Qin Shui’s anger suddenly flared up. She raised her leg and struck up at Qin Sheng from below.
He wasn’t pressing down tightly, and the pain made him release her wrists. Qin Shui flipped over, grabbed the pillow and smashed it at Qin Sheng, knocking him onto the bed.
Qin Sheng hadn’t meant anything else; he just loved her to the point of losing control. As the saying goes, desire carries a blade above its head, and he’d provoked a sleepy Qin Shui.
People only ever hear about morning tempers. This was her sleep-temper. Qin Shui was bullied to the point that her face flushed red. Qin Sheng hadn’t even finished apologizing when she quickly fastened the buttons he’d undone, jumped off the bed, yanked his arm, dragged him up with brute force, and shoved him out of the room without mercy.
Qin Sheng knocked on the door in confusion, begging for forgiveness. Qin Shui, naturally soundless, couldn’t hear him, and she certainly wouldn’t let him off.
When they usually slept side by side, sharing a bed, Qin Sheng would kiss and hold her. As long as he didn’t go too far, Qin Shui didn’t say anything. Qin Sheng returned to his long-unused bedroom and lay down, staring into his right palm in the darkness.
The warmth of Qin Shui’s body lingered on it, burning, scorching him.
A WeChat notification sounded from the living room. Qin Sheng fumbled in the dark and found his phone in his pocket. It was a message from Yan Jiabao.
“Did you get home yet? I sent Qin Shui the address. She might call you, so keep an eye on your phone, don’t drink yourself to death.”
A burning wave of nausea rose in Qin Sheng’s stomach. He hugged the toilet and vomited twice, forcing the alcohol out physically. His mind gradually cleared. Qin Sheng took tea from the fridge to rinse his mouth, then returned to the bed and sent Yan Jiabao a voice message: “I’m home, but I caused trouble.”
She immediately called, not even bothering to hide the schadenfreude in her excitement, and hurriedly asked, “What trouble did you cause?”
Qin Sheng closed the kitchen door, then felt it was pointless anyway since Qin Shui couldn’t hear.
“I…” He scratched his head awkwardly. “I bullied Qin Shui just now, and she kicked me out of the room.”
Yan Jiabao burst into loud laughter. Qin Sheng held the phone away from his ear. Just as he was about to hang up, she quickly scolded through her laughter, “What’s wrong? You got mad when someone at the party made crude jokes, yet now you actually tried to act them out? Pretending to be drunk just to take advantage of Qin Shui?”
“I really drank too much. And Qin Shui’s my girlfriend, how does that count as taking advantage?”
She argued, “If you were truly drunk, you wouldn’t still have the presence of mind to get aroused. You can fool yourself, but don’t try to fool me. I’ve gone head-to-head with you before. Back then, I was drunk countless times, and I even hoped you’d take advantage of me. Did you ever?”
Qin Sheng didn’t reply, so Yan Jiabao continued, “At most, you were sixty percent drunk. One bottle of baijiu making you lose reason? Impossible…”
He could fool himself and Qin Shui easily, but in front of Yan Jiabao, he had nowhere to hide. Qin Sheng admitted guilt with sincere shame: “I didn’t want to force Qin Shui. Drinking doesn’t make me lose control. I don’t know what happened. When I see her, I just feel like I’m burning up.”
Yan Jiabao comforted him sweetly, “Brother Qin, seeing you struggling in love like this, so miserable, makes me feel much better.”
“Get lost.”
“You’re the one who got kicked out of the room, not me!” she bragged. “After I sent her your location, she even invited me over to eat dumplings on the Winter Solstice.”
A nameless grievance surged in Qin Sheng’s chest. He hung up the phone directly.
Why couldn’t Qin Shui take this as a form of expressing love? Qin Sheng had already rehearsed proposing, marrying, and their future life together a hundred times in his mind, treating Qin Shui like a precious treasure, yet she still couldn’t accept going further.
He even regretted letting Qin Shui see Yan Jiabao’s postoperative condition, afraid she’d be psychologically affected.
Chen Zhihong paid the compensation obediently. Out of fear of Qin Sheng, he hired a caretaker and took care of Yan Jiabao from beginning to end until she was discharged. Qin Shui boiled soup twice a week to bring her, recommended novels and movies to her during recovery, and accompanied her through physical and emotional healing.
There were several times when she bled after the procedure. Qin Sheng waited outside the ward while Qin Shui and the caretaker stayed inside. Every time the cleaning was done, he noticed Qin Shui secretly shivering.
