Offense - Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Gu Yan was stunned.
The red light at the intersection seemed to bring their conversation to a physical halt. Lian Wan stepped on the brake. In the silence, for some unknown reason, she turned her head and saw Gu Yan lightly pressing her pale lips together, a helpless look in her eyes.
The open daylight made the small driver's cabin feel vast. The way the woman cradled her belly made her look incredibly frail, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
In the final three seconds of the red light's countdown, Lian Wan heard her say softly:
"You still haven't changed."
This time, Lian Wan really didn't want to respond.
The journey wasn't short. Once on the highway, Lian Wan realized that Gu Yan and her husband were moving into the dormitories of the county factory where they worked. She calculated in her head that after reaching the destination, she could probably pick up another delivery job on the app for the trip back to town.
The man had followed them on his motorcycle, taking a different route, his hair a mess from the wind. When he arrived, he was stopped by the security guard at the gate.
Gu Yan was helped out of the truck. Seeing the man arguing with the security guard at the gate, she forgot all about her luggage and trotted over. Lian Wan leaned against the truck door, watching her from behind. She was still wearing a swaying, floral-print long dress, but the colors were much duller now, like the old clothes she wore. The slender back of the girl she once was had grown plump and broad. Her once-narrow waist and hips now swayed back and forth, rising and falling, revealing the full figure of a married woman.
Watching this scene, Lian Wan couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart.
The curve of that swollen belly lingered before her eyes. Unconsciously, the sun sank in the west, and in the encroaching darkness of night, it made her cool expression seem especially bleak.
It was time. The factory area lit up all at once, a scattered web of incandescent light spreading from far to near, heralding the unique sights of the night. A cold gust of wind blew, rustling the treetops by the road. Lian Wan shivered, slammed the truck door shut with a bang, and walked toward the main gate where the argument was still going on.
The gatekeeper of this factory area was quite familiar with Lian Wan. Once he recognized the man had come with her, he stopped blocking him. While Gu Yan was talking to her husband, the two of them stood outside the guardhouse and chatted for a bit.
Everyone in this area knew Lian Wan. The female driver from Pingchuan Town who often made deliveries was not only strikingly attractive but also capable. Unlike other drivers who were always in a rush, she was steady in her dealings with people and her work. It was just that she rarely showed any expression, which made people want to get close to her but unable to find a way in.
As the gatekeeper spoke, he offered Lian Wan a cigarette. Lian Wan took it but just held it in her hand without smoking.
The gatekeeper was an old man, old enough to be her father. Seeing her, he gave her a slightly improper wink. "Try it."
Lian Wan tucked the cigarette behind her ear and replied perfunctorily, "I'll try it next time. Not smoking now, I have to head back in a bit."
"Ah." The security guard, hearing their conversation, ambled over. He took the cigarette offered by the gatekeeper, lit it with a flick, and said indistinctly with it dangling from his lips, "Smoking wakes you up. From way back when till now, anyone who drives or watches a gate can't do without it."
The smell of smoke was acrid, but Lian Wan was used to it. She didn't have time to chat with them about this and that. Glancing over at Gu Yan, she grunted and took her leave. "Alright, I'm going to unload their things. If I dawdle any longer, I won't be able to load the factory's cargo."
Not to mention, she hadn't eaten a single meal all day.
Hearing this, Gu Yan looked over again, anxious. She tugged on her husband's sleeve and whispered something to him.
Lian Wan met her gaze and turned her head away, somewhat coldly. "Let's go."
"Oh..." Gu Yan pulled her husband over, her reply cautious. "Okay..."
After moving the couple's luggage to the employee dormitory and loading cargo from the factory, Lian Wan drove the truck out of the main gate. She honked at the gatekeeper and security guard, who were still chatting at the entrance.
"Leaving," she called out, rolling down her window halfway. She watched the two men at the gate wave at her in unison. Looking down at them from her high vantage point, it seemed quite comical.
Watching them, no matter how cold her expression, Lian Wan was still young. The corners of her lips couldn't help but curve into a smile. This rare sight was hidden behind the half-open window, with no one to appreciate it.
With Gu Yan no longer talking beside her, the return trip felt completely different from the journey there. The city lights were just coming on, traffic whizzed by-this familiar scene made Lian Wan feel much more relaxed.
Setting aside the other reasons she'd learned to drive in the first place, this job gave her far more satisfaction than she received in return.
Could her feelings at this moment also become a fresh topic of conversation in the city?
With this thought, Lian Wan let out a breath and rolled the window all the way down. The clamor of the road rushed in. The flowing streetlights flashed past her, and the high vantage point of the truck made her feel as if she were flying above the stream of traffic. The rush of dopamine brought a pang of pain born from satisfaction to her heart.
The city.
Lian Wan thought, and laid on the horn for a long blast.
In that uncontrollable moment, she thought of Zhou Yanqian again.
A summer night in the small town. The moonlight was like water, a cool breeze was blowing, and insects flew in tangled swarms under the dim yellow streetlights.
By the time she finished unloading the cargo and left the depot, it was already past ten at night.
Lian Wan was starving. She managed to find a few packs of crackers she had left in the truck. Hungry and exhausted, her legs felt weak. She walked back, tearing open the packaging, thinking of nothing but collapsing into bed for another sleep.
Reaching the ground floor of her building, she glanced over out of habit. The Convenience Store, however, was uncharacteristically dark. The glass door was shut tight, with a large padlock hanging on it.
She's not here. Lian Wan thought, her eyes still fixed in that direction as she slowly shuffled her feet.
