for a while.

The young man looked somewhat haggard, with dark circles under his eyes. His face also seemed thinner, the contours more defined, the long, narrow corners of his eyes drawn in, making him appear increasingly cold and unapproachable.

She recalled what he had just said to her—Ah Nan, you don’t like me anymore.

Xu Zhinan let out a gentle sigh. “Lin Qingye.”

No response.

She gave him a light push. “Wake up.”

Still no response.

Waking up a drunk person was even more difficult than waking someone pretending to be asleep.

Xu Zhinan tried for quite a while but failed. Jiang Yue sent her a text asking when she would return to the dormitory. She replied: Soon.

Just as she was about to leave, from the corner of her eye she spotted a tube of ointment peeking out from Lin Qingye’s pants pocket—a purple tube. Xu Zhinan was very familiar with this ointment. Previously, when customers had inflammation or infection after getting tattoos, she had given them this type of ointment.

She should still have a few tubes in her cabinet as well.

Xu Zhinan frowned, her gaze falling on his back.

Was it inflamed?

Looking at his condition again—with anti-inflammatory medicine in his pocket yet drunk to oblivion—it would be difficult for it not to get inflamed.

Out of professional ethics, since Lin Qingye had gotten his tattoo at her shop, Xu Zhinan couldn’t just leave him to continue developing inflammation. If it progressed to skin infection, it would become very troublesome.

She walked behind Lin Qingye, hesitated for three seconds, and finally took a deep breath. She carefully pinched the hem of his shirt and rolled it up.

The skin around the tattoo was severely red and had even developed small rashes.

Against the smooth, beautiful lines of his back, it looked even more alarming.

The two characters “Ah Nan” lay quietly on his undulating shoulder blade, in black font with flowing lines, reflecting a slight glimmer under the light.

Xu Zhinan opened the tube of ointment from his pocket. The seal was still intact—despite such serious inflammation, he hadn’t applied the ointment even once.

She squeezed a bit onto her index finger and gently applied it to the red rashes around the tattoo.

The minty scent of the ointment spread, coolly seeping into the skin. When it touched the wound, there would be a stinging sensation. Lin Qingye’s eyes remained closed, but his shoulders shrank slightly.

Xu Zhinan paused, instinctively wanting to blow on it while applying the ointment, but she restrained herself.

She pressed her lips together firmly, and with an unchanged expression, applied a thick layer of the ointment.

After screwing the cap back on and returning it to Lin Qingye’s side, Xu Zhinan went to the back room to wash her hands. When she came out and saw that the ointment had dried, she lowered his shirt.

Before leaving, Xu Zhinan wrote him a note in elegant handwriting:

—The spare key is on the table. Please leave when you wake up.

She placed the note under the ointment, packed up her bag, turned off the lights, and left the shop.

After the lights were turned off, the shop darkened.

Since this street was a commercial area, it was always bustling until late at night. The noise of the city could still be heard outside.

It was amid this clamor that Lin Qingye had a dream about what had happened at the bar that night.

After he had shamelessly asked, “Want to come back with me?” Xu Zhinan hadn’t answered him. Instead, she had vomited, hunched over the sink.

Lin Qingye looked at her, furrowed his brow, and walked forward intending to help her, but Xu Zhinan waved his hand away.

Her voice was soft and succinct: “Dirty.”

Her clothes had been soiled from vomiting.

Lin Qingye withdrew his hand, stood by for a moment, then said, “Wait here for me.”

She didn’t respond, feeling like she might vomit again, but nothing more would come out. Her face was flushed red.

Lin Qingye had only walked a few steps toward the exit when he stopped, remembering the man who had approached her earlier. He went back, pulled a few tissues to place on the steps, grasped her arm to help her sit down, then took off his jacket and covered her head with it, hiding her face.

Xu Zhinan paused, raising her hand to pull it down, but fearing she would dirty his clothes, her hand stopped midair. Her voice came from underneath: “What?”

Her voice was thick with intoxication, sounding like a soft southern accent.

Lin Qingye didn’t waste words with her: “Wait.”

After three seconds, she seemed to digest the meaning of his words, and the hand hovering in midair came down.

Lin Qingye turned and walked out of the bathroom vestibule, casually placing the “Under Maintenance” sign at the door.

Outside, the stage performance had ended. Heavy music was deafening, and men and women on the dance floor were pressed extremely close. Lin Qingye strode through the crowd, stepped directly onto the stage, and went backstage.

“Ji Yan,” he called out.

Ji Yan was chatting with others and turned around with a smile. “What is it, captain?”

“Do you have any clean clothes here?”

“Yes.” For performances, she needed stage costumes, so Ji Yan had a suitcase of clothes backstage. “What’s wrong?”

“Give me one.”

