The Alley Was Always This Long – Chapter 81

Reunion

A thoroughly pure pillow princess¹.

[We will take a train to Siberia together.

            

We will spend seven days and seven nights traveling aimlessly.

We will stare blankly at the forests and frozen lakes outside the window, and then, holding hands, go search for the youngest sea on Earth.]

---

Earlier, when Qin Ziqiao had shown up at the airport, she had actually felt incredibly awkward.

            

Clutching a massive bouquet of irises in her arms, her naturally sullen face looked even more sour out of sheer embarrassment.

When Yi Yu emerged from the crowd, pushing a luggage cart loaded with three massive suitcases, she was wearing a newsboy cap. Her messy, long hair fell all the way down to her waist, and she was wrapped in a long, hippie-style overcoat. Hanging over her chest was a large, eye-patterned dzi bead², making her look like a bohemian artist who had just retreated from the secular world. Her face was so deceptively beautiful that quite a few travelers couldn’t help but look her way.

But the moment she spotted Qin Ziqiao holding the irises from afar, she let out three loud, booming laughs and came running over with her cart. Letting the cart coast forward on its own momentum, she squeezed right up to Qin Ziqiao’s side and gave her shoulder a hard shove. “Look at you, buying flowers now?”

            

Qin Ziqiao was caught off guard—completely off guard.

After all, the Yi Yu she was used to seeing was either the half-dead Yi Yu after feeding the capybaras, or the half-dead Yi Yu after they were done in bed.

And so, Qin Ziqiao tumbled backward, landing flat on her backside.

            

Yi Yu: …

Qin Ziqiao: …

“Ahem.” Yi Yu felt a bit awkward and scrambled for a topic to save face. “Are these flowers for me?”

            

“Yeah.” Qin Ziqiao, still sitting on the airport floor, thrust the bouquet toward her.

On their taxi ride home, Qin Ziqiao kept her head turned, staring out the window the entire way.

For someone like her, admitting she “liked” someone didn’t come easily. Especially since she had confessed her feelings right before they went so long without seeing each other.

            

It wasn’t until they stepped through the door that Yi Yu pinned Qin Ziqiao against the shoe cabinet.

“Um,” Qin Ziqiao asked, “aren’t we going to get reacquainted first?”

“Why waste time on useless pleasantries?” Yi Yu said. “Let’s get straight to it.”

            

Couldn’t she tell she had been cooped up in Africa for so long that she was practically bursting?

After they both showered, they collapsed onto Qin Ziqiao’s bed.

Despite the grand, boastful promises Yi Yu had made before going abroad, the reality was that she was a complete zero—a thoroughly pure pillow princess.

            

With one sweat-slicked arm draped around the back of Qin Ziqiao’s neck, she let pleased sounds escape her throat.

Qin Ziqiao paused.

“What?” Yi Yu brushed aside the damp strands of hair clinging to her face.

            

“Nothing,” Qin Ziqiao replied, resuming.

After a short while, she paused yet again, looking down at Yi Yu.

“What is it now?” Yi Yu was growing a little impatient.

            

“Can you keep it down? Actually, it’d be best if you didn’t make any sound at all.”

“Why?”

“My apartment is old, and the soundproofing is terrible.”

            

Yi Yu fluttered her sweat-dewed eyelashes. “How much to buy this entire building?”

Qin Ziqiao: …

After a thoroughly satisfying encounter, Yi Yu lay back against the headboard, completely limp, lacking even the strength to get up and wash.

            

Qin Ziqiao sat in the living room’s computer chair, typing 「Madagascar hoopoe bird」 into the search bar.

She just wanted to hear what this bird actually sounded like.

Why was it that after Yi Yu spent some time in Africa, her calls… had become so much more high-pitched and bright? It really threw her off, okay?

            

---

Cheng Xiang clutched her phone, her slippers making a soft patter-patter as she ran into the study.

“Can I bother you for a minute?”

“You’re not bothering me.” Tao Tianran had already been about to shut down her computer anyway.

