After Zheng Xiye finished speaking, their gazes met in the air, and time seemed to freeze for one second.
In the next instant, a sharp, piercing whistling sound suddenly rang out, coming from the direction of the kitchen.
Xu Fangfei didn’t know what that sound was. She was startled and looked at Zheng Xiye with some nervousness.
However, the expression on Zheng Xiye’s face remained as ordinary as ever, without the slightest change. After a moment, he withdrew his gaze from the girl’s face, turned around, and strode into the kitchen on his own.
Xu Fangfei walked out of the bedroom, shuffled along to follow him, and asked softly with unease, “What was that sound just now?”
“The water’s boiling,” Zheng Xiye said.
Xu Fangfei blinked and took a closer look. Sure enough, there was an old-fashioned kettle on the gas stove. The lid had been pushed slightly open by the boiling water, and water was overflowing from the edge, leaving a streak of water on the stainless steel body of the kettle.
Zheng Xiye picked up a thick, clean cloth from the counter, wrapped it around the heatproof handle, and lifted the kettle.
Xu Fangfei realized it then.
The commotion just now was the whistle from the kettle after the water had boiled.
“We used to have this kind of kettle at home too.” She stood by the kitchen doorway, her brows and eyes carrying a smile as she fell into distant, happy memories. “When I was little, my dad would boil a kettle of water every morning and pour it into a thermos to take to his work unit.”
Zheng Xiye lowered his eyelids and poured some water into the paper cup, rinsed it once, poured the water into the sink, and then poured in clean water again.
Listening to the gurgling sound of the water, the smile in Xu Fangfei’s eyes faded a little as she continued, “Unfortunately, electric kettles became popular a few years ago, so my mom sold our gas kettle as old goods.”
Zheng Xiye finished pouring the water, set the kettle down, and replied casually, “What a coincidence. I bought this kettle at a second-hand market too.”
Xu Fangfei found it a bit strange. “Why not switch to an electric one?”
“I live alone. As long as it works, it’s fine.”
As he spoke, Zheng Xiye tested the temperature of the outside of the paper cup with the back of his hand and said lightly, “Let it cool for a while before drinking.”
“Mm.” Xu Fangfei nodded obediently, then reached out with both hands, ready to carry the water to the living room.
However, before her fair fingertips could touch the paper cup, Zheng Xiye had already taken it away first.
The tips of Xu Fangfei’s ears grew warm. She hurriedly reached out. “I’ll do it myself…”
She had hands and feet, with all four limbs perfectly fine, so how could she possibly feel comfortable troubling him even with something as small as carrying a cup of water?
Zheng Xiye lifted his hand, dodging those ten pale, slender fingers. He glanced at her and said patiently, “Move aside. The water’s this hot. If it spills, it’ll scald you.”
“Oh.” Xu Fangfei’s face flushed red. With no choice, she shyly withdrew her hands and stepped half a pace aside.
Zheng Xiye walked straight past her, set the steaming cup of water on the table, then turned back, bent down, and sat casually on the sofa.
When he lifted his head, the little girl was still standing there blankly at the kitchen doorway, her small hands gripping the hem of her school uniform, cramped and uneasy, as if she didn’t know where to put her hands or feet.
Zheng Xiye frowned slightly and guessed, “Do you need to use the bathroom?”
Xu Fangfei froze for a beat, then shook her head like a rattle drum. “No.”
Zheng Xiye said, “If not, then come over.”
So Xu Fangfei shuffled over like a turtle, sat down beside the table, and reached out to pull her schoolbag into her arms.
After hesitating for two seconds, she said softly, “I’m going to do my homework now. You don’t need to stay here with me. Just go do your own things.”
Hearing this, Zheng Xiye merely replied flatly with five words: “I’m not busy today.”
…Alright then.
Then just watch me. Let’s see who gets bored first.
Xu Fangfei muttered a quiet retort in her heart and said nothing more. She closed her eyes briefly, silently repeated “treat him like a radish” several times to hypnotize herself, then unzipped her schoolbag, took out a review booklet and a real exam test paper, laid them on the table, and prepared to write.
Name: Xu Fangfei.
Class: Class 1, Grade 12.
Question One, multiple choice. Subquestion one: Among the following options, which have entirely correct pronunciations…
Just then, the phone on the table suddenly chimed once.
Xu Fangfei lifted her head from the sea of physics questions, set down her pen, reached out, picked up her phone, and lit the screen.
It was a new text message from Yang Lu. She tapped it open without thinking.
