Chapter 59
Chapter 59
The afternoon air was crisp and clear.
Plenty of people strolled the streets.
After two whole weeks of lazing at home, the witch who called herself a sloth had finally been dragged outdoors.
Jiang Li deliberately took the long way round so that Kakayan could get a taste of crowded places.
Short videos at home could only teach her so much; if she ever wanted to fit into modern society, she needed the real thing.
Before they knew it, the two of them had arrived on a busy commercial strip.
It was one of Hangzhou's most famous shopping districts, a double row of cafés, arcades, hotpot places and boutiques cramming every inch of pavement.
Even on a weekday the foot traffic never let up; when evening classes ended, the local high-schoolers would flood in by the dozen.
Jiang Li knew this road like the back of his hand.
Back in senior year, his school had stood just a few blocks away.
Walk a little farther and you'd pass the stationery shop, the bookstore, the underground arcade and the internet café—mandatory stops for every teenager in uniform.
He was used to the place, but walking here with Kakayan still made Jiang Li uneasy.
Maybe the modern world was finally rubbing off on her—she grew bolder by the day.
Every time something new caught her eye, her pace shot ahead without warning, leaving Jiang Li scrambling behind.
She did glance back to check on him, yet Jiang Li still had to jog every so often to keep her from vanishing into the crowd.
After several rounds of this awkward stop-and-start, their steps refused to match.
"Kakayan."
His stomach ached if he walked too fast on a full stomach, so Jiang Li waved her back.
Kakayan had spotted a golden retriever on the sidewalk and was crouching to pet its head.
Only after the second call did she respond.
"Mmm? What?"
"Don't wander too far. It's crowded; I don't want to lose you."
He reminded her.
Someday, once he had the money, he'd buy her a phone and register a number under his own ID.
That way he wouldn't have to worry about her getting lost on busy streets.
"...Okay."
Kakayan lifted her head, clearly as tired of the constant check-ins as he was.
After a moment's thought, she simply stretched out her hand toward Jiang Li.
"Then hold onto me."
"..."
Jiang Li looked at the outstretched hand for a second, then dragged his gaze up to her face.
"You sure?"
"Weren't you afraid I'd get lost?"
"Yeah, fair point."
The little hand hovered in mid-air: the back pale and soft, the fingertips faintly pink.
Jiang Li figured only an idiot would turn down free perks.
He reached for her hand—only to hear a sharp smack.
Kakayan batted him away, eyebrows knitted, one cheek puffed in mild annoyance.
"I said wrist, not hand."
"...?"
Jiang Li silently groused that a wrist was hardly worth holding—might as well leash her with a rope.
Still, he circled his fingers around the slim wrist.
Girls really did run colder; the skin felt like the finest silk chilled for summer.
Before he'd even tightened his grip, Kakayan surged forward, towing him like a kite.
With her hand linked, she no longer worried about losing him and let herself weave through the crowds.
They slipped past shoulders and elbows under the slanting autumn sun, their overlapping shadows gliding across the asphalt.
Kakayan rose on tiptoe to look around; her pink ponytail flicked past Jiang Li's face, trailing the scent of citrus shampoo.
Her wrist twisted restlessly in his grasp, slippery as a loach bent on escape.
They darted all the way from South Street to North Street.
When the energy from the earlier hotpot finally burned off, Kakayan slowed until they were walking side by side again.
Couples out on dates crowded the sidewalks around them.
Hand in hand, the boys chatted and laughed, tugging their girlfriends closer; some girls, too shy to resist, buried flushed faces in their boyfriends' chests.
The boys seized the chance, wrapping arms around waists and drawing them into soft, lingering hugs.
Kakayan watched with half-lidded amethyst eyes, then sneaked a glance sideways.
Jiang Li's face was impassive, eyes sliding past her as if she didn't exist.
An odd prick of irritation needled Kakayan.
She paused, a sly smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
"Jiang Li, did you actually want to hold my hand just now?"
"Yep."
He nodded, absent-minded; with Kakayan in tow, he no longer worried about losing her.
He hadn't walked this route in four or five years. Half the once-packed shops had shuttered, but the ones that remained still stirred a flood of memories.
Lost in nostalgia, he barely noticed her beside him.
"Hmph. And you thought I'd let you?"
Kakayan covered her smile with a hand. "Aren't you full of yourself?"
"Who knows what goes on in your head," Jiang Li replied flatly.
Her eyebrows twitched at the answer, though her smile never slipped.
"So you don't want to hold my hand?"
"..."
Realizing she was trying to bait him, Jiang Li curved his lips. "If you offer, I'll take it."
The best way to deal with a loaded question was to toss it right back.
"..."
Kakayan fell silent, smile frozen, irritation simmering beneath.
Jiang Li's indifference scraped her nerves raw.
A sour taste rose in her throat, like biting into an unripe apple.
"Let go."
She yanked her wrist free and turned her face away.
"Give me your hand."
"Why?" Kakayan shot him an irked glance. "I thought you didn't want to."
"Never said that."
Jiang Li extended his hand and waited.
With Kakayan cooperating, keeping hold meant neither of them had to keep tabs on the other.
He figured they could make a habit of it every time they went out.
As for where exactly to hold—hand or wrist—he was a pragmatist.
A hand felt nicer, but a wrist was more practical.
Kakayan turned her face back, sneaked a look at his open palm, then at her own.
After a moment's hesitation, she offered her hand again.
This time she slipped it into his.
They'd held hands before, but always in frantic circumstances.
This was the first time they'd done it so calmly.
Jiang Li's hand was large, clean, the base of his fingers thick with calluses—marks of a swordsman's life.
Before Kakayan could get used to the feel, Jiang Li gave her fingers a light squeeze, sending a jolt through her.
Warmth from his palm seeped into the back of her hand.
Kakayan's ear-tips began to burn.
Blood rushed upward in a dizzying surge.
The instant she realized she was about to blush, Kakayan yanked her hand away.
She whipped her head to the side and marched off, muttering under her breath.
"Ow—your hands are nothing but calluses!"