            

Cheng Xiang froze for a moment.

Tao Tianran asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve never seen you wear glasses before.”

            

Below Tao Tianran’s eye, there was no small, pale pink scar in this life—as if their past ordeals hadn’t had the chance to leave any physical marks on them.

She had simply caught sight of a pair of gold-rimmed glasses she liked once and bought them on a whim. They weren’t useful in her workshop, so she had them fitted with blue-light-blocking lenses instead.

On the rare occasion that she had to do some paperwork late at night and felt her eyes growing tired, she would take them out and put them on.

            

Cheng Xiang’s slender finger lightly grazed the doorframe. As Tao Tianran reached up to take off the glasses, she spoke up. “Don’t take them off.”

Walking over, she rested her hand against the back of Tao Tianran’s neck. “Are you done with work?”

“Yes.”

            

She squeezed her way into the space between the desk and the computer chair, facing Tao Tianran, and straddled her lap.

Tao Tianran brought both arms around her waist, locking her in, and rested her forehead against Cheng Xiang’s shoulder.

Cheng Xiang stroked Tao Tianran’s long hair. “Tired?”

            

“A little.”

Sitting on Tao Tianran’s lap, Cheng Xiang leaned back slightly, carving out a small pocket of space between them.

Tao Tianran looked up. “What did you come to find me for?”

            

“Oh.” Cheng Xiang reached up to smooth the crisp collar of Tao Tianran’s white shirt. Tao Tianran still hadn’t changed out of the professional attire she wore during the day. Paired with her naturally pale complexion, the gold-rimmed glasses made her eyes look even cooler and more detached, giving her a decidedly ascetic aura.

Her mind wandering slightly, Cheng Xiang said, “Yi Yu came back early. I think she and Qiaozi are basically together now.”

Tao Tianran wasn’t surprised.

            

She asked Cheng Xiang, “Why are you so happy about it?”

Cheng Xiang’s lips curved. “Because I have you. I just want Qiaozi to have someone she loves very, very much too.”

Her expression was docile, radiating sweet innocence, but without the slightest warning, her hand slipped beneath the waistband of Tao Tianran’s trousers.

            

Tao Tianran realized—this was premeditated.

At the very least, from the moment Cheng Xiang straddled her lap and leaned back that tiny bit, she had been plotting this.

Tao Tianran slid open the desk drawer and tossed a small box onto the desktop.

            

Cheng Xiang glanced back at it, then lowered her head. Meeting Tao Tianran’s gaze, she rolled one onto her finger.

After planting a soft kiss on Tao Tianran’s pinky ring, she wrapped one arm around the back of her neck while her other hand returned to where it had just been.

This was the first time she had ever done this without any preamble.

            

For some reason, the cold, ascetic look of Tao Tianran wearing those gold-rimmed glasses made her want to do this.

“Teacher Tao.” Feeling a slight resistance, she whispered, “How do you sound when you’re being strict at the office?”

“I scold people,” Tao Tianran said.

            

“How?”

“I’ll say: What is this garbage you’ve made?”

“Really?” Cheng Xiang let out a soft laugh. “What else?”

            

“What else… I don’t know,” Tao Tianran murmured, gripping the armrest of the computer chair with one hand. Cheng Xiang’s movements were throwing her mind into complete disarray.

The study curtains weren’t drawn yet. Her residential complex was extremely low-density, so she wasn’t worried about anyone peeping, but she could see the reflection of their backs projected onto the windowpane.

It was a clear, intense visual stimulation.

            

“But I want to hear you speak,” Cheng Xiang said. “How about you look at your computer and read the proposal you just wrote out loud?”

Tao Tianran lowered her eyes, looking through her cold, gold-rimmed glasses at the screen of her laptop.

She pressed her lips together, her gaze landing arbitrarily on a line of text, and began to read. “Based on the needs and spending habits of potential customers…”

            

Cheng Xiang leaned close to her ear. “Keep reading. Don’t stop.”

