Chapter 37: Nicknames
Shen Yuhe’s words left Xiang Er speechless.
She looked around the room. The broom was lying haphazardly on the floor, the rag tossed carelessly on the table, and Shen Yuhe’s hands were empty, her body clean.
Xiang Er walked into the room:
“You continue cleaning, I’ll make the bed.”
She walked towards the bed. Shen Yuhe froze, hesitated for a moment, then turned and picked up the rag, wiping the table haphazardly, then tossed it back onto the table with a look of disgust. She picked up the broom, but her sweeping movements were clumsy, scattering dust everywhere.
Xiang Er looked at her in confusion:
“Weren’t you cleaning very efficiently just now?”
Shen Yuhe puffed out her cheeks, glaring at the broom as if it were her worst enemy.
She had heard Xiang Er’s question, but didn’t answer, her gaze fixed on the broom, as if locked in a silent battle.
Xiang Er, ignored, wasn’t offended. Instead, an unbelievable possibility occurred to her, and her expression shifted to one of disbelief. She leaned closer to Shen Yuhe and asked:
“Could it be… that I’m… disturbing you?”
Shen Yuhe glanced at her quickly and said:
“No, it’s not that you’re disturbing me…”
Xiang Er:
“Then what?”
Shen Yuhe glanced up at her, then quickly looked down, her voice soft, almost embarrassed, but she continued:
“When you’re here, I can’t focus, I just want to look at you.”
Xiang Er:
“…”
She clutched the edge of the quilt, her face flushing. This must be the hundredth time she had blushed today, she had lost count, and she couldn’t control it.
Her palms even started to sweat.
She felt lightheaded, weak, a tingling sensation in her heart, like eating mint ice cream on a hot summer day, completely immersed in the pleasant sensation, her mind drifting.
Silence fell upon the room, broken only by the sound of Shen Yuhe clumsily sweeping the floor, the dust swirling and dancing in the air, like an impromptu musical performance for an audience of one, a melody playing only in Xiang Er’s flustered mind.
Xiang Er quickly made the bed, spreading the sheets and quilt, the rather unattractive red peony pattern surprisingly complementing the old room.
But the quilt was heavy, and she couldn’t spread it out by herself. She turned to Shen Yuhe and said:
“Um… can you come help me? Hold that side.”
Shen Yuhe dropped the broom and walked over, holding the corner of the quilt, her tall figure silent, her gaze fixed on Xiang Er’s every move.
Xiang Er didn’t dare look at her, afraid of seeing her own reflection in Shen Yuhe’s intense gaze, a heat she couldn’t bear, she wasn’t ready.
She held the other corner of the quilt, smoothing it out.
Shen Yuhe’s voice suddenly broke the silence:
“I saw a drama once, where a newlywed couple also made the bed together on their wedding night.”
Xiang Er looked up at her in surprise, her gaze meeting Shen Yuhe’s dark, unwavering eyes, deep as an abyss.
Shen Yuhe, like a curious elementary school student, asked:
“Is that a wedding ritual?”
Xiang Er:
“…No! It’s just… making the bed before going to sleep!”
She continued smoothing the quilt, then looked up and glared at Shen Yuhe:
“You should watch less of those nonsensical dramas.”
She thought her words and expression would be intimidating.
But… in Shen Yuhe’s eyes, her glare, fueled by embarrassment, only made her more endearing, her full, red lips pouting, sending out an alluring… a divinely tempting signal.
Shen Yuhe licked her lips, her gaze turning dangerous:
“Okay, no drama is as captivating as you.”
Xiang Er:
“…”
She quickly finished making the bed, wanting to escape, to go to the bathroom and splash cold water on her burning face.
Bringing Shen Yuhe home was too dangerous, she was at risk of combusting from blushing!
As soon as she finished making the bed, Xiang Er turned to leave, but as she brushed past Shen Yuhe, Shen Yuhe grabbed her arm, her grip gentle but firm.
