After the breakup, I was taken in by a group of trendy young women.

Shen Qing's ear was pressed against the door panel, and she looked like a boiled shrimp.

With his tattooed arm leaning against the corridor wall and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, he watched Shen Qing's posture, his tongue pin flashing briefly behind the smoke.

She reached out and pulled Shen Qing up from the door panel. Her movements weren't gentle, but she didn't use much force either, as if she were lifting a disobedient kitten.

"Stop listening, your face is burning up."

Shen Qing stumbled half a step as she was pulled, her slippers making a soft squeak on the floor.

She lowered her head, a few strands of still-damp hair hanging down to cover half of her face, and the exposed half was red from her cheekbone to her chin.

"I didn't... I didn't hear you!"

"Your ears are practically pressed against the door."

The tattooed man released her, took the cigarette from his mouth, flicked off the ash, and said, "So you call that not listening?"

Shen Qing was speechless.

She did listen.

It wasn't intentional. The room was so narrow, and the bedroom door was so thin that it couldn't block out much sound. She was just coming out of the bathroom and passing by that door when her steps involuntarily stopped.

The sound coming through the crack in the door was very soft, but she was so close that it was hard not to hear it.

Bai Xiaojing's voice came from behind the door, intermittent and very soft, as if she was afraid of being overheard.

Shen Qing's fingers gripped the hem of her nightgown, her nails digging into the folds of the cotton fabric.

The tattooed man looked at her, put the cigarette back in his mouth, took one last drag, and the cigarette butt glowed briefly in the dim light of the corridor before going out.

She flicked her cigarette butt into the empty beer can in the corner, making a soft "plop" sound.

"Are you shy?"

The tattooed man tilted his head to look at her, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "First time hearing this?"

Shen Qing shook her head, then nodded, then shook her head again, finally burying her face in her hands, her voice muffled in her palms: "I just... I just didn't want her to be in pain."

The tattooed man looked at her for two seconds, then smiled.

It wasn't mockery, but the kind of laugh that says, "You're such a cute kid."

She reached out and patted Shen Qing's shoulder, the warmth of her palm passing through the faded T-shirt.

"Don't worry, blondie's fine. I know what I'm doing."

When she said "Brother knows what he's doing," her tone was as certain as if she were stating a physical law that had been repeatedly verified.

Shen Qing lifted her face from her palm, her eyes red as she looked at the tattooed arm.

Her eyes were still red, a redness that hadn't completely faded since they met at the barbecue stall that evening. But the redness was different now. Before, it was the kind of red that came from someone who had been wandering for a long time and had finally found a safe haven. Now it was a different kind of red, mixed with shyness, nervousness, and a hint of excitement that she herself couldn't quite explain.

"How did you know?" Shen Qing's voice was very soft.

The tattooed man took the lighter out of his pocket and twirled it in his hand.

The lighter had a transparent plastic shell filled with a pale green liquid. Under the corridor light, it swayed, and bubbles rose from the bottom to the top before bursting.

"Because when I slept with blondie last night!"

Hua Tui appeared out of nowhere in the living room, walking barefoot on the floor without making a sound.

She leaned against the wall on the other side of the corridor, holding a glass of water, her tone as calm as if she were giving today's weather forecast.

"You're listening too?" The man with the tattooed arm turned to look at her.

"I wasn't listening," Flower Legs said, taking a sip of water. "I'm drinking water."

The tattooed arms looked at her, and the tattooed legs looked at her too.

The two stared at each other for half a second, then simultaneously looked away, but the corners of their mouths turned up by 0.3 centimeters in unison.

In the living room, the green-haired and pink-haired children had already laid out their bedding on the floor.

Yoga mats, old bed sheets, and a few cushions dug out from under the sofa cushions were pieced together on the floor to form a large communal sleeping area that could barely accommodate four people.

Qi Liuhai sat on the edge of the dormitory, holding a cat that was purring in her arms. She stroked the cat's fur gently, but her eyes were fixed on the corridor.

"What are they talking about?" Green Hair leaned over.

"have no idea,"

The man with bangs spoke softly, "The tattooed arm is comforting Shen Qing."

"What's wrong with Shen Qing?"

"They must have been... startled by the blond guy's voice."

