Chapter 47

Qiao Zhenzhen fell silent for a long time, so long that Chi Shen couldn't help but speak: "Zhenzhen?"
Qiao Zhenzhen snapped back to herself. "…You didn't go home earlier, you went to buy a phone?"
"Mm." Chi Shen admitted it, not asking how she knew he hadn't gone home.
Qiao Zhenzhen swallowed. "Why didn't you wait for me? I could've helped you pick one."
At her voice, Chi Shen's lips curved. "You said to buy it today, so I obeyed."
"You didn't have to be so obedient." Qiao Zhenzhen murmured, but her heart felt warm.
The two fell into sudden silence, quietly hearing each other's breathing. A certain feeling spread through the air; even though he wasn't there, Qiao Zhenzhen's heart began to race.
"I want to see you," she said softly.
Chi Shen hesitated for a moment. "Okay."
"Then I'll hang up for now. Register on a social site in a bit and add me, just search my phone number." Qiao Zhenzhen was delighted and hung up. She hurried back to her room, brushed her teeth and washed her face as fast as she could, then jumped into bed to wait for Chi Shen to add her.
Ten minutes passed. Twenty minutes passed. There was no movement from the phone.
Qiao Zhenzhen thought about nudging him, but then remembered it was his first time using a smartphone; he might be unfamiliar with many things, so she decided to give him more time.
So she kept waiting.
Another ten minutes passed. Her eyelids grew heavy while she waited, and she couldn't resist the drowsiness, she dozed off on the bed.
She was finally woken by the vibration of the phone. Reluctantly she reached for it, put it to her ear, and said weakly, "Who is this?"
Chi Shen heard the sleepiness in her voice and was silent for a moment. "You're already asleep?"
“Mm...” Qiao Zhenzhen, hearing it was Chi Shen, replied softly. She was too tired, video calls and the like could wait until later.
Chi Shen was silent for a long moment. “Well then, good night.”
He said it, then hung up.
Qiao Zhenzhen relaxed her grip and the phone fell from her face, thudding into the soft bedding. She turned over, clutching the duvet, and went back to sleep.
That’s not right... She shot awake, grabbed her phone as fast as she could and redialed.
The phone connected after just one ring. Chi Shen's voice came through the receiver again: “Zhenzhen.”
“Where are you now?” she asked immediately.
Chi Shen was quiet for a second. “In front of your complex’s entrance.”
Qiao Zhenzhen: “...”
The last of her sleepiness vanished. She didn’t even pause to change, she threw on a coat over her pajamas and rushed out.
It was the end of October; nights in City A had already turned dry and chilly, hinting at early winter. Wearing pajamas and a coat, Qiao Zhenzhen couldn’t help shivering when the cold air hit her.
In fluffy rabbit slippers, she ran as fast as she could to the complex entrance. When the security guard on duty recognized her, he immediately opened the automatic gate.
She darted out and, seeing Chi Shen wearing only a thin sweater, felt a pang of worry. “Aren’t you cold?”
“Not cold.” Chi Shen answered.
Qiao Zhenzhen took his hand; his palm was icy. She glared. “Your hand’s freezing and you still say you’re not cold?”
“My body temperature is low,” Chi Shen said earnestly.
Half laughing, half exasperated, Qiao Zhenzhen pulled him into a corner, out of the guard’s sight. “Why did you come all of a sudden?”
“You wanted to see me.” Chi Shen said, staring at her seriously.
Maybe it was her imagination, but his eyes seemed to be shining tonight, like two little stars.
“I meant a video call, babe! I didn’t mean for you to actually come to my place.” Qiao Zhenzhen said, amused and a little helpless.
Chi Shen paused; a faint flush crept up his cheeks.
[Affection +10, current 440]
Qiao Zhenzhen hesitated, then a mischievous smile spread. “You like this sort of thing?”
Chi Shen watched her intently, his expression oddly earnest. “What?”
“Babe, darling, baby, stinky-babe...” Qiao Zhenzhen ran through a string of pet names, watching the flush on his face crawl down to his neck. But when she said the last one, his expression suddenly went tense.
“Do I smell?” he asked, taking an uncertain step back.
He had always known he was ostracized, treated like a monster, watched with suspicion, not only because of his reclusive nature but because a fishy, rancid odor had clung to him for over a decade. Since leaving that home, he'd bathed obsessively every day, terrified that the smell might still cling to him.
Qiao Zhenzhen was stunned for a moment, then realized and hurriedly waved her hand to explain. “Not stinky, not stinky. Shen Shen smells great. ‘Stinky-babe’ doesn’t mean you’re actually stinky; it’s, it's just a pet name, you know? Only couples call each other that. It doesn’t mean you smell.”
Chi Shen paused; the tension in his shoulders slowly eased.
“You’re fine now. Don’t always be so tense, okay?” Qiao Zhenzhen soothed, rubbing his arm.
