Chapter 226: Then Invite Me

Qinghe looked toward the empty doorway, wondering how much Zhiyi had noticed before he arrived that morning. He had thought he was doing reasonably well until she asked about his shirt.

"I tried to remember which books ended badly," Qinghe admitted, turning back to her. "Then I realized I’d been standing in front of the shelf for ten minutes without taking anything down."

Zhiyi rested their joined hands on the blanket. "Were you choosing a book or trying to predict whether I would enjoy spending time with you?"

"Both," Qinghe replied, smiling at how easily she had found him out. "I wanted you to ask me back."

"You hadn’t visited yet." Zhiyi’s brows drew together slightly, but there was warmth in the way she watched him. "You were getting ahead of yourself."

Qinghe laughed and settled deeper into the chair. He could feel the morning passing now without worrying that he ought to leave before she grew tired of him. Her thumb rested against the side of his hand, occasionally moving while she thought.

"I also changed my shirt," Qinghe confessed. "Although you’d already worked that out."

"I noticed that you looked nice," Zhiyi corrected. "You told me about changing."

He glanced down at the shirt he had spent so long choosing. It was an ordinary blue one, clean and soft from washing, but he suspected he would remember wearing it long after today.

"Then I’m glad I changed," Qinghe said.

Zhiyi smiled before looking toward the bedside table. Her wooden box sat beyond the water glass, where Hanchuan had left it after moving the table. She studied it for a moment, and Qinghe followed her gaze.

"Would you like me to bring that closer?" Qinghe asked.

"Yes, please." Zhiyi loosened her fingers so he could reach it. "I would like to try opening it."

Qinghe lifted the box carefully.

He had seen Zeyu sanding it in the workroom, rubbing his thumb over the same corner until Shichen told him there couldn’t possibly be anything left to smooth. At the time, Qinghe had assumed his friend needed something to keep his hands busy.

Now, holding it while Zhiyi made room on her lap, he wondered whether Zeyu had spent those evenings thinking about giving it to her.

Qinghe placed it where she indicated and watched her turn it beneath her fingertips. The lid had no visible catch, although a narrow strip of darker wood ran along one side.

"Zeyu should be here," Zhiyi said after examining the bottom.

Qinghe’s pleasure faltered before he could help it. He looked toward the doorway, already preparing to stand, and felt foolish when her hand settled over his wrist.

"I would like you to stay," Zhiyi added. "I’m asking whether you can call him."

"Of course." Qinghe reached for his phone, relieved she had stopped him before he made leaving look like an obligation. "I think he’s in the garage."

Zeyu answered with a scrape of something being set down.

"If this is about lunch, Shichen has already reminded me," Zeyu said. "Apparently checking the time once wasn’t enough."

Qinghe glanced at Zhiyi, who was following the edge of the box with one finger.

"She wants to open your present," Qinghe told him. "Do you have a few minutes?"

The silence lasted just long enough for Qinghe to hear water running at the other end.

"I’m washing my hands," Zeyu replied. "Tell her I’m coming."

Zeyu dried his hands twice before realizing he was still standing beside the basin. ℴℴ𝘮

The box had remained closed for weeks.

He had seen it beside Zhiyi’s bed often enough to stop expecting her to mention it, although he always noticed when someone moved it. Once, Hanchuan had put it on the dresser to clear space, and Zeyu had nearly asked why before reminding himself that it wasn’t his anymore.

He left the towel hanging over the rail and went down the corridor.

Qinghe sat close to the bed when Zeyu reached the doorway. Zhiyi had the box in her lap, but she looked up before he could speak.

"I haven’t started opening it," Zhiyi told him. "I wanted you to see."

Zeyu stopped with his hand against the doorframe. He had imagined watching her discover the first catch, hearing the small click as the lid loosened. He hadn’t thought she would wait for him.

"Then I’d better sit down before I start telling you things you don’t want to know," Zeyu replied.

He pulled the spare chair close enough to see her hands. Qinghe moved his foot to give him room, and Zeyu caught the small smile his friend tried to hide.

Zhiyi turned the box, pressing lightly along the darker strip. Zeyu kept his hands between his knees so he wouldn’t point.

"You don’t need to force anything," Zeyu said when she tested a corner.

Zhiyi glanced at him. "Was that a hint?"

"That was me worrying about my workmanship," Zeyu admitted. "I’ll be quiet."

She returned to the box, and he watched her compare the two sides before moving her thumb back to the strip. This time, she pressed one end while sliding the other.

The catch clicked beneath her fingers.

Zeyu leaned forward before he could stop himself. Zhiyi noticed, and the pleased look she gave him made the evenings in the workroom feel worth every hour.

Inside lay a small compass in a fitted wooden space. Beside it, a flash drive rested beneath a loop of ribbon.

Zhiyi lifted the compass first, turning it until the needle steadied.

"For when the screens stop working?" she asked.

"That was the sensible part," Zeyu replied. He touched the edge of the open lid. "I thought you’d appreciate having one that didn’t need charging."

Zhiyi set it back carefully before picking up the drive.

"And this is the other part?" she asked.

Zeyu rubbed his palms over his knees. He had been less nervous about the catches.

"There are games on it," Zeyu explained. "Puzzles, mostly. A few I thought we could play together. You mentioned one before the wedding, and I remembered."

Zhiyi looked from the drive to his face.

"You made something for us to do together," she said.

Zeyu nodded, holding her gaze this time. "I wanted something to invite you to that wasn’t another drive or a repair."

Zhiyi laid the drive beside the compass, then reached toward him across the space between their chairs.

"Then invite me," she said, waiting while he took her hand.