Night two.
Luo Qingmeng wasn’t blindly fawning over others. She simply wanted to treat people a little better, desperately craving just a sliver of kindness in return, a tiny bit of love. She didn’t ask for much.
Qiu Shuxue saw it all clearly. She understood every one of her silent pleas for help.
The next morning when they got up, Luo Qingmeng started tidying Li An’s place again. Qiu Shuxue wanted to dissuade her, but Luo Qingmeng said it was too dirty—she simply couldn’t stand it.
Qiu Shuxue broke off a piece of cookie and fed it to Luo Qingmeng. As Luo Qingmeng ate from her hand, she seemed delighted, her eyes sparkling with little stars. When Qiu Shuxue fed her another milk candy, she smiled at her.
Luo Qingmeng’s smile was exceptionally beautiful. She would softly call her name in a light, delicate voice so tender it was almost unbelievable. “Qiu Shuxue…”
Qiu Shuxue fantasized about them being intimate, imagining how thrilled she’d feel hearing Luo Qingmeng call her name like that. She climaxed in her own mind while Luo Qingmeng confided a secret to her. “That’s why I don’t like coming to his place… I only come when you all are here for dinner.”
It was too dirty to tolerate, and not cleaning it up left her deeply unsettled.
Li An was a fool. He only knew how to put on a false front, even deliberately putting on a show for Qiu Shuxue by vigorously mopping the floor in the dining area.
He had no idea how beautiful Luo Qingmeng truly was. He only knew how to take without giving back. Qiu Shuxue desperately wanted to kiss Luo Qingmeng, to taste the flavor of the milk candy in her mouth. She wished even more that this were her home.
“Hm?” Luo Qingmeng hadn’t quite caught it. “What did you just say?”
“You can call me Shuxue. Call me Xuexue…” Qiu Shuxue said.
Luo Qingmeng just smiled, still bashful. She wiped the coffee table clean and gathered up the cluttered mess into a trash bag. She was about to take it downstairs to throw away when Qiu Shuxue pressed down on her hand. Their hands overlapped, and Luo Qingmeng trembled slightly.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Hm, let Brother Li take out the trash. He can’t just do nothing, right?”
Li An immediately dropped the mop and came over to grab the bag upon hearing this. As he took it, he glanced at Qiu Shuxue, lost in his own thoughts.
Qiu Shuxue’s gaze lingered on Luo Qingmeng. Once Li An headed downstairs, she pulled Luo Qingmeng to sit together on the sofa. Qiu Shuxue leaned slightly against her like a little girl. After a moment, she even rested her face on her shoulder.
Luo Qingmeng fiddled with the remote, unsure how to change the channel. She flipped through stations until she landed on a children’s channel. Qiu Shuxue nearly burst out laughing but held it in. Luo Qingmeng said, “The cartoons on the kids’ channel these days aren’t as good.”
“Hm?” Qiu Shuxue looked at Luo Qingmeng, utterly puzzled. Luo Qingmeng needed to answer her, so her words came more freely. “When I was little, they used to play Cinderella, Snow White, Mickey Mouse, Little Carp Adventure, Tom and Jerry, Doraemon… The anime now looks so cheaply made—the scenes are sloppy, the expressions are weird, the characters all float around, and the plots are even worse.”
“Do you like watching anime?” Qiu Shuxue asked.
Luo Qingmeng nodded.
Qiu Shuxue said, “His TV is a smart one connected to the internet. You should be able to search by name.”
Luo Qingmeng let out an “ah.” She knew even less about the place than Qiu Shuxue did. After a long pause, she slowly said, “Oh, so that’s how it works.”
She lived alone in a rental without a TV. She hadn’t even bought a computer for herself, and she used the same phone for ages. Qiu Shuxue had noticed all this—her phone was sluggish, taking forever to respond to taps.
Luo Qingmeng searched for an anime and started watching.
Qiu Shuxue wasn’t really paying attention to the TV and kept chatting with her. “Sister, our company’s year-end bonus includes a phone. You can have mine—I don’t need it. I’d love to give it to you…”
A smile lit up Luo Qingmeng’s face; she was clearly thrilled at the idea of a gift from her. But she still shook her head. “Thank you, but keep it for yourself. Or give it to a relative.”
Qiu Shuxue was about to play pitiful when the door opened—Li An was back. She dropped the easily debunked lie.
Li An said, “You two are getting along pretty well.”
Luo Qingmeng gave a shy smile.
