Chapter Eight: The Date

Sheng Yao led the way, carrying a large plastic bag. It wasn’t until he was right outside his front door that he remembered his home was utterly empty—only his own toiletries remained, all of which he’d had to buy again after returning for the Qingming Festival. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he had White Xiao get out of the taxi early, stopped at a convenience store nearby, and bought snacks, drinks, and a new towel and toothbrush.

“…The moment I started college, my parents got their freedom back and started living for themselves,” Sheng Yao explained. “They’re not home—they probably went to the countryside to visit my grandparents’ graves for the festival, and then stayed with relatives for a few days. They haven’t come back yet.”

As he spoke, the names engraved in black on his grandparents’ tombstones flashed through his mind. But those names passed by quickly, not lingering for even a second.

White Xiao listened quietly, though her gaze toward Sheng Yao was a little odd.

“You… haven’t contacted your parents?” White Xiao asked, hesitating.

Sheng Yao let out a laugh. “What’s there to contact them about? They’re grown-ups, going out together for fun—what’s there to worry about? They’ve always been like that. In the summer, they’d drop me at my grandparents’ and go off to enjoy their time together.”

Looking at Sheng Yao’s hearty laugh, White Xiao seemed to feel the warmth of his family and smiled along with him. She let out a soft breath and gazed at him gently. “So it’ll just be the two of us tonight?”

Sheng Yao’s smile froze. His whole face flushed red as he stammered, “Don’t, don’t get the wrong idea, I… I invited you over because… um, I just thought when I saw you back then…”

He trailed off, at a loss for words.

He hadn’t really thought it through when he extended the invitation. He’d just felt that White Xiao looked so lonely. He wanted to offer her some warmth, to keep her from sinking into darkness along with the setting sun.

He wanted to pull her into his world.

White Xiao smiled, blinking as she skipped ahead lightly.

Sheng Yao stood dazed for a moment, then hurried to catch up with the plastic bag. “You did that on purpose?”

“Mhm.” White Xiao nodded with a grin, shooting him a sidelong glance. “Are you mad?”

“Yes, I’m mad.” Sheng Yao put on a stern face deliberately.

White Xiao burst into laughter, quickly stifling it, and put on a pitiful, pleading look. “Don’t be mad, okay?”

“I’ll think about it,” Sheng Yao continued to feign sternness.

“I’ll help carry the bag.”

“No need.”

They had already reached a residential building. Sheng Yao took out his keys and unlocked the heavy security door downstairs.

“I’ll get the door for you then, Mr. Sheng. Please, go ahead.” White Xiao mimicked a waiter’s gesture, bowing slightly and looking up at him with a playful, ingratiating smile.

With great dignity, Sheng Yao lifted his chin and strode inside, plastic bag in hand.

The iron door closed behind them, and as their footsteps echoed, the sound-activated lights flickered on.

Shedding his earlier airs, Sheng Yao turned to White Xiao and said in a low voice, “Quiet. There are a lot of elderly people living here. We don’t want to wake them.”

White Xiao nodded. She had already been careful, closing the door softly and treading lightly enough that even the lights overhead barely responded.

The two of them crept up the stairs like thieves.

Sheng Yao unlocked his apartment and invited White Xiao inside.

“You can wear these slippers.” Sheng Yao pulled out a new pair from the shoe cabinet. Dust from the plastic wrapper stuck to his hands. He held the trash awkwardly. “They’re new, just bought a long time ago. When my mom first learned how to shop online, she bought more than a dozen pairs in one go, saying it’d be handy if relatives came for dinner. In the end, nobody used them—just the three of us. Wait, I think there’s a white pair…” He started rummaging through the cabinet.

But there were only two unopened pairs left: a blue pair he’d just unwrapped and a black plastic pair.

“That’s odd… Why are there only two pairs? Did they take the rest to the countryside?” Sheng Yao muttered in confusion.

