In early December of that same year, Qin Shui saved up a considerable sum of manuscript fees.
Two months after resigning, she began writing copy, managing accounts, and preparing original works at the same time. Since she currently had no pressure to pay rent, and Qin Sheng had also handed both his salary card and credit card over to her to manage, Qin Shui rarely enjoyed a period where she did not have to worry about money.
During the day, Qin Sheng went to work, and she was the only one at home, with no one coming to disturb her. After Qin Sheng realized that she was fully focused on writing, he simply moved the wooden desk from the bedroom to the balcony, letting her write in a place that was bright and spacious.
In fact, Qin Shui had started writing when she was fourteen. Back then, it was purely a hobby, and her writing was not very good. She spent five yuan at a stationery shop outside school to buy a palm-sized spiral notebook, where she created Mary Sue stories about domineering CEOs repeatedly fighting over her.
Looking back now, it felt laughable, but at the time, she had been genuinely immersed in it.
Later, as she grew older, she began writing fan works, gradually improving her writing skills, and then became an original fiction author. She was willing to try any genre and had taken both private commissions and commercial commissions, saving up some money.
The clients all spoke very highly of her. After Qin Shui resigned, she simply returned to writing full-time, gaining stable clients and earning a fairly decent income.
In just two short months, she accumulated experience, wrote extensively, and also managed her account into something solid, steadily growing her followers to 800. For a purely text-based account, Qin Shui was quite satisfied.
Last month, she submitted an original medium-length novel to a publishing house. Now she had received an email reply, passed the initial manuscript review, and begun the next stage of contact.
Qin Shui was very happy. Her previous job had hit her too hard, and at one point, she had lost the motivation and energy to create, thinking she really was as worthless and useless as her former supervisor had scolded her for being. Yet at this moment, she was sitting on Qin Sheng’s balcony, basking in the sun alongside the plants, quietly and steadily rebuilding her confidence.
The person who introduced her did not tell her parents about Qin Shui resigning or going to the hospital. Fortunately, that person was a relatively distant relative whom they rarely saw during holidays. Qin Shui planned to keep it hidden like this. When she went home for the New Year, she would lie and say she had already found a new job, so her parents would not worry or nag her.
She used the manuscript fees she earned to buy more greenery and flowers, carefully planting them in pots and placing them neatly in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The day Qin Sheng came home, the first thing he saw was Qin Shui squatting on the balcony, loosening soil and transplanting plants. She wore an apron, surrounded by lush greenery, looking just like a little fairy from a fairy-tale forest.
The next day after work, he deliberately took a detour to the flower market on the North Second Ring Road and bought white rose seeds. Qin Sheng often bought pre-arranged white roses from flower shops to give to her. Qin Shui said that growing them successfully at home was not guaranteed, so she could only try with some apprehension.
Although she held Qin Sheng’s salary card, Qin Shui basically did not spend his money.
After graduating and starting work, Qin Sheng had been single for many years. Apart from regular mortgage payments and living expenses, he saved everything else, so the amount in the card was even more than Qin Shui had imagined. That evening after work, Qin Sheng bought groceries and cooked dinner for Qin Shui.
At the end of the month, on the Winter Solstice, Qin Shui said to Qin Sheng at the dinner table, “Invite Jiabao over to our place. Let’s make dumplings.”
Qin Sheng said unhappily, “Every time she comes, she pushes people to drink recklessly. Even with just three people, it turns into drinking. It’s too annoying.”
Qin Shui smiled. Qin Sheng put down his bowl and said vaguely to her, “Baby, I’m going to a class reunion after work tomorrow. I’ll come back late. Eat first, don’t wait for me.”
She asked in sign language, “Which classmates?”
“The junior college classmates that Yan Jiabao and the others all know,” he said with a smile. “I won’t drive tomorrow. I won’t be able to avoid drinking at night.”
“Drink less. Be careful.”
Qin Sheng said, “It’s at Wanda Plaza near our place. Once the restaurant is decided tomorrow, I’ll send you the location. Don’t worry.”
Qin Shui picked food for him and asked again, “Have you still been smoking recently?”
“How could I?” he said with a deliberately ingratiating smile. “I’ve already cut down to one a day. I strictly follow the imperial decree. For my health and for our future child’s health, I’ll be able to quit next year.”
