Lights were low inside the taxi, and only beams of street lights flashed on Qi's tired face. Weiwei couldn't help but look at it. Every time the light fell on Qi's face, Weiwei would notice something new: the shape of his eyebrows, the line of his nose, the curve of his lips.
He looks like a boy when he's asleep. A pretty cute boy.
Weiwei sat up.
What am I thinking!
Weiwei looked away. Outside the window, the nighttime city was whooshing by. Weiwei didn't recognize the streets they were driving on, but she finally felt at ease. A few people were standing at the bus stop. A delivery man rode on a moped with a large black box on his back.
Suddenly Weiwei heard Qi mumble her name. His eyes were still closed, but his hand tried to reach hers.
"Weiwei, do you know that I like you?" Qi muttered softly. His lips barely moved, and there was a slight smile in a corner of his mouth. "I really like you. I wish you knew how much I like you. I liked you from the moment I met you."
Blood rushed to Weiwei's face. She felt so strange. She was angry at Qi just a few minutes earlier, and now she just wanted to cuddle his face and make him feel better.
Weiwei put her hand on his forehead. It was hot. "Don't speak," said Weiwei. "You'll be home soon."
Qi let out a sigh. "I like you, Weiwei. I want you to know that I've never liked anyone before. But I like you very much, you know?"
"I know," she said involuntarily and almost gasped when she did.
Why did I say that? What if he remembers?
Qi's smile slowly faded away. He was out of it again.
Which left Weiwei to process what he just said. He likes me. He said he liked me. How is it possible for someone like him to like me? I'm not even pretty, and I have no talents. I can't even dress to be attractive. I probably looked really terrible when he first met me on the rock – and he started to like me then? How could he? Why?
Things didn't add up in Weiwei's mind, especially because deep inside she already knew she also liked Qi. At least she felt about him the way she had never felt about anyone else before, and it must've been the feeling that people call "like".
"We're almost there," said the driver.
Weiwei looked around. "Where?"
"Rose Lane," the driver pointed ahead. "Those are some posh places," he said, looking at Qi over his shoulder. "Your boyfriend must be pretty rich, ah? Lucky you."
My boyfriend?
Before Weiwei could open her mouth to deny it, the car was stopped by a security guard.
"Where are you going?"
"I have a resident there, in the back seat."
"A resident in the back?" the guard projected disdain and suspicion. "Hello, sir?"
"He's asleep."
The driver's response made the guard even more skeptical. He got his flashlight out.
"The young lady can explain," said the driver.
The guard looked at Weiwei. "Could you please step out with your pass?"
Embarrassed, Weiwei got out of the cab.
I don't have a pass, and I don't want to show them my ID. I don't want them to write it down and be linked with his home.
Before she could start explaining, there were sounds of screeching tires, and the guard pushed Weiwei against the cab door, yelling, "Look out!". A black car came to a stop a few centimeters away from them and flashed its lights impatiently. The guard ran up to the other car, and Weiwei could hear a woman's voice calling, "Get them out of the way!"
Weiwei thought she saw a woman's haughty eyes glance at her as the car—a posh sedan—zoomed by.
The guard came back to Weiwei, breathing heavily. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," she said.
The guard's disposition had by now changed, and he simply asked, "What's his name?"
Weiwei shook herself up. "Mr. Feng," she said. "Building 15."
"Mr. Feng?" the guard's expression turned to subservient. He told the driver to turn on the interior light, and after a quick glance waved them through. "Go to the left. I'll call the building lobby."
"Damn snotty rich people," grumbled the driver through gritted teeth.
Two guards were waiting for them at the doors of Building 15. They gently offloaded Qi onto a sort of wheelchair with a high back.
"Did you bring him?" one of them asked Weiwei.
"Yes," she said indecisively.
"What is your name? I don't recall ever seeing you."
"It's Weiwei. I've never been here."
"Did he want you to come up with him?"
"Oh no, I just brought him home because he wasn't feeling well," Weiwei said, blushing. Who are they taking me for? A call girl? "Are you going to take him inside?"
"Yes, we'll take care of it, miss. Have a good night."
"Good night."
Weiwei returned to the cab, exhausted.
"Where to now?" muttered the driver. Weiwei repeated her address. "You'd better give a very good tip."