“Is she asleep?”
Li Jiajia, sitting in the center of the back seat, leaned forward with her chin in her hand, somehow gazing at He Qi’s sleeping face alongside Fang Yi.
Fang Yi was startled by her sudden voice, intending to turn back casually.
But He Qi’s eyelashes twitched, and she lazily opened her eyes: “Don’t worry, I’m not asleep.”
She slowly adjusted to the light in the car.
Fang Yi immediately turned his head away as fast as possible when he sensed her opening her eyes.
All he allowed himself to see was the red light counting down in front, leaving no trace of He Qi in his view.
He tried to act natural, but the beating of his heart sounded louder than the low-frequency car music, flickering with the red light.
His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, staring at the yellow light changing to green, utterly unsure what he was doing.
The scenery along the roadside began to blur in reverse. Li Jiajia maintained her previous posture, thoughtfully tapping her cheek with her fingers, chatting idly with He Qi.
By the time they arrived at the bar, night had deepened. It was a holiday peak, and the bar was bustling.
A handsome male waiter at the entrance told them there were free tables and led them inside.
The bar didn’t seem to have heating, and it was colder than the Japanese restaurant. He Qi, dressed lightly, held onto Li Jiajia’s arm, shivering slightly.
Fang Yi walked behind her, noticing her subtle shiver, and quietly asked, “Are you cold? I can take off my jacket…”
“No, it’s fine,” He Qi quickly waved him off. “You’re not dressed heavily either.”
The waiter noticed their exchange and smiled: “There might be blankets at the front desk. If you’re drinking, you’ll warm up soon.”
He Qi thanked him.
Fang Yi had no choice but to let it go.
The three were led to a casual seating area. Li Jiajia grabbed the drink menu and ordered for them. She got He Qi a hot chocolate first, then restrained herself, thinking about driving back to Jiang City tomorrow, so she didn’t order much for herself.
He Qi tapped Li Jiajia’s shoulder with a finger, saying she’d go to the bar herself.
There were a few scattered customers at the bar. He Qi approached and asked the bartender shaking drinks if there were any blankets to keep warm.
The bartender asked her to wait a moment.
She sat at the bar and noticed several board games stacked nearby. She picked a Monopoly set and asked if it was for sale or could be borrowed.
The bartender, just finishing a drink for another customer, told her it could be borrowed for free, and pushed a blue special cocktail toward her: “For you, ma’am.”
He Qi was surprised and looked at the bartender. He turned and pulled a folded blanket from a cabinet: “Be careful not to catch a cold.”
She thanked him and unfolded it. It was a large, shawl-like knitted blanket. She checked it for cleanliness and draped it over her shoulders.
With one hand holding the Monopoly box and the other the drink, she thanked the bartender again and walked back to the casual seating area.
When she returned, the table was already filled with various drinks and snacks. She placed the game and cocktail on the table, adjusted the shawl slightly, and sat next to Li Jiajia.
“Let’s play this,” she said, opening the Monopoly board.
“You’re like a grade-schooler,” Li Jiajia teased, but she leaned in to smell the blue cocktail with interest. “What kind of drink is this?”
“I don’t know,” He Qi said, spreading out the board. “The bartender gave it to me, so I brought it back.”
Li Jiajia suddenly burst out laughing, leaning back. “The bartender gave it to you to chat with you at the bar! How did you just take it back?!”
He Qi was a bit confused. She picked out the dice and cards from the box, focusing quietly: “He didn’t say anything.”
Li Jiajia laughed until she collapsed back in her seat. Fang Yi, sitting across from them, also showed a faint smile. He leaned forward, placing the hot chocolate in front of He Qi and took the Monopoly box: “I got it, sister.”
Soon, all the game pieces were set. He Qi grabbed a die from the cup, and the three of them played rock-paper-scissors to decide the rolling order.
Li Jiajia complained verbally but was even more excited than the other two. Her luck was terrible at first—constantly paying fines or taxes—and she kept landing on He Qi and Fang Yi’s properties, giving them money, while barely acquiring anything herself. She almost went bankrupt.
Luckily, before truly going bankrupt, she drew a favorable fate card and got a few from He Qi and Fang Yi, saving her bottom line.
