The Night is Called Gentle - Chapter 54

Such Well Behaved Wine.

Everyone has their own struggles, and Lin Zhixia was no exception.

Thursday’s script meeting went surprisingly smoothly, yet it unearthed even more thorny details. The script entered a phase of repeated discussions and revisions, each change feeling like carving into her own thoughts with a chisel.

Yan Huaiqing’s teacher had fallen ill, so after the meeting, she rushed back overnight to her hometown, Shaocheng, to visit and took the opportunity to rest at home for a few days.

Lin Zhixia knew they weren’t yet familiar enough to go home together, so she could only watch longingly as Yan Huaiqing left.

After not seeing her for several days, a hollow ache settled in Lin Zhixia’s chest, one she could only fill with work.

Li Meng had visited, and the revision plan for Hearing the Silent was as cold and ruthless as expected. Making changes would only render it unrecognizable, so it had to be completely rewritten.

Jiang Jing had also invited her out for meals, for shows. She was always lively, maintaining just the right distance while making others feel her warmth and care.

Lin Zhixia loved the feeling of being pulled back into the vibrancy of life by her. Her little universe felt a little less gloomy.

She became the busiest person in Ancheng busy revising her book, busy revising the script, and busy with her secret crush and longing.

Unnoticed, Ancheng entered the rainy season. The air was saturated with moisture, heavy and thick, each breath like swallowing a warm wad of cotton.

Hearts, too, were like mirrors perpetually veiled in mist. Only by occasionally wiping a finger across the surface could one catch a blurred glimpse of oneself.

The script revisions weren’t going well. After hours of deleting and rewriting, she was almost back where she started. Outside the window, the city lights had already dimmed.

Lin Zhixia brought a piece of agarwood to her nose, inhaling its scent, trying to comfort herself with a fragrance she loved.

Suddenly, her phone screen lit up. It was a message from Yan Huaiqing: “Don’t stay up late revising the script. Get some rest early?”

Lin Zhixia froze for a moment, realizing that Yan Huaiqing was imagining her again. A corner of her heart softened unexpectedly.

Fiddling with her bracelet, she replied:

“I’ve already shut down the computer.”

“How is your teacher doing?”

“Is your shoulder still hurting?”

After sending the messages, she stared blankly at the screen.

The most beautiful and bitter part of a secret crush was its incompleteness. Like now, she wanted to say “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, I miss you, Teacher Yan.”

Yan Huaiqing’s reply came quickly, sparing her from prolonged agony.

“All is well. My teacher is fine, and I’m fine too.”

“I’ll be back Friday afternoon. I’ll bring you a gift.”

Lin Zhixia’s lips curled into an unconscious smile, then fell. Friday still three days and two nights away.

How was she supposed to survive until then?

Remembering that Yan Huaiqing had mentioned her fondness for yellow wine, she typed: “Will Teacher Yan bring some hometown wine?”

After sending it, she regretted it, thinking how deliberate it must seem for someone who didn’t drink to keep bringing up alcohol in front of her.

The reply came swiftly: “Okay.”

The fewer the words, the more they stirred the imagination. Okay, what? Lin Zhixia’s thoughts drifted for a moment.

She fiddled with her bracelet as she walked to the carpet by the window and sat down. Her fingers unconsciously traced the raindrops on the glass, and her mind wandered back to the spring of her sophomore year when she had visited Shaocheng. She had listened to the rain there all night it was longer and more lingering than in Ancheng, falling on the bluestone streets like a slow, old melody.

Just like her.

Her phone lit up once more.

Yan Huaiqing sent a photo a jar of freshly brewed plum wine stood on the textured surface of an old wooden table. In the clear liquid, plums with their fine fuzz and tiny bubbles floated up and down, like the reckless punches of a young boy.

The jar’s mouth was sealed with oilpaper, tied three times with a thin string, taming those little fists obediently.

“Such a well-behaved wine.”

“Mm. Just brewed. Too bad you can’t drink it.”

Lin Zhixia’s fingertip hovered above the screen, her heartbeat tinged with a bittersweet sensation, as if floating in the wine.

She could almost picture Yan Huaiqing sitting in his old house, fingers resting on the plums, perhaps with a faint smile.

