Offense - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The scorching sun blazed, but the work couldn't stop for a moment.

By the time Lian Wan finished work for the day, it was already evening. She backed the truck out of the hidden side gate of a public institution, hearing the desolate echo of the iron gate behind her.

The road back was fairly easy to drive. After turning out from the side, she found herself in a neighborhood of institutions and schools, where the roads weren't wide. The sides of the road were lined with lush green trees. The concrete pavement, recently dampened with water, silently evaporated steam in the dimming light. Due to the nature of the area, there were few pedestrians, only vehicles whistling past.

An opened pack of cigarettes was tossed to the side. Driving under the dense shade of the trees, the steering wheel was no longer scorching to the touch. The residual warmth of the sunset soothed her palms. The truck moved forward briskly, and the re-hung Safety Knot swayed in her peripheral vision.

The road was smooth, and the driver's cabin was quiet. Lian Wan wasn't in the habit of listening to the radio. She often found a silent but peaceful companionship in the rumbling vibrations of the moving truck. Over the years, she had driven down so many roads, yet she had never gone far. This might seem too cruel for a young person, but she was already very content.

Just like some silly words and wild thoughts, sometimes they could only be told to oneself.

And yet, it wasn't lonely.

As she drove, many moving fragments came to Lian Wan's mind, turning her contentment into a deeper sense of belonging. She sat there, merely lifting her eyes to gaze at the strings of streetlights and the flow of traffic approaching from the distance. But her heart felt like a fully inflated balloon, drifting above the gradually clearing night sky, looking down on the long, damp concrete road.

This moment was too quiet. Lian Wan suddenly couldn't tell if she was waiting for someone's call in this silence. But there was no call; the truck was perfectly quiet, save for the sounds of its movement.

Staring at the rear of the car in front of her, Lian Wan reached out and turned on the truck's radio.

She didn't use it often. She tentatively switched through a few channels: an ad for bruise and sprain plasters, analysis from a financial stock market expert, a call-in from a local opera fan. It was as if sounds from another world had descended, beating gongs and drums, bustling with an extraordinary vitality.

She finally settled on a Wu Bai special. Thanks to the preferences of her colleagues, Lian Wan was already quite familiar with him.

Amid the sound of the guitar, the sky ahead slowly, slowly darkened.

Tonight's moon was very round. Lian Wan gazed at it from afar. Though the sky had only just turned dark, the summer moonlight was so bright it was unsettling. She stopped halfway to buy a bag of fruit. A small fruit stand on the roadside was propped up in the twilight, its orange tungsten lamp making the apples and oranges look very fresh.

As she took out her phone to pay, she saw a message from Zhou Yanqian.

-Want to come back for dinner tonight?

"On my way back." She switched the hand holding the fruit and slowly typed with her thumb, "Don't wait for me, you eat first."

Afraid she wouldn't be able to check her phone while driving, Lian Wan stood and waited for a reply for a moment before getting back on the road.

The night flowed like water. By the time she turned into the residential complex, the sky had turned completely dark. The flowers next to the climbing ivy were in bloom, and the air was fresh. Lian Wan, carrying the fruit, walked faster and faster, eventually breaking into a jog. The motion-sensor lights in the stairwell, which someone had apparently fixed, lit up floor by floor with her steps.

Lian Wan pressed the doorbell, a secret joy surging in her heart.

The door opened quickly. Zhou Yanqian looked both languid and leisurely as she pulled the door open. She was still in her nightdress, her bare feet on the tiled floor. She lifted one pale ankle and pressed it meaningfully against Lian Wan's calf.

"Good evening," she said slowly.

She touched her for just a moment before pulling back, a gesture that stopped just short of more. Hearing her voice, Lian Wan felt the fatigue of the day suddenly float away. She almost couldn't wait to reach out for a hug, but the woman pressed against her again. "Change your shoes first."

The lights in the apartment were on. Lian Wan placed the bag of fruit on the shoe cabinet and bent down to take off her shoes.

She wore her hair in a low ponytail, and when she lowered her head, it looked like a little tail sticking out.

Zhou Yanqian placed a hand on top of her head, ruffling her hair gently again and again. She softened her voice, "Are you tired today?"

"It was okay."

Lian Wan replied. She stood up and started to walk inside. Zhou Yanqian hooked her arm, and a very faint scent of smoke drifted over. Lian Wan smelled it. Her heart stirred, but she didn't say anything, only asking, "What were you doing?"

Seemingly pleased to see her being so quiet yet proactive, the woman's lips curved into a smile. She linked her arm more tightly with Lian Wan's. "Waiting for you to come back. I was standing on the balcony for a bit."

