Chapter 45: Let’s Date

Morning came, and Wang Jiexiang opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was Yin Xian’s profile.

He’d lain down next to her last night!

Wang Jiexiang beamed with joy, gazing at him without blinking, reluctant to get out of bed.

—Ah, this man, the more she looked at him, the better he looked.

His high, straight nose, pale thin lips, those perfectly shaped eyebrows…

She secretly raised a hand and gently traced his brows with her fingertip.

“It tickles.”

Yin Xian, eyes still closed, suddenly spoke.

Wang Jiexiang, startled like a guilty thief, quickly pulled her hand back under the blanket and shut her eyes tight.

She froze in the same position for five minutes.

He reminded her, “Time to get up.”

“Oh!”

Wang Jiexiang threw off the blanket.

Before getting out of bed, she turned to look at him—Yin Xian was looking at her too.

Summoning courage from who knows where, she leaned over and planted a loud kiss on his cheek.

He had been half-asleep, but at the kiss, his eyes flew open.

Wang Jiexiang burst out laughing.

Yin Xian pressed his lips together—and laughed too.

Just like that, without any sweet words or explicit confirmation of their relationship, they quietly and mutually became a couple.

Dating, in its simplicity, brought convenience to their lives.

Wang Jiexiang’s floor mat was folded and put away—no more sleeping on the cold, hard floor. The room was more spacious, no longer needing to shift furniture back and forth every mealtime. When changing clothes, they could now do it in front of each other, without needing to step out for privacy.

Their living area was a chaotic mix of people. After the peeping incident in the public bath, Yin Xian began waiting for Wang Jiexiang after work to accompany her to shower.

He would finish first and wait outside with a bucket; if she ran out of hot water, he’d return home to boil more and bring it over.

Sleeping curled up together, the room somehow felt warmer too.

Winter’s ice and snow quietly melted, and spring arrived.

The warming weather coaxed little animals out of their burrows, back into motion.

In the morning, squatting by the tap to brush their teeth, Wang Jiexiang spotted a small grey figure darting along the gutter.

“Ah! A rat,” she told him immediately.

“Cough, cough!”

Yin Xian, rinsing his mouth, choked.

Foam still clinging to his lips, he looked around and slowly backed away.

“A rat? Where?”

Wang Jiexiang glanced at her hem being clutched tightly, and the ever-cool Yin Xian beside her, now acting like he was facing a deadly enemy.

“Xian-ge, are you… afraid of rats?”

She saw through it instantly.

Yin Xian stared off into the distance, unwilling to admit it.

“Tough luck, this place has tons of rats. Are you really scared of them?”

She sounded amused.

He ignored her and went back inside first.

—Unbelievable.

—Poker face, the world’s coolest guy, afraid of nothing and no one—her Xian-ge—afraid of a tiny little rat?

There was no way Wang Jiexiang would let this hilarious detail slide.

She abandoned her toothbrush and rushed after him, pestering him all the way.

“Not just rats—mosquitoes, flies, and cockroaches too.”

At the mention of cockroaches, he stiffened again.

She described them in vivid detail.

“Cockroaches here in the city villages are nothing compared to back home. I’ve seen so many. The ones back home are shiny, muscular, and as big as a child’s palm. Try to smash one with a slipper, and it might whoosh fly right at your face…”

Yin Xian shuddered.

He turned around, and with perfect precision, pinched her lips shut between his thumb and forefinger.

Wang Jiexiang struggled and let out muffled sounds.

“No more talking.”

She could only nod with her mouth held shut.

Yin Xian released her.

“Alright then.”

Wang Jiexiang snapped her fingers.

“Let’s stop talking about cockroaches—how about we go back to rats?”

“…”

He bolted, fleeing at top speed.

Wang Jiexiang got real proof of Yin Xian’s fear of rats that summer.

The city entered rainy season.

Gray skies, endless drizzle.

Their cheap rental home revealed all sorts of flaws.

Walls and corners slowly developed large damp yellow patches, speckled with black mold.

Several spots on the ceiling leaked. They told the landlord. She said the roof needed repairs—which would cost a lot. Probably unwilling to spend the money, weeks passed with no repairman in sight.

Helpless, Wang Jiexiang set up basins and buckets under the leaks.

It was impossible to keep things completely dry. This was the best she could do to stop rain from soaking the floor and growing mold like the walls.

In the middle of the night, Wang Jiexiang climbed up and down, emptying full buckets outside.

Yin Xian was woken up.

Once she lay back down and pulled up the covers, he said, “Maybe we should pay for the repairs ourselves.”

“With what money?”

They were financially strained. She knew exactly how much savings they had—not much.

Later that night, the rain grew heavier.

A basin sat at the foot of the bed catching drips. With no room to stretch, Yin Xian held her close.

She felt anxious, terrified she might accidentally kick the basin and soak the whole comforter.

They’d already piled up a bunch of unwashed, damp clothes. A wet comforter would be a disaster—no place to dry it, and even if they tried, it wouldn’t dry.

The next morning, dark circles under her eyes, Wang Jiexiang got up with a sore back.

Yin Xian drew the curtains and told her, “The rain stopped.”

Stepping outside—

The rain had stopped, but the road outside was flooded.