Tao Tianran gripped the armrest even tighter, the chair’s casters scraping against the floor with a soft squeak. Her eyes lost their focus, skipping lines across the laptop screen; she didn’t even know what she was reciting anymore. “In the market… mnh… the growth of emerging jewelry brands…”

Her pauses and inflections rose and fell in sync with Cheng Xiang’s rhythm.

            

Cheng Xiang hadn’t expected this kind of recitation to be so stimulating. It was probably because Tao Tianran was reading a dead-serious business analysis, which made it all too easy to picture her in a corporate conference room.

Ascetic. Cold. Aloof.

The contrast with the woman in front of her was so sharp that it was intoxicating.

            

Tao Tianran clearly felt the same. Cheng Xiang could feel the initial resistance gradually giving way to acceptance, then transforming into a tight, drawing embrace.

Suddenly, Tao Tianran buried her face against Cheng Xiang’s shoulder.

Only after a long while did she let out a low, ragged breath. With a raspy voice, she told Cheng Xiang, “You ruined my trousers.”

            

---

The next day, Yi Yu wanted to practically scatter money on her way back to the office she hadn’t seen in forever.

Her assistant managed to talk her out of it after much pleading. “That’s too showy, Boss. It really is way too high-profile.”

Hahaha, what was wrong with being showy? Yi Yu thought. She was feeling completely refreshed, body and soul! The suffocating boredom she had endured in Africa for so long was finally gone!

            

Her assistant added, “But Teacher Tao will scold you.”

Uh, well. That put an end to that. Yi Yu backed down.

Walking into the conference room and seeing the room full of her long-lost beauties, Yi Yu was in an even better mood. Especially since today she got to listen to Tao Tianran’s business analysis presentation—it was a sheer pleasure.

            

Tao Tianran stood in front of the projector screen, her slender finger clicking the mouse as she spoke. “Based on the needs and spending habits of potential customers…”

At those words, she faltered.

“What’s wrong?” Yi Yu asked, confused.

            

Tao Tianran shook her head. Her thumb lightly stroked the plain band on her pinky finger before she calmly carried on with the presentation.

---

Cheng Xiang’s birthday fell on a Tuesday.

She had made sure to wash her hair the night before, waiting for Tao Tianran to contact her. Since today was a workday, she figured Tao Tianran would probably wait until after business hours.

            

But as closing time drew near, there was still no sign of a text from Tao Tianran.

Fine, fine, fine. At first, Cheng Xiang thought: Playing hard to get, are we?

But after waiting a bit longer, she really started to get anxious. She shot a WeChat message to Qin Ziqiao: 【Do you think she forgot my birthday?】

            

Qin Ziqiao: 【Impossible.】

【But but but, what if she actually did?】

【Dump her. What, are you keeping her around for Chinese New Year?】

            

Cheng Xiang stared at her phone screen and pouted.

Right then, Tao Tianran’s text came through: 【Are you home?】

Where else would she be? Cheng Xiang tossed her phone aside, ignoring it.

            

Another message popped up from Tao Tianran: 【I’m at the entrance of your alley.】

Cheng Xiang still didn’t reply, but she picked up her phone and slowly walked toward the alley entrance.

Seeing Tao Tianran’s car, she stood in place for a brief moment before walking over, opening the passenger door, and sliding inside.

            

In the end, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you wait until now to contact me?”

“So when you were just standing there, you were giving me the cold shoulder?”

“I don’t want to talk to you right now either,” Cheng Xiang muttered under her breath. “I was just worried that if your car sat at the alley entrance too long and my mom ran into you, it’d be awkward.”

            

“Oh. Well, thank you then.”

Cheng Xiang couldn’t keep a straight face and burst out laughing.

Tao Tianran started the car. Her Xiao Xiang was such a soft-hearted girl. She couldn’t even stay angry for long, making one’s heart feel warm and fuzzy, like the soft edges of the setting sun.

            

Cheng Xiang asked, “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see soon enough. The place I want to take you has to wait until after dark.”

