Cross the Boundary GL - Chapter 1

At 6:10 PM, Qin Song groggily opened her eyes and checked her phone. She sat up, holding her head to ease the dizziness from anemia.

The apartment was strangely cold, but she was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt. She hastily put on a jacket just before leaving. The ground was slick with water. Her hair was damp from the spray of rain coming off the eaves as she passed a corner flower shop, its thick panes of glass fogged with condensation. The shop had been there for five years, and today it was displaying leftover roses from Valentine’s Day. The flowers were still vibrant and on the verge of wilting. Qin Song usually just walked past, but today, for the first time, she stopped.”Miss, would you like to buy some flowers? They’re still very fresh!” the clerk, wearing an apron, greeted her with a smile.

“How much?” Qin Song touched a petal, and countless water droplets fell.

“Five dollars a stem. How many would you like?”

She looked into the bucket; only five were left.

“I’ll take them all. Just wrap them casually, they’re not a gift.”

“Alright! You’re quite the romantic, Miss. Taking them home to care for yourself?”

Qin Song didn’t reply, her eyes fixed on the blood-red clusters.

The rain intensified. Qin Song clutched the flowers and, in her absent-mindedness, took a wrong turn into a deeper alley. By the time she realized her mistake, she had already passed her usual small restaurant. A few orange-red lanterns hung high, swaying out of place in the wind. This was the old part of town; she knew every nook and cranny. So when an ink-wash-style sign appeared in her sight, Qin Song was stunned. Her eyes widened, focusing on it. The last time she passed here, it was still under renovation. It seemed to be finished now. The neon lights clashed with the old brick and tile, making the sign look even more out of place. Qin Song immediately recognized it—it was a tattoo parlor. It wasn’t because of any obvious features. On the contrary, for a tattoo shop, its sign was too understated. It didn’t have a name, and the storefront was too narrow, as if it had been squeezed in, completely out of sync with its surroundings.

It was the sound that Qin Song recognized. The unique, tingling buzz of a tattoo machine.

She strode over, her steps kicking up some mud from the waterlogged tiles. As she stepped onto the doormat, her half-footprint was left behind.

A teru teru bozu wind chime hung at the entrance, tinkling as a person leaning against the wall took off their mask. Under the bright fluorescent lights, the girl who had been sitting stood up and smiled at her. “Are you here for a tattoo?”

Qin Song looked around, finding the place very simple.

There were still fresh paint marks on the walls, and the work was shoddy, with patchy, uneven splotches of paint. Several stacks of drafts were next to the computer desk. She glanced at them—the designs were a few years old, but the skill was exquisite, with excellent attention to detail. “Can you do a full back?” Qin Song found a spot to sit down, took off her jacket, and revealed the large patterns on her arm. “Something like this.” The girl tilted her head to look for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, I can. What design do you want? I charge by the hour.”

Qin Song hadn’t decided yet. “Do you have any recommendations?”

“I do.” The girl hesitated for a moment, then picked up her phone from the front desk. “For a back, people usually get wings, dragons, or mountains and seas.”

When she fully emerged from the shadows, Qin Song realized the person in front of her was exceptionally delicate-looking. She had soft, clear eyes, and her face was smaller than her mask. A few dark strands of hair were caught where her hair tie met her cheek.

“…A cross or a demon is also an option, depending on your beliefs.” The girl completely took off her mask, revealing several red marks on her chin.

Qin Song held up the roses in her hand. “Tattoo this.”

The flowers were somewhat crushed. The girl thought for a moment and said softly, “Flowers are very complex. A large-area tattoo will be a bit painful.”

“Okay.” Qin Song didn’t hesitate. “This is what I want.”

“I’ll need to design a draft first, which will take about two days.”

She paused. “How about we exchange contact information? I’ll let you know as soon as the design is ready.” The wind chime made a crisp sound. Qin Song stood in the corridor, looking down at her palm. The thorns from the rose had drawn blood. She was already used to the pain from thorns and was now looking for a new source.

The rain had stopped. She walked to the alley’s entrance and threw the wilted bouquet into a trash can, then took out her phone. The ‘add friend’ dialogue box popped up: “Hello, this is kiss.me tattoo parlor. My name is Li Chu. What’s yours?”

Qin Song typed her reply, thinking, so it really just opened.

