The Alley Was Always This Long – Chapter 67
by Little PandaA Tour
Tao Tianran suddenly asked, “Want to eat?”
[You gently kiss my lips,
My heartbeat is pretending, my pores are marveling.]
Cheng Xiang didn’t even know why she had suddenly burst out laughing.
She was probably just too nervous—nervous to death. The thoughts that had flashed through her mind when Tao Tianran said she was going to take a shower were things she didn’t even dare to dwell on.
After Tao Tianran went into the bathroom, Cheng Xiang sat properly on the living room sofa, her back straight and her shoulders tense, looking as if she were in military training.
She sat for a bit, then stood up, clapped her hands once, and muttered, “Oh dear.”
She paced over to the bookcase and leaned down to look. The book of poetry she had browsed during her last visit to Tao Tianran’s apartment was still there, neatly sandwiched between 《A Brief History of Time》 and 《Twentieth-Century Chinese Folklore Classics》.
Cheng Xiang didn’t pull it out. Instead, she crossed her arms and paced a couple of laps around Tao Tianran’s spacious living room.
Wait, what were those thoughts that had flashed through her mind like lightning earlier when Tao Tianran said she was going to take a shower? She decided to summon the courage to drag them out and review the knowledge points first while Tao Tianran was taking a shower.
But…
Standing with her arms crossed in front of the French windows leading to the garden, Cheng Xiang found her mind completely blank.
Those thoughts that had flashed by a moment ago were like trying to peek at a fairy bathing through steam-fogged glass—if she tried to look closely, she couldn’t make out a thing. Simply put, she had the desire of a thief but lacked the skills.
When she was a child, whenever she watched television with Director Ma, the moment the people on screen kissed, Director Ma would hurriedly cover her eyes: “You’re still young, don’t look.”
This covering had lasted until Cheng Xiang was in her twenties.
Cheng Xiang was basically self-taught when it came to kissing; she’d even unconsciously slip her tongue in when kissing Tao Tianran. But what about after kissing?
In her university dorm, it wasn’t as if the girls had never huddled together to watch that kind of adult movie. At the time, Cheng Xiang had been so flushed red with embarrassment that she kept munching on a jianbing1 while trying to act calm by critiquing the two female leads’ hairstyles.
…Was she out of her mind to critique their hairstyles?
If she’d known this day would come, she should’ve taken mental notes of the key moves back then.
Sigh, if only she’d known. She truly, deeply regretted it.
She paced back to the sofa, opened WeChat, and scrolled to her chat window with Qin Ziqiao. After a moment’s thought, she backed out and laughed at herself. What was she thinking? Even putting aside whether she’d have the face to ask such things…
Qin Ziqiao didn’t know any more than she did anyway! Right now, she was probably still with Yi Yu, chatting about capybaras.
Clutching her phone in her left hand, she tapped it gently against her right palm. Steeling herself, she clicked on the search bar. But how on earth was she supposed to write the keywords so they wouldn’t get censored?
Just then, her phone vibrated, scaring Cheng Xiang so much she flinched.
She looked. It was an unfamiliar number.
Cheng Xiang picked up: “Hello, I’m not buying insurance or taking out loans.”
“Xiao Xiang.” Surprisingly, Tao Tianran’s voice came through, heavy with moisture, lightly scraping against Cheng Xiang’s heart.
“Tao Tianran?” Cheng Xiang asked tentatively.
“Yes.”
“What number is this?”
“The emergency intercom system in the bathroom.”
“Ah.” Cheng Xiang stood up instantly. “Did something happen?”
“No, I just realized the housekeeper forgot to leave a replacement towel.” Tao Tianran’s usually cool, crisp voice was softened and dampened by the steam. “Could you come upstairs and bring me a towel?”
“Oh, oh, okay.” Cheng Xiang walked over to the stairs and headed up.
Once upstairs, she realized why Tao Tianran hadn’t gone to fetch it herself: the bathroom wasn’t inside the master bedroom at all.
