Chapter 74
The warm touch of the cashmere fabric felt like a thin protective shell, allowing the original owner's tense nerves to relax slightly. She unconsciously stroked the edge of the fabric repeatedly, her eyes lowered, seemingly forgetting for the moment the intense gaze from the window.
Seeing that Shi Ye's condition had improved, Lin Xiaoyu became bolder. She reached into the basket and picked up another white pebble. This time, she didn't give it directly to Shi Ye, but gently placed it on the cashmere fabric beside her: "Sister Shi Ye, look, the stone on the soft cloth looks like a small ice cube in the snow."
The white stones rested on the light gray cashmere, creating a striking color contrast, their rounded curves subtly supported by the soft fabric. This simple juxtaposition possesses a strange, serene beauty.
Shi Ye's caressing motion stopped. Her gaze was drawn to the white stone. Last time, she had held a similar stone and remembered the faint warmth that gradually followed its coolness. Hesitantly, she extended her index finger and very lightly touched the smooth surface of the stone.
It was cool. But the fabric was warm.
She looked at the stone, then at her fingers that had just been caressing the fabric, a faint look of confusion crossing her face, as if she were pondering how these two completely different tactile sensations could coexist at such close range.
Su Xiao had been observing all along, and now she spoke softly, "The texture is amazing, isn't it? Hard, soft, cool, warm, and they can all be put together." Her words didn't point to anything specific; they were more like a description, yet they subtly hinted at a possibility of acceptance and coexistence.
Teacher Wang added gently, "If Miss Shi is interested, she can try arranging a few stones on the cloth, or simply feel their different temperatures and shapes. There are no rules; it's up to you."
Shi Ye's fingertips moved away from the stone, but didn't retract them. She looked at the other stones in the basket—some were dark gray, some were mottled, and a few were smaller white pebbles. She hesitated for a moment, then carefully pushed the white pebble aside with her fingertips, making room for it. Next, she picked out the smallest, milky-white pebble from the basket and gently placed it next to the larger white stone.
Two white stones, one large and one small, nestled quietly against the soft cashmere fabric.
This simple, almost instinctive arranging action conveys a sense of careful and tender care.
By the window, Qi Jin's gaze was fixed on the two white stones, his left hand, tucked into his pocket, unconsciously tightening its grip. The large one, the small one, nestled together… This image, without warning, crashed into a corner of his memory.
Many years ago, among the photos she secretly took, there was one of Shi Ye squatting in a corner of the garden, with a few small pebbles that the stray cats had nudged in front of her as she fed them. Shi Ye was placing a slightly larger stone and a very small one side by side, her profile appearing exceptionally soft and serene in the afterglow of the setting sun. She remembered that she was quite a distance away at the time, and her heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.
And now...
After arranging the stones, Shi Ye seemed somewhat bewildered by her own actions. She looked up, her gaze unconsciously drifting towards the window, where it met Qi Jin's gaze, which hadn't yet completely looked away.
Shi Ye seemed to be struck by an electric current, jolted violently, quickly lowered his head, and curled up his fingers, becoming like that frightened rabbit again.
In that fleeting moment of eye contact, Qi Jin clearly saw in her eyes a hint of focus and... subtle satisfaction that she hadn't had time to conceal during the "arrangement." It wasn't fear, nor was it pretense; it was more like a brief, genuine expression of immersion in simple creation.
Lin Xiaoyu didn't notice the fleeting eye contact; she was excitedly picking up a piece of linen cloth: "Sister Shiye, how about we wrap the stone in this rough cloth? Or tie a knot? Let's see what it feels like?"
As she spoke, she began to wrap the larger white pebble with the rough linen cloth. Her movements were clumsy, the cloth crumpled and wrapped around the stone in a crooked knot. She lifted it up and shook it: "Look! A stone bundle!"
The somewhat comical scene inexplicably eased the tense atmosphere. Even Teacher Wang couldn't help but smile.
The original owner of Shi Ye looked at the ugly "stone bundle" in Lin Xiaoyu's hand, and the corners of her pale mouth twitched upwards almost imperceptibly, so quickly as to seem like an illusion. But Su Xiao, who had been closely observing her, caught it.
Su Xiao's heart skipped a beat. This might be an opportunity, a very natural entry point that would allow Qi Jin to "get involved".
She looked at Qi Jin, her tone subtly inquiring, her voice clear but not abrupt: "Mr. Qi, you see, Designer Lin's casual idea has reminded us that different combinations of materials can create unexpected fun and tactile experiences. I wonder... if you'd be interested in trying these materials yourself?" She paused, then added, "After all, your opinion is very important for our subsequent adjustments."
This was a flawless statement, both flattering Qi Jin's importance (his opinions were crucial for direction) and subtly embedding the invitation under the legitimate reason of "work feedback," thus reducing its aggressiveness. Moreover, she invited him to "experience the materials," rather than directly interacting with anyone, making it a safe and open suggestion.
