Qin Sheng took the elevator up from the underground parking garage. After taking a shower in the bathroom, he casually tossed his clothes into the washing machine.
He had wanted to drink alcohol during dinner that evening, but because he had to drive, he held back. Now that he was free, he half lay on the sofa, casually propping both feet up on the coffee table, and turned on the television.
He did not take in a single word of what the host was saying. One hand rested behind his head, the other held his phone. He repeatedly studied Qin Shui’s Moments page, flipping from the evening news to Focus Interview, before finally stopping.
Her Moments background was a pet she kept back in her hometown. Her profile picture was a doll’s head wearing a scarf. She was clearly a young woman who had only just graduated from university and had recently entered society.
Qin Sheng had dated several girlfriends while learning his trade. He had a roguish, rough-edged look, but in the words of his group of roommates, he was genuinely damn handsome.
Qin Sheng did not think that he managed to get girlfriends because he was good-looking, nor did he ever consider relying on his appearance to attract women. He simply felt that at that age, everyone was dating, and it would be better for him to blend in as well.
Qin Shui just could not speak. Everything else about her was normal. Qin Sheng suspected her condition was acquired later on, because he could tell that this girl was very sharp. She was just too restrained and cautious, always acting carefully.
He was busy with work now. One of his parents was completely hands-off, while the other wished she could run even farther away and remarry somewhere in Southeast Asia. During holidays, if they happened to remember him, they would give him a two-hundred-yuan red envelope as a token gesture. The rest of the time, no one bothered to arrange anything for him. Qin Sheng always felt this was pretty good. No one pressured him to get married, and no one bothered him.
At this moment, another advantage was added.
No one managing him also meant that even if he married a wife who couldn’t speak, his parents would have nothing to say about it. After all, the fact that they gave birth to him but didn’t raise him was undeniable. He had been financially independent for years, relying on no one, and he was free to choose whatever kind of partner he wanted and get his wish.
Thinking this far, Qin Sheng let out a surprised “tss,” drew his long legs back, and sat up straight, realizing something felt off.
He had only met this girl a few hours ago, and he was already thinking about marrying her… wasn’t that a bit too absurd?
Qin Sheng laughed at himself, casually tossed his phone aside, pulled up the drama he was currently watching, Ordinary World, and continued watching another twenty or so episodes.
Looking at Tian Xiaoxia on the screen, he felt that the spark of cleverness Qin Shui had was quite similar to hers, just without that level of cheerfulness and liveliness. The television projection was in front of him, but it was as if another screen had started playing simultaneously in his mind. He remembered how Qin Shui had stood outside the building to see him off earlier.
Until he turned the corner and drove onto the main road, he could still see her clearly in the rearview mirror.
Qin Shui had very fair skin, was about one meter seventy tall, and had her hair casually clipped up at the back of her head. Those eyes of hers were as pure as a little deer’s. She carried a soft-fabric backpack on her shoulders and stood completely still, watching the car’s taillights.
Qin Sheng absentmindedly looked at his own palm. There were faint dark traces of grease that would not come clean no matter how much he washed. Calluses had formed on the inner sides of his fingers, very rough. He distractedly watched two episodes of the show. When he passed by the bathroom on his way to the bedroom to sleep, he went in again to wash his hands with soap, only to realize that the marks truly would not wash off.
He resigned himself to it, shook his hands dry, and went back to sleep, leaving a small light on in the living room.
This apartment was one he had bought with a loan five years ago, but the amount was not large, and the monthly payments were manageable. When he had taken a liking to this place back then, his parents had each transferred him one hundred thousand yuan. Qin Sheng had not accepted it.
He did not want to stir up that cold leftover dish of family affection just for some house-buying money. His family members were like worshipped Buddha statues, usually placed there to look nice, but with little practical use. They were merely spiritual symbols. For Qin Sheng, that symbolism just happened to be mixed with a bit of blood relation.
Life at the repair shop was decent. Business was quite good. The hardship and exhaustion were exchanged for a monthly salary of over ten thousand yuan. Compared to the overall environment and people his age, twenty-six or twenty-seven, Qin Sheng counted as someone living a fairly comfortable life.
At least, better than Qin Shui.
Qin Sheng wanted to send her a message, to ask whether she had eaten her fill that evening. But after typing it out in the chat box, he deleted it again. Switching to another topic felt too deliberate. After a long time, he still could not force out a single word.
He remembered that roommate of his who had dated the most ex-girlfriends. That guy had said more than once that you could not be too attentive, that you had to play hard to get.
So Qin Sheng held back for two days.
On the third day, there was a small accident at work. The hoisting machine was not operated properly. Qin Sheng was lying on the work board, inspecting the underside of a car, tools piled all around him. When he exerted force and slid out, he did not notice one corner of the car sinking. His shoulder was slashed open by the metal edge, leaving a long gash.
