The Fragile Peace

“What?” Lin Wanzhao was stunned.

“Those people are strangers. Do you really want me to treat you like a stranger, CEO Lin?” Yu Qingkong continued walking, her pace steady.

Lin Wanzhao blinked, her voice dropping as she replied, “No.”

“Would I go to that cashier’s house to cook dinner?” Yu Qingkong asked again.

“No.” Lin Wanzhao shook her head once more.

“Right,” Yu Qingkong nodded. “I just… don’t quite know how to face the relationship between us.”

Lin Wanzhao felt her heart skip a beat. After thinking for a long moment, she finally spoke: “Anyway, if there are things you’re unwilling to do, then you’re unwilling. I’m not the kind of person to pester someone, nor am I obsessed with sleeping with you. I think it’s strange that our relationship has become this tense. We have to see each other every day at the office; we can’t go on like this forever…”

She paused, then added, “If possible… just act as if nothing ever happened between us.”

A bizarre silence settled between them after that. Lin Wanzhao couldn’t quite describe what she was feeling. It felt like one wrong step had led to a thousand more; everything she said felt awkward now.

Yu Qingkong stared at the road for a while before looking ahead. “Alright, I understand your meaning, CEO Lin. I think we’re almost there.”

“Mhm,” Lin Wanzhao looked forward and nodded. Then she frowned. “I’m hungry.”

“Hungry?” Yu Qingkong hoisted her slightly higher. “Didn’t you just say one missed meal wouldn’t kill you?”

Lin Wanzhao tightened her grip around Yu Qingkong’s neck. “It feels like it might.”

As if on cue, her stomach growled twice more.

“When I asked you at the supermarket if you wanted to buy a snack to tide you over, you said no…” Yu Qingkong glanced at a passing streetlight.

“I was busy being angry at you then! I was full of rage, who has room for food?” Lin Wanzhao’s fire flared up again at the memory. “I’m going to eat three bowls of rice later. Don’t you dare cook too little.”

Yu Qingkong let out an involuntary laugh. The way she said it sounded exactly like a child.

“What are you laughing at?” Lin Wanzhao tilted her head to ask.

“Nothing.” Yu Qingkong shook her head.

***********************************************

Arriving at the door, Lin Wanzhao slid off Yu Qingkong’s back and punched in her security code. “My cat is truly not well-behaved. Other cats wait at the door for their owners; mine does the opposite. It runs the moment it hears the lock. I don’t get it—am I Voldemort or something?”

She swung the door open. Just as she was about to continue her complaint, a white shadow blurred past her, meowing loudly and rubbing against Yu Qingkong’s legs. Yu Qingkong smiled, set the groceries down, and knelt to scratch its chin.

Lin Wanzhao stood there in awkward silence for a second. She changed her shoes, picked up the groceries, and leaned against the wall to limp toward the kitchen. “Confirmed. I am Voldemort.”

Yu Qingkong looked up at her, nudged the kitten aside, and quickly walked over to take the bags from her. “Give those to me, unless you want your ankle to get worse.”

“Thank you,” Lin Wanzhao managed to say.

“You’re welcome.” Yu Qingkong adjusted her glasses and headed for the kitchen.

“The rice is in the small white bin in the second cabinet from the bottom,” Lin Wanzhao called out.

Yu Qingkong raised a hand in an “OK” gesture without looking back.

Lin Wanzhao watched her back for a moment and sighed. She pulled a pair of crutches from a nearby closet—relics from a previous injury—grabbed a bottle of medicated oil, and limped to the sofa to carefully massage her ankle.

The kitchen was large and perfectly equipped. However, Yu Qingkong noticed that most of the appliances looked brand new, as if they had barely been used.

She washed the rice, snapped the beans, peeled the potatoes, and sliced the beef. Then she began peeling garlic.

Lin Wanzhao appeared at the kitchen doorway, leaning on her crutches.

“Is it that bad?” Yu Qingkong turned to look at her. “Do you need a hospital?”

