The newly purchased furniture in the living room was spotless and neatly arranged. Although the windows were large and clear, the heavy curtains were drawn tight, letting only a little light slip through the gaps. That sliver of light from the buildings outside did not truly illuminate the room. Instead, it made the living room feel even darker and more oppressive.
In one corner stood a tall liquor cabinet, its bottles arranged in neat rows, though it seemed no one had ever touched them. Several magazines lay neatly lined up on the coffee table beside it, but their covers bore no creases. Clearly, they were rarely read.
Everything in this stifling living room seemed shrouded in an indescribable sense of oppression.
The curtains were a deep gray-blue. Yue Chen had replaced the black curtains with these, but the gray-blue that had seemed so pleasing back then now seemed to swallow every trace of joy and vitality. There were no decorative paintings or photographs on the walls, only a clock. Its ticking stood out sharply in the silence, as though constantly reminding her of time slipping away.
The living room furniture was arranged with rigid precision, devoid of the warmth and vitality of everyday life. The sofa was plain-colored, its surface smooth and cold, without a single stray item casually left on it. A few books sat on the coffee table, but they were arranged far too neatly, without any sign of having been read.
Yue Chen would rather those miscellaneous books had been read until they fell apart. She would rather the living room furniture had been left in disarray.
Right now, everything she looked at made her feel as though the world was against her.
A vague, unidentifiable smell hung in the air. It was neither mold nor dust,