“……”
No one in the factory did not smoke. In winter, it was a bit better, but when the weather warmed slightly, there were all kinds of smells everywhere. Engine oil, metal rust, sweat, and cigarette smoke were the most obvious. She truly cared about Qin Sheng’s lung health.
Since there was no way to avoid secondhand smoke, at least they could reduce firsthand nicotine and tar intake.
Qin Shui never forced him to quit smoking. She only felt sorry that his work was exhausting. Qin Sheng understood all of this. He swore not to merely pay lip service and seriously worked on quitting smoking. Aside from regularly taking Qin Shui out to travel or eat at restaurants, he no longer ordered takeout and no longer ate the factory’s ordered lunches.
After all, he was someone who was cherished now.
The class reunion was deliberately scheduled for Friday night. Most people had the next day off, so even staying up all night drunk would not affect anything.
After work, Qin Sheng took the subway to the mall. As usual, the places to eat, drink, and have fun were chosen by the former class monitor. Their group of twelve chose a very famous roast duck restaurant.
According to past custom, they would definitely go sing after eating. Qin Sheng had already started thinking about how to refuse before the dishes were even served. He took photos of the location and the dishes and sent them to Qin Shui, asking whether she had eaten and what she was eating.
After waiting more than ten minutes, Qin Shui finally sent him a photo of her fried rice. Qin Sheng could tell at a glance that she was eating leftovers from last night.
Before he could send an emoji to scold her from afar, Qin Shui seemed to sense it and took a selfie.
There was floor heating at home. She wore thin pajamas and sat on the carpet in front of the coffee table, eating fried rice while watching television, and even thoughtfully made a peace sign.
Qin Sheng was sitting with Yan Jiabao on his left and the class monitor on his right. Everyone had already started eating and chatting loudly. Only he was holding his phone and smiling. Yan Jiabao knew what was going on the moment she saw his expression and just focused on eating. But the class monitor, as if he had seen something new, snatched Qin Sheng’s phone away.
“……”
Everyone had not seen each other for many years. It was rare to gather so many people, and there had to be gossip and topics at the dinner table. Qin Sheng reacted quickly and went to grab it back, but the other person had already opened Qin Shui’s photo and stretched his arm out to show it around.
“Qin Sheng, you’re impressive! Such a beautiful girl, is she an adult yet?” he called out to everyone. “You got married and didn’t even tell us?”
“Who told you I’m married?”
“The contact name says ‘wife.’ And you say you’re not married?”
Qin Sheng’s former roommates were the first to start cheering. He helplessly put the phone back into his pocket, feeling even more sorry toward Qin Shui. The guy who had tried to set him up with Yan Jiabao back then had gained quite a bit of weight and quickly called out, “Jiabao, what were you doing? We even wanted to create another chance for you two. You were way too slow!”
Yan Jiabao shrugged indifferently. “Brother Qin’s girlfriend is so pretty. I can’t compete. Why bother?”
The class monitor protested, “Why didn’t you bring her to let everyone meet her? Hiding her away like a treasure?”
The classmates also sighed together. “Brother Qin is considered one of the more successful ones among us. He never lacked girls who liked him back then, and now he’s even smoothly married. That’s pretty complete.”
Qin Sheng knew very well that he had secretly set that nickname behind Qin Shui’s back. Forget marriage, he had not even put a proposal into action yet, but he had unilaterally turned her into a married woman for no clear reason.
“We’re not married yet. Her parents and relatives might not even think much of me.” He cut in, adding, “You all got married way earlier than I did. You’re the happier ones.”
The roommate seized on his words and pressed him, asking, “Your conditions are already so good, why wouldn’t they take a liking to you?”
Yan Jiabao answered on his behalf, considerate as ever, “The girl’s a proper 211 university student, young, beautiful, and very domestic. You people have never even seen this kind of fairy. Qin Sheng being able to be with her is already reaching up.”
She knew everyone wouldn’t let go easily of gossip about Qin Sheng. After all, he was excessively low-key at gatherings, neither showing off money nor bragging, and he never had any scandals to talk about. Yan Jiabao knew very clearly that whenever a reunion ended, there would always be two or three classmates who’d get impulsively romantic, regardless of whether the other person was married or not.
These people were like this. They couldn’t withstand the blows of life, so they reminisced about youth by eating the grass at the edge of their own nest.
