Outside, the autumn rain pattered down, scattering and ceaselessly beating against the ground, dissolving into ripples one after another.
Inside the restaurant, the lighting was soft, warm light falling on the man, dyeing his navy blue suit with a warm, yellowish hue. It also melted away every last trace of his cold, aloof demeanor.
Their eyes met. He Qingshi’s gaze was exceptionally calm, his eyes dark and profound, like a deep autumn pond, its surface smooth as a mirror.
Only a few hours had passed, and they had met again.
They hadn’t seen each other once in the previous three months, yet today they had run into each other twice.
“What a coincidence, Doctor Huo!” She heard him repeat, his tone unhurried. “Mind if I share your table?”
Huo Chuxue almost nodded. Fortunately, reason prevailed. She clenched her fist, steadying her voice. “I do mind.”
After saying that, she didn’t look at him again, turning and leaving the Japanese restaurant without a backward glance.
She left in a hurry. By the time He Qingshi looked up again, he only caught a glimpse of the hem of her camel-colored coat.
He shook his head helplessly, a bitter smile appearing on his lips.
——
In late autumn, the plants carried a chill, and the night was dim and hazy.
Raindrops carried by the cold wind blew against her face. Huo Chuxue couldn’t help but shiver, instinctively hugging her arms.
She walked slowly back along the sidewalk. There were many dried leaves on the path, crunching crisply under her soles.
After walking for five minutes, the Japanese restaurant was finally left behind, out of sight. Only then did she hail a taxi home.
Her mind was in a daze the whole way. After arriving home and taking a shower, the hot water pouring over her body made her feel like she had come back to life.
She had thought she had long since let go, but it seemed now she still hadn’t. Seeing him, she didn’t even have the courage to say more than a few words.
And indeed, she couldn’t speak to him. She had said it herself: from now on, if they met, they would be strangers, merely passersby. She had to keep her word.
The night was deep, quiet and still, yet she felt no sleepiness, her thoughts painfully clear.
She actually rarely suffered from insomnia; usually, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Unless she had something on her mind. Once something was weighing on her heart, she was prone to insomnia.
Unable to sleep, she opened her laptop to watch a movie. She pulled out Gone with the Wind and watched it again.
When Teacher Su had shown them this movie back then, she had said something—
“In youth, one doesn’t understand love; by the time one understands, half a lifetime has passed.”
Now, it seemed those words were absolutely right!
Elders always possessed a wisdom and clarity that the younger generation could not match.
The movie reached its end, the opening credits playing, the song echoing in the bedroom.
She raised a hand to touch her face. Her fingertips were cold and wet. Unconsciously, she had started crying.
She had always been a very rational person, clear-headed and decisive. Yet with He Qingshi, she had been emotional again and again.
She quickly wiped away her tears, turned off the computer, and went to the bathroom to wash her face.
Coming out, she heard her phone ringing incessantly.
The screen displayed an unfamiliar local number.
She frowned. Who would call in the middle of the night?
After answering, an unfamiliar male voice said, “Hello? Your friend is drunk. Could you come take him back? Our shop is about to close.”
“Who? Where is your shop?” At first, she thought it might be Qiao Shengxi, but then she remembered her best friend had gone home long ago. It shouldn’t be her!
The man said, “Love Japanese restaurant, the one on North Mountain Road. Your friend is drunk. Please come take him back.”
Huo Chuxue: “…”
It was He Qingshi!
A man who never touched a drop of alcohol was drunk in the middle of the night, and she was supposed to go collect him?
Just wonderful!
Huo Chuxue said coldly, “I’m not his friend. You have the wrong number.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she hung up, clean and decisive.
She had originally planned to go to sleep, but after that call, she couldn’t stop worrying. Lying in bed, she simply couldn’t fall asleep.
Two little voices argued in her head.
One said: “We agreed to be strangers. What does it matter if he lives or dies? Don’t forget the huge fall you took because of him. Huo Chuxue, we need to have some backbone!”
