Sweet Oxygen - Chapter 19

Chapter 19 – Night Moth

If you’re scared, just close your eyes

——

After realizing that she liked Zhang Yuqing, Qin Han was surprisingly calm.

She sat by the window, staring absentmindedly at Zhang Yuqing as he chatted and laughed with Luo Shijin and Li Nan.

There are people like that—when you realize you like them, it doesn’t even surprise you.
You just feel that they deserve to be liked.

Maybe it was because Qin Han hadn’t yet learned how to hide her feelings, but her gaze was too direct. Zhang Yuqing noticed, looked at her for two seconds, then suddenly smiled, “Still holding onto that skewer of cold beef tendon? Put it down, didn’t I pass you the chicken wing?”

Qin Han glanced at the fragrant chicken wing but felt a bit embarrassed to be picky. “It’s fine, I’ll just finish this first.”

Zhang Yuqing reached out his hand across the table, curling his fingers slightly. “Give it to me.”

Qin Han didn’t react at first, thinking Zhang Yuqing had some way to heat it up, so she blankly handed him the skewer.

He placed her half-eaten skewer onto his own plate, then reached over again and handed her the biggest chicken wing. “Eat.”

Luo Shijin immediately whined, “Favoritism! Totally playing favorites!”

Zhang Yuqing replied with the same line, shutting him up, “Are you a little girl?”

That half-eaten skewer remained on Zhang Yuqing’s plate. Qin Han found herself glancing at it more than once, intentionally or not.

At the dinner table, Luo Shijin was the most outgoing and spoke the most.

He started talking about Yaonan Alley, mentioning the major demolition plan from a few years ago. He laughed, but there was a hint of melancholy. “My old man is a real character. Wore the same shirt for twelve years until the cuffs were worn out, refusing to buy a new one. But the moment he heard about the demolition, he thought he was about to get rich and went to the mall to buy a brand-new shirt. Guess how much he spent? 800 yuan! Can you believe it? 800!”

Qin Han felt uncomfortable listening to that.

Her mother often bought her clothes around that price, sometimes even more expensive.
But Luo Shijin’s use of the word “believe it” showed that, to him, spending 800 yuan on a shirt was already an extravagant amount.

“The next day, the demolition plan was released, and Yaonan Alley wasn’t even on the list. My dad was depressed for a long time. That shirt? He never wore it. It’s still in the closet—he says he’s saving it for my wedding day.”

Luo Shijin took a bite of his fatty skewer and continued, “But my dad took it pretty well compared to some. A few old men were seriously devastated. Old Zhao from the back street? The moment he saw the demolition plan, an ambulance had to take him away.”

After saying that, Luo Shijin glanced at Qin Han. “You’re listening so intently. But you wouldn’t understand the struggles of us poor folks.”

As he spoke, he pointed at her phone.

Qin Han’s phone was on the table—no screen protector, no case. It was the latest model from that brand this year.

She hadn’t even known the exact price, not paying much attention to those things. But Hu Keyuan had called her a “rich lady” for days after she got it, saying it cost over 9,000 yuan.

Qin Han had never lacked money. She was beginning to understand why Luo Shijin always seemed to have something against her.

Like just now, when he ate one of the sushi rolls she brought, he had casually remarked, “Wow, this is what spending big money tastes like.”

In that moment, Qin Han had felt a little awkward. But Zhang Yuqing cracked a joke, “Even Beibei’s canned food isn’t cheap. Want to try some?”

With that joke, the moment of awkwardness passed.

The demolition of Yaonan Alley was truly a bittersweet affair. Li Nan sighed, “So, it won’t be demolished anymore? What about the future?”

“It won’t be demolished in the next few decades, but beyond that, who knows? The old guys from the next street over became instant millionaires. Whenever my dad sees them, he gets pissed.”

Zhang Yuqing suddenly chuckled. “Yeah, Uncle Luo doesn’t even come out to play chess anymore.”

Luo Shijin laughed as well. “Back then, no one played chess on this street anymore. No one played the erhu either. Whenever people gathered, all they talked about was demolition. The resentment was so strong, you could feel it from 800 meters away.”

