It was already past 3 a.m. when they got home.
“Are you tired?” Shen Mo asked casually, then remembered that even if Jiang Xiaosi answered, he wouldn’t hear her.
“No need to reply by text. Go take a shower first.”
He knew Jiang Xiaosi had sustained some minor injuries, but nothing too serious. She could take care of herself; after all, she was no longer a child. She needed to learn to take care of herself now.
The photo album from their recent trip was still spread out on the table, but Shen Mo couldn’t see the pictures of Jiang Xiaosi. Shen Koudan had once suggested hiring an artist to paint her. With the current level of painting, it could be as realistic as a photo, but Shen Mo didn’t agree. Even if a painting could help him see her, what difference would it make? She would still be close yet so far away. A concrete reminder of his longing would only deepen his pain.
Jiang Xiaosi emerged from the bathroom and saw Shen Mo leaning against the headboard, already asleep. They could never be more than ten meters apart, and Jiang Xiaosi had once lived in the room next to his. But two years ago, she had moved her bed into Shen Mo’s room, perhaps to recapture the feeling of being lovers back when they were in the ancient town. Shen Mo hadn’t objected and let her do as she pleased. After all, he couldn’t see her, so there was no issue of propriety or impropriety.
“Go take a shower! Hurry up and wash before you sleep!” Jiang Xiaosi yelled in his ear, but when he didn’t respond, she had to use her phone to call him and wake him up with the ringtone.
Shen Mo stood up with a blank expression and headed to the bathroom. Once inside, he suddenly opened the door again.
“No peeking. Get out.”
Jiang Xiaosi couldn’t understand how he could always catch her whenever she tried to sneak a peek at him showering, even though he couldn’t see her. Annoyed, she huffed and jumped onto Shen Mo’s bed.
After his shower, Shen Mo came out, drying his hair. Lazily, he said, “Go back to your own bed to sleep.”
A brush appeared out of thin air, flying toward him, but he casually caught it and placed it on the table, as if he could hear Jiang Xiaosi pouting, saying, “So unfair, how do you always know?”
How could he not know? After living together for years, he had completely figured out her silly, fangirling nature.
Jiang Xiaosi sat cross-legged on the bed and sent Shen Mo a text.
——My birthday is coming up. What are you getting me?
“What do you want?” Usually, at home, Shen Mo was too lazy to text back and just spoke directly into the air.
——Why do you always ask me what I want? Can’t you surprise me for once?
“A surprise?” Shen Mo closed his eyes without saying anything, then suddenly opened them, turning his head.
“Don’t even think about kissing me.”
——Ugh, how do you know everything!
Shen Mo didn’t respond. The familiar scent getting closer to him made it obvious.
——Let me blow-dry your hair for you.
Jiang Xiaosi held the blow-dryer and helped Shen Mo dry his hair. Shen Mo could feel the wind but had to comb his half-dried hair himself. The two of them worked together seamlessly.
Jiang Xiaosi looked at the silver ring on Shen Mo’s left ring finger, feeling a surge of sweetness in her heart. Not long after she moved in, she had found the pair of rings they had ordered back in the ancient town hidden in his drawer. She had forgotten about them amidst all the chaos, but Shen Mo hadn’t. He had even retrieved them and kept them.
Unable to resist Jiang Xiaosi’s persistence, Shen Mo had started wearing the ring again, even though they were no longer lovers. He hadn’t taken it off in five years. Jiang Xiaosi also wore hers and always kept Shen Mo’s house key and the seal he had made for her with her. Those three items were her treasures.
The next morning, Shen Mo went to the bathroom but found the door locked.
“Jiang Xiaosi, hurry up. No dawdling.”
After a while, the door opened, and Shen Mo stood in front of the mirror, brushing his teeth. He could see a pink toothbrush floating in mid-air, moving up and down, splattering foam everywhere.
“Be more serious. You eat so much candy but don’t brush properly. Zombies don’t get cavities, but now you can.”
Jiang Xiaosi laughed out loud, washed her face, and ran out, rummaging through the closet.
Shen Mo saw clothes scattered on the floor and bed, including lacy white underwear, and blushed. When did her chest get so big?
“Jiang Xiaosi! Put on some clothes! You’re in my house! No being naked!”
Jiang Xiaosi couldn’t stop laughing. She stood in front of him naked, twisting her body, knowing he couldn’t see her. Only when Shen Mo’s face turned red did she slowly put on her underwear and bra.
Through the floating clothes, Shen Mo could roughly imagine Jiang Xiaosi’s current height and curves, cursing inwardly. The image of a transparent person wearing underwear standing in front of him was both eerie and tantalizing. Shen Mo quickly turned away, but soon the clothes disappeared from sight.
——If you want to watch adult films or do anything else, don’t worry, I won’t peek.
