Wen Shiqing followed behind him into the courtyard.
The place was a small private inn run by an elderly couple. Guest rooms lined both sides of the little courtyard. The rooms were simple adobe houses, and although the surroundings were rather crude, the couple kept everything spotlessly clean. In one corner of the courtyard was a makeshift washroom for guests to use.
The old woman was neatly dressed. She led them to one of the rooms and smiled as she opened the door.
“This is the very last room we have. You two are lucky. Anyone who comes after you won’t have a room.”
Inside, there was a kang bed built of packed earth, covered with one large bamboo mat. A thin quilt was neatly folded on top. Beside the kang stood an old wooden table with two old stools.
“We use mountain spring water here, even for bathing, so you can stay without worry. We raise our own chickens, too, and there are fish and shrimp ponds behind the house. If you want anything to eat, just let us know. We can make all kinds of home-style dishes.”
“Thank you, Auntie. You can go about your business. We’ll rest for a while.”
“All right.”
The old woman lit the oil lamp for them before closing the door and leaving.
Wen Shiqing sat awkwardly on the edge of the bed.
“Ge, have you stayed here before?”
No wonder Chen Jie had said that driving a truck wasn’t easy. Eating and sleeping on the road were both difficult. With conditions like these, how could anyone sleep comfortably? Who knew if there would be rats or cockroaches crawling around in the middle of the night?
“No.”
Xie Yucheng had previously driven trucks along fixed routes. The factories along the way arranged accommodations for him at designated guesthouses, and all he needed to do was present the relevant documents. The conditions were fairly decent, especially since state-owned factories offered good benefits.
Now that he was working independently, things were different.
Independent truck drivers usually tried to save as much money as possible. Most slept in their trucks or stayed at truck inns, where ten or more men might sleep together on one large communal bed.
Xie Yucheng had once known another driver who stayed at this inn. He had said the elderly couple running it were kindhearted people and didn’t charge much.
That was why Xie Yucheng had hurried along the road, trying to arrive before dark.
He could make do sleeping in the truck himself, but now that Wen Shiqing was with him, he had to find a proper place for her to stay. If he could avoid sleeping in the truck, he would.
Wen Shiqing looked at the large kang that took up nearly half the room.
There was more than enough room for the two of them to sleep.
The row of rooms in the middle of the inn belonged to the elderly couple, and also served as the dining room and kitchen.
There was no electricity here. Candles and kerosene lamps were lit throughout the inn, filling the place with a warm glow.
Several truck drivers staying overnight were eating their meals. Some were alone, while others had brought their wives along.
When Wen Shiqing and Xie Yucheng walked in together, everyone assumed they were a young married couple.
The two found an empty table and sat down.
Xie Yucheng waved to the owner.
“Do you have shrimp?”
“Yes.”
“One plate of braised shrimp. Put in extra sugar. One plate of stir-fried greens, tomato and egg soup, and two bowls of rice.”
The old woman asked, “Any foods you don’t eat?”
“Just go easy on the salt.”
The old woman nodded and went to tell the kitchen to prepare their food.
“Ge, don’t you like fish?”
He rinsed the bowls and chopsticks in hot tea for Wen Shiqing.
“Don’t feel like eating it today.”
Wen Shiqing lowered her eyes. Her long lashes cast faint shadows beneath the dim yellow light.
She secretly felt that the dishes he had ordered seemed to have been chosen entirely according to her preferences.
She loved shrimp.
Like Yang Ying, she preferred sweeter flavors and liked extra sugar in meat dishes.
She also preferred light flavors. The food served in restaurants around here usually tasted a little too salty to her.
And she didn’t like fish.
When she was little, she had gotten fish bones stuck in her throat several times and had learned her lesson. She never dared touch fish anymore.
Removing the bones was troublesome. She wasn’t very good at spitting them out, and whenever she tried, she often spat the fish meat out along with them. In the end, hardly any fish actually made it into her stomach, so she simply stopped eating it.
These little details were normally known only to her mother, Yang Ying.
Before long, the two dishes and one soup were served.
Each portion was generous.
The greens were crisp and bright, the braised shrimp was fragrant and glistening, and a layer of chopped green onions floated on top of the tomato and egg soup.
The delicious aroma immediately filled the air.
Wen Shiqing’s stomach gave a perfectly timed growl.
Embarrassed, she rubbed her nose.
The man simply said, “Eat.”
The grains of rice were distinct and steaming hot, with a layer of golden, crispy rice crust underneath.
Wen Shiqing buried her head and ate.
She finished half the rice first, then poured tomato and egg soup over the rest and ate it that way.
“Not eating the shrimp?”
Xie Yucheng noticed that she had picked up only two shrimp before putting her chopsticks down.
Wen Shiqing shook her head.
Her beautiful eyes were clear as a mountain stream, carrying a hint of lazy charm.
“I don’t feel like peeling them.”
The man across from her froze.
Then, with his handsome brows drawn together, he muttered, “You’re so much trouble.”
Wen Shiqing glanced at his gloomy face, pouted slightly, and lowered her head to pick up some vegetables instead.
After washing his hands in the courtyard, Xie Yucheng returned to the table as if resigned to his fate.
He picked up a shrimp, peeled off the shell, and placed the meat beside her bowl.
Before long, an entire plate of shrimp had been peeled clean.
Some went into the girl’s mouth, while the rest were neatly arranged along the edge of the plate.
The plump, translucent shrimp meat was dipped into the sauce before being placed into her mouth—savory with a hint of sweetness and rich with the fragrance of the seasoning.
His long, well-defined fingers were shiny with oil, with a tiny piece of shrimp shell stuck to one of them. Under the warm lamplight, his normally sharp and cold features appeared unexpectedly gentle and handsome.
At the next table sat a married couple.
The woman had been watching Xie Yucheng rinse Wen Shiqing’s utensils, pour her tea, peel her shrimp, and generally wait on her hand and foot.
She glared at her husband and complained,
“Look at him. He spoils his wife rotten. When am I ever going to get treated like that?”
The woman happened to be sitting behind Wen Shiqing.
At that moment, Wen Shiqing was holding her bowl and scooping rice into her mouth. When she heard the woman’s words, her ears immediately grew hot, and a large patch of red spread down her neck.
She wasn’t sure whether Xie Yucheng had heard.
She secretly glanced at him.
His expression was completely calm, so he probably hadn’t.
The husband at the other table glanced at them and said to his wife,
“We didn’t even order shrimp. How about I order some and peel them for you?”
“Go away! Do you think this is about shrimp?”
The woman rolled her eyes at him.
The couple immediately started bickering back and forth.
Wen Shiqing couldn’t help laughing softly.
Her dimples deepened, and her eyes sparkled brightly with amusement.
“What are you laughing about?”
The man’s cold voice suddenly landed beside her.
She coughed lightly, her eyes curving into a smile.
“N-Nothing.”
Xie Yucheng tipped his chin toward the shrimp, motioning for her to hurry up and eat.
Wen Shiqing picked up several pieces of shrimp meat and stuffed them into her mouth all at once.
Then she heard him say in a low,幽ly tone,
“Once is enough. Don’t expect it again.”
He meant that she shouldn’t expect him to peel shrimp for her again.
After dinner, it was already completely dark.
Wen Shiqing returned to the room with Xie Yucheng.
She looked slightly awkward as she asked,
“Ge, are you going to shower first, or should I?”
The moment she said it, she felt that the question sounded strangely intimate, so she quickly added,
“Why don’t you go first?”
Under the dim, flickering light of the kerosene lamp, one of them was sitting while the other stood in the not-so-large room.
Xie Yucheng took two or three steps toward the bed and pulled a change of clothes from his bag.
“All right. I’ll go first.”