Lu Shimiao was jolted awake by Xue Tong.
One moment she was still dreaming, and the next, An Cheng’s big face suddenly loomed into view. Since sleeping for an hour had improved her physical strength a little, someone touching her instinctively triggered a response.
She just never expected to take down her beloved lifesaver.
Her thoughts drifted back to the previous night. Maybe the air conditioner had been set too low, or she had gone to bed too late, or she’d spent the day drenched during the police dog class, sneezing without any prevention, and in the typhoon, like an idiot, she’d been locked outside. With a fever, she’d passed out in the hallway and was eventually picked up by Xue Tong.
Lu Shimiao was still kneeling on the bed with her knees, refusing to move. Not because the mattress was too soft, her body too tired, or the sickness too unbearable. It was because she was thinking about this…
How was she ever going to repay Xue Tong?
She was wearing Xue Tong’s clothes. Her phone and pillow were on the bedside table. Now she was kneeling on someone else’s bed. She was covered in her instructor’s scent, and seated across from her was the Xue Tong she had just struck.
She felt like she could never repay her, so she could only lower her head and say, “I’ve caused you so much trouble.”
Xue Tong couldn’t be bothered to answer and reached to turn off the desk lamp. “Your fever hasn’t broken yet. Don’t shower.”
Xue Tong not replying only made her more flustered. It was bad enough just causing trouble, but now she was also occupying someone’s bed, forcing her instructor to squeeze in with her. Lu Shimiao couldn’t peacefully sleep with a clear conscience. “Maybe I should just sleep on the sofa instead?”
Xue Tong sat at the edge of the bed without speaking. The two of them sat in the dark chill for a long time, only hearing the sound of tempered glass bending in the wind and waves crashing against the shore, whistling in their ears.
She was much more endearing when she had a fever.
She really regretted giving her a whole Eve. In just half an hour, she’d recovered to this state. She didn’t know whether to be happy or annoyed.
In the darkness, Xue Tong stood up and tossed out, “Do whatever I tell you. Don’t push your luck.”
Then came the sound of slippers on the floor. The bedroom bathroom door opened and closed, and the sound of running water abruptly echoed in the night.
Lu Shimiao was stunned.
The rushing water and the words “don’t push your luck” echoed in her head, and for a moment, she couldn’t tell which would hold her attention more. She thought of Xue Tong just one wall away, showering bare. The workout clothes from that last beach run surfaced in her mind.
The black sports bra, the sweat on her shoulders, the police uniform shirt collar, and the T-shirt she was wearing now…
Her curves, her rhythm, and the sight when she had collapsed limp on the ground—Xue Tong’s ankles not covered by her white socks.
I’m sorry.
Lu Shimiao felt her mind going dizzy.
She didn’t roll onto the sofa clutching the blanket to sleep. Instead, she watched the bathroom door with her eyes, listening to the pattering water inside, and blushing, secretly shifted her head toward the pillow.
The damp, typhoon-soaked sheets wrapped around her, also wet and clammy. Her thin shoulders clutched the edge of the pillow, folding it into her body, as if her lips were pressed right on it.
It carried the scent from behind Xue Tong’s ear.
Which pillow did Xue Tong like to sleep on? She wanted to find the answer herself. So she rubbed against it hard, sniffed hard, and with all her heart, began to distinguish.
She was like a little dog, pushing her luck.
Her breathing became rapid, her nerves tense. She was afraid someone would come out of the bathroom and see her in this state. The criminal psychology teacher had said it before: summer, torrential rain, night—these were natural criminal triggers.
She was guilty.
Xue Tong’s scent was simply too impossible to resist, dissolving any sense of danger. That sweet, cloying fragrance belonging to her drifted into her nose like willow catkins, soft, fine strands that blocked her windpipe. Even though she’d smoked an orange-flavored cigarette earlier.
It still smelled so good.
Once again, Lu Shimiao was set ablaze by it.
She held the pillow and sniffed for a long while, then suddenly froze.
How was she any different from An Cheng right now?
Lu Shimiao felt struck. Alarmed, she looked up and knelt on the bed again, using her hands to rub her face fiercely, forcing herself to sober up.
Remorse made her want to roll out into the typhoon and turn herself in.
Although Xue Tong had a cleanliness obsession, she showered very quickly. When she came out toweling her hair, she immediately saw Lu Shimiao kneeling miserably, holding her face in both hands.
She lowered the towel in her hand and strode over without hesitation. She stopped in front of Lu Shimiao and pinched her face, tilting her head up to confirm.
“What are you crying about?”
Lu Shimiao’s face was shocked, yet flustered.
But there were no tears.
So she was fine, after all.
Embarrassed, she released her grip. Xue Tong sat at the edge of the bed and resumed drying her hair, her tone unreadable. “It’s already almost four.”
Lu Shimiao glanced at the watch on her wrist. Even the most expensive mechanical watch couldn’t withstand rain. The face was full of fog, making it impossible to see the time, just like how she couldn’t see Xue Tong’s full expression or what tone she was using with her.
