The Alley Was Always This Long – Chapter 66
by Little PandaPossessiveness
“You’re so bad.”
[Some words are hard to say because saying them aloud makes them sound fake, but when kept in the heart, they can be so very real.]
As soon as Tao Tianran frowned, Cheng Xiang felt that her words just now were slightly inappropriate.
She had made it sound as if it were only natural for Tao Tianran to go with her.
She quickly waved her hands. “Ah, no, no, no! What I meant was, I have to head somewhere right away. Something came up with my best friend. She’s a true ride-or-die, so I’ve got to rush to her rescue, right?”
She stood up to grab her canvas bag hanging on the wall, thoughtfully adding, “Take your time eating, okay?”
Tao Tianran lowered her long, slender eyelashes.
This… Cheng Xiang hesitated for half a second, wondering if she should plant a kiss on Tao Tianran’s cheek.
Just as she looked down, Tao Tianran suddenly raised her eyes. Their gazes collided, and Cheng Xiang’s eyes instinctively darted away as her fingers tightened around the canvas bag’s strap.
Oh, so embarrassing. Talk about a primary school chicken1 who had just started dating.
Tao Tianran stood up as well. “Let’s go.”
Cheng Xiang paused, gesturing vaguely at the table of food. “You’re not eating either? This was really expensive.”
Tao Tianran countered, “It’s expensive. So what should we do?”
…What else could they do? Cheng Xiang said, “You… just sit there and keep eating.”
Tao Tianran asked, “Can’t we get it to go?”
Cheng Xiang said, “…Has anyone ever packed up a Kaiseki meal to go?”
“Yes,” Tao Tianran said. “Me.”
As Cheng Xiang and Tao Tianran walked out, each carrying several paper bags, only four words came to Cheng Xiang’s mind: rich and willful.
In truth, despite the grand fanfare of a Kaiseki meal with its courses like the sakizuke2, hassun3, and shiizakana4, the portion of each dish was tiny. Packing them into so many paper boxes reminded Cheng Xiang of the over-packaged mooncakes popular a few years ago—unpacking layer after layer only to find a single, tiny cake inside.
Tao Tianran unlocked her car and told Cheng Xiang, “Just put them in the car.”
“Mm-hmm.” Cheng Xiang piled the paper bags onto the backseat of Tao Tianran’s car. “Then I’ll go hail a cab. Oh, let me tell you, I saw grilled Wagyu beef and kelp soup in there. You have to heat them up when you get home, okay? Don’t eat them cold, it’s really bad for your stomach. And those cold dishes, like the squid tentacles—if you eat them tonight, fine, but if you don’t, throw them out. Cold dishes can’t be left overnight.”
Tao Tianran stood by the car, watching her.
Cheng Xiang touched the tip of her nose. Whoops, nagging again, aren’t I? She took right after Director Ma in this regard—chatty and prone to worrying.
Cheng Xiang let out a sheepish giggle and waved. “Well, I’m off then!”
Tao Tianran lightly tugged her wrist. “Didn’t I tell you to just put it in the car?”
“I did!”
“I wasn’t talking about the food,” Tao Tianran said. “I meant you.”
Pfft. Cheng Xiang couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
She whispered to Tao Tianran, “You know, what you just said… it’s actually a little cheesy.”
Tao Tianran curled her lips.
The two of them got into the car. Tao Tianran asked, “Where to?”
Cheng Xiang forwarded the location Qin Ziqiao had sent to Tao Tianran.
Tao Tianran glanced at it.
Cheng Xiang asked, “What’s wrong?”
Tao Tianran shook her head. It wasn’t anything, really. It was just a place her boss frequented.
Resting one hand on the steering wheel, Tao Tianran asked, “What’s going on with your friend?”
Cheng Xiang looked around stealthily before realizing she was inside a car, making the gesture rather redundant. Lowering her voice, she adopted the exact gossipy tone Director Ma used when chatting with her old sisters at the mouth of the alley: “I think… she fell for a pig-butchering scam5.”
Tao Tianran raised an eyebrow.
Oh, boy. Cheng Xiang knew she must be thinking about the time Cheng Xiang had mistaken her for a romance scammer.
