Sweet Oxygen - Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Delay

I don’t do it for minors

——

Perhaps it was because of Zhang Yunqing’s call that Qin Han’s attention was completely focused on her dirty, damp socks. She no longer paid attention to what Hu Kenyuan and Xu Weiran were saying.

She had actually left a pair of dirty, damp socks at Zhang Yuqing’s shop.

No matter how she thought about it, it felt so embarrassing.

That was a pair of socks!

Dirty socks!

Soon the dessert was served—a slice of strawberry mille-feuille cake was placed in front of Qin Han, the strawberries on top glistening with syrup.

She stared at the cake, but all she could think about was those dirty socks. Subconsciously, she kicked her feet under the table twice.

How embarrassing.

Really, so embarrassing.

It wasn’t until she was almost done with her dessert that Xu Weiran leaned over the table and asked, “Qin Han, Qin Han, where do you want to go this afternoon?”

Qin Han glanced at him, still thinking about the socks. Besides, she didn’t really want to go out with them. “You guys go ahead. I need to go home.”

“Oh, then I won’t go either. Let’s just all head home,” Xu Weiran said.

Hu Keyuan didn’t say anything. Qin Han thought she heard the sharp clink of a spoon hitting a glass bowl, but her mind was still stuck on “Ah, socks.”

After leaving the dessert shop, Xu Weiran caught a taxi and left. Qin Han was taking the bus, and Hu Keyuan was also waiting at the bus stop.

——T/n: I don’t know why he suddenly left with a taxi when they came with his car before.

The afternoon sun was scorching, melting away the coolness they had gained from their cold drinks at the dessert shop.

Qin Han stood quietly in the shade at the bus stop when Hu Keyuan suddenly asked, “Qin Han, when you said you had plans this morning, were you out with Xu Weiran? I thought you were going to your grandma’s house?”

“I wasn’t with Xu Weiran, and I didn’t go to my grandma’s.”

Hu Keyuan let out a cold laugh. “You know, you’re really annoying. You don’t even like Xu Weiran, but you keep leading him on. What’s the point? Do you just enjoy having a guy like you?”

Qin Han was still thinking about socks when she turned around, looking at Hu Keyuan with a good-natured yet confused expression.

“Don’t play dumb. Isn’t that exactly what you do? You know he likes you!”

Seeing the mockery on her face, Qin Han frowned, holding back her irritation. “I didn’t know.”

Before this, Qin Han had always thought Xu Weiran and Hu Keyuan were close. Wherever Hu Keyuan went, Xu Weiran followed.

As for Xu Weiran himself, she had little impression of him—except for one thing that made her not want to get close to him.

It was during their senior year winter break. Xu Weiran insisted on tagging along with Hu Keyuan and Qin Han to a bookstore.

When he got out of his family’s car, a large golden retriever jumped out after him. It had snowed in Imperial City that day, and the dog’s golden fur looked warm and beautiful.

Xu Weiran snapped at the dog, “Get back in the car!”

The golden retriever panted, stubbornly following him.

Xu Weiran hadn’t noticed that Qin Han and Hu Keyuan were already waiting across the street at the bookstore. He lifted his foot and kicked the golden retriever hard on the head.

The dog’s head slammed against a cylindrical street barrier. It let out a pitiful whimper, lowered its head, and obediently climbed back into the car.

After that, Qin Han had always thought Hu Keyuan’s deskmate had a bad temper, and so she kept her distance from him.

After all, he wasn’t her deskmate.

As for Hu Keyuan claiming that Xu Weiran liked her, Qin Han hadn’t noticed at all.

Hu Keyuan was still sneering. “Come on, Qin Han. You really didn’t know? On graduation photo day, he bought you a milk tea. Only you. You really didn’t get what that meant? And you drank it happily, didn’t you? Stop pretending.”

Milk tea?

Qin Han thought for a moment and vaguely remembered that day.

