Chapter 19: Because I Only Respond to Softness

Wen Qi sat on the edge of the bed in a daze, her gaze drifting aimlessly to the windowsill at her side.

A blurred shadow appeared there, reflected faintly across the desk and the vase, swaying gently with the wind that slipped in through the cracks.

Slowly, she lifted her eyes and made out a vague figure beyond the frosted glass.

He had no idea how long he had been standing there.

Though she only glanced a few times, Wen Qi already understood.

She stood up and quickly hid the suitcase she had kept by her hand behind the cabinet, then reconsidered.

That wouldn’t do.

She took all the clothes she had packed back out and left the suitcase open and empty in the most obvious spot.

Then she walked slowly toward the window.

As she moved, her own shadow gradually met his upon the glass.

He had locked that door with his own hands.

Yet when he saw her silhouette reflected in the pane, he paused for half a second.

He knew he should leave immediately.

If he stayed, he would surely hear her curse him again.

But when shadow faced shadow, the step he meant to take away never came.

Instead, he leaned closer, lowering his head as if letting his silhouette press a kiss to her forehead.

“Cough- cough-”

A sudden bout of coughing broke the quiet inside the room, then was quickly suppressed, as though she were forcing it down.

She wasn’t feeling well.

Wei Qingxuan’s temples throbbed twice.

Before he realized it, he had already reached the door, fingers touching the lock.

Reason dragged him back.

If he opened it, Wen Qi would definitely rush out without hesitation.

Even though he was confident she couldn’t escape him, he didn’t want to gamble.

He let go of the lock.

The light inside the room flicked on.

Her shadow grew clearer.

She sat by the window and called softly, “Wei Qingxuan.”

After a day of desolation, he felt like a dried riverbed suddenly blessed by spring rain.

She wasn’t yelling at him.

She was calling his name so gently.

In an instant, he returned to the window.

“What is it?”

Out of his sight, Wen Qi rolled her eyes.

What is it?

What could it be?

The door wouldn’t open.

Did he think she could just ask him to unlock it?

All day, she hadn’t heard Aunt Sun’s voice.

Usually, if Wei Qingxuan was busy, it was Aunt Sun who knocked to call her for meals.

Wen Qi was sensitive to sound.

Even if Aunt Sun and Grandma weren’t speaking, any small noise in the main hall would reach her ears.

But today there was an eerie silence.

Aside from Wei Qingxuan’s voice just now, there had been no movement at all.

It was as if no one else was home.

Had he sent them away?

The thought made the anger she had barely suppressed flare up again.

Her hand tightened around the vase beside her.

She wanted to smash it.

She even wanted to open the window and hurl it straight at him.

But she restrained herself.

Her goal was to leave.

She couldn’t confront him head-on.

He was the type who yielded to softness, not force.

And apparently, he only yielded to her softness.

For a fleeting second, she even considered hiring a few girlfriends for him, women who would surround him every day, in endless rotation, so he could experience the “joy” of having a girlfriend and finally stop clinging to her.

But she wasn’t sure.

Not at all.

Setting aside her current situation, no SIM card, no internet, even if she could find someone, what if he didn’t accept it?

What if it only drove him crazier?

What if he tied them together with a rope?

No.

After running through every possibility, she realized the only “softness” she could offer right now was her own.

When she lowered her eyes again, they were already shimmering as if on the verge of tears.

“I’m so hungry,” she said softly.

“I haven’t eaten all day. Even if I said those things and you’re angry, you can’t just refuse to feed me for a whole day.”

Only then did Wei Qingxuan realize he had neglected something so important.

But if he brought her food, would he be able to close that door again safely?

She would surely try every method to stop him.

He knew himself well.

He had little resistance to her closeness.

Even a light kiss could make him lose himself.

So he forced himself to refuse.

“There’s food in your room,” he said.

“I prepared a whole box of snacks beside the bookshelf.”

Afraid she would refuse out of spite, he added, “They’re all your favorites.”

Wen Qi fell silent.

If he had been standing in front of her, she might have really thrown something at him.

“I don’t want snacks,” she snapped, almost losing control before catching herself.

“I want the noodles you cook for me.”

Her voice softened again.

“You’re going too far. If you don’t want me to leave, you could’ve just said so.”

“Would saying it have worked?” he asked quietly.

“Yes. Of course it would. Because I only respond to softness.”

She pressed her lips together.

In truth, she responded to neither softness nor force, only to herself.

“You’re lying to me again,” he said calmly.

He knew her too well.

For her not to be screaming at him was already a miracle.

For her to soothe him in return?

Impossible.

Unless she was lying.

She took a deep breath.

She hated being seen through like this.

“Because you didn’t communicate with me properly,” she insisted.

“If you talk to me properly, I won’t leave. I like it here. The scenery is beautiful. Grandma is gentle. She asks if I’m unhappy when she sees I’ve been caught in the rain. Aunt Sun asks me the day before what I want to eat. She’s lively and chatty. Even the neighbors are kind…”

She said a lot.

But there was no response outside.

For a moment she wondered if he had left.

Yet his shadow still lingered.

Why wasn’t he speaking?

Was he going to let her perform a one-woman show?

Her mind raced for a way to soften him enough to unlock the door.

Then she heard him ask, “And?”

“And what?” she blurted before she could stop herself.

Regret hit instantly.

She had said so much, yet left out the one person she was supposed to persuade.

Him.

His voice lowered.

No longer curious.

No longer hopeful.

“Wen Qi, you’ve liked so many people. Just not me.”

“That’s not true.”

She scrambled for words.