"Isn't it hot outside?" Lian Wan asked. As she spoke, she finally remembered her day of running around, the dust flying about at the furniture factory. She tried to pull her arm away. "I'm dirty, don't press against me."

Her arm sank into something warm and soft, and her voice softened unconsciously. "Let me go shower first, okay?"

Zhou Yanqian didn't move, turning her face away, looking displeased. Lian Wan lowered her head and nudged against her. She had never been good with coaxing words, but the simple gesture was enough to soften Zhou Yanqian's heart. She relented, lifting her face to give Lian Wan a kiss on the cheek.

"Go on," the woman said softly. Lian Wan looked at her; the corners of her eyes and brows were curved with a smile so close it seemed tangible. "I'll go heat up the food for you."

While Lian Wan was eating, it seemed Zhou Yanqian had also gone to take a shower. The entire table was hers. The dishes and soup were laid out plentifully. Zhou Yanqian liked to arrange her food exquisitely when she cooked, as if she enjoyed spending a lot of time on it.

She hadn't waited for Lian Wan and had already eaten. The five-pointed star arrangement of pan-fried chicken wings was missing two points, and half a bowl of soup was left. Lian Wan used her chopsticks to eat the remaining three points of the star, leaving an empty round plate that looked like a full moon.

When Lian Wan came out after clearing the dishes, she heard Zhou Yanqian calling her from outside.

Unlike her own apartment, Zhou Yanqian's balcony had a sliding door installed, creating a clear division between inside and out. Inside was the comfortable bedroom; pushing open the door revealed a wave of heat.

There were flowers planted on the balcony, among them the pot Lian Wan had seen before.

The light wasn't very bright, making the woman's silhouette appear somewhat hazy.

Lian Wan walked closer and saw her standing with her back to her. The nightdress accentuated her graceful figure.

She reached out and gently embraced the person before her.

"What are you doing?" Lian Wan asked in a low voice. She subconsciously kept her voice very soft, as if they had returned to their first meeting.

That desire, both cautious and eager to be close, rose to her lips and became very, very soft.

But Zhou Yanqian said, "Looking at the moon."

She said, "Tonight's moon is so round and so bright. It seems like it hasn't changed at all since I started standing here waiting for you."

She said, "Before... I've never seen a moon so round and bright."

After saying this, she fell silent. Lian Wan held her, her face close to Zhou Yanqian's earlobe, quietly inhaling her scent. She suddenly felt that her warm ear was just like a pure white, round moon.

That moon hung distantly in the sky, not on any treetop, nor between any buildings. The moon was only in the sky. But her moon was in her arms.

This world was so big, as big as the vast moonlight, as big as Pingchuan Town, which felt like only a tiny plot of land she could never leave. Yet the world was also so small, so small that just by holding her, watching the same moon with her, it felt as if she already had everything.

Thinking this, Lian Wan smiled. Zhou Yanqian caught her smile and turned to cup her face. She saw her own reflection mirrored intently in Lian Wan's eyes. The woman couldn't help but lean closer. She watched as Lian Wan, as if unable to bear it, closed her eyes for a moment. Her skin was so fair it was almost plain, but her eyelashes were long. As they lowered, they looked like the fragile reflections of waterweeds in a moonlit lake. For a moment, Zhou Yanqian was in a daze, a daze of looking at each other without words.

As she stood there stunned, she felt Lian Wan tighten her grip around her waist.

She had just lifted her hand when the person leaning against her pulled her into a full-frontal embrace, as if she had received some kind of signal. The woman was a little exasperated. She stroked the warm nape of Lian Wan's neck, exposed above her collar. "Don't mess around. Can't we just watch the moon together?"

Lian Wan didn't speak. She just held her, burying her head in the crook of her neck, her nose nuzzling like an intimate, sniffing kiss. They were affectionate like this for a while. A dense shower of wet kisses and hot breath fell on her sensitive skin. Zhou Yanqian lost all her strength, her legs growing so weak she could barely stand. Then she heard Lian Wan murmur, "You smoked?"

"Mmm..." Zhou Yanqian was a little short of breath. As she answered, she uncontrollably took a step back, her back pressing against the balcony railing, but it didn't feel steady. "...Smoked one."

Lian Wan fell silent, just tilting her head to look at her.

"I just lit one while I was waiting for you. Nothing special happened." Zhou Yanqian felt a pang of guilt under her probing gaze. She reached back and pushed a small potted flower on the ledge to the side.

"Mmm," Lian Wan responded. She lowered her head and hugged her again. There seemed to be a hint of longing in her voice as she asked cautiously, "Are we still watching the moon?"

Zhou Yanqian touched her lips and let out a soft laugh through her nose. "Okay."

"We'll watch it together."

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