Scolding?
Or was she hinting that she had wasted too much time?
“But you’re on leave.” Xue Tong glanced back at Lu Shimiao and said indifferently, “Treasure it.”
Xue Tong’s hair was very black, naturally wavy but not too pronounced, reaching her shoulders.
She always liked wearing black: the black T-shirt on her own body, and even the black sheets and duvet cover.
Both of them were wrapped in the dark night.
A purple bolt of lightning outside struck the lightning rod on the neighboring roof, tearing a white gash in the sky right above the Equator. Five seconds of day-for-night allowed Lu Shimiao to clearly see Xue Tong’s face.
She was so beautiful.
Even the edges of her fingernails were lovely.
Xue Tong gestured with her chin toward the pillow. “If you can’t get used to sleeping with it, you can switch to your own.”
Lu Shimiao shook her head repeatedly, tugged the blanket over herself, lay down, and buried her head deep into the pillow.
That wonderful scent assaulted her again. Lu Shimiao’s self-control was pulled to a cliff’s edge. Befuddled, right in front of the pillow’s owner, she took a deep, desperate sniff.
Another bolt of lightning cracked down.
Xue Tong’s hand paused mid-towel. She turned back but pretended she hadn’t seen anything. She wanted a cigarette again, but unfortunately didn’t want to shower, so she draped the towel over her head and ducked into the bathroom to dry her hair.
When she came out, Lu Shimiao was already asleep. Curled up, the blanket half-covering her face, it seemed like she wasn’t breathing through her nose. Xue Tong reached out and tucked the blanket down properly for her, then went to the walk-in closet, found a summer blanket, and lay back down.
For the first time, she slept right on the edge of the bed. This mattress had cost twenty-five thousand, but it was so hard it poked her, keeping her awake.
Both hands crossed over her abdomen, she turned her head to look at Lu Shimiao, who was facing her.
Her inner double eyelids had cried themselves into outer double eyelids.
The minty scent had changed to an orangey one.
Xue Tong felt her obsession with single eyelids had been defeated by Lu Shimiao’s inner double lids. This person’s eye tails were as beautiful as a little cat’s. When she opened her eyes to look at someone, it seemed to draw threads.
In her sleep, Lu Shimiao still felt very cold. She reached out, grabbed the blanket Xue Tong had just tucked, lifted it, and covered her head again.
Was she trying to suffocate?
Xue Tong reached out once more to tuck the blanket for her.
But as soon as her hand neared her chin, it was caught. Then a head pressed close, wrapping around her arm and unable to move at all.
Lu Shimiao’s head was exposed outside the blanket. Every breath made her throat ache. She wanted warmth, so she instinctively leaned closer to the warm furnace, but unfortunately, the blanket blocked her movement.
Lu Shimiao’s ice-cold calves began to explore beyond their territory, gradually infringing on the border. Crooked and curled, they found their destination and burrowed in. The numb, frozen feeling in her feet found salvation in that warm place. This temperature was enough for her feet, but not for her body.
Whatever dream Lu Shimiao had, she forgot it later. But she clearly remembered that the countdown she had been anticipating for leaving Hong Kong had pulled its switch right before her eyes. That night was like a sleeping pill laced with sweetness, paralyzing her twenty-three-year-old self.
The person who had barged into her arms gave Xue Tong a big fright.
She had only been lying down for less than ten minutes.
And just like that, she was handcuffed.
“You’re this old, and your oral stage still hasn’t ended?”
Xue Tong stared at the ceiling with dark circles under her eyes, icy cold.
A single sentence sliced right through Lu Shimiao’s good dream. She abruptly opened her eyes.
Everything before her eyes was unfamiliar. Her head was hidden under the blanket. Xue Tong’s black T-shirt had now been lifted up a good portion by her hand. What she was pinching was a swathe of snowy white skin. As for exactly where her hand was, she didn’t dare acknowledge it at all.
Her lips were pressed against the other’s skin, just like how they had been against the pillow last night. There were faint, shallow pink traces on it. The black T-shirt had a small circle stained by her drool.
She had once again assaulted her beloved lifesaver.
Lu Shimiao felt utterly irredeemable.
Xue Tong noticed Lu Shimiao was awake. She reached into the blanket and pinched the back of her neck with force, the same way one would with a cat or dog, and along with the blanket covering her head, tossed her aside.
“I… I… I didn’t do it on purpose. I…” Lu Shimiao was still wearing the blanket on her head and didn’t dare lift it at all. She sat on the bed stammering.
Xue Tong took the hair tie from her wrist and coiled her black hair atop her head. Quietly, she walked out of the bedroom.
A whole night.
So torturous.
She quickly walked into the walk-in closet and locked the door. Looking at herself in the mirror, so haggard. She took off her clothes. By her collarbone and chest… Her sensitive body had been rubbed to the point of aching, and even “evidence” had been left behind.
She found the thickest padded underwear from the drawer, put it on, and sat on the stool, dazed. After a long while, she put a black vest on over the T-shirt—today, she would not allow anything to touch her body.