After hesitating for a moment, she replied: “Just brewed, so Teacher Yan can’t drink it either.”

Yan Huaiqing responded quickly: “No rush. The wine is well-behaved; it’ll grow up on its own.”

Lin Zhixia stared at the screen, imagining, and asked: “What will it be like when it grows up?”

Her phone remained silent for a long time.

Her fingers unconsciously rubbed the wooden bracelet in her hand, its smooth texture and faint fragrance slightly soothing her restlessness.

“The wine’s aroma will lift the lid and crawl out, tiptoeing to greet you at the tip of your nose. When you drink it, it’ll flow warmly down your throat, then take a playful turn in your stomach.”

Outside the window, raindrops slid diagonally across the glass, their winding trails also taking playful turns.

Lin Zhixia pursed her lips and smiled for a long time, reading the words twice before typing: “Is Teacher Yan a wine lover or a poet?”

Anyone who’s chatted knows that the person asking a question often has a preset answer in mind, especially with multiple-choice questions.

“What’s your answer?” Yan Huaiqing’s reply seemed to carry a sly undertone.

Lin Zhixia’s heart fluttered.

She realized that texting with Yan Huaiqing felt a lot like passing notes in class as a child from the third row to the fifth, trying to avoid being seen by the students in between, so the words were written cryptically. And to dodge the teacher’s notice, they’d throw in a bunch of fake gestures.

In the end, when the note was passed back, she’d clutch it in her palm, too nervous to look. First, she’d glance around to make sure no one was watching, then quietly unfold it, her heart pounding like a drum.

“What’s your answer?”

The note didn’t contain the answer to her question.

She still had to solve it herself.

Tapping her fingertip twice on a bead, she finally typed: “When in doubt, choose C. So I choose C.”

The moment she sent it, she seemed to hear a soft chuckle drifting from the distant raindrops.

She quickly added: “What about Teacher Yan?”

After sending it, she couldn’t help but laugh at herself, feeling so childish, as if playing a word game.

Yan Huaiqing replied promptly: “I choose D.”

Lin Zhixia laughed out loud, the heavy, damp feeling in her chest from the rainy season seeming to lighten a little.

She turned to look out the window the rain was still falling steadily, but the glow of the streetlights blurred on the glass, like options smudged by water C for “adorable fool,” D for “childish fool.”

And she was a multiple-choice question.

Would her voice be in the rain?

She really wanted to call him.

Too abrupt.

Just as she hesitated, her phone vibrated, and an 11-second voice message popped up on the screen.

A sense of danger, as if her thoughts had been read, made Lin Zhixia’s hand tremble.

She took a deep breath, exhaled, held it, and tapped the voice message. It was a short clip of rainfall.

Pattering softly, gently, yet lingering much like the gaze someone occasionally let fall on her hair.

For some reason, she detected a hint of ambiguity in it.

How could it not be ambiguous when someone is sharing the same rain with you?

Lin Zhixia gazed out the window, her ears warming as she unconsciously tightened her grip on the agarwood bracelet in her hand.

Just as she hesitated over whether to record the sound of the rain in response, her phone vibrated again.

Yan Huaiqing sent a text message: “Did you hear it? The rain says it’s going to thunder soon, because ”

Lin Zhixia held her breath, her fingertip hovering over the screen.

Three seconds later, a new message popped up: “Someone’s been spouting nonsense to deceive people.”

Lin Zhixia’s heart skipped a beat, her fingers tightening involuntarily. The beads of the agarwood bracelet pressed into her palm, causing a faint ache.

“What nonsense?” she typed quickly, then deleted it. She typed again, “Who’s the liar?” but deleted it again before sending.

In the end, she only sent two question marks.

The screen displayed “typing.” above.

The words appeared and disappeared three times in a row.

Lin Zhixia’s breathing unconsciously softened. The sound of the rain outside suddenly became clearer, each drop falling distinctly against her eardrums.

Finally, Yan Huaiqing’s reply appeared: “Who was it that just said they’d already shut down their computer?”

Lin Zhixia froze, then glanced at her brightly lit computer screen the document was still open, the cursor blinking at the last edited position.

How could she have guessed that? Could this woman actually be a devil?

