Chapter Five (Part 2): Dream
Lu Qiang was lost in a wonderful dream. In the dream, there was a woman with him, on the little bed in the guard booth, locked in a passionate uninhibited embrace.
The sound beside his ear was on the verge of tears, a beautiful, disordered rhythm spilling from her lips. Lu Qiang gripped the bends of a pair of legs. Beneath his thumb was a small hollow. He rubbed it hard. The sensation felt strangely familiar.
He was happy, filled with a swelling sense of satisfaction. He was not doing this simply to relieve a physical need. He had never before enjoyed something so seriously, so wholeheartedly.
Lost in a haze, he did not know who she was. He tried desperately to open his eyes wider, yet he could not see her face. The more he could not see it, the more anxious he became, wanting to know who had given him this feeling.
He moved upward little by little. The skin beneath his hand was smooth and slippery. He paused for two seconds at the vulnerable neck, then continued upward. His hand came to rest on her lips, his fingers touching a few drops of water, tears she had shed in the throes of emotion.
Lu Qiang caressed her face, yet still could not make out who she was.
He cursed irritably and pinched her cheek. “Who the hell are you?”
The woman cried out in pain and covered his hand with hers.
“Who are you?”
The person beneath him finally spoke. That voice was familiar to him.
“Husband.” Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s. “It’s me, Yinyin…”
Lu Qiang thrust his hips and sat upright. Outside, the sky was already bright. The curtains were half drawn, and a sliver of morning light slipped through the gap. Lu Qiang narrowed his eyes and lit up his phone. It was only a little past six.
He propped up one leg, his back against the wall, his chest rising and falling. A few drops of sweat trickled down his temple. His whole body was covered in moisture, the skin over his chest muscles gleaming as though he had truly just gone through a vigorous bout of lovemaking.
He grabbed the undershirt beside him and wiped his face and chest with it, then muttered, still unsatisfied, “That damn little tease.”
When his breathing gradually calmed, Lu Qiang rested the back of his head against the wall and tried saying the name, “Yin… Yin…”
It felt somewhat stiff. He touched his forehead, then opened his mouth again.
“Yinyin…” He actually laughed out loud at himself.
After wiping himself, he tossed the shirt aside. He took a few seconds to compose himself, then lowered his head and reached down, rubbing himself through his trousers a few times. The more he teased himself, the harder it became to bear. After a pause, he raised his hand and with a sharp swish pulled the curtains shut. The room fell dim. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, savoring the dream from moments ago. Those repeated calls of “husband” had been exactly the same as what he had heard last night. They made his bones go weak. He rubbed his thumb for a while, then, after a long moment, slipped his hand inside…
Just as he was completely unable to stop thinking about it, there was a soft sound. He sharply opened his eyes.
Someone was standing at the doorway.
Lu Qiang slowly stopped what he was doing, but did not take his hand out. The thick desire in his eyes from moments ago vanished instantly. He shifted his cold gaze toward the person.
“Don’t you know how to knock?”
The person at the door froze. She never would have imagined that pushing open the door would reveal this kind of scene. After being speechless for several seconds, she said in shame and anger, “You… what are you doing?”
“You don’t know?” Lu Qiang said expressionlessly. “Taking care of a biological need. Hasn’t your man ever taught you?”
After a few seconds, she shot back, “I don’t have a man.”
Then she turned her eyes away, trying desperately to remain composed, though her face was still flushed red. Her feet felt as though they weighed a thousand jin. She wanted to leave, yet somehow could not take a step.
She did not move, simply standing stupidly in the doorway.
Lu Qiang pulled his hand out and, without pausing for even a second, flung something toward her. He did not even look to see what it was. It struck the door with a loud pa, shattering into pieces.
The person at the door flinched and shouted, “0852!”
“Who’s 0852?”
“You…”
“Enough with ‘you’ and ‘me.’ I have a name. My name is Lu Qiang.” His gaze was fierce.
She froze for a moment, then, red-faced and furious, changed her wording. “Lu Qiang, I’m giving you one minute to get yourself properly dressed and come outside to find me.”
Lu Qiang: “Get lost.”
“You…” She was so angry she could not speak. After a long while, she finally forced out, “Sour-faced monkey.” With that, she slammed the door and left.