“My clothes?”

“Yes, quickly.”

Seeing his manner, Ji Yan didn’t ask further. She went to open her suitcase. “What kind do you want?”

“A dress.”

Ji Yan pulled out one—a purple spaghetti strap dress with sequins.

Lin Qingye frowned. “Another one.”

Ji Yan rummaged through her clothes while saying, “I think this is the only dress I have.”

“Then this one will do.” Lin Qingye took the dress from her hand. “I won’t return this dress. Send me pictures of other clothes you like, and I’ll buy them for you.” With that, he walked away.

Lin Qingye took Xu Zhinan out through the side door.

Whatever alcohol she had drunk, its effects were strong. By the time they left, she could barely walk. Lin Qingye held her arm and asked in a low voice, “Carry you?”

The alcohol numbed her nerves, making Xu Zhinan’s reactions very slow. After a while, she shook her head, and after a moment, added, “Thank you.”

She could barely walk steadily yet didn’t forget to say thank you.

Lin Qingye’s lips curled into a sarcastic smile. He stopped flattering himself.

Lin Qingye brought her back to his studio, turned on the lights, pushed her into the bathroom, and hung Ji Yan’s dress on the rack. “Take a shower first.”

The bathroom door closed again, and Lin Qingye sat on the sofa outside and lit a cigarette.

The nicotine helped him regain composure. He began to realize that he might have made a mistake. He shouldn’t have brought Xu Zhinan back like this. He had no reasonable justification for bringing a strange girl from the bar back to his place.

But in that moment, he had suddenly recalled the scene when he first met Xu Zhinan.

His obsession for so many years had led to actions without thinking, without considering whether they were appropriate.

Ji Yan sent him another message, asking if something had happened.

Lin Qingye glanced at it without replying, tossing the phone aside where it slid into the sofa crack.

By the time he finished smoking, the water sound in the bathroom had stopped. After a while, the door opened.

Lin Qingye sat on the living room sofa. The bedroom door wasn’t closed, and from his angle, he could see that slender figure.

Xu Zhinan’s lingering subconscious rationality prevented her from emerging in a strange man’s home wearing just a spaghetti strap dress; she had a towel draped over her shoulders.

Lin Qingye hadn’t even given her slippers earlier, so she probably showered barefoot, not knowing it was cold. Now she stepped directly into canvas shoes, with her heels exposed—small, round, and even whiter.

His eyes darkened slightly, but his expression remained unchanged as he looked away. He bit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled smoke rings.

After finishing his second cigarette, he finally got up and walked into the bedroom.

The young girl was curled up in a ball, occupying only a corner of the bed, already asleep.

That spaghetti strap dress was already short, and in this position, it had ridden up further, barely covering her bottom.

Lin Qingye walked over and threw the towel over her waist and hips. As a result, her upper body was left uncovered.

Slender, fair arms, with two thin straps on her shoulders, revealing a large expanse of smooth, thin back. Lying on her side, with her arms drawn in, her chest was compressed, creating an ample view.

Lin Qingye’s eyelid twitched.

What kind of damn clothes had Ji Yan bought?

He stopped looking, grabbed the blanket and casually covered her, his movements far from gentle, then turned back and switched off the bedroom light.

Then he walked into the bathroom. Her original soiled dress was neatly folded beside the sink.

Lin Qingye threw the dirty clothes into the washing machine and turned it on.

The studio’s washing machine was the most ordinary kind, with a loud noise.

Lin Qingye didn’t consider whether the noise would wake Xu Zhinan, but he didn’t dare stay longer in the bedroom. He went to the living room, planning to make do with sleeping on the sofa for the night.

Several cigarette butts stood in the ashtray, yet he remained wide awake. In his mind began to appear those erotic scenes from past dreams.

Two years after knowing Xu Zhinan, today was the first time he had spoken to her.

Had he known, he wouldn’t have gone to cause trouble at the bar earlier. Now it seemed he probably wouldn’t get any sleep tonight.

Lin Qingye pulled out a bottle from the liquor cabinet nearby and poured himself a glass.

In the band’s group chat, Guan Chi asked where he was. The three of them were about to buy late-night snacks and asked if they should deliver some to his studio.

[Lin Qingye: I’m at the studio, busy now, no need to bring me anything.]

Guan Chi had also heard from Ji Yan about his request for a dress and asked if something had happened.

[Lin Qingye: Nothing’s wrong.]

He had always been like this, not enthusiastic about anything. Guan Chi was long used to it, and seeing his response, he shut up and didn’t ask further.

Neither the living room nor the bedroom of the studio had lights on, pitch black.

It started raining outside, pitter-patter, making decibels of noise. Each raindrop seemed to hit the tip of Lin Qingye’s heart, always stirring up restlessness, difficult to calm.