This kind of accident should not have happened, but fortunately, it was not serious, just a superficial injury.
An older brother from the shop drove him to the hospital to have the wound treated. After disinfection, it was stitched up with several stitches. He was instructed not to use that arm for the next few days, at least until the stitches were removed.
Qin Sheng considered himself thick-skinned and tough. He still went to work as usual, just not doing heavy labor. Instead, he switched to handling decoders and positioning devices, and did vehicle polishing and high-pressure steam cleaning.
It was summer vacation, and there were more people repairing cars than usual. Everyone was so busy every day that they were completely overwhelmed. Not only now, but after his shoulder healed, Qin Sheng would still have to return favors to the mechanics who helped him cover work. He would only be busier.
Gradually, he put the matter of Qin Shui to the back of his mind, though that did not mean he forgot Qin Shui. Qin Sheng always wanted to find a good, relaxed moment to chat with her, but unfortunately, he really had no time.
Saturday was continuous overtime. Sunday was spent entirely catching up on sleep. Two weeks passed just like that, and that girl still did not send him a single message.
Qin Sheng was quite angry. It was Qin Shui who had taken the initiative to add him, yet once he lay there in her contacts list, she played dead.
Another week passed. It had been almost three weeks since they last met. He deliberately drove a long distance to the Fifth People’s Hospital to have his stitches removed, harboring hopes of one of those chance encounters from idol dramas. That way, he could show the wound to that girl. It would be reasonable that he had not contacted her, and it could cool her temper a bit.
But reality proved that this plot was too clichéd. Fate had no time for it.
Qin Sheng himself was also extremely stubborn. He refused to send Qin Shui a message no matter what. But in the end, he was a healthy, hot-blooded young man. Qin Shui, on the other hand, had spent more than twenty years mastering the art of endurance. Qin Sheng knew he could not outlast her.
So starting this week, from Monday to Friday, he took advantage of the repair shop’s lunch break, when there were fewer cars and people on the road, and drove to wait downstairs at Qin Shui’s building, to see if he could run into her.
While waiting like a rabbit by a tree stump, he had time to wander into the building. Because he looked aimless, an elderly woman living alone on the first floor took him for a thief casing the place. When Qin Sheng went for the third day in a row, he discovered that she had vigilantly locked the unit door that was usually left open.
Qin Sheng did not blame her. After all, he came whenever he could squeeze in time during work, and being unkempt was normal for him.
Finally, after five fruitless days, starting from the new Monday, Qin Sheng chose to send her a message directly, but Qin Shui did not reply.
He knew she had seen it and chosen not to respond, so with nothing left to lose, he grabbed that wary old lady and asked her. The woman thought he was there to harass a young girl and claimed to know nothing at all.
Qin Sheng was completely out of options.
Fortunately, the old residential building was only six stories tall, with two units per floor. It was not that hard to search.
Early Saturday morning, he came again and stood at the building entrance smoking. This time, he was more civilized. He took a half-full mineral water bottle and tossed the finished cigarette butts into it, placing it on the flowerbed nearby.
Qin Shui had just gone downstairs to buy breakfast and was returning. It was only seven ten in the morning. When she reached the building entrance, she saw Qin Sheng shaking the bottle of nicotine water.
“……”
She stepped back slightly, wanting to pretend she did not recognize him and slip past. But Qin Sheng’s eyesight was sharp like a hawk’s. He revealed an expression of “finally caught you,” and unhurriedly blocked the unit door.
Qin Shui had come downstairs in her pajamas, white cotton silk printed with a cartoon puppy. Her hair was uncombed. She was carrying soy milk and fried dough sticks, and she ducked under Qin Sheng’s arm to get inside.
“Why didn’t you reply to my messages?” he asked. “I don’t believe that old lady on the first floor didn’t tell you. She’s been guarding against me like a thief.”
Qin Sheng followed her upstairs. Qin Shui could not hear clearly, and her pace grew faster and faster. He took two big steps at once, crossing six steps, and blocked her in front.
He tugged open his shirt collar and hurriedly presented proof of identity. “Look… look at this!”
Qin Shui saw the wound on his shoulder and indeed stopped. Qin Sheng was utterly helpless. “I got injured at work. I went to the hospital and got twelve stitches. The shop’s been too busy lately. I couldn’t take time off. I’ve been inspecting cars, washing cars, and handling paperwork all day. I forgot to message you.”
Qin Shui in front of him did look shaken, but she still did not buy it. She fished out her keys from her pocket, inserted them into the lock, and opened the door.
Of course, Qin Sheng immediately braced the door with his hand to keep her from shutting him out. Seeing that this path did not work, he locked eyes with the unhappy Qin Shui for three full minutes before finally confessing.
“I didn’t want to be too attentive,” he said in a low voice. “And you didn’t message me either. I haven’t even asked what you meant by that.”
