Chapter 38 (2/2)
Mu Wan looked through the first-hand set photos Gao Mei had sent. Li Cheng really was handsome, and he was young too—only twenty, all bright youth and clean energy. His wide eyes in particular looked so harmless that they naturally stirred a protective instinct, the urge to care for him, shield him, fuss over him.
But Mu Wan was immune to that type.
Lin Wei’s younger brother, Lin Zifan, was exactly that sort. He was even younger—only eighteen, just starting his freshman year of college. Since Mu Wan had known Lin Wei for years and had more or less watched Lin Zifan grow up from a bratty child, boys like that inspired no improper thoughts in her whatsoever.
Mu Wan: Just squealing isn’t enough. Make money and keep him.
A moment later, Gao Mei replied. She had finally calmed down a bit.
Gao Meiren: Why do you sound so rich these days? Do you think I can afford to keep him?
Mu Wan laughed.
But Gao Mei was right. A star like Li Cheng, a top traffic idol at the peak of his rise, could command millions for a single sponsored post. No ordinary person could possibly keep someone like that.
And then the thought came to her all at once:
Thank goodness Taoist Liu had not entered show business.
Her finger slid over the photos Gao Mei had sent. Li Cheng’s big eyes overlapped in her mind with another pair of big eyes.
Like lightning, realization struck. Mu Wan frowned and pushed herself up from the floor.
Now she knew who that man in the elevator had been.
Mei Yaozhi.
No wonder she had not recognized him at first. She had only met Mei Yaozhi once—at a yacht party she had attended long ago. That night, the actresses’ eyes and conversation had all been fixed on him. It would have been difficult not to notice him. But she had only looked once before going off to help Mi Yu deal with drinks.
Mu Wan went into the kitchen.
Liu Qianxiu was in the middle of cutting vegetables. He stood in the fading light, long-backed and elegant, the sunset laying a wash of gold over him.
She went up, stood in front of him, and asked, “Do you know Mei Yaozhi?”
His knife paused for a beat. He glanced back at Mu Wan, his black eyes calm as still water.
Before he could answer, Mu Wan added, “I ran into him by the elevator today. He seemed like he was on his way to see someone.”
She lifted her eyes to him, her expression cautious and curious.
“Was he here to see you?”
Liu Qianxiu looked at her quietly. After a moment, he turned back and resumed slicing the vegetables.
“No.”
“Oh.” She seemed unsurprised by the answer. Watching the white lotus-root slices fall cleanly beneath the blade, she said, “That makes sense. If he really had come to see you, then I’d have to start wondering whether you’re that Young Master Liu from the Four Young Masters after all. Your names are exactly the same.”
“What if I were?” he asked lightly, turning on the faucet and rinsing his hands.
“In that case,” Mu Wan said with a bright smile, “you’d be the one keeping me.”
Drying his hands with a paper towel, Liu Qianxiu touched the top of her head and said, “All right.”
Mu Wan laughed.
After dinner, Liu Qianxiu settled down to read, while Mu Wan sat with the kittens at the low table and played with them for a while. The three little ones were much bolder now, climbing up and down their legs without hesitation.
But baby cats had energy without stamina. Before long, all three of them were sprawled on the carpet, fast asleep.
Afraid they might disturb Liu Qianxiu, Mu Wan kept gathering them into her arms. Even with the air-conditioning on, she still worked up a light sweat. After carrying them to the kitten room, she went into the guest room bathroom to shower.
Although she had been staying over regularly at Liu Qianxiu’s place, she still had not moved any of her things in. Even as lovers, they should each have their own space. Mu Wan had no urge to rush into cohabitation. Sleeping at her place one night and his the next still had its own charm.
She disliked a hard bed, so after last night, Liu Qianxiu had slept with her in the guest room. His shirt was still lying there on the bed.
After her shower, she dried herself and slipped it on.
It was the one he had only just changed into after bathing: the fabric carried the faint scent of sandalwood, clean and light. He was so tall and long-limbed that on Mu Wan’s body, the shirt fell loose and oversized, wrapping her up while leaving only two long, pale legs exposed below it.
Wearing his shirt, Mu Wan stepped back into the warm pool of lamplight.
The hot water had left her skin flushed. Her thick hair was only half dry, which made it seem even darker and made her face look all the fairer: white skin, cherry-red lips, damp brightness.
The moment she came near, Liu Qianxiu looked up once.
Mu Wan folded her long bare legs beneath her and sat down, bringing with her the fresh scent of body wash and freesia.
A hot shower relaxes people. Only the desk lamp on the low table was on, and the house felt peaceful, almost sacred. Resting her arms on the table, Mu Wan leaned against it.
Liu Qianxiu lowered his gaze again. His long fingers turned a page.
All his books had an age to them. Their pages did not rustle sharply like new paper; instead, they made the soft, thick sound of old volumes, giving the quiet room even more gravity.
Liu Qianxiu read.
Mu Wan watched him.
At home, he dressed far more casually than he did at the hospital. Two buttons at his collar were undone now, baring a longer stretch of collarbone. Every time he lifted an arm to turn a page, the movement shifted that line of bone; the hollow there altered subtly with light and shadow.
This man was too good.
So good that she wanted to give him everything she had.
She stared at him, lost in thought, and did not even notice that he had started watching her in return.
She sat with her body loosely folded, the oversized shirt unable to cover her entirely. Her eyes were on Liu Qianxiu, quietly bright, full of soft, lingering affection.
“What are you thinking about?” Liu Qianxiu lowered his eyes to her and asked.
The stillness broke.
Mu Wan came back to herself. Inside the wide sleeve, her slender arm shifted, making herself a little more comfortable. Looking at him, she said, “Liu Qianxiu, tomorrow is my mother’s death anniversary. Come with me. I want to introduce the two of you.”
She was thinking of what Lin Wei had said at noon.
Everything she possessed, she was willing to give to Liu Qianxiu. And yet she still felt slightly sorry toward him, because she had no family left, no one she could properly present him to as her own.
When she said it, she was smiling. Her eyes were vivid and pure, like a young spirit newly arrived in the world, innocent and fearless as she offered up all her love.
Liu Qianxiu looked at her. Warmth gathered in him like a slow-moving river. He bent and kissed the corner of her mouth.
Her body was warm; her breathing shallow. Liu Qianxiu’s kiss softened her, and the air between them turned intimate and blurred.
His throat moved. He started to gather Mu Wan into his arms, but Mu Wan caught hold of his clothes, the corners of her eyes turning red.
“Here,” she said.
The old lamp, the classical books, the wide-open living room—it all carried its own peculiar allure.
He kissed her again and said softly, “It’s too hard.”
“Not as hard as you,” she murmured, face flushed, shamelessly throwing him a line so suggestive it almost sparkled.
A shadow tightened in his eyes.
He reached out, drew her up into his arms—
0 comments:
Post a Comment