Since Tao Tianran usually lived here alone, the layout was designed incredibly luxuriously: the master bedroom, study, and bathroom were all separate rooms, with the center being a completely open space containing a South Asian-style screen.
To cross it naked—even knowing there was no one else—would honestly still feel a bit bizarre.
“Then I’m going into your bedroom?”
“Yes.”
Cheng Xiang stepped inside cautiously, not knowing why she was suddenly treading so softly.
The bedroom was very spacious, with a large bed in the center dressed in soft grey-blue bedding that looked incredibly comfortable.
Cheng Xiang spoke into her phone, “Where is the bath towel?”
Adding a soft, coquettish lilt to her voice—if Qin Ziqiao heard her talking in such an affected manner, she’d definitely scold her to death.
Tao Tianran said, “In the wardrobe. The second door on the left.”
“Then I’m opening it?”
“Yes.”
Cheng Xiang opened the wardrobe door. The plain-colored bath towels were neatly stacked, sorted by shade from light to dark.
Cheng Xiang asked again, “What color do you want?”
Tao Tianran laughed, her voice carrying a humid, nasal tone from the steam. “Any is fine.”
Cheng Xiang picked up the top one, which happened to be a soft blue-grey, her eyes casually shifting to the side.
What was this thin little box?
Curious, Cheng Xiang leaned closer to take another look, almost blurting out the line of English text: “Finger…”
Oh my god! Cheng Xiang quickly shut her mouth.
Tao Tianran asked over the phone, “Xiao Xiang? Did you find it?”
“I-I-I got it.” Get a grip, Cheng Xiang! Why are you stuttering!
Cheng Xiang walked toward the bathroom. The door was cracked open a tiny sliver. Standing at the door, she called out softly, “Tao Tianran.”
“Yes.” A snow-white arm reached out from inside.
Water droplets that hadn’t been wiped away couldn’t cling to her smooth skin, falling with a soft drip-drop and shattering into a round bead of moisture on the wooden floor. Her already thin skin was softened further by the steam, revealing faint blue-violet veins, though the heat hadn’t flushed it with color.
Cheng Xiang recalled the last time she had embraced Tao Tianran on her bedroom bed. Tao Tianran had been just like this—pale and virtually bloodless, as if she had rolled through ice and snow.
Cheng Xiang handed the bath towel to her.
She felt a strong urge to reach out and hook her water-dampened fingertips.
Tao Tianran had already hung up, saying from behind the bathroom door, “Thank you.” Cheng Xiang didn’t even know why she was still holding the phone to her ear, as if Tao Tianran’s voice were echoing from somewhere far away.
Cheng Xiang swallowed. “Um, I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
“Okay.”
About fifteen minutes later, Tao Tianran came downstairs.
Cheng Xiang had been sitting on the sofa with her head down, only daring to lift her eyelids after her peripheral vision caught the sight of the long sleeves and long pants of her pajamas. Then, she froze.
Xiangzi, oh Xiangzi, how do you even dare to look!
The ancestors truly possessed great wisdom, for they would say: Holding the cloud-harp slanted and seeing the moon deep, the hazy tree colors conceal the Zhaoyang Palace2. Even though Tao Tianran’s pajamas were long-sleeved and long-pants, and the buttons were neatly fastened, her frame was so slender that it clearly emphasized the soft curves of her chest.
An elegant silhouette was visible through the pajamas, draping softly.
Draping softly.
Draping softly…
Tao Tianran suddenly asked, “Want to eat?”
“Huh?” Cheng Xiang was so startled she almost choked on her own saliva.
Tao Tianran gestured with her chin toward the entryway. “The takeout Japanese food.”
“Oh.” Cheng Xiang nodded. “Eat, eat, eat.”
Anything would do. Eat, eat, eat!
She followed Tao Tianran to the entryway, and together they carried the paper bags to the dining table. Inside were several neatly packed boxes, categorized as hassun and shiizakana3. Tao Tianran opened them to inspect, then took the ones that needed heating to prepare them.
