Rain drifted in through the open window, cool droplets landing on her skin and carrying away a hint of the sticky humidity.
The hand Ye Xi pressed to her chest quietly crept upward, her fingertips neatly manicured without a trace of nail left bare.
A faint pink gloss coated her fingertips, while fine beads of sweat gathered in her palm.
She was very hot.
It felt like she’d fallen into a sea of fire, every inch of skin scorched by flames, on the verge of being swallowed whole by the heat, her body drained of its last drop of moisture until all signs of life vanished.
Her creeping fingertips finally paused at the side of her neck, where a tiny red mole sat like a drop of blood against her fair, smooth skin, adding a touch of alluring charm.
Ye Xi pressed on the mole and exhaled a hot breath, her fingertips stirring again.
They climbed higher to her face, flushed with an unnatural red. The features weren’t strikingly exquisite when taken apart, but together they formed a uniquely captivating beauty.
Her fingertips finally lingered at the corner of her eye, where the skin had just been dampened by a raindrop, now carrying a distinctive coolness.
Cool enough to soothe the burning heat.
Ye Xi pressed her fingertip firmly into the hollow of her neck, instinctively rubbing against it to borrow that faint chill and temper the scorching heat in her fingers.
Her gaze caught the drifting strands of rain, while her other equally burning arm braced against the window crack, waiting for the droplets to wet her skin, the coolness to douse her unbearable restlessness. Her thoughts had long since wandered far away.
Her grandmother hadn’t lied to her.
The feng shui of this neighborhood really did help with her condition.
Ye Xi had grown up with her grandmother.
Though she had no parents, her grandmother was an open-minded and capable woman.
She hadn’t suffered from their absence. On the contrary, she’d lived happily for these twenty-two years—until half a year ago, when problems started with her body.
At first, the symptoms were just elevated body temperature, and Ye Xi didn’t pay it much mind. But as her temperature rose higher and a red mole inexplicably appeared on her neck, she began to lose sensation of normal temperatures. Things only worsened from there. Now, no matter how low she set the air conditioning, she still felt hot—even sucking on ice cubes felt scalding.
Worst of all, she felt like her body was about to combust, yet thermometers showed normal readings, and hospital checks revealed nothing wrong.
Her friends couldn’t feel the sticky heat in her palms either, as if it were all in her head.
At first, Ye Xi wondered if she had hysteria, but when she told her grandmother, the old woman firmly assured her it wasn’t hysteria at all. It was “thirst-cold damp-heat syndrome,” a hereditary family illness. She told Ye Xi not to worry—it would improve after some time.
That had eased Ye Xi’s mind a little at the time, but unfortunately, her condition didn’t improve as promised. Instead, it grew worse day by day.
That afternoon, the heat in her body had suddenly doubled, leaving her throat scorched hoarse.
Her grandmother had hurriedly sent her here.
According to her grandmother, the feng shui at Half-Mountain Spirit Garden was exceptional and very effective against their family’s damp-heat syndrome. Living here for half a year would surely cure her.
But Ye Xi was a staunch materialist who didn’t believe in feng shui. Plus, her grandmother’s expression hadn’t been relaxed when she said it—it had been grave. So Ye Xi figured it was just her grandmother comforting her, a form of self-reassurance.
Ye Xi had moved in obediently only to avoid upsetting her grandmother, with no real hope that feng shui could cure her.
To her surprise, after falling ill, she’d lost all sense of normal temperatures. Yet right now, in this new home, she could feel the faint coolness of the rainwater.
Her firm beliefs wavered slightly.
Maybe the feng shui here really was suitable for her.
Though she still couldn’t grasp how feng shui related to healing, staying here felt comfortable—even the dry ache in her throat had eased a bit.
This prompted Ye Xi to inch forward, craving more of the rain.
The rain outside wasn’t heavy, and only a limited amount could drift through the narrow window crack. Besides… Ye Xi’s gaze drifted downward. Her room floor was covered in a thick shag carpet. Opening the window any wider might soak the soft, expensive rug.
Everything in the apartment had been carefully prepared by her grandmother. Even if she didn’t understand the point of a wool carpet, Ye Xi didn’t want to ruin the old woman’s intentions less than two hours after moving in.
She took a deep breath and reached out to close even that small gap.
The heat churned in her chest.
Making her miss the cool sensation of rain on her skin.
Ye Xi moved from the room to the living room. She opened the fridge, took out a bottle of sweet water, unscrewed the cap, and stared at it for a moment before taking a slow sip.
The scalding sweetness flooded her mouth. Ye Xi’s brow furrowed slightly, a faint sigh escaping her lips.
As expected.
Still hot.
She screwed the cap back on and returned it to the fridge, her eyes fixed on the rows of sweet waters and milks inside. She reached out but ultimately didn’t grab another bottle to try.
Ye Xi shut the fridge door and hurried toward the front door.
She decided to go out and get drenched in the rain.
The living room wall clock pointed to eleven at night, with the date showing December at the bottom.
Running out into a winter night’s rain—Ye Xi silently prayed the new neighbors wouldn’t think she was crazy. Best of all… if she didn’t run into anyone.