Yang Lu: Ahhh! I’m so mad, so mad, so mad!!!!
Looking at that long string of exclamation marks, Xu Fangfei could feel Yang Lu’s anger even through the screen. Feeling puzzled, she replied: [Don’t rush, tell me slowly. Who made you angry?]
Yang Lu replied instantly: Jiang Yuan secretly took a photo of me sleeping in class today and even posted it to his WeChat Moments! A bunch of people we know liked it! I’m so embarrassed!!!
Xu Fangfei smiled helplessly.
Jiang Yuan had always ranked near the bottom of the class, didn’t like studying and liked fighting instead. He was also a somewhat well-known handsome guy in the grade and always liked to tease Yang Lu whenever he was bored.
She replied: Tell him to delete it, or call the homeroom teacher?
Yang Lu: Forget telling the teacher. I was sleeping in class and he was playing with his phone in class. If the homeroom teacher finds out, we’ll both get chewed out. Hurt the enemy a thousand, hurt myself eight hundred. Not worth it.
Yang Lu: Hurry up and register a WeChat account, join the class group, then add Jiang Yuan and scold him for me!
Xu Fangfei: My phone’s too laggy. I downloaded WeChat before, but it won’t open.
Yang Lu: …
Yang Lu: Fine, then I’ll fight alone.
After chatting a few more random lines, Xu Fangfei put down her phone and continued doing her homework. She had just finished two small questions when the phone chimed again.
This time, before Xu Fangfei could make any move, a light, drifting voice came from beside her, saying casually, “You’ve been doing homework for ten minutes. Eight of those minutes were spent looking at your phone. Is this how top students usually study?”
Xu Fangfei: “.”
Hearing this, Xu Fangfei felt extremely embarrassed. She went quiet for a moment, withdrew the finger that had been about to reach for her phone, patted her cheeks, focused her attention, and lowered her head to seriously work on the problems.
She silently read the question, used her pen to circle and mark the key points, then started calculating…
Not far away, Zheng Xiye leaned back against the sofa, his gaze calm and unhurried, fixed directly on the little girl who had begun earnestly solving questions.
After watching for about a minute, he frowned slightly, stood up from the sofa, walked to Xu Fangfei’s side, bent one long leg and half-crouched down, lowered his eyes, and carefully examined her posture as she worked.
Xu Fangfei had been concentrating on the problem when a trace of dry, clean, refreshing scent suddenly drifted into her nose. She froze, turned her head, and saw a cold, sharply contoured side profile right next to her, close at hand.
She was startled and blurted out, “What are you doing?”
The girl’s sweet body scent and breath rushed toward him, stirring the man’s breathing. Zheng Xiye’s index finger, symbolizing appetite, gave an unconscious slight twitch.
His gaze darkened a little. He didn’t speak, using his eyes as a ruler to measure the height of the table and the girl’s seated height.
After a moment, he suddenly asked, “How tall are you?”
Xu Fangfei did not know what he was getting at by asking this, but she still answered honestly, “The last time the school did a physical checkup, my height was measured at one meter sixty-five.”
“No wonder your posture looks so awkward.” Zheng Xiye propped one elbow on his right thigh and said, “You’re one sixty-five, but your legs are long and your torso is short, so this table is a bit high for your seated height.”
A trace of confusion appeared on Xu Fangfei’s small face.
She had no idea what he was trying to say.
Then she saw Zheng Xiye glance around, straighten up, and find several empty cigarette boxes from the cabinet, flattening and folding them in his hands.
“Stand up for a moment,” he said.
So Xu Fangfei stood up in a daze.
Zheng Xiye crouched down again, lifted the chair, placed the four folded cigarette boxes under the very bottom of the four chair legs, then set it down. He held the chair back and shook it to make sure it was stable.
After finishing all this, he lifted his eyelids to look at Xu Fangfei and said, “Sit again.”
Xu Fangfei sat down, raised both arms to rest on the tabletop, tried holding her pen to do a question, and showed a look of surprise. “It really is much more comfortable!”
Zheng Xiye straightened up. Watching the girl’s delighted smile, a faint curve quietly crept onto his lips. He reached out, picked up the paper cup on the table, handed it to her, and said, “It’s warm now. Drink some water before you keep writing.”
“Okay.” Xu Fangfei’s smile didn’t fade. She took the cup with both hands and held it as she drank.
Zheng Xiye sat back down on the sofa.
Xu Fangfei took small sips of water and suddenly felt that the distance between him and her seemed to have shortened again, no longer so unreachable.
