She bent over to rummage through the desk drawer when someone approached from behind, stopping close to her. His hands braced against the edges of the desk on either side of her, his sturdy and tall frame enclosing a small space, maintaining a slight distance—neither too far nor too close. A sense of pressure and his presence washed over her, accompanied by a deep, husky voice tinged with a nasal tone, resonant like a subwoofer.
They exchanged casual conversation.
"Did you receive the physical exam report?"
"Yes."
"How is it?"
"All the indicators are pretty good."
"Moving everything to the company?"
"Is that not allowed?"
He snorted softly, half-squinting his eyes, his tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek and tracing a semicircle, causing his cheek to bulge.
His tone was hoarse and muffled again.
"Can't you tell I have a cold?"
"How did you catch a cold?"
"I got drenched in that heavy rain, and you didn't say a word."
"A cold only lasts a week. Looking at your symptoms, it doesn't seem like it's from that rain."
"Without medicine, can a cold heal so easily? Do you have any medicine at your place?"
"No, go to the pharmacy."
He drew his hands closer, leaning his tall frame down, hovering just behind her, and turned his head to peck her cheek. In a raspy voice, he said, "Hasn't the medicine already been delivered?"
Chen Yi leaned in, his arm reaching over her shoulder, pressing against her cheek as he bent down to kiss her. His other hand wrapped around her waist, locking her in place, effortlessly capturing her lips.
He had just smoked, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth, but her lips were cool and sweet. Miao Jing closed her eyes as his freed fingers tilted her chin up, their lips meeting in a smooth, tacit kiss.
It was scorching, perfectly suited for the gradually chilling season.
The sound of entangled breaths and the soft rustle of lips and tongues echoed in the room, but footsteps outside were also approaching step by step. The footsteps beat like drumsticks in rhythm—the room door was open, and the main door outside was open too. Lu Zhengsi's footsteps ascended the steps, growing clearer and closer with each step. In the moment he stepped through the main door and took two or three strides forward, Chen Yi took one last sip of her sweet saliva, gasped for breath, released his embrace, and leisurely stepped back, leaning against the cupboard. He slowly pulled out a cigarette, lowered his head, and lit it.
Miao Jing blinked, calmly tidying the items on the desk.
Chapter 23: Turning Eighteen and Coming of Age—Quite Important
At the start of her second year of high school, Miao Jing was seventeen, without much sentimentality or girlish fantasies. She entered the science stream, busy with her studies, just beginning to brush against the edges of the college entrance exam. Chen Yi had graduated from vocational high school and initially worked as an in-house security guard at a nightclub—essentially keeping watch during the midnight hours and dealing with troublesome customers. Their life paths began to clearly diverge at this point. Miao Jing didn't live on campus; she spent her days at school, riding her bike to and from home morning and night. Chen Yi worked from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m., spending the rest of his time playing ball, chatting, eating, and drinking with others. Over ten days or half a month, it was rare for the two to see each other at home.
Miao Jing left home for school at 6:30 every morning, occasionally running into Chen Yi returning home to sleep. Sometimes he wore a shirt, dress pants, and leather shoes; other times, he changed back into a T-shirt and jeans. The neighbors had long since learned to avoid him. Fresh off an all-nighter, he would frown, slouch with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and upon seeing Miao Jing sitting at the table drinking milk and eating eggs, toss a few hundred yuan her way. She would shake her head and refuse, but he would head into the bathroom to shower, saying he'd won it playing pool and that she should keep it for her meal card.Money was no longer an issue these days. Miao Jing no longer had to worry about living expenses or various tutoring fees at school. Chen Yi's nightclub earnings were enough to cover his daily needs. During his free time, he'd bet on snooker games with others—three to five hundred per match—winning more often than losing. The money he brought home was more than sufficient. He'd casually give Miao Jing one or two thousand yuan monthly, which fully covered her food and clothing. She no longer needed to buy street vendor goods and could wear pretty clothes to hang out with classmates for entertainment and gatherings.
With this money, Miao Jing bought clothes and shoes for both of them, replaced worn-out daily necessities, and fixed broken household items. She stood on tiptoe on a stool, replacing all the old fluorescent tubes at home with energy-saving bulbs, while Chen Yi stood below, reaching out.
"Hand it to me."
"Would you dare?" She looked down at him. "I didn't turn off the power."
"What's there to fear now?" He stood with arms akimbo, looking up at her with a deepening smile. "Changing bulbs without cutting the power—are you trying to die?"
"I'm really good at physics, especially electricity."
"How good? Better than a professional electrician? Watch out—boasting might get you struck by lightning." Chen Yi tugged at her pants leg. "Get down. Go make my bed."
"Okay." She clapped her hands, her eyes smiling as she climbed down from the stool. "The table leg is wobbly and needs nailing too."
"What else needs fixing or replacing at home?"
"The rice cooker is broken. Can it be repaired?"
"Let's buy a new one. It doesn't cost much."
"We hardly eat at home these days..."
"Now that we have money, of course we should eat out."
"Is my cooking that bad?"
"Don't you know yourself? How many bowls of noodles have we eaten these past two years? Tsk... no wonder you're as thin as a noodle."
Did she look like a noodle? Plain and unappetizing?
Miao Jing felt both bittersweet and amused. She now had lunch and dinner at school, while Chen Yi grabbed all three meals outside. With only one day off weekly—which never aligned with Chen Yi's irregular schedule—they were like the sun and moon, rarely overlapping. Their rare moments together were spent patching up the house and adding necessities.
Chen Yi's eighteenth birthday fell on Christmas Eve, but life went on as usual. He got off work at 5 a.m. after late-night snacks with coworkers, having grown accustomed to staying up late. He relied on cigarettes to stay alert in the mornings. When he briefly crossed paths with Miao Jing downstairs, her school uniform hung loosely on her frame. A knitted scarf covered half her face, revealing only delicate eyebrows and eyes as she pushed her bicycle and greeted him.
Her voice was like frost on roof tiles—emotionless yet pleasant.
"Are you cold?"
"Not cold." She asked in return, "Are you cold?"
He reeked of smoke, wearing a white shirt under a black hoodie with the hood pulled up, looking every bit the reckless wanderer.
"Not cold. Hurry to class."
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