“Not your kind of scam,” Cheng Xiang mumbled sheepishly. “The real kind.”
“And what kind was I?” Tao Tianran asked.
Hmph. Cheng Xiang turned to look out the window, pressing both her hands against the edge of the seat, ignoring her.
After a moment, she turned back around and rubbed her hands together. “Are you nervous? I think I’m actually pretty nervous. You’re about to meet my friend.”
“Your friend,” Tao Tianran said, lightly tapping her finger against the steering wheel. “What is she like?”
In the past, she hadn’t been familiar with Qin Ziqiao at all.
They’d only shared a few meals because of Cheng Xiang. It was the kind of relationship where the moment Cheng Xiang went to the restroom, she and Qin Ziqiao would immediately lower their heads to play on their phones.
Cheng Xiang grinned broadly. “Let me tell you, she’s such a goofball. Her name is Qin Ziqiao. I usually call her Ziqiao, but sometimes I call her Qiaozi. Hilarious, right? Her name can be read forward or backward. I always tell her that if she ever needs to make a solemn vow, she can just say: ‘If I don’t get this done, you can write my name backward!’ There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, hehe.”
As she spoke, she smoothed her bangs. “We grew up together in Hundred Flowers Alley. We’ve known each other since we were running around in split-crotch pants6. Though, I don’t actually know if I ever wore those; that’s just what my mom said. When we were little, Ziqiao’s mom was super strict and didn’t let her eat snacks, so I used my pocket money to treat her to deep-fried sparrows.”
“Not real deep-fried sparrows, of course.” Cheng Xiang waved her hand dismissively. “Just those dirty street stalls, you know? They used a tiny pot with god-knows-what kind of oil, and bamboo skewers with god-knows-what kind of meat. Some people claimed it was sparrow meat. Tsk, I have no idea how we dared to eat that as kids. But Ziqiao went with me every day. She was so grateful that she said if the end of the world ever came and her family’s emergency kit only had two compressed biscuits left, she’d definitely give me one.”
Tao Tianran tapped her finger against the steering wheel again, casting a glance at Cheng Xiang.
Cheng Xiang asked, “What?”
“It’s nothing,” Tao Tianran said in a flat tone. “It’s just that you become very talkative when you bring up your friend.”
Cheng Xiang laughed. “Hey, I’m naturally a chatterbox. I inherited it from my mom—she’s the Neighborhood Committee Director, after all. Oh, did I ever mention that to you? Besides, Ziqiao really is my best friend. Ever since we were kids, the absolute best.”
Tao Tianran’s eyes swept over her as she repeated flatly, “The absolute best.”
“Yeah, exactly.” Cheng Xiang nodded. “Oh, by the way, when you meet her in a bit, don’t misunderstand and think she doesn’t like you. She’s always been like that, pulling a grumpy face to make herself look cool.”
Pfft. Cheng Xiang let out a quiet giggle.
Why did she always get so close to people with grumpy faces? Her lifelong best friend was like that, and now her girlfriend was too. Was she just naturally drawn to scowlers?
Oh, goodness… girlfriend.
She snuck a peek at Tao Tianran out of the corner of her eye, unable to stop herself from grinning again as she poked her own dimple.
Seeing Cheng Xiang fidgeting in the passenger seat like an anxious little quail7—grinning at the window one second, stealing a glance at her the next, and then smiling to herself with pursed lips—Tao Tianran’s expression softened.
The lines of Tao Tianran’s face relaxed as she asked softly, “What’s making you so happy?”
Cheng Xiang waved her hands in rapid denial, laughing. “No, no, no, it’s nothing!”
There was no way she could let Tao Tianran know about all the little dramas playing out in her head. It would be a total social death8.
Tao Tianran drove steadily through the traffic.
Outside, the twilight deepened as the neon lights cast faint reflections onto the gray asphalt, making the road look like a shimmering river. Usually, the car would be dead silent at this hour.
Tao Tianran exhaled slowly and turned to look at Cheng Xiang, who was still chattering away beside her.
