Chapter Fifteen (Part 1): The Truth
Troubled by her cold, Lu Yin had not rested well these past few days. Perhaps because of the effects of the medicine, she slept especially deeply that night.
In the early morning, the bedroom curtains had not been drawn completely shut. The first ray of dawn pierced through the breaking light and happened to fall directly across her face. Lu Yin knitted her brows, feeling that her body was unusually heavy. The skin hidden beneath the covers was damp, the bedsheet clinging messily to her bare skin.
She shifted uncomfortably and lowered her eyes, finding the culprit behind the weight. A thick arm stretched across her chest, its palm pressing her back down beneath the covers, leaving her half-pinned in a prone position. Her legs had lost their freedom as well. She could vaguely make out the fabric of jeans, stretched across the snow-white bedding. The top of her head was pressed against something hard, only an inch away. It was his chin.
She was like a human body pillow, imprisoned beneath him.
Lu Yin immediately found it difficult to breathe. She turned her head slightly and collided with his broad, solid chest, where his breathing was slow and even.
Her chest tightened, and her mind cleared considerably. The events of last night came back in fragments, jumping rapidly into place. With everything laid bare beneath the sunlight, she finally realized how awkward her situation was.
She painstakingly freed one hand and leaned downward. The pajamas he had taken off her lay on the floor not far away. With her other hand, she clutched the bedsheet tightly to keep herself from exposing herself. Lu Yin moved with extreme caution, afraid of disturbing his sleep. Her bare arm was slender and long, the bones of her wrist small and delicate, her pink-white fingertips moving back and forth twice. She was only a few millimeters away from reaching her clothes.
Her chest suddenly tightened. Before she could succeed, she was dragged back onto the bed.
Lu Yin cried out in surprise. This time, her back rested against his chest. Unlike beneath the covers, there was warmth against her, the heat of his body.
Lu Qiang kept his eyes closed and first reached toward her forehead to feel it.
“Your fever’s gone.”
His voice was slow and frighteningly soft.
Lu Yin tightened her grip on the blanket over her chest, relieved that her back was turned and she did not have to face him.
After saying that, there was suddenly no sound from him.
She held her breath. The clock hanging in the living room swung rhythmically. The old man next door was teasing his birds on the balcony. Downstairs, there was the noisy barking of dogs... The breathing above her head once again became slow and steady.
Lu Yin blinked. After a moment, she finally dared to continue what she had been doing.
Through the blanket, Lu Qiang pinched her.
“Stop moving around. Where are you going?”
He had never been asleep. Lu Yin buried her mouth in the bedsheet.
“I’m going to the kitchen. I’m a little hungry.”
“You didn’t eat last night?”
Lu Yin gave a soft “Mm.”
He still kept his eyes closed.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Congee and some side dishes.”
“I’ll go.”
Lu Qiang rubbed his chin against the top of her head.
“Let me wake up a little first.”
Lu Yin stopped moving and quietly lay in bed with him.
After the neighbor finished teasing his birds, he began doing his morning vocal exercises in the room. The faint crackle of the radio could be heard. Upstairs lived a little boy who was already being naughty and mischievous so early in the morning, jumping around until the entire ceiling trembled. His parents sharply told him to stop. Before long, the sound of loud wailing came drifting down.
The rising sun climbed higher than before. The curtains were a warm yellow, bathing the entire room in dazzling light.
Lu Yin stretched out her fingertips and touched that strand of exposed sunlight. She moved her fingers, and tiny specks of dust danced and leaped along with them.
Everything at the beginning was full of life.
Lu Qiang suddenly spoke.
“Your place is too noisy. The soundproofing is terrible.”
Lu Yin did not answer. He seemed to think of something, and a quiet laugh escaped through his nose.
Lu Yin shifted.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing. I’m going to make some congee.”
He finally opened his eyes. Seeing the broad expanse of sunlight spilling across her back, so white it seemed unreal, Lu Qiang narrowed his eyes. After a pause, he lowered his head and lightly kissed her delicate skin.
Lu Yin shuddered.
He made no other move, simply helping her pull the blanket back over herself.
