Chapter 5

The downstairs bathroom wasn't much smaller than the one upstairs. Apart from the missing bathtub, the cold, hard palette of black, white, and gray covered almost every inch of the room.

Chi Mo locked the door. She'd meant to find something to wedge against it, but when she turned her head, the huge floor-to-ceiling mirror caught her reflection—and what a mess it was.

Tangled hair. Barely enough clothing to cover herself. If she tugged her collar down even a little, she could see them—marks on her neck, her collarbone, her chest, the inside of her arms, her wrists... Those scattered traces sapped every last bit of strength from her body.

Pointless. Wedging the door shut was completely pointless.

Chi Mo was drowning in regret.

She never used to drink. The first time she tried it was the year she graduated from college—half a glass of beer was enough to make her dizzy, and Guan Yizhou had laughed at her for it.

Later... she had no idea how it happened, but her tolerance just kept growing. Beer, wine, liquor, even the hard stuff—Chi Mo took it all without flinching.

Guan Yizhou didn't dare tease her anymore. He laid down a rule: from then on, she could only drink at home.

This was the first time Chi Mo had gone to a bar since the breakup.

Under the kaleidoscope of lights, with the music burying every emotion, she gripped her glass and had a sudden revelation.

Oh. So there was a reason he'd loved going to bars so much.

Happiness. Real happiness.

Crying or laughing—it all dissolved with the alcohol.

Steaming hot water ran down Chi Mo's hair, splashing noisily for a long while. Only when she reached out and shut off the faucet did she suddenly hear voices outside.

"Oh my, Xiao Yu might still be asleep. Xiao Zhou, have a seat for a bit—Auntie will fix you something to eat."

"It's fine, Auntie. Don't worry about me. I drank a little too much last night. I'll just lie on the sofa for a while."

"You kids—all grown up and still drinking like this. Alright, Auntie will make you some hangover soup... You rest for now."

Chi Mo hadn't even finished drying off. The cold air seeping through the crack under the door made her shiver from head to toe.

It was Guan Yizhou!!

Why—why would he come here!

*

Song Huaiyu was toweling his hair dry as he came downstairs. Hearing noise from the kitchen, he said casually, "Auntie Huang, there's a dress in the upstairs bathroom. Could you take it to the dry cleaner's today?"

Auntie Huang poked her head out of the kitchen. "Xiao Yu, you're up? Perfect timing—Xiao Zhou is here. He was ringing the doorbell when I arrived. Hm? What dress?"

Song Huaiyu paused mid-step on the stairs. A shadow flickered through his eyes. Before he could speak, Guan Yizhou's voice drifted in from the living room.

"Well, well. The young master finally wakes."

Song Huaiyu draped the towel over his shoulders. As he passed the downstairs bathroom, he glanced at the tightly shut door, then strode into the living room.

"What are you doing here? Something urgent this early?"

Guan Yizhou was clearly still drunk. He squinted up from where he sprawled diagonally across the sofa, gave Song Huaiyu a once-over, and frowned. "What's... going on with you?"

He pointed at the kiss mark on Song Huaiyu's neck.

Faint, but against Song Huaiyu's impossibly pale skin, the morning light made it glaringly obvious.

"What do you mean, what's going on." Song Huaiyu brushed it off the way he always did—without answering.

"Tch." Guan Yizhou rolled his eyes. "I figured you'd finally settled down, not dating anyone for years. What, some woman's got you sending her dress to the dry cleaner?"

"......" Song Huaiyu shot him a sideways look. "What did you actually come here for?"

"Sleep." Guan Yizhou didn't bother hiding it. "My place is too empty. Can't sleep alone."

"...So why come to my place?"

"I told you—to sleep. Xu Yicheng and Yuan Siyu went to work. You don't have a job. Who else am I supposed to bother?"

Song Huaiyu said nothing. Suddenly he stood and headed back upstairs.

Guan Yizhou looked up, confused, then let his head drop back onto the sofa. "Where are you going, Song Huaiyu! Song Huaiyu!" he called after him, voice thick with drink.

Every word carried clearly into the bathroom.

Chi Mo pressed herself against the wall, trembling, cursing herself for being so useless.

They'd already broken up. They had nothing to do with each other anymore. So why couldn't she even make a sound...

Her eyes went red without warning. She looked down—two tears splashed onto the floor... Before she could even react, the bathroom door was yanked open and slammed shut again.

Click. Locked.

Chi Mo's eyes went wide with alarm.

It was Song Huaiyu.

He was holding a set of his own clothes. The worry in his eyes when he came in shifted the instant he saw her tears.

The lingering steam in the bathroom mixed with the dim yellow light overhead, making the displeasure in his gaze unmistakable.

Song Huaiyu tilted his head, scanning her from head to toe.

Chi Mo frowned, not daring to speak.

She pointed at the door—What do we do?

Song Huaiyu let out a cold laugh. He set the clothes on the sink and closed in step by step.

Chi Mo had nowhere left to retreat. She could only shake her head desperately at him.

Then Song Huaiyu reached her and pulled her against his waist. "Chi Mo, don't you want to go out there and let him see?"

He murmured it right against her ear.

"Are you insane?" Chi Mo's voice was even quieter. To make sure he heard, she had to rise on her toes and whisper into his ear. "Just get rid of him—quick!"

Song Huaiyu scoffed. "I won't."

"I'm begging you, Song Huaiyu. I'm begging you..."

"Begging how?"

Chi Mo didn't know.

Because she'd never begged Song Huaiyu for anything.

She'd barely exchanged a few words with him her whole life—how was she supposed to know how to beg this particular ancestor?

"...How do you want me to beg?"

Song Huaiyu raised an eyebrow and glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Kiss me."

What? That easy?

Chi Mo was deeply suspicious.

"Just one kiss?"

"Kiss me more than once and I won't complain."

"Fine. I'll kiss you."

It was just one kiss. They'd already done far worse—what was she afraid of?

So Chi Mo didn't hesitate for even a second. She planted a kiss right on Song Huaiyu's cheek.

She really had outdone herself.

Ten years, and she'd finally kissed Song Huaiyu.

If she could go back in time and tell herself this, she'd never believe it.

But Song Huaiyu wasn't satisfied.

He turned his head, one hand cupping her face, the other steadying her waist—and kissed her precisely on the lips.