What She Was Watching
Mu Wan chose stir-fried asparagus with shrimp and salt-seared chicken wings.
Once dinner was decided, the two of them returned to the same supermarket they had visited the day before.
A little after seven, the store was crowded.
Among the sea of shoppers, Mu Wan stood out like a drop of red ink falling into clear water.
Eyes followed her wherever she went.
Yet no matter where those gazes landed, Mu Wan always seemed to end up beside Liu Qianxiu.
She had dressed carefully for him today.
Liu Qianxiu had looked at her only once and seemed entirely unaffected.
Mu Wan did not mind.
She was the one who liked him.
If he doesn’t want to look at me, I can just look at him.
In the produce section, Mu Wan pushed the shopping cart.
Her slender pale arms rested lazily across the handle as she watched Liu Qianxiu choose asparagus.
The stalks were long and even, narrow at the tips and thicker at the base. They lay neatly inside clear plastic trays beneath taut wrapping, their surfaces gleaming beneath the supermarket lights.
Liu Qianxiu held one package in his hand.
His fingers were much the same.
Long.
Clean.
Sharply defined at every joint.
So beautiful.
Mu Wan’s eyes were bright and clear, doing almost nothing to conceal how much she liked what she was looking at.
Liu Qianxiu noticed.
He turned toward her.
Mu Wan immediately looked away.
The curve at the corner of her lips, however, remained.
Her ears grew faintly warm.
Liu Qianxiu turned back to the vegetables.
A moment later, Mu Wan looked at him again.
He noticed again.
She looked away again.
The pattern repeated several times.
Mu Wan was delighted.
After they finished choosing the vegetables, Liu Qianxiu pushed the cart toward the checkout lines.
Mu Wan stood behind him.
The queues were long.
There were plenty of people around them, but very few were as tall as Liu Qianxiu.
Mu Wan tilted her head up and studied his straight back.
Then, for no particular reason, she compared the width of their bodies.
If he turned around right now, he could probably hide me completely.
As though he had heard her thoughts, Liu Qianxiu turned.
Mu Wan froze.
Then, with perfect innocence, she shifted her attention to the small display rack beside the register.
It was packed with colorful snacks.
Chewing gum.
Mints.
Chocolate-covered candies.
Bright red, green, and yellow packaging crowded the shelves.
Mu Wan’s gaze finally settled on a container of matcha chocolate bites.
The packaging was pale green and simple. Dark chocolate pieces were pictured on the front, their centers a soft matcha green.
Mu Wan was studying the net weight and wondering how many chocolates might be inside when a hand entered her field of vision.
Long fingers curved around one of the containers.
A second later, it appeared in front of her.
Something jumped lightly inside Mu Wan’s chest.
She looked up.
Liu Qianxiu was watching her.
His expression remained calm.
He gave the container a small shake.
The chocolates rattled crisply inside.
“Want it?”
Mu Wan smiled.
“You’re buying it for me?”
Her voice was sweeter than the chocolate.
“Mm.”
“Then I want it.”
With that answer, Liu Qianxiu withdrew his gaze.
He turned and dropped the container into the cart with a small click.
Mu Wan leaned sideways to look past him.
The pale green chocolates sat among the vegetables.
Almost the same color.
Only softer.
“Why are you buying me that?”
She tilted her head, laughter filling her eyes.
Liu Qianxiu did not turn around completely.
He only glanced at her from the side.
“You kept looking at it.”
Then he faced forward again.
Mu Wan smiled.
I was looking at you.
Does that mean you’ll give yourself to me too?
Her smile deepened.
She lifted both arms slightly and loosely framed Liu Qianxiu’s back from a distance, as though hugging him without actually touching him.
Then you’re mine now too.
After they paid, Mu Wan carried the chocolates while Liu Qianxiu carried the groceries.
They returned to his apartment together.
Once inside, Liu Qianxiu took the ingredients into the kitchen.
Mu Wan changed into slippers and asked whether he needed help.
When he said no, she shook the chocolate container lightly and went to the kitten room.
Night had already fallen.
Darkness pressed against the kitchen windows.
Yet the apartment no longer seemed as silent as it once had.
The crisp rattle of chocolates traveled through the glass from the kitten room.
A tiny sound.
Yet it gave the enormous apartment a strange sense of life.
Liu Qianxiu switched on the kitchen light and walked toward the sink.
He placed the shopping bags inside, then pulled out a bunch of spinach.
Mu Wan had added it at the last minute because she liked its color.
Dinner, apparently, now also required spinach and egg soup.
Droplets from the supermarket misting system still clung to the leaves.
The spinach was crisp and green, traces of dark soil clinging to its roots.
When Liu Qianxiu lifted it, the leaves felt cool against his hand.
A little dirt smeared across his fingers.
“Datou opened his eyes!”
Mu Wan’s delighted voice came from the doorway.
Liu Qianxiu turned.
She stood there smiling, excitement shining openly in her eyes.
When she saw him look over, she pointed toward the kitten room.
“Come see.”
The kittens were around ten days old now.
