The Midnight Encounter and a Sudden Departure

“It was mostly because… I was hungry, and it was just convenient.” Xiang Qing swiftly clarified her stance.

“Mhm.”

Shen Lanzhi nodded, her face adorned with an expression that plainly said, ‘No need to explain, I understand completely.’ “Next time you crave it, feel free to make it. I’ll love anything you cook.”

Xiang Qing abruptly shot to her feet, her sudden movement nearly toppling the chair.

“I’m full! And sleepy! I’m going to bed now!”

Having declared this, she bolted back to her bedroom as if fleeing a disaster, locking the door behind her.

‘Love-struck fools are truly terrifying. Love would ruin a person. Xiang Qing, in this life, was destined to be a lone wolf, forever bound to money!’

She flung herself onto the bed, pulled the covers over her head, and willed herself to sleep.

****

After an indeterminate amount of time, a pressing urge to relieve herself jolted Xiang Qing awake from her hazy dreams.

Groggy, she stumbled out of bed, rubbing her eyes, and fumbled for her bedroom door by sheer muscle memory, opening it.

The living room was plunged into darkness, save for a faint glimmer of city neon filtering in from outside the window.

Barefoot, Xiang Qing tiptoed towards the bathroom. Her mind was still clouded with sleep, her only thought to quickly tend to her needs before returning to her slumber.

She pushed open the bathroom door. The door was unlocked. Inside, it was dim, but by the light from the living room, a blurry silhouette became visible.

The figure was sitting upright on the toilet.

In that instant, Xiang Qing’s mind was struck as if by a bolt of lightning. All lingering traces of sleepiness exploded, vanishing without a trace.

She saw clearly. It was Shen Lanzhi. Dressed in a silk nightgown, she sat silently on the toilet, seemingly frozen by the sudden intrusion.

Time froze. The air solidified. One second. Two seconds.

“I’m so sorry!”

Xiang Qing let out a short, sharp shriek, slammed the door shut, and spun around, scrambling back. She had completely forgotten her original purpose, rushing headlong back into her bedroom, locking the door once more, and pressing herself against the door, her heart pounding wildly.

‘What did I just see? What did I just see! Even in the dim light, the outline of those fair, slender legs was seared into her retina. Now, there was no way to clear her name. She wasn’t a pervert, but she’d just done something a pervert would do.’

Xiang Qing stood ‘punished’ behind her door for ten minutes, sensing the world outside had fallen into a deathly silence.

She stealthily crept back into bed, wrapping herself into a human spring roll with her duvet, attempting to convince herself that everything that had just transpired was a mere hallucination.

After another ten minutes or so, a soft knock sounded at her bedroom door.

Knock, knock-knock.

Xiang Qing jolted, nearly leaping from her bed.

“Xiao Qing, are you asleep?” It was Shen Lanzhi’s voice.

‘If I play dead, embarrassment can’t catch me.’

“I know you’re not asleep.” The voice from outside persisted.

“Could you… could you open the door, please? Let’s talk.”

‘Talk about what? The material of the toilet bowl? Its flushing efficiency?’

Xiang Qing procrastinated for a long while before finally steeling herself, getting out of bed, and opening the door.

Shen Lanzhi stood at the doorway, having changed into a more modest cotton nightgown—long-sleeved and long-panted, completely enveloping herself. Her head was bowed, her hands nervously twisting the hem of her sleepwear.

“I…”

“I…”

Both spoke at once, then both fell silent.

“You first,” Shen Lanzhi said, looking up.

“No, no, no, you first!” Xiang Qing waved her hands frantically.

Shen Lanzhi hesitated for a moment before speaking, her voice barely a whisper, like a mosquito’s hum.

“You just now… did you see everything?”

The moment of reckoning had arrived. Xiang Qing’s mind raced, her survival instinct prompting her to formulate the perfect answer within a second.

“No! Absolutely not! I didn’t see a thing!”

She raised three fingers, swearing solemnly.

“I was completely dazed from sleep, my eyes weren’t even open! I just saw a white blur and thought our fridge had come to life! Really, I swear!”

Shen Lanzhi gazed at her, her expression showing no sign of easing.

Xiang Qing steeled herself, deciding to make her point even clearer, hoping to put Shen Lanzhi completely at ease.

“Besides! So… even if I did see something, what of it? It was just legs, Auntie, everyone has them! You have legs, I have legs, there are legs all over the street! It’s a normal physiological structure, no big deal! Right? Haha!”

She let out a dry laugh, attempting to defuse the crisis with the logic of an ‘iron straight woman.’

However, after Xiang Qing’s words, the expression on Shen Lanzhi’s face visibly crumbled.

It wasn’t the indignation of being offended, nor the relief of a burden lifted. It was a pure, unadulterated disappointment.

She looked at Xiang Qing and spoke softly, almost mournfully.

“Only… legs?”

‘What did she mean? Otherwise? What else was there to see? Disappointment? Why was she disappointed?’

Xiang Qing opened her mouth, wanting to explain, but found her throat felt as if it were clogged with cement; not a single word could escape.

Staring into Shen Lanzhi’s misty eyes, brimming with grievance and loss, an unprecedented panic surged through Xiang Qing.

‘This question is beyond the syllabus! She doesn’t know the answer!’

“I… I’m really sleepy!”

Xiang Qing practically roared the words, then slammed the door shut with a bang, tumbling back into bed.

‘Love-struck fools truly are the most terrifying creatures in the world.’

****

That night, Xiang Qing slept fitfully. The next morning, she emerged from her bedroom, sporting prominent dark circles under her eyes, into a living room whose atmosphere was as silent as a vacuum.

Shen Lanzhi had already prepared breakfast: millet porridge, steamed buns, and several delicate side dishes. Dressed in a simple, elegant house dress, she sat quietly at the dining table, sipping her porridge in small mouthfuls, her gaze unfocused, as if her soul had drifted away.

Xiang Qing tiptoed over, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

“Morning,” she offered, her voice dry.

Shen Lanzhi offered no reply, only a slight tremor of her eyelashes.

At the dining table, the only sound was the crisp clinking of a spoon against the bowl’s rim, again and again, each chime grating on Xiang Qing’s nerves.

She hunched over her food, chewing listlessly as if it were tasteless wax.

Just as Xiang Qing felt the meal becoming unbearable, the doorbell rang.

‘It was the chime of salvation!’

As if granted a grand pardon, Xiang Qing immediately rose to open the door.

Standing outside the door was Gu Wei. Her figure, sharp and poised in a crisp black suit, was complemented by her long hair tied into a high ponytail. Her face was adorned with sunglasses that obscured half of it, her lips a stark, blood-red, and her entire being exuded a cold, ‘do not approach’ aura.

Without a word, Gu Wei pushed Xiang Qing aside and strode directly into the house, her gaze lingering for a second on the forlorn figure in the dining room, a cold sneer twisting her lips.

Then, she turned and seized Xiang Qing’s wrist.

“Come with me.”

Xiang Qing’s wrist throbbed painfully from Gu Wei’s grip, and she instinctively struggled. “CEO Gu? Where are we going?”

“When I tell you to go, you go. Why so many questions?”

Just then, Shen Lanzhi rose to her feet.

“Her foot injury hasn’t healed yet.”

Hearing this, Gu Wei let out a scoff, her eyes behind the sunglasses glinting with provocation.

“If she can’t walk, I can carry her,” she paused, enunciating each word, “A princess carry wouldn’t be out of the question.”

Xiang Qing’s heart gave a violent lurch.

‘These two women were practically born enemies!’

Seeing a war without smoke about to erupt, Xiang Qing’s survival instinct surged, and she quickly interjected to mediate: “Alright, alright! My foot is fine now! I can walk and run!”

She looked at Gu Wei, forcing an ingratiating smile. “CEO Gu, I’ll go with you.”

‘Anywhere was better than this suffocating battlefield!’

Shen Lanzhi watched Xiang Qing’s retreating back, as she unhesitatingly chose to leave with Gu Wei, her fingers at her side slowly clenching, her face growing even paler.

Gu Wei ushered Xiang Qing into the passenger seat of her Maserati, then sped off, driving like the wind to a botanical garden on the outskirts of the city.

Being a weekday, the garden was almost deserted.

Gu Wei retrieved a seemingly expensive DSLR camera from the trunk and tossed it to Xiang Qing.

“Hold this.”

Xiang Qing clutched the cold camera, her expression bewildered. “CEO Gu, this is for…”

“Taking pictures.” Gu Wei shed her suit jacket, revealing a form-fitting white camisole underneath. She leaned against a rose-covered tree, raising her chin at Xiang Qing. “Photograph me.”

Xiang Qing was speechless.

‘What on earth? CEO Gu has time for such leisurely pursuits! While it seemed absurd, the patron’s request was law.’

Xiang Qing steeled herself, raised the camera, and began snapping a flurry of shots of Gu Wei through the viewfinder.