…

Li Chu turned off the light and went back into the shop. She pulled open a hidden wooden door behind a potted plant. This led to the second floor, where she lived.

She had rented this place because it could be both a shop and a home. Although the space was small, it had everything she needed, which saved her a lot of trouble.

The girl took out a notebook from a cabinet and meticulously wrote down her accounts. Midway through, she couldn’t help but think of the girl who had come to the shop that evening.

She said her name was Qin Song.

Qin Song had light pinkish-purple hair and skin that was sickly pale, even her lips. You could almost see her blood vessels and veins.

She had dark circles under her eyes, a result of chronic sleep deprivation. Her gaze was weary and listless, like stagnant water in a dry well.

When she walked in, Li Chu noticed the numerous piercings in her ears. While Qin Song was taking off her jacket, she counted them carefully—nine on her right ear alone.

Counting her left ear and her tongue piercing, there were nearly twenty in total.

And her floral sleeve tattoo, and the designs on her chest and collarbone.

Qin Song had said with a flat tone that she wanted a rose, but the fresh flowers in her hand had several broken stems, and the leaves and petals were drooping weakly.

Li Chu couldn’t even tell if the color in her palm was the flowers’ juice or… blood from the thorns.

She pulled out a blank sheet of paper and carefully sketched with a felt-tip pen.

The next few days were still marked by heavy rain, which washed the streets clean. Qin Song appeared at the door of kiss.me again, braving the terrible weather.

Li Chu happened to be drawing the draft.

“Just tattoo it,” Qin Song said. She wasn’t wearing a jacket, and her smooth arms were covered in designs. Li Chu stared for a long time, and something felt off.

There are two types of people who get tattoos: some to cover scars, and others who have thought carefully about what they want. The pink-haired girl in front of her was clearly neither. She seemed to just want a tattoo, without caring about the design.

Qin Song glanced at the sketches on the table and said, “We can talk about the details later.”

Li Chu had never met a customer like this before. She hesitated for a long time and said uncertainly, “But it will hurt a lot.”

Qin Song didn’t answer. She reached behind her and unzipped her dress.

Li Chu saw the scars, small and large, covering almost her entire back. They looked like cigarette burns and whip marks.

For a moment, her throat felt choked. It was a long time before she could speak. “Are you… are you trying to cover the scars?”

“I guess so,” Qin Song said, pulling her hair to one side, her tone indifferent. “Just tattoo this draft, and we can add the color later.”

A customer’s wish is a tattoo artist’s command. Li Chu could only put on her gloves and get her tools. After arranging the colors, she hesitated to begin.

The skin on the girl’s back was delicate and thin. Apart from the scars, it was nearly perfect. It didn’t seem right to “ruin” it.

Qin Song sat with her back to her and said, “Don’t worry.”

So the first line was drawn, starting from her right shoulder. They worked in silence until the outline was roughly finished. The tattoo artist, wearing a gloved finger, touched the area. “Does it hurt? The skin on your back is quite thin, and you’re so skinny.”

Qin Song turned slightly and said coldly, “No, it doesn’t.”

She really seemed to have no sense of pain. Li Chu was a little suspicious and, in a moment of distraction, pressed the needle a little harder without thinking about the pressure.

Qin Song suddenly straightened her back.

Li Chu panicked and let go. “Did that hurt?”

The other girl turned her head, pulling her lips into a meaningful smile. “Don’t mind me.”

If it wasn’t pain, could she be enjoying it? Li Chu couldn’t figure out Qin Song’s emotions. The electric needle, now dipped in red ink, spun in her hand, the sound enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

“What are you hesitating for?” Qin Song waited for a long time for the person behind her to continue and finally turned around completely. “Continue.”

It was a bit warm, even though it was raining. Li Chu shook her sore right hand until the streetlights came on at dusk, her brows furrowed with fatigue. “I can only finish the outline today…”

Qin Song put her clothes back on. “It’s only seven o’clock.”

Li Chu paused. “…I haven’t had dinner yet.”

Qin Song looked at the door. “Just order some takeout.”

She seemed to be in a constant state of indifference. For some reason, Li Chu felt a restless desire hidden beneath that coldness.

What she was longing for, she couldn’t yet say.

She turned off the power and invited, “Want to eat together?”

Qin Song raised an eyebrow and reached into her bag for her phone.

She chose for a while and then handed it over. “Order whatever you want to eat.”

