A Secret by the Sea
Mu Wan assumed he had forgotten something and followed him inside.
Liu Qianxiu opened a drawer beneath his desk.
He took something out.
Before Mu Wan could see what it was, he held it toward her.
A carton of strawberry milk.
“The meeting might run late.”
His voice was low.
“If you get hungry, drink this first.”
The pink carton looked strangely out of place beside the cool, austere doctor.
It did not seem like something Liu Qianxiu would normally buy for himself.
Sweetness rose inside Mu Wan first.
Then came a flicker of sourness.
She remembered Xiao Yun standing outside earlier.
“Where did this come from?”
Mu Wan looked up at him.
She did not take it.
Liu Qianxiu held the carton patiently.
His dark eyes were quiet.
“I bought it.”
The sourness disappeared instantly.
Mu Wan’s lips parted.
Then she looked away.
Her ears were heating.
She accepted the milk, unwrapped the straw, and pushed it through the top.
“You like strawberry too?”
Her voice sounded deliberately casual.
“I like it too.”
Pale pink milk traveled up the transparent straw.
Mu Wan drank in small sips.
Apparently, it suited her perfectly.
Happiness gathered at the corners of her eyes.
Liu Qianxiu’s lashes shifted slightly.
Then he left for the meeting.
The meeting really did last a long time.
After finishing the milk, Mu Wan played two rounds of games on her phone.
Messages kept appearing in the large group chat used by supporting actors at the production base.
Adaptations of popular IPs were booming lately.
New dramas were constantly starting.
Even with so many actors competing for work, most could still count on having something to film every week.
Mu Wan could afford to take this week slowly.
But if her jobs were still being intercepted next week, she planned to go see Mu Qing.
Telling Lin Wei, she could support her was only a joke.
Mu Wan had professional training.
Acting was the only career she knew.
She was not going to abandon her profession because of a few petty tricks from Mu Qing.
Besides, her mother’s death anniversary was approaching.
At the thought, Mu Wan looked toward the window.
It was six in the evening.
The summer sun still hung high, but it had lost the fierce intensity of noon.
Mu Wan stared into the softer light.
Her lips pressed together.
The tenth anniversary of her mother’s death.
It also marked ten years since Mu Wan had become someone without either parent.
Liu Qianxiu stood at the doorway.
He watched the woman sitting in the sunlight.
His eyes lowered slightly.
Only after the heaviness disappeared from her expression and she returned to her game did he push open the door.
Mu Wan looked around.
Her eyes immediately brightened.
She set her phone on the desk.
“Finished?”
“Mm.”
Liu Qianxiu came inside.
He placed the documents in his hand on the desk.
Then removed his white coat.
His tall frame was revealed beneath it, dressed in neatly fitted clothes.
Standing there in the sunset, cool and composed, he somehow seemed brighter than the light outside.
Mu Wan stared without realizing it.
Only when Liu Qianxiu stopped in front of her did she return to herself.
She stood.
“We need to take the cats to my friend’s place first,” he said. “I have surgery tomorrow, so I won’t have time then.”
“The same friend as last time?”
Mu Wan immediately thought of Xu Xingkong, the gentle woman who seemed to carry the faint fragrance of lavender.
“Mm.”
Mu Wan suddenly asked,
“Do you have any more strawberry milk?”
Liu Qianxiu did not answer.
He simply returned to the desk, opened the drawer, and took out another carton.
He handed it to her.
“Don’t drink too much on an empty stomach.”
Mu Wan shook the pink carton.
The sweet liquid moved softly inside.
She smiled.
“It’s not for me.”
She wanted to give it to Xu Xingkong.
The last time they met, Xu Xingkong had given her a very sweet plum.
They returned home first to collect the cats.
The animals had grown used to riding in the car.
The three kittens and Zhouyi remained calm inside their carriers.
Only Datou, the little chatterbox, kept meowing.
Once they reached the southern district, the roads opened up.
Soon, the car was speeding along the coastal highway.
The setting sun had painted the horizon gold.
The window was open a crack.
Sea air rushed inside.
Salty.
Damp.
Cool.