It had been a hot day. The school’s photography teacher insisted that taking the graduation photo on the sports field would be better than inside the auditorium—it would capture the whole teaching building in the background.

Qin Han wasn’t particularly tall or short, so she was stuck in the middle row, roasting under the sun.

After they finally finished taking photos, Xu Weiran walked over, holding out a cup of milk tea. “Qin Han, here’s a milk tea for you. Extra ice, to cool you down.”

“Thanks.”

Qin Han had accepted it without a second thought. Because behind Xu Weiran, four or five other girls from their class were also holding milk teas. She had assumed their homeroom teacher had bought them.

Their teacher was generous, often treating them to watermelon, ice cream, and drinks.

It was only later, back in the classroom, that she found out Xu Weiran had bought it himself. Qin Han had her deskmate transfer the money back to him.

If Hu Keyuan had brought this up in a casual conversation, like before, Qin Han would have explained everything in detail.

But Hu Keyuan was standing there with her chin raised, full of ridicule. Suddenly, Qin Han lost all patience.

She was upset and angry, but she didn’t want to argue.

She wasn’t even good at arguing.

A bus was approaching in the distance—her bus home. Qin Han’s voice was soft as she said, “Let’s just leave it at that. We don’t need to hang out anymore.”

Hu Keyuan might have said something else after that, but Qin Han didn’t hear it. As the bus pulled up and the doors opened, she got on without looking back.

No fight. No cruel words.

Their friendship simply faded away under the glaring sun.

But even after returning home, Qin Han remained in a bad mood for days.

She hadn’t gone out for days. In the past weekends and holidays, she had always been with Hu Keyuan, who occasionally came over for dinner.

Now without Hu Keyuan, Qin Han stayed at home, spending her time reading, watching movies, and playing the piano.

Her mother was a full-time housewife, while her father was always busy, rarely home—especially now that Qin Han had finished her college entrance exams.

One day, after yoga, Qin Han’s mother brought her into the kitchen to bake cookies.

While waiting for them to bake, her mother brushed back her curled bangs and asked gently, “Xiaohan, why haven’t you gone out these past few days? Should I invite Keyuan over for dinner? I can make pizza, and maybe some wings and hash browns?”

“No need, Mom. I’m going out this afternoon.”

“With Keyuan?”

Qin Han avoided her mother’s gaze and nodded lightly. “Mm.”

She didn’t tell her mother that she and Hu Keyuan had fallen out. Returning to her room, she opened her wardrobe. She really should go out.

This was the summer she had been looking forward to for three years—a whole two and a half months!

She could go to the library and borrow some books.

And… she should go to “Oxygen” and get her bag and socks back.

Ah! The socks!

That crumpled-up, dirty pair of socks was the only thing that could momentarily distract her.

As soon as she thought about it, embarrassment overwhelmed all her other emotions.

Before heading to Yaonan Alley, the cookies were ready. Qin Han packed the batch she had baked herself into a bag, planning to bring it to Zhang Yuqing.

After all, her troublesome socks had been lying in his shop for days.

Yaonan Alley was as lively as ever. As Qin Han stepped into Zhang Yuqing’s shop, a few elderly men sat on stone benches under the shade of trees at the street corner, playing the erhu. The melody, accompanied by the sound of cicadas, was soothing and pleasant.

——The erhu (二胡) is a traditional Chinese two-stringed bowed instrument, sometimes called the “Chinese violin.”

Zhang Yuqing wasn’t outside when she entered.

Perhaps he heard the door open—he peeked out from the tattoo room, half his body visible, wearing a face mask. When he saw Qin Han, he immediately smiled.

Afraid that he would start teasing her, Qin Han quickly raised the bag in her hand. “I brought you some cookies I baked myself. Thank you for helping me out these past few times, and also…”

“And also for taking in your socks.” Zhang Yuqing finished her sentence for her.

Qin Han was so embarrassed she wanted to turn and run, but she heard Zhang Yuqing laugh. “Your stuff is in the storage room. Go get it yourself.”