There were female classmates in the class who had feelings for Qin Sheng. After all, among the few who hadn’t gained weight or gone out of shape and had only become more handsome with age, he was one of the rare ones.
In the past, it was always Yan Jiabao helping him block them, since she openly carried the real and shining sign of “ex-girlfriend”.
The class monitor heard her words and immediately asked in response, “Jiabao, you’ve met her?”
“Yes!” She stuffed the whole wrap into her mouth. “She’s even prettier than in the photo. I’ve already given up anyway.”
Between passing cups and exchanging drinks, the target of conversation was always Qin Sheng. The roommate who had chosen to return to his hometown to get married after graduation spoke again. His cheeks were flushed red from drinking, fine blood vessels showing, and he complained grandly, “Marriage isn’t anything good. Too much pressure, the wife doesn’t understand, the child is a money-eating beast, exhausting!”
No one picked up his words. Qin Sheng was still drinking with the class monitor when the man cursed to the friend beside him, “Damn, if I were as free as Brother Qin, I’d at least find a university student to date.”
Yan Jiabao was already tired of hearing it. Qin Sheng keenly heard the hidden meaning and retorted, “My wife already graduated. Stop chanting ‘university student’ all the time. Even if I actually looked for one, she wouldn’t want you.”
“Who cares!” he said. “Isn’t it just about having fun? So what if her family doesn’t look up to you? You sleep with her, wait until her belly gets big, then her family will beg you to marry her, right?”
“……”
Many years after graduation, his drinking habits became increasingly terrible. The female classmates present quieted first. Before Yan Jiabao could stand up and curse, Qin Sheng suddenly slammed his glass on the table and scolded angrily, “Watch your damn mouth. Cracking filthy jokes about me now?”
The class monitor had just wanted to ease the situation when Yan Jiabao butted in, “If you’re drunk, then get out and throw up! Useless and still love to embarrass yourself. I really don’t know how Jieru puts up with you.”
Even drunk, the roommate didn’t dare provoke Qin Sheng. After testing the waters just now and realizing he’d said the wrong thing, he tried to ease the awkwardness, laughing and teasing Yan Jiabao, “Back then it was Li Jieru and me who helped you chase Qin Sheng, and you’re not even on my side now!?”
Yan Jiabao was merciless, “How many years ago was that? Can you shut up already? You got my best friend pregnant and married her, now you complain about this and that. With your idiot experience, you still want to lecture Brother Qin? They’re in a proper relationship andare seriously considering marriage. Just shut up already.”
Once she opened her mouth, the gunpowder in the room immediately thinned out. Yan Jiabao’s personality was like that. No one took her teasing or scolding seriously. The class monitor and other classmates pulled Qin Sheng to eat more and drink more, giving the roommate meaningful looks to make him offer wine as an apology.
The wine was offered, but Qin Sheng didn’t drink it.
The private room was crowded and lively once the atmosphere rose. With shoulders thrown around one another, the awkward incident was quickly covered. Everyone drank happily until the restaurant was closing, then they moved on to the KTV.
When the cold wind hit their faces, Qin Sheng immediately felt unsteady. He swayed and lifted his wrist to check the time, taking a long while before he recognized that it was already 12:30 a.m. Some female classmates had children at home, so Yan Jiabao joked along and left with them. Seeing that, Qin Sheng also tried to say goodbye on the roadside, but several classmates wrapped around him, dragging him into the nightclub and pushing him into the private room.
He hadn’t eaten much staple food and had drunk a bottle and a half of high-proof liquor, so drowsiness naturally washed over him, and he didn’t have the energy for another round.
The remaining few opened ten more cans of white beer. Qin Sheng didn’t touch a drop. He fumbled in his pocket for a long time before he finally found his phone and, dizzy and spinning, saw the messages Qin Shui sent him.
The room spun, the music roared like ghosts in his ears. He used all his strength to distinguish that from 11:30 to 2:00, she had sent almost ten messages, and he hadn’t noticed any of them.
Qin Sheng forced himself up, wanting to step into the hallway to call her back. Before he could break free from the class monitor’s grip, two soft knocks sounded outside the KTV private room door.
“……”
Wearing a pink down jacket and a white knitted hat, Qin Shui pushed the door open. Seeing eight people inside, standing or sitting, she stepped back two paces, panting lightly.
