Whose Silhouette Is It?
When Chen Xuan stepped into 2501, she finally understood why Li An had asked her not to interfere for the moment. She also realized what it meant to be a clever housewife without rice to cook. Li An, after offering more explanations, picked up the shovel and rejoined the battle.
Chen Xuan watched as the three men, sweating profusely, labored in the stifling heat of the room, with nothing to drink. Hurriedly, she returned to her own apartment and brought back two bottles of chilled plum juice.
“Thanks, Sister Xuan.”
“Sister Xuan gets us!”
After setting down the plum juice, Chen Xuan went back to her room, changed her dress for trousers, and joined the fight.
“I’ll tidy up the stove myself later. Could you help me clean the bedroom windows?” Li An, not one for macho pride, couldn’t accept Chen Xuan cleaning those old, tattered shoes whose owners were unknown.
As the saying goes, men and women working together lighten the load.
Two hours passed in a blink, and nearly half the house was cleaned. The full expanse of the living room emerged at last. They truly owed this to the three friends who worked so hard.
At quarter past four, Sister Wu, the former landlord, called to arrange a six o’clock inspection for the deposit refund.
Li An put down his tools and explained to the group, “Let’s go grab a quick bite tonight. I’ve got work later, but tomorrow evening I’m off, and I’ll treat you all properly.”
Xu Hongxin picked up the scraper and kept working. “Go ahead, Brother An. I’ve got nothing on today. I’ll lock up for you when we leave.”
Ma Tao chimed in, “Exactly, the sooner we finish, the better. Who knows if we’ll have time the day after tomorrow.”
Chen Xuan said nothing, but she didn’t remove her gloves either.
Seeing this, Li An nodded. “Tomorrow night we’ll have a feast.”
Honestly, their response touched him. These friends were truly reliable.
He tossed a room card onto the stove and left.
On the bus back to Guangyuan, he spent fifty-seven yuan ordering three grilled fish meals. Remark: one without cilantro.
...
The move went smoothly, and Li An received a nineteen hundred yuan deposit. He hesitated over whether to split this month’s Huabei payments into installments—everywhere he looked, money was needed.
Ten seconds later.
He decided to pay it off immediately. He couldn’t afford such lax thoughts; people tend to slack off.
After the Blue Whale show that evening, the restaurant’s lobby manager, Song Sheng, stopped Li An.
“Li, do you have a moment?”
“No, Song, please go ahead.”
“Come, come.”
Song Sheng led Li An to an empty seat in a corner of the restaurant and called for two meals. “Lili, open a bottle of wine.”
Li An wondered what was going on as Song Sheng smiled obsequiously, rubbing his hands, “Li An, I want your advice about something.”
“If there’s anything, just tell me directly. No need for formality between us,” Li An replied with a polite smile.
Song Sheng’s face grew serious as he waved his hand, “You’re an artist here at Blue Whale. I’ve wanted to chat with you for ages, but every time you finish your performance, you vanish. Today, I finally caught you.”
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Before long, Lili brought over a bottle of red wine.
“Manager Song.”
“Brother An.”
She poured for them and retreated.
“It’s like this: my son is five years old this year. I want him to learn piano. Do you think a child that young can learn?” Song Sheng asked, frowning. “I’ve heard people say five is too young, that it affects physical development. Is that true?”
No wonder he was so formal—this was why.
Li An calmly explained, “A five-year-old can absolutely learn piano. If the method is right, your worries can be avoided. Of course, if the method is wrong, even adults might injure their fingers.”
Song Sheng’s lips curled uncontrollably. “It’s got to be a professional like you. Li, I’ll entrust my son to you. Don’t worry about tuition—charge whatever you see fit.”
Here it was.
Li An had already anticipated this, and was calculating how to tactfully invite Song Sheng to bring his child for lessons. But with his current schedule, he had no time for private tutoring.
Li An asked, “Song, do you have a piano at home?”
Song Sheng replied, “Not yet. I want my kid to start with you. If you think he has talent, you can help me pick a piano when the time comes.”
Song Sheng dangled another tempting offer—clearly hinting that if Li An taught well, he’d get a commission from the instrument purchase.