“These are fine. They’re soft and comfortable,” White Xiao reassured him.

Hearing that, Sheng Yao stopped fussing and invited her to sit in the living room while he unpacked snacks and drinks and went to boil water in the kitchen.

He bustled about, eager to be a good host, but White Xiao pulled him down beside her on the sofa.

“There’s no need to fuss. We’ve got everything we need,” she said.

Sheng Yao scratched his head. “Well… ah, I should get out the bedding and pillows.” He stood up again. “You can sleep in my room tonight. Uh… it’s a bit messy, though.”

He led White Xiao to the open door of his bedroom.

It was a small, south-facing room with a single bed, a big desk, and two large cabinets—one for books, the other for clothes. An old desktop computer, covered with dust, sat on the desk. The bookshelf was packed with everything from elementary math to foreign novels and hefty academic tomes—a record of a person’s growth.

White Xiao examined every book title on that shelf.

“Is there anything you’d like to read?” Sheng Yao joined her, also looking at his collection.

His gaze swept over the volumes of College Physics and Advanced Mathematics with a flicker of confusion. Next to them were a few others…

Before he could scan each one, White Xiao turned around, stepping in front of him and blocking his view.

“My room is full of stuff,” Sheng Yao admitted, glancing helplessly at the boxes under the desk and by the bed. “The moment I went to college, my parents turned it into a storage room… Maybe you should sleep in their room instead.”

He brightened at the idea and turned to show her his parents’ master bedroom.

The door was tightly closed.

Sheng Yao walked slowly toward it. As his hand closed around the doorknob, before he could turn it, a pale hand rested gently on his.

Cool and soft, the touch sent a chill across his skin.

“You invited me over just to send me off to bed?” White Xiao teased, smiling.

Sheng Yao stared at her in a daze.

“Let’s chat for a while,” White Xiao said, pulling Sheng Yao back to the sofa. “You bought so many snacks—were they just for you?”

“Of course not!” Sheng Yao hurried to open a bag of chips for her.

White Xiao settled contentedly onto the sofa, switched on the TV, and started eating. Sheng Yao sat beside her, stealing glances at her as he reached into the chip bag. His hand brushed against hers.

“Oh, they’re showing an old movie!” White Xiao pulled her hand back and sat up, eyes bright with excitement. “I love this actress…”

She turned to Sheng Yao, enthusiastically introducing the woman on screen.

Her cheerful voice was like a lively melody, bringing a smile to Sheng Yao’s lips.

…

The living room was filled with their conversation. They never ran out of things to say, always finding new topics of shared interest, swapping stories and childhood memories. Through the lens, their figures were blurred, the camera’s focus landing on the tightly shut bedroom door behind them.

Their laughter seemed to seep through that door, chasing away the cold silence inside. Yet, for a fleeting moment, the loneliness from within the room oozed out through the cracks, quietly spreading between them.

It felt as if there were some dreadful creature locked away in that room, breathing against the gap beneath the door, ready at any moment to burst out and shatter the warmth between them.

The doctor’s deep blue eyes, too, had lost their focus, like a paused television image. He stared straight ahead, unmoving, the little faces painted on his fingernails frozen in silence.

No one knew how much time passed before a glimmer of light appeared on the TV screen.

The first rays pierced the depths of night, heralding the arrival of dawn. From darkness to a gray shimmer, the change came in an instant.

Sunlight was reflected in the doctor’s eyes, bringing them back into focus. As if woken by the light, he blinked; his posture, unchanged all night, finally shifted. He leaned back on the sofa, narrowed his eyes, and looked again at the screen.

…

“It’s morning…” Sheng Yao finally noticed the bright daylight outside.

He and White Xiao had stayed up all night, watching old movies in a daze, though mostly just talking.

“Yes. I should go home,” White Xiao said, glancing at the morning sky.

“Huh?” Sheng Yao was surprised. “You’re leaving already? I… I wanted to take you somewhere…”

“I should go,” White Xiao repeated with a soft smile, her tone gentle but firm.

