For the move, Qin Sheng contacted a former coworker of his.
Brother Gao was already middle-aged. He had left the repair shop due to health issues and, through a friend’s introduction, went to work in operations at a moving company. Qin Sheng had a good relationship with him. Back when Qin Sheng first started working under him, he was hardworking, endured hardship, and did not talk much, always calling him “Master.”
Qin Shui had lived in this rental for over a year. Qin Sheng observed that she seemed to have a bit of an attachment to objects, standing there in a daze, looking at the room that was gradually losing its human warmth.
All the large furniture belonged to the landlord. She had used everything with care. There were no stains, and even the corners were cleaned very thoroughly. The light blue fabric cover that was used to drape over the sofa was something Qin Shui had bought herself. Now that it had been removed, Qin Sheng finally sat down on the fabric sofa without any reservations.
Qin Shui did not have many belongings. After discussing it with her, Qin Sheng suggested that anything old or worn could simply be thrown away. In the end, everything fit into one vehicle, and they moved out easily.
Half a month earlier, after Qin Sheng finished calling Brother Gao, he transferred the moving fee to him via WeChat and asked him to find a few reliable workers. Brother Gao took the matter seriously. The workers who came to help also went to Qin Sheng’s place together, helping arrange the heavier furniture and appliances.
Qin Sheng took bottled water from the fridge and stuffed it into the hands of the two workers. The three of them went to the stairwell arm in arm to smoke, while Qin Shui stayed inside putting duvet covers on and mopping the floor.
She could not speak, so she could only hand the workers shoe covers and tissues, helping out attentively wherever she could. But Qin Sheng would not let her do much, always stepping in ahead of her. With three strong men handling her few belongings, they had more than enough manpower and effectively sidelined her.
This time, Qin Shui also walked around Qin Sheng’s home. The apartment was a proper two-bedroom, two-living-room unit, facing north to south. The living room had a large balcony with floor-to-ceiling windows. The lighting was much better than in her old apartment in the aging complex.
He must have thoroughly cleaned the place recently. Qin Shui held a cleaning cloth and went over every corner of the living room, feeling along the surfaces with her hand. Not a speck of dust stuck to her fingers.
Qin Sheng’s bedroom also had a small terrace, though it had been enclosed during renovation. The two bedroom doors faced each other, with the bathroom in between, a standard and sensible layout.
She arranged things in her room, taking clothes out of the boxes and hanging them in the wardrobe.
Some of the small appliances she had bought before were boxed up by the movers and placed in the living room. After tidying her room, she poked her head out and saw Qin Sheng, who had just come back inside, squatting on the floor, fiddling with her egg boiler and humidifier.
“What’s this?” he asked, turning his head.
Qin Shui brought over an egg from the kitchen and demonstrated briefly. Qin Sheng immediately understood.
After her things were gradually placed around the apartment, the space visibly became more crowded. Qin Sheng turned on the television and had Qin Shui sit and watch, while he went into the kitchen to tinker around.
There were not many vegetables or fruits stored at home. Qin Sheng also did not really eat instant food. Dinner was usually something bought casually on the way or a simple bowl of noodles. For a moment, there was not much to properly treat Qin Shui with, and he did not know what she liked to eat.
Qin Shui sat on the sofa holding a Dell laptop. The television was still playing Ordinary World, continuing from where he had last turned it off.
Qin Sheng sat beside her with his phone in hand, leaned in to take a look, and asked, “You write novels too?”
Qin Shui nodded, then shook her head. She tapped the Enter key a few times and typed quickly. “Just a hobby. Sometimes I take commissioned work, but not often.”
“There are a lot of people reading novels online. I read sometimes too.”
Qin Sheng stared curiously at her screen. “It should make quite a bit of money, right? What kind of genres do you write?”
Qin Shui seemed to hear something funny. Her shoulders shook as she laughed, clearly delighted. Qin Sheng looked at what she typed, followed by a long string of ellipses. “It doesn’t make any money at all. It’s already good if I don’t lose money……”
“Then just write for fun. If it makes you happy, that’s good enough. If you really don’t have readers, let me read it.”