Having been interrupted like this, Lu Qiang could no longer summon any interest. The thing beneath him gradually settled down as well. He cursed viciously, and only after a long while did the anger in his heart finally subside.
It was still early. There were only a few elderly men out for their morning walks in the compound. The air was fresh, and magpies chirped merrily from the branches.
A woman stood with her back to him in front of the door, her posture straight and rigid. The pale-green military uniform made her figure appear especially upright and striking. She rubbed her nose, covering up the embarrassment from just now. At the same time, a strange change arose within her.
It was definitely not anger or dissatisfaction. Rather, it was the subtle feeling this secretive incident had brought between her and him.
She lowered her head, her body swaying unconsciously back and forth.
“What did you come looking for me about?” someone suddenly asked from behind her, still in no pleasant mood.
Tan Wei turned around, met his gaze, then looked away again. Her tone was somewhat gentler. “Why did you come out like this? I told you to get properly dressed.”
Lu Qiang countered, “Am I naked?”
She was at a loss for words. She looked over again, only to catch sight of something she should not have been looking at.
His hands were in his trouser pockets, his upper body bare, his skin dark and sun-browned. His chest muscles were taut and rippling, the muscles of his abdomen arranged in neat, defined rows. Lower down, a section of coarse black hair showed above the edge of his belt, while the enormous dragon tattoo across his shoulder seemed even more brazen and unruly.
Tan Wei’s gaze flickered. She bit her lip. “You really are something. In broad daylight, can’t you do anything proper?”
Lu Qiang remained expressionless and sat down on the bench behind him. “What’s proper, and what’s improper?”
Tan Wei shot him a look. “Don’t you know yourself?”
He snorted. “This isn’t prison. Even taking care of your brothers, you have to report it to someone first!”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Lu Qiang grew irritated. “What exactly is it?”
“Can’t I come by and see you if there’s nothing wrong?”
“No.” Lu Qiang said, “You ruined a good thing for me.”
A sour feeling rose in Tan Wei’s heart. “Pretend I never came.” She turned around, tears almost falling from her eyes.
“Wait.” Lu Qiang called out. After shouting at her a few times, some of his irritation had dissipated. He stood up. “All right, if you came, stay for a while.”
Tan Wei’s footsteps stopped. Hearing the softness return to his voice, she took the offered way out. She turned back toward him, just in time to see sunlight spilling across his shoulders. His features were deeply defined, his nose straight and prominent. For a moment, she felt as though she had returned to six years ago, when she had just started out and followed her master in maintaining order at the “Chao Hui.” Back then, Lu Qiang was the one in charge. His temper changed like the weather. When he was happy, he would crack a few dirty jokes to tease you. When he was unhappy, he would turn cold and act as though he did not know you.
After all these years, he seemed not to have changed at all.
Thinking this, she no longer felt awkward.
She stood at the entrance for a while, then walked around, looking over the surroundings. Lu Qiang sat back down, arms folded, his thoughts drifting somewhere distant. He showed no intention of paying her any attention.
Tan Wei asked, “Getting used to the job?”
Lu Qiang said lazily, “It’s all right.”
“What are you planning to do next?”
“Nothing planned.”
Tan Wei stopped walking. “Then you’re just going to work as a security guard?”
He gave her a sideways glance. “Wasn’t it you people who arranged this for me?”
Tan Wei paused. “This is only a starting point. For a period of time after your release from prison, you’ll be monitored at irregular intervals. If you perform well, you can try a different type of work.”
“It’s not exactly something to be proud of. Who’d be willing to hire a convicted prisoner?”
Tan Wei said solemnly, “You know, I’ve always believed in you.”
Lu Qiang gave a snorting laugh.
Tan Wei said, “Don’t give up on yourself…”
“All right. Don’t give me a political lecture here.”
The impatience in his voice was obvious. Seeing his resistance, Tan Wei quickly changed the subject and began looking around the shabby guard booth again.
The booth was less than five square meters. Just inside the entrance was a chair, with a wooden table against the wall. Opposite it was a bed. The bed was narrow and short. Given his height, he probably could not even stretch his legs out fully. There was a window at the head of the bed, looking directly toward the residential compound’s main entrance.
The curtains were green and drawn tightly shut. She thought about it. Just now, he had been sitting against the wall, and that window had been right beside him…
She stopped herself from thinking any further and brought her gaze back. Behind and to the side of the guard booth were several stone stools and a stone table, with a chessboard painted on top in red oil paint. It had been there for so many years that the color had faded from the edges and corners.
