Zhou Heng noticed that in recent days, Qing Hang was often not at home. He wouldn’t wait for Zhou Heng after work, nor would he call him before work. When asked, he simply said he had something to do.

Qing Hang’s life was too simple. Zhou Heng always said that this 26-year-old young man lived like a 66-year-old senior citizen. For someone who normally had no recreational activities outside of work, to suddenly have mysterious whereabouts was bound to make people wonder.

When they first joined the hospital, colleagues often joked about setting up blind dates for Qing Hang. Zhou Heng had guessed that perhaps he was going on those dates, but after a couple of days, Qing Hang’s routine returned to normal, with no signs of planning to date anyone.

When two men share an apartment, without someone detail-oriented, the place would become so messy that one could hardly move. Zhou Heng wasn’t fond of tidying up; he could accumulate a week’s worth of socks before washing them. Qing Hang was completely the opposite. The only harmony between them was that they both could cook. After getting tired of the hospital cafeteria food, they reached an agreement on their first day of sharing the apartment: whoever was home would cook. Yet within this harmony, there were still elements of discord. Zhou Heng was from the south, preferring sweet flavors, while Qing Hang couldn’t handle spicy food. However, ironically, all the dishes he excelled at making were sour and spicy.

This month, Zhou Heng began outpatient duty, which was no less demanding than working in the inpatient department.

Near the end of the workday, the manager announced a meeting in the group chat. Absence would count as missing work. Zhou Heng was somewhat distracted, hoping the meeting would end early, but contrary to his wishes, the manager seemed to have endless things to say today.

Seeing the time getting later and later, he had no choice but to call Qing Hang during his brief bathroom break.

“Qing Hang? Are you still at home?”

Qing Hang had the night shift today. “I’m home. What’s up?”

“Do me a favor,” Zhou Heng was never polite about asking, “I had promised my sister to invite her and her friend over for dinner tonight, but the department suddenly called a meeting. By the time I finish and rush back, it’ll be too late. The groceries I ordered should be delivered in about ten minutes. It’s just for three people. Could you first prepare one meat dish and one vegetable dish, and start the rice cooker? If you could also make a pot of soup, that would be great. If there’s not enough time, don’t worry about it. I’ll make it when I get back.”

Qing Hang had just woken up and needed to eat dinner himself. “Got it.”

Hearing this, Zhou Heng felt less anxious. “Thanks, I’ll buy you a drink next week.”

The delivery person brought fish, meat, vegetables, and fruit. Qing Hang took a quick look and selected two items. He started by simmering a pork rib soup while stir-frying vegetables in another pot, completing everything in less than an hour.

When Zhou Heng rushed back, drenched in sweat, Qing Hang was washing fruit. Qing Hang ate a quick meal before changing clothes to go to the hospital, leaving the rest for Zhou Heng to prepare.

The building had only one elevator, which was still on the first floor, so Qing Hang chose to take the stairs. As he passed the main entrance, women’s laughter came from the elevator area, echoing through the stairwell, but he didn’t even turn his head.

Meng Qi was also quite straightforward in personality. She and Cheng Wanyue had been chatting continuously from the taxi to the entrance of Zhou Heng’s building. When she mentioned how Zhou Heng had once been bitten on the buttocks by a goose as a child, she laughed so hard she couldn’t straighten her back.

Hearing a knock at the door, Zhou Heng quickly wiped his hands and went to open it. Qing Hang had practically prepared all the dishes for him; he had only made sweet and sour fish, and finally ladled the soup into bowls and placed them on the table.

“Welcome, beautiful ladies. I told you not to bring anything. The weather is so hot, yet you still brought all this fruit,” Zhou Heng warmly invited them in. “Please, make yourselves at home. I’ll get you some drinks.”

“Impressive! I didn’t realize you had such culinary skills,” Cheng Wanyue looked at the visually appealing and aromatic dishes on the table, quite surprised. “I thought we’d just be having takeout today.”

Zhou Heng sat down and served them. “It’s the influence from my family since childhood. Men who can cook have an easier time finding girlfriends. In our family, the men do the cooking.”

Meng Qi finished a small bowl of soup, her appetite awakened. “Give me a bigger bowl. I’ll worry about dieting tomorrow.”

As Cheng Wanyue ate, her mind began to wander. The pork rib soup contained sour radish, the potato slices were stir-fried with pickled peppers and tomatoes, the stir-fried cabbage had small chili peppers, and the garlic sprouts were cooked with twice-cooked pork. Except for the sweet and sour fish, every dish was exactly to her liking. They weren’t particularly special preparations, but somehow she felt the taste was different from restaurant food.

Despite declaring a temporary halt to her diet efforts, Meng Qi only ate about half a bowl of rice, while Cheng Wanyue had two full bowls. Zhou Heng noticed her preferences—she loved sour and spicy flavors. Fine beads of sweat appeared on the tip of her nose, and her lips turned a bright red.

Zhou Heng looked away, smiling, “You’re really being so kind. I’m starting to feel a bit proud.”

“Full marks for you. Feel free to be proud,” Cheng Wanyue’s impression of Zhou Heng improved significantly because of this meal.

Before this, Zhou Heng had barely registered in her eyes as slightly better than those annoying, self-assured men. Meng Qi had invited her several times, and only today, on her day off, did she agree to come to Zhou Heng’s home for dinner.

Zhou Heng was delighted. “Then come again another day. Whenever I’m free, you’re welcome to visit.”

