After a moment, he came out holding a small box of ointment.
The car was parked by the roadside. Xie Yucheng sat in the driver’s seat and placed both of her ankles on his legs, carefully examining them. He confirmed that aside from her left foot, there were no other injuries.
His knobby fingers squeezed out a bit of white ointment and slowly applied it to her red and swollen ankle. The girl let out a soft hiss. He looked up at her briefly, then lowered his gaze to continue applying the ointment with even more careful, delicate movements.
The warmth of his fingers made Wen Shiqing feel soothed and comforted. She stared at his neat, black, tousled hair and inhaled the faint, fresh scent that was uniquely his. Her lips twitched ever so slightly, a subtle smile that vanished almost as soon as it appeared.
The nurse had said that after applying the ointment, one needed to massage the area for a while so the medicine could penetrate and heal faster.
After applying the ointment, Xie Yucheng used the palm of his hand to gently massage her swollen ankle. The movements were tender and meticulous, unlike his usual manner.
Her skin was pale and smooth, like the finest silk.
Wen Shiqing felt a bit of pain and let out a low, soft moan. She looked up, and her gaze accidentally met his dark eyes.
Xie Yucheng said, “If you don’t want it to hurt, keep quiet. A little massage and it’ll feel better quickly.”
She softly said “Oh” and sulkily closed her mouth, though her eyes never left him.
At noon, the two stayed in town to eat. This area was near a big river, and the riverside restaurants mainly served fresh river fish.
With her ankle injured, Wen Shiqing could only wear slippers. When she got out of the car, Xie Yucheng carried her down, and she had to hold onto his arm for support when walking.
They found a fairly clean noodle shop to eat at. Before Xie Yucheng could order, Wen Shiqing immediately waved at the waiter. “One serving of braised small mixed fish, and two bowls of eel noodles, please.”
Xie Yucheng looked at her. “I thought you didn’t eat fish?”
Her red lips moved. “There are so many restaurants that cook fish here, I have to try some.”
“Replace the small mixed fish with a steamed bass,” the man told the waiter.
By noon, the restaurant was quite busy, but the dishes came quickly. Within minutes, their order was on the table.
Xie Yucheng picked up a piece of fish and put it in her bowl. The fish was tender and pale like jade, with a rich soy aroma. “Bass has fewer bones, don’t worry.”
When she ate the fish, its tender warmth comforted the emptiness in Wen Shiqing’s stomach, sending a quiet warmth through her heart.
Fish, when eaten infrequently, can be tricky; bones can easily get stuck in the throat.
Wen Shiqing had been stuck by a fish bone once as a child. Vinegar didn’t help; she cried loudly in pain, and Yang Ying panicked. It was Xie Yucheng who had sped on his motorcycle to take her to the clinic, where the doctor finally used tweezers to remove the bone.
After leaving the clinic, she had held Xie Yucheng’s hand and pouted: “Brother, I’ll never eat fish again.”
The noodle shop was bustling. Wen Shiqing scooped some fragrant vinegar into her bowl, twisted a portion of noodles with her chopsticks, and took a bite. Almost immediately, her face changed.
Xie Yucheng, still eating, felt a jolt in his heart. “What’s wrong?”
Wen Shiqing parted her lips slightly and pointed to her mouth, breathing softly.
Damn it—who would have known there was a fish bone in the noodles?
Xie Yucheng quickly put down his chopsticks, leaned closer, and turned her cheek toward the light. “Where is it stuck? In your throat or somewhere else?”
“My tooth…”
“Can’t see from here. Let’s go outside.”
He took her hand and led her to the door, leaning against the wall with her face toward the sun. “Which tooth?” he asked.
Wen Shiqing grabbed his finger and inserted it into her mouth to feel for the bone. Sure enough, it was lodged between her back molars—long and sharp.
Xie Yucheng gently held her chin, turning her face toward the light with his fingertip against her thin, soft skin.
“Open your mouth,” he instructed.
Her long eyelashes trembled as she opened her mouth wider.
With the sunlight, Xie Yucheng finally saw the bone stuck in her lower left molar and also caught sight of her teeth—small, white, perfectly aligned, and cute.
His thumb and index pressed on her soft lips as he inserted them gently. Wen Shiqing’s slippery little tongue accidentally brushed against his fingers. His body tensed slightly, and the muscles in the back of his neck twitched imperceptibly.
They were so close that their breaths intertwined.
“Tilt your head back a bit.”
Soon, Xie Yucheng precisely felt the bone. Wen Shiqing couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan; it hurt a little, and she instinctively wanted to pull back.
He steadied her chin. “Don’t move.” Then he pinched the fish bone and pulled it out.
The sharp pain vanished instantly, and a long silver thread of the bone came out with his fingers.
“All done,” he said.
Wen Shiqing saw her saliva on his fingers and blushed, quickly grabbing a handkerchief to wipe them.
“You can’t skip a reminder. There are bound to be fish bones in the pot. You have to be careful when eating. How can you be so clumsy?”
Her cheeks were pinched by him like he was playing with a stuffed bear.
Wen Shiqing pouted and frowned, swatting his hand away.
She was an adult now—a young woman considered beautiful and slender by her classmates.
Yet none of that seemed to matter to him. His behavior clearly treated her like the little girl she had been years ago, which left Wen Shiqing feeling a little disappointed.
In the afternoon, just leaving the town, they saw a girl by the roadside waving for a ride. Xie Yucheng whistled cheerfully and slowly stopped the car.
The girl held a basket and asked politely, “Hi, can you give me a ride for a bit?”
Xie Yucheng turned his head. “Where are you going?”
Seeing how handsome the driver was, her heart raced, and her smile widened. “Just to Jiangcheng ahead.”
He tilted his chin. “On the way. Get in.”
Wen Shiqing scooted inward, silently annoyed.
Yesterday, a man had tried to hitch a ride, and he didn’t stop. Now it’s a pretty girl, and he does.
Who is this guy?
The girl, Fang Yue, got in and kept thanking Xie Yucheng. “Thank you so much! I’ve been waiting here forever, and no one would give me a ride.”
Xie Yucheng asked, “Why are you going to Jiangcheng?”
“My home is in Jiangcheng. I’m visiting relatives here.”
Xie Yucheng was good at conversation and chatted with Fang Yue the entire way, not noticing that Wen Shiqing’s expression grew darker.
Fang Yue asked, “Are you two married?”
“Heh, she’s my little sister. The kid always wants to go out and play, so I brought her along,” he said casually.
Fang Yue looked satisfied with this answer and asked, “How old are you?”
Xie Yucheng held an unlit cigarette in his mouth, smiling lazily, “Guess how old I am?”
Their back-and-forth sounded like flirting.
Wen Shiqing noticed that Fang Yue was a lively, cheerful girl. She reminded her of the female classmate Xie Yucheng had dated in high school—bright, sunny, and beautiful when she smiled.
Xie Yucheng seemed especially fond of this type.
Some classmates once said Wen Shiqing resembled Lin Daiyu from Dream of the Red Chamber. Wen Shiqing thought, if I were Lin Daiyu, Xie Yucheng would surely like Xue Baochai.
She found it pointless, feeling as if she had eaten a sour apricot, the aftertaste bitter.
Enduring the pain in her ankle, she climbed into the back sleeper and lay down.
Xie Yucheng asked, “Tired?”
“Mm,” she replied dully, pulling a jacket over her face, not wanting to see or hear anything. But the jacket carried his tobacco scent and clean soap fragrance—strong, sharp, and domineering with lingering hormones.