Qiu Shuxue wrapped an arm around her waist. “Yeah.”
Once Qiu Shuxue had her arm around Luo Qingmeng, she didn’t let go. Luo Qingmeng seemed afraid of intimate contact, very guarded at first—her smile grew stiff. But with Qiu Shuxue clinging to her, she didn’t suddenly push her away.
Luo Qingmeng’s thoughts were easy to read; her face showed exactly what she wanted or rejected. Qiu Shuxue could tell she was a bit resistant, so she said, “Sister’s embrace is so warm and gentle. Being with you feels so comfortable.”
Luo Qingmeng smiled with pursed lips and fully relaxed, letting her hold on. Li An might have wanted to come over and chat with them, but Qiu Shuxue found him annoying and in the way. She said, “Sister, the sun’s nice today. Let’s go for a walk.”
Li An said, “I’ll come with you.”
Qiu Shuxue said unpleasantly, “We’re going to talk girl secrets. What are you coming for?”
“Ah, like that…” Li An gave an awkward smile.
Luo Qingmeng hadn’t planned on going for a walk—she was too shy, afraid to be alone lest she say the wrong thing. But since Li An had agreed with Qiu Shuxue, she had no choice but to follow her. At the entryway changing shoes, she noticed Qiu Shuxue’s white coat collar was tucked in oddly. She reached out to fix it.
Qiu Shuxue tilted her head and trapped her fingers. “Thanks, Sister.”
Luo Qingmeng pulled her fingers free with a smiling nod. The two took the elevator down. Outside, sunlight bathed the whole complex—it was quite warm.
“Does Brother Li know you hate cooking for everyone?”
Luo Qingmeng hadn’t expected her to see through it. She wanted to lie and say she didn’t mind, but she really did hate it. She glanced at the trees in the complex and casually plucked a leaf. “…He knows. I’ve told him. He could treat everyone, but he insists they all praise my cooking. As if I can’t tell.”
Qiu Shuxue said, “Telling him that makes you so uncomfortable—you’re handing him your weak spot. You meant for him to protect it, but instead he squeezes it to hurt you without restraint. That’s malicious revenge. He doesn’t care about you at all.”
Luo Qingmeng gazed at her, her eyes wide with surprise, as if she’d found a soulmate. She felt Qiu Shuxue so wise, their souls resonating in that instant.
Qiu Shuxue wanted to touch her face—and she did. She leaned in slightly, pinching Luo Qingmeng’s cheek with her fingers. Winter sunlight fell over them, turning Luo Qingmeng’s eyes a beautiful amber. Qiu Shuxue’s fingertip trailed over her eye corner as she softly said, “Sister, someone who loves you will armor your weak spots.”
Luo Qingmeng wanted to nod, but her inner self struggled, causing her a twinge of pain. She turned her head away from Qiu Shuxue’s fingers. “But finding someone like that is hard. I don’t even know if I can. Besides… I haven’t been all that good to him either.”
“Isn’t this special enough, Sister?”
Qiu Shuxue was seething with jealousy. She remembered a few days ago when Li An had a sore throat—Luo Qingmeng had still made him rock sugar pear drink in his thermos.
Luo Qingmeng avoided her gaze, her heart pounding anxiously, feeling a bit hurt. Qiu Shuxue probably thought she was hopeless now. She opened her mouth, desperate to defend herself.
Her fingers pinched inside her pocket.
“I’ll try harder.”
“Mm.”
She really has gone cold on me.
Luo Qingmeng thought, her throat tightening uncomfortably. She asked Qiu Shuxue, “Is there anything you want to eat?”
Luo Qingmeng knew the gap between them well. Asking like this was her way of fawning, using her own merits to salvage her good impression.
Instinctively, she didn’t want Qiu Shuxue to think poorly of her. She cherished their time together and hoped someone understood her. She wanted to maintain that positive image without letting the person get too close or pity her too much—pity bred compassion, and compassion demanded reciprocation. She needed to improve, to grow, so she wouldn’t disappoint.
Qiu Shuxue said, “Rock sugar pears.”
Luo Qingmeng smiled with relief. They headed to the complex supermarket. Luo Qingmeng carefully selected pears and bought a bunch of red dates. Finally, she picked out some rock sugar. She asked if Qiu Shuxue liked canned goods, saying she could make some to give her later—Qiu Shuxue could take them home to eat.