Their neighborhood was in a low-lying area, with terrible drainage.

One night of heavy rain had clogged the ditch outside.

Their neighbor across the hall, an old man, cursed in frustration.

His home sat lower, and water had rushed in.

“My money, my money.”

His collected scrap newspapers and cardboard were all soaked—worthless now.

Tears welled in his eyes.

Wang Jiexiang sighed.

Neither of them had much appetite. Half a pot of breakfast went uneaten.

Taking advantage of the lull in rain, they geared up and headed to work.

Looking up at the sky, Wang Jiexiang prayed, “Please, don’t rain today.”

But heaven didn’t hear her.

It was sunny all morning, then turned cloudy in the afternoon.

Thunder and lightning crashed over the seafood factory—then came a torrential downpour.

The factory director got a call: the roads were flooded, seafood delivery trucks couldn’t make it. He told everyone they could leave after finishing their tasks.

But with rain that heavy, anyone wanting to go home waited for it to ease.

Everyone else slowed down, except Wang Jiexiang—she worked with everything she had, rushing to finish and get home.

In the storm, she held an umbrella, but still ended up soaked to the bone.

She ran as fast as she could from the factory.

This rain—no doubt water had gotten into their place…

The village was like an ocean. Dirty yellow water floated bottles, animal carcasses, and other unidentifiable trash.

When she’d left that morning, the water barely reached her ankles—now it was up to her thighs.

Things were worse than she’d imagined. She wiped water from her face and waded into the filthy flood, heading home.

The door was wide open—Yin Xian had beaten her back.

Flooded.

Their home was flooded!

Water was knee-deep.

Basins, buckets, rugs, brooms, pots, seasonings, tissues, power strips—almost everything was submerged.

A quick glance showed just how bad the damage was.

Yin Xian had his pants rolled up and was holding the nightstand, eyes darting around.

Where could he put it? Where could he go?

This was his only home—and it was destroyed.

“Xian-ge, throw it on the bed!” Wang Jiexiang shouted.

They locked eyes.

She stepped forward and joined him in salvaging what they could.

Only the bed and top of the wardrobe were high enough to stay dry and stable.

Those two spots became storage.

Wang Jiexiang rescued the lighter stuff. Yin Xian carried the heavier items. They piled up a chaotic mountain on the bed.

They were too poor—nothing was particularly valuable.

And yet, seeing it all like this, they couldn’t bear to throw anything away. They salvaged carefully, until they were completely exhausted.

Rain pounded down outside.

They sat on the bed, gasping for breath, protecting their salvaged belongings.

If the rain kept up, even the bed would be submerged.

Wang Jiexiang slumped, one arm dangling off the side, fingers tapping the bedpost as she stared at the creeping water.

Yin Xian, beside her, also stared in a daze.

Suddenly, his eyes widened.

“A rat!”

He yanked her arm and pulled her away from the edge.

His shoulder banged into the metal coat rack—he sucked in a sharp breath.

His sudden movement startled her. She straightened up and rubbed his shoulder.

“Wow, are you okay?!”

“I’m fine.” Yin Xian’s face was pale. Physical pain was nothing compared to his deeper fear. “Move in more. There’s a big rat swimming in the water.”

Even if Wang Jiexiang wasn’t afraid of rats, his words were pretty horrifying.

She held her breath and looked in the direction he had.

“Don’t go,” Yin Xian tried to stop her.

Too late—Wang Jiexiang had already stuck her head out.

Yin Xian covered his face with both hands, unable to look.

There was something black moving in the murky water.

But…

Wang Jiexiang let out a long breath and couldn’t help laughing.

“It’s a fish.”

Yin Xian kept his face covered, not believing her.

“It has legs.”

“Legs?”

She tugged his arm. “Come look—it’s totally a fish.”

“Really?”

He peeked through one finger, revealing one eye.

“Yeah, it’s swimming like a pro. Clearly, it’s not new to this.”

Leaning on the bed with her chin in her hands, Wang Jiexiang watched the fish.

Yin Xian finally lowered his hands.

—With those smooth swimming moves and elite diving skills, it really wasn’t a rat.

“How did it end up here?”

Wang Jiexiang stared in wonder, unable to look away.

Yin Xian was just as surprised.

Side by side, they both leaned on their elbows.

Four eyes stared intently at the creature in the water.

A chubby, dark fish—no one knew where it came from or why it had mistakenly entered their home. Its tail and body moved nimbly, its limbs pressed against its sides as it swam leisurely.

“It really does have hands and feet. I saw them.”

Wang Jiexiang turned and asked Yin Xian, “Is it a fish?”

“It’s probably a Chinese giant salamander,” he said, recalling it from a textbook. “It’s an amphibian, not actually a fish.”

“Huh? Not a fish? Then why is it called a ‘giant salamander fish’?”

“Because it looks like one.”

She asked questions without much substance, and he answered every one without holding back.

Outside, the world was stormy and chaotic. Their poor, young lives could be swept away by a flood at any moment.

But fortunately, they had a roof to shelter under, a companion to talk to, and a creature that looked like a fish but wasn’t—and together, these things formed the shape of a home; enough to make the frightening world no longer seem so hopelessly terrifying.