The other said: “Go check on him. What if something happens? We were acquainted, after all. We can’t just stand by and do nothing on a night like this!”
The argument raged on, impossible to settle.
After much internal struggle, she ultimately couldn’t set her mind at ease. She picked up her car keys and went out.
In the end, she was still soft-hearted!
At midnight, she had to go pick up a drunkard. She would definitely remember this debt and settle it properly with He Qingshi later.
——
Huo Chuxue drove fast, arriving in twenty minutes.
He Qingshi was slumped over the table, motionless, surrounded by empty bottles.
He really had drunk quite a lot.
She rushed over to support him, patting his face, but he showed no awareness at all, truly dead drunk.
The server saw her arrive and hurriedly urged, “Miss, please take this gentleman back quickly. We need to close.”
Huo Chuxue asked, “Has the bill been paid?”
The server shook his head. “No.”
“I’ll pay.”
She went to the front counter to settle the bill, then helped He Qingshi out.
The man was simply too heavy. It took the server lending a hand to drag him to the car.
She lived in the staff dormitory and couldn’t very well take him back there. She could only take him back to Yanshan.
He Qingshi curled up in the passenger seat, very well-behaved, not moving or making a fuss, completely silent. His drinking manners weren’t bad.
Not like her. Once she got drunk, she would definitely cry and laugh, clamoring for her mother.
The car moved forward steadily. The hazy lights from outside continuously drifted in. The light fell on his face; his brows were tightly knit, forming a deep furrow. He wasn’t sleeping peacefully.
North Mountain Road was separated from the Yanshan area by most of the city. By the time she got him home, it was past two in the morning.
She got him onto the bed, took off his shoes, and used a damp towel to wipe his face.
After doing all this, she prepared to leave.
Right at that moment, the person on the bed suddenly let out a murmur.
“Doctor Huo…”
Huo Chuxue froze completely.
After a moment of stalemate, she heard him say another sentence. “I was wrong…”
“Wrong about what?” She suddenly threw herself toward the edge of the bed, grabbing his hand, asking with unusual urgency, “He Qingshi, what were you wrong about?”
“Say it!”
But the man just turned over, hugged the blanket, and didn’t make another sound.
Huo Chuxue: “…”
Huo Chuxue stood frozen in place. She didn’t know how much time passed before she finally let go of his hand.
The reason she had pressed him so urgently just now was simply because she was hoping he would say—
“Doctor Huo, giving up on you was my mistake!”
She knew this was always just her own wishful thinking.
After fooling around for half the night, Huo Chuxue was exhausted and truly didn’t have the energy to drive home anymore. She simply decided to make do for the night at He Qingshi’s place.
He Qingshi’s home was very large, with many guest rooms. But none of them were usable for sleeping; the beds had nothing on them.
She could only curl up on the sofa to sleep.
After lying down, she drifted into a hazy sleep.
——
Close to dawn, He Qingshi woke up.
The moment he awoke, his head was pounding and throbbing, feeling terrible.
Sitting up in bed, he looked around. The surroundings were familiar. Only then was he sure he was at home.
He had blacked out from drinking. His mind was a mess; he couldn’t remember at all what had happened last night.
He was still wearing yesterday’s clothes, reeking of alcohol, the smell overpowering.
He was also very thirsty, his throat dry and scratchy, feeling awful.
He quickly put on his slippers and went downstairs for water.
After going downstairs, he turned on the living room’s pendant light. A shower of starlight seemed to fall. On the living room sofa, Huo Chuxue was curled into a ball, sleeping soundly.
Only then did he realize she was the one who had brought him home last night.
Last night, he had been thoroughly stimulated by her utter indifference. He had been irritable, anxious, and depressed. A man who never drank had actually imitated others, recklessly getting drunk to drown his sorrows.
