Chapter 16: Darling, Come Here

After parking in the residential lot and locking the car, Qu Yanning said, “Which building do you live in? I’ll walk you downstairs.”

The woman tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, lifted her face slightly, and pointed to an apartment building not far away.

“I live over there too,” Qu Yanning said with surprise, slipping the car keys into his waist pouch. “Let’s go together then.”

The woman nodded and quietly followed behind him.

Her head was habitually lowered, giving her the look of a very shy person.

They walked in silence.

When they reached the building entrance, Qu Yanning confirmed again, “Here?”

“Yes. Fourteenth floor,” the woman said softly.

Her voice was light, and her words came slowly, carrying the gentle cadence of someone from the watery towns of Jiangnan.

Inside the elevator, Qu Yanning pressed the buttons for the 14th and 16th floors.

Neither spoke.

The elevator was quiet, filled only with Qu Yanning’s soft breathing and the faint hum of machinery.

The elevator stopped at the fourteenth floor.

“We’re here,” Qu Yanning said. “Head back and rest early. See you.”

The woman stood at the elevator entrance.

The corridor lights didn’t come on.

Only the dim glow of the elevator illuminated her face, which looked even paler in the gloom. “Thank you,” she said.

Qu Yanning waved a hand, told her it was nothing, and urged her to head in quickly.

The woman nodded, and for the first time, smiled at him.

Then she slowly turned and walked into the darkness.

“Guess the hallway lights are broken again,” Qu Yanning muttered as the elevator doors closed.

After returning home and washing up, Qu Yanning climbed into bed.

Xie Qi was already curled up by the pillow, belly exposed, snoring softly.

Qu Yanning gently pulled the blanket over him, then nuzzled his face into the warm, soft fur of the cat’s belly.

It smelled faintly nice.

Qu Yanning smiled foolishly, gave the cat a kiss, and closed his eyes. “Good night.”

Half-asleep, Xie Qi opened his eyes.

Breathing in the familiar scent, he relaxed and closed them again.

With a roll, he snuggled closer to Qu Yanning’s neck, letting out a contented little purr.

By mid-July, the first typhoon of the season had made landfall in Shen City.

The local weather bureau issued a warning.

Looking at the gloomy sky outside, Qu Yanning told Chu Zhou, “I’m heading to the supermarket to stock up on groceries.”

Who knew how long the rain would last once the typhoon passed? Better to be prepared.

Chu Zhou paused in the middle of his work. “Want me to go with you?”

“No need.” Qu Yanning waved a hand. “I’ll take the tricycle. I’ll be back quick.”

There was a large chain supermarket near Xiuping Road.

After the typhoon alert, many residents had gone out to panic-buy.

Qu Yanning rode his little tricycle around the lot but couldn’t find a single parking space.

In the end, he parked by the roadside and went in determined to shop fast.

Inside, the store was crowded.

He headed upstairs to buy meat first — fresh beef and pig offal.

Since they’d likely be stuck indoors with days of rain, hotpot sounded like the perfect plan.

After filling half a cart with ingredients, he moved on to snacks — both he and his cat had unstoppable appetites, and Chu Zhou had already run out of his snack stash two days ago.

Finally, on the first floor, he picked up rice, flour, and condiments before pushing his overloaded cart to the checkout.

The lines were long, and it took quite a while to get through.

When he finally came out, the sky had grown even darker.

Though it was only around three or four in the afternoon, the thick clouds made it look like dusk.

As he loaded the grocery bags into the back of his trike and unlocked it, he happened to glance to the side—and saw a familiar figure.

That woman again—standing where they’d first met, a lost expression on her face, lips moving silently as if murmuring something.

Qu Yanning glanced at the sky and drove his trike over.

“The typhoon’s almost here. Why are you still out here?” he asked.

The woman looked up. For a moment, she seemed dazed, then slowly said, “Oh… it’s you.”

“You’re not heading home?”

“I… can’t find my way back,” she said, frowning in distress.

Qu Yanning studied her.

Her clothes were neat — a light blue work uniform.

She spoke clearly enough, didn’t seem to have communication issues… but this was the second time she’d gotten lost.

Xiuping Road was just a few hundred meters from their complex.

There was no reason for a normal person to lose their way here.

Maybe something really was off…

Thinking of the previous encounter, his sympathy deepened.

He patted the passenger seat. “Hop on. I’ll take you back.”

The woman smiled faintly, pressed her lips together, and climbed on lightly.

The sky was growing darker still, a light drizzle beginning to fall.

Qu Yanning sped up and reached the building in just a few minutes.

Again, they went up together.

The elevator was crowded this time, and the woman ended up on the opposite side.

Qu Yanning stood by the control panel, pressed 16 and 14 again, not noticing the odd look someone gave him.

The elevator stopped at the fourteenth floor.

The woman pushed through the crowd, waved to him.

The corridor wind lifted her long hair — she looked so light, she might just float away.

Qu Yanning thought to himself, Girls these days are so skinny.

One gust of wind and they’re gone.

At the sixteenth floor, Chu Zhou and Xie Qi were waiting at the elevator.

Qu Yanning had messaged earlier — he’d bought too much and couldn’t carry it all alone.

Chu Zhou took two grocery bags from him. “Why’d you buy so much?”

Qu Yanning scooped up the cat and gave him a cuddle, then set him on his shoulders.

With a bag in each hand, he said, “Hang on tight, sweetheart. I got a lot of meat — perfect for hotpot.”

Xie Qi lay flat on his shoulders, tiny paws tucked in.

The warmth of Qu Yanning’s body radiated through their contact.

Xie Qi twitched his head uncomfortably and turned his face away, pretending not to care.

The moment they got home and set the groceries down, rain poured down in sheets outside.

Raindrops the size of soybeans lashed at the windows, merging into a curtain of white that obscured everything.

Inside, the living room glowed with warm light.

Qu Yanning sorted the groceries, then took the meat into the kitchen to prep for hotpot.

He blanched the pork bones first, skimmed the scum, added cooking wine and a few drops of soybean oil, then transferred everything to the clay pot to simmer.

Once the broth was on, he began slicing the fresh meat into thin slices.

The freshly cut slices still glistened with traces of blood, neatly arranged on platters for dipping later.

“Qu’er,” Chu Zhou said, washing vegetables nearby. “Whoever marries you in the future is gonna be the luckiest person alive.”

Qu Yanning sliced meat with practiced hands, the blade gleaming cold. “Why would I be the one getting married?”

“…” Chu Zhou edged away.

The words You’re such a bottom, who else would it be? got stuck in his throat and rolled around a few times before he swallowed them down.

“The melon-head’s spying on us from the doorway,” he said instead, changing the topic and exposing the fluffy figure peeking around the corner.

Xie Qi’s ears twitched and flattened, his furry little head shrinking behind the doorframe.

Qu Yanning turned his head and saw only a long shadow stretching past the threshold.

He called out, “Sweetheart? Come here.”

Xie Qi rubbed his face with a paw, tail standing tall.

He strutted in with an air of pride and authority.