Incurable Chapter 26 Part 2

Chapter 26 (2/2)

They went home first to collect the cats.

Used to the car by now, the three little ones and Zhouyi were all quite calm inside the carriers. Only Dàtóu, the chatterbox, kept meowing the whole way.

By the time they reached the South District, the roads had opened up, and the car quickly sped onto the coastal highway.

The line of the sea had been painted gold by the setting sun. The car window was cracked open just a little, and a gust of sea wind rushed in—salty, damp, and cool, driving away the summer heat.

No wonder everyone bought homes by the sea. The air was fresh, yes, but the evening view alone was worth it. The horizon swallowed half the sun, the rippling sea curled with golden light, and wave after wave folded over one another like night-blooming flowers opening all at once.

Mu Wan sat in the passenger seat, looking past Liu Qianxiu toward the sea.

The sunset was gold.

The side of his face was gold, too.

His smooth forehead, high brow bone, elegant nose bridge, straight nose, and the faint line of his lips.

From her angle, the outline of his profile looked like a beautiful paper-cut pasted onto a sky drenched in evening glow, almost holy in its unreachability.

“Do you want to stop and look?”

The sunset was particularly beautiful tonight. Liu Qianxiu had clearly noticed her gaze fixed on the window and asked lightly.

The moment he said it, Mu Wan was tempted.

Even if they stopped now, they would only catch the very last of the sun disappearing. If they dropped the cats off first and came back later, the sun would be long gone.

“Okay.” Mu Wan agreed with a smile.

Liu Qianxiu pulled the car into an open lot by the shoreline.

He was obviously not unfamiliar with the place. After parking, the two of them got out and walked toward the water.

Mu Wan was not exactly someone who adored the sea.

She had grown up in Xiacheng. Her mother had brought her to the coast when she was little, and school excursions had brought her here plenty of times, too.

But she had never seen the sea like this.

The slanting sun sank into the water. Waves rolled one after another, all burnished in red-gold light. The wind lifted the hem of her skirt. Barefoot on the beach, she let the tide rush up around her ankles—cool and gentle—and the sand slipped away between her toes.

Her mood that morning had not been good.

But after seeing Liu Qianxiu in the afternoon, it had only grown brighter and brighter.

He said she could go to Qingyuan Temple.

He handed her strawberry milk.

He had brought her here now to watch the sunset.

Anything he did for her could make flowers bloom in her heart.

He was the source of all her happiness.

The man walked ahead of her, tall and slender. The last light of sunset stretched out his shadow until it fell over her body.

Mu Wan looked at him like she was looking at a god she could long for but never truly reach.

They watched the horizon in silence. Neither of them had spoken since getting out of the car.

Only once the sun had disappeared completely and the air had turned cool did Liu Qianxiu stop, turn to her, and say, “Let’s go.”

“You’re in front of me.”

Mu Wan agreed, then stepped aside instead of moving forward. She took one step back into the water. The tide rolled up and swallowed her ankles. It felt wonderful.

Bathed in the afterglow, the woman looked as if she had been given a thick, warm filter. Her features were even more vivid than usual. Standing there so quietly, she looked up at him with a smile, and even with the sky behind her, her dark eyes still seemed to shine.

The sea breeze rose again, cool and tender.

Liu Qianxiu started forward, his feet pressing softly into the sand.

For a while, the only sound was the muted whisper of his steps.

Just as he slowed and seemed about to turn back, he heard the quick light sounds of a woman running up behind him.

Bare feet hitting the sand sounded strangely smooth.

“Liu Qianxiu!”

She caught up behind him, called his name, then poked him lightly in the back and said, “Don’t turn around.”

Liu Qianxiu stopped.

He did not turn.

His frame was lean, yet tall and broad enough that, standing behind him, Mu Wan could smell the faint clean trace of disinfectant on him even through the salty sea air.

“I have a secret.”

Mu Wan’s heart rose and fell with the waves.

“What is it?” the man asked.

Mu Wan smiled.

Looking at his back, she opened her red lips.

Her voice was so low the wind itself could not hear it.

She said it only with her lips, silently.

I’m secretly in love with you.

Liu Qianxiu turned around.

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