The night was gentle, and her mood was good. She couldn’t help chatting casually with him and asked offhandedly, “I saw that you seemed to be living with your friend before. Is your friend not coming back tonight?”
Zheng Xiye’s expression turned a little cooler. “He’s gone on a long trip. He won’t be back these next few days.”
“So that’s why you let me come to your place?”
“Mm.”
“Actually, I vaguely guessed it too.” The water was still a bit hot. Xu Fangfei pinched her ear. “You seem like you don’t want me to have contact with those friends of yours.”
Zheng Xiye sat in a relaxed, lazy posture. Hearing this, he gave an indifferent smile and said, “Do you want to have contact with them?”
She shook her head.
He fell silent for half a second, his dark eyes fixed on her. “What about me?”
Xu Fangfei didn’t react at once. Her eyes flickered with surprise. “What?”
Zheng Xiye’s tone was calm. “You don’t want to have contact with people like us, but by a twist of fate, you became neighbors with me and ended up having interactions with me. Every time you have contact with me, do you also feel very uncomfortable?”
Xu Fangfei was stunned.
After that brief moment of shock, she lowered her lashes and said, “I do feel a bit uncomfortable.”
Zheng Xiye’s eyes were bottomless as he stared at her, not knowing what he was thinking.
Xu Fangfei puffed out her cheeks, secretly took a deep breath, and as if mustering great courage, continued firmly, “But in my heart, you’re different from those people.”
*
That night, Xu Fangfei stayed in 3206 until 11 p.m., only then receiving a call from Qiao Huilan.
“Hello, sweetheart, I’m in the building.” Being older, having worked all day, and having ridden a bike for nearly two hours, Qiao Huilan sounded quite tired. “Where are you now?”
Xu Fangfei answered, “I’m at the downstairs neighbor’s place.”
As soon as the words fell, Qiao Huilan on the other end clearly paused. After several seconds, she responded somewhat awkwardly, “Oh. Then come out. I’ll be at the door of 3206 in a moment. Remember to thank the neighbor.”
“Okay.”
After hanging up, Xu Fangfei put the books and test papers on the table back into her schoolbag, looked up at Zheng Xiye, and said, “My mom is here to pick me up. Thank you. Goodbye.” With that, she slung her schoolbag over her back and stood up from the chair.
Zheng Xiye didn’t speak. He walked to the front door and pulled it open for her.
At the same time, the motion-activated light in the stairwell suddenly turned on.
Qiao Huilan’s figure appeared at the corner of the stairs. She was wearing a blue floral blouse that had been washed until it faded. Both arms were covered with dark sleeve protectors. Her hair at the temples was slightly messy, and exhaustion filled her brows and eyes.
Xu Fangfei called out, “Mom.”
Qiao Huilan came upstairs, reached out to pat her daughter’s shoulder, then shifted her gaze to the young man following behind her daughter and tugged her lips into a smile. “This girl went out without her keys. I’ve been busy until now and ended up bothering you, young man.”
Zheng Xiye smiled gently yet distantly and replied, “Auntie, there’s no need to be polite.”
After a few simple pleasantries, Qiao Huilan led Xu Fangfei home.
The door closed.
Xu Fangfei put down her schoolbag and bent over to change into slippers. Suddenly, she heard Qiao Huilan’s voice by her ear, asking, “Feifei, do you know exactly what that brother downstairs does for work?”
Xu Fangfei’s eyes shifted slightly, but there was no obvious change on her face. She shook her head and said, “He didn’t tell me.”
Qiao Huilan frowned in confusion and muttered to herself, “When I asked him before, he said he did odd jobs. And he seems like a decent person. How would he get involved with someone like Liu Dafu…”
Xu Fangfei asked, “Mom, who is Liu Dafu?”
“He’s the boss of that one-stop funeral service company. I hear he has some background. He’s usually overbearing around our area, and no one dares to offend him.” Qiao Huilan lifted her thermos and took a sip of water.
Xu Fangfei didn’t understand. “Then what does that have to do with the neighbor in 3206?”
“I don’t know either,” Qiao Huilan said. “When I was leaving today, Liu Dafu showed me a photo and asked if I knew the person. When I looked, it was that young man downstairs.”
Hearing this, Xu Fangfei suddenly became tense and lowered her voice to ask urgently, “Then how did you answer?”
“Of course, I said I didn’t know him.” Qiao Huilan sighed. “This isn’t exactly a peaceful place. It’s better to have fewer problems than more.”
Xu Fangfei pressed her lips together, thoughtful, and didn’t respond to her mother.
