Chapter 249: The River’s Coming Toward Us

Zeyu let go of the door handle and turned toward her. Zhiyi’s hand remained against his chest, and he covered it with his own, looking at her closely enough that she raised her eyebrows.

"I’m trying to answer without saying something stupid," Zeyu admitted. He could feel himself smiling, although there was nothing funny about how badly he wanted to take her back to bed. "You’ve made it difficult to think about fetching a pillow."

"You offered to carry it," Zhiyi reminded him. Her fingers curled around his, and she moved toward the door, bringing him with her. "I would still like you to."

Zeyu followed her into the corridor, unable to stop smiling now.

The shelter had grown quiet around them. A light shone beneath the security-room door, and somewhere farther away, Shichen was running water.

He had lived with these sounds for years, but walking beside Zhiyi with the promise of her returning to his room made him notice everything.

Hanchuan was putting clothes away when they reached the bedroom. He looked up as Zhiyi crossed to the bed and picked up her pillow.

"I’m staying with Zeyu tonight," Zhiyi told him. She passed the pillow to Zeyu before going to the dresser. "My brush is still in the bathroom, isn’t it?"

"Beside the basin," Hanchuan replied, closing the drawer. He came over while she gathered a few things, resting his hand briefly against her back. "Take the charger too. You were looking for it this morning."

Zeyu stood near the doorway with the pillow beneath his arm.

They had talked about this, long before tonight, but he still found himself watching Hanchuan as Zhiyi went into the bathroom. His friend noticed and met his gaze.

"She’ll tell you if she wants something," Hanchuan said quietly. A small smile appeared as he glanced at the pillow. "You don’t have to spend the night guessing."

"I know," Zeyu replied, shifting the pillow in his arms. "I’m usually better at remembering that when she isn’t coming to bed with me."

Hanchuan’s smile widened, but Zhiyi returned before he could answer. She gave her husband a kiss, lingering with her hand against his cheek, then turned toward Zeyu without hiding her pleasure.

They stopped in the kitchen for his forgotten tea.

By the time they reached his room, Zeyu had a pillow under one arm and a cup in his free hand, while Zhiyi carried everything else.

He had imagined bringing her here many times, but none of those imaginings had included waiting while she found an outlet and decided which side of the bed she preferred.

He liked the reality better.

Zhiyi set her brush beside his watch and turned toward him. "You can put the pillow down now. I think I’ve brought everything."

Zeyu placed it against the headboard, then came back to her.

He took the cup she was still holding and set it beside his before drawing her close. She rested her hands on his shoulders, and he kissed her with the relief of finally having nowhere else they needed to go.

He had known the sound of her laugh for years. He knew how she concentrated, when to leave her alone, and which games she would choose when she was tired.

Now he was learning how she held him when she wanted him closer, and how easily she could make him forget what he had meant to say.

When they paused, Zhiyi brushed her fingers through the hair at his temple.

"You’re still thinking very hard," she observed, studying his face. "Is there something you want to ask?"

Zeyu leaned his cheek into her hand. He could have made a joke, but she had come here willing to tell him what she wanted. He owed her the same honesty.

"I don’t want to make tonight so important that you can’t enjoy it," Zeyu said. "But it is important to me."

Zhiyi’s expression softened, and she took his hand as she sat on the bed. She drew him down beside her, leaving their knees touching.

"It matters to me too," Zhiyi replied. "That doesn’t mean you have to do everything perfectly. I already know you."

He looked at her brush on his dresser and her pillow against his own.

She had brought herself into his room in the same practical way she joined him at the workbench or settled beside him for an afternoon. She wanted to be comfortable, like she expected to stay for a long time.

Zeyu kissed her hand, then reached past her to move the blanket.

"Come here," Zeyu said, smiling as she shifted onto the bed. "I’ve been trying to find an excuse to hold you all evening."

"You had one before dinner," Zhiyi reminded him. She settled beside him and slipped her arm around his waist. "I kissed you back."

He laughed against her hair before turning to kiss her again.

After that, he stopped trying to find the right thing to say. They had time to be quiet, to laugh when his elbow caught the pillow and sent it sliding, and to tell each other what they wanted without embarrassment.

When Zhiyi reached to turn down the lamp, Zeyu caught her hand long enough to kiss her fingers.

She smiled at him in the softer light and drew him back beside her. Outside, the rain continued against the windows while they spent their first night together.

Much later, Zeyu woke with her hand resting against his shoulder.

For a moment, he lay still, getting used to the warmth of her beside him.

Her hair had spread across his pillow, and he carefully moved a strand away from his mouth. She stirred when he shifted, opening her eyes before he could settle again.

"Are you going somewhere?" Zhiyi asked sleepily. Her hand moved down his arm until she found his fingers.

"Just getting water," Zeyu told her. He kissed her forehead before reaching for the glass. "I’ll bring you some."

She sat up enough to drink, then handed it back and waited for him to lie down.

When he did, she tucked herself against him, and he drew the blanket over them both.

He had wanted to wake with her here. He hadn’t understood how much he would enjoy knowing she wanted him to stay too.

By morning, pale light had reached the edges of the curtains.

Zeyu woke again when Zhiyi sat up, listening to voices in the corridor. Someone knocked a moment later, firmly enough to bring him fully awake.

"Zeyu, bring Zhiyi to the sitting room," Hanchuan called through the door. "You need to see the river."

Zeyu reached for his clothes while Zhiyi pushed back the blanket. Beyond the curtains, he could hear a low, steady sound beneath the rain that hadn’t been there during the night.

When they reached the sitting room, Shichen stood at the window with binoculars in his hand. Far below, brown water swept along the streets toward the tower, carrying branches, boards, and the roof of a small shed.

"The water was draining toward the river yesterday," Shichen said, passing the binoculars to Zeyu. "Now the river’s coming toward us."