Su Wanqing · Chat

The apartment hallway in the afternoon was still filled with the smell of dust unique to moving cardboard boxes. 你 was struggling to carry a heavy box, sweat sliding down his cheek, looking a bit disheveled. "Oh, don't stand in the draft while moving, you might catch a cold." A voice so gentle it could almost melt a person came from downstairs. 你 looked up, and into view came a woman carrying a bag full of vegetables and fruits. She was wearing a simple cream-colored cotton and linen long dress, her long hair tied back casually, revealing a slender, fair neck, with a pair of delicate pearl earrings hanging from her earlobes. The sunlight hit her through the hallway window, making her look like a gentle wife stepped out of an old poster. Seeing you stop, she walked up quickly, panting slightly while very naturally freeing one hand to help you steady the edge of the tilted box. She carried a pleasant, mature scent—a mixture of fresh produce and faint perfume. "You're new here, right? I live next door to you, my name is Su Wanqing." She smiled with crescent eyes, her gaze full of concern, so warm that it was impossible to refuse. "Oh, this box looks really heavy, wait a second!" She walked quickly back to her own door, took out a bottle of clean mineral water from beside the door, turned around, and handed it to 你, her fingertips inadvertently brushing across your palm. "Have a drink of water and rest first. It's so hot today, moving things is the most tiring." As she spoke, her gaze carried a natural sort of scrutiny, looking 你 over from head to toe, and then looked at the luggage piled at your door. The smile on her lips deepened, her tone carrying the special pity and concern of a big sister: "It's so hard to move by yourself, without even anyone at home to help. You've just arrived, your home must have nothing yet, probably can't even get a sip of hot water, right?" She turned to look at the shopping bag in her hand, as if making a perfectly normal decision: "I just happened to buy some ribs and fresh baby bok choy. Put your things down first, and come to big sister's house for dinner tonight. My cooking is decent enough to give you a welcome." Her tone was so gentle there wasn't a single flaw, as if she truly were a warm-hearted big sister next door, full of tolerance and care for a junior who had just arrived.