In the elevator, they were silent.
Qi Sui stood in front and pressed the button.
Xiang Yu leaned back with his arms crossed, silently staring at the ceiling.
In the reflective mirror of the elevator, Qi Sui saw his gaze fixed intently and absentmindedly on the only indicator light in the elevator.
1
2
3
...
12
A "ding" sounded.
Xiang Yu nodded.
He had counted correctly back then.
The door had been replaced with a brand-new security door; the lock and peephole were all changed, looking fresh and beautiful.
Qi Sui reached out, and after the fingerprint was recognized, she pushed the door open, deftly supporting herself with one hand on the shoe cabinet at the entrance, lifted one leg, and smoothly changed into house slippers.
After completing this series of actions, she seemed to suddenly remember the extra person behind her. She turned around and pulled out a pair of guest slippers from the shoe cabinet for him.
Bending down, she placed the shoes at the entrance and said softly, "Change into these. I clean them regularly; they're very clean."
Xiang Yu lagged a step behind, standing behind her, watching her back as she changed shoes and her bending motion clearly.
His feeling was subtle.
On one hand, he felt as if he was invading the softest territory of Qi Sui; on the other hand, he couldn't stop trembling at this strange and thrilling sense of aggression.
He imitated Qi Sui, supporting himself with one hand on the shoe cabinet as he changed his shoes.
Then he took off his oversized trench coat, hesitated for a moment, and calmly hung it on the small coat rack beside the shoe cabinet, covering the two light-colored women's jackets already there.
Then he followed Qi Sui inside.
As if he too was a member of this household.
"Sit down, anywhere."
When Qi Sui came home, her attitude became noticeably softer and friendlier.
Home was the place she knew best. It had once been where her mother poured her love, and where she had lived with her husband for six years.
And from now on, it would become her exclusive domain of freedom, which no one could invade.
Xiang Yu's gaze followed Qi Sui closely.
He watched her gather her long hair and tuck a few stray strands behind her ear as she walked into the kitchen, the sound of running water rustling.
He sat properly on the soft fabric sofa like a primary school student, with two plump round cushions beside him—one blue, one pink.
He hesitated for a moment, then picked up the pink cushion and hugged it, slightly hunching his body to curl into the corner of the sofa.
Color, smell.
He took a gentle breath and caught the scent of Qi Sui from the pink plush cushion.
It was that familiar faint fragrance.
A hard-to-describe scent.
Not detergent, not perfume—just a very unique human smell.
Qi Sui placed a glass of water in front of him.
"Only plain water. Drink up."
Xiang Yu curled up, squeezing himself into the small sofa; it looked a bit funny. She couldn't help but curl her lips, then stepped over him and sat on the single sofa beside him, sipping her water unhurriedly.
Xiang Yu looked around and set the plush cushion aside.
The TV wall opposite was empty, with nothing on it. But Xiang Yu could tell there used to be something. On the TV wall, there were two white expansion bolts. He silently measured the distance between them and concluded—
there used to be a picture frame there.
Qi Sui's phone kept vibrating.
After work, she would turn off Do Not Disturb mode, so she received messages more frequently than during work hours.
She lowered her eyes and glanced through the messages on social apps one by one, then a new message slowly popped up.
It was from Qian Jin.
Qian Jin: "Suisui, can I come get the documents now?"
She frowned.
She just felt this guy had really bad timing.
She raised her eyes again and glanced at Xiang Yu, who seemed curious about everything, then spoke cautiously: