Xi Shi shifted her gaze from the bed to Lin Youhe's jawline, as if testing the thought. She staggered as she turned, stumbling and tripping her way into Lin Youhe's arms.
Lin Youhe probably hadn't anticipated such a sudden development either. He could only manage to steady Xi Shi's waist as she collided into him, sending him sitting directly onto the bed behind him. As the bed frame let out a soft creak, he braced himself with his hands just in time to keep from toppling backward.
Easy to push over, indeed.
Xi Shi knelt with one leg between Lin Youhe's, boldly resting her hands on his shoulders as she pressed her neck against his.
She knew the perfume she'd applied to the side of her neck had faded to nothing but a faint trace of its base notes, and she knew that after the floral top notes of the oriental scent dissipated, the subtle cherry-liqueur-like dry-down was what proved most alluring.
Both of Lin Youhe's hands were occupied holding her up. His current posture must be quite the test of core strength, right?
Xi Shi pressed her hand against his abs as if by chance, her skirt sweeping across his legs as she used the leverage to rise, picking up her fallen coat from the floor and draping it back over her shoulders.
Xi Shi said innocently, "I tripped on my slippers…"
Lin Youhe said nothing.
The uncharacteristic silence was somewhat beyond Xi Shi's expectations.
The bedroom lights were off, and the curtains were open.
Light from the living room spilled in along with the moonlight. Xi Shi squinted, trying to read Lin Youhe's expression, but only caught the glare reflecting off his frameless glasses.
Before she could look closer, Lin Youhe suddenly switched on the lamp and crouched in front of her, reaching as if to touch her ankle before pulling his hand back just in time. "Miss Xi, did you hurt yourself anywhere? Any sprains?"
Xi Shi said, "No."
Only then did Lin Youhe rise, seeming regretful. "I should have bought a pair of women's slippers."
Xi Shi grew quiet under such attentive care, and even at dinner she didn't take the opportunity to fish for information. Instead, Lin Youhe was the more proactive one.
He would occasionally use the serving chopsticks to place food on Xi Shi's plate, and would toss out casual topics to draw her into conversation:
Like the address of the bakery where she'd bought the bread last time, the ragdoll cat in the neighborhood that had gone missing and been found again, and how he'd recently been troubled by a particularly unruly student…
Xi Shi's stomach, soaked in red wine all day, had gone numb and she felt no real hunger. She had no appetite even in the face of a table full of fragrant dishes.
She'd barely glanced at the food.
But Lin Youhe, perhaps genuinely worried she'd caught a chill, hadn't stopped at lending her his coat—he'd also made a pot of napa cabbage and tofu soup, ladling her a full bowl.
Oddly enough, as Xi Shi drank the warm soup, her appetite and other senses gradually began to stir back to life.
The table was nearly full—
Washed autumn persimmons gleamed golden-red, green "golden finger" grapes and purple muscat grapes glistened with water droplets, and peeled pink pomelo released the distinctive fragrance of citrus plants.
The glossy sauce of the braised abalone coated each grain of rice with a glistening sheen, the blanched choy sum dripped with vibrant green, the steamed egg with minced pork was silky and tender, the stir-fried beef wore a thin, even glaze, and the napa cabbage and tofu in the soup were soft and easy to digest.
Xi Shi ate slowly. "What kind of student is it?"
Lin Youhe looked somewhat helpless. "A student who's impossible to handle."
The muted television was playing the evening news, and a few cat cries drifted up from downstairs.
Xi Shi had almost forgotten how long it had been since she'd sat down to a proper home-cooked meal like this. The warmth from the food spread gradually from her esophagus and stomach through her limbs, and wrapped in Lin Youhe's coat, she nearly broke into a light sweat—even her fingertips took on a healthy pink flush.
Lin Youhe, sitting across from her, suddenly smiled. "Sorry—by the old saying, one shouldn't speak during meals or sleep. But my family always loved sharing all sorts of news at the dinner table, and I've picked up the habit. Am I disturbing your meal?"
Xi Shi shook her head. "No."
It was the first time in a long while that Xi Shi had told a target the truth. She continued, "I like it."