Tao Tianran drove to the high-speed rail station. She had already bought tickets to a nearby coastal city in advance.

            

Deep down, she harbored a faint, lingering anxiety. She had developed an ever-growing dread of driving on expressways, and preferred to opt for a safer, more conservative mode of travel.

Once they stepped out of the high-speed rail station, a car Tao Tianran had booked in advance was waiting to take them to the port.

As they boarded a boat, Cheng Xiang asked, “Where are we heading?”

            

“Nowhere.”

“So… we’re just going to float here?”

“Yes. Just floating.”

            

Tao Tianran had booked this boat well in advance, and it remained secured to the dock by a single mooring rope. Since she had no intention of actually setting sail, there was no need for a crew. She and Cheng Xiang stood on the deck, the pitch-black water swirling beneath their feet.

The boat drifted gently. There were no stars in the sky above the sea, but the distant city was sprinkled with scattered, twinkling lights.

Lights were the stars of the city. Stars were the lamps of the sky.

            

Cheng Xiang softly asked, “Tao Tianran, it’s just the two of us here, right?”

“Yes.”

They weren’t in the city, nor on an island; they weren’t walking on land, nor sailing across the open sea. They were in the spaces between everything; here, there was only the two of them.

            

Cheng Xiang felt a quiet wave of emotion. For some reason, she often felt the urge to run away and hide with Tao Tianran. Just like on Tao Tianran’s birthday, when Tao Tianran had taken her to the Clock Tower, guiding her to hide in the crevices of time among the giant, brass gears.

Cheng Xiang said, “Tao Tianran, can I give you a present?”

“It’s your birthday, and you’re giving me a gift?”

            

Cheng Xiang grinned. “Hehehe.”

She pulled a small paper bag out of her pocket and handed it over.

Tao Tianran opened it to find a handful of seeds.

            

“Can you guess what seeds these are?”

“Apple tree?”

“Ah, do you have to be so smart?” Cheng Xiang brushed back her bangs. It was a rather sentimental gift, and she felt a little self-conscious. “Yeah… can we plant them in your garden?”

            

Back when Tao Tianran had confessed to her, she had asked her to pick from three pairs of words to see if Tao Tianran could read her mind. For the final pair, Tao Tianran had chosen ‘apple’ over ‘watermelon’.

And an apple was exactly what she had been thinking of.

Back then, Tao Tianran had said, “I don’t believe in heaven’s will, nor do I believe in fate. I want to be with you.”

            

What Cheng Xiang had wanted to say was that regardless of whether fate meant watermelons or apples, since Tao Tianran had chosen apples, she would give her an apple tree.

She would water it with care, sing to it, and bask in the sun alongside it until it finally bore fruit.

But saying those words aloud felt a bit too sentimental. So she chose to remain silent, hiding her upturned lips behind her colorful knit scarf, her hands clasped behind her back as she smiled at Tao Tianran.

            

Tao Tianran tucked the paper bag into her pocket, wrapped her arm around Cheng Xiang’s shoulders, and looked out at the distant city lights with her.

“Tao Tianran, are you resting your chin on my head?”

“Yes.”

            

“Ah, don’t do that.” Cheng Xiang tilted her head. “I’m really not that short. It’s just because you’re wearing heels.”

Cheng Xiang protested, then found herself silly. She quieted down, simply looking out into the night with her.

Tao Tianran wrapped her arms around Cheng Xiang from behind.

            

She heard Cheng Xiang whisper, “It’s so beautiful.”

For a long time, Tao Tianran had felt like a person trapped in the cracks. She drifted from one life to another, never looking back.

But now, Cheng Xiang was right here with her, hiding in the crevices of time, of life, and of fate.

            

She said to Cheng Xiang, “Reach into my pocket and see what’s inside.”

Cheng Xiang slipped her hand into Tao Tianran’s coat pocket and felt an envelope.

Oh… it couldn’t be a love letter, could it? Cheng Xiang felt a sudden wave of nervousness.