The pink-haired girl let out an "Ah," then seemed to suddenly understand something, her mouth agape.

Green Hair understood, and the two of them looked at each other on the communal bed before burying their faces in their pillows at the same time.

Qi Liuhai looked down at the cat in his arms. The cat rolled over, revealing a patch of soft white fur on its belly.

She reached out and touched the cat's belly, and the cat purred.

Her face was expressionless under the white light of the energy-saving lamp, but her fingers, which were stroking the cat, paused for a moment before continuing, though at a slower pace than before.

The sound continued in the bedroom.

Lin Ye's back was pressed against the wall at the head of the bed. The wall plaster was bulging from the dampness, and it hurt a little when it pressed against his shoulder blade.

But he couldn't care less about that, because Bai Xiaojing was clinging to him like a koala clinging to a tree trunk.

Her face was buried in the crook of his neck, her blond hair brushing against his chin, the newly grown black hair at the roots clearly visible under the light.

Her breath hit his collarbone, rapid and hot, like he had just run 800 meters.

Lin Ye ran his fingers through her hair and placed his palm on the back of her head.

He could feel that her body temperature was much higher than usual. Through the thin slip dress, the cotton fabric seemed to be non-existent, and every rise and fall of her chest transmitted to his ribs.

Bai Xiaojing.

He called her name, his voice not loud, but in this quiet room where they could hear each other's heartbeats, every syllable was as clear as if it were engraved on glass.

The person in her arms did not respond.

He called again.

There was still no response.

He looked down to see her face, but she buried it even deeper, her nose touching the skin above his collarbone, her breath warm and wet against it.

"Didn't you say!"

"Shhh."

Her hand reached up from under the blanket and covered his mouth.

My fingers were icy cold, a stark contrast to the high temperature of the rest of my body.

"Don't talk," she said.

The voice was muffled in the crook of his neck, indistinct, but its tone left no room for argument.

Lin Ye didn't say anything.

The room fell silent, with only the sound of two people breathing together and the faint sound of raindrops sliding off the sycamore leaves and hitting the puddles below.

The white light from the energy-saving lamp illuminated the small bedroom.

The snakeskin bag was still piled up in the corner, and on the cardboard box by the bed were a half-open bag of potato chips and a glass of water left over from last night. Two socks of different colors were clipped to the clothes hanger, and a freshly washed towel was hanging on the window. Water droplets dripped down the towel's fibers and onto the windowsill, pattering like some kind of old timer.

Bai Xiaojing's breathing gradually calmed down.

She lifted her head from the crook of Lin Ye's neck.

The white light from the energy-saving lamp shone directly on her face; she squinted for a moment, then opened her eyes.

The redness on her face hadn't completely faded, spreading from her cheekbones to her ears. There were still teeth marks on her lips from biting, and her eyes were glistening with a thin layer of moisture.

She looked at Lin Ye for a few seconds.

Then she laughed.

It's not the kind of smile that says "I've succeeded," nor the kind that says "I've finally won you over." It's a different kind of smile, like someone who has traveled a very, very long way and finally reached their destination, looking back at the path they've come from, feeling that all the hard work was worth it.

"elder brother."

"Um."

Do you know what I was thinking just now?

"What are you thinking about?"

She buried her face in the crook of his neck again, her lips pressed against the skin on the side of his neck, her voice as soft as if she were talking in her sleep.

"I think if you weren't a good person, I wouldn't be so nervous right now."

Lin Ye's hand stopped on the back of her head.

"If you were a bad person, I wouldn't have to think so much," she said, her voice muffled in his neck, each word distinct.

"Bad guys are easy to deal with. Just give them money, and it's over. But you're a good person; you helped us for reasons other than that, so I don't know how to repay you. I can only..."

She didn't finish speaking.

But Lin Ye understood.

He lowered his head and pressed his lips to her ear.

"You don't need to pay it back."

As he spoke those four words, his palm slid from the back of her head to the back of her neck, his fingertips pressing on the most prominent bone in her cervical spine, gently stroking it.

Bai Xiaojing's body stiffened for a moment in his arms, then went completely limp.

Like a piece of ice finally melting away its last bit of hard core, turning into a warm, shapeless pool of water, the weight of the whole person pressed down on him without reservation or defense.