Cheng Xiang stood by the table, opening the remaining boxes and arranging them neatly.
The two sat down. Cheng Xiang kept her eyes low, casting a brief glance opposite her. “You, uh, took a shower quite early.”
“Hmm?” Tao Tianran took a sip of soup and set her bowl down. “Sometimes designers need to enter workshops, so I’m used to showering as soon as I get home.”
Sister, please stop moving around.
Cheng Xiang hastily cast her eyes down, thinking to herself: My dear sister sitting across from me, every time you lift and lower your hands, that… sways even more, do you know that?
Throughout the entire meal, Cheng Xiang had absolutely no idea what she was eating. Whatever her chopsticks caught, she just stuffed it straight into her mouth.
After eating, Tao Tianran stood up to pack up the food boxes, and Cheng Xiang quickly helped her.
Once they had packed the boxes back into the paper bag, Cheng Xiang said, “I want to wash my hands.”
Heading to the guest bathroom just as she had before, she spotted a box of strip packets of mouthwash next to the sink. She stealthily took one, tore it open, poured it into her mouth, and swished it around—gudu gudu.
Returning to the living room, she saw Tao Tianran sitting on the sofa, replying to messages on her phone. Seeing her come over, Tao Tianran asked, “Want a tour?”
“Hmm?”
“My place. You didn’t get to have a proper look around last time.”
“Oh… Sure.”
Tao Tianran stood up and led Cheng Xiang into the kitchen. “This is the Chinese kitchen, and there’s a Western kitchen out by the island.”
Cheng Xiang smiled. “It’s obvious you don’t usually cook.”
They walked back to the living room. Tao Tianran said, “This is the living room.”
Cheng Xiang couldn’t keep a straight face and let out a soft pfft, and Tao Tianran’s lips curved in response.
How refreshing. As if she didn’t already know it was the living room!
Tao Tianran then led her to the French windows. “Outside is the garden. It’s late now, so we won’t go out.”
Cheng Xiang clasped her hands behind her back and looked out. “What did you plant?”
“I didn’t plant them; someone comes to tend to them regularly,” Tao Tianran said. “Evening primroses, Triumphator lilies, spotted bellflowers.”
“Oh.” Cheng Xiang nodded.
“Next is upstairs.”
Tao Tianran guided Cheng Xiang to the foot of the stairs. The lighting here suddenly dimmed, with three glass pendant lamps of varying lengths hanging overhead.
Tao Tianran walked ahead in her slippers, which made a soft pattering sound. She didn’t wear perfume, but she carried the subtle, faint scent of white peach body lotion.
Cheng Xiang followed closely behind, swallowing gently again.
Perhaps as early as when they were talking about the garden—no, maybe even earlier, when introducing the kitchen—both of them knew this “tour” would ultimately lead to the bedroom.
In hindsight, Cheng Xiang’s inquiries about the plants by the French windows and Tao Tianran’s patient answers seemed like mere pretense.
Tao Tianran introduced the bathroom, the study, and the origin of the screen in turn. Finally, she brought Cheng Xiang to the bedroom door. Pushing it open with a slender finger, she said, “This is the bedroom. You’ve already been inside.”
The bedroom lighting was also very dim. Tao Tianran leaned against the vintage wooden doorframe, her half-dry black hair cascading over her shoulders.
Cheng Xiang stepped inside alone, hands behind her back as she looked up at the massive map hanging above the headboard.
With her back to the door, she asked, “What are those places marked on the map?”
Tao Tianran answered, “Mogok.”
“Paraiba.”
“Ratnapura.”
“Chivor.”
With each name she uttered, she took a step closer to Cheng Xiang’s back. She didn’t use the Chinese pronunciations, but rather the pronunciations of those locations in their local languages. Her distinct accent was incredibly intoxicating.
As the last location left her lips, Cheng Xiang felt the cool, clean scent of white peach drift up right behind her.
Cheng Xiang’s teeth ground against her lower lip as she asked in an even softer voice, “Have you been to all of them?”
Tao Tianran’s slender arms wrapped around her from behind, her thin lips brushing against Cheng Xiang’s ear as she whispered in Cantonese, “Mou ah4.”
Cheng Xiang felt a jolt like electricity pass through her ear. She unclasped her hands from behind her back, letting them fall to her sides. Tao Tianran’s breath was right by her ear, and after two seconds, a soft kiss brushed against her earlobe.
Cheng Xiang instinctively closed her eyes, feeling the pores on her arms tingle. Keeping her eyes shut, she murmured, “Tao Tianran, I haven’t showered.”
Tao Tianran’s elegant nose nudged her ear. “I know.”
“I… I secretly used your mouthwash earlier.”
“I know that too.”
Her fingers slipped under Cheng Xiang’s sweatshirt, sliding upward, her palm cupping a certain spot and gently caressing it. Cheng Xiang spun around instantly, burying her forehead against Tao Tianran’s shoulder. She looked incredibly shy, yet her hand found its way beneath the hem of Tao Tianran’s pajama top.
Tao Tianran’s skin felt different from the last time they touched—coated in lotion, it felt slightly tacky.
Cheng Xiang didn’t know what she was thinking as she began fumbling with the buttons on the front of Tao Tianran’s pajamas, burying her head against her chest. She discovered that the lotion actually tasted slightly bitter—nothing like white peaches at all.
Tao Tianran propped herself up with one hand as she sat on the edge of the bed, guiding Cheng Xiang to kneel with one knee on the edge of the bed too.
Cheng Xiang was in a hurry, behaving like a greedy little beast.
Tao Tianran turned her head, burying her face and her shallow, uneven breaths into the soft pillow, her hair falling across her cheek. Cheng Xiang’s knees were on either side of Tao Tianran’s thighs, her fingers interlocking with Tao Tianran’s as she pinned her slender wrists to the headboard.
And then.
Cheng Xiang stopped, looking at her.
Tao Tianran turned her head slightly, peering at Cheng Xiang through the gaps in her hair. Tao Tianran’s pajama top lay open, while Cheng Xiang had shed her sweatshirt.
Tao Tianran’s fingers reached over, hooking the cotton strap of Cheng Xiang’s bra.
Cheng Xiang closed her eyes.
Sinking into the pillow, Tao Tianran turned her face forward, looking up at every subtle reaction on Cheng Xiang’s face. Cheng Xiang unconsciously tilted her chin up, biting her lower lip.
Tao Tianran continued her movements, yet her gaze remained restrained, fixed entirely on Cheng Xiang’s trembling eyelashes.
She’d clearly told herself to take things slow.
She’d clearly only wanted to hold Cheng Xiang just now.
But Cheng Xiang’s fair, delicate ear was right beside her lips.
Tao Tianran stared at Cheng Xiang’s increasingly fluttering eyelashes. Cheng Xiang pressed her chin down, as if suppressing a sound from escaping her throat. Just as Tao Tianran’s slender fingers were about to return to their most familiar place, Cheng Xiang suddenly grabbed her thin wrist.
“Wait,” Cheng Xiang said. “Wait, wait, wait, wait.”
She opened her eyes, which were pooled with moisture, and bit her lower lip. “It’s not that I don’t want to. I absolutely want to.”
“It’s just… I think…” She whispered in a tiny voice, “I should be the gong5.”
Tao Tianran turned her head into the pillow and let out a silent laugh.
She sat up, as if all her strength had drained away, and gave Cheng Xiang’s back a lazy pat. Cheng Xiang slumped off of her. With her eyelids heavy and drooping, Tao Tianran slowly began to fasten her pajama buttons one by one.
Sitting beside her with one leg tucked under, Cheng Xiang bit her lower lip again. “So… what do we do?”
Tao Tianran paused her hand. Her liquid gaze drifted over to her. “You’re asking me?”
It was a look of pure, lazy allure that she had never shown to anyone else.
Cheng Xiang pursed her lips. Grabbing Tao Tianran’s slender wrist, she gently pushed her hand aside. Her own fingertips brushed against the tortoiseshell buttons on Tao Tianran’s pajama top. “Do we need to use that?” she asked softly.
“Hmm?”
“You know… the thing in your wardrobe.”
Tao Tianran said with restraint, “We don’t have to.” Even though she had prepared them.
“Oh.” Cheng Xiang’s voice was very low, her eyelids remaining lowered the entire time. “Then if you feel uncomfortable, let me know.”
Tao Tianran’s spine began to burn.
For some reason, a single sentence from Cheng Xiang made her entire back flush with heat.
She sat quietly, looking down at Cheng Xiang’s delicate fingers slowly tracing the buttons of her pajamas. This moment felt stretched out, yet she felt no urgency, as if something was slowly taking root in the atmosphere.
Just as Tao Tianran was focusing on her own reactions, Cheng Xiang’s fingers suddenly froze.
Tao Tianran looked up, only to see Cheng Xiang’s face twisting as if she were about to cry.
Tao Tianran was stunned.
She reached out to touch Cheng Xiang’s cheek. “You’re not… it’s not worth crying over…”
“No!” Cheng Xiang scrambled off the bed, truly on the verge of tears. “Tao Tianran, can I borrow your bathroom? My stomach suddenly hurts so bad!”
As it turned out, Kaiseki cuisine really couldn’t be ordered as takeout.
Cheng Xiang lay on the hospital bed, her soul seemingly departed from her body. She didn’t even have the energy to ask herself the classic existential questions of “Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?” She was just an empty shell.
To her credit, she had used her last shred of sanity to put her clothes back on and use the guest bathroom downstairs.
But when Tao Tianran asked if she should take her to the hospital, Cheng Xiang had said with dead, hollow eyes, “Just call an ambulance. Or, you know, just call a hearse from the crematorium.”
Tao Tianran had driven her to the hospital anyway. The entire way, Cheng Xiang wrapped herself in a massive shirt jacket, her arms hugging her body as she curled up in the passenger seat, staring blankly out the window.
Now that she was hooked up to an IV, her stomach had finally stopped acting up.
However, the moment Tao Tianran finished handling all the paperwork and walked back to her bedside, Cheng Xiang buried her face in her pillow. “You should head back first. I’ll have Ziqiao come keep me company.”
Tao Tianran said softly, “But it’s already one in the morning.”
Still burying her face, Cheng Xiang gritted her teeth. “If she doesn’t come this time, I’m unfriending her.”
She’d taken the fall for Qin Ziqiao so many times growing up! She’d treated her to so many roadside food stalls! If Qin Ziqiao couldn’t step up during the absolute darkest moment of her life, then this friendship was as good as dead!
Tao Tianran said, “Then, once she arrives, I’ll…”
“No, no, no.” Cheng Xiang continued in her dead, lifeless voice. “You go first. Please go first.”
Tao Tianran glanced at her ears, which remained bright red beneath her soft hair. Picking up her bag, she softened her voice even more. “Alright, I’ll go first.”
If she stayed any longer, she was genuinely afraid the girl would spontaneously combust from sheer embarrassment.
Once Tao Tianran left, Cheng Xiang opened one eye, peeking through her hair toward the door. After confirming Tao Tianran was truly gone, she finally lay flat, staring hollowly at the hospital ceiling.
Sigh. The ceiling was so grey—just like her life.
Qin Ziqiao arrived about half an hour later, wearing a large face mask.
Cheng Xiang was on the verge of tears. “What took you so long? And why are you wearing a mask?”
Qin Ziqiao’s voice sounded muffled behind her mask. “We’re in a hospital, aren’t we?”
Cheng Xiang asked, “Did you tell my mom I was hanging out at your place?”
Qin Ziqiao pulled up a chair and sat by the bed. “Yeah, I told her when you messaged me earlier. What’s wrong with you anyway?”
