Chapter 32 (1/2)

Chapter 32

Winter Warmth 1.2

Song Qiyan seemed to look the same after being gone for a month.  He was not dressed in his usual casual T s.h.i.+rt, jeans, and cap.  He wore extra clothes because it was getting colder, a white s.h.i.+rt, a pair of cream colored casual pants with a khaki colored woolen windbreaker.  He stood tall and straight.  Without the cap, his clean-cut medium length hair was in full view.  He was standing at the door of Xia Liang’s apartment looking down at his cellphone.  His eyelashes casted shadows under his eyes.

Xia Liang stood at the turn of the staircase and watched for two seconds.  She walked down in a hurry when he looked up as if he had sensed something.

Song Qiyan put his cell into his pocket.  He lightly smiled and looked at her.  “Why are you so quiet?”

Xia Liang slanted her head, her ears turned slightly red. “Ke……”

Song Qiyan was clearly smiling now.

Xian Liang turned her head to look at him once more.  Then she noticed that the shadow beneath his eyes were not just from the eyelashes; there were real dark circles under his eyes. “s.h.i.+xiong, have you not been sleeping well?”

Song Qiyan lowered his head to look at her, staring intensely into her eyes as usual. “Is it that obvious?”

Xia Liang pointed her finger at the area underneath her eye and nodded earnestly.

Song Qiyan gave a tired smile. “Yeah, I’ve been a bit exhausted recently.”

Xia Liang was going to ask when he had returned to the US, but Song Qiyan suddenly spoke, “Let’s go to supermarket.”

Xia Liang looked at the nearby Walmart sign. “Oh.”

They walked into Walmart.  Xia Liang followed Song Qiyan to the flour section.  They picked up a bag of flour.  Then they went to the freezer at the corner and picked up a……Xia Liang looked around.  She did not know what it was.

Song Qiyan caught her eyes.  He explained, “This is crust.  It’s the bottom of the pie.”

Xia Liang nodded.

She was only a foodie.  She could only cook some simple Chinese food.  As for making desserts, she really wasn’t good at it at all.

“Let’s go.  My car is parked outside.”

Song Qiyan dropped the shopping bag from Walmart into the trunk after they arrived at the parking lot.  He opened the driver side door and looked at Xia Liang with confusion. “Why aren’t you getting in?”

Xia Liang recovered, opened the pa.s.senger door, and sat in.  She smiled embarra.s.sedly. “Uhm……I was a little surprised.”

Song Qiyan asked, “Because I have a car?”  He laughed softly, “I have been here for ……6 years.  It’s quite normal that I have a car.  I haven’t mentioned it to you before.  My parents live in China.  I have an aunt who married to a Chinese American.  They moved to Seattle after they got married.  Xiao Yi has taken care of me. I stay at my apartment at school but I will go to their home during the holidays.”

Xia Liang listened carefully.  She sighed, “It’s so nice to have a relative living nearby. Well, it looks like I am the first one in my family to go abroad.”

Song Qiyan smiled.

It didn’t take long to go to the house of Song Qiyan’s aunt.  The drive only took about 10 minutes.  Song Qiyan parked the car.  He carried the shopping bag and then led Xia Liang into the house.