He crossed one leg over the other. On the television, Xiu Lian and Sun Shaoan were arguing over whether to reinforce the old kiln or build a new brick kiln. Qin Sheng glanced at Qin Shui as if casually. She did not seem disturbed by the noise from the TV. Her eyes were fixed on the screen, quiet like a porcelain doll.
Qin Sheng had always felt that Qin Shui had a certain quality about her. He had never liked reading since he was young and could not come up with refined or elegant words to describe it. In his own words, Qin Shui was the kind of girl who looked very smart, someone with thoughts but who did not speak them out. At the same time, she also looked like she smelled very nice.
Using sight to perceive fragrance was a false proposition, but he was certain that Qin Shui was prettier and smarter than any of the early girlfriends he had dated.
He handed his phone to her and let her choose. “What do you want to eat?”
“It’s already afternoon. I’ll make dinner for you.”
Qin Sheng shook his head. “There aren’t many ingredients at my place.”
Qin Shui typed rapidly. “I brought some leftover things from my place. It’s enough to eat. Tomorrow I’ll go buy groceries.”
“There’s a market just one stop away from my place,” Qin Sheng said, smiling a little awkwardly. “If that doesn’t work, we can just grab something from the supermarket downstairs. I’m not picky. Buy whatever you like to eat.”
She turned off the laptop and placed it on the coffee table, stood up, stretched lazily, then slowly walked over to the balcony. She leaned forward, lifted one foot, and looked down.
The buildings were spaced far apart, with a small garden in between. The weather was good that day. Many parents were playing with their children near the fitness equipment. Qin Shui, wearing a nightdress, looked even softer, bathed in sunlight like a scene from a movie. Qin Sheng looked at her back and placed his phone beside him.
Dinner was curry rice. Qin Shui searched the kitchen and found that there was not even a rice cooker. She added an extra spoonful of rice into her small single-person rice cooker, nearly overfilling it.
There were ready-made curry cubes, so it was not difficult to cook. After helping peel the potatoes, Qin Sheng went downstairs to buy chicken thigh meat. On the way, he also bought a household rice cooker and an electric griddle from the supermarket.
He came back carrying multiple bags. Qin Shui had just brought the food to the table and made a gesture urging him to change clothes and eat. Qin Sheng casually wiped his face and pressed the air conditioner temperature down a bit.
Qin Shui deliberately told him in sign language to eat more slowly, because Qin Sheng always ate as if he were fleeing from disaster or racing against time. He nodded in agreement, slightly distracted.
He did not know how long such a fairy-tale-like life could last, but he chose to enjoy the present. Qin Sheng thought that weekends were one thing, but on weekdays, when he went out to work and Qin Shui was alone at home, she might get bored.
“Where can I learn sign language?”
Qin Sheng pushed rice around on his plate. Qin Shui typed for him to see. “There are courses online. Actually, I can teach you too.”
He said, “Once I learn it, you won’t need to type anymore.”
This time, he truly made up his mind to learn. Qin Sheng considered himself someone who could not sit still. Ever since primary school, he had been interested in things that required hands-on exploration. He did not like staring at text and numbers, and he disliked homework even more.
But he learned things quickly. Sign language could not possibly be harder than fixing cars. He could just free up some time from watching TV, as long as he could communicate more smoothly with Qin Shui.
“Qin Shui.” He leaned forward slightly and asked with a smile, “Did you lose your voice later in life, or was it congenital?”
The girl was chewing, her cheeks puffed up. She answered frankly by typing. “When I was little, I used kanamycin[1]Kanamycin is an aminoglycoside antibiotic. Improper use, especially in children, can cause irreversible damage to the auditory nerve and lead to hearing loss. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1427405_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1427405_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); incorrectly. Actually, my vocal cords are fine. It’s just that my ears aren’t very good, and my speech would sound very strange.”
Qin Sheng was very surprised. “But your hearing looks fine. Why won’t you speak?”
Qin Shui smiled at him. Her clear eyes lowered. She typed with one hand. “Your voice sounds like it’s covered by a thick cloth to me. Only very loud sounds are audible. Most of the time, I rely on lip-reading. I’ve been like this since I was very young. My pronunciation isn’t clear.”
“Then can you say something and let me hear it?”
Qin Shui immediately withdrew her smile and shook her head.
Qin Sheng became anxious. “Are you afraid I’ll laugh at you?”
