Like She Belonged
The pulse in Mu Wan’s wrist was held beneath a cool, dry palm.
That artery led directly to her heart.
And somehow, with Liu Qianxiu holding her wrist, it felt as though he had taken hold of her heartbeat too.
When he held her, her heart went still.
When he let go, it began to race.
Apparently, this heart belonged to him now.
Mu Wan watched him quietly.
She thought about what she had just said.
Outside the window came a sudden patter.
It had begun to rain.
And her heart grew noisy with it.
“I’m not afraid,” Mu Wan said.
“You’re a doctor. No matter how I get hurt, you can make me better.”
Liu Qianxiu looked up.
Mu Wan met his gaze, certainty clear in her beautiful eyes.
His lashes shifted.
Then he released her wrist.
He turned on the faucet.
The sound of running water covered the rain outside.
The storm brought dampness into the air, and beneath the kitchen lights, everything seemed softened by a faint mist of warmth.
Mu Wan did not continue washing the dishes.
She leaned against the sink instead.
Her presence was impossible to ignore, yet somehow it did not feel intrusive.
It was almost as though she had always belonged somewhere inside his life.
Liu Qianxiu washed the remaining dishes at an unhurried pace.
Once he finished and turned off the faucet, the kitchen fell quiet again.
Outside, the rain had grown heavier.
Mu Wan looked toward the window.
“It’s raining pretty hard.”
Then she turned to Liu Qianxiu.
“Can I wait until it stops before I leave?”
Liu Qianxiu dried his hands with a paper towel.
“Mm.”
They left the kitchen together.
Liu Qianxiu lived according to a strict routine.
After dinner and cleaning the kitchen, he usually returned to the living room to read or meditate.
He opened a book.
Mu Wan chose one too.
This time, she picked up the I Ching.
Three minutes later, her eyes drifted away from the page.
This was even more boring than the Tao Te Ching.
She looked up at Liu Qianxiu.
The table lamp softened the outline of his face.
His eyes were lowered in concentration, lashes casting faint shadows beneath them.
He was completely absorbed.
Mu Wan did not disturb him.
She lowered her eyes to the book again.
Two seconds later, she looked up.
First at Liu Qianxiu.
Then out the window.
Finally, at Zhouyi, who was walking toward her.
Zhouyi the cat was far more interesting than the book that shared its name.
Mu Wan’s eyes widened slightly.
She tilted her head.
Beneath the low table, one hand curled discreetly toward the cat.
Come here.
She mouthed the words silently.
Zhouyi seemed to understand.
As it approached, the dark pupils inside its pale gold eyes gradually narrowed.
By the time it reached Mu Wan, they had become vertical slits.
Mu Wan raised a hand to pet it.
Before she could, Zhouyi sprang lightly upward and landed directly in her crossed legs.
Then it settled down.
“Ah.”
The sudden weight of something warm and furry startled the sound out of her.
Immediately, Mu Wan looked toward Liu Qianxiu.
She had disturbed him.
He was already looking at her.
Mu Wan leaned slightly to one side and pointed excitedly at Zhouyi in her lap.
“Liu Qianxiu, it likes me.”
Zhouyi was not an affectionate cat.
Even with Liu Qianxiu, it only climbed onto him when it happened to be in the mood.
He lowered his book and looked at the black cat stretched across Mu Wan’s lap.
“Mm.”
Mu Wan’s skin was very pale.
Zhouyi was completely black.
The contrast between them should have been stark.
Instead, there was something strangely harmonious about the sight.
Before dinner, Zhouyi had willingly let Mu Wan pet it.
Now it had climbed into her lap of its own accord.
Mu Wan’s happiness rose in small waves, one after another.
Zhouyi was getting used to her.
It was starting to like her.
Then Liu Qianxiu could do the same.
The thought made flowers bloom inside her chest.
Mu Wan smiled as she stroked Zhouyi.
Liu Qianxiu was still looking at the cat.
Since he had already stopped reading, Mu Wan took the opportunity to ask,
“You don’t work tomorrow, right?”
She hesitated.
“Can I come over in the afternoon?”
The moment she asked, Mu Wan decided such a request needed a respectable excuse.
Naturally, she brought out the kittens.
“I haven’t seen Datou and the others in so long. I want to spend more time with them.”
Liu Qianxiu’s gaze moved from Zhouyi to her face.
Mu Wan sat upright.
Her slender arms met delicate shoulders, and the shadows beneath the lamp emphasized the clean lines of her collarbones.
Half hidden beneath the warm light, she looked like some beautiful little enchantress slowly making her way into his world.
“I arranged to play basketball with a friend tomorrow afternoon,” Liu Qianxiu said.
It was not exactly a rejection.
But it sounded close enough.
The brightness in Mu Wan’s eyes dimmed.
She lowered her head and stroked Zhouyi.
“Oh. All right…”
“Send me a message before you come.”
Mu Wan looked up again.
Liu Qianxiu continued,
“I don’t know what time we’ll finish.”
Her expression changed instantly.
Light returned to her eyes, brighter than before.
Her lips curved.
Against the sound of rain outside, her voice seemed especially sweet.
“Liu Qianxiu, you play basketball?”
Only now did she think to ask.
The following morning, Mu Wan slept until ten.
She had no work scheduled for the entire weekend.
After waking, she called Lin Wei.
The moment Lin Wei answered, she let out an exaggerated sound.
“Well, look who finally has time for me. Not spending the day with Daoist Liu?”
“I’m seeing him this afternoon,” Mu Wan said. “I can’t spend every second at his place. He’ll get tired of me.”
“Oh, so you understand moderation now.”
“Cut the nonsense. Hotpot?”
“Yes!”
“Let’s go.”
— To be continued in Part 2 —
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All along whenever MW visited LQX, he wasn't never seen do anything as the patriarch of the Liu of Xiacheng. Has he been delegating his responsible to Uncle Cai or someone else?
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