“No, I applied the oil and massaged it; it feels much better. I just happened to have the crutches, so might as well use them.” Lin Wanzhao walked in and shook her head.

Yu Qingkong nodded, peeling another clove. “Have you hurt your foot before?”

“Yes.”

“Then you should wear high heels less often.” Yu Qingkong glanced at her feet.

“I just like looking taller. It makes my figure look better.” Lin Wanzhao couldn’t ignore the pressure of her self-image; she had been terrified of being out of shape since she was young.

“You’re already tall enough. You’re what, 1.7 meters?” Yu Qingkong looked at her again before returning to the garlic. “You look fine without them.”

“1.68.” Lin Wanzhao watched her profile. For some reason, she never got tired of looking at Yu Qingkong.

“Close enough. I’m just starting; the beef needs to stew for a while. Why don’t you go sit down, have some fruit or a snack?” Yu Qingkong rinsed the garlic and placed it on the cutting board.

“No, I want to watch you…” Lin Wanzhao walked over and stopped beside her.

“Hmm?” Yu Qingkong turned to her.

“Watch the steps. My cooking is terrible; maybe I can learn a trick or two from you.” Lin Wanzhao quickly changed the subject the moment their eyes met.

“Go ahead and watch then.” Yu Qingkong expertly crushed several cloves of garlic with the side of her knife and began dicing with rhythmic precision. She washed a piece of ginger and sliced it into perfectly even pieces. The whole process was as seamless as a movie.

“Yu Qingkong, did you go to culinary school? Your technique is so polished.”

“No. When I first graduated, I was poor and shared a tiny rental with a friend. We split everything and cooked every day to save money. That’s how I learned.” Yu Qingkong spoke while placing the beef in a pot of cold water with cooking wine.

“I only ever shared a dorm in college.” After graduation, Lin Wanzhao had moved straight into an apartment her father bought her.

“Normal. You don’t lack money,” Yu Qingkong said, turning on the stove. “That place we had was tiny. Just one bed. No AC. In the summer, we had one electric fan that oscillated back and forth, and we both wished the other person would roll away. In the winter, we just hugged each other and shivered. That idiot even complained that I was too thin—said there was nothing to hold onto.”

Lin Wanzhao bit her lip. “A girl?”

“Yeah,” Yu Qingkong nodded. She paused, adjusted her glasses, and looked at Lin Wanzhao. “That’s why I really don’t think I can be gay. I spent every day in such close contact with her; if I were going to turn, it would have happened then, wouldn’t it?”

Lin Wanzhao opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself, eventually just nodding. So… she really is straight? Her eyes dimmed slightly.

Eventually, Lin Wanzhao’s stamina gave out. She went to change into a comfortable silk slip nightgown and sat on the sofa to watch TV.

***********************************************

A long while later, dinner was finally ready. Yu Qingkong set the table, wiped her hands, and walked into the living room.

The TV was still on, playing a series of mindless commercials.

Lin Wanzhao, likely exhausted from the day’s emotional and physical toll, had fallen asleep on the sofa under a throw blanket.

“CEO Lin, dinner is ready.” Yu Qingkong turned off the TV with the remote and knelt beside her. She reached out and patted her shoulder. “Want to get up and eat?”

Lin Wanzhao’s fingers twitched. She let out a soft, low moan and shifted her body slightly. The blanket slid off her, pooling on the floor.

The silk nightgown was smooth and soft, clinging to her elegant curves. As she moved, the hem hiked up, revealing a stretch of sexy, pale thigh. Her skin was like alabaster—delicate and moving.

Lin Wanzhao let out a soft sigh, pressing her legs together and rolling onto her side. She raised the back of her hand to rub her forehead. Her lips were slightly parted, and one of the thin straps of her gown had slipped halfway down her small shoulder…

Yu Qingkong stared at a stray lock of hair caught on the corner of Lin Wanzhao’s lip. Looking at her in this state of unconscious allure, Yu Qingkong felt a sudden, sharp heat rise in her chest. Her throat went dry. She jerked her gaze away, but her heart began to beat with a frantic, heavy thud.