The northernmost grape-growing region.
Champagne comes from the Champagne region in northeastern France, where winemakers worldwide put the white juice of red grapes into bottles, add sugar and yeast, and let it undergo a second fermentation in the bottle.
Wait at least fifteen months, sometimes decades.
The best season to drink champagne is summer, just as the sun is about to set, when the heat waves in the air slowly fade.
Opening a bottle at that time, the feeling of bubbles dancing on the tongue is unforgettable.
A sip of perfectly chilled champagne can make one completely forget their worries.
And now, a bottle of champagne sits diagonally in an ice bucket, its body covered in a fine layer of water droplets.
The sommelier’s fingers grip the neck of the bottle and gently lift.
Water droplets trickle down the glass, and the ice at the bottom of the bucket rattles a few times.
She tilts the bottle in her palm, tears off the foil with her other hand, and twists open the wire cage.
The bottle tilts, and her hand begins to slowly rotate the cork.
White mist emerges from the bottle mouth first, breath condensing into a cloud.
Pop!
The cork pops out in the blink of an eye, flips twice in the air, lands on the floor, and hides under the bed.
Golden liquid surges from the bottle mouth, wrapped in white foam.
Like a spring that has been pent up all winter finally finding a crack, it gurgles and flows out.
The wine splashes onto the ice, flows along the edges of the ice cubes, leaving a pale yellow teardrop trail on the bucket wall.
The foam piles up at the bottle mouth, like a clump of melting snow, constantly breaking and piling up.
The aroma instantly spreads—the warmth of yeast, the sweetness of toast, and a hint of green apple’s astringency, hitting the face.
Like walking straight into a morning orchard, refreshing and delightful.
Earlier.
“Paper, paper, paper!…”
White Li hastily pulled tissues from the coffee table, one by one not enough, so she simply took out the whole box.
The tissues crumpled in her palm and were thrown aside.
“Damn it, why so much.”
She muttered, cheeks red, even the base of her neck burning.
White Li crumpled the tissues into a ball and stuffed them deep into the trash bag, then covered them with a few dry ones, like a murderer destroying incriminating evidence.
After cleaning up, she lay back on the bed and let out a long breath.
Perfect.
Her life was perfect.
White Li felt like a spring that had been wound to its limit and finally released, her whole body sinking limply into the mattress, not wanting to move even a finger.
The frustration that had been interrupted before was finally released.
Her tail peeked out from under the covers, the tip twitching slightly.
‘With this, I should fall asleep soon, right?’
White Li licked her lips contentedly, her ears twitching.
Not right.
White Li smacked her lips.
‘Why do I feel… not enough?’
That heat had indeed subsided, but like a progress bar, it hadn’t completely cleared.
‘Could it be that my energy hasn’t been fully used up?’
White Li pulled the covers over her head, wrapping herself into an airtight cocoon.
A soft call, like a lightning bolt splitting her mind.
Her hand moved on its own again, and by the time she realized it, her fingertips had touched her skin.
“White Li?”
Those hazy things vanished in an instant, like a bucket of cold water poured over her, freezing her solid.
“Mmh!”
She responded instinctively, then quickly covered her mouth.
‘Damn, I fell for it.
I shouldn’t have answered.’
‘If I hadn’t answered, he might have thought I was asleep.
Answering gave me away.’
‘Is this guy a ninja?
How did he come over so silently?’
‘I’ve been listening carefully, but I didn’t hear the door open at all.’
‘It’s definitely not because I was distracted!’
White Li’s hand reached out from under the covers, fumbled twice beside the pillow, and her fingertips touched the cold wristband.
She clenched the wristband in her palm and pulled it back under the covers.
‘Even though the disguise won’t last much longer, as long as I can fool Lin Du, it’ll be fine, right?’
‘Once I fool him, he’ll go back, and everything will go back to normal.’
“Don’t pretend.
I know you’re not asleep yet.”
Lin Du’s voice was very close, coming through the covers.
‘Well, it seems he saw all my movements just now.’
White Li took a deep breath and put the wristband on her wrist.
She pulled at the corner of the covers, poked her head out, leaving only her eyes visible.
“You… why aren’t you asleep yet?”
She blinked a couple of times, trying to look like she had just woken up.
Lin Du sat on the sofa, holding a glass of water.