She hurriedly stood up and shut down the computer, pretending Yan Huaiqing had guessed wrong, and replied nonchalantly, “I said it, so what?”

Then she took a photo of the actual scene and sent it over. “It’s definitely shut down.”

Her phone vibrated immediately.

Yan Huaiqing sent a sticker a kitten covering its eyes with its paws, with the caption “Can’t bear to look.”

She actually sent a sticker.

So cute.

The kitten was adorable, but the person sending it was even more so.

But something seemed seriously wrong.

It wasn’t until Lin Zhixia opened the photo that she realized her mistake the desk lamp was on, her notebook and pen cap were left open, and beside the computer sat a half-full cup of steaming water, its lid off.

Only the computer was closed.

It was glaringly obvious.

Lin Zhixia’s ears burned. Just as she was about to come up with an excuse, the other sent another voice message.

When she played it, Yan Huaiqing’s laughter mingled with the sound of the rain: “It’s getting late, Teacher Lin. Rest early. See you on Friday.”

This!

With just a few words, she had stirred up a whirlwind of emotions, then gracefully wrapped things up with a laugh.

“You’re quite the expert, Yan Huaiqing.”

Lin Zhixia hugged her phone indignantly and replayed the voice message ten times.

That voice was like a piece of warm jade, glowing faintly in the rainy night. One could almost imagine the slight upward curve of her lips as she spoke and the ever-smiling eyes.

The words “See you on Friday” echoed in her chest, colliding until it ached.

She really wanted to go to Shaocheng and startle her.

She really wanted to turn into a raindrop, land on her collarbone, and give her a little bite.

Lin Zhixia curled up on the carpet by the window, burying her face in her knees. The cool touch of the agarwood bracelet against her collarbone brought her slightly back to her senses.

Outside, the rain continued to fall, tracing strange shapes on the glass like some mysterious code.

This was too dangerous.

This kind of ambiguous connection through the screen was like treading on thin ice, with every step accompanied by the sound of cracking.

Lin Zhixia suddenly realized she was standing at the edge of a cliff, and below was the unspoken space Yan Huaiqing had left for her.

Her phone vibrated again, and her eyes practically lunged at the screen but there was nothing.

No, there’s a tiny in the top left corner.

Back out, open a new chat window”There’s a new immersive theater that just opened. They say it’s super thrilling. Wanna go together?”

It’s from Jiang Jing.

Damn Jiang Jing.

But she really did need some liveliness to dilute the dangerous situation she was in right now, and she needed someone to pull her back from the edge of the cliff.

Jiang Jing is still a good Jiang Jing.

She curled up and rolled around on the carpet before replying, “Okay.”

After rolling a couple more times, she sat up and sent a voice message to Yan Huaiqing. She cleared her throat four times before producing the tone she wanted: “Professor Yan, you should rest early too. Make sure to say goodnight to every green plum for me.”

As soon as she sent it, she locked her screen.

Aren’t you supposed to be resting? With dozens of goodnights, let’s see how you manage to sleep.

She hugged her phone and collapsed onto the carpet, her heartbeat thumping like green plums dropping one by one into an empty bottle.

A moment later, her chest buzzed.

Another message from Jiang Jing.

It wasn’t from the person she was waiting for, and she couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Listlessly, she watched the message pop up.

“Then I’ll make the reservation.”

“Same as usual.”

“1 p.m.”

“Li’s Place.”

“Let’s eat first.”

Lin Zhixia replied, “Okay.”

“Would saying one more word waste that much of your time and affection?”

“Huh???”

The punctuation marks conveyed anger Jiang Jing was furious.

“Yeah, would saying one more word waste that much of your time and affection?”

“Huh???”

“I’m asking you, Yan Huaiqing.”

Lin Zhixia was also angry, grumbling at the silent phone screen.

The sound of the rain gradually softened, and her anger subsided along with it. After taking a shower, Lin Zhixia lay in bed, counting her heartbeat as she waited for sleep to come.

In the end, she never received Yan Huaiqing’s goodnight. Could that woman have fallen asleep already?

Half-asleep, Lin Zhixia dreamed that she had turned into a green plum, floating and sinking in a clear, bright liquor. Someone gently tapped her forehead with a finger and said, “Such a well-behaved wine. Goodnight.”