Xiang Er’s face flushed, and she turned:
“What’s wrong?”
Shen Yuhe stared at her intently, a strange, unsettling emotion in her eyes, as if… looking at a delicious delicacy, not an equal.
Xiang Er took a step back.
Shen Yuhe, still holding her arm, whispered:
“Good night, Little Ears.”
Xiang Er breathed a sigh of relief:
“Good night, Miss Shen.”
Shen Yuhe said:
“Call me Yuhe.”
Xiang Er felt it was a bit strange, especially because it sounded a bit like Akhe’s name, which she didn’t like.
She said:
“I prefer calling you Miss Shen.”
Shen Yuhe frowned:
“No, I want a nickname, a nickname only you use, like Little Ears.”
Xiang Er:
“Oh… I see.”
She thought for a moment:
“How about… Little Yu(1)? Or Little Fish(2)?”
Shen Yuhe’s eyes lit up:
“Yes! I’ll be your Little Fish!”
Xiang Er couldn’t help but smile:
“Then… Little Fish?”
Shen Yuhe, holding her arm, replied softly:
“Mm! Little Ears!”
Xiang Er smiled, also gently swaying Shen Yuhe’s arm:
“Mm!”
The two of them, as if having exchanged something precious, looked at each other, their eyes filled with sweet smiles, like elementary school students, swaying each other’s arms, their gazes locked.
Shen Yuhe suddenly leaned in and gave Xiang Er a quick hug:
“Then, Little Ears, good night.”
Her magnetic voice, like a cello, echoed in Xiang Er’s ear, the most beautiful melody in the world.
Xiang Er’s ears tingled, the words echoing in her mind even after she quickly left the master bedroom and returned to her own room, the sweet, romantic tone repeating endlessly:
Little Ears, good night.
Xiang Er stood in her room, her lips curved into a wide smile. Thankfully, she couldn’t see her own expression, otherwise, she would have thought she looked foolish, like someone who had never tasted candy before, finally experiencing its sweetness for the first time.
Tonight, she had tasted many sweet things.
Although those sweet things were mixed with a bit of fright, the sweetness easily overshadowed it. She was in such a good mood that she couldn’t help but smile even when she looked at the eyeball in the small box.
She whispered softly to the eyeball:
“Good night, Little Akhe.”
The eyeball, almost asleep, immediately opened its eye and looked at her, blinking with eagerness and anticipation, its meaning unclear.
Xiang Er exhaled, went to the bathroom to wash her face and arms, the smile still lingering on her face, impossible to erase.
Back in her room, she lay on her pillow, took out her phone, opened WeChat, and sent a message to Shen Yuhe.
“Little Fish, good night.”
She put down her phone, satisfied, and instantly drifted off to sleep.
And on her darkened phone screen, replies began to appear, one after another.
“Little Ears, good night.”
“Little Ears, good night, I’ve devoured you.”
“Little Ears, good night, devouring you isn’t enough.”
“Little Ears, sleep eternally with me.”
“Little Ears, offer your body to me.”
“Little Ears, let your soul shatter for me.”
“Little Ears, how can I be closer to you?”
“Little Ears, what is this feeling?”
“Little Ears, why don’t you like the real me?”
“Little Ears, I want everything you are!”
…
The replies appeared rapidly, as if countless hands were typing on the other end.
But just as quickly, they began to disappear, even faster than they had appeared, vanishing without a trace, as if they had never existed.
Within a minute, only the first reply remained on the screen.
“Little Ears, good night.”
The next morning.
Xiang Er woke up to sunlight on her face.
She was puzzled. Her alarm was set for six-thirty, it shouldn’t be sunny yet.
Then she opened her eyes, saw the bright sunlight streaming in through the window, and realized: She had overslept!
And not just slightly overslept, she had slept in until the sun was high in the sky, she didn’t have to go to work this morning, perhaps she would never have to go to work again!