“How could it be? I just… I just don’t know how to say it. Come closer.”

His shadow hesitated, then stepped nearer to the window.

She leaned in as well and murmured, “I like you too.”

“Here… you’re the one I like most.”

Wei Qingxuan’s pupils contracted sharply.

His heart pounded wildly.

She was lying.

He knew she was lying.

But he would rather the lie continue.

If it stopped, he didn’t know what he would do.

“You like me?” he asked.

Even if he couldn’t see clearly, she nodded quickly.

“Yes. I do. Very much.”

He smiled faintly.

“I like you too. Very much.”

He stared at her blurred silhouette in the glass, wondering what expression she wore.

Shock?

Disgust?

Or calculation?

But he liked her.

Even if she lied to him.

She opened her mouth but found no words.

His sincerity only made it harder.

If she was to leave, his feelings were an obstacle.

After steeling herself, she forced her voice steady.

“If you like me, then cook me a bowl of noodles. I’m really hungry. You used to say that if I wanted your noodles, you’d cook them right away.”

In the final days of her parents’ failing marriage, she had often gone to his house.

His home had become her kingdom.

She would command him to turn on the game console, surrender snacks, and before leaving, make her favorite bowl of noodles.

He knew she was deliberately stirring his memories.

She wanted him to open the door.

He told himself he wouldn’t fall for it.

“I want noodles,” she said again.

“…Okay.”

He went to the kitchen.

As he unlocked the door, he rehearsed in his mind what he would do if she bolted.

She would head right, toward the front gate.

He would throw the bowl left and grab her.

If that happened, he would never open the door again.

When he finally opened it, he waited a few seconds.

She didn’t move.

Even when she saw it wide open, she didn’t rush.

Her eyes were fixed on the bowl in his hand.

“You’re finally here,” she said.

“I’m starving.”

Had he misjudged?

He stepped into the room and saw the suitcase.

Open.

Empty.

His breath caught.

Did she really not want to leave?

Was what she said true?

She watched him close the door.

She resisted the urge to shove him aside and run.

She knew she couldn’t overpower him.

She ate quietly.

Obediently.

Wei Qingxuan sat beside her, his gaze flickering between her face and the empty suitcase.

“Where are Aunt Sun and Grandma?” she asked casually.

“Grandma went to the mountains for meditation. Aunt Sun went with her.”

She knew that was no coincidence.

But she simply nodded.

“Then I won’t leave before they come back. I promised to say goodbye.”

He didn’t lower his guard.

“So you’ll still leave after that?”

“You have to let me adjust slowly,” she replied.

“If I said I’d never leave and stay with you forever, would you believe me?”

“No.”

“Exactly.”

She pushed the remaining half bowl of noodles toward him.

He took her chopsticks without hesitation and finished it in a few bites.

“You eat so fast,” she said.

“Didn’t you tell me to eat?”

“I meant collect the bowl.”

He placed it by the door and returned without stepping out.

“Don’t you have something to do?” she asked, panic creeping in.

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Watch you.”

She stared at him.

She had truly provoked a mad dog.

And not the kind that only barked.

“…Suit yourself.”

She practiced her voice work until late, trying to ignore him.

When she finally exhaled deeply, he was still there, absently toying with the torn shirt in her laundry basket.

“I’m going to sleep,” she said through clenched teeth.

He released the fabric and began unbuttoning his shirt.

“Together.”

She blinked.

“Together? You and me?”

He pulled her back when she tried edging toward the door.

“You said you like me.”

“I don’t want to sleep with you.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“You said you like me.”

“So I can sleep with you.”

He drew her close, palm pressing at her lower back.

“Sleep with me, Qi Qi. I studied last night. I’ll make you feel good.”

“Stop talking.”

He tossed his coat aside and continued unbuttoning his shirt slowly, deliberately.

“I showered. I didn’t touch myself. If you keep moving, I won’t be able to hold back.”

She froze instantly.

“Shut up. If you’re good, I can endure it.”

She lay on the outer side of the bed.

He agreed after a pause.

She lay stiff, heart pounding.

He lay still, breathing even.

At around two in the morning, when his breathing deepened into steady sleep, she carefully slid her feet to the floor.

She waited.

No movement.

She stood slowly.

A bright smile bloomed in the dark.

Sleep well.

By morning, she would be gone.

No matter how capable he was, he wouldn’t know where she had gone.

She had hidden everything.

The world was vast.

She could go anywhere.

She reached the door.

Her hand closed around the lock.

And then…

A cold chest pressed against her back.

Icy.

Like jade just lifted from an ice cellar.

Cool fingers covered her hand.

The chill seeped through her skin and into her bones.

She couldn’t make a sound.

It felt like being embraced by a ghost.

Wei Qingxuan laughed softly.

There was no warmth in it.

He lowered his gaze to her rigid form, thumb brushing her chin before suddenly gripping her arm and dragging her toward the bathroom.

“If you won’t behave,” he murmured lightly, madness lurking beneath the softness, “we’ll talk somewhere else.”

“What are you doing? Let go of me!”

He removed his last piece of clothing unhurriedly.

“You tell me,” he said.

“You really need medication for that brain of yours,” she shot back.

He didn’t mind her insults.

They calmed him.

He lifted her easily and set her on the sink.

The marble was icy through her thin clothes.

She slapped him again.

“After this, don’t ever expect to see me.”

The previous mark hadn’t faded.

Now there were two.

His hand rested at her throat.

His gaze was obsessed and dark.

“Qi Qi,” he said softly, “do you really think you can walk away that easily?”