Shen Jianqing emerged from the bathroom, his whole body washed clean, his hair still damp.
His tattered Miao clothes were completely ruined, so he temporarily wore my shirt and pants.
The instant he stepped out, I was momentarily dazed. It was the first time I had seen him in anything other than his traditional Miao attire. His figure was fine, his features beautiful, and even plain clothes suited him well. On closer inspection, he looked no different from any other young man just entering college.
“I’m not dressed wrong, am I, Yuze?” Shen Jianqing asked as he walked toward the sofa, looking slightly helpless.
His hair still dripped, and the wet white shirt clung to his skin.
“You’re not dressed wrong.” I stood up, feeling an unexpected heat rise in me, cleared my throat, and said, “Go dry your hair. It’s cold tonight, and you might catch a chill.”
“Dry it?” he repeated, looking puzzled.
I suddenly realized he might not even know what a hairdryer was. I got up and retrieved the dryer from the bathroom cabinet.
“Whoosh—”
The moment I plugged it in, the loud noise startled him. Shen Jianqing took it in his hands, curiously examining it for a while.
He was like a child—everything was unfamiliar, yet everything piqued his curiosity.
I leaned against the window, my gaze falling on the endless night and the colorful neon lights outside, my mind utterly blank.
The hairdryer stopped. Shen Jianqing, still curious, toggled it on and off a few more times before finally setting it down. He shuffled around in slippers, making a crisp sound on the floor.
I instinctively lifted my eyes. Through the glass, which now acted like a slightly blurred mirror, I could see him behind me.
Shen Jianqing gradually lost the stiffness he had carried when he first entered. He moved about, organizing his things—placing the bamboo tube in the kitchen, folding the cloth it had been wrapped in and setting it under the coffee table.
His movements were so deft that they gave an illusion of domestic grace.
Watching through the glass, I felt an unprecedented calm.
This was the first time anyone besides me had stayed in this apartment. I liked quiet, had few friends, and those who visited usually only sat for a while and left.
I thought of the three-person family living across the hall. Sometimes when I passed their door, it was open, and I could catch glimpses of the woman tending plants, the child reading, the busy man moving about.
I had never envied them. If anything, their presence made my own life feel colder, more devoid of warmth.
Yet now, with Shen Jianqing moving about my apartment, a faint sense of life seemed to accompany him.
“What are you looking at?” Shen Jianqing finally came to my side at the window.
The multicolored neon outside reflected in his eyes. He didn’t wait for an answer, simply stood quietly.
He looked intently, the black pupils of his eyes reflecting the colored lights. The shop signs along the street flashed like a silent competition. Cars threaded through the streets, and the streetlights, like silent giants, cast gentle light. People were streaming past, live-streaming their presence—the sound didn’t reach him, but from the crowd surrounding him, it was far from a desolate scene.
I had grown accustomed to such nightscapes, but Shen Jianqing stared in rapt attention. I understood his curiosity for the newness—just as I had been curious when I first arrived in the Miao village.
But here, our positions were reversed.
I suddenly thought: if I wanted to keep Shen Jianqing in my apartment, no one could discover it—he was, after all, essentially a person without identity.
But I wouldn’t force him to stay.
I knew I had no right to dictate someone else’s presence.
Shen Jianqing’s gaze remained still. “So this is how the world looks from above. Beautiful… so different from the cold, empty Miao village.”
I said, “The world isn’t just one Miao village. There are many people you haven’t met. You should see more of it.”
Perhaps if he met more people, he would realize that Li Yuze was just one ordinary person among millions.
Shen Jianqing turned to look at me. “Yuze, are you trying to send me away?”
“I don’t mean that.”
“I will leave,” he paused, meeting my eyes directly, and repeated, “I will leave.”
The wind rose outside, coolly brushing into the room and teasing his mid-length hair.
“But Yuze, can you, for the sake of my journey from so far away, grant me one request?”
“What request?”
“Smile at me, Yuze—like when we first met. I won’t stay long, won’t disturb you for much time. I just want to see the world you love, just for two days. After two days, I’ll leave.”
Two days, and then leave?
Should I feel relieved… or wistful?