He looked down at the water in the glass, his eyelashes lowered, as if thinking about something.
“I got up for a drink of water.”
He shook the glass in his hand, then looked up at White Li.
“Did you… have a nightmare?
I heard you panting just now.”
“Ah?”
White Li was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously.
“Yes, yes, a nightmare.
I dreamed… I dreamed I was being chased by a monster, almost got eaten… haha.”
She let out two dry laughs, even she thought they sounded fake, but she couldn’t think of a better explanation.
‘I can’t say “It’s not a nightmare, I was just…”‘
Lin Du looked at her, his fingers holding the water glass moving slightly.
“Want something to drink?
I have some sleep aid pills, melatonin.
They’ll help you sleep deeper.”
He gestured with his chin toward White Li.
“It’s better to sleep early.”
White Li shook her head.
“No need.
It’s late.
Everyone should get some sleep.”
Lin Du nodded but still sat there.
“I’ve actually been meaning to ask you some questions, but… I never had the chance.”
He finally spoke, his pace very slow.
“All this time, we’ve been friends… right?”
White Li’s heart jumped, an ominous feeling rising.
“Yes, yes.”
She gripped the covers tighter, her nails digging into her palm through the fabric.
“Wh… what questions?”
Lin Du took a sip of water, then set the glass on the coffee table.
“Do you know… that Fox Clan strange person who escaped the shelter, Li Hu?”
“I… I know,”
White Li swallowed.
“I saw it on TV.
Her photo was on the wanted poster.
Silver-white hair, fox ears, quite good-looking.”
“Yes.”
Lin Du nodded.
“Before, when you were working at the museum,”
he looked at the water on the coffee table,
“I think I saw her at the changing room door… her silver-white hair, flashing past.”
White Li’s mind buzzed and exploded.
She remembered that day in the museum changing room, frantically searching for her wristband.
Lin Du knocked on the door, and she reached out from inside to take it—that was when she was exposed.
“Maybe… you saw wrong,”
White Li’s voice rose a little.
“Silver hair, silver light, like metal, glass, they all produce that kind of silver-white light.
Easy to mistake.”
White Li breathed a sigh of relief, but Lin Du’s gaze fell on her face again.
“Maybe,”
he said.
Those brown eyes stared straight at her, with scrutiny and suspicion.
“What’s wrong?”
White Li shrank her neck.
“Why are you looking at me like that?
It’s scary.”
“Nothing.”
Lin Du shook his head.
“I just sometimes feel… you’re very cheerful and innocent, like a child.
But other times, I feel you’re very mysterious, like you have a lot… of riddles.”
“What riddles could I have?”
White Li waved her hand.
“I’m just an ordinary person, the most ordinary you can get.”
As she spoke, her eyes inadvertently glanced at her wrist.
The wristband had dimmed, the silver metal surface turning a grayish white, like an old piece of iron with its plating worn off.
‘It’s about to reach its limit!’
White Li’s heart slammed against her chest, and her fingers began to tremble.
She desperately clenched her fingers into a fist, not letting Lin Du see.
Lin Du seemed to notice her strangeness.
His gaze moved from her face to her wrist.
“Don’t you feel uncomfortable sleeping with that wristband?”
Lin Du pointed at the wristband.
“Don’t you take it off?”
White Li shook her head.
“N… not really.
It was a gift from someone.
I like it, so I always wear it.”
Her hand had just touched the corner of the covers, ready to pull them over her head, when a hand grabbed her upper arm.
Lin Du had stood up from the sofa at some point and grasped her arm, interrupting her movement.
The wristband had no magical energy left.
‘I don’t know how much longer the disguise will last.
Maybe the next second, maybe a few more minutes.’
“I’m sleepy,”
White Li’s voice was urgent.
“I’ll sleep first.
You should also…”
“You’re anxious.”
Lin Du’s tone was certain.
“I…”
White Li bit her lip, not knowing what to say.
Her mind felt like a bowl of paste churning, all thoughts mixed together, unable to tell which was which.
‘I had thought about just confessing, but now that it’s come to this, I’m scared instead.’
The clock in the living room moved forward another notch, a soft click.
“I… I’m begging you…”
White Li’s voice trembled, her eyes suddenly red.
“Let me go.
I want to go back…”