But she kept thinking.
Why hadn’t she pushed her away last night and gone to sleep on the sofa herself?
She had brought it all on herself.
By the time Xue Tong had even prepared coffee, Lu Shimiao’s head was still hidden under the blanket, not daring to show herself. She said in a low voice, “Come eat.”
Hearing the command, Lu Shimiao lifted the blanket. When she got out of bed, her legs went soft, and she almost tripped. Without slippers, she had to walk in her socks, holding her head as she wobbled dizzily toward Xue Tong.
The somber Victoria Harbour seemed locked in thick smoke. Without the lights on, the room was a hazy blur. Lu Shimiao didn’t dare lift her head to look at her, letting her peripheral vision take in whatever it could, stumbling over the rug again and again.
Eerie weather, matching an eerie atmosphere.
Lu Shimiao started feeling that terrible ache in her throat again.
Xue Tong stood at the kitchen island, spreading two layers of jam on the toast, then pushed an iced Americano across to the other side of the table in advance. Without even raising her head, just by listening to the crooked, unsteady footsteps, she knew exactly what state Lu Shimiao was in.
“I told you last night: do whatever I tell you.”
“Okay.” Lu Shimiao obediently straightened her back, and her field of vision suddenly expanded.
Her home was so big, so spacious, yet so cold and empty.
A black sofa, a white rug, industrial-style cement walls—like she’d fallen into a giant ice cellar.
Xue Tong’s hair was tied in a bun on top of her head. Under the black vest was a black T-shirt, and underneath the T-shirt was the part of her body Lu Shimiao had brazenly touched last night.
Lu Shimiao felt that her apologies were nearly becoming annoying.
After committing such a serious transgression, she shuffled slowly to the kitchen island. After dithering for a long while, she said quietly, “I’m sorry. I touched your body last night.”
Xue Tong’s eyelid twitched, but her voice remained placid. “We’re both women. It’s fine.”
Both women. Lu Shimiao chewed on this answer for quite some time.
So what exactly was she hemming and hawing for here? Lu Shimiao couldn’t wrap her head around it.
“Tonight I—”
“Tonight, stay here first.”
Xue Tong kept her head down, fiddling with the salad, as if she had precisely calculated the moment to cut her off.
“Thank you, Instructor.” Lu Shimiao was a little happy. She lowered her head and cupped the cup with both hands.
“Your fever hasn’t broken yet. Don’t eat anything greasy. Salad is light.” Having felt the other’s hot body temperature all night, Xue Tong naturally knew Lu Shimiao hadn’t yet recovered from her fever. She pushed the salad in front of her. “Take one more in four hours.”
Saying this, she also pushed the Eve pills in front of Lu Shimiao.
Lu Shimiao looked at the food, the drink, and the pills and suddenly spoke. “Instructor Xue.”
“Mhm.”
“Why are you so good to me?” Lu Shimiao’s voice grew smaller and smaller, mingled with both grievance and happiness.
Xue Tong placed a fork in front of her, picked up her cup, and took a sip of coffee. After swallowing, she said flatly, “It’s my duty.”
…
Xue Tong’s four light words gently tore Lu Shimiao’s fantasy to shreds. The salad in front of her suddenly became tasteless. Her empty, vacant thoughts drifted far away again. After a long while, she finally squeezed out a single word.
“Oh.”
“I’m off to work.” Xue Tong set her coffee cup in the sink, her tone casual. “You do the dishes.”
Lu Shimiao raised her head and looked at Xue Tong. She had to work today?
She turned her head toward the window. Outside, it was still covered with dark clouds. The wind was so strong it could flip cars. Remembering her own miserable state last night, she couldn’t help worrying. “Isn’t the police academy closed today?”
“Duty shift at the station.” Xue Tong washed her hands and walked into the walk-in closet.
When Xue Tong came back out, she was again in her white police uniform with a black tie, not a single wrinkle on it. Raincoat in hand, she stood at the entranceway putting on her police boots. “No going outside during the typhoon.”
“Okay.” Lu Shimiao had no appetite to eat and followed her to the door to watch her put on her shoes.
Once dressed, Xue Tong stood up and felt her pockets. Her gaze swept around and then pointed to the phone on the kitchen island. “Grab my phone for me.”
“Oh.” Hearing the instruction, Lu Shimiao immediately turned and jogged over to find it.
Watching that diligent, eager-to-please back, Xue Tong rubbed her temple, a hint of other thoughts in her eyes.
Her head ached. She had to come home early today.
“Here.” Lu Shimiao handed it over with both hands and, conveniently, on her own, took an umbrella from the umbrella stand. “It’s raining.”
Xue Tong shook the raincoat in her hand and, for the first time in a while, revealed a smile. “I’ve got this.”
Lu Shimiao obediently put the umbrella back. “Then be careful on the road, Instructor.”
Xue Tong nodded and pushed the door open to leave.
After the door closed, she started taking deep breaths in long strides.
This kind of thoughtfulness unique to straight girls was really hard for a lesbian like her to handle.