She walked a little farther forward. He was sitting on the bench in front of the guard booth, his head turned as he watched something, his expression focused.
Tan Wei looked for something to say. “I remember you still owe me a meal.”
She received no answer. Lu Qiang continued looking to the side. Inside the compound was a long road, with five- or six-story brick buildings standing on either side. They were the same earthy yellow as the guard booth. Old trees stood in front of the buildings, their crowns reaching toward the sky and blocking out the sun.
Tan Wei did not know what he was looking at, so she followed his gaze. Other than a few scattered figures in the distance, there was nothing.
Tan Wei said, “I’m talking to you.”
Lu Qiang glanced at her. “Pick a time.”
Tan Wei’s eyes curved with her smile. “All right. I’ll call you when I have time.” Then she asked, “Qiu Shizu hasn’t come looking for you, has he?”
Lu Qiang did not tell the truth. “No.”
“If he does come looking for you, try not to go. Since you’re not taking that path anymore, cut ties with the people from before. Don’t repeat your old mistakes…”
She did not know whether he had taken those words to heart. Following his gaze, she saw that the person in the distance had already come closer.
She had her head lowered and walked very slowly, her hair tied into a ponytail. She wore a bright yellow sports skirt and short-sleeved shirt, and her face looked somewhat haggard.
Tan Wei shifted her gaze back to Lu Qiang, only then realizing that he had been watching this woman the whole time.
She could not help looking her over as well. The woman seemed finally to notice the gaze upon her. She raised her eyes, then stopped in her tracks and instinctively began to turn around and walk back.
Lu Qiang stood up. “Lu Yin.” He called her directly by name, casually grabbing the clothes inside the booth. With one stretch of his arm, he swiftly pulled them on.
Lu Yin glanced at his chest and said politely, “You haven’t changed shifts yet?”
The two of them were half a meter apart. It was the first time Lu Qiang had seen her under the sunlight. Her skin was very fair, her brows and eyes delicate. She was not exactly a beauty, yet she was almost excessively refined in appearance. There was something so tender and affecting about her that it made him want to pull her into his arms and cherish her properly.
The sunlight was bright and beautiful, as though she was meant to live beneath it.
Lu Qiang said, “Eight o’clock.”
Lu Yin nodded, not knowing what else to say to him.
After a few seconds, Lu Qiang said, “You’re up pretty early.”
“Couldn’t sleep, so I got up to walk around.”
Lu Qiang glanced at what she was wearing. “Running in the little garden?”
“Mm.”
“Where are you going now?”
Lu Yin pointed outside the residential compound. “Going to get some breakfast.”
Lu Qiang said nothing. She took the opportunity to say, “Then I’ll go first. Goodbye.”
Lu Qiang stood in her way and did not move aside. Lu Yin quickly went around him from the side and jogged two steps. The sunlight made her clothes look especially bright. Half of her thigh showed beneath the hem of her skirt, while her calves were smooth and well-proportioned, her ankles fair and almost no thicker than his wrist.
His gaze moved upward again and landed on the bends behind her knees. There were two small, delicate hollows there. His eyes darkened. The dream from that morning became astonishingly clear, and Lu Qiang unconsciously rubbed the pad of his thumb.
A woman’s instincts were sharp. Tan Wei felt distinctly uncomfortable. As she watched Lu Yin leave, she had already compared the other woman with herself in those few short seconds. Once that figure disappeared from view, she looked at Lu Qiang. His gaze was still following in that direction.
Tan Wei walked over. “Hey!”
Lu Qiang said, “Want to get breakfast?”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t I owe you a meal?”
Tan Wei: “…”
“Going or not?”
“Don’t think you can fob me off with a breakfast.” She playfully raised an eyebrow, her whole face bright and spirited.
Lu Qiang said, “Then I’ll go.”
***
There was a row of shops along the outer edge of the residential compound. In the mornings, they set up stalls outside to sell breakfast, packing everything away around ten. At noon, they served fast food, and at night, there were still late-night snacks. Setting aside the hygiene and environment, life here was fairly convenient, and prices were on the lower side of average.