But as soon as Ye Xi stepped out, she knew her prayers had failed. The door across from hers opened too.
As the gap widened, a blast of cold air rushed out from behind it, hitting Ye Xi squarely. The chill enveloped her scorching skin, so comfortable that she nearly let out a low moan.
Ye Xi bit her lip, suppressing the sound rising in her throat.
Her gaze instinctively turned toward the door—not to peep, but to figure out what kind of cooling the neighbor was using. She hadn’t felt cold air on her face in so long.
What she first noticed was a fair, soft wrist. Then came a whiff of sweet fragrance, followed by a complete side profile.
In the freezing winter chill, she wore even less than Ye Xi, who was plagued by hot, damp skin—just a moon-white suspender dress that barely reached her knees, revealing a slender, soft waist, delicate rounded shoulders, and porcelain-fine calves.
She seemed oblivious to Ye Xi’s presence, still standing sideways.
Her slender fingers gripped her phone tightly, her gaze lowered.
Her jet-black hair cascaded down as she bowed her head, smooth as black satin.
The phone’s glow lent her delicate skin a pallid sheen. After a brief contemplation, she raised the phone and sent a voice message: “I won’t go on that blind date. Even if you’ve arranged for someone to come here, I still won’t meet him.”
A lovely voice.
Soft and light, like willow fluff drifting by.
But her tone of refusal was firm—she clearly despised blind dates.
Blind… date?
Ye Xi suddenly felt like she’d intruded on someone’s privacy. She instinctively stepped back, her back bumping the door with a faint, involuntary cry of pain.
The sudden sound stiffened the woman’s body. Her gaze quickly lifted from the phone to Ye Xi.
As she looked up, Ye Xi got a clear view of her face.
Her breath hitched for a moment.
Her voice was soft, her speaking tone gentle—even her rejections sounded light.
But her features were aggressively glamorous, strikingly beautiful. Especially those eyes, shimmering with seductive allure.
Just standing there, doing nothing, she exuded a faint natural charm that made it hard to look away.
She lightly bit her lip, her gaze on Ye Xi probing and wary: “I said I’m not doing the blind date. You…”
She’d been misunderstood.
Ye Xi hurriedly waved her hands. Her still-painful throat struggled to speak: “I-I’m not here for a blind date.”
It hurt.
So much.
Ye Xi clutched her dry, aching throat.
Since her throat had been scorched hoarse, she’d tried not to talk. Her urgent explanation had been forced out.
The voice that emerged was low and raspy, tinged with a pained whimper.
It sounded utterly pitiful.
The beauty seemed soft-hearted. She frowned in conflict, instinctively opening the door wider to let Ye Xi pass, only to block the entrance again moments later: “You… don’t cry. I’ll handle refusing the blind date myself. No one will blame you.”
The misunderstanding deepened.
Ye Xi clutched her throat, her lips moving as she forced out words again: “I’m really not here for a blind date. I just moved in. I’m Ye Xi… cough cough…”
She coughed lowly twice and punched in the code on her door lock: “This… is my home.”
The misunderstanding finally cleared.
The beauty’s cheeks flushed lightly pink—she’d mistaken Ye Xi for her blind date setup: “Sorry, I thought you were the one my family set me up with.”
She gripped her phone tighter, fingertips whitening from the pressure. She looked utterly embarrassed.
Ye Xi said nothing more, just waved at her to show it was fine.
Perhaps out of guilt for the mix-up, the woman leaned in closer.
She extended a hand to Ye Xi: “Hello, I’m Shen Mingjin.”
Shen Mingjin’s personality didn’t quite match her stunning looks—she seemed a bit introverted.
She’d approached proactively and offered her hand as if for a handshake, but as Ye Xi reached out, she pulled back, retreating half a step into her home. Still, she didn’t withdraw the hand.
Ye Xi eyed the hand hovering in midair—slender, delicate fingers; smooth, tender back; faint blue veins accentuating its fragility.
It was like fine white porcelain, wrapped in a subtle chill at the fingertips.
Maybe it was a trick of the light.
For an instant, Ye Xi thought she saw a thin frost clinging to Shen Mingjin’s knuckles.
Would it feel cool to hold?
Her craving for cold urged Ye Xi forward. She stepped to Shen Mingjin’s doorway and boldly grasped the hand.
It really was cool!
The chill climbed from Shen Mingjin’s fingers onto Ye Xi’s skin, dispersing the heat in her palm. Thrilled and astonished after so long without feeling someone else’s temperature, Ye Xi pressed their palms fully together, her fingertips against Shen Mingjin’s hand back.
Shen Mingjin’s hand was cooler than rainwater.
Cool enough to extinguish the embers.
The heat receded, the fire in her chest doused.
Even the stuffiness squeezing her heart eased. A bright smile lit Ye Xi’s face as she endured the pain to bond: “Sister, we’re neighbors from now on.”
Lights still glowed in Shen Mingjin’s apartment, white light spilling onto their clasped hands.
Palms pressed tight, fingers lightly entwined.
The cold spread from Shen Mingjin’s palm to Ye Xi’s, up their wrists, along their arms.
Ye Xi rather liked this new neighbor.
She liked her body temperature.
