Chapter 6: First Encounter

When Cheng Wanyue glanced at Qing Hang, her gaze wasn’t arrogant. Although she was the only girl in the Cheng family, pampered since childhood, Cheng Guo’an would never overly indulge her on matters of principle.

She was bold but not overbearing, at most displaying a bit of girlish coquetry.

Just like how Qing Hang hadn’t responded when Cheng Guo’an introduced them as meeting for the first time, now Cheng Wanyue openly remarked on his lack of manners, and he didn’t offer any self-defense.

Because this wasn’t actually their first meeting.

He had first seen her last summer, but obviously, she didn’t remember.

Cheng Guo’an went to the countryside for poverty alleviation work, and she followed him to play in the town. While Cheng Guo’an was busy with official matters, she wandered near the school, bought a soda, and sat under a camphor tree, watching several boys around seven or eight years old playing marbles on the ground with great interest.

Grandfather had started collecting scrap two years ago, and Qing Hang always helped during holidays.

When he passed by the road in front of the small shop carrying a large bag of plastic bottles, he encountered two classmates. In junior high, classes weren’t divided based on academic performance, so there were all kinds of students in one class.

These two boys usually sat in the last row of the classroom. While the teacher lectured on the platform, they ate instant noodles, played with their phones, or slept under their desks. They didn’t take criticism seriously and even boasted about arguing with a teacher, causing the entire class to halt for self-study. Afterwards, they arrogantly said the teacher wasn’t taller than them and could be driven to tears with just a few words of argument.

Qing Hang’s personality didn’t fit in with the crowd, and these people wouldn’t ask him to copy homework.

“Hey!”

The slightly fatter boy called out to him and threw a drink bottle at his feet. The unfinished cola splashed onto his pants, leaving dark, circular stains.

“There are two more cans here. They’re all yours. No need to thank me.”

It wasn’t kindness between classmates but a reminder to Qing Hang that he should put down his bag, pick up the bottles with both hands, and then gratefully say thank you.

Even the seven or eight-year-old kids were watching the joke.

“No need to thank me?” A pleasant voice came from behind.

Sweat dripped into his eyes, and Qing Hang couldn’t see clearly. He vaguely saw a fiery figure sitting under the tree against the light.

“That won’t do. Such a great favor must be thanked. Just saying ‘thank you’ isn’t enough. On New Year’s Day, you must bathe, burn incense, slaughter pigs, stew chickens, set off firecrackers, and kowtow three times. Even if you live to be 88, you must bring a cane to visit, otherwise, it’s a grave sin.”

A chubby boy covered in dirt shook his head and asked her, “Sister, why kowtow if no one died?”

Cheng Wanyue seriously replied, “Throwing an unfinished drink bottle at someone and dirtying their clothes is such a great favor that it must be engraved in the family rules and regulations. Read it three times in the morning and recite it three times in the evening. Kowtowing is too simple.”

The chubby boy countered her, saying it was impolite.

She finished drinking the remaining soda, smiled, and placed the bottle on the stone table. “Then what should I do? Teach me.”

The chubby boy ran to Qing Hang with the bottle, first asking if he needed it. When Qing Hang nodded, he handed it over. This process took about a minute.

“Sister, did you learn?”

Cheng Wanyue pretended to have an epiphany. “So simple! I’ve learned. Thank you so much.”

Not being stupid, everyone present understood the sarcastic undertone in her words.

A truly fearless person wouldn’t write “dare to provoke me” on their face. From start to finish, she didn’t even look at the two boys who deliberately embarrassed Qing Hang, nor did she look at Qing Hang.

She only said this as she left: “Throwing something at your back is slapping your face. Laughing at you is cursing you. Not fighting back when hit and not retorting when cursed shows a complete lack of backbone.”

Qing Hang watched her walk away gracefully and found her words somewhat amusing.

How could a young lady who had never experienced hardship understand his situation?