They wandered to the home appliances section. Luo Qingmeng looked down, searching for something. Qiu Shuxue watched to see what she’d buy. Luo Qingmeng picked up an eggshell lamp.
“Why buy this?” Qiu Shuxue asked.
Luo Qingmeng put it in the shopping basket. She took a while to respond.
Qiu Shuxue sensed it and said, “Thank you, Sister.”
Luo Qingmeng looked at her. “With regular lights on, you might not be able to sleep. This one’s dim but not too dark. You can plug it in by the bed so you’re not scared.”
“Mm.”
Qiu Shuxue carried the basket for her while Luo Qingmeng went to check out. Qiu Shuxue asked, “Will Li An reimburse you?”
“No,” Luo Qingmeng said glumly.
Qiu Shuxue said, “Then let me cover it?”
Luo Qingmeng shook her head. “No need. I’ll treat you to something. The eggshell lamp’s for you too. Now you won’t be afraid to sleep.”
Good.
When they got back, Li An wasn’t there.
Qiu Shuxue had seen the pear water that Luo Qingmeng made for Li An. It was made by halving a snow pear and simmering it openly in a pot. The version Luo Qingmeng made for her was different. She diced the pear flesh into small pieces with a knife, added red dates, and then threw in some tremella fungus to boil together. She asked how sweet she liked it.
It was more like a snow pear soup with tremella and red dates.
Qiu Shuxue asked, “Am I eating this by myself?”
“Yes, I made it just for you alone,” Luo Qingmeng said.
“What about Brother Li?”
“Not for him.”
“Then make it as sweet as you, Sister.”
Luo Qingmeng was romantic at heart. She said, “It might be a little sweet then.”
After she said that, she shyly lowered her head. Qiu Shuxue poked her with a finger, and she dodged away. Qiu Shuxue said, “Can I eat you, Sister?”
“You can’t.”
“What a shame.”
Luo Qingmeng had simmered pear water for Li An, but he had never praised it. When her expectations fell flat, she never prepared it a second time.
Qiu Shuxue liked her like this. She stood nearby, greedily inhaling the sweet fragrance, desperately wanting to hug her. She wished it were nighttime right now.
She wanted to hold her while sleeping, kiss her, bite her.
If only she could have her all to herself.
Luo Qingmeng felt embarrassed under her stare. “What’s wrong?”
“Sister, you’re so alluring when you cook. You’re so beautiful, so incredibly sexy—it’s hard to put into words…”
“You’re exaggerating.”
“No, I’m not. If only Li An weren’t home and it was just the two of us eating.”
Luo Qingmeng nodded, seriously considering it before saying, “You have a point.”
Qiu Shuxue thought to herself,
See? See? All along, it’s her seducing me. Whatever I say, she responds to every word. She’s the one being proactively nice to me.
Luo Qingmeng saw her smiling. “It’ll be ready soon. We have to wait a bit. If I simmer it longer, it’ll taste even better…”
“Okay, thank you, Sister.”
Luo Qingmeng always replied to her warmly with “You’re welcome.” She seemed endlessly indulgent with her, but she had all sorts of little moods with Li An. At first, Qiu Shuxue felt smug about it. Later, she started feeling jealous that Luo Qingmeng would get upset with Li An. She wanted Luo Qingmeng to get mad at her too.
She really wanted to kick Li An out of this house.
Dinner was ready. Qiu Shuxue drank her snow pear tremella soup. When Li An came back, he teased Luo Qingmeng by asking if there was any for him. He wanted to flirt with her a bit. Luo Qingmeng shook her head and said there wasn’t, her tone icy cold.
Li An said, “Are you still mad at me?”
Luo Qingmeng ignored him. After she finished eating, she was about to go wash the dishes when Qiu Shuxue grabbed her wrist. “Sister, your skin is so delicate. Cooking and then washing dishes must be exhausting. Let Brother Li do it.” She looked at Li An. “Brother Li, will you wash the dishes?”
Li An went to the kitchen. While looking out, he noticed Qiu Shuxue stroking the back of Luo Qingmeng’s hand. He said, “I’ll buy a dishwasher later.”
Luo Qingmeng didn’t believe him. The kitchen was so cramped there was no room for a dishwasher. Li An only knew how to talk—he rarely ever went into the kitchen.
That night after dinner, Qiu Shuxue still didn’t leave. Luo Qingmeng had planned to go back to her place to sleep, but Qiu Shuxue said, “I want to spend more time with you, Sister.”