The result was predictable, of course: he ended up completely plastered. By the later stages, he had completely lost consciousness.
He quietly walked forward, his steps very, very light, afraid of waking her.
This wasn’t the first time he had seen her sleeping. Her sleeping posture was, as always, a chaotic sprawl, impossible to compliment.
The blanket had fallen to the floor, only a corner trapped beneath her.
He bent down to pick up the blanket, then picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.
Huo Chuxue hadn’t slept deeply this whole night, constantly dreaming, feeling muddled.
Now, as He Qingshi picked her up, she woke.
But she still kept her eyes closed, enjoying the process of him carrying her.
A princess carry. It satisfied her girlish heart.
The moment her body made contact with the mattress, she sank into it.
He Qingshi was just about to let go when, unexpectedly, she hooked her arms around his neck and pulled him down forcefully. Caught off guard, he instantly fell on top of her. Intimate contact, perfectly aligned.
He Qingshi: “…”
Looking down, she had opened her big eyes, dark and bright, as if holding a pool of autumn water, sparkling.
Her clothes clung to her. Looking down from above, the curves of her chest were delicate and full, rounded and shapely.
Huo Chuxue was thin, but her proportions were good, her figure well-proportioned. She had curves in all the right places.
He inadvertently glimpsed them and felt his eyes burn, a hot, blazing sensation that made him flustered. He hurriedly averted his gaze.
He instinctively wanted to stand up, but she held on tight, her arms clinging tightly to his neck.
Maintaining this ambiguous pose, He Qingshi’s face instantly flushed red, his ears burning.
On the bed, in this kind of position, his thoughts naturally began to wander, his imagination running wild.
A scorching heat rose within him, his body’s reaction extraordinarily clear, impossible to ignore.
Huo Chuxue, however, hadn’t noticed the man’s change. She just wanted to provoke him a little, to get him to speak some truth.
She pursed her lips into a light smile, her eyes seductive as silk, alluring without her realizing it. She spoke softly, “I have a question for you.”
“Okay…” He Qingshi spoke with difficulty, struggling to restrain himself, his voice hoarse. “Let me stand up first.”
“Ask like this,” Huo Chuxue said stubbornly. “I’ll ask one question, you answer one.”
He Qingshi: “…”
“Doctor Huo…”
Huo Chuxue: “Call me Xiaoxue.”
He Qingshi: “…”
He took a deep breath, warning her, “Huo Chuxue, do you know how dangerous this is? Let me stand up.”
“What would you dare do to me?” Huo Chuxue said nonchalantly, opening her eyes wide. “He Qingshi, would you dare?”
He Qingshi: “…”
She was betting that he didn’t dare, which was why she dared to challenge his bottom line so boldly and recklessly like this. In Huo Chuxue’s view, this man was rigid and abstinent, practically a modern-day Liu Xiahui (a historical figure famed for his extreme chastity).
The thread of reason in He Qingshi’s mind was almost completely stretched to the breaking point. His thoughts churned and boiled, his rationality growing ever more tenuous.
“He Qingshi, did you dream about me last night?” Huo Chuxue, completely oblivious, continued asking her own question.
“No,” he subconsciously denied.
“Liar!” Huo Chuxue reached up to touch his face, bluntly exposing him. “I heard you call my name.”
He Qingshi: “…”
He Qingshi was speechless with anger and said discontentedly, “Then why did you even ask!”
“I wanted to hear you admit it yourself.”
He Qingshi: “…”
“You said in your sleep that you were wrong. What did that mean?”
“It didn’t mean anything.”
“Won’t say? Then I’ll kiss you.” As she spoke, she made as if to kiss him.
He Qingshi: “…”
He panicked and looked away, saying uncomfortably, “I don’t remember clearly.”
“Still won’t say?” She snorted coldly and leaned right in, sealing his lips.
Unexpectedly, the man didn’t avoid it. The man’s hand went around her waist, holding her tight, deepening the kiss.