Stay Tonight
As Mu Wan came closer, Liu Qianxiu’s features gradually became clearer.
He watched her approach.
One hand held the black umbrella.
In the other was a cream-colored supermarket bag.
The plastic was opaque.
But Mu Wan could guess what was inside.
That afternoon, she had asked for sweet-and-sour diced lotus root.
Mu Wan rushed beneath his umbrella like a piece of duckweed finally reaching shelter.
The faint scent of sandalwood immediately surrounded her.
Liu Qianxiu shielded her from the rain.
The drops could no longer touch her.
After her mother died, Mu Wan could no longer remember how many times she had been caught in the rain.
But today, at least, she would not be drenched.
That short distance from the taxi had already left part of her clothes wet.
Drops clung to her small pale face.
Mu Wan smiled and wiped them away, trying to make herself look less bedraggled.
Then she tilted her head back.
Her eyes shone.
“Liu Qianxiu, were you waiting for me?”
Her voice remained sweet and bright.
Its rising cadence rippled through the rain like drops spreading circles across water.
Liu Qianxiu looked quietly at Mu Wan beneath the umbrella.
The streetlights had come on.
Her shadow stretched slightly beyond the umbrella, thin and long.
Like a cat’s tail.
“Mm.”
One quiet syllable.
That was enough.
They walked home beneath the same umbrella.
Mu Wan had gotten wet, so she headed straight for the guest bathroom with the familiarity of someone who had done it before.
After showering, all the sticky heat from the day seemed to have been steamed away.
She emerged with her small face flushed.
Once again, she was wearing Liu Qianxiu’s shirt.
It was long and oversized on her.
Her slender body almost disappeared inside it, leaving only two pale, straight legs visible.
The sweet-and-sour diced lotus root Liu Qianxiu made tasted excellent.
Mu Wan had filmed all day without eating properly.
She finished two bowls of rice.
After dinner, she carried the three kittens into the living room.
She had barely sat down when lightning split the black sky.
For one instant, the entire room flashed white.
Then the rain came pouring down.
“There’s going to be a huge storm tonight,” Mu Wan said, listening to the rolling thunder.
The three kittens in her arms were terrified.
They kept burrowing deeper against her.
Mu Wan wrapped both arms around them.
Their tiny bodies trembled.
“They’re really scared of thunder.”
Another crack shook the windows.
All three kittens flinched again.
Their meows became sharp with panic.
Of course they were frightened.
They were still so young.
Mu Wan had been afraid of thunder when she was little too.
Later, she had gradually stopped being afraid.
Thunder was only loud.
It would not really strike her.
There was nothing to fear.
Liu Qianxiu sat at the low table.
One finger lightly lifted the corner of a page.
He looked toward the three kittens in Mu Wan’s arms.
Then lowered his gaze again.
Outside, lightning flashed and thunder rolled through the wind and rain.
Inside, everything was quiet.
Warm.
Comfortable.
Mu Wan relaxed.
She stretched both arms across the low table and rested her face on them.
Rain filled her ears.
Pages turned softly beside her.
The calming scent of sandalwood surrounded her.
Curled beside the table, Mu Wan gradually closed her eyes.
Liu Qianxiu kept an extremely regular schedule.
When the hour grew late, sleepiness came with it.
He closed the book in his hands.
Then looked across the low table.
Mu Wan was asleep.
Her breathing was long and even.
Her face rested on her folded arms.
Thick black hair covered part of it like a dark veil.
Beneath it were fine brows, slightly lifted outer corners of her eyes, curled lashes, and softly red lips.
She slept quietly.
There was something languid about the way she rested.
Like a kitten that had finally exhausted itself playing, found a comfortable shelter, stretched once, and fallen asleep.
Warm lamplight cast a faint shadow from her small body across the living room.
She had been asleep for long enough to forget the three kittens frightened by the thunder.
After crying several times without receiving comfort, the little ones soon found another source of safety.
Now all three were curled against Liu Qianxiu.
He checked the time.
Ten o’clock.
The thunder and lightning outside had stopped.
The rain had not.
It still fell heavily, with no sign of easing.
Liu Qianxiu gathered the three kittens into his arms and stood.
He returned them to the cat room.
Then he stepped back into the living room.
He stopped just beyond the circle of light cast by the table lamp.
Within it, Mu Wan, the low table, and the scattered books formed an unexpectedly delicate picture.
Her sleeping position could not possibly be comfortable.
Her slender back was slightly twisted.
The collar of the oversized shirt had fallen open, revealing one delicate shoulder.
Her legs were no longer crossed.
One long pale leg stretched out from beneath the shirt.
Yet none of the discomfort seemed enough to wake her.
Her breathing remained deep and even.
Liu Qianxiu walked into the pool of light.
When his left arm circled Mu Wan’s waist, he caught the faint scent of freesia.
Beneath it was another fragrance.
A thin layer of sandalwood.
His body wash.
His clothes.
His scent on her.
His lips pressed together slightly.
Keeping one arm around her waist, Liu Qianxiu slid the other beneath the backs of her knees.
Then he lifted her from the floor.
She was very light.
Wrapped in the white shirt, she seemed almost like a white feather.
The feather shifted twice in his arms.
Her small head curled against his chest.
One hand caught the fabric of his shirt.
A faint, displeased hum escaped her throat.
Her warm breath spilled into his embrace.
The table lamp remained below them.
Once Liu Qianxiu stood, both of them moved beyond its light and into shadow.
Mu Wan’s features became indistinct.
He saw the corner of her eye move.
“You’re awake?”
His voice was quiet.
Deep as the night.
The woman in his arms answered in a tiny, hoarse voice.
“I’m not.”
“…”
The moment Mu Wan gave herself away so completely, her heart leaped into her throat.
She did not want to leave this warmth.
Her fingers tightened around the front of his shirt.
Her voice became soft and languid, as though drifting out of a dream.
“Liu Qianxiu.”
She kept her head buried against his chest.
“Can I stay here tonight?”
She paused.
“I’m tired. I don’t want to go home.”
She did not lift her head.
Breathing in the faint sandalwood scent around him, she seemed to drift toward sleep again.
Before she did, Mu Wan heard his answer.
Outside, rain battered the windows.
His voice, by contrast, was extraordinarily gentle.
“Mm.”
Liu Qianxiu answered quietly.
“Do whatever you want.”
— End of Chapter 23 —
Thanks for the chapter!
ReplyDeleteDun-dun-dunnn she's finally wrangled her way in to staying the night!
Stay safe!
Me: girl, I think you already gained the rights to slowly bring your clothes over--
ReplyDeleteMu Wan: Na ah, I still prefer the boyfriend's white shirt look 😎