Pointing at Zhang Yuqing with his half-eaten skewer, Luo Shijin said, “But my Qing-ge here was the calmest one. Not once did he sigh over the demolition.”

Zhang Yuqing smiled, “I did. Just not in front of you.”

As he spoke, Qin Han, like everyone else, openly looked at him.

But the moment she did, she noticed something—Zhang Yuqing was holding a half-eaten skewer.

A skewer usually had four pieces of meat. On his, only one was left.

And his plate was empty.

Qin Han suddenly felt like she was sitting too close to a fire. Her entire neck felt hot, and her mind buzzed with one repeating thought.

Zhang Yuqing ate the skewer I had eaten.

Zhang Yuqing ate the skewer I had eaten.

Zhang Yuqing ate the skewer I had eaten.

He had eaten it so casually. What if there was still some of her saliva on the skewer?

Startled by her own thoughts, Qin Han suddenly buried her face on the table.

The other three at the table all turned to look at her.

Li Nan asked in confusion, “Qin Han, what’s wrong?”

Luo Shijin didn’t think much of it. “Probably choked on the chili.”

Only Zhang Yuqing glanced at the empty skewer in his hand, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Forgot that the skewer belonged to the little girl.

After dinner, Zhang Yuqing brought Beibei along to walk Qin Han and Li Nan to the bus stop.

It wasn’t that late yet. At this hour, the commercial street should’ve been bustling, but Yaonan Alley was already swallowed by darkness. They had to turn on their phone flashlights to see the road.

Li Nan’s house was only one stop away, and the bus came quickly, so he left first.

Qin Han lived farther away. As they waited for the bus, Zhang Yuqing sat on a bench, playing with Beibei. Qin Han felt a bit embarrassed. “You should go home first. The bus should be here soon.”

“It’s fine. I’ll wait until you get on.”

Zhang Yuqing said this and then suddenly looked straight at Qin Han.

Qin Han didn’t know why he was staring at her, but her face immediately heated up. “W-What’s wrong?”

Zhang Yuqing stood up and walked over, speaking as he moved, “Don’t move.”

His hand slowly reached toward her shoulder. He hadn’t even touched her yet, but Qin Han felt as if she had lost control of that entire side of her body. Her shoulder and arm went numb.

Sensing her nervousness, Zhang Yuqing’s voice softened. “It’ll be over soon. If you’re scared, just close your eyes.”

Over soon? Over soon for what?

If you’re scared… just close your eyes?

Isn’t this a line from romance dramas when the leads are about to kiss?!!!

Qin Han thought she hadn’t watched many teen romance dramas, yet at this moment, her mind was flashing through 180 different scenes of dramatic wall-pinning kisses.

But before she could finish panicking, Zhang Yuqing’s fingertips lightly brushed her shoulder. Just for a moment, and when he withdrew, the back of his hand carried a bean-green moth.

“Green-tailed silkworm moth. It doesn’t bite, and it’s not poisonous.”

Crickets chirped from the roadside grass, and the streetlamp barely provided enough light for the bus stop.

With a slight movement of Zhang Yuqing’s fingertips, the moth fluttered its wings and flew away. It wasn’t actually scary—rather, it was quite beautiful, with its long, trailing tail-like wings resembling the flowing sleeves of an ancient dress.

But… he said all that just because of a moth?!

Qin Han scolded herself internally, Qin Han, what were you even thinking!

Her face burned so much it felt like it might start dripping blood. She barely managed to squeeze out a whispery “thank you” like the buzz of a mosquito.

Just then, her bus arrived. With her face still flushed, she rushed onto the bus. The tingling sensation in her shoulder hadn’t even faded yet, and in her hurry, she nearly tripped before getting on. She was so embarrassed that she couldn’t even look back to say goodbye.

Instead, it was Zhang Yuqing who smiled and reminded her, “Message me when you get home.”

The flustered girl quickly nodded and buried herself in her seat, resting her forehead against the backrest, avoiding looking back altogether.