Seeing the message, Shen Mo was so angry that he could barely contain himself. This girl was becoming more and more inappropriate.
“I’m going out to meet a friend today.” Shen Mo tossed her an invisibility charm.
Jiang Xiaosi caught it, pinned it to her clothes, and followed him. Since they had to stay within ten meters of each other, they had almost no private space. Their lives seemed to revolve solely around each other, and Jiang Xiaosi had significantly reduced her time with her friends, only staying in touch over the phone. Although most of the people close to them knew about their situation and understood their constant proximity, in more formal situations, one of them had to stay hidden using illusions.
Shen Mo was meeting a friend from out of town, someone from the archaeology world. Since she had to be by his side, she had met most of his friends. Shen Mo usually introduced her as his student or assistant. If anyone suspected otherwise, he didn’t bother to explain.
Jiang Xiaosi wasn’t sure how Shen Mo really saw her these days. If they had reconciled and become lovers again, he never talked about their relationship, even avoiding the topic when she asked. But if she was just a student, what kind of student lives together like a couple? Despite the occasional moments of intimacy, their relationship was ambiguous at best.
The meeting place was a quiet, elegant café. Accompanying his friend was a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties with delicate features and a confident air about her.
“Shen Mo, let me introduce you. This is my cousin, Yan Lan. She teaches traditional Chinese painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, not far from T University. She doesn’t have many relatives in Taoyuan City, so if you have time, please look after her. Yan Lan, this is the Shen Mo I’ve told you about.”
Jiang Xiaosi sat to the side, fuming with anger as she watched the three of them exchange pleasantries.
No wonder he had insisted she stay hidden! He knew this was basically a blind date, and he dared to do it right in front of her!
She casually picked up the toothpick holder from the table and tossed a few toothpicks their way.
“Huh? Waiter! Can you come over? Why are toothpicks falling from the ceiling?” Shen Mo’s friend exclaimed in confusion.
The waiter bowed repeatedly. “I’m so sorry. I’ll replace your food right away.”
Shen Mo cast a sideways glance in Jiang Xiaosi’s direction but didn’t say anything.
After lunch, Yan Lan asked for Shen Mo’s phone number. Jiang Xiaosi could tell from the woman’s glowing eyes that she was interested in Shen Mo. Hmph.
In recent years, Shen Mo had become more polite and approachable, no longer as cold and distant as before. However, he still declined Yan Lan’s invitation to continue with a walk, citing other commitments.
On the way back, Shen Mo remained silent, and Jiang Xiaosi held back from texting him.
Ever since the incident with Jiang Xiaosi, Shen Mo’s relationship with Yu Shuixin had cooled significantly, and she had gone abroad again after they caught Meixin. Over the years, no other woman had entered his life. Even those who tried to get close were met with his cold rejection. After all, with Jiang Xiaosi constantly by his side, there was no room for romance.
Whenever things like this happened, Jiang Xiaosi felt both jealous and guilty. She didn’t want Shen Mo to be with someone else, yet she didn’t want to hold him back from happiness either.
After all, in the five years they had been together, Shen Mo had never made any promises to take care of her for life. And now that he was getting older, shouldn’t he settle down? Everyone needs a complete family—how could he spend the rest of his life with someone he couldn’t even see?
As time passed, Jiang Xiaosi’s anxiety grew. She was terrified that one day Shen Mo would lose patience and move on.
That night, they sat on the sofa watching TV together. As soon as Shen Mo changed the channel, the remote control flew out of his hand, and the channel switched again. Frustrated, he retreated to his study to read, but the constant tapping and clattering noises distracted him.
“Jiang Xiaosi, go out and have some fun. Stop bothering me.”
The door opened and closed again, and the study fell completely silent. Yet Shen Mo found it even harder to concentrate. What was Jiang Xiaosi doing now? Was she hiding somewhere crying again? Was she still as prone to tears as she used to be?
He knew she made noise to remind him of her presence, and not for a moment had he forgotten it. Because he couldn’t see her, he could only guess her emotions and reactions, which made him worry about her even more than a normal person would.
Lying in bed at night, Shen Mo felt himself surrounded by her familiar sweet scent. He knew Jiang Xiaosi was lying behind him, resting against him. The spot on the back of his neck where his birthmark was tingled with a strange, cool sensation—Jiang Xiaosi’s subtle kisses. She loved to kiss him there.
Shen Mo sighed softly, wanting to turn and hold her, to comfort her, to tell her not to dwell on what happened earlier that day. But in the end, he said nothing and slowly closed his eyes.
Jiang Xiaosi loved being close to him, loved the feeling of their bodies overlapping like phantoms. Even if they could never embrace for the rest of their lives, as long as she could stay by his side, she was content.