“I’m too full. I need to stand up and walk around a bit.”

Cheng Wanyue had started eating as soon as she arrived, and only now did she leisurely look around the living room. It was quite clean.

She didn’t stay too long. After going downstairs, Zhou Heng also got into the taxi, first dropping Meng Qi off at home. When the car stopped at the roadside and Meng Qi got out, he smoothly shifted to the back seat.

He was humorous and good at finding topics to chat about. Cheng Wanyue didn’t dislike him. After arriving home, she sent him a thank-you message.

For three consecutive days, it was Cheng Yanqing who opened the door for her. On Friday night, Cheng Yanqing was working overtime, and she stood outside, turning her handbag inside out several times before realizing she had lost her keys.

Not having keys was very inconvenient. She couldn’t find a place to make a copy in such a short time, so she thought of asking Zhou Heng if she might have left them at his place during dinner.

Zhou Heng wasn’t the type to clean the house or tidy the table, so he naturally didn’t know. After seeing Cheng Wanyue’s message, he called Qing Hang.

Qing Hang said, “Yes, there is a set of keys. I thought they were your cousin’s. I put them on the table in your room.”

“Alright, alright, got it,” Zhou Heng hung up and immediately replied to Cheng Wanyue’s message.

Qing Hang had just finished his night shift, washed up, eaten something, and was about to rest. He didn’t sleep well; once awakened, he found it difficult to fall back asleep. Zhou Heng asked Cheng Wanyue to first go to the hospital to get his home keys from him.

Cheng Wanyue went to bed early and woke up early. When she contacted Zhou Heng, it was only 8:30. By the time she got his keys and arrived at his apartment, it wasn’t yet 10 o’clock. He mentioned that his roommate was sleeping at home and that he lived in the room on the left. Seeing the bedroom door open, Cheng Wanyue changed her shoes and went in.

She was only looking for her keys and had no intention of seeing anything else. The room wasn’t large, but even a casual glance revealed it was clean and tidy. There were no dirty clothes or socks, no unpleasant odors. The table was filled with medical textbooks, along with a few pens and a water cup. There was nothing else; one could take it all in at a glance.

Her keys had a red bell attached, making them quite noticeable.

Zhou Heng had said they were on the table. Why weren’t they there?

Just as Cheng Wanyue was about to ask Zhou Heng, footsteps sounded behind her. She thought her door opening had disturbed Zhou Heng’s roommate. As she turned around, she caught the faint scent of shower gel lingering in the air.

It was the scent of lime.

This bedroom faced away from the sun, while the living room windows faced the sun. The milky-white curtains were thin; sunlight filtered through the fine mesh fell gently into the living room. A halo of light enveloped the area, making the space around the coffee table bright, while areas the sunlight couldn’t reach remained dim. The Tyndall effect gave that beam of light a layer of hazy mist, dividing the not-so-large room into two spaces.

Cheng Wanyue dazedly looked at Qing Hang, who was equally stunned at the bathroom door. He stood in the shadows, his facial features blurred, like a figure in a dream that one tries to see clearly but cannot.

For a long, long time.

“Are you wearing anything underneath?”

If Cheng Wanyue hadn’t spoken, Qing Hang might have mistakenly thought time had stopped right there.

Qing Hang had just finished showering and had only wrapped a towel around his waist. Cheng Wanyue’s gaze followed a drop of water as it slid from his Adam’s apple downward. The water droplet disappeared into the towel, and that was as far as she could see.

“Um… I feel like your towel is about to come loose.”

As if someone had suddenly moved the hands of a clock, the briefly suspended world returned to its normal orbit. Air flowed, dust particles floated in the light, water vapor evaporated, and all sorts of sounds from outside simultaneously entered the cochlea.

Qing Hang snapped back to reality and turned to enter the bathroom.

Cheng Wanyue didn’t know if this was coincidence or fate. She had imagined many scenarios of meeting Qing Hang: awkwardly or surprisingly making eye contact through a cafe window; unexpectedly colliding at an intersection; or on escalators in a shopping mall, him going down, her going up, a fleeting glance as they crossed paths, wondering long afterward if she had mistaken someone else for him. There were too many similar-looking people in this world; occasionally walking on the street, one could spot familiar silhouettes in strangers.

She had also thought of many opening lines, such as:

“What a coincidence, long time no see.”

“Qing Hang, how have you been?”

“Wow! You’re already a doctor, that’s amazing!”

“You’ve studied for so many years, yet your hair is still so thick…” and so on.

But not to be in his room, with her first words being so frivolous.

In the past, if she had teased him like this, not only would his face turn red, but his neck would flush too. He would try to remain composed while righteously lecturing her about propriety between men and women, asking how a girl could inquire whether a man was wearing anything under his towel.

Eight years had passed. Things were indeed different now.

Just now, he hadn’t even changed expression, as if her seeing him like that wasn’t a big deal. She wondered if he would have been equally composed had he come out completely naked.

Over all these years, she had actually only dreamed of him once, when she thought she was about to die.

They say that in the moment before death, the last person to appear in your mind is the one you most want to see. She didn’t die, but one night she came so close, it was like the day after the college entrance exam when she slept so deeply she couldn’t wake up.

In the dream, he didn’t ask if she was in pain, nor did he say he missed her.

He just looked at her coldly, repeating over and over: “Cheng Wanyue, I hate you.”

What right did he have to hate her?