“You can sleep a little longer. Or get up and take a shower.”
He put on his shoes and went to the kitchen. In the refrigerator, he found half a bowl of cooked rice. He could not make anything complicated, but making congee was no trouble. He added some water and put the pot directly on the gas stove. After washing two eggs, he dropped them into the pot. There was also some chilled dried radish and spicy cabbage in the refrigerator. He picked some out with chopsticks and arranged them on a plate.
His eyes drifted to the side. Several plastic bags sat on the kitchen counter, with neatly arranged fast-food containers inside, completely untouched.
In that instant, Lu Qiang finally remembered who had brought the food.
He had seen him once outside Duhua Garments. It had been raining that day. As Lu Yin walked into the factory, a man had suddenly appeared, wearing a blue shirt and black trousers. Holding a black umbrella, he had sheltered her from the wind and rain.
Lu Qiang touched the bag with the back of his hand and gave a cold snort, once again confirming that it was that man.
It was a long while before he finally turned his gaze back to the pot.
By then, Lu Yin had also come out of the bathroom, a towel draped over her shoulders as she slowly rubbed the ends of her hair.
The man in the kitchen stood with his back to her, one hand braced against his hip and the other stirring the bottom of the pot. His head was lowered, his manner extremely serious and cautious. Steam billowed before him, a thin layer of mist covering the glass. His tall back looked both rugged and warm.
Lu Yin could not help stopping.
“I’ll do it.”
His figure paused.
“You walk without making a sound?”
Lu Yin stuck out the tip of her tongue and set down the towel.
“I’ll do it. You go wash up too.”
Lu Qiang put down the chopsticks and could not help taking another look at her. After her shower, her cheeks were clean, fair, and radiant. She looked like an entirely different person from the disheveled mess she had been last night. There were still droplets of water clinging to the ends of her hair, slowly falling one by one and dampening a small patch of her shoulder.
He raised a hand and gave her forehead a light smack before passing by her to wash up.
In front of the bathroom mirror sat a brand-new toothbrush and towel, both a clean, pale yellow that suited her style. They had not been prepared specifically for him. Lu Qiang gave a cold snort and, extremely reluctantly, squeezed out some toothpaste…
By the time he finished washing up, Lu Yin had already brought the food to the table. There was not much congee, and she only served herself half a bowl.
Lu Qiang exchanged the large bowl for hers.
“You eat. I’ll eat something else.”
“There’s nothing else at home.”
He sneered at her.
“Just what your ordinary coworker sent over.”
Lu Yin glanced at the food container in front of him. She had not had much of an appetite lately and had not been eating properly. But now, smelling that greasy, oily aroma, she unexpectedly felt a little tempted.
She reached her chopsticks forward. Before they could touch anything, Lu Qiang knocked them away with his own.
“Drink your congee.”
“I want a piece of meat.”
Lu Qiang gave a snort, utterly unsympathetic.
“Is your coworker brain-dead? Knowing you’ve caught a cold and are sick, and he sends this garbage?” After a pause, he added, “If he sends anything again, eat less of it.”
Lu Yin pursed her lips. She could tell he was not actually bothered by the food itself, and felt that his pettiness was completely out of proportion with his build.
Lu Yin remained expressionless and obediently nodded.
He glanced at her, finally satisfied. Picking up the boiled egg beside him, he peeled off the shell.
“Tastes better than meat.”
“……”
The two of them quietly finished their meal. Lu Qiang reminded her, “Take another dose of cold medicine later. Don’t go running around outside if there’s nothing you need to do. Wait for the gas to be replaced.”
He sat on the sofa for a while. Then, as though remembering something, he asked her, “Do you have a driver’s license?”
Lu Yin was clearing the table.
“Of course.”
“Off tomorrow?”
“Mm.”
“Then come out with me. Bring your identification documents.”
Lu Yin looked at him in confusion. He stood up.
“I’m leaving. I’m going to have Old Li take over.”
After seeing him to the door, Lu Qiang paused. He turned back, lifted her chin between his fingers, and raised his brows.
“So, does this mean we’ve made up?”