His voice was full of entreaty. I had never seen him so humble. Anyone confronted with such a pitifully low expression would find it hard to refuse.
He tentatively reached out, taking my right hand, which hung at my side. Immediately, I felt the heat from his palm, coursing upward as if trying to seep into my very heart.
I withdrew my hand, leaving only a “I’ll think about it,” and returned to my room.
After a moment, I locked the door.
The warmth from his hand lingered long after, and I didn’t turn on the light, sitting in the darkness.
Seeing Shen Jianqing again and witnessing the changes in him moved me. My feelings for him could no longer be reduced to simple love or hate.
Two days… just two days.
A faint voice inside me began to sway my resolve. That voice grew louder and louder…
I sighed softly and curled up in bed.
I don’t even know how I fell asleep. When I opened my eyes again, daylight had already arrived.
It was Monday, and I had an elective class that morning. Senior year courses were few, but attendance was strictly monitored, especially for male students in our major—any absence would be obvious.
I opened the door and almost stepped on Shen Jianqing, who was curled up at my doorway under a thin blanket.
Hearing the movement, he blinked his eyes open, still groggy, and said, “Yuze.”
I frowned. “Why are you sleeping here?”
There was clearly a small room next door with a bed, and the sofa was more than enough for him.
“I was afraid you’d slip away in the morning…” he said.
I sighed helplessly. “This is my home. How could I not come back?”
“Where are you going?”
“To school… do you want to come with me?”
His eyes lit up instantly.
“But I have my own matters. I won’t change my schedule or plans because of you.”
He nodded.
Neither of us spoke about yesterday’s request.
Yan University had an open campus policy, allowing visitors in. Besides, he wore a white shirt and black pants, making him look even more like a college student than me. Bringing him inside was not difficult.
After all, he was only eighteen or nineteen. If he had been born in an ordinary family, he’d be at university now.
The crowds flowed around us, each passing person vibrant and full of life.
I expected Shen Jianqing to be fascinated, but he remained unusually quiet, walking calmly beside me.
Perhaps it was his striking mid-length hair, or his naturally outstanding appearance, but many people turned to look at him along the way.
Shen Jianqing, however, remained completely composed.
After walking in silence for a while, he asked, “Yuze, what is this place for?”
I said, “It’s a place where people your age gather to study together.”
“There’s nothing like this in the Miao village,” he said, his voice tinged with melancholy. “Everything I know, I learned from my mother. After she died, no one taught me anything.”
Shidi Miao Village wasn’t large, and the skills needed to survive there were limited.
We arrived at the public classroom for the elective. A few students were scattered in the room already. This was a large class, combining three majors, so I didn’t know many of the people.
We took seats toward the back. Directly in front of us sat a young couple, close together, whispering to each other, looking very intimate.
It was a common sight in college—a simple, beautiful campus romance. Yet I noticed Shen Jianqing staring unblinkingly at the couple.
His eyes scrutinized them, and then he leaned closer, whispering, “Yuze, can people gather and make friends at school too?”
I was caught off guard by his misunderstanding.
“Ah, Yuze! Li Yuze!”
At that moment, someone called me from the front, rescuing me from the awkward situation.
Looking up, I saw Zhang Xu.
“Yuze! Why are you sitting so far back today? That’s not your style! I was waiting for you to save me a seat!”
He came over and dropped his textbooks. Then he noticed Shen Jianqing sitting quietly beside me, paused, and said, “Your friend? So handsome! An art student, right? Such an artsy vibe! I didn’t know you brought friends here. Is he from our school?”
I explained, “He’s not from our school… come, have a look.”
Zhang Xu, ever friendly, sat down, smiling. “I’m Zhang Xu—‘Xu’ like ‘vivid.’ Friend, what’s your name?”
Shen Jianqing glanced at me and whispered, “Shen Jianqing. ‘Jian’ as in see, ‘Qing’ as in youth.”
“Shen Jianqing…” Zhang Xu frowned, murmuring, “This name sounds familiar… I remember…”
His voice suddenly stopped.
Zhang Xu looked at us with wide-eyed, gossipy astonishment, taking in both me and the quietly seated Shen Jianqing.