Lin Youhe smiled warmly. "Thank you for your tolerance, Miss Xi. Have some more abalone."
After dinner, Xi Shi played the dutiful hostess and carried dishes into the kitchen twice—though after the second trip, Lin Youhe wouldn't let her continue.
Lin Youhe insisted he could manage on his own, telling Xi Shi to have some fruit and watch TV, and that if she was tired she could head home to rest—she didn't have to wait for him.
Lin Youhe was almost too gentle.
Xi Shi broke through the unfamiliar atmosphere, leaning against the kitchen doorway and glancing at the barbell in the living room. "Mr. Lin, do you usually like to work out?"
Lin Youhe answered over the sound of running water: "I do move around occasionally."
Before leaving, Xi Shi told Lin Youhe, "Your abs are nice."
Then she turned and walked away with easy grace.
Lin Youhe was silent for another few seconds.
She suspected he was blushing. She didn't look back, smiling as she waved at her target over her shoulder.
The plan was progressing so smoothly it was almost unbelievable.
In fact, after that, most of the time it was Lin Youhe who initiated the invitations.
Xi Shi had her own agenda—she declined sometimes, accepted other times.
Xi Shi did her best to avoid all activities that might lead to deeper intellectual exchange—
For example, Lin Youhe had mentioned their school's public lectures and debate competitions, browsing bookstores or visiting art exhibitions, attending philosophy café events, and so on.
Xi Shi knew herself very well.
She knew she was a walking corpse with a past but no future, knew that her mind was filled only with dark thoughts of revenge, and that she couldn't fake an elegant and intellectual brain—like a delicate painted mask.
So, she had no intention of exposing her shortcomings in front of her target.
Xi Shi thought, physical interaction was fine, but intellectual exchange was out of the question.
She would have meals with her target every now and then, go shopping, and chat casually.
Time passed quickly in such days, and before she knew it, the early autumn of hairy crabs and autumn persimmons had transitioned into the early winter of coats and light padded jackets filling the streets.
After the temperature dropped, Xi Shi felt increasingly lethargic. One morning when she couldn't wake up properly, she received a call from Lin Youhe. His voice was pleasant, and he was gentle, which caught her off guard and made her vaguely agree to an invitation to watch a stage play.
Xi Shi snapped awake almost the moment she said "okay."
During this period, Xi Shi had deliberately been playing hard to get, declining several of Lin Youhe's invitations, so this time when she was about to change her mind and say she remembered she had other things to do, the other side had already chuckled lightly and said, "That's great, I thought Miss Xi would be busy again."
Lin Youhe sounded quite happy.
Xi Shi hesitated for a moment but couldn't bear to break the promise.
She figured a stage play probably wouldn't lead to any overly profound conversation.
Besides, Lin Youhe was actually a very measured person.
He never asked about things Xi Shi didn't bring up voluntarily.
Up until now, Lin Youhe didn't even know what she did for work, yet he kept asking her out again and again?
The day of the stage play was a slightly snowy one. Xi Shi pinned up her beautiful curly hair, wore a white coat and high-heeled leather boots, and went downstairs. Only after sitting in Lin Youhe's car did she notice the injury at the corner of his mouth.
Xi Shi was somewhat surprised: "Got into a fight?"
Lin Youhe smiled: "No, a student got into a conflict with another teacher, and I stepped in to stop it."
Lin Youhe said that when the school's administrative office issued a notice criticizing dormitory hygiene issues, they included photos with students' personal belongings that hadn't been blurred out.
That was an invasion of student privacy.
Lin Youhe didn't specify how personal it was, only saying that the teacher from the administrative office had used inappropriate language, even going so far as to judge the student's character based on one item, and had said some very unpleasant things.
When the student got impulsive, Lin Youhe intervened.
Lin Youhe said: "Mainly I was worried the student would suffer. That teacher deserved a few hits anyway."
Xi Shi raised an eyebrow: "You don't mean… you made it pretty obvious, do you?"
Lin Youhe thought for a moment and said gently, "I don't know. It happened suddenly, so I might have indeed raised my voice at that colleague."
Teachers like that actually existed?
Xi Shi felt somewhat unsettled: "Aren't you afraid that colleague will make things difficult for you later?"