She put down the cookies and dashed upstairs.

Pushing open the storage room door, she saw her white shoulder bag resting on a Pilates bed. Next to it were her white socks.

Freshly washed and dried.

Qin Han crouched down suddenly, covering her face with both hands.

She wanted to disappear.

She had actually let someone else wash her socks!

By the time she went back downstairs, her neck was still burning.

The old-fashioned electric fan was still blowing in the shop. Qin Han raised her hand and fanned the side of her face. Zhang Yuqing seemed busy, so she hesitated for a moment and then sat down at the table near the bed.

She had told her family she was going out to have fun. She couldn’t just go home after an hour. She wanted to stay here for a while.

There was a faint bamboo scent in Zhang Yuqing’s shop, something that made people feel at ease.

As she sat quietly, she could occasionally hear voices from the tattoo room.

It was mostly a young man talking. “Qing-ge, what do you think about me getting ‘I Love My Country’ tattooed on my chest?”

Zhang Yuqing didn’t respond. The man continued, “Qing-ge, Qing-ge, I think it’d work. You design it for me? Anything you design looks good—you could make even the dumbest idea look cool. Should I put ‘I Love My Country’ on my chest or my back? Oh! Or how about ‘Loyalty and Patriotism’ on my back instead? Qing-ge, don’t you think this idea is pretty badass?”

“Sounds like crap.”

Qin Han could tell that the last sentence was said by Zhang Yuqing.

Even though he himself was a young man, his voice was deep and pleasant, even with a mask on.

Zhang Yuqing didn’t talk much, and he always seemed to roast his customers.

Clearly, customers were not his “gods.”

“Qing-ge, don’t be so cold. If I add four more characters—no, wait, eight more—won’t you make more money?”

“Not taking it. Open Meituan, pick any shop—you’ll find one doing it for 199 yuan, or even 99 yuan.”

——Meituan (美团) is a Chinese technology company that provides various online services, including food delivery, hotel and travel booking, grocery shopping, and local services.

The client, after being shut down again, seemed to ponder for a moment, then his tone weakened. “Qing-ge, I just feel uneasy, like I don’t have any footing.”

Zhang Yuqing didn’t reply. The man let out a quiet sigh. “My old man used to love calligraphy. He’d write things like ‘Loyalty and Patriotism’ and ‘I Love My Country.’ He spent his whole life teaching in poor areas and never got much in return. If he had been in the capital, maybe he could’ve gotten better medical treatment. Maybe he could’ve been saved… I didn’t even get to see him one last time.”

It was the first time Qin Han had heard a man’s voice break like that. Even through the wall and door, she felt awkward and helpless.

Who had told her that tattoo clients were all delinquents?

Zhang Yuqing, however, remained calm. “If you cover yourself in writing like a walking newspaper, will that bring him back?”

“Shit, Qing-ge, what kind of comparison is that?”

The man was clearly caught off guard by Zhang Yuqing’s unique style of comfort. He was silent for a moment, then let out a small laugh. “Fine, I won’t do the lettering. Better to save the money for charity. When I burn offerings for him, I’ll tell him about it—maybe that’ll make him happy.”

When Zhang Yuqing finally walked out of the tattoo room, he didn’t notice Qin Han at first.

After tossing his disposable gloves into the trash, he looked up and saw her still sitting quietly at the table.

He raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. “You’re still here?”

Qin Han suddenly felt embarrassed.

She wasn’t Zhang Yuqing’s friend, nor was she a customer. Sitting here for so long was pretty strange.

Without thinking, she blurted out, “I want a tattoo!”

Zhang Yuqing had been taking a sip of water from a glass. Hearing her words, he paused briefly, then tilted his head back and swallowed the water.

The glass made a light clinking sound as he set it on the wooden table.

He walked over, leaned on the table, and lowered his voice near her ear. “Little girl, I don’t do it for minors.”