Qin Shui glanced at the neighbor’s door opposite. Qin Sheng’s posture, leaning against her door, looked very much like he was harassing her. Afraid the neighbor might see and misunderstand, she shifted aside and let him in.
Her home was a one-bedroom, one-living-room apartment. There were many things, but it was not messy. The color scheme was pink and white, and it smelled especially pleasant, like a hundred Qin Shui is spinning around in front of him.
Qin Sheng found a pair of slightly larger slippers from the shoe cabinet and changed into them. He walked around the living room once and loudly asked Qin Shui in the kitchen, “Why don’t you turn on the air conditioner? Aren’t you hot?”
Qin Shui brought the breakfast to the dining table, took the remote control from the back of the sofa, and pressed the power button.
Qin Sheng did not touch any of the things placed in the living room, nor did he sit down. He knew Qin Shui was avoiding him. He had not expected to run into her today, so he had not changed clothes. There was still dust and the smell of engine oil from the repair shop on him, and he did not want to dirty her fabric sofa.
Qin Shui did not come out of the kitchen for a long time. He moved closer to take a look and saw her standing at the stove, turning on the fire and cooking.
With no one restraining him, Qin Sheng slowly walked to the outside of her bedroom.
The bedroom was very small, and Qin Shui’s bed was not large either. There were plain-colored duvet covers and pillows, while the bedsheet featured that black-and-white cartoon dog with its tongue sticking out. Qin Sheng used his phone to identify it and learned that it was called Cinnamoroll.
She had not folded the quilt yet. On the bedside table were neatly arranged charging cables, a small lamp, and a bottle of lotion.
To the right of the bed was a wardrobe. At the foot of the bed, there was only space for a desk, which held a bottle of perfume, a pink rectangular box, a mirror, and a potted water plant.
The last time they parted, he had promised to invite her to his home as a guest. Now, however, he was the one showing up uninvited.
Qin Sheng felt that his former roommate’s so-called theory of “don’t be too attentive” was pretty stupid. That guy was fishing, while Qin Sheng had never intended to string Qin Shui along. Their experimental subject and variables were completely different. Blindly applying the same formula would definitely earn a zero.
Qin Shui fried eggs in the kitchen, heated some milk, and brought everything out. She saw Qin Sheng standing blankly at her bedroom door.
She lifted the chopsticks in her hand. Only then did Qin Sheng come back to his senses, step over to help her set out the bowls and chopsticks, and sit down with her to eat.
“How is it? Have you found a job?” Qin Sheng asked.
Qin Shui shook her head.
Qin Sheng picked up the warm milk and drank half of it in one go, then asked again, “Then how’s your rent situation? How long can you still hold on?”
She put down her spoon and typed for him to see. “I prepaid six months in January. There’s half a month left.”
For the moment, Qin Sheng could not think of any job that would suit Qin Shui. Seeing that her mental state was not very good, he weighed it for a moment and still proposed, “Then how about I help you pay another six months?”
Qin Shui, across from him, seemed to have guessed he would say this. She was not surprised at all and just kept her head lowered, scooping up the sweet soy milk and drinking it.
Qin Sheng did not know what she was thinking, so he reached out and took a fried dough stick, not saying anything more. Qin Shui freed her left hand to type and gently pushed the phone in front of him.
“I discussed it with the landlord last week. She’s already found a new tenant for this place. I’ll be moving out at the beginning of next month.”
“……”
His heart tightened slightly. Somewhat surprised, he asked, “Where are you going?”
Qin Shui shrugged and mouthed the words, “Going home.”
Qin Sheng was even more unhappy about that. He pressed his phone dark and pushed it back, lifted his head to look around the small apartment, thought it over for a moment, and said to Qin Shui, “If you don’t mind, come stay at my place first. It’s a two-bedroom, two-living-room apartment. I live there alone anyway, it’s a waste. You don’t need to pay rent. Before you find a job, just make me one dinner a day.”
From the bottom of her heart, Qin Shui did not want to return to her hometown. She did not want to squeeze into a cramped home with her parents. Her father snored loudly year-round. Her mother did not like sleeping in the same bed as him. Every time Qin Shui was home, she and her mother each had a room, and her father slept on the living room floor.
She also did not want to rely on Qin Sheng, but finding a job was too difficult right now. If this could resolve the immediate crisis, mutual help would be the best outcome.
Besides, she liked him. She was willing to live under the same roof as Qin Sheng. Cooking a meal was a small matter, just as Qin Sheng himself had said. One person has to eat. Two people have to eat too.
Qin Shui looked at the person she liked, who was eating the scrambled eggs with his head lowered. She pressed her palms together and made a small bow toward him, then quickly made a “thank you” gesture.
The other party raised his eyebrows and smiled at her, full of spirit.
Qin Sheng was very sincere and very happy as well.