The clock on the nightstand blinked 11:47 PM. Chen Yiting sat alone at the kitchen table, the half-empty bottle of red wine catching the dim light from the stove hood. She swirled the glass, watching the dark liquid coat the sides before sliding back down. Three glasses in, and the edges of her loneliness had softened into something almost bearable.
Her phone lay face-up on the table. No messages from Mai Wanghui. Not that she expected any. He was in Guangzhou for a week—some supplier meeting that apparently required three days of dinners and golf. The last time he'd touched her was six months ago, a clumsy fumbling in the dark that lasted maybe four minutes. He'd rolled over and snored within thirty seconds of finishing. She'd cried quietly into her pillow, then spent the next morning pretending everything was fine.
She drained the last of the wine and poured another glass. The Cabernet was cheap, bought on sale, but tonight it burned warm enough to blur her thoughts. Her reflection in the dark window showed a woman who still looked young—small and delicate, barely five feet tall, with a round face that made strangers guess she was in her early twenties. She was twenty-eight. Married two years. Already forgotten.
By midnight, the bottle was empty. She left the glass in the sink and walked unsteadily toward the bedroom, her bare feet cold against the tile. The house was silent except for the hum of the refrigerator and the occasional creak of old wood settling. Mai Wanghui's father, the old man, had gone to his room hours ago. She'd heard him shuffle past the kitchen around nine, muttering something about the television news.
She changed into her nightgown—a black lace slip that Wanghui had bought her for their honeymoon and never seen her wear again. It clung to her small frame, the delicate fabric whispering against her skin. She didn't bother with the lights. The bed welcomed her, cool sheets and a hollow space beside her. She curled on her side, pulled the duvet to her chin, and let the wine drag her into a heavy, dreamless sleep.
The bedroom door opened without a sound.
Old Mai had been lying awake in his room, listening. He'd heard the clink of the wine bottle, the soft padding of her footsteps. When the house fell silent, he waited ten more minutes, then eased out of bed. His knees cracked as he stood, but he didn't care. The hallway was dark. He knew every floorboard that groaned—stepped over them with practiced care.
He pushed her door open just an inch, enough to see the shape of her under the duvet. The moonlight filtered through the curtain gap, casting a pale stripe across the bed. She lay on her side, one arm tucked under the pillow, her face slack with sleep. The black lace of her nightgown had ridden up, exposing the tops of her thighs. She wore black stockings—she must have fallen asleep without taking them off. The sheer fabric caught the light, outlining her legs from ankle to where they disappeared beneath the hem.
His breath hitched. He'd noticed those legs before, of course. Noticed the way she crossed them at dinner, the curve of her calf when she bent to pick something up. But now she was still, helpless, and the alcohol had sunk her into a sleep so deep she wouldn't stir at a whisper.
He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, the latch clicking into place with a soft metallic sound. She didn't move.
He stood at the bedside, looking down. The nightgown's thin straps had slipped off her shoulders. The black lace contrasted against her pale skin. Her lips were parted slightly, breath slow and even. A strand of hair had fallen across her face. He wanted to brush it away but didn't dare—not yet.
He sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped, but she only sighed and shifted an inch, settling deeper into the pillow. His heart hammered in his chest, a mix of fear and desire that made his hands tremble. He reached out, fingers hovering over her knee, then slowly, so slowly, he touched her.
His fingertips brushed the fabric of her stocking. Smooth, silky, warm from her body heat. He pressed lightly, feeling the soft give of her flesh beneath the nylon. She didn't respond. He slid his hand up, tracing the curve of her calf, the back of her knee. Her skin was like a secret he was finally allowed to touch.
Emboldened, he leaned down. His tongue touched the stocking at her ankle. The taste of synthetic fabric and the faint salt of her skin. He licked a slow path upward, following the line of her shin. The nylon dampened under his tongue. He reached her knee, then the underside of her thigh, where the stocking ended and her bare skin began.
Chen Yiting stirred.
Somewhere in the haze of wine and sleep, she felt a warmth, a wetness trailing up her leg. Her mind struggled to make sense of it. A dream? She tried to open her eyes, but her lids were heavy, her limbs weighed down by the alcohol. She felt a pressure on her mouth—something soft and wet pressing against her lips.
Old Mai had lifted her head gently, cradling her small face in his hands. He pressed his mouth to hers, tongue tracing her closed lips. She tasted of wine and sleep. He pushed his tongue inside, past her teeth, finding her tongue and curling around it.
She woke fully.
Her eyes flew open. In the dim light, she saw the wrinkled face above her, the gray stubble around his mouth, the familiar shape of her father-in-law's features. She tried to pull back, but his hand was on the back of her head, holding her in place. His tongue moved inside her mouth, wet and insistent, tasting her.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to push him away. But her body wouldn't obey. The alcohol had sapped her strength, or maybe it was something else—some dark, shameful part of her that had been starving for so long it didn't know how to refuse any touch at all.
His free hand slid down her body, over the lace, between her legs. She gasped against his mouth. He swallowed the sound.
"Mmm," he murmured, pulling back just enough to meet her eyes. "You taste sweet, girl."
She stared at him, her breath coming in short, ragged bursts. She should say no. She should call out. But Wanghui wasn't here. No one was coming. And his hand was still there, pressing, moving, and her body was responding in ways she hated herself for.
"Don't," she whispered, but the word came out weak, unconvincing.
He smiled, a thin, knowing smile, and lowered his head to her neck, kissing, sucking. Her hands came up to his shoulders—to push, to pull, she didn't know. They gripped his collar instead.
He took that as permission.
The black lace nightgown slid down her arms. The stockings clung to her legs. And Chen Yiting closed her eyes, letting the wine and the dark and the forbidden touch carry her somewhere she couldn't name, somewhere she'd never been before.