Chapter 6: Mangosteen

"I'm not leaving. I'm sleeping with Grandma tonight. You go on without me."

You're heading back to Su City tomorrow anyway—what difference does one more night make?

Xia Wu kept the thought to herself.

Xu Ying's knuckles went white around the handlebars. He set the bicycle back on its stand, walked over, and pulled her aside.

"Be good. There's no room for you at Grandma's. We're going home."

"How is there no room? I used to sleep with Grandma all the time." Xia Wu didn't want to leave. Distance from Xu Ying, she figured, would let her feelings cool on their own.

Then Grandma came out and started shooing them off too. "Go on, go on. This place is tiny—how am I supposed to squeeze two people in? Come back tomorrow. Hurry now, go home with Xiao Ying."

Xia Wu couldn't argue with Grandma. She had no choice but to climb onto the back of the bicycle.

Her hands carefully gripped the underside of the rear rack.

Xu Ying glanced back. "Hold on tight. If you bounce off, you'll get hurt."

"I'm fine, I've got a good grip. Just ride—I won't—" Before Xia Wu could finish, Xu Ying pedaled hard. Her body slammed into his back, and she scrambled to wrap her arms around his waist.

"What the hell—do you even know how to ride a bike?! You didn't even warn me, I almost fell!" Xia Wu stamped her foot and pinched the flesh at his waist, hard.

Firm. Not a pleasant feel at all.

Xu Ying's lips curved. "Didn't you say you wouldn't touch me? What's this, then?"

Xia Wu choked on her anger and said nothing more. She didn't bicker with him the whole ride, sitting in silence, lost in thoughts she didn't share.

Xu Ying certainly wasn't going to start a conversation. It was always Xia Wu who broke the silence, eyes curved, chattering on and on, while he mostly just nodded or grunted "Mm."

Rice paddies lined both sides of the country road, field after field stretching into the distance.

Even the frogs croaked back and forth in waves, as if determined to outdo each other to the death.

Xia Wu looked up. Stars spilled across the sky—not black, more a deep blue, though she couldn't quite make it out.

When they reached Xia Wu's house, Xu Ying asked, "You first, or me?"

Xia Wu wanted to say, *Go home. Why are you washing here?* But he'd be gone tomorrow. One night. She'd get through one night.

"You go first. You're all sweaty. Smelly." She stepped back, wrinkling her nose.

Xu Ying raised an eyebrow, grabbed a towel, and went into the bathroom.

Soon the sound of running water came through the door, along with his silhouette cast on the frosted glass.

Xia Wu lifted her hand and traced the outline through the air, inch by inch, from his hair downward, committing every line to memory.

The water stopped. The door opened. Xia Wu snatched up a random piece of clothing, pretending to search.

Then it hit her—her clothes were all at Grandma's. She hadn't brought them back!

Nothing else in the closet was clean. She sniffed the dress she was wearing. It should be fine for another day.

Xu Ying stood behind her. "Didn't you pack all your clothes? What are you looking for?"

Xia Wu had wanted to borrow one of his. She loved changing into his cotton T-shirt after a shower—loose, falling to her thighs, wrapped in his scent.

It made her feel closer to him, as if they were part of each other.

But Xu Ying didn't like it. Every time, Xia Wu had to glare at him until he handed one over.

He'd reluctantly toss her a shirt he rarely wore, which would set her off stomping her feet.

Xia Wu snapped back to the present. "It's nothing. I'll just wear what I have on. I'll change at Grandma's tomorrow."

Xu Ying turned, pulled out a white T-shirt, and held it out. "Wear this."

Xia Wu's fingers curled and uncurled. She didn't reach for it. "No need. I'll wear my own."

Xu Ying's lips pressed thin. A cold laugh. "Quite the stranger today. Yesterday you had your hands all over me. Now you're playing the outsider."

Something seized in Xia Wu's chest, a sour ache spreading outward.

She forced the words out. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again. I said I wouldn't touch you, and I won't. I keep my word. Don't worry."

Xu Ying froze. Maybe he realized he'd gone too far, because his tone softened.

"You've worn that all day. You're a clean freak—if you don't change, you won't sleep all night. And who suffers then? Me."

Xia Wu lifted her eyes to his, her voice cold. "Then go home. However uncomfortable I am, it's none of your concern."

She walked straight into the bathroom without looking back.

Xu Ying's hand tightened slowly around the shirt, his eyes unreadable.

He laid it on the left side of the bed, picked up a book, and waited for her to come out.

He never turned a single page.

In the bathroom, Xia Wu covered her mouth with her hand, tears streaming down her face.

She hated Xu Ying for his coldness in her past life. But in the end, she hated herself more.

She couldn't escape the vortex that trapped her. It was all her own doing—she had no one to blame but herself.

A long time passed. Long enough that Xu Ying started to worry she'd fainted in there.

If not for the shadow still moving behind the glass, he would have burst in.

What was wrong with her? What was she trying to do?

Xu Ying had never felt like this—topsy-turvy, restless, on edge.

Finally, Xia Wu came out, still in the dress she'd worn all day.

She stopped short at the sight of him on the bed. By all logic, Xu Ying should have left. Why was he still here?

She said nothing. Walked to the bed. Lay down on her side.

Xu Ying's hand paused on the page. His throat moved. "Here—wear it. Whatever you want to wear, just—okay?"

Xia Wu didn't answer. She looked asleep.

He was supposed to lie down too. Instead, he turned her toward him. "I know you're awake. Open your eyes and look at me."

Her lashes trembled. She stayed silent.

Xu Ying sighed. "Do whatever you want today, alright? We bought a bunch of things last time we never tried. Try them all tonight, hm?"

Xia Wu opened her eyes and looked at him, her voice steady. "I told you. I won't touch you anymore. I'm not joking. From now on, do whatever you want. Go wherever you want. Keeping you tied to my side all these years—that was my fault."

The air went still. She paused, then went on.

"You were right before. You're your own person. A free man. You have the right to do things or not do them. The right to love or not love."

Xu Ying's expression shifted. He bit the inside of his cheek. "Did I do something to displease you? Or have you had your fun and now you want someone new?"

"Ha. Now you want to talk about freedom? When you threatened me to make me stay, you weren't thinking about that."

Xia Wu's chest tightened. That was because she'd already died once. She'd paid the price for her willfulness and the pain she'd caused him. The debt was settled.

"Then I apologize. I can't change what's already happened. Considering I treated you well most of the time—let's call it even. Neither of us owes the other."

Xia Wu kept her eyes down. She didn't dare look up. If she said one more word, she'd cry again.

Xu Ying had never liked her tears. He thought she was being dramatic.

A long silence. Long enough that Xia Wu assumed he would leave.

Then Xu Ying spoke. "Did you see what was in my suitcase?"

Xia Wu frowned, confused. Before she could answer, he continued.

"A roommate slipped it in for someone else while I was packing. I started looking for part-time work as soon as I got back and forgot to deal with it. If you don't like it, just throw it out."

"What thing? I didn't touch your suitcase." Xia Wu lifted her head. Xu Ying was still propped up on one elbow, unconvinced.

If she hadn't seen a gift from another girl, why would she be this angry?

Her tactics had gotten more sophisticated this time. She'd learned to advance by retreating, making him coax her on his own. That was progress, at least.