With the few game coins left, she proudly crossed her legs and told He Qi: “I’m turning my luck around now. You two are about to be crushed under my feet!”
He Qi threw the die at her: “Buy the property first, then talk.”
For the next half of the game, just as Li Jiajia predicted, her luck turned. She kept drawing good fate and opportunity cards, bought properties, collected tolls, and her money started surpassing the other two. She was ecstatic.
The Monopoly board they were playing on was large and highly interactive. With money flowing back and forth among them, it was still impossible to tell who would win in the end.
When the die returned to Fang Yi, both girls kept a close watch.
He lightly tossed the die, but suddenly He Qi’s phone rang, masking the sound of it landing on the table.
“Your parents calling to rush you home?” Li Jiajia asked, leaning forward. Seeing the caller ID, she teased: “Oh, it’s brother-in-law checking in.”
He Qi picked up, tilting her head slightly to the side.
The voice on the other end, hearing the background noise, asked, “Are you out?”
He Qi lowered her voice: “Yeah, drinking outside with Li Jiajia.”
“Just the two of you?” Chen Jin’s voice was hoarse, with faint keyboard tapping in the background. Even on holiday, he had been working all day.
“No, three of us, plus Li Jiajia’s cousin,” He Qi replied.
Li Jiajia, nearby, glanced at her but said nothing.
Chen Jin asked again: “Coming back tomorrow? Should I pick you up?”
He Qi fiddled with a loose thread on the blanket: “No need. Li Jiajia is driving back tomorrow.”
“She’s driving? I thought she was drinking?”
He Qi couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at the question, glancing at Li Jiajia, thinking it was amusing that even Chen Jin knew about Li Jiajia’s drunkard tendencies.
“She’s holding back,” He Qi explained. “She’s had less than me—maybe just two bottles of beer. Let’s see how it goes in the morning; if not, we’ll wait until the afternoon.”
In any case, she absolutely did not want Chen Jin to come pick her up, absolutely did not want her parents to see Chen Jin pressuring her about marriage in person. Absolutely not.
There was a moment of silence on the other end, even the sound of the keyboard had stopped. After a while, Chen Jin simply said, “Okay,” and hung up.
He Qi was just about to put her phone down when a new WeChat message popped up—from Xu Yan—asking when she would be home.
She watched the message banner flash at the top of the screen and disappear without opening it in time, her heart sinking, feeling irritated.
Li Jiajia glanced over and immediately refocused on Monopoly, noticing the dice Fang Yi had already thrown on the table, showing a single large red dot.
“One.” Li Jiajia found her piece and checked what space was ahead.
Two seconds later, she suddenly burst into laughter so loud that other nearby customers turned to look. Li Jiajia clapped on the sofa without a care: “Fang Yi, you’re doomed! You’re about to land on He Qi’s property!”
It turned out that the space Fang Yi was about to step on was He Qi’s property, already topped with two red hotels—the toll was predictably astronomical.
Hearing the commotion, He Qi quickly sent Xu Yan a message: “Coming back later,” and decisively set her phone face down, ignoring it. She lifted her eyes to see Fang Yi grimacing as he counted his money.
She glanced at the board, spotted the red-dot dice, and realized what had happened, letting out a faint smile. “Li Jiajia, why are you being so smug? Next to pay me a toll will be you.”
Li Jiajia picked up the dice from the table, cupped them in her hands, and muttered her little incantation: “Don’t curse me… roll a four, roll a four, just enough to upgrade this property.”
Fang Yi had finally finished counting, handing over nearly half of his total assets, yet without any sign of regret. Instead, he seriously asked He Qi: “Sister, now that I’ve paid the toll, can I safely pass through your property?”
He Qi generously made an “OK” gesture. “You’re clear to go.”
They played for over four hours before the game’s outcome gradually became clear. Fang Yi, drained by paying the toll to He Qi earlier, went bankrupt first. He Qi, who had bought up more properties early on, quickly wore down Li Jiajia.
Since she had to return to Jiang City the next day, He Qi was feeling a little dizzy. Glancing at the time, she said, “Shall we head home?”
Neither of the two objected, and they called a server to settle the bill.