There weren’t many people on the bus, and the bright lights made her red-tinted ears clearly visible.

As the bus pulled away, Zhang Yuqing walked back with Beibei, thinking teasingly to himself.

Just a substitute, yet she gets this flustered? Her skin is too thin.

——

At the end of June, when Qin Han’s college entrance exam results were about to be released, her father finally returned from his “business trip” and started having meals at home every day.

At the dinner table, the family still appeared harmonious. Mother Qin cooked many of the small dishes that only her father liked. But after eavesdropping that night, Qin Han occasionally sensed something unnatural beneath their smiling faces.

On the day the results came out, both her parents’ joy was genuine. Maybe because there had been no pressure on her, Qin Han had actually outperformed expectations, scoring higher than she had anticipated.

Humming a tune, her mother pulled out her phone and called the family driver. Her voice was lively and cheerful as she instructed him to go to the seafood market and buy more seafood.

There weren’t many expectations placed on Qin Han, but a good score was still worth celebrating.

“Let’s have a feast for lunch—how about crab?”

After hanging up, her mother smiled and said, “On a day like this, we should steam seafood. Let our Xiaohan rise higher and higher.”

“I’ll go make some ginger tea so you don’t complain about a cold stomach after eating,” her father added with a chuckle.

“I’m not that delicate.”

Her mother playfully glared at him, her eyes soft and without real reproach. “First, help me take down the steaming pot for the crab. It’s in the top cabinet—I can’t reach it.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll get it.”

Watching her mother pull her father into the kitchen, Qin Han suddenly felt very happy.

It was because of her grades that there was this warmth in the house—a sense of accomplishment welled up inside her.

Not knowing who to share this feeling with, Qin Han took out her phone. The first person who came to mind was Zhang Yuqing.

But…

The memory of her stiff, stumbling escape onto the bus that night replayed in her head.

So! Embarrassing!

She had actually thought he was going to kiss her!

When the driver delivered the seafood downstairs, Qin Han was still lost in her humiliation.

Because of this, she hadn’t even considered going back to Yaonan Alley these past few days.

If she ran fast enough, hid far enough—awkwardness couldn’t catch up to her.

Her father, holding a cigarette, went downstairs. After finishing his smoke, he brought back the black plastic bags full of seafood. As he entered the house, he saw Qin Han sitting there, staring blankly at her phone.

“Xiaohan.”

“Ah?”

Startled, Qin Han hurriedly put away her phone. “What is it, Dad?”

Her father was genuinely happy, his tone unusually lighthearted—almost like her mother’s. “I’ve been thinking—your scores are good enough for a normal university. Do you want to be a teacher?”

“Being a teacher is nice! You’d have summer and winter vacations, and the university is so close to home. Xiaohan could come back every weekend,” her mother added from the kitchen.

Back in high school, her teacher had often said that being a teacher or a doctor was a good choice for girls.

Qin Han nodded. “Our teacher also said it’s a good job for girls.”

Her mother steamed a huge pot of seafood—crabs, shrimp, abalone, scallops with vermicelli—filling the table. It wasn’t until Qin Han finished eating an entire crab that she suddenly realized.

Normal University… isn’t that the same school that “brother” attended?

He had probably graduated long ago, but when her father mentioned the university, she hadn’t thought about him at all.

While lowering the air conditioning, Mother Qin casually said, “In this heat, let’s buy a watermelon to cool off.”

That sentence made Qin Han think of Zhang Yuqing.

“If you’re buying watermelon, go to the shop downstairs. Their watermelons are from Panggezhuang—they’re really sweet.”

Mother Qin turned to her. “Xiaohan, wasn’t the last watermelon I bought sweet?”

Not as sweet as the one Luo Shijin picked.

Qin Han nodded lightly. “I have a friend who’s really good at picking watermelons. Mom, let me buy it next time.”

“Aiya, our Xiaohan is really growing up. Alright, then it’s your job now.” Mother Qin smiled.

But in Qin Han’s mind, she realized—she’d just found another perfectly legitimate excuse to go back to Yaonan Alley.