“In my view, to be on the safe side, we should try to have less contact with that young man in the future.” Qiao Huilan screwed the lid back onto the thermos and instructed her daughter. “And you shouldn’t go to his place anymore.”
Lost in thought, Xu Fangfei still didn’t make a sound.
Qiao Huilan raised her voice. “Did you hear me?”
“Oh.” Xu Fangfei snapped back to herself and hurriedly nodded, as obedient and well-behaved as ever. “I know, Mom.”
Qiao Huilan smiled, reassured, and went to massage Grandpa.
*
The next evening, Xu Fangfei still didn’t get out of school until after nine.
Once again politely declining Zhao Shuyi’s kindness, she carried her schoolbag and walked out of the school by herself.
Outside the school gate, the small road that was noisy and crowded with people during the day had turned into a calm river, flowing quietly between the tree-lined sides. The streetlights were also lit, echoing the few twinkling stars in the sky. Night and shadow blended into one.
The academic pressure of Grade 12 was indeed heavy. The entire day, Xu Fangfei had been busy reviewing lessons and doing practice problems, not even having time to glance at her phone.
Now, with everything quiet around her, she managed to steal a few minutes of leisure.
She took out her phone, opened the music player, found the only song in her favorites, and pressed the play button.
A male singer’s hoarse voice spilled from the equally hoarse phone speaker, drifting into this night scene.
A lonely eagle, cloaked in the dust of years and a body of dusk,
When will it grow weary, when will it rest,
When will it have a journey home?
…
Xu Fangfei walked forward quietly, softly humming along with the male singer. Without realizing it, she reached the main road.
Her shoelace had come loose.
Xu Fangfei stopped, slipped the phone that was still playing music back into the pocket of her school uniform pants, squatted down, and tied her shoelace.
Just then, a black Santana drove out of the flowing traffic, slowly pulled over, and stopped beside her.
“……”
Children who grow up in Lingcheng have an instinctive sense of danger deep in their bones. This is a special kind of nourishment from this land, making every native of Lingcheng alert and sensitive.
Xu Fangfei sensed something and paused her hands very slightly.
She glanced around out of the corner of her eye.
The area was brightly lit. Vehicles came and went endlessly on the main road, and pedestrians passed by on the curb from time to time. Most importantly, she clearly remembered that there was a surveillance camera at the intersection four hundred meters away.
After weighing things up, Xu Fangfei steadied herself and continued tying her shoelace as if nothing were wrong.
At the same time, she heard some movement from behind her on the left.
A car door opened, then closed.
Tap tap tap, tap tap tap.
Footsteps approaching from far to near, with a coquettish, unhurried rhythm. They likely belonged to a woman wearing high heels.
Xu Fangfei pretended to be completely unaware, finished tying her shoelace, stood up, and continued walking forward, never once looking back from start to finish.
Suddenly.
“You’re called Xu Fangfei,” a female voice sounded behind her, calm and faint. “Right?”
Xu Fangfei’s body stiffened, and she slowly turned around.
The other party was a very tall and strikingly beautiful woman, dressed in a pure black dress. Her makeup was exquisite, her smile bright. She looked just like those senior white-collar women from big cities on television dramas.
Xu Fangfei became alert. “You are…?”
“Why are you out alone?” Another voice sounded, cutting her off.
Xu Fangfei was surprised. The tall beauty was also surprised. Both of them looked toward the direction the voice came from at the same time.
“A little girl walking alone at night. You’ve got quite some guts.” Zheng Xiye had both hands in his pants pockets and walked over as if out for a casual stroll. “Aren’t you afraid of running into bad people?”
The words were clearly pointed.
Xiao Qi crossed her arms and rolled her eyes skyward, letting out a low, cold snort. “Ridiculous. As if you’re a good person yourself.”
Zheng Xiye ignored Xiao Qi’s sarcastic tone completely. He didn’t even look at her. He walked straight to Xu Fangfei, said nothing, and directly pulled her schoolbag off her shoulders and held it in his hand.
Xu Fangfei was stunned. “…My schoolbag.”
“I’ll carry it for you.” Zheng Xiye muttered to himself, complaining, “It’s so heavy. It feels like there are a few MP5s stuffed inside.”
Xu Fangfei didn’t understand. “What’s an MP5?”
“A submachine gun.”
“……”
The comparison was honestly a bit funny. Xu Fangfei couldn’t help laughing and blurted out, “As if you actually know how heavy that kind of gun is.”
As soon as the words fell, his pupils tightened slightly. He gave her a calm look.