Where could she have gone?
She walked into the stairwell, but the motion-sensor light didn't turn on. Lian Wan was used to the light being broken from time to time. She started up the stairs slowly in the darkness, her mind still elsewhere.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps came from above. The white light of a phone's flashlight was like a bolt of lightning, or like a swaying willow branch in spring. Lian Wan stopped abruptly and was knocked into head-on by the person coming down the stairs.
A familiar sweet fragrance filled her nose, like the scent of spring blossoms falling on her shoulders, so thick it couldn't be brushed away.
"Zhou..."
"It's me."
The woman buried her head in Lian Wan's shoulder, her anger and fear seemingly not yet subsided, her breathing deep and shallow as she tried to regulate it.
Lian Wan instantly understood. Her back tensed, and she placed a hand on the woman's waist, restraining herself from moving. "What's wrong?"
She received no answer. The stairwell fell silent, making the unhurried footsteps from above sound especially clear.
There was someone else upstairs.
Lian Wan held her, stepping back slightly to the side, and aimed the phone's flashlight at the person descending from above.
The thick smell of alcohol filled the air. The blinding white light made the drunken man turn his head away. It was a well-known scoundrel from town. He recognized Lian Wan and bared his teeth in a grin. "You're back? Eaten yet?"
Lian Wan ignored him. She could only feel the woman in her arms tighten her grip.
"Don't be afraid," she said softly, stroking her back. Then she turned and kicked at the man who was trying to approach. "Get lost!"
The man mumbled and grumbled. Lian Wan's kick nearly sent him tumbling down the stairs. He staggered a few steps, leaning on the wall as he went down. A moment later, he collapsed to the side like a dead dog and stopped moving.
"Are you okay?" Lian Wan lowered her head. Using the white light from the phone, which had been flung to the ground in the chaos, she checked the woman all over for anything unusual. Her neck, her shoulders, her collarbone-inch by inch down, then inch by inch back up. It wasn't until she met Zhou Yanqian's deep gaze that she froze, as if just now realizing what she was doing. She averted her eyes, suddenly feeling awkward and not knowing where to look.
"Sorry." Zhou Yanqian didn't speak. Lian Wan quickly pulled back the hand that was on her waist. Her previously clear mind was now a complete muddle. "Are... are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Zhou Yanqian said, still holding her tightly.
She seemed to sense Lian Wan's awkwardness. The woman's body relaxed slightly. Lian Wan swore she saw a faint, subtle smile hidden in those beautiful eyes.
For some reason, she also breathed a sigh of relief.
"What happened?"
Zhou Yanqian leaned against her shoulder and said in a low voice, "I don't know either. I had just finished showering and was leaving my apartment when he was standing right behind my door. When I tried to leave, he grabbed me and chased me."
Lian Wan frowned and glanced at the man at the bottom of the stairs.
Noticing that Lian Wan's attention wasn't on her, Zhou Yanqian held up her reddened wrist for her to see, her tone aggrieved. "Look."
Lian Wan took her wrist. In the dim stairwell, the woman's skin had the texture of white porcelain, and the fingerprints on it were shocking. She looked at it, suddenly at a loss for words, and only managed to gently rub it a few times with the pad of her thumb.
"...Don't be afraid." She thought for a long while before speaking. "He's not all there in the head. If you're still scared, I can take him to the West District right now. I'll make sure you never see him again."
"Mm."
As Lian Wan spoke, her back stiffened for a moment. The woman had pulled away from her embrace to bend down and pick up the phone on the ground. Her arm brushed against Lian Wan's chest, then naturally settled back against her as she said in a soft, slow voice, "It's a good thing you came back. Otherwise, I would have been scared to death all by myself."
"It's okay," Lian Wan said, about to let go of her to drag the man away.
Zhou Yanqian held onto her arm and followed. "I'll go with you..." Her voice trembled slightly, as if she were frightened, yet she still maintained her usual slow, methodical way of speaking. "As a thank you for saving me, let me treat you to a late-night snack when we get back, okay?"
Lian Wan walked ahead without a word. After a two-second pause, she finally answered, "Mm."
The man, dead drunk, was dragged by Lian Wan into the back of the truck. The metal doors were shut tight. When they reached the West District, he was dumped in a corner of the street, left for someone to find the next day. On the way back, there were hardly any cars or people on the road. The empty streets seemed like another form of night.
Lian Wan drove, secretly glancing at the woman in the passenger seat out of the corner of her eye. She had never been comfortable with someone sitting next to her, nor did she like people talking to her while she drove. But on this trip, she kept hoping Zhou Yanqian would say something.
Lian Wan called her name in her heart, mulling over topics of conversation. If Zhou Yanqian spoke first, she would find a chance to tell her that her name was beautiful, the most beautiful name she had ever heard.
But Zhou Yanqian just looked out the window, silent. The streetlights shone in, casting a hazy, dusk-like glow on her profile.
After a long while, Lian Wan finally heard her speak. "This is my first time in a truck."
Lian Wan replied dryly, "Is that so..."
"Mhm, it's so cool..." Zhou Yanqian's eyes curved into crescents as she turned to look at her, the corners of her mouth lifting in a playful smile.
Lian Wan caught her gaze from the side and was suddenly at a loss for words. It wasn't the first time she'd heard such a compliment, but those two sentences from Zhou Yanqian seemed to have a magical power, making it difficult for her to maintain her usual tense expression. She tried to restrain herself, lowering her head slightly, but in the end, a silly smile slowly spread across her lips.
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