Cheng Xiang was curious about everything. She toyed with her seatbelt and asked, “Can these seats fold flat? I’ve seen a lot of the newer electric cars have that zero-gravity mode or whatever.”
“Mine doesn’t have that.”
Only now did Tao Tianran realize that Cheng Xiang was not just like a little fancy rat9—she was also like a little fish.
Every word she spoke was like a tiny bubble rising to fill the gaps in the air, filling the void.
It filled the spaces between the bricks and the hollows between the walls from when Tao Tianran had dragged her suitcase away from her grandmother’s house, and again when she had dragged it away from her home on the slope.
As the car pulled up to the location, Cheng Xiang unbuckled her seatbelt and scrambled out.
Qin Ziqiao was standing by the entrance. Seeing Cheng Xiang running toward her, she waved. As Cheng Xiang ran, she peered past Qin Ziqiao’s shoulder at a French restaurant with cavern-textured walls that looked incredibly high-end.
Cheng Xiang rushed up to Qin Ziqiao and asked, “What’s going on?”
Just as Qin Ziqiao was about to speak, she froze, spotting Tao Tianran walking over from behind Cheng Xiang.
The greeter at the door warmly greeted Tao Tianran with familiar ease: “Miss Tao.”
Tao Tianran nodded.
Qin Ziqiao stiffened again. She forcefully yanked Cheng Xiang closer, keeping her voice incredibly low. “Case closed. The pig-butchering scam is confirmed.”
Cheng Xiang said, “…Huh?”
Qin Ziqiao lowered her voice even more. “They’re operating as a syndicate.”
Cheng Xiang: “…???”
Just then, Yi Yu stepped out of the restaurant.
Seeing Tao Tianran by the door, she was dumbfounded: “What are you doing here? Did you come to catch me slacking?”
Tao Tianran retorted, “How would I even know you were here?”
“Fair point, haha.” Yi Yu rubbed her head, laughing. “So, uh, nothing major happened at the company today, right?”
For some reason, after playing hooky all day, her sudden encounter with Tao Tianran made her look exactly like a truant student bumping into the dean.
Hey, was she the boss or was Tao Tianran the boss?
Clutching Cheng Xiang tightly in the corner, Qin Ziqiao glared in the direction of Yi Yu and Tao Tianran, gritting her teeth. “See that? See that? They know each other!”
“So what if they know each other…” Cheng Xiang took a closer look at Yi Yu. “Actually, why does she look so familiar…”
“Oh!” Cheng Xiang suddenly realized. “She’s the bartender from that bar we went to!”
Qin Ziqiao slapped Cheng Xiang’s shoulder so hard she nearly sent her flying to the ground: “It all connects! It’s all connected, Xiangzi!”
Cheng Xiang: “…Huh?”
“Let me lay it out for you,” Qin Ziqiao said, her face dead serious. “We must’ve been targeted right after we went to that bar together. That yujie10 came to reel you in, right? And the other one was responsible for fishing for me!”
Cheng Xiang stared at Yi Yu from a distance, completely dumbfounded by the explanation.
“Sigh, I blame myself for letting my guard down. I bit the hook of my own accord,” Qin Ziqiao lamented, filled with regret. “I was the one who proactively added her WeChat. Just like you—you were the one who added that other lady, right? How are these vixens so incredibly skilled?”
Cheng Xiang was utterly lost. “What on earth are you talking about…”
“Simply put, I added her WeChat and had her come to the zoo to feed the capybaras11. After we finished, she insisted on treating me to dinner at this insanely expensive French restaurant. Then, she pretended to casually ask me what my impressions of Thailand were.”
Qin Ziqiao’s voice rose an octave. “I immediately went on high alert! Especially since I had your cautionary tale to learn from.”
Cheng Xiang tried to interject, “No, listen to me…”
Qin Ziqiao grabbed Cheng Xiang’s hand and marched toward Yi Yu and Tao Tianran. “Let’s go!”
Cheng Xiang protested, “Hey, wait…”
Meanwhile, Tao Tianran was asking Yi Yu, “Regarding the business with Thailand, did you sign the contract that was due today?”
“Haha,” Yi Yu laughed. “Hahaha.”
