July 19.
The afternoon sunlight was a little harsh. Even through the gauze curtains, it still dazzled her eyes.
Ning Qing opened her eyes.
A snow-white ceiling came into view, and her surroundings became clear at once. She was lying flat on her bed beneath a quilt. The room was neither too hot nor too cold, and the breeze slipping through the floor-to-ceiling window occasionally lifted a corner of the curtain. Two pale purple roses stood in a vase on the bedside table, giving off a faint citrus scent.
Someone sat quietly reading in her room.
Ning Qing checked herself.
She had clothes on.
The same clothes as before.
Nothing felt noticeably wrong. If anything, she felt astonishingly good.
His scent lingered beside her.
Ning Qing got up.
He noticed the movement and immediately turned toward her, his face bright with a gentle Gentleness smile.
"You're awake!"
She couldn't be bothered to answer him.
Ning Qing sat at the edge of the bed, found her slippers, put them on, and headed for the bathroom.
Click...
She turned on the bathroom light.
Standing before the mirror, Ning Qing first inspected herself.
There were no doodles on her face.
She doubted there were any elsewhere, either.
But she was certain his fingerprints had been left somewhere on her body.
Maybe his saliva, too.
As for exactly where...
She couldn't be bothered to think about it. That would only make her angry.
Ning Qing was about to leave when she stopped, turned back, and faced the mirror again—
She closed her left eye.
A tiny "fool" was written on her eyelid.
She opened her left eye and closed her right.
"You guessed wrong" was written on that eyelid.
Ning Qing pressed her lips together and fell silent for a few seconds. The corners