Like someone already standing on the moon couldn’t understand why others would strive their whole lives, yet the moonlight still doesn’t reach them.

Many years later, Qing Hang suddenly realized with shock that he had fallen in love with Cheng Wanyue at first sight.

How could he possibly dislike someone he liked at first sight?

No matter what she did, he would like it. This hidden affection grew year by year, like a gene etched into his bones and blended into his blood.

How could he forget?

...

The freshly boiled water was steaming, and the cup wasn’t heat-resistant; it was also being heated by the sun. Cheng Wanyue found it scalding even with a light touch.

She knew that after Qing Hang was admitted to university on a scholarship, he went straight into an integrated bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral program. After graduation, he joined the hospital. Even as a doctor in a peripheral department, his income couldn’t be too low.

The house wasn’t big or new but was very clean. This sofa should be the most expensive piece of furniture in the living room.

Cheng Wanyue sat far away, and on the black screen of the TV, only the vague reflection of Qing Hang could be seen. The delicate features of the young man had matured over time, becoming more defined. Before going to Zhou Heng’s room to help her find the keys, he had put on silver-framed glasses. He had single eyelids, and the glasses softened his sharpness.

This was his home, yet his posture wasn’t as relaxed as hers. His hands were on his knees, and even though he leaned back against the sofa, his body still appeared stiff.

She remembered there was a small brown mole on the inside of his left wrist—it was very noticeable because his skin was fair. When he used to tutor her, she often got distracted, playing with things or looking around. She had counted the whorls on his fingers countless times.

She couldn’t remember which year it was when a mole mysteriously appeared on the inside of her right wrist. She hadn’t noticed it herself; it was Cheng Yanqing who found it.

They could grow quietly but shouldn’t disappear without reason, right?

Cheng Wanyue wanted to see if the mole on his left wrist was still there, but his palm was facing down, so she couldn’t see.

“Are you and Zhou Heng roommates? Did you go drinking with him on June 15th at Xueyuan South Road?”

That night, her first reaction was that she had mistaken someone else. In such a big city, how many coincidences and chance encounters could there be? She didn’t have time to look closely before the person disappeared.

Qing Hang lowered his dark eyes and said indifferently, “I haven’t been there.”

“That day I saw someone who looked just like you,” she didn’t dwell on the topic. “How have you been these years?”

“Pretty good.” He paused for a moment, reciprocated politely, and asked, “What about you?”

“I’m doing well too. How could anything be wrong with me? I eat well, sleep well, play well; everything is fine.” Cheng Wanyue’s dress fabric was prone to wrinkles. She shifted her legs to adjust her sitting position. “Which department are you in?”

“Neurosurgery.”

“Oh, then you must be quite busy.”

“It depends. Not every day is busy. Why did you come to Beijing?”

“To have fun. Cheng Yanqing has to work at a partner company in Beijing for six months. I came to have some fun and keep him company.”

Cheng Wanyue hadn’t finished speaking when a call came in. She answered it first.

Qing Hang sat quietly beside her, listening. It seemed to be her friend asking when she would return to Nanjing for a concert or music festival. She said she couldn’t go back now, that she hadn’t finished her tasks, hadn’t found the answers, and wasn’t sure when she’d return.

After a few words to deal with the caller, she hung up. “You just got off your night shift and need to rest. I should get going too.”

Qing Hang gathered his hands from his knees and looked at the still-steaming glass of hot water. “…Won’t you finish the water?”

Cheng Wanyue stood up. “Never mind, it’s too hot. I’m not really thirsty.”

Qing Hang pursed his lips and followed her to the door. “I’ll see you out.”

“No need. I’ll call a car outside the community.” There was no chair at the door, so Cheng Wanyue could only lean against the wall to change her shoes.

As she left, she casually closed the door behind her. But the buckle on her high heels wasn’t fastened properly, and after a few steps, it loosened. As she looked down to reply to a message, she didn’t notice the oil stain in the corridor and slipped right onto it.

“Ah! That hurts!”