It swept away the lingering summer heat.
No wonder people bought houses by the sea.
Besides the fresh air, the evening view alone was worth it.
Half the sun had already disappeared beneath the horizon.
Golden light rippled across the water.
Wave after wave unfolded like night-blooming flowers opening across the sea.
Mu Wan sat in the passenger seat.
She looked past Liu Qianxiu toward the horizon.
The sunset was gold.
So was his profile.
Smooth forehead.
Highbrow.
Straight nose.
Thin lips lightly pressed together.
From where she sat, his profile looked like an exquisite paper-cut silhouette placed against a sky filled with sunset.
Sacred.
Almost untouchable.
“Want to go see it?”
The sunset was especially beautiful today.
Liu Qianxiu had noticed that she kept looking outside.
His question came casually.
Mu Wan’s heart moved immediately.
If they went now, they would only catch the final moments before the sun disappeared.
If they delivered the cats first and came back afterward, there would be nothing left to see.
“Sure.”
Mu Wan smiled.
Liu Qianxiu pulled the car into an open area beside the coastline.
He had clearly been here before and knew where to park.
After stopping, the two of them got out and walked toward the beach.
Mu Wan had never been especially fascinated by the sea.
She had grown up in Xia City.
Her mother had brought her to the coast when she was little.
School activities had taken her there plenty of times too.
But she had never seen the ocean quite like this.
The slanting sun sank into the water.
Waves rolled toward the shore in layers, glowing red and gold.
The sea breeze lifted the hem of her skirt.
Mu Wan stepped barefoot onto the sand.
Cool water washed over her feet.
Gentle.
Comfortable.
Sand slipped between her toes.
Her mood had not been particularly good that morning.
But ever since seeing Liu Qianxiu that afternoon, it had steadily improved.
He had agreed to let her go to Qingyuan Temple.
He had bought her strawberry milk.
And now he had brought her here to watch the sunset.
Anything Liu Qianxiu did for her was enough to make happiness bloom inside her.
All her happiness seemed to come from him.
The man walked ahead.
Tall.
Lean.
The final light of sunset stretched his shadow across the sand until it fell over her.
Mu Wan looked at him.
Like someone gazing at a sacred statue she could admire but never quite reach.
They watched the horizon in silence.
Neither of them spoke after leaving the car.
Only when the final trace of sunlight disappeared and the air began to cool did Liu Qianxiu turn.
“Let’s go.”
“You walk in front.”
Mu Wan agreed but stepped aside.
She backed into the water.
A small wave curled over her ankles.
It felt pleasant.
In the fading light, Mu Wan seemed covered by a warm filter.
Her features looked even more vivid than usual.
She stood quietly in the water, looking at him with a smile.
Even with the remaining light behind her, her dark eyes still shone.
The sea breeze suddenly strengthened.
Cool.
Soft.
Liu Qianxiu turned and started walking.
His shoes pressed lightly into the sand.
Aside from his footsteps, there was no sound behind him.
He slowed, about to look back.
Then he heard Mu Wan running toward him.
Her bare feet struck the sand.
Even the rough sound of grains shifting beneath them somehow seemed soft.
“Liu Qianxiu!”
She stopped behind him.
Then poked him lightly between the shoulder blades.
“Don’t turn around.”
Liu Qianxiu stopped.
He did not turn.
He was tall and broad enough that Mu Wan standing behind him could still catch the faint scent of disinfectant beneath the salty sea air.
Her heartbeat rose and fell with the waves.
“I have a secret.”
“What?”
Mu Wan smiled at his back.
Her red lips moved.
Her voice was so faint that even the wind could not hear it.
She did not truly speak.
She only formed the words with her lips.
I secretly like you.
Liu Qianxiu turned around.
— End of Chapter 26 —
The links on NU are messed up - the link for part 2 goes to part 1, and the link for part 1 goes to part 2 ^^;;;
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chapters and stay safe!
[I'm like you secretly] should be [I secretly like you] or [I'm liking you secretly].
ReplyDeleteIt's part of the main genre (romance) of the book. So, I'm sorry. But, my OCD can't ignore the grammatical fault. 😅