Chi Shen pressed his lips together and nodded seriously. His sweater today was beige, soft and comfortable, which softened his features considerably. Paired with light jeans and sneakers, he looked very autumnal under the warm streetlight.
Qiao Zhenzhen remembered she’d picked out the outfit for him; whenever he chose clothes himself it was always black or gray, dull, and only made him seem gloomier. Warm colors like this suited him better; he looked... somehow it made one strangely want to kiss him.
Thinking that, she acted on it, stood on tiptoe and leaned in.
Chi Shen’s Adam’s apple bobbed; his pupils trembled slightly. As Qiao Zhenzhen’s face drew nearer, seeming to slow down in his eyes, his fingers anxiously twisted the hem of his sweater. His thin lips pursed almost of their own accord, as if he too was anticipating her approach.
But she stopped when she was still about a fist’s width from his lips; her expression turned subtle.
Chi Shen watched her silently for a long beat, then tentatively: “Zhenzhen?”
“...Have you grown taller again?” Qiao Zhenzhen asked awkwardly.
Chi Shen paused, looking down with a dawning realization. He saw her standing on tiptoe, so high she was almost on her toes, but because of their height difference she still hadn’t quite reached him.
“What are you laughing at?” Qiao Zhenzhen asked warily.
Chi Shen immediately flattened his mouth. “Not laughing.”
“I already saw, you were smiling.” Qiao Zhenzhen narrowed her eyes.
Chi Shen was silent for a moment, trying to protest: “Really, I wasn’t.”
Qiao Zhenzhen rubbed her hands together as if readying a threat. “Hah, I saw you smile with my own eyes and you won’t admit it, do you believe I’ll...”
Before she could finish, he leaned down and, with great care, kissed her.
[Affection +50, current 490]
Qiao Zhenzhen froze for a moment, instinctively looping her arms around his waist. When he tentatively nibbled her, her head went fuzzy; all she could think was that he was wearing far too little, she could feel the chill of him through his sweater.
This kiss wasn’t the skim of wings from before; the press of lips and teeth made each other's presence unmistakable. Both were clumsy, unsure how to please the other, so they could only be as gentle as possible, gentle again and again.
Qiao Zhenzhen closed her eyes reflexively while they kissed, so she didn’t see that Chi Shen had been staring at her the whole time. In his dark pupils there was only her face, every tiny expression, every moment of getting lost and coming back, was clearly captured in his gaze.
Every emotion she felt in that moment belonged to him. Knowing that made him grateful to the point his chest ached.
A car suddenly rounded the corner and its high beams swept over them. Startled, Qiao Zhenzhen instinctively pulled away. Chi Shen stepped back as well; one of them stared at the wall, the other at the ground, their heartbeats louder than the wind.
After a long while, Qiao Zhenzhen lifted her head, cheeks flushed, and suddenly found herself looking into his eyes. She swallowed, then nervously held out her hand to him.
Chi Shen immediately took it; the coolness ran up from his fingertips. Qiao Zhenzhen murmured softly, "You're wearing too little."
Chi Shen was still watching her intently.
If she didn't say something soon, her face would explode... Qiao Zhenzhen cleared her throat and, curious, looked at him: "What about your new phone? Let me see it."
Chi Shen paused, obediently fishing it out of his pocket.
Qiao Zhenzhen reached for it, then went frantic when she saw what it looked like: "…So that's why you suddenly turned up, this thing can't even do video calls!"
Clutched in Chi Shen's hand was unmistakably a basic "senior" phone you could buy for two hundred yuan: huge buttons, oversized text on the screen, even voice prompts when you pressed a key, so simple even someone illiterate could use it without trouble.
"Seriously, bro, you can't take this to school, you'd scare everyone to death if it rang," she said, half laughing.
Chi Shen looked at her calmly: "You can set it to silent."
"It's not about silent mode... never mind, how much did you pay for it? Is the receipt still there? Let's go return it tomorrow and get you something else. If you take this to school, even on silent you'll get laughed at," Qiao Zhenzhen said, exasperated.
Seeing her reaction, Chi Shen realized his choice wasn't great and quietly nodded.
Qiao Zhenzhen sighed again, suddenly curious why he had bought it.
"The salesperson recommended it," Chi Shen answered.
Qiao Zhenzhen raised an eyebrow. "The salesperson recommended a senior phone? Didn't they want the commission?"
Chi Shen didn't know whether the salesperson wanted commission, so he fell into earnest silence.
"Tell me exactly what you said when you went into the shop," Qiao Zhenzhen folded her arms. She was genuinely curious how Chi Shen spoke to someone when he shopped alone, what he said that ended with him buying a senior phone.
Chi Shen hesitated, then replied, "I want a phone."
"And then?" Qiao Zhenzhen pressed.
"One that can receive calls," Chi Shen said, then thought a moment more. "He asked if I needed anything else. I said no."
Qiao Zhenzhen: "…" Got it. If that's all he asked for, it's no wonder the salesperson recommended a senior phone.