“I don’t want to speak. There’s nothing to say.” Qin Shui straightened both arms and typed on the laptop. “As long as I know what you’re saying, that’s enough.”
“That’s not the point. If you can’t hear, remember to tell me. I’ll speak louder.”
Qin Shui lowered her head and focused on eating, ignoring him. Qin Sheng felt a little uncomfortable inside. The two of them sat in silence for a while. In the end, Qin Shui was the one who broke it. She pushed the laptop toward him, with a line of text on the screen asking him to introduce himself.
Qin Sheng raised his eyebrows. “You already know. What’s there left to introduce?”
“Treat it like a blind date,” she said. “Say whatever there is to say.”
“Qin Sheng. Male. Twenty-seven years old. Local.”
Qin Shui waited for a long time, but he did not continue, so the girl prompted him again. “Family, relationship history, life experience.”
“You want to know all that too?”
“Yes.”
“Alright. My dad lives locally. After the divorce, my mom remarried and settled down in Zhuhai. She basically doesn’t come back. I’m unmarried. Before Beidaihe Repair Center, I dated a few girlfriends back when I was in school, around seventeen or eighteen.”
The sound of Qin Shui typing was like an interrogation. “How many?”
Qin Sheng knew what she meant. He relaxed and raised both hands in surrender. “Not many. All clean and proper. I’m not that kind of person.”
“What kind of person?”
“……” He scoffed helplessly and asked in return, “Are you afraid I’m greedy for money, or lustful?”
Qin Shui thought of the message Jiang Yang had sent that night, especially the part where she reminded her not to be deceived. Regular university students often had an ambiguous attitude toward vocational school students. Qin Shui had felt that way before too, but Qin Sheng was different. For a moment, she could not tell whether she was wearing rose-colored glasses when it came to him, so the things that needed to be asked still had to be asked.
People always said that couples were best off living together before marriage. She and Qin Sheng were not a couple, so at most they counted as roommates. Qin Shui believed that after living under the same roof for a while, both sides would naturally come to understand each other.
Besides, Qin Sheng was a good person. The sixth sense she had always kept tightly wound was also sending her signals of goodwill toward him.
“I’m not afraid of you,” Qin Shui admitted honestly. “I’ve never been in a relationship. I kind of like you.”
Qin Sheng stared at the screen as the smile on his face gradually faded. He felt that the joke he had just made was a bit too inappropriate, but for the moment, he did not know how to respond to Qin Shui. He could only smile weakly, the corners of his eyes creasing slightly, and nod pale-faced to show that he understood.
After the meal, he washed the dishes. While it was still not completely dark, he took Qin Shui for a walk inside the residential complex and around the surrounding area, letting her familiarize herself with the routes.
The apartment Qin Sheng had bought was a proper commercial residence, located in a fairly good district of the city. The complex had entrances to the east, west, and north. Going out the east gate led straight to a bus stop, and after a ten-minute walk there was a subway station. Outside the north gate were a supermarket, a vegetable market, and a parcel pickup station. The west gate was empty during the day, but at night, there was a night market, mostly small stalls and vendors. Every day after work, Qin Sheng drove into the garage through this gate, then took the elevator up from the basement to buy food.
The two of them made a large loop. On the way back home through the west gate, they passed a small shop selling chilled herbal desserts. Qin Sheng wanted to buy some for Qin Shui, but she refused.
Qin Shui seemed quite cautious about these open-air stalls. She typed to Qin Sheng, “Don’t eat at street stalls anymore. I’ll cook for you at home.”
Qin Sheng agreed good-naturedly. As they walked side by side back into the complex, he made small talk again. “Actually, that fried noodle stall with lots of customers is really good. The owner’s a nice guy too. I used to be a regular.”
“I can tell.”
He thought for a moment about what exactly Qin Shui could tell. Whether she could tell the food was good, or that the owner was nice, or simply that he had been a regular. He never managed to guess the answer.
So Qin Sheng stopped caring about it. He only felt that taking out a loan to buy this apartment had truly been worth it. At first, it was just because his finances allowed it, so he bought himself a place to stay. But only at this moment did he truly feel that this place was home—
The “home” Qin Shui spoke of.
References[+]