Learning that there was no piano at home, Li An relaxed. “No rush on buying a piano, Song. The issue is, I just moved and my new place doesn’t have a piano. Your child would need to come to my workplace for lessons.”
Song Sheng was relieved. As long as Li An would take the job, he didn’t mind. In all his years as manager, Song Sheng had never seen a pianist as skilled as Li An.
Every time Li An sat at the piano, radiating energy, Song Sheng felt envy and wanted his child to learn from him.
Song Sheng believed: The kind of teacher you have determines the kind of student you become.
As for where to have lessons, he didn’t care.
As they spoke, the food arrived.
“Let’s eat, and when his mother brings him back from the trip, we’ll discuss it again. Try our house specialty, Teacher Li.”
Cheers.
...
Half a bottle of wine in, Li An was as composed as ever. After a busy day, he was exhausted and collapsed on his bed without even taking a shower.
Before sleeping, he glanced at the photos shared in the group chat that evening; the living room was mostly tidied up. The remaining small tasks would take him half a day tomorrow.
Eight-One: Thanks, everyone. See you tomorrow.
No one replied this time—on the other side of Rong City, Xu Hongxin and Ma Tao were already sound asleep.
...
2501, bedroom.
Chen Xuan put down her phone and picked up the mop for the sixth round of cleaning. She believed that even a cement floor should be thoroughly mopped in a sleeping space.
Never before in her life had she worked so hard as today. She was exhausted, but also deeply satisfied and happy.
It felt like she just couldn’t help wanting to share someone’s burden, to make things easier for him.
Or perhaps something else—she couldn’t quite describe it. Whatever it was, she was determined to clean the bedroom completely tonight.
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...
At midnight, a thunderclap exploded over the quiet Rong City.
Moments later, a torrential rain poured from the sky.
Rong City’s next bout of heavy rain arrived right on schedule.
The following day, Thursday, with no classes, the four all took leave at the same time. Old Dong let them go easily, and Qin Yong even offered his car.
The car wasn’t needed—by noon, the moving van was already parked beneath Li An’s building.
Li An and Ma Tao handled loading at Guangyuan, while Xu Hongxin was stationed at Wanhe Residence to receive. Chen Xuan stayed behind to watch the house.
The downpour slowed the move—what should have been a forty-minute drive stretched to an hour and twenty.
At Unit 4’s entrance, Li An unloaded each item.
Induction stove, cookware, a brand-new set of dinnerware, bedding, computer desk, monitor and tower, a box of clothes, cat litter box, fan...
Some belonged to the previous owner, some were new purchases.
Bags and boxes were stacked, filling the ground.
When unloading the computer, Xu Hongxin’s eyes lit up. “Brother An, your computer looks pretty high-end. What graphics card?”
“3080ti,” Li An replied instinctively.
Xu Hongxin’s eyes widened—he felt a sudden envy for the single life. “Brother An, be careful with that!”
The three men kept working, this time moving everything from downstairs to upstairs. Li An and Ma Tao carried items to the elevator, while Xu Hongxin took them into the apartment.
Trip after trip—about four or five in total.
Finally, on the last trip, the three entered 2501 together, carrying the computer desk.
Li An was stunned.
The spotless living room was worlds apart from the photos he’d seen last night.
All the dust and debris had vanished.
The cement floor, once covered in dirt, now seemed almost smooth.
This...
Li An couldn’t help but look toward the kitchen, where a graceful figure was arranging spice jars.
He paused in surprise.
Her hair was casually pinned up.
A few soft strands framed her face.
Her fair neck caught the light.
It seemed...
At that moment, Xu Hongxin wrapped an arm around Li An’s neck from behind.
“Brother An, you really ought to thank Sister Xuan. After we left yesterday, she did all the remaining work—the floor is cleaner than the tiles at my house.”
Hearing this, Chen Xuan turned her head. Seeing the three men’s faces, indistinguishable between rain and sweat, she said, “There’s tissue on the windowsill—wipe yourselves, don’t catch a cold.”
That glance tugged hard at Li An’s heart.
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