            

But when she opened it, she found two ferry tickets.

Cheng Xiang squinted in the dim, distant light. They were two pre-ordered tickets to the Kara Sea.

“The Kara Sea is only navigable for two months out of the year, so this is a pre-order,” Tao Tianran said.

            

“When the time comes, we’ll fly to Moscow and then take the train through Siberia, spending seven days and seven nights on board.”

“We’ll see forests and frozen lakes. Life will become remarkably simple—just eating, sleeping, and staring out at the passing scenery. Everyone around us will be speaking Russian, which we won’t understand, so only the two of us will be able to comprehend each other.”

“And then we’ll see the Kara Sea. Formed after the Earth’s last glacial period melted, it’s the youngest sea on the planet.”

            

For reasons she couldn’t quite name, Cheng Xiang’s eyes grew hot.

She reached up to hug Tao Tianran’s arm, trying to hold it in, but the next time she blinked, her tears began to fall softly.

Not wanting Tao Tianran to notice she was crying, she tried her best to keep her voice steady. “Will we, Tao Tianran?”

            

“We will,” Tao Tianran’s quiet, steady voice drifted from behind her in the night. “We’ll visit all sixty-four seas in the world, and without leaving a single regret, we’ll live a very, very good life.”

“Xiao Xiang, happy birthday. I wish you happiness.”

If the gods do not permit it, I will act as your god.

            

---

The moment Cheng Xiang got home, she shed her down jacket, collapsed onto her bed, and rolled around twice hugging her pillow.

Ahhhhh, that was romantic to death!

She sat up, brushing away the stray hairs on her face with a smile. Looking ahead, the winter phoenix tree in the courtyard was sleeping peacefully. Clutching her pillow, she sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed and spoke to the tree hole in the trunk as if chatting with an old friend, her lips curled in a sweet grin:

            

“Hey, let me tell you a secret. She and I…”

“We’re going to take a train to Siberia together.”

“We’ll spend seven days and seven nights traveling aimlessly.”

            

“We’ll stare blankly at the forests and frozen lakes outside the window, and then, holding hands, go search for the youngest sea on Earth.”

---

Because Yi Yu had just returned from abroad, Kunpu had to work overtime over the weekend.

When work ended on Friday, Tao Tianran left the company and drove to the alley entrance to pick up Cheng Xiang for dinner.

            

Cheng Xiang was uncharacteristically late. Five minutes later, Tao Tianran received a WeChat from her: 【Wait for me a bit. I was almost hit by an e-bike, and now I’m arguing with the guy.】

A violent shiver ran through Tao Tianran. Leaving her coat behind, she got out of the car without even shutting the door and sprinted deep into the alley.

Spying Cheng Xiang standing with an e-bike rider in the distance, she rushed over and instantly pulled Cheng Xiang behind her.

            

She moved so quickly that Cheng Xiang even stumbled slightly.

The rider was startled too, grumbling immediately, “What’s your problem, lady? I didn’t even hit her, okay? Why are you glaring at me like that?”

“Did you just call her ‘lady’?” Cheng Xiang exploded. “How old are you to be calling her that? She’s just dressed professionally, okay!”

            

The rider turned back to Cheng Xiang. “What did you even call backup for? Did I hit you?”

“Hey! You were tearing through this narrow alley like a maniac on that e-bike. Even if you didn’t hit me, you could’ve easily run into someone else, okay? I know you’re in a hurry, but what you did was highly dangerous!”

Tao Tianran directly pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of his license plate.

            

“Whoa, whoa, who said you could take a photo?” The rider lunged forward, reaching out to grab her phone.

“What do you think you’re doing?” came a voice in a thick, authentic Beicheng accent.

Cheng Xiang whipped around. Director Ma was standing there with her hands behind her back.

            

Cheng Xiang’s head throbbed. Great—now it was an even larger mess.

Tao Tianran kept her face cold, looking down to type on her phone.

The rider noticed, reaching for her phone again. “Don’t you go reporting me, I’m warning you!”