Lu Yin furrowed her brows and thought for a long time. As though she were making him a promise, she solemnly gave a soft “Mm.”
The syllable was light and gentle, like a breeze, carried straight into his ears. Lu Qiang could not help laughing. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his embrace, fiercely kissing her lips, turning over and over, tasting every inch of her mouth until Lu Yin’s body went limp and she could not help breathing deeply.
Lu Qiang set her down and bit her soft lip.
“I’ll keep you around for a few more days.”
Lu Yin played dumb and softly exhaled.
“Colds are contagious. You’ll catch it.”
“With this build, I’m not afraid.”
***
After he left, Lu Qiang was in a good mood all day.
When he saw Old Li, he switched shifts with him for the next day. That evening, he received a call from a homeowner saying that the water pipe in their home had burst.
Lu Qiang asked for the building number, took his tools, and went over to make the repair.
The homeowner lived in the building in front of Lu Yin’s, with the residential garden between them. This area had originally been developed by people from southern China, and the balconies were open, projecting outward from the buildings. Zhangzhou winters were cold, making this kind of open terrace impractical. Some residents hired people to enclose theirs, while others kept them in their original state.
Hardly any of the units in Lu Yin’s building had been enclosed. They still retained the building’s original appearance, their windows and doors tightly shut, the whole place seeming lifeless.
Amid all this, however, one scene was drifting with life. On a third-floor terrace, several pieces of light-colored clothing hung in the air. Someone in thin clothing, her hair loosely gathered at the ends, hung up the clothes before hunching her shoulders and hurrying back into the room.
Lu Qiang shifted his gaze away, not knowing whether she had seen him.
The homeowner who had reported the problem lived on the fifth floor. He knocked several times. The person inside did not seem to be in any hurry. After waiting for a while, the door finally opened slowly. Before he even saw the person, the scent of rosemary rushed toward him.
Lu Qiang instinctively frowned. When he looked up, he saw that it was the homeowner with the surname Zhang.
He could not help saying coldly, “The water pipe’s broken?”
The woman surnamed Zhang wore an apricot-colored silk nightdress, with a thin knitted cardigan draped over it. The front was exposed, leaving her cleavage fully visible.
She lazily leaned against the wall behind her, her eyes seductive and languid.
“Looks like I’ll have to trouble you, Security Guard-gege.”
Lu Qiang said, “No trouble. It’s part of my job.”
Seeing him enter, The woman surnamed Zhang closed the door tightly.
Lu Qiang stood in the living room.
“Where’s the problem?”
“In the bathroom.”
The layout here was different from Lu Yin’s home. It had two bedrooms and one living room, all facing the sun, with the bathroom tucked into a corner around the bend. It was obviously her own residence. The walls and floor were decorated in a riot of brilliant colors, soft music played, and scented oils permeated the air. Everything before his eyes was steeped in decadence.
Outside, the sky was darkening. Mauve gauze curtains hung before the windows. Beside the sofa, an extremely warm floor lamp was lit. There were beaded curtains and carpets everywhere. Anyone would have thought they had walked straight into Pansi Cave.
Lu Qiang swept his eyes around the room and found the bathroom. There was no burst pipe, nor was water cascading down from the ceiling. Beside it was a bathtub filled with hot water, steam rising from its surface.
Lu Qiang glanced at her.
“Are you messing with me?”
The woman surnamed Zhang pointed delicately.
“How could I? Isn’t that showerhead dripping? The water flow is weak when I shower, and I can’t shut it off properly.” She paused, then thrust her chest forward slightly. “I was just getting ready to take a shower.”
Lu Qiang walked farther inside, avoiding physical contact. Her breasts were quite large, naturally sagging with their weight. Perhaps he might once have been interested in trying them, but someone had completely overturned his aesthetic preferences. Everything else now seemed cloying and disgusting to him.
He intended to make a perfunctory repair and leave, but suddenly a boneless body pressed against his back.
“Security Guard-gege, aren’t you hot?”
Her voice was sickeningly sweet.
Lu Qiang turned around. The cardigan she had been wearing was already off, leaving only a thin strap precariously hanging from her shoulder.