Sheng Yao felt a pang of regret. “Then let me walk you back. Are you… are you going to Longevity Park today?”

“Yes, I am,” White Xiao nodded.

“Then let’s go together. We can buy flowers at the shop near here,” Sheng Yao suggested. “Let’s wash up first and have breakfast. There’s a little place by the gate—bean curd, dumplings, fried buns…”

He stood, stretched, then bustled around, finding her a toothbrush and towel.

After washing up, they left the apartment.

In the hallway outside stood an elderly woman with a cane. She seemed startled by the sudden door opening and stood frozen in place.

Sheng Yao glanced at her and immediately greeted her with a smile, “Auntie Qin, off for breakfast?”

His gaze moved from her face to the cane in her hand, revealing surprise and concern. “Did you hurt your leg?”

Auntie Qin stared blankly at Sheng Yao, then at White Xiao beside him.

White Xiao offered her a friendly smile.

Sheng Yao instinctively moved to support Auntie Qin. “Let me help you downstairs. Or, better yet, I’ll bring breakfast up for you—just wait at home.”

He looked at White Xiao, seeking her opinion.

White Xiao smiled as expected. “It’s fine, don’t worry about me.”

Seeing this, Sheng Yao turned back to Auntie Qin with a smile and prepared to escort her home.

“No, no need,” Auntie Qin said quickly, flustered. “I… I can manage on my own…”

Sheng Yao didn’t understand, but respected her wishes. “Then let me at least help you.”

He supported Auntie Qin down the stairs, noting how thin and stiff her arm felt under his hand.

He was a little puzzled.

Auntie Qin… how had she changed so much, so suddenly? It was as if she’d aged overnight. No, not overnight—he’d only been home on weekends since starting college, barely going out. Now that he thought about it, it had been half a year since he last saw her.

Sheng Yao thought of his own parents. It had been a long time since he’d really looked at them, too.

Once again, the black names on the tombstones floated through his mind.

His steps slowed as he descended the stairs.

After making sure Auntie Qin was all right, he and White Xiao walked out of the neighborhood.

“That’s our next-door neighbor,” Sheng Yao explained. “She’s watched me grow up. She retired early and bought out her pension. When I was in elementary school and forgot my keys, I’d go to her place to do homework and wait for my parents. She’d make tea eggs and spiced tofu for me.”

White Xiao listened quietly.

“I never expected Auntie Qin would suddenly need a cane, or age so much, so quickly… I wonder if she’s ill…” Sheng Yao said, worried.

Thinking of illness, Sheng Yao glanced at White Xiao.

She was wrapped tightly in her black coat.

A gust of wind lifted the fine hair at her temple.

Sheng Yao caught a glimpse of strange blue marks in her hair.

“The breakfast place is this way?” White Xiao stood at the gate, choosing the path to the right and asking him.

Sheng Yao withdrew his gaze. “Yes, just at the corner.”

They had breakfast, bought flowers, and took the bus to the outskirts.

White Xiao, looking tired after staying up all night, closed her eyes as soon as they got on. The bus rumbled and swayed. Her head lolled and came to rest on Sheng Yao’s shoulder.

Sheng Yao froze, then carefully slowed his breathing, trying to relax.

Her hair brushed his neck, tickling him.

He looked down at her, his gaze turning gentle, then darkening as it fell to her temple.

There, the blue veins moved under the skin like tiny worms, writhing along the blood vessels and leaving tracks.

At the center of the blue, her skin was tinged with red, as if blood were seeping from within, or as if an apple were oxidizing, turning from healthy to ashen.

Sheng Yao grew anxious.

He took out his phone and typed her symptoms into a search engine.

As he hit “search,” a pair of deep blue eyes and a bright red neon sign flashed through his mind.

That strange monster clinic…

He should find a chance to take White Xiao there.