Any office worker would understand this feeling, waking up at ten o’clock, a heart-stopping moment of pure panic.
After a few minutes, Xiang Er finally sat up, looking at her phone in confusion.
She had over ten missed calls, text messages, and WeChat messages, but… somehow, her phone had been switched to silent mode, even her alarm had been silenced.
The alarm she could understand, she might have turned it off in her sleep, but how had her phone been switched to silent mode? She didn’t remember doing that.
Just then, something small and cold brushed against her wrist, like a strand of cold, wet yarn.
Xiang Er froze. She was very familiar with this sensation, but… how was this possible?
Her neck trembling, she slowly turned her head.
As expected, a black eyeball with a blood-red pupil was sitting on the bed, several thin tentacles wrapped around her wrist.
Seeing Xiang Er look at it, it didn’t seem to care, its pupil still fixed on her wrist, as if engrossed in some important task.
Xiang Er wanted to scream, but she quickly suppressed it, there was someone else in the apartment!
Her throat tightened, and she looked down, speechless:
The eyeball, with four or five thread-like tentacles, had wrapped them around her wrist, and all the tentacles were pulling together, rhythmically.
The eyeball’s eyelid lowered slightly, revealing a determined, almost ferocious expression, as the tentacles pulled, and pulled, and pulled, finally managing to lift the eyeball from the sheet!
Xiang Er watched the eyeball’s trajectory.
The fist-sized eyeball, dragged by the tentacles, swung through the air like a meteor hammer, then—”splat”—slammed against her wrist!
Xiang Er’s eyes widened, and she immediately shook her arm, trying to dislodge the eyeball.
But the moment it made contact with her skin, it secreted a large amount of black slime, a thick, viscous substance that clung to her skin, impossible to shake off, the more she struggled, the tighter it gripped!
The eyeball extended even more tentacles, wrapping and coiling around her wrist, forming a network of black and red lines, then settled comfortably on top of the lines, securing itself with the black slime, completely unfazed by Xiang Er’s frantic shaking.
The eyeball raised its red pupil, looked at Xiang Er, and drooped its eyelid, giving her a pitiful look.
But Xiang Er, overwhelmed by the horrifying sensation of the black slime, desperately suppressed a scream, shaking her hand violently, trying to pry the eyeball off with her left hand, but she couldn’t!
Her left hand was also covered in the black slime, almost fused to her right wrist. The more frantic she became, the more slime there seemed to be!
Xiang Er’s head buzzed, she was almost in tears, this was so disgusting, she really regretted not throwing this thing away yesterday! Now it seemed to have fixated on her! What should she do?!
And just as she was about to lose it, a knock on the door, followed by Shen Yuhe’s alluring voice, added insult to injury:
“Good morning, Little Ears, are you awake? I’m coming in!”
A vein throbbed in Xiang Er’s temple, and she yelled at the door:
“No!”
Her voice was shrill and trembling, and as soon as she spoke, she knew she was doomed. She didn’t sound okay at all, and knowing Shen Yuhe, she would definitely come in and check on her!
But what about the thing on her hand if Shen Yuhe came in?
As expected, the next second, the doorknob turned. And the black eyeball on her wrist had even found a comfortable position, settling down as if it belonged there.
Xiang Er was about to lose her mind. For the first time, she wished Shen Yuhe wasn’t so attentive!
T/N:
(1)-(2)
The nicknames “Little Yu” appear twice, but with different characters and meanings:
- 小遇 (Xiǎo Yù): The “Yù” (遇) here means “to encounter” or “to meet.” It’s derived from Shen Yuhe’s name, likely the “Yu” part. This is a common way to form nicknames in Chinese.
- 小鱼 (Xiǎo Yú): This “Yú” (鱼) means “fish.” While “Yu” can also be a surname, in this context, it creates the nickname “Little Fish.”
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