All eyes instantly focused on Qi Jin.
Lin Xiaoyu's eyes lit up as she held up the "stone bundle": "Hey, senior! You should try it too! It's no fun just watching!"
Teacher Wang maintained a professional smile, but she was a little nervous inside, wondering how the cold-faced President Qi would respond.
The original owner, Shi Ye, lowered his head even further, almost burying it into his shoulders, as if that would make him invisible.
Qi Jin remained silent. Her gaze swept over Su Xiao's composed (pretended) face, over Lin Xiaoyu's expectant eyes, and finally landed on the two white stones side by side, and on the companion wrapped in ugly linen.
Feel the materials?
She does need more "direct" observation. And perhaps contacting these harmless things that Shi Ye is also in contact with will allow her to understand the meaning behind those subtle reactions from a different perspective and more closely.
Under the watchful eyes of several people, Qi Jin finally moved. She left the sofa she was leaning against and slowly walked towards her work table. Her steps were steady, but the stiffness in her right arm was still visible.
She stopped at the table, not too close, maintaining a polite but discreet distance. Her left hand remained in her pocket, while she reached for the basket of pebbles with only her right.
Her hands were long and slender, with distinct knuckles, pale skin, and neatly trimmed nails. She didn't reach for the two white stones, but instead casually picked up a dark gray pebble with a finely textured surface.
The moment her fingertips touched the stone, her movement paused almost imperceptibly. It was cold, hard, and naturally rough. This sensation inexplicably reminded her of the hard, warm beneath the smooth surface of the jade clasp in her pocket.
Unlike Shi Ye, she didn't caress or manipulate the stone. Instead, she placed it in her palm, gently weighed it, and felt its weight. Then, her gaze fell on the soft cashmere that Shi Ye had been caressing for so long.
After hesitating for only a second, she gently placed the dark gray stone in her palm on a corner of the light gray cashmere cloth, a noticeable distance from the two white stones that Shi Ye had placed there.
Dark gray stones fall onto soft light gray fabric, their colors similar yet distinct, like a silent planet with its own boundaries, quietly descending upon the edge of a warm cloud.
She didn't speak, just stared at the juxtaposition. Then, she raised her eyes, her gaze calm as she looked at Teacher Wang and Su Xiao, as if asking: Is this how it is?
This action was extremely simple, not even worthy of being called "playing," but more like a calm and distant "sample placement." But it was precisely this restraint and detachment that contrasted sharply with Shi Ye's careful placement of the stones and Lin Xiaoyu's careless wrapping of them, silently drawing a line between her and this "healing" space, yet subtly embedding herself into it through this simple "placement" action.
Su Xiao immediately understood and nodded with a smile: "A very good contrast experience. Hard and soft, cool and warm colors, different juxtapositions bring completely different feelings." She cleverly incorporated Qi Jin's behavior into the framework of "experience and feedback".
Lin Xiaoyu glanced at the dark gray stone Qi Jin had placed down, then at the ugly linen bundle in her hand, stuck out her tongue, and muttered to Shi Ye, "Senior is so cool, even just placing it anywhere looks like a work of art in a photo..."
The original owner of Shi Ye had already frozen when Qi Jin approached, and now she even held her breath. Her gaze involuntarily drifted to the piece of cashmere cloth—in one corner were the two white stones she had placed nestled together, and in the other corner was the solitary dark gray stone that Qi Jin had placed. A large expanse of soft, light gray cloth seemed to separate two worlds, yet also seemed to connect them in a silent way within the same space.
She looked at the two white stones, then quickly glanced at the dark gray one, her fingers unconsciously curling up.
The sunlight outside the window shifted slightly, shining through the special glass and casting a bright band of light onto the cashmere cloth, perfectly illuminating both the white and dark gray stones. In the light, the fine hairs became clearly visible, and the textures on the stone surfaces were outlined even more clearly.
In the silence of the room, only the light and shadow moved slowly.
Qi Jin looked at the few silent stones in the band of light, at Shi Ye's lowered, pale profile, and at the lingering, cold touch of the stone on his fingertips.
The frozen lake in my heart, in its unseen depths, seemed to have a small, translucent yet fragile crack revealed by this unexpected ray of sunlight.
Su Xiao stood aside, watching this unexpectedly created "juxtaposition" of two people in the same frame yet distant, and the two silent figures in the light and shadow. The string of her mission tightened slightly, but she also vaguely saw the next possible crack to be pried open.
Matchmaker's Notes: The target person's first "interaction" (remotely). Materials: Stone and cloth. Effect: Creates a silent visual juxtaposition, prompting observation and potential associations. Next step: Create more natural, non-confrontational, subtle points of interaction.
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