Her mind was currently stuffed with the hay she had used to feed the capybaras. How could she possibly have the brainpower left to sign a contract?
Qin Ziqiao dragged Cheng Xiang right up to them. Tao Tianran lowered her gaze, staring pointedly at the hand Qin Ziqiao was using to hold Cheng Xiang.
Yi Yu asked Qin Ziqiao, “Why did you come outside? I’ve been waiting for you forever. I had to ask the waitress before she told me she thought she saw you leave.”
Qin Ziqiao put on a righteous front. “Give up on whatever you’re planning.”
Yi Yu: “…?”
Qin Ziqiao pointed at Cheng Xiang. “She’s a neighborhood-second-generation12, and I’m a capy-second-generation13. Do you really think we’re so foolish and easily fooled?”
Cheng Xiang’s head filled with question marks. Neighborhood… second-generation?
What on earth was a neighborhood-second-generation?
“We’ve already seen through your scam. ‘Stay calm and verify when things happen; exercise caution when traveling abroad’—ever heard of that slogan?” Qin Ziqiao pointed at Cheng Xiang again. “Her mother literally does this for a living! Do you honestly think we’d fall for your tricks?”
“I’m calling the police.” Qin Ziqiao pulled out her phone.
“Wait, stop!” Cheng Xiang panicked.
“Hold on,” Tao Tianran spoke up at the same time.
Tao Tianran’s elegant face remained composed as she spoke in her usual calming, steady tone. Pointing at Yi Yu, she asked, “You suspect she’s a romance scammer?”
“Wait, a what?” Yi Yu’s eyebrows shot up.
Tao Tianran asked Yi Yu, “Do you have your business card on you?”
“Yeah, I do.” Yi Yu reached into the pockets of her highly artistic linen pants and fished out a crumpled business card.
Tao Tianran glanced down at it and pressed her lips together. Honestly… it looked highly suspicious, even though it was completely genuine.
As Yi Yu handed the card to Qin Ziqiao, Tao Tianran explained, “She’s the Chairman and CEO of Kunpu. You can look her up online. She doesn’t do many exclusive interviews, but you should be able to find one in 《Style》 magazine. She only agreed to publish that one because she claimed the photoshoot made her look exceptionally attractive.”
“As for me…” Tao Tianran turned her gaze to Cheng Xiang.
Cheng Xiang’s ears flushed red. “Her… her name is Tao Tianran. She’s a jewelry designer at Kunpu. S-She’s actually really famous and won the 「AGTA Spectrum Award」. You can find all of it online…”
Tao Tianran’s lips curled upward in a restrained smile.
She’d only mentioned it once, but Xiao Xiang was so good—she actually remembered it perfectly.
Qin Ziqiao took the business card, shot Yi Yu a skeptical look, and pulled out her phone to search.
Looking up, she told the three of them, “Wait here.”
Turning on her heel, she walked over to the bushes by the side of the road.
She tightly hugged one of the tree trunks, buried her face against the bark, and banged her forehead against it with force.
“Whoa…” Even Yi Yu panicked.
Qin Ziqiao walked back over. Despite the red mark stamped on her forehead, she maintained her cool, aloof, bratty demeanor as she told Yi Yu, “Um, sorry about that.”
Yi Yu let out an amused “pfft.”
Qin Ziqiao reached out to pull Cheng Xiang. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.”
Cheng Xiang cast a glance at Tao Tianran.
Right then, Yi Yu suddenly spoke up. “Wait.”
Qin Ziqiao turned to look at her.
“Your zoo has annual adoption programs, right?” Yi Yu said. “I’d like to adopt a capybara. For twenty years.”
Qin Ziqiao replied expressionlessly, “The lifespan of a capybara is only twenty years in total.”
“Uh,” Yi Yu said. “Ten years then. Come with me, let’s work out the details.”
Qin Ziqiao looked at Cheng Xiang. “Should I go?”
“Yeah,” Cheng Xiang touched the tip of her nose. “Go ahead. Work comes first.”
After Yi Yu and Qin Ziqiao left, Cheng Xiang ambled over to Tao Tianran.