This time, there was absolutely no way Fang Yi would pay. Li Jiajia hadn’t really drunk much tonight, and He Qi persuaded her to let her handle it herself. She paid and politely returned the blanket draped over her shoulders.
Fang Yi called a ride-hailing driver from the side. “I’ll take you home.”
Both women refused in unison. He Qi said, “Li Jiajia and I aren’t going the same way. Taking a taxi ourselves is easier. It’s late, you should head back too.”
Li Jiajia nodded like a bobblehead and quickly ordered a ride on her phone, showing it to Fang Yi.
He Qi stood, feeling the effects of drinking, her head light and feet unsteady. Leaning on Li Jiajia, she made her way to the exit.
Li Jiajia’s car arrived quickly, leaving only He Qi and Fang Yi waiting.
Even when Fang Yi’s ride arrived, He Qi hadn’t received a single call.
“How long for your ride, sister?” Fang Yi asked.
He Qi found it strange, opened the app, and realized she had really been too drunk—the order was still stuck on the payment page and hadn’t gone through.
Fang Yi, tall as he was, could see everything despite standing a little distance away.
He didn’t know exactly what he was feeling, but it seemed even fate was on his side. “Sister, maybe I should just take you home…”
He was interrupted mid-sentence as He Qi’s fingers deftly completed the payment. The page refreshed, showing the driver arriving in two minutes.
She looked up, her cold face carrying a slight tired smile. “You should go back now.”
“Then I’ll wait with you until—”
She cut him off without waiting, waving her hand in a silent “goodbye.”
Feeling gently doused with cold water, knowing lingering would only annoy her, he said his farewell instead: “Once you’re in the car, let me know… or tell Jiajia.”
He Qi closed her eyes and nodded, the weary smile fading even further.
She arrived home past midnight, tiptoeing inside, feeling her way along the walls back to her room.
The bedroom light revealed the fruit plate on the table. It was the same plate Xu Yan had brought before dinner, but the fruit inside was different—sliced apples and oranges, cleaned cherry tomatoes, and sun-kissed grapes, piled full, though the apples were somewhat oxidized.
Having drunk to fullness, she had no appetite for the fruit. She carried the plate back to the living room and placed it gently on the dining table.
She didn’t want to eat, yet somehow she stood there in the dim room for a long while.
Then, impulsively, she picked up an apple and bit it, followed by oranges, cherry tomatoes, and grapes.
She ate until she felt sick, leaving only a few overly sweet sun-kissed grapes, wiped her mouth with a napkin, turned, and went back to her bedroom, sleeping a restless sleep.
By seven the next morning, He Qi had finished packing, grabbed her bag, and left her room.
Quietly putting on her shoes at the entrance, she heard faint opening sounds from the master bedroom.
She glanced instinctively and saw Xu Yan at the doorway. Even in her own home, her stance was cautious and embarrassed—left hand gripping her right arm, timidly watching He Qi.
He Qi lowered her head and focused on her shoes, not acknowledging her.
Before she left, Xu Yan carefully asked, “Leaving so early?”
“Mm.” He Qi replied coldly.
“Oh… how are you getting there?”
“Li Jiajia is driving.”
Xu Yan nodded, realizing she couldn’t see her, and added, “Alright… be careful.”
He Qi replied “Mm” again, opening the door. She tightened her grip on the bag strap and suddenly said, “Help clear the dishes on the table. It was too late last night; I didn’t wash them.”
Xu Yan froze for a moment, glanced at the fruit plate on the table, then hurriedly nodded and said, “Okay.” Since He Qi’s back was to her, she wiped away a tear she hadn’t realized.
He Qi quickly closed the door and left.
Descending the old staircase step by step, she felt once again that this family couldn’t get too close.
It was like a curse. She tried hard to maintain harmony, but once her efforts gave the illusion of “I’ve been good enough to you,” they would feel entitled to break this fragile peace in ways she disliked.
At these times, all He Qi could do was escape—cooling the intensity of the relationship, signaling that this was never a mutually understanding family.
Then they would sober up, carefully maintaining distance like just now, deceiving her into continuing to uphold the false harmony.
He Qi stepped out of the stairwell into the morning sunlight, thinking how pitiful it was.