Cheng Xiang said, her voice barely a whisper, “I ate Japanese food. Takeout Japanese food.”
Tao Tianran had eaten it too! Why was Tao Tianran completely fine?
Oh, probably because Tao Tianran had only eaten a few bites of seasoned rice and sipped some soup with restraint. Meanwhile, in her desperate attempt to avoid staring at Tao Tianran’s chest, Cheng Xiang had stuffed her mouth with seaweed, baby eels, firefly squid with vinegared miso… She hadn’t even processed what she was putting in her mouth.
Qin Ziqiao asked, “So, you were at Tao Tianran’s place…”
Cheng Xiang interrupted, “Don’t say it!!!”
Just let her die!
Qin Ziqiao tried again, “Well, can I ask at what point you…”
Cheng Xiang cut her off, “No, you can’t!!!”
Let her die over and over again!
Qin Ziqiao asked, “Can I order some fried noodles? I’m kind of hungry.”
Cheng Xiang snapped, “No!!! Don’t let me smell any food!”
Qin Ziqiao couldn’t help but snicker. “Pfft, fine.”
After her three existential outbursts, Cheng Xiang reverted to her lifeless state. “What were you doing when I called you? You sounded a bit out of breath.”
Avoiding her gaze, Qin Ziqiao stared at the nightstand. “Nothing. What would I be doing in the middle of the night? You must’ve misheard.”
Cheng Xiang sighed. “True. Maybe my senses are just shot.”
Under the influence of the medication, Cheng Xiang finally drifted off to sleep.
Qin Ziqiao glanced at Cheng Xiang. Seeing that she was fast asleep, she pulled her mask down to rest beneath her chin.
Wearing a mask the entire time was honestly quite suffocating.
Qin Ziqiao checked Cheng Xiang’s IV bag. Seeing there was about a third left, she pulled out her phone to continue reading her post-apocalyptic novel.
Cheng Xiang didn’t sleep for long. Perhaps because her soul was shattered, she opened her eyes to look at Qin Ziqiao, who was reading on her phone, and suddenly called out softly, “Qiaozi!”
Qin Ziqiao quickly yanked her mask back up to cover her face.
But Cheng Xiang’s eyes were already wide. “Did you get bitten by a capybara?!”
At that moment, back in Qin Ziqiao’s apartment, Yi Yu was lying in Qin Ziqiao’s bed wearing her pajamas and hugging her plush capybara, letting out a massive sneeze in her sleep.
“Wait, that’s not right.” Cheng Xiang’s brow furrowed. “You didn’t go to the zoo in the middle of the night. Besides, the shape of the bite mark doesn’t look like a snout.”
Qin Ziqiao stared at Cheng Xiang, blinking.
Cheng Xiang stared back at Qin Ziqiao, blinking.
“What on earth bit you?” Cheng Xiang asked, quite concerned. “Did you get a rabies shot? Take your mask off and let me see again.”
Qin Ziqiao said, “No rabies shot needed.”
“How can you say that?” Cheng Xiang grew anxious. “Did you forget the video my mom showed us? If you get bitten by an animal and don’t get vaccinated, when it flares up…”
Qin Ziqiao clarified, “I was bitten by a human.”
Cheng Xiang didn’t process this immediately. “Huh?”
Qin Ziqiao said, “Yi Yu bit me.”
Cheng Xiang stared at Qin Ziqiao, blinking.
Qin Ziqiao stared back at Cheng Xiang, blinking.
Suddenly, Cheng Xiang turned her head away, burying her face into the pillow once more, letting out a muffled sob. “Go away!”
When she’d wanted to message Qin Ziqiao to ask for some “academic” guidance earlier, she’d assumed Qin Ziqiao was completely clueless!
Yet, on this very night when her own romantic endeavor had been cut short by stomach pains, her best friend, Qin Ziqiao, had actually slept with Yi Yu!
Cheng Xiang didn’t even have the energy to gossip.
The sheer contrast felt like the world mocking her, and a betrayal from Qin Ziqiao!