She asked, “Was that really your boss?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“What a coincidence.” Cheng Xiang thought for a moment before asking with slight concern, “Your company isn’t about to go bankrupt, is it?”
The corners of Tao Tianran’s mouth lifted as she smiled.
Tao Tianran looked so beautiful when she smiled. Under the evening neon lights, Cheng Xiang stared at the slight upward curve of her lips. They looked like a crescent moon, like a boat ferrying someone to a night of sweet dreams—or perhaps like a tiny hook, snagging the most tender, itchy spot of her heart.
It made her want to reach out and touch them. Or… Cheng Xiang averted her eyes, staring at the ground as she thought: It makes me really want to kiss them.
Tao Tianran asked, “What about us?”
“What about us?”
“Where are we going?”
Cheng Xiang lightly dragged her toe against the pavement. While her mind whirled through a flurry of options—the cinema, KTV, a bookstore, a late-night food stall—Tao Tianran asked softly, “Would you like to come to my place?”
“To your place?” Cheng Xiang giggled. “Hehe.”
The moment the sound slipped out, she wanted to slap a hand over her mouth.
Tao Tianran glanced at her and guided her back into the car.
Cheng Xiang had been to Tao Tianran’s home once before. However, their relationship was entirely different this time around. After parking the car in the underground garage, Tao Tianran and Cheng Xiang each carried a few of the paper bags from the backseat as they walked out.
To get to Tao Tianran’s apartment from the garage, they had to walk through a section of the residential complex. The spring greenery was lush and flourishing, and a tall streetlight ahead looked like a weathered, ancient moon.
A maintenance worker from the property management office was sitting atop a tall ladder, conducting routine repairs.
Cheng Xiang watched him and let out an appreciative sigh. “Whoa, that’s impressive!”
This habit was also inherited from Director Ma. Ever since Cheng Xiang was young, her mother loved taking her to watch public spectacles. Back in the day, whenever an old-fashioned popcorn vendor set up his machine in the alley—the old man sitting behind the coal-blackened iron cylinder, turning the hand crank until a loud bang exploded—Director Ma would hold the young Cheng Xiang close, marveling alongside the crowd, “Whoa, that’s impressive!”
The complex’s maintenance worker, currently straddling the ladder, looked down at Cheng Xiang with a smile. “You’re a funny one, aren’t you, young lady?”
Cheng Xiang offered a couple of sheepish chuckles.
Tao Tianran stood off to the side. She knew that in a past timeline, Cheng Xiang had been well-acquainted with this man. She had given him steamed buns on several occasions and even asked him to do her a small favor by checking on these streetlights more frequently, ensuring the path was always illuminated for Tao Tianran’s walk home.
Seeing the two of them acting as complete strangers now filled Tao Tianran with a trace of quiet melancholy.
Cheng Xiang fumbled around in her pocket, pulled out a mint, and stepped forward to hand it to him. “It’s so late, and you’re working hard. Would you like a candy?”
“No, no, thank you.”
“Just take it,” Cheng Xiang said cheerfully. “It’s just a little mint.”
“Alright then. Thank you, young lady.”
Cheng Xiang waved with a smile and caught up to Tao Tianran. Nudging her with a playful look, she whispered, “Am I good or what?”
Tao Tianran murmured, “Hmm?”
“Think about it—I just gave him a piece of candy, so won’t he pay extra attention to this path from now on?” Cheng Xiang looked around as they walked. “Look how dark this walk home is, and it’s paved with cobblestones. You’re wearing high heels, too. If the lights go out and you twist your ankle, wouldn’t that hurt like crazy?”
Cheng Xiang possessed an incredibly high capacity for empathy. She even let out a soft hiss in vicarious pain herself as she spoke. “We definitely can’t have that. Requirements side, actually, it’s not nice of me to say it like that. I didn’t give him candy just to get a favor. I shouldn’t be so calculating. I just think making other people happy is a good thing, don’t you think?”
Tao Tianran asked softly, “You like making other people happy?”
It was hard to tell if the moonlight resembled the lamplight, or if the lamp itself was merely an old moon. The twin moons seemed to shine with double the intensity, illuminating the secret thoughts hidden in their hearts.