Lu Yin had gone to bed late the night before, but she woke up before six. She still wanted to actively change the state of her life, so on a whim, she put on some exercise clothes and went running. She normally got little exercise, and after only a few minutes of running, she was already panting as though she might collapse. After catching her breath, she decided to go out and have breakfast first.
She casually found a small stall and sat down. One bowl of soy milk, one youtiao. She picked one up with her fingers, tore it into sections, dropped them into the soy milk, and let them soak. She had only taken two bites when someone spoke above her head.
“Is anyone sitting here?”
She raised her head. Before she could answer, the person had already sat down on his own. He called toward the distance, “Boss, three youtiao, one bowl of soy milk, two eggs.”
The boss called back, “Eh,” and told him to wait a moment.
The table was a large round one, with other people eating across from them. Sitting side by side, there had originally been plenty of room, but once he sat down, his shoulder seemed to brush against hers now and then, making the space feel slightly cramped.
Lu Yin froze for a moment, then smiled. “You came to eat too?”
Lu Qiang snapped apart the disposable chopsticks. “Didn’t know which place was good.”
“They’re all about the same.”
Lu Yin scooped up a piece of youtiao with a small spoon. Lu Qiang looked over. “That’s all you’re eating?”
She was already feeling awkward and did not raise her head, merely giving a soft “mm.”
His food arrived quickly. Immediately, the sound of loud slurping came from beside her. Within seconds, he had swallowed two youtiao, and he had also drunk half a bowl of soy milk. After a few seconds, the noise beside her suddenly stopped again.
Uneasily, Lu Yin turned her head and happened to meet the gaze he had directed toward her. It was frank and direct, lingering on her for quite some time.
Lu Yin’s heart gave several hard jumps, and a strange feeling arose within her.
She hurriedly lowered her head and heard the person beside her ask, “Is it good eating it that way?”
“…Softer.”
Lu Qiang’s hand paused. An eggshell fell onto the table, revealing the translucent white of the egg within, round and plump. He gently pinched it between two fingers. It was soft and tender, springy beneath his touch. Lu Qiang smiled, then lifted his hand and slid it along the rim of her bowl, placing the white egg into the white liquid.
Lu Yin stared at it in a daze. Lu Qiang said, “I washed my hands.”
In fact, she had already smelled it. The moment his hand reached over, that dark, broad palm passed before her eyes, carrying the faint scent of soap. His movements were very gentle, carefully making sure not to let the soy milk spill. He paused only briefly, yet she saw clearly the veins on the back of his hand, each one distinct enough to seem almost raised from the skin.
And Lu Yin realized that her attention seemed to have gone completely off track. She hurriedly gathered her thoughts, burying her head even lower.
Lu Qiang acted as though nothing had happened. He peeled another egg, stuffed it into his mouth in one bite, then copied her and soaked the remaining youtiao in the soy milk.
Lu Yin could barely taste anything. She forced down two more bites, then heard the person beside her say, “It really is soft.”
She pressed her lips tightly together.
After they finished eating, the boss came to collect the money. “Yours is one yuan seventy. Yours is five yuan ten.”
Lu Qiang said, “Put them together.”
The boss said, “Then six eighty.”
Lu Yin did not want to owe him anything and hurriedly waved her hand. “No, no, I’ll pay for mine.”
“…”
She silently paid. Lu Qiang said, “Next time, I’ll treat you.”
Lu Yin said, “No need. It’s only a few yuan, and you helped me move my things yesterday too.”
Lu Qiang insisted, “One thing at a time.”
Lu Yin looked away, taking it as mere politeness on his part. She did not want to waste her breath arguing.
The tables at the breakfast stalls were packed closely together, making the space somewhat cramped. The boss carried two bowls of soy milk over, calling out, “Careful when you stand up, watch your feet.”
Lu Yin did not hear him. Just as she was about to stand, Lu Qiang grabbed her. In the instant she lost her balance, his large palm covered the back of her head and pressed her forward slightly.
The boss sidled past them from behind.
Lu Qiang said in a low voice, “Be careful.”
After the boss had walked away, he forgot to take his hand back. Lu Yin struggled slightly, and his hand lingered for a moment before sliding down. He rubbed the back of her neck almost imperceptibly, only then letting go.
Lu Yin’s cheeks flushed bright red, with a faint trace of annoyance beneath it. She did not look at him. “I’m going back.”
Lu Qiang smiled and stood as well. “Together.”
No comments:
Post a Comment