Even though his expression showed no trace of the undercurrents churning in his heart at this moment.

He drank rather quickly. His head gradually emptied, his vision no longer clear, seeing double.

Lin Qingye couldn’t settle down, so he simply drank himself dizzy. He lay down on the sofa in a daze, raising his hand to block his forehead with the back of his hand, eyes half-closed.

The sofa was soft, sinking, like slowly sinking into a quagmire.

Suddenly—

A “thud” from the bedroom.

The sound of something hitting the floor.

Lin Qingye frowned, his reaction delayed, not knowing if it was his imagination or real. Until rustling sounds continued to come from the bedroom did he propped up his drunk body from the sofa and entered the room.

Xu Zhinan had fallen off the bed. Her black hair was messily spread over her shoulders, her dress had ridden up, and her legs were straight and long, very eye-catching.

She was drunk, her feet slipped, and after rolling off the bed, she couldn’t even climb back up.

Lin Qingye leaned against the doorframe, watching for a while, then went forward, bent down, and lifted her horizontally.

He was already quite drunk, his body unsteady. As he stood up, he swayed, and Xu Zhinan whimpered and twisted a few times in his arms.

“Fuck,” Lin Qingye said hoarsely, rarely cursing, “Don’t fucking move.”

His voice was thick with alcohol.

But how would a drunk person listen to him? She continued to twist incessantly.

Lin Qingye’s eyes grew darker. He directly threw her onto the bed and pressed down on her shoulders. “So much trouble just to sleep.”

His actions were too rough. Xu Zhinan frowned and woke up, struggling to open her eyelids.

The young woman’s eyes were very clear, transparent to their depths at a single glance.

Their eyes met. She hadn’t reacted yet, staring at him and blinking, her thick, curled eyelashes fluttering like a small fan.

Lin Qingye had been drinking, and the nerve responsible for his rationality had been soaked in alcohol, already in a precarious state, ready to snap at the slightest provocation.

His throat tightened, his lips pressed firmly together, and his eyes looked deeply into Xu Zhinan’s eyes.

She truly had a pair of extremely beautiful eyes. Even the cliché “eyes are the window to the soul” when applied to Xu Zhinan would seem like profound wisdom.

Too pure.

Lin Qingye looked for a while, then raised his hand and covered her eyes.

He dared not look anymore.

The alcohol seemed to boil in his body. He feared he would lose control.

From very early on, he had wanted to recklessly drag Xu Zhinan into hell, to possess her.

But she was far too pure; he dared not defile her.

He had been tormented by that “how pitiful” on the snowy night, tormented by the light, sympathy, and pride in her eyes back then. Yet he also wanted to worship her like a deity, just as that day when she stood under the street lamp, with darkness all around, and only light where she stood.

But Xu Zhinan would not grant his wish.

With her eyes covered, though not completely, she didn’t close them but continued blinking. Her thick, curled eyelashes brushed against his palm, causing a slight tickle.

Then she raised her hand, and her slightly cool fingertips climbed onto Lin Qingye’s hand.

Like an entangling rope, tightly winding around his heart.

Xu Zhinan pulled his hand away, and Lin Qingye once again saw her eyes.

After staring at each other for a moment, he leaned slightly forward, drawing closer to Xu Zhinan.

Their lips almost touched, but Lin Qingye stopped again, maintaining this distance, his Adam’s apple sliding up and down sharply.

“Ah Nan,” he said hoarsely.

This was the first time he had called Xu Zhinan this way.

Before, he had only been an observer, hearing her friends call her thus—very intimate, a privilege he didn’t have.

Lin Qingye closed his eyes briefly, forcibly suppressing the emotions roiling in them, and called out again softly, “Ah Nan.”

Suddenly, Xu Zhinan lifted her chin slightly, touching his lips.

After drinking too much, one often becomes thirsty. She had already closed her eyes, kissing him as if seeking water, her arms following to encircle his neck.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a kiss—merely her lips touching Lin Qingye’s lips.

Lin Qingye froze abruptly. The last nerve also snapped. The alcohol he had drunk earlier took effect, went to his head. Lin Qingye’s breathing tightened; his thoughts gradually became unclear.

Years of obsession released in this moment. The dream became reality, yet the taste was even better than in the dream.

After a good while, Xu Zhinan let go, still dazed, blankly licking her moistened lips.

Pausing for two seconds, he kissed her again, turning from guest to host. His teeth forcefully nipped her soft lips, but he released before she could feel pain, gently licking.

Between his lips and teeth, he murmured: “Ah Nan.”

He had originally thought this night would be a torturous, sleepless one, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be the best sleep he’d had in two years.

So much so that later, he couldn’t even tell whether this was reality or that dream that had persisted for two years.