            

“Young man,” Director Ma, an old hand at community disputes, immediately saw what was happening. She flashed a warm, gentle smile. “Tearing through the alleys on your bike, were you? Don’t shout at her. Come with me, let’s have a little chat. I’m the Neighborhood Committee Director for this area, so this falls under my jurisdiction.”

Before leading the rider away, she sized up Tao Tianran with a quick glance. “And this is…?”

“My… friend.” Cheng Xiang felt her scalp go numb.

            

“Oh.” Director Ma nodded and walked off.

Cheng Xiang reached out to pull Tao Tianran along. “Why didn’t you even put on your coat? Were you that worried? Gosh, if I’d known, I wouldn’t have told you.”

“Come on, let’s get back to the car.”

            

Tao Tianran followed her back to the alley entrance without a word. When Cheng Xiang saw that the car door was wide open, her heart leapt into her throat. “You left your car door wide open?! Anyone could have gotten in!”

“Quick, quick, get in.”

She gently nudged Tao Tianran into the driver’s seat, only to realize the engine was still running and the heater was blasting. She frowned. “What if someone had just driven off with your car?”

            

“Hurry up and check your bag. Is anything missing? Especially your credit cards and ID—losing those is such a nightmare.”

“No,” Tao Tianran said. “I just forgot to close the door.”

Cheng Xiang walked around to the passenger side and got in, nagging as she shut the door. “Don’t panic so easily. How much damage can an e-bike really do? Though, to be fair, things have been a bit weird lately. Last time I went to Ziqiao’s place to pick up that Madagascar hoopoe doll Yi Yu bought for me from Africa, I was almost hit by a car right at her neighborhood gate.”

            

“What kind of car?” Tao Tianran’s brow furrowed.

“Just… a sedan, a Toyota or something, I don’t really remember. A black car, anyway. I have no idea why they were speeding out of the underground garage like that. It startled me so badly I fell.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

            

Cheng Xiang grinned. “Because I was fine! It’s just that the plush toy fell on the ground and got a bit dirty. I was so sad about it—the doll was actually really cute.”

She winked. “Do you want to come to my room later and see how cute it is?”

Tao Tianran lowered her eyes, offering only a quiet hum of assent.

            

“Oh, by the way, that was my mom just now!” Cheng Xiang only just remembered this massive detail. “You’ve snuck into my place so many times but never crossed paths with her. Today we finally ran into her!”

“But don’t be nervous. When you come over to my room later, she’ll definitely be fast asleep already, hehe.”

Tao Tianran stroked the steering wheel for a long time before starting the car in silence.

            

Cheng Xiang sat quietly in the passenger seat for two minutes before speaking up as if she had made up her mind. “Tao Tianran, can I discuss something with you?”

“What is it?”

“I want to find a good time to tell my mom about the two of us. What do you think?”

            

“She’ll be angry.”

“I know she will,” Cheng Xiang smiled. “But parents can never really win against their kids, right? It’s just like my art. My mom is such a stubborn old lady, but in the end, she couldn’t out-stubborn me either.”

---

After dinner, Tao Tianran drove Cheng Xiang back to the alley entrance and walked her all the way to her front door.

            

Cheng Xiang whispered, “Come inside with me.”

Tao Tianran stood under the streetlamp. “I’m a bit tired today. I won’t go in.”

“Oh?” Cheng Xiang was slightly taken aback, her finger habitually brushing the tip of her nose. “Oh, right, you had to work overtime today. You must be exhausted. Another day, then.”

            

“Okay.” Tao Tianran nodded.

Once Cheng Xiang returned to her room, she sent a WeChat message to Qin Ziqiao containing only two words: 【We’re doomed.】

Qin Ziqiao only replied two hours later: 【?】

            

Cheng Xiang: 【What were you doing just now?】

Qin Ziqiao: 【Are you sure you want to know?】

【No!】 Cheng Xiang replied, utterly exasperated. 【Our good days are numbered, I tell you! TTR is broken down again!】

            

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