Being treated to a meal by a customer was also a first. Even after the food was delivered, Li Chu hadn’t recovered from her shock.

She really didn’t understand Qin Song’s intentions.

…

The back tattoo needed another color session. Qin Song finished her overtime and turned into kiss.me. Today, another customer was there. Li Chu, wearing a mask and glasses, was focused on her work. She looked up when she heard the wind chime.

The customer also glanced over, then whispered to Li Chu, “Is she a regular? It looks like she’s covered in tattoos.”

Qin Song tossed her shoulder bag onto the table. The sound of her earrings and studs clashing was not very friendly, and the customer immediately hushed.

The tattoo artist looked down. “Have a seat for a while.”

The customer looked at his watch and said, “Are you working so hard, Li? It’s past eleven, and you’re still taking jobs?”

Li Chu smiled. “The customer comes first.”

Her tone was gentle, and her eyes, filled with a watery sheen, were refracted behind her glasses. This enticed the male customer to continue, “Then I’ll just come to you from now on. Do you have any discounts?”

Qin Song suddenly spoke up coldly. “You talk too much.”

She leaned against the front desk, her arms crossed, and added quietly, “She needs to concentrate. How can she tattoo with you talking so much?”

The bright colors of the floral sleeve under her pinkish-purple hair, and the metal ornament on her tongue revealed when her lips parted, made her look like she wasn’t someone to be messed with.

The male customer swallowed hard and decided to stay silent.

When he finished, Qin Song was standing outside, smoking a slim cigarette between her fingers, a wisp of white smoke rising.

Seeing the man walk out, she moved out of the way. Her cold-toned outfit gave her a solitary and aloof air, but her gaze was unblinking, staring straight ahead without any reservation, which made the man quicken his pace to leave.

Li Chu pulled down her mask and poked her head out. “You can come in now.”

Qin Song raised her hand, indicating her cigarette hadn’t been extinguished yet.

“You can smoke inside the shop.”

The initial awkwardness was gone. Li Chu changed her equipment and, before starting, felt the atmosphere was too heavy, so she started a conversation. “Thank you for earlier.”

“For what?” Qin Song replied with her usual flat tone. “I didn’t want to wait too long. I didn’t mean to help you.”

“…” Li Chu awkwardly looked at the clock on the wall. It was 12:30 AM. It was indeed a bit late.

This kind of large-area color fill would take four or five hours. She hesitated. “I won’t be able to finish in one sitting…”

“You can charge extra.”

“I have two appointments tomorrow, and I need to sleep.”

Qin Song gave a short laugh and didn’t insist. “Just do half.”

In the long silence, Li Chu grew increasingly sleepy, and her vision became blurry. To keep herself awake, she picked up a topic. “How did you get the scars on your back?”

The girl hadn’t realized the danger of the question. Qin Song gave her a dark look and said in a low voice, “You talk a lot, too.”

Li Chu had a flaw: when she was tired, her mind didn’t process things well. At this moment, she didn’t realize the intensity of the atmosphere. “Being chatty is part of this job.”

“Chatty doesn’t mean you can pry into someone’s privacy.”

“I just saw there were so many scars and asked casually.”

Qin Song suddenly turned around. The needle was still in her skin, and the red color left a deep, long line. Li Chu was fully awake now. “Why… why did you suddenly move?”

Once it’s done, it’s irreversible. The girl furrowed her brow. “How can I fix this? It’s so out of place…”

What was supposed to be a rose pattern now had an extra red line.

Qin Song stared at her as if nothing had happened. “Just cover it.”

Even in her confusion, Li Chu finally sensed the intense danger in the air. She stammered, “Doesn’t… doesn’t it hurt?”

This was a question she’d been asking since the first day. Qin Song raised her eyelids, looking like a dead fish. “As a tattoo artist, why do you always worry about whether your customer is in pain?”

“Just tattoo it.” She backed away, hiding the sharpness she had shown a moment ago. “Fill in the color.”

The ticking of the clock and the swaying of the wind chimes mingled. Tick-tock. Li Chu put down her tools and said listlessly, “I really can’t tattoo anymore.”

She was so sleepy and tired.

Qin Song didn’t make it difficult. “I’ll come back the day after tomorrow.”

She picked up her cigarette pack and, before she left, turned back and warned her.

“Don’t be too curious.”

Support Cross the Boundary GL