It was about time for their eyes to begin opening.
Liu Qianxiu glanced at the vegetables in the sink.
Then at the dirt on his fingers.
After a moment, he turned on the faucet and washed his hands.
“All right.”
Mu Wan immediately turned and hurried away.
The hem of her red dress fluttered behind her.
A flash of scarlet disappeared from view.
Liu Qianxiu followed.
When he entered the kitten room, Mu Wan was already crouching beside the bed.
The three kittens lay piled together.
They were from the same litter, but only Datou had opened his eyes.
Even then, they were only half open.
The visible irises were pale gold.
Perhaps because he was still so young, or perhaps because of the warm orange tones of his fur, the color was softer than Zhouyi’s.
Tender.
Translucent.
Like a little piece of steamed crystal pumpkin cake.
Mu Wan stared at him.
When Liu Qianxiu entered, she looked up.
Her face immediately lit with a smile.
Then she carefully scooped Datou into her palms.
Compared with the size of her hands when she first brought him home, the kitten had already grown noticeably.
Mu Wan held him carefully.
His half-open eyes blinked faintly while tiny translucent pink paws opened and closed.
A soft baby meow escaped him.
Mu Wan held Datou toward Liu Qianxiu.
“Look.”
She wanted him to hold the kitten himself.
For some reason, whenever she found something beautiful now, she wanted to share it with him.
Liu Qianxiu looked at her once.
Then he lowered his gaze and accepted Datou.
The moment the kitten settled into his hands, Mu Wan smiled.
“Our eyes look alike.”
Datou lifted his tiny face toward Liu Qianxiu and mewed.
His pale golden eyes were clear and luminous.
Liu Qianxiu looked at the kitten.
Then at Mu Wan.
Different colors.
Yet there was something similar in their clarity.
The same scattered points of light.
Mu Wan’s lashes trembled.
Heat rose into her face.
She lifted one hand and fanned herself.
Then she pointed at Datou.
Then at herself.
“Our eyes only have you in them.”
The kitten room was temperature controlled.
It was not particularly warm.
Liu Qianxiu looked at Mu Wan for several seconds.
Then he placed Datou back into the bed.
“I’m going to make dinner.”
Mu Wan watched him leave.
His reaction was exactly what she had expected.
She had no intention of pushing him too hard.
She wanted to enter his life gradually.
Little by little.
Until, one day, he liked her too.
Now alone in the kitten room, Mu Wan still felt suspiciously warm.
She touched her heated cheek and looked down at the other two kittens.
“Ertong, Zhongfen.”
Her voice softened.
“When are you two going to open your eyes?”
As though responding to her question, Zhongfen opened his eyes after dinner.
His black-and-white coat made the pale gold of his irises seem more distinct than Datou’s.
Zhongfen was the smallest of the litter.
He had been frail.
He had gotten sick.
He had even spent time at the veterinary hospital.
Yet his eyes had opened before Ertong’s.
Now Datou and Zhongfen lay beside their sibling, meowing softly.
Their tiny eyes seemed to bring their furry little bodies fully to life.
Somehow, they looked even more adorable than before.
Mu Wan shifted her attention to Ertong.
Then she looked up at Liu Qianxiu.
“Will Ertong open his eyes tomorrow?”
Mu Wan was feeding the kittens.
Liu Qianxiu stood outside the glass nursery, looking down at the three tiny bodies inside.
After dinner, he had changed clothes.
He now wore a loose light-brown cotton-linen top with matching trousers.
Wide sleeves.
Wide legs.
Comfortable and flowing.
His tall frame gave the simple clothes an almost classical elegance.
At that moment, he looked less like a doctor and more like the Daoist everyone claimed he was.
“Tonight,” Liu Qianxiu said.
Tonight could mean any time before morning.
Mu Wan checked the time.
Then she shook the empty bottle once and stood.
Eight thirty.
She stepped out of the kitten room and stopped beside Liu Qianxiu.
In her red dress, she appeared before him like a rose suddenly placed against muted earth.
“What time do you usually go to bed?” she asked.
Liu Qianxiu did not know what she was planning.
“Ten.”
“Oh.”
Mu Wan’s lips parted slightly.
She hesitated.
Then she looked up at him.
“Could I stay until nine thirty?”
Her tone had become uncharacteristically cautious.
“I won’t keep you from resting. I won’t make any noise either. I just want to see Ertong open his eyes.”
As soon as she finished, Mu Wan realized there might be a problem.
The time before ten was probably part of Liu Qianxiu’s private routine.
Reading.
Meditation.
Silence.
His time alone.
She wanted to enter his life slowly.
She did not want to intrude on it.
There was a difference.
If she made herself irritating, everything she was trying to do would have the opposite effect.
Her brows drew together slightly.
Mu Wan was about to withdraw the request.
“You can.”
She looked up.
Liu Qianxiu’s expression had not changed.
He simply took the empty milk bottle from her hand.
Then he washed it and left the kitten room.
— To be continued in Part 2 —
Mu Wan acting like a playgirl...lol
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