The classmates who had been singing drunkenly fell silent. Those holding Qin Sheng also loosened their grip. All eyes turned toward her. Multicolored shifting lights happened to fall across Qin Shui’s face.
Half of Qin Sheng’s drunkenness vanished instantly.
Qin Shui had never seen so many drunk men. If there weren’t female faces in the room, she would’ve turned and left right away.
A female classmate on the sofa reacted first. She stood up and called out, “Little girl, who’re you looking for?”
There was no response.
She walked closer for a look, then suddenly realized and sighed, “Oh! You’re Qin Sheng’s girlfriend, right?”
The room was too dim, so Qin Shui couldn’t see her speaking, but seeing Qin Sheng there, she still stepped inside and stood at the doorway, not daring to move farther in.
Yan Jiabao, who had escaped early, knew he’d definitely be forced to drink heavily, so she sent Qin Shui the KTV location and told her he was safe. But Qin Shui couldn’t reach him, tossing restlessly for over an hour. It was nearly late into the night. She felt worried.
It was the bitter cold northern winter. What if Qin Sheng’s classmates didn’t send him home and left him drunk on the street? What if he collapsed somewhere outside?
The tragic news from the internet replayed in her mind. The more she thought, the more frightened she became, and she decided to take a taxi to look for him.
She asked the front desk and still entered the wrong rooms a few times. She rarely visited KTV, even more rarely at two-thirty in the morning. Luckily, she eventually found him safely, which finally put her heart at ease.
“Come in and sit! Come sit!” The woman in a white turtleneck sweater came up and wrapped an arm around Qin Shui, bringing her to the sofa.
Qin Sheng hurriedly rushed forward in two steps and pulled Qin Shui into his arms. The female classmate laughed, “What? I can’t even touch her?”
“No… no.”
He was unusually flustered. He touched Qin Shui’s fluffy knitted hat, grabbed his coat and bag, waved to everyone, and said, “My wife came to pick me up. You all enjoy yourselves. I’m leaving!”
Before anyone could answer, he had already left, holding Qin Shui.
Qin Sheng stayed silent the whole way. Qin Shui also didn’t speak and simply took him home by taxi. Even in his drunken haze, his thoughts chaotic and heavy, he kept secretly watching her more than once, his mind full of the word “wife”.
Lovers see beauty in each other, but Qin Sheng truly thought Qin Shui was a Xi Shi[1]Xi Shi was one of the Four Great Beauties of ancient China, famed for her natural, delicate beauty. Her name is often used as a metaphor for an exceptionally beautiful woman. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1427539_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1427539_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. She was beautiful, gentle, and quiet. Even wearing a knitted hat and fluffy gloves made her look charming.
When they arrived home, Qin Shui helped him take off his shoes and coat, settled him on the sofa, brought him warm honey water, and then wiped his face and soaked his feet with hot water.
Qin Sheng wasn’t drunk to the point that he couldn’t wash himself, but he was clearly uncomfortable. With Qin Shui’s help, he showered, changed into pajamas, and brushed his teeth in the bathroom.
Qin Shui was already extremely sleepy. After settling him, she slipped into bed almost immediately. She fell asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes and didn’t hear Qin Sheng enter the bedroom. After a long time, familiar kisses landed on her lips. Only then did she tiredly open her eyes and push him away.
No one wanted to bathe, dry hair, put on clothes again in the middle of the night and run outside, but Qin Shui didn’t blame him. Drinking was inevitable during gatherings. Getting drunk was inevitable. But her tolerance didn’t include late-night intimacy, especially with someone drunk. She didn’t want to tangle with a drunk man.
But Qin Sheng clearly didn’t think so.
“Qin Shui.” He repeated in a low voice, “I love you.”
She nodded perfunctorily, then covered his mouth. He refused to stop, saying, “I, Qin Sheng, have never loved anyone like this in my life. I don’t even love my mom like this, but I love you too much.”
Qin Shui clearly read his lips. While absorbing his honest, drunken confession, Qin Sheng’s hand slid under her clothes without hesitation, and he lowered his head to seal her lips.
Alcohol added too much instability. She instinctively resisted, but Qin Sheng pinned her wrists above her head with one free hand, his kiss falling to the skin beneath her collarbone.
“……”
Like wildfire burning around her, there was only one way to extinguish it.
References[+]