Lin Youhe smiled and shrugged, saying, "A teacher who can't protect their own students isn't much of a teacher. If I really run into someone with strong connections and get fired, at least I'll have a clear conscience."
Xi Shi didn't say anything more.
The stage play tickets were under real names, so they only needed to scan their phones to enter.
A two-and-a-half-hour production was already enough to put anyone to sleep, and combined with the fact that Xi Shi hadn't slept well the night before, she accidentally dozed off during the intermission.
Lin Youhe didn't wake Xi Shi.
When Xi Shi woke up, the play was already nearing its end. She picked up the men's wool coat that had been draped over her legs and turned to meet Lin Youhe's tolerant, gentle eyes, suddenly feeling a pang of guilt.
After the show ended, the ground outside had been dampened by light snow, and the air carried a wet, earthy scent mixed with vegetation.
The ground was slippery, so Xi Shi rested her hand on Lin Youhe's arm and stepped down the stairs one by one out of the theater.
She fiddled with the pink pearl earrings on her earlobes, not having figured out how to broach the subject.
It was Lin Youhe who apologized first.
Lin Youhe said, "If I'd known Miss Xi was this tired, I shouldn't have invited you out to see the play."
Xi Shi shook her head with a faint smile: "I'm the one who should be embarrassed. I wasted your ticket—next time, I'll treat you."
When they reached the parking spot, Lin Youhe opened the passenger door for Xi Shi: "I was originally going to invite you for a late-night snack, but it looks like we should head back early and get some sleep."
Xi Shi's gaze drifted from Lin Youhe's face down to the narrow waist visible through his open coat.
She thought, oh? Are you coming to sleep with me?
Xi Shi restrainedly looked away and noticed that Lin Youhe had suddenly given her an unreadable glance.
Xi Shi was briefly stunned, then sat into the car, only catching a glimpse of Lin Youhe striding on his long legs through the light snow around the car, opening the door, sitting in, and starting the engine as if nothing had happened.
The theater wasn't far from Jinyue Jingyuan No. 1, but due to the weather, the roads were somewhat congested, and what should have been a ten-minute drive took over half an hour.
Amid the gently falling snow, Xi Shi caught sight of the familiar cluster of buildings, her mind still mulling over the possibility of luring Lin Youhe back home with her. She asked casually, "What did I perform while I was asleep? How did those people end up being saved?"
Lin Youhe said, "An angel."
Xi Shi looked bewildered. "What?"
Lin Youhe said, "An angel saved them."
Xi Shi murmured, "An angel…"
Lin Youhe pulled the car into a parking spot, gazing at the dim night illuminated by the headlights, and said as if offhandedly, "There was a church near where I lived as a child. It held regular charity events—free snacks, and you could watch performances for free too."
Xi Shi turned her head.
Lin Youhe's profile was striking—clean lines, well-defined brow bone and nose bridge, deep-set eyes. He spoke of his childhood with an unhurried ease—
He said the performances at the church were always rather monotonous: good people would encounter angels, and bad people would encounter demons.
"I used to not believe there were angels in this world."
Lin Youhe pulled out the car key, turned to meet Xi Shi's gaze, "Until I actually met one."
The car's air conditioning had stopped working along with the cut of the engine, yet the temperature seemed to be rising.
Lin Youhe's eyes were truly warm and full of tenderness as he quietly gazed at Xi Shi.
The car key he was toying with made a soft rustling sound, followed by his gentle laugh: "You really should go back to sleep—there's a bit of redness in your eyes."
After a dozen or so seconds, Xi Shi looked away, touching the pearl earring on her earlobe and saying, "Yeah."
They walked into the building together, and Lin Youhe said, "If I said I believe there are angels in this world, you wouldn't take me for some strange missionary, would you, Miss Xi?"
Xi Shi was actually lost in thought—Lin Youhe's voice was truly pleasant to listen to, well suited to be a sleep aid by her pillow.
With that thought in mind, she answered offhandedly, "No."
Because she had encountered one too.
Though her angel was more like a temperamental madman.
Xi Shi's expression turned odd.
But Lin Youhe tilted his head to look at her face, letting out a courteous chuckle.