Before he could react, she reached down and grabbed at his crotch. Lu Qiang abruptly seized her hand and roughly pulled her up before him. The woman surnamed Zhang froze.
“What? You’re hot?”
She liked his rough, forceful manner. Instead of retreating, she moved closer and pressed against him.
“My place faces the sun. It absorbs sunlight all day long. How could it not be hot?”
As she spoke, her other hand slid from his chest all the way to his shoulder. She pushed his jacket open to either side and tentatively said,
“Take your clothes off.”
“I’m not hot.”
Lu Qiang shook off her hand.
“You look pretty hot. Want me to help you?”
The woman surnamed Zhang raised her brows. Hearing him say that, she felt that she was already halfway to getting what she wanted. Excitement filled her as she anticipated the moment the fabric on her body would be torn apart.
Unexpectedly, Lu Qiang reached back and turned on the water valve.
The woman surnamed Zhang let out a shriek. Cold water poured down over her head like a torrential rain. Holding the showerhead, he repeatedly drove her backward until she was trapped in the corner between the bathtub and the wall.
He gritted his teeth and sneered.
“Still hot?”
“You’re crazy!”
The woman surnamed Zhang covered her head and tried to dodge the water.
“Stop, stop! I’m freezing to death!”
“Cold again? You’re really hard to please.”
Lu Qiang threw down the showerhead.
“Then I’ll help you again.”
With that, he kicked her into the bathtub without the slightest mercy.
Without even mentioning the pain on her body, at first it was freezing cold, then hot water suddenly poured over her. Her skin stung as though it were being fried in oil. Water splashed all over the floor. She swallowed a few mouthfuls of bathwater and could not stop coughing.
Lu Qiang planted one foot on the edge of the bathtub and looked down at her from above.
“Still feeling horny?”
Through the mist of the water, the man above her wore a sinister, vicious expression. There was an extremely cold smile at the corner of his mouth, and the scar on his forehead seemed to glint faintly. He was clearly no ordinary character.
Lu Qiang said, “From now on, take a detour whenever you see me. Put away all those tricks of yours. They won’t work on me.”
He glanced at her.
“Take your time enjoying yourself.”
He picked up the toolbox by the door. At the moment he shut it, the shouting from inside could still be heard.
“I’m going to report you!”
“Stinking wage laborer, country bumpkin, wearing a human skin…”
The door was slammed shut with a “bang.” Lu Qiang walked out of the building and looked down. His trouser legs were wet, and the good mood he'd had all day was ruined in her hands.
He stood there for a while and smoked half a cigarette. Across from him, the third-floor balcony was covered with clothes, twice as many as when he had gone inside. They were all light-colored garments, just like her, clean and pure white.
The corner of Lu Qiang’s lips lifted.
His mood suddenly became good again.
***
The next day, Lu Qiang waited for her directly at the bus stop.
Lu Yin spotted him from far away. He looked especially dashing today, wearing a short black jacket paired with tapered track pants and a pair of casual shoes. It was a rare look for him.
It was as though he had deliberately tidied himself up. His chin was clean-shaven, with only the faintest hint of stubble, and even his hair was exceptionally neat, dark, thick, and glossy.
Lu Yin secretly looked at him.
He seemed extremely impatient and frowned.
“What are you looking at?”
Lu Yin looked away and coughed.
“Where are we going today?”
Lu Qiang asked, “Did you bring your identification documents?”
She nodded blankly and asked, puzzled, “What do you need my documents for?”
He did not answer. A bus approached in the distance, and he tugged at her sleeve.
“Keep up.”
The place where the two of them lived was somewhat toward the outskirts. This bus headed in the direction of the outer ring. After only a few stops, Lu Qiang pulled her off.
There were few people around. Along both sides of the road stood a row of spacious shops, with little foot traffic coming and going.
Lu Yin looked at him in surprise.
“You’re buying a car?”
Lu Qiang pulled her along by the arm. His palm slowly slid down along the fabric until it touched her palm. After hesitating for a moment, he firmly clasped her hand.
Lu Yin merely pursed her lips and lowered her head, making no attempt to pull away.
