Chapter Forty-Four – Living Together

When she woke up in the morning, Yishu didn't dare open her eyes. With her lids shut, she gazed inwardly at the world above, her vision awash in a sea of orange-red. Countless motes of dust and drifting motile shadows darted about chaotically, stirring her heart into uneasy confusion.

She pulled the thin blanket over her head, cautiously opened her eyes, and peered out through the sparse weave of the fabric, observing her surroundings.

It really was Shixi's room!

She sprang out of bed, the haze of unreality refusing to dissipate.

This was his room. Last time, she had only stayed a single hurried night, leaving too soon to take in any details.

His scent still lingered in the air.

The room’s layout was remarkably simple: a white ceiling, grayish-white wooden walls, and a deep wood floor. The sheets and blanket were patterned in blue and gray checks; both the bed and the nightstands were black. Even the curtains were gray.

A world composed of black, white, and gray.

Perhaps this understated simplicity appealed to most adult men.

And yet, on either side of the bed, two milky-white pendant lights, folded like origami, hung vertically from the ceiling—each a stroke of ingenuity. The lamps resembled closed umbrellas, and when switched on, cast cool white light through translucent ceramic panes. They could even alternate to a rainbow of colors.

The sunlight outside was gathering its strength, the sheer white curtains spangled with pale golden dots.

Yishu drew open the curtains and pushed aside the sliding glass door, letting the intense light spill directly across her face.

Standing on the twentieth floor, nearly six hundred meters above the ground, the sky remained as distant as ever. Looking down, the dense, towering trees appeared minuscule, as if nothing more than short grass.

Thump—thump—thump—

A rhythmic knocking sounded at the door, gentle and unhurried, as if afraid to wake anyone still asleep inside.

"Yishu, are you up? You’re going to be late."

"I'm up," she hurried back into the room, replying anxiously, "I’m getting changed."

"Then come out to eat when you’re done. Breakfast is on the table in the living room."

"Alright, I heard you."

Yishu dressed quickly and opened the door, only to be struck yet again by her surroundings, so much so that she felt rooted to the spot, unable to step forward.

"Hurry over for breakfast," Xu Shixi called to her. "Don’t just stand there."

Yishu blinked, snapped back to herself, and made her way to the dining area.

The living room, dining area, and open kitchen were all connected. Beyond the living room’s sliding glass doors was a terrace with a splendid view, letting one see Xingzhou Avenue in the distance. Behind the TV wall was Xu Shixi’s workspace. The dining area faced directly toward Yishu’s bedroom.

Yishu sat across from Shixi, drawing out a chair. On the table were two glasses of milk and two plates of sandwiches—exactly like the breakfast from last time.

"Sit and eat," Xu Shixi motioned with his chin, "when you’re done, I’ll drive you to work."

Yishu picked up the glass, took a delicate sip of milk, then lifted a sandwich and bit off its triangular tip.

This feeling was indescribably wonderful—one home, two people, three meals, four seasons.

"Does it taste good?"

"It’s delicious," Yishu answered almost automatically, without a second’s thought. "Did you make this?"

"I didn’t," Xu Shixi admitted, a little sheepishly. "I bought them at the supermarket last night and just warmed them up in the microwave this morning."

Yishu recalled how, after moving in yesterday, she had arranged her belongings and tidied up, both of them worn out by the end. "But didn’t you go straight to bed last night? When did you go out to buy these?"

"I couldn’t sleep, kept tossing and turning. Suddenly remembered I hadn’t prepared breakfast for today, so I ran out to the nearby twenty-four-hour convenience store."

Last night? Yishu was puzzled. She, too, had struggled to fall asleep. The silence was almost eerie—Fuyuan was a luxury complex, the soundproofing as good as a private karaoke room, not a hint of noise.

So that’s why she hadn’t heard him.

"What do you usually eat?" Yishu asked, her eyes filled with quiet concern. She had seen the fridge in the kitchen: only a few bottles of drinks, some instant meals—utterly empty and lonely.

Xu Shixi’s smile froze on his lips. After a long silence, he spoke hoarsely, "Lunch, I eat at the office. Dinner… just grab something nearby. I live alone; life is simple."

"And breakfast?" Yishu’s sadness deepened.

"Usually just a coffee at the office." Noticing the heartache in her eyes, Xu Shixi fell silent, picking up his glass and gulping down several mouthfuls of milk.

Looking at the refined man sitting across from her, Yishu thought of how, in the half year they’d been together, no difficulty had ever bested him. Even when faced with adversity, he always found a way. How could he be so careless about everyday life? She felt a pang of guilt—she really hadn’t been a very responsible girlfriend.

Clearly, as thanks for his hospitality, the first thing she ought to do was take care of his daily meals.

And what else? Yishu glanced around the living room, feeling as if something was missing, though she couldn’t quite name it.

"From now on, let me cook for you," Yishu said, her eyes brimming with tenderness.

"Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you?" Xu Shixi’s face was calm, but joy was already flooding every cell in his body.

Cooking hardly felt like trouble. Yishu thought that cooking for someone you love was the happiest thing in the world.

"Not at all."

"Then after work tonight, I’ll pick you up and we’ll go to the supermarket for dinner ingredients?" Xu Shixi could no longer hide his delight.

After dropping Yishu at the Textile City, Shixi turned the car toward Xunyuan.

Actually, Fuyuan and Textile City weren’t far apart, and the 609 bus offered a direct route. Yishu insisted she could just take the bus, but Shixi insisted on driving her himself.

Back when she lived in Jinlan Community, Xu Shixi often drove her to and from work. Yishu found it hard to refuse his kindness—at the time, it was a rare chance for them to see each other. Later, once the Happy City project began, his workload grew, and he could no longer do it as often.

Yishu couldn’t quite understand: this was a man whose love for her was the simplest and purest kind.

Guo Yamei arrived on her electric scooter soon after.

It was rare for her to arrive later than Yishu.

Out front, the plaza was filled with a thousand electric scooters and hundreds of cars and vans, parked in neat disorder.

It was a striking sight.

"When did you get a boyfriend this rich?" Guo Yamei asked with forced nonchalance, though there was a hint of resentment.

Yishu pursed her lips without answering, heading straight for the building.

Nothing good ever came from Yamei’s questions!

Boyfriend or not, rich or not—what business was it of hers?

That evening, worried about traffic, Yishu asked Shixi to drive straight to the Commercial City; she would take the bus from her building and meet him there.

The Commercial City was every bit as bustling as Huafeng Plaza, with a cinema, upscale restaurants, clothing boutiques, and cosmetics stores.

After Yishu got off her bus, Xu Shixi arrived at the same time. He let her in the car and drove to the supermarket’s underground garage.

The supermarket was packed in the evening, especially in the fruit, vegetable, and meat sections.

This supermarket specialized in fresh produce, vegetables, and meats. Everything else—household goods, snacks—was no cheaper than the surrounding stores, sometimes even pricier. But its prime location—just beneath the main building of the Commercial City—meant that many white-collar workers, after a movie or dinner, would ride the escalator down for a stroll, if only to aid digestion.

Surrounded by the dense, jostling crowd, Yishu felt dizzy and disoriented.

She had spent all day thinking about what to cook, but now her mind had gone blank.

In truth, Yishu’s repertoire was limited to a handful of home-style stir-fries. That had been enough for her and Yihui, but for Shixi, those dishes suddenly seemed too plain.

"Have you decided what to buy?" Xu Shixi asked, glancing at the dazzling array of vegetables.

"Uh…" Yishu couldn’t think of anything. "Why don’t you tell me what you like?"

Holding the cart, Xu Shixi looked at the empty basket. "Anything you make—I’ll like it."

That was hardly helpful.

Yishu squeezed through the crowd, grabbed a box of okra and some green beans, then weighed out some tomatoes and eggplants.

"Are you only buying vegetables? No meat or fish?" Xu Shixi watched as the cart slowly filled.

A flicker of annoyance crossed Yishu’s face. He hadn’t offered any suggestions before, and now he was being critical.

But he was right—she hadn’t picked a single meat dish. It didn’t matter to her, but Shixi worked hard all day, constantly out on business; his energy needs were high. Besides, men generally ate much more than women.

"Let’s take a look at the meat section up ahead."

There, slabs of raw meat, fresh-cut and still bloody, were stacked in all sizes. Yishu was a strange case—she could eat meat, yet seeing it so raw and vivid, with blood that hadn’t even dried, made her heart twist painfully.

"Hey, beautiful! Come check out my ribs—fresh from today’s slaughter, tender and tasty. Buy some for your husband!"

Yishu’s cheeks flushed, her heart racing.

Husband? Nonsense!

Perhaps it was their age—they hardly looked like a pair of young lovers. Besides, couples didn’t usually shop at these stalls.

The supermarket’s meat and fish counters were run by local vendors, mostly men and women in their forties and fifties from nearby villages. Unpolished and uneducated, their words were coarse.

Yishu turned to go, but the next stall joined in the teasing.

Enough. She bought a pound of ribs and hurried away.

She still had some medicinal herbs left from her last trip to the old street pharmacy—just enough to make a herbal rib stew. On the way back through the produce section, she grabbed a yam.

"Don’t walk so fast," Xu Shixi called, maneuvering the cart through the crowd.

Men’s skin was thicker than women’s—he wasn’t the least bit embarrassed by the teasing, but rather seemed delighted.