Normally, Qi Yang would never allow another person of the opposite sex to stand so openly in his personal space. According to basic male logic, that behavior was practically a provocation.
In the past, everything Mu Yicong said or did was seen as a provocation in his eyes.
But this time was too sudden. The narrow stairwell, the dim lighting, and the kiss just now had all contributed to the ambiguous atmosphere. So Qi Yang was only shocked for a moment before his whole body tensed up, waves of shame washing over him until his face felt numb.
“You…”
He opened his mouth to say something, but before the words could form, the sound of a door opening came from a few floors above. Qi Yang could tell it was the old man from the top floor, shuffling down in his slippers.
Qi Yang and Mu Yicong instinctively stepped apart. Qi Yang lowered his head, fished out a cigarette, lit it, and headed downstairs first. Mu Yicong followed unhurriedly behind.
Once they emerged from the stairwell into the light, Qi Yang glanced at Mu Yicong from the corner of his eye. The sky was already dark, so he couldn’t see much.
“Nervous?” Mu Yicong teased effortlessly.
“Afraid you’d lose face,” Qi Yang muttered vaguely.
Mu Yicong’s car was parked in its usual spot. Qi Yang didn’t get in; he stood by the window and said goodbye. As he waved, he twirled the lighter Mu Yicong had given him.
The gesture was a bit like a kid showing off a new toy to a parent, but Qi Yang’s face remained expressionless. To Mu Yicong, it looked kind of cute.
“When’s the next time you’re taking Qi Xing to the hospital?” he asked.
“Soon,” Qi Yang thought for a moment. “Next week.”
Mu Yicong nodded. “I’ll go with you.”
“In my car?” Qi Yang wasn’t sure if Mu Yicong meant going together or just stopping by the villa like before.
“I could drive mine too,” Mu Yicong looked at him.
“That’s not necessary.” Qi Yang was just a bit surprised; Mu Yicong had been quite busy lately. “Can you take time off from your company?”
“It’s about settled.” Mu Yicong checked the time. “Go on back.”
Qi Yang watched his car drive away, standing on the curb to finish his cigarette. He didn’t dare imagine how much Zou Meizhu would talk on the way back.
Some people you just couldn’t avoid thinking about. The moment he thought of Zou Meizhu, a familiar shout came from behind: “Yangyang!”
Qi Yang turned around helplessly. Zou Meizhu was carrying a bag of apples, waving at him as she walked over.
“How old am I?” he asked when she reached him, taking the bag from her. “Can you not shout like that outside?”
“So what? You’re still my son no matter how old you are.” Zou Meizhu was unconcerned, walking beside him toward home. “What were you doing here?”
“Sending someone off,” Qi Yang said.
“Who? Was Dameng here?” Zou Meizhu asked whatever came to mind. “Isn’t his wife about to give birth? Did you see if her belly looks like a boy or a girl?”
Qi Yang was exasperated by her chatter. Too lazy to explain it was Mu Yicong, and to avoid triggering another avalanche of questions, he interrupted her: “Why are you home so early today? Did you lose at cards?”
“No, I actually won a bag of apples.” Zou Meizhu pouted. “Wu Jianhua wasn’t feeling well, so he left early. With three people, we couldn’t start a game. I got bored waiting, so I just came back.”
Wu Jianhua was one of Zou Meizhu’s regular mahjong partners, a retired divorcee from the next neighborhood. He was older than Zou Meizhu, with a son and daughter-in-law living elsewhere. He stayed in his old house, playing cards all day.
Qi Yang had met him once. He must have been handsome when he was younger, still carrying himself with a certain charm in his speech and behavior.
He was basically a replica of Qi Dahai.
Qi Yang used to never ask, but now, perhaps because he was trying this trial dating thing with Mu Yicong and had become sensitive to matters of the heart, he suddenly called out, “Mom.”
“Hmm?” Zou Meizhu turned to look at him.
“Haven’t you thought about finding a new partner?”
Zou Meizhu was very surprised. She opened her mouth before retorting, “With who? Wu Jianhua? Haven’t you seen what he’s like? Your mom isn’t that desperate yet.”
“I haven’t been nagging you lately, but now you’re asking me.” She glared. “What brought this on?”
“Nothing.” Qi Yang said. “Just asking.”
Qi Yang really did just ask casually, but Zou Meizhu rarely looked so serious.
“Mom is getting old, son.” She reached up and took Qi Yang’s arm, murmuring softly. “When people get old, they might seem fine now, but in another five or ten years, illness or disaster will inevitably come.”
“Your sister is like this for life. It’s just you in and out of the house, earning money to support her, and later taking care of me. That’s already hard enough.”
“If I brought some old man back at this age, when we’re both old, it would just be a burden.”
Qi Yang had never thought about these things Zou Meizhu said before.
He had always assumed that Zou Meizhu hadn’t found anyone all these years because she was a woman with two children, especially since one was sick, and no one wanted her.
His typically unreliable mom was actually thinking about this. It made Qi Yang feel a bit bitter.
“You keep staying up late playing cards, and you won’t get sick for another twenty years.” He switched to a lighter tone.
“Worry about yourself first!” Zou Meizhu slapped him on the back. “Almost thirty and still single. Aren’t you worried?”
The worrying topic was immediately dropped when they got home and saw the red wine and desserts Mu Yicong had sent over.
Zou Meizhu, upon learning Mu Yicong had come, immediately hugged the wine box and asked all sorts of questions, even pulling out her phone to take pictures and search for prices.
Qi Yang didn’t elaborate. He opened the master bedroom door and called for Qi Xing to come wash up.
He watched the child get into bed and cover herself with the quilt, then went to clean up himself. Holding his phone, he retreated to his room for some peace, already dreading how noisy the trip to the hospital would be.
But then a coincidence happened. Zou Meizhu was looking forward to the villa like a monthly vacation, but this time she couldn’t go.
That day, Wu Jianhua had gone home early feeling unwell. The old guy was smart enough to realize something was off and that he couldn’t shake it, so he took a taxi to the hospital.
Zou Meizhu didn’t get the full details on what was wrong, but he was hospitalized.
The regular card players looked at each other, all a bit guilty, and secretly relieved nothing worse had happened. Otherwise, if the old guy had collapsed at the mahjong table, everyone in the room would be held responsible.
They all went to the hospital to visit the lonely Wu Jianhua, and afterwards discussed a schedule: two people each day would cook for him, taking turns to help.
“What a nuisance.”
Zou Meizhu was both scared and petty. She felt the arrangement was completely unnecessary, but she grumbled as she made dumplings at home.
“Tomorrow it’s my turn to bring food. Can’t even go to the villa.”
“Next month then.” Qi Yang found her sulky expression amusing. “The villa doesn’t have legs; it’s not going anywhere.”
“Can you take Qi Xing by yourself?” Zou Meizhu asked.
Qi Yang hummed in agreement, thinking, back when they didn’t have a villa, you weren’t this concerned.
That evening, he and Mu Yicong agreed on a departure time over WeChat. The next morning, Qi Yang took Qi Xing’s hand and went to the car. Since Zou Meizhu wasn’t coming, they could pack one less suitcase.
To get to Mu Yicong’s place and then the expressway out of town, they had to make a detour.
When Qi Yang was one traffic light away, he called Mu Yicong to remind him to come out. He wouldn’t drive into the neighborhood; he’d pick him up at the intersection and leave.
“Okay.” Mu Yicong was already out the door. “Come on over.”
After hanging up, Qi Yang turned to look at Qi Xing.
She had woken up earlier than usual and seemed a bit lethargic. She hadn’t eaten the dumplings Zou Meizhu had made. Now she was sitting lazily, zoning out, which actually made her look more normal than usual.
There was a KFC in the shopping mall next to Mu Yicong’s neighborhood. After picking him up at the intersection, Qi Yang had Mu Yicong watch the kid in the car while he quickly ran to buy two breakfast sets. He got soy milk for Qi Xing and coffee for Mu Yicong.
“You drive for a while,” Qi Yang said, taking Qi Xing to the back seat. “I’ll get her to eat.”
“What about yours?” Mu Yicong took the paper bag he handed over.
“I ate at home,” Qi Yang said.
Mu Yicong wasn’t hungry. He just lifted the coffee lid and took a sip. As usual, Qi Xing ate like a bird—she took two bites of a Panini and stopped. Qi Yang had to finish the rest.
He coaxed her into drinking half the soy milk, then pulled out wet wipes for her to clean her hands and mouth. Qi Xing leaned into him, stretching her arm to reach her bag for her beloved stickers.
“Lie down and sleep for a bit.” Qi Yang stuffed the stickers into her hand, had her lie sideways on his lap, and pulled a jacket from the luggage bag to drape over her.
After all that, he looked up and met Mu Yicong’s gaze in the rearview mirror.
“Watch the road,” Qi Yang reminded him, rolling down the window a crack to let the smell out. Suddenly he remembered something: “You know back in school, there was a time I kept asking you to bring me food?”
“Yeah.” Mu Yicong responded. “And you were picky. If I didn’t switch things up every other day, you’d get upset.”
“I ate it even when you didn’t switch it up.” Thinking back, Qi Yang found it amusing. “Actually, I never thought you’d really do it. You probably found me annoying back then, didn’t you?”
“Annoying,” Mu Yicong said. “But also interesting.”
“What do you mean?” Qi Yang asked.
Mu Yicong glanced at Qi Xing sleeping on his lap, smiled, and didn’t answer.
Qi Yang understood instantly—given their current relationship and dynamic, this conversation was heading straight into not-safe-for-kids territory.
He ruffled Qi Xing’s hair, shut his mouth, leaned back, and turned to look out the window, letting the wind blow on him.
Mu Yicong drove steadily—steady and reassuring. Qi Yang had been thinking about childhood memories earlier, and now, watching the scenery rapidly recede and change, he felt a sense of disorientation.
Before, when he drove alone with Qi Xing everywhere, he had to constantly be aware of her condition. The first few times, Zou Meizhu came along, but she couldn’t drive and talked too much, so Qi Yang still had double the worry on the road.
Now, being able to just sit in the back seat with Qi Xing was almost a luxurious indulgence.
Qi Yang, with a hint of drowsiness, looked into the rearview mirror again. A thought popped into his head—and it was Mu Yicong.
The moving car seemed to blur time. Qi Yang dozed off, half-asleep, thinking he hadn’t actually fallen asleep because he could still hear the low music playing in the car.
He was woken up by Qi Xing tugging on his arm. Only then did he realize over two hours had passed.
“What’s wrong?” Qi Yang cupped Qi Xing’s face and lifted it so she could look at him.
Qi Xing didn’t speak. She twisted her body and squeezed her legs together.
She needed to pee.
“Up ahead…” Qi Yang looked out the window. “Where are we?”
“Need the bathroom?” Mu Yicong sped up a bit. “There’s a rest stop ahead.”
“Can you hold it?” Qi Yang looked down at Qi Xing. “If not, just pee in your pants. It’s okay to change clothes.”
Qi Xing didn’t seem to understand. She clutched the stickers in her hand, making fists, rubbing them against her hairline. Her other hand pinched Qi Yang’s arm hard, leaving little crescent-shaped marks.