Qin Sheng suddenly felt like a terrible person. Other girls taste sweetness at the start of love, yet Qin Shui had to accompany him while his orphaned ex-girlfriend underwent an abortion, witnessing blood and mess.
He barely slept the whole night, only fell asleep at dawn, and woke up to find it was already two in the afternoon.
Checking the time, Qin Sheng sat up straight, walked quickly to Qin Shui’s door, and only relaxed when he saw her belongings still there and her silhouette sitting on the balcony typing. He exhaled deeply and went to shower.
On the table was Qin Shui’s leftover lunch: millet porridge, oyster scrambled eggs, and stir-fried broccoli, along with an empty cup. Qin Sheng picked up the cup to inspect it and found honey squeezed at the bottom.
He added water and drank it. His stomach felt much better.
Qin Shui sat with her back facing the living room and didn’t hear him moving. Qin Sheng approached from behind, gently wrapped his arms around her waist, and pressed his face close.
“I’m sorry, Qin Shui.” He squatted by the table, cupped her face in both hands, and apologized in a low voice. “Don’t be angry. I shouldn’t have drunk so much last night, and I shouldn’t have… shouldn’t have treated you that way.”
Qin Shui puffed her cheek and quickly stroked the back of his hand, then signed: “You tore my pajamas.”
“I’ll buy you a new one. Cinnamoroll’s okay?”
She smiled and shook her head, avoiding his attempt to kiss her, and said, “It’s not that I don’t want to be intimate with you.”
Qin Sheng said, “It’s fine. We’ll wait until after we’re married.”
Qin Shui had many things she wanted to explain. She liked Qin Sheng and wasn’t conservative, but the timing last night was terrible. One was exhausted, one was drunk and rambling. She really didn’t want the next morning to be just a “sorry, I don’t remember.”
Besides, her room wasn’t secure. People aren’t animals, things shouldn’t run only on atmosphere and impulse.
Seeing Qin Sheng sincerely apologizing, Qin Shui moved her laptop aside and typed: “Next time, when we have contraception ready and you’re fully clear-headed, we’ll do it.”
Qin Sheng suddenly lowered his head and laughed, the tips of his ears turning red. He waved his hand. “Alright, wife. But don’t give me hope like that. If you do, I’ll run downstairs this instant to buy some.”
Qin Shui shrugged generously, gesturing for him to do as he pleased.
Qin Sheng leaned in mischievously for a kiss and asked, “Tomorrow, when I go buy groceries, what filling do you want for dumplings?”
“I don’t really like dumplings. Just buy whatever you like.” Qin Shui pointed at the table. “Go eat first. Heat it in the microwave.”
Nine days later, the Winter Solstice arrived.
Early in the morning, Yan Jiabao arrived carrying strawberries and mandarins. Qin Sheng had just gotten up and washed, while Qin Shui was still asleep. He casually took the fruit and grabbed a new pair of Cinnamoroll slippers for guests, complaining, “You’re here so early?”
“It’s already nine! I came to help you two, how could I eat and drink for free?”
She shuffled in slippers around the living room, clapping exaggeratedly. “The place looks so pretty and cozy now. I feel like you’re not worthy of living here.”
Qin Sheng was frying eggs in the kitchen and asked, “You want breakfast?”
“Yes.” Yan Jiabao walked to the bedroom door, peeked at Qin Shui sleeping under the quilt, and then asked in the kitchen, “What did you two do last night? Why’s Qin Shui still asleep?”
“We didn’t do anything. It’s winter, who doesn’t want to sleep more?”
He plated the fried egg and bread, took a cute Christmas stocking mug from the rack, and made hot soy milk.
Yan Jiabao admired the aesthetic ceramic cups on the shelf, glanced around the neat kitchen, and asked, “If one day Qin Shui breaks up with you and your next girlfriend moves in, will seeing all these cause her more pain than you?”
Qin Sheng paused mid-pour and cursed, “Get out of the kitchen. Go outside.”
Thick-skinned, she folded her arms and smirked. “Be honest. Did you make it to third base? That’s what I want to know.”
Qin Sheng served breakfast. Yan Jiabao sat and ate. After confirming Qin Shui was still sleeping, he finally answered generously, “We agreed to wait until marriage.”
“That’s insane…” Yan Jiabao wiped the runny egg yolk from her mouth. “A goddess sleeping beside you, and you endured four whole months. Even Liu Xiahui[1]Liu Xiahui was a renowned moral exemplar in ancient China, famous for his extreme self-discipline. According to legend, even when a woman sat on his lap to keep warm, he remained completely proper. … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1427540_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1427540_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); would salute you.”
