Nineteenth Slices of Blood Orange

The spring moon always appeared hazy, like a window pane layered with dust.

Under the bright moon, Liao Xue pushed open the door and saw Shen Qiancheng slumped on the sofa, head tilted to one side. Her clothes were wrinkled, and she clutched her skirt hem, looking quiet and pretty in the lamplight.

Liao Xue's grip tightened on the water bottles. She set them on the table with a sigh, then reached out to rouse Shen Qiancheng.

Her hand stopped mid-air. She openly studied Shen Qiancheng's sleeping face, then turned and headed to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, she came back with an electric kettle, lid open, steam curling from the spout. She eyed the plastic bottles thoughtfully, let out a soft sigh, and rinsed her own cup before mixing boiled water with cold.

"Shen Qiancheng," Liao Xue said, shaking her shoulder. "Wake up and have some water."

Shen Qiancheng's eyes fluttered open, and she mumbled, "...I don't want water anymore... I want a shower!"

The bathroom? The urban village houses didn't even have hot water.

Liao Xue glanced at her phone—it was past midnight. The nearest bathhouse had closed long ago.

"There's no bathhouse," Liao Xue said. The deep inferiority Shen Qiancheng had instilled in her back in Liao Family Village crept up again, and suddenly she understood Shen Qiancheng a little.

If their roles were reversed—if she, Liao Xue, had been Shen Qiancheng—she'd probably have been even more ruthless.

"No! I want a shower!" Drunk, Shen Qiancheng had no idea she was on someone else's turf. Her willful nature was in full display. "Why haven't you run the bathwater?"

There were no threats, no unbearable consequences...

But Liao Xue stood there, feeling a strange sense of having guessed right.

Liao Xue went out and returned not just with an inflatable bathtub, but also a toothbrush, toothpaste, body wash, and shampoo.

While heating water, she thought to herself that she was just being prepared; Shen Qiancheng would probably complain about the cheap shampoo and the bargain soap bars later.

She filled the child's inflatable tub with hot water, closed the window, and brought out a space heater. As she unpacked the new shampoo, a little yellow duck toy tumbled out.

It was a gift from the supermarket owner, who had assumed a child was staying over.

Liao Xue stood up and called out, "It's ready. Come wash up."

Liao Xue's rental was a one-bedroom. Shen Qiancheng couldn't shower in the living room, so Liao Xue had prepared the bedroom for her.

Shen Qiancheng's intoxication wasn't wearing off anytime soon.

That was clear the moment she stumbled outside the tub.

Liao Xue shook her head. "Take off your clothes first, then get in..."

Her answer was Shen Qiancheng splashing into the tub fully clothed, sending water everywhere. The small tub barely contained Shen Qiancheng's frame.

Liao Xue remembered the time Shen Qiancheng had applied medicine to her, figuring she wouldn't mind this either.

Shen Qiancheng lay collapsed inside, her legs bent, thighs pressed against calves, elegant muscle lines still beaded with water.

Liao Xue hesitated, then hesitated again. When she looked up and saw Shen Qiancheng's eyes closed, perhaps the moon gave her courage.

Liao Xue undid the strap on Shen Qiancheng's shoulder, her fingers sliding over the zipper. The tiny sound didn't stir Shen Qiancheng at all.

"Help me take it off quickly," Shen Qiancheng murmured, making Liao Xue's fingers tremble, but she didn't stop.

Did the Shen household servants also do such intimate things for her?

The heater's warmth felt prickly and numbing. Holding the completely soaked garment, Liao Xue felt her face, fingers, and her whole body burning hot.

Liao Xue pressed her back against the door, her heart still racing. Drops of water on her fingers slid along her palm lines.

Her heart thumped like a drum. Liao Xue picked up a book and sat on the sofa to calm herself.

Then she noticed how warm the sofa was—had Shen Qiancheng been sitting here?

Her heart pounded like thunder. Liao Xue buried her face in her hands, as if clutching an enormous tomato.

As the minutes ticked by, Liao Xue gradually got absorbed in the book, until her phone notification rang. She looked up—the clock on the wall showed it was one-thirty.

Over an hour? She still wasn't done?

Frowning, Liao Xue pushed the bedroom door open. She expected to find Shen Qiancheng having crawled into bed asleep, but instead she was still lying in the small child's tub, a little yellow duck perched on her head, soaking in water that had gone cold.

The faint hum of the heater seemed louder in Liao Xue's ears. She shook her head with a sigh, reached for the little yellow duck, and squeezed it, making it squeak.

Shen Qiancheng's eyelids seemed glued shut—she didn't move. Liao Xue's heart settled back into place. She lowered her gaze and tried to hook her arm under Shen Qiancheng's shoulder.

Even though the water had gone cold, Shen Qiancheng's skin was pale with a rosy flush, and her wet hair clung to her face like a female ghost.

Liao Xue was silent. A ghost indeed—a ghost sent to torment Liao Xue.

At two in the morning, Liao Xue lay wrapped in a blanket on the sofa, unable to sleep.

No matter the story, the next morning always came.

Liao Xue didn't know when she had fallen asleep, but she knew exactly when she woke up.

At eight-sixteen, a scream rang out.

"Ahhh, Liao Xue, you really did have designs on me!!!"

The owner of the two long legs standing before her said that.

Liao Xue turned over. "Just leave your pajamas on the bed when you take them off."