She also realized something and silently shut up. Alright, he probably really did know.
Seeing herself ignored again, Xiao Qi felt so irritated that she was about to explode. Her tone turned mocking. “If I really wanted to do something to your girlfriend, I wouldn’t pick a main road with people everywhere. What are you so nervous about?”
Zheng Xiye stood in place and narrowed his eyes slightly.
Xiao Qi curled her lips, her smile not reaching her eyes. “I just came to make a friend. What, is your little fairy so above the mortal world that she can’t even get to know someone?”
After those words were spoken, the surroundings went quiet for about three seconds.
On the fourth second, Zheng Xiye gripped the schoolbag in one hand, turned around, and stopped facing Xiao Qi, his expression cold.
Xiao Qi lifted her chin arrogantly, triumph written all over her striking brows and eyes.
Xu Fangfei couldn’t understand the subtle atmosphere between the two of them. Seeing Zheng Xiye turn around, she could only turn in the same direction and follow his lead.
Zheng Xiye said, “Call her Sister Qi.”
Xu Fangfei was a little timid. She cleared her throat. “Sister Qi.”
“Good girl.” Xiao Qi smiled warmly, took a red envelope out of her handbag, and handed it over gently. “Little sister, I’m Brother Ye’s good friend. Today’s our first time meeting. It’s just a small token, don’t dislike it.”
Xu Fangfei’s eyes widened in shock, and she looked to the side for help.
Zheng Xiye was still very cold and only said, “Since Sister Qi is giving it to you, take it and say thank you.”
“……” Xu Fangfei hesitated for a moment. In the end, she could only accept the red envelope and squeeze out four words. “Thank you, Sister Qi.”
Xiao Qi lifted one corner of her mouth and sized up the girl in front of her. “Tsk tsk, she really is pretty.”
After saying that, she stretched out her right hand with red nail polish, wanting to pinch the girl’s soft, rosy cheek.
Xu Fangfei was just about to dodge when an arm moved faster and blocked in front of her.
Zheng Xiye said, “Xiao Qi.”
Xiao Qi said, “Mm?”
“If Godfather sent you to keep an eye on me, then keep an eye properly.” He smiled faintly, but the light in his eyes was sharp and piercing, his voice cool. “Don’t do things that are pointless and annoying.”
Xiao Qi: “……”
Hearing this, Xiao Qi’s exquisitely made-up face instantly darkened like the bottom of a pot. Her lips moved as she was about to explode, but Zheng Xiye had already wrapped an arm around the slender shoulders of the school-uniform girl, pulled her into his arms, and walked away without looking back.
*
The night overhead grew deeper.
Xu Fangfei was held tightly in Zheng Xiye’s arms. This kind of closeness had her wrapped in his tall frame, every breath filled with his scent.
A blush rose on her cheeks. Her palms were damp with sweat, and even her fingertips felt faintly hot. Wanting to break free and escape, she instinctively pushed at his arm, trying to gently shove him away.
But Zheng Xiye didn’t give her the chance to get free. The arm around her waist and back tightened, the force increasing instead of loosening, effortlessly dissolving her resistance.
Xu Fangfei’s fair little face turned even redder. She stammered, trying to say something. “You…”
Zheng Xiye’s expression was calm. He looked straight ahead but bent down close to her, murmuring at her ear, “Everyone already knows you’re mine. Little girlfriend, even if it’s just an act, you have to make it look convincing.”
Xu Fangfei’s gaze flickered slightly.
After they walked several more meters, she bit her lip, quietly glanced back over her shoulder, then quickly withdrew her gaze and lowered her voice. “She’s still standing there.”
Zheng Xiye was expressionless. “Mm.”
Xu Fangfei felt uneasy. “And her expression looks really bad. She looks angry and kind of aggrieved.”
Zheng Xiye said, “Mm.”
After all, she was someone who had read quite a few romance novels. Xu Fangfei blinked, glanced at the man beside her, then glanced again at the cold, glamorous beauty behind them. Combining that with the subtle tension between the two just now, she vaguely reached an understanding.
She patted her forehead, let out an “oh” of realization, and blurted out, “I get it. Does Sister Qi like you?”
To Xu Fangfei’s surprise, the man beside her, who had kept a cold face and showed no reaction the whole time, actually frowned slightly upon hearing this.
The next moment, what surprised Xu Fangfei even more was that he turned his head to look at her and said very calmly, “Xiao Qi and I are just ordinary colleagues. Don’t overthink it, little one.”
Xu Fangfei: “…”
Huh?