She asked again, “When are you planning to propose?”
Hands crossed behind the sofa, Qin Sheng thought for a moment. “I’ve already saved for the ring. Before February next year, probably.”
Yan Jiabao raised her thumbs. “People always say living together before marriage ruins things, but you two match perfectly. No need for adjustment. I support you acting fast.”
Qin Sheng smiled at that.
“This incident made me see a lot clearly.” She recalled, “Years ago, in that rented room of your roommate and Li Jieru’s, I got drunk and cried while hugging you. Not only did I ask why you didn’t like me, I even swore I’d curse you to never find a girlfriend, or I wouldn’t feel balanced.”
Qin Sheng shook his head sarcastically. Yan Jiabao protested, “Don’t doubt it. I really thought that way until you brought Qin Shui to the hotel. Friends and coworkers who usually ate and drank with me ignored me when I had problems, and the only one who comforted me most was my rival. Fate really plays with people.”
“Qin Shui never saw you as a rival.” Qin Sheng said. “As for marriage, I’ll need to inform my parents, then find a time to meet her parents.”
“Will your parents agree? After all, Qin Shui is deaf and mute.”
Yan Jiabao pointed at her ear hesitantly. Qin Sheng replied, “I don’t care whether they agree. I don’t need them to pay for the wedding. I only have to inform them.”
“Do you have enough money? If Qin Shui’s family wants a high bride price, I can lend you some. I only have twenty-five thousand though.”
Qin Sheng thought for a moment. “No need. There’s four hundred and thirty thousand in my salary card. The other card has the money my parents transferred to me during the holidays, about seven or eight thousand. That’s everything I own. Even if her family wants all of it, I have to give it. If I can’t marry Qin Shui, I won’t be able to rest in peace even if I die.”
Yan Jiabao said, “Damn. That sounds extreme. Like some obsessive stalker in a movie. Don’t let her parents see that side of you or they’ll run.”
Just as she finished speaking, Qin Shui stumbled out of the bedroom sleepily. Seeing Yan Jiabao at the table made her visibly surprised. She smoothed her hair and greeted her.
Qin Sheng jumped up as if shocked, signing quickly to Qin Shui, “Go wash up. I’ll make breakfast for you.”
When Qin Shui finished washing her face and brushing her teeth, Qin Sheng had already set the table. He even washed strawberries and blueberries for her. Yan Jiabao asked, “So what dumpling filling are we making today?”
“Beef with yellow chives,” Qin Sheng said. “Qin Shui thinks pork filling is a bit greasy, and eating too much garlic chives gives her heartburn, so she chose yellow chives instead.”
Holding her cup at the table, Qin Shui added, “I’m not good at making dumplings, so they’ll probably look ugly.”
Yan Jiabao patted her chest. “I’m great at it. I helped my grandma knead dough and mix filling since I was small. Leave it to me!”
Qin Sheng turned and went to the kitchen to cut vegetables. Qin Shui sat facing Yan Jiabao, and finally asked, “Jiabao, are you feeling better?”
“Fully recovered. I even went for a follow-up at the end of last month. The doctor said it won’t affect future pregnancy. How should I put it… it can be considered a blessing within misfortune.”
To let Qin Shui see more clearly, she deliberately exaggerated her lip movements, silently gesturing: “You and Qin Sheng must take precautions and protect yourselves. I absolutely don’t want to go through that a second time. The cost of a mistake is too high, and the one who suffers is always the girl.”
Twenty minutes later, Qin Sheng finished preparing the dumpling wrappers, meat filling, and chopped yellow chives. Yan Jiabao went to the kitchen to teach them the technique of mixing dumpling filling. After seasoning, she piled chopped scallions and minced garlic on top, then poured hot oil over it.
Qin Shui sealed the filling with plastic wrap. They all went to the living room to chat and play games. At five in the afternoon, they started wrapping dumplings. With three people working together, they sat down at seven sharp to eat steaming hot Winter Solstice dinner.
Qin Sheng and Yan Jiabao were both children who severely lacked maternal love. Their original families were difficult to describe. Even though they now had the ability to improve their living conditions, they coincidentally chose to “make do.” Making do with eating, making do with drinking, making do with living.
With Qin Shui, the place finally looked like a home, yet what he cared about most was the person herself. He didn’t seek emotional value from her.
Before March next year, Qin Sheng planned to propose.
But they must first pass the hurdle of both families.
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