Shen Qiancheng: ?

Shen Qiancheng looked down at her clothes and realized: !

#

The sunlight outside was nice. Shen Qiancheng, humiliated but in surprisingly good spirits, saw Shi Jianren at home, trapped like a fish in a net, and her mood turned sour.

Shi Jianren, even without a beard, was furious. "Shen Qiancheng, you still have the nerve to come back?!"

Shen Qiancheng ignored him and headed straight upstairs.

"Stop! Do you still have any respect for me as your father?!" Shi Jianren stood, pointing at her, gnashing his teeth as if she were his mortal enemy.

Shen Qiancheng paused on the spiral staircase. From her elevated position, she looked down at Shi Jianren.

"Plenty of nerve, but none for you."

Shi Jianren, like a lit firecracker, exploded into curses. "From today, you are not to set foot outside the Shen family. Once Zeye is better, you'll come with me to apologize in person!"

Shen Qiancheng spread her hands helplessly. "After I bashed him like that, is Su Zeye still not dead?"

Was Su Zeye a fox spirit with nine lives?

Even if he had nine lives, she'd kill him ten times over!

Shi Jianren's blood pressure shot up at the sight of Shen Qiancheng's cocky posture and tilted head.

#

Shi Jianren didn't confine Shen Qiancheng to the house, and she didn't want to go out anyway. For half a month she stayed home, eating and drinking without a care.

Oh, there was one worry—today she was "released from prison" and had to go to the Su family to apologize.

The last apology was when Su Zeye had plagiarized her ideas. For someone as worthless as Su Zeye, what kind of revenge could he possibly plot?

The worst case was he'd take her up in a hot air balloon and shoot her again.

In the car, Shi Jianren was far more nervous than Shen Qiancheng. He kept bouncing his leg, his gaze darting around, as if he, not Shen Qiancheng, were headed to meet the in-laws.

Shen Qiancheng found it amusing—at least his silence was better than his nagging.

In that tense atmosphere, they arrived at the Su estate.

Following the garden path, they entered the house. Shi Jianren's hands trembled with nerves. Shen Qiancheng sneered inwardly, handed her coat to Fu Rong, and stepped into the reception room first.

Inside, Su Yuling sat elegantly in the same spot as last time. On seeing Shen Qiancheng, she raised an eyebrow. "Chengcheng's here."

Shen Qiancheng forced a smile. "Auntie Su, hello."

Shi Jianren, afraid she'd say something rash, hurriedly chimed in. "President Su."

Su Yuling had someone serve tea. She took a sip herself and remarked, "The new tea hasn't arrived yet. The old tea is still quite mellow."

Shi Jianren's face went pale. Shen Qiancheng took a sip naturally—she had never liked bitter things—and set it down, not touching it again.

"President Su, Chengcheng was drunk that day and didn't recognize Zeye," Shi Jianren explained weakly.

Su Yuling raised an eyebrow at that. Shen Qiancheng interrupted gracefully, "I was drunk, yes, but I knew it was Su Zeye."

Shi Jianren's smile froze. Su Yuling fell silent, sipping her tea.

Shen Qiancheng doubled down. "He was bullying a waitress. I really couldn't stand it. There happened to be a bottle of wine on the table, so I hit him with it."

Shen Qiancheng had a reckless madness about her, dragging Shi Jianren down with her.

Shi Jianren: "Ah, this..."

Could he say Shen Qiancheng had lost her mind?

Su Yuling calmly waited for Shen Qiancheng to finish, her superior air nearly scaring Shi Jianren to death.

"Well done, Chengcheng," Su Yuling said with a proper smile. "Zeye is still young and bound to make mistakes. But he's about to get married—he should know better."

Shi Jianren, who had braced for the worst, was stunned. Shen Qiancheng was briefly taken aback. Had Su Yuling misunderstood something?

Su Yuling raised a hand and gestured in the air. The servant behind her immediately understood and left.

"The date we set last time was missed due to Zeye's recklessness. This time, let's be more careful and have a master choose an auspicious day for the wedding."

Shen Qiancheng thought to herself: How could two people as incompatible as fire and water celebrate a happy union?

Shi Jianren immediately piped up with a smile. "Whatever President Su decides is fine. We have no objections."

Su Yuling nodded and warmly said, "We've got a new cook at home. Zeye is very fond of her cooking. Let's have lunch and try her skills."

Shen Qiancheng, who usually spoke her mind in front of Su Yuling, felt nothing at first, but the words "new cook" made her heart twitch.

At the round, engraved, rotating dining table sat Shen Qiancheng, Shi Jianren, Su Yuling, and Su Yuling's husband.

Mr. Su apologized, "Zeye is still in the hospital and hasn't been discharged, so he couldn't attend."

Shi Jianren let out two hollow laughs and offered polite pleasantries.

Mr. Su added, "Ever since the new chef came, Zeye won't eat my cooking anymore."

Su Yuling cleared her throat twice. "Don't talk while eating."

Mr. Su's face flushed, then paled. He opened his mouth but said nothing.

The banquet officially began. Shen Qiancheng propped her head on her hand, recalling that half a month ago she had attended a banquet at the Su residence, and then she had run into Liao Xue at the club.

Shen Qiancheng looked up, her brow furrowed as she rubbed her eyes.

If it wasn't a hallucination, why was Liao Xue here at the Su residence?!