Cheng Xiang gazed at Tao Tianran’s elegant face bathed in the moonlight, thinking silently: I want to make you happy most of all.
But she couldn’t say those words aloud.
Some words are hard to say because saying them aloud makes them sound fake, but when kept in the heart, they can be so very real.
Tao Tianran, in this world that might not be all that lovely, I want you to be happy more than anything else.
Cheng Xiang pursed her lips, staring at her.
Holding the paper bags, Tao Tianran took a step closer to her.
Suddenly, a soft rustle sounded from the bushes beside them.
Cheng Xiang froze on the spot, clutching her paper bags. “Tao… Tao… Tao Tianran.”
“Hmm?”
“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask… isn’t the landscaping in your complex a bit too lush? It’s the middle of the night—there won’t be any s-snakes, right?”
Tao Tianran glanced at the bushes behind her. “Don’t move.”
Cheng Xiang’s shoulders went rigid. “I-I’m not moving!”
“Don’t look back.”
Cheng Xiang nodded like a woodpecker. “Okay.”
“Look at me.”
Cheng Xiang kept nodding. “Okay.”
“Only look at me.”
Cheng Xiang bit her lip. Just as the disturbance behind her crept toward her ankle, Tao Tianran leaned down and kissed her.
Cheng Xiang almost screamed. She couldn’t tell if it was because of the strange sensation at her ankle or because of Tao Tianran’s cool, soft lips. That refreshing breath trapped Cheng Xiang’s chaotic, thumping heart inside her chest.
Belatedly, she realized that the sensation brushing against her ankle wasn’t slimy. It was fluffy.
It wasn’t a snake. It was a cat.
Tao Tianran kissed her under the very streetlight Cheng Xiang had cared for in another life. A stray cat brushed its tail against Cheng Xiang’s ankle. With both of their hands full of bags, Tao Tianran didn’t cradle her head or wrap her arms around her. She simply leaned down, her elegant chin lightly brushing against her.
Sucking on her lips, her tongue tip reached out as if tasting, kissing her with immense tenderness.
The world was silent; only her heart was in chaos.
Or perhaps the world was in chaos, and her heart was perfectly still.
Cheng Xiang couldn’t define the feeling Tao Tianran’s kiss evoked. She wanted to lift her hands and pull Tao Tianran tightly into her embrace, yet she also wanted to do absolutely nothing but stand there and kiss her for a long, long time.
She slipped her tongue out, tasting Tao Tianran’s lips, finding them cool and smooth. As her tongue ventured slightly deeper, Tao Tianran’s tongue rose to meet it. Their lips and teeth locked together seamlessly, like two puzzle pieces that had spent ages searching for each other.
Only when Tao Tianran’s lips parted from hers did Cheng Xiang murmur, “You’re so bad.”
“I really thought it was a snake just now. You scared me to death.”
Tao Tianran merely smiled without answering.
She had originally wanted to tease her a little, but later, when she spoke those words—”only look at me”—the atmosphere had shifted completely.
As it turned out, she wasn’t devoid of possessiveness. Her burgeoning desire for possession was merely concealed beneath a detached exterior. Through all the times she had dragged her suitcase from one place to another, she had kept those feelings buried deep. Only when she had made love with Cheng Xiang in the past did it feel as though Cheng Xiang had breached her emotional defenses.
Cheng Xiang gazed at her softly, her thick, long eyelashes fluttering as she spoke. In a voice as tender as her gaze, she whispered her name: “Mm, Tao Tianran…”
Tao Tianran felt something entirely beyond her control unleash within her chest.
The world was unfamiliar, like a series of cold, artificial slides cycling through a projector.
But staying anchored within this familiar warmth made her feel unprecedentedly alive and at peace. It reminded her of the snails she used to watch in the ditch outside her grandmother’s house during her childhood—just as warm, just as soft, and just as brimming with quiet, vibrant life.
Standing beneath the moonlight, Tao Tianran stared at Cheng Xiang with practiced restraint.
She exhaled slowly, reminding herself: Don’t rush. Take it slow.
Cheng Xiang shifted her ankle slightly as the stray cat wrapped its fluffy tail around her leg, letting out a soft “meow.”