Lu Qiang asked casually, “Which brand do you like? Japanese or German?”
She had a faint suspicion already. Her fingers tightened.
“Where did you get the money?”
Lu Qiang glanced at her.
“I told you, I have plenty of money. You just refuse to believe me.”
She stopped walking and grabbed his arm, insisting on an explanation.
Lu Qiang had no choice but to tell her the truth.
“I got it before I went inside. The police never found out.”
“Illegal?”
He gave a cold snort.
“I don’t know whether it was illegal or not. Anyway, I earned every bit of it with my life. What, you want me to donate it?”
He changed his hold to an arm around her waist and leaned closer.
“This is the money I saved for my wife. No way I’m giving it up.”
Lu Yin’s face flushed. She turned her head slightly and lightly pinched his waist.
Lu Qiang jumped up and caught her. “Fuck... You never learned, do you?”
The two of them laughed and teased each other for a while as they walked inside.
In the end, they settled on a German-made Volkswagen, a white Bora. Brand-new, automatic transmission, and costing a little over a hundred thousand yuan, it was not expensive.
After taking it for a test drive, they directly bought the bare vehicle.
Lu Yin sat in the driver’s seat. The car was filled with the smell of brand-new leather, and she still felt a trace of unease and unreality.
Lu Qiang said, “With my status, having a car registered under my name right after getting out would make people suspicious. Besides, my driver’s license expired long ago. I can only use your documents to buy it.”
He turned his head.
“The car is still mine. I’m just letting you drive it.”
Lu Yin was not a child. She knew he wanted her to accept it without worrying. In a muffled voice, she said, “You don’t need to lend it to me.”
Lu Qiang said, “You can drive it to and from work from now on. It’ll be more convenient than riding with your coworkers.”
The car fell silent for several seconds. Lu Yin understood what he meant and let out a little “pfft” of laughter.
Lu Qiang gave her a sideways glance.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing.”
He patted her on the head.
“Drive your car.”
A figure flashed past outside the window. Lu Qiang caught sight of a familiar face, but it was not anyone important, so he paid it no mind.
The car merged onto the road, gradually blending into the bustling flow of traffic.
The woman surnamed Zhang was dressed in a black suit. She grabbed the coworker beside her.
“Was that your client just now?”
“Ah.”
“What’s her name?”
“Client confidentiality. No disclosing information.”
“Don’t give me that crap. Hurry up.”
Her coworker laughed.
“Her name is Lu Yin.”
The woman surnamed Zhang frowned impatiently.
“I’m asking about the man.”
“I think the woman called him something Qiang.”
“Lu Qiang?”
“Ah, yes, yes, that’s the name. Hey, Xiao Zhang, why are you asking about this?”
The woman surnamed Zhang did not answer. She stared in the direction the car had disappeared, her fist tightening.
The humiliation from yesterday was still vivid in her mind. And from that hurried glimpse just now, it really had been him.
She had always wondered why he had refused to take the hint. Turns out, he already had someone on the side.
***
***
Lu Qiang, however, had no idea that someone was gnashing her teeth behind his back. The two of them spent the day driving around with temporary license plates, then had dinner near the residential compound that evening.
Lu Yin had just recovered from a serious illness and could only eat something light.
Lu Qiang ordered for her, getting her white congee and some side dishes. He himself ate his fill of meat and fish, thoroughly indulging, oil glistening on his lips.
A truly torturous sight.
After dinner, Lu Qiang did not get into the car. He pinched her cheek.
“I’ll walk back.”
After thinking for a moment, Lu Yin understood what he meant. She tucked back a loose strand of hair.
“Come on, let’s go in together.”
“I’ll walk off my meal.”
“Actually…”
She had only gotten two words out when Lu Qiang waved his hand and had already started walking toward the residential compound.
Watching his back, she silently finished the rest of what she wanted to say.
“…I don’t mind anymore.”
Lu Qiang did not hear her. After walking for two minutes, he turned a corner.
The entrance to the residential compound was right before his eyes. It was dimly lit, but he could see a dense circle of people gathered there.
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