“Come on,” Qin Ziqiao said. “If I leave, who’s going to call the nurse to pull the needle out for you? And if your stomach starts hurting again…”
“My stomach doesn’t hurt anymore!!!”
Once Cheng Xiang’s IV drip finished, the two walked out of the hospital together.
Cheng Xiang glanced at the roadside. Even at this hour, a red-tent food stall had been set up, selling late-night snacks like fried noodles and fried rice. Since it was the middle of the night, however, there was hardly anyone around.
Cheng Xiang asked Qin Ziqiao, “Didn’t you say you wanted fried noodles?”
“Yeah.”
“Go eat then. My treat. I’ll just wait for you outside.”
“I’m really going, then?”
“Go on.”
While Qin Ziqiao went to eat her fried noodles, Cheng Xiang squatted on the curb outside the tent, hugging her knees, and began to cry.
On a night that had been so tumultuous and full of twists and turns for her, the fact that Qin Ziqiao had effortlessly slept with Yi Yu was the absolute last straw.
When Qin Ziqiao wiped her mouth with a tissue and walked out of the tent, she saw Cheng Xiang squatting by the roadside, crying her eyes out. Wah-wah.
“Hey, don’t cry.” Qin Ziqiao couldn’t help but snicker. “Pfft.”
Cheng Xiang looked up, glaring through her tears. “Qin Ziqiao!”
“I’m not laughing at you, I’m really not.” Qin Ziqiao waved her hand, tissue in hand, with Yi Yu’s bite mark still visible on her cheek. “Pfft.”
“Qin Ziqiao! Do you believe I’ll actually end our friendship over this!”
“I’m trying to comfort you! Pfft, this kind of thing is actually very normal. You know, humans eat whole grains, so falling ill is only natural… Pfft, hahahahahahaha! Why are you so hilarious!”
On the late-night street, outside the food stall’s tent, Qin Ziqiao finally clutched her stomach and burst into roaring laughter.
With tear tracks still fresh on her face, Cheng Xiang tilted her head up and stared blankly at Qin Ziqiao.
It had been a very long time since she had seen Qin Ziqiao laugh like this.
When they were young, playing with spinning tops, climbing walls, and riding their bikes through the alleys, Qin Ziqiao had loved to laugh. Later, her parents divorced, and she moved away from Hundred Flowers Alley. Eventually, Qin Ziqiao’s mother remarried some uncle.
Qin Ziqiao had turned into a cold, aloof kid who rarely spoke. After starting work, she had moved out entirely, renting a small apartment of her own.
Cheng Xiang looked up at Qin Ziqiao, whose shoulders were shaking as she clutched her stomach, laughing. Cheng Xiang’s expression softened.
She rubbed the tip of her nose and asked softly, “Ziqiao, are you and Yi Yu together?”
Qin Ziqiao stopped laughing, the residual amusement still lingering in her eyes, though her face had already cooled down. “No. We just slept together.”
“As for being together properly…” Qin Ziqiao curled her lips slightly. “I don’t believe in that kind of thing at all.”
The author has something to say:
Note: “Holding the cloud-harp slanted and seeing the moon deep, the hazy tree colors conceal the Zhaoyang Palace” is from the Tang dynasty poet Wang Changling’s poem 《West Palace Spring Lament》.
Footnotes
- A traditional Chinese street food consisting of a savory crepe cooked on a flat griddle, wrapped with eggs, scallions, and a crispy cracker.
- A line from Tang dynasty poet Wang Changling's poem West Palace Spring Lament, used to euphemize physical intimacy or a woman's body half-hidden beneath her clothes.
- Traditional courses in Kaiseki (multi-course Japanese dinner): hassun sets the seasonal theme, while shiizakana is typically a substantial hot dish like grilled meat or hotpot.
- Cantonese for no or not have, spoken here by Tao Tianran as an intimate response.
- GL/BL (Girls' Love/Boys' Love) terminology referring to the active or dominant partner in a same-sex relationship, equivalent to a 'top.'
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