Cheng Xiang let out a soft hiss. “Wait, is sashimi usually cured or salted? I guess we shouldn’t feed it to the cat, huh?”
Tao Tianran said, “I have cat food in my trunk.”
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s just… don’t be upset with me for saying this, but you don’t really look like the type to feed stray cats. I don’t mean you’re a bad person! You just look so cool and mature, like a classic yujie, like you aren’t particularly interested in the world.”
The two of them walked back to the underground garage and popped the trunk to grab the cat food.
Cheng Xiang asked, “Why do you keep cat food in your trunk anyway?”
Tao Tianran answered silently in her heart: Because of you.
They walked back to the bushes, where the cat was waiting for them at the edge of the path. Cheng Xiang set her paper bags on the ground, shook some kibble out of the bag onto the pavement, and glanced at the packaging. “Whoa, this is imported. I feed stray cats back in the alley too, but I always buy local brands.”
As the cat bent its head to eat, Cheng Xiang remained crouched, burying her head to watch it. This posture exposed the slender, pale column of her nape.
Standing beside her, Tao Tianran’s gaze settled on that snowy-white nape, slowly tracing down the line of her spine.
The cat chewed its food, looked up, and cast a glance at Cheng Xiang.
Cheng Xiang laughed and stood up. “Alright, alright, you eat. I won’t watch, okay?”
She picked up the paper bags from the ground and walked toward the building with Tao Tianran, chattering along the way. “I was seriously terrified just now. What if it really had been a snake?”
“I would have grabbed you and run.”
“How could you do that?!” Cheng Xiang gasped. “You can’t run from a snake, right? Doesn’t everyone say that if you run, it’ll chase you? Some snakes can even fly—like, shooosh!”
While chatting, they arrived at Tao Tianran’s door. Tao Tianran scanned her face to unlock it. As they stepped inside, she fetched slippers for Cheng Xiang—the exact same pair from last time, brand new and worn by no one but Cheng Xiang.
While changing her shoes, Tao Tianran asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Me? I’m fine.”
“In that case, I’ll take a shower first.” Tao Tianran placed the paper bags on the entryway console table and raised her hand, lightly stroking her long, slender neck.
Cheng Xiang froze mid-shoe-change and looked up. Her gaze landed on the faint, pale lines of the beautiful tendons along Tao Tianran’s neck, and she unconsciously swallowed. “Y-You’re going to take a shower first? Hahahahaha.”
Footnotes
- A slang term originating from Cantonese, widely used to describe absolute beginners, naive amateurs, or those acting childishly.
- An appetizer course in Kaiseki, traditionally featuring seasonal ingredients served on a small, beautifully decorated plate.
- A visually striking course in Kaiseki representing the seasonal theme, served on a square wooden tray measuring roughly eight 'sun' (about 24 cm).
- The main hot dish in a Kaiseki meal, typically consisting of a grilled, simmered, or hotpot meat or seafood dish meant to be paired with sake.
- An internet slang term referring to a romance scam where victims are lured into fraudulent investments or travel under false romantic pretenses.
- Traditional toddler pants designed with an open crotch to facilitate restroom training, common in older Chinese residential neighborhoods.
- A classic animal metaphor in Chinese internet culture used to describe a person who is cowering, tense, or shrinking back in extreme emotional anxiety or embarrassment.
- A popular internet slang term describing extreme public embarrassment where a person feels so mortified they are socially deceased.
- A colloquial Chinese term (huazhishu) for fancy rats or domesticated pet mice, often used in online spaces as a cute endearment for someone small and lively.
- An aesthetic archetype in modern Chinese media representing a cool, mature, or elegant older woman with sophisticated charm.
- Derived from the phonetic pinyin 'kapibala', representing the calm, detached capybara. In Chinese internet culture, it symbolizes a lifestyle of ultimate peace and indifference to external chaos.
- A humorous slang term playing on 'second-generation rich' (fuerdai), used by children of neighborhood committee officials to jokingly describe their community-focused background.
- A humorous slang term playing on 'second-generation rich' (fuerdai), used to describe someone whose family members work with capybaras.
0 Comments