บท 10: Chapter 10: Impure thought

Amy Shen invited Qiao An for a coffee in one of her favourite coffee shop near their apartment complex. Qiao An looked at her wristwatch, and it was half-past eight. Around this time, Qiao An supposed to be at her home –reading a book while having a cup of coffee in her living room.

Since Amy's invitation involved coffee, Qiao An thought that she could improvise her schedule for a bit. Since she never really explores the area near the apartment complex, she accepted the invitation from Amy without thinking much.

It was a habit of Amy Shen to put on makeup whenever she went out of the house, so she asked Qiao An to wait for a bit while she was doing her makeup. That left Shen Jun Shan and Qiao An alone in the living room while sitting on the sofa.

Qiao An was looking around the living area. Her eyes were everywhere as today was the first time she checks out that place. Previously, she always has something to do, so she never really gets to see everything in the house. Now that she could, she couldn't help but feel amazed at the interior design of the house.

Comparing the living room of her D2006 and Amy's D1006, the difference was like day and night. She was too lazy to think of design, so she just put whatever necessary inside her house and never think about other things to put in. Qiao An sighed and made a mental note to learn more about designing.

While her eyes were roaming around the living room, her eyes fell on a three tiers bookshelf at the corner. Most of the books were related to engineering and business but having sharp eyes, Qiao An could still spot a few rare storybooks that looked out of place amongst the thick books.

"That is my nephew's book. He left it here when he came to visit us last year."

The sudden explanation from Shen Jun Shan shocked Qiao An. Shen Jun Shan seemed to know where she was looking so Qiao An wondered if Shen Jun Shan was purposely staring at her to know such thing.

Qiao An disliked it when people looked or stared at her. It made her feel like they were trying to read her mind and tried to unmask her from whatever she was keeping to herself. For some reasons, she didn't mind if Shen Jun Shan looked at her. It made her a bit happy actually.

"How old is your nephew?"

Seeing how Qiao An asked him a question, Shen Jun Shan was quite happy since they have a topic to talk about.

"He's eleven this year."

Shen Jun Shan replied excitedly, but his excitement was short as he was speechless because of her next question.

"Why would your ten years old nephew read the Complete Fairy Tales of Brothers Grimm and In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories last year? Isn't it too much for a young kid?"

Qiao An was looking right into Shen Jun Shan's eyes. Something Qiao An rarely did with people. For some reason, she was not awkward with him.

The two of them were silent as they were staring at each other, and that was the scene that greeted Amy Shen when she came into the living room. Seeing the two seemed to be having some silent communication with their eyes, Amy Shen watched from the side.

When Amy Shen looked at her brother and her new good friend, she thought that they quite matched with each other. Qiao An is quiet and pretty, and her brother is handsome and jovial, Amy Shen felt that they made a suitable couple.

"Well, you don't have to think that hard. It's understandable as some kids like to read scary stuff. I like them too."

Since Shen Jun Shan did not manage to answer her question, Qiao An felt that maybe her question was beyond Shen Jun Shan's capability to respond. She stood up from her seat and saw that Amy Shen was standing in the corner.

"Done? Let's go."

Qiao An walked towards the door, and Amy Shen followed her. Amy Shen was trying to invite her brother along with them, but in the end, she did not as she wanted to spend some girls time with Qiao An.

Qiao An was driving carefully, and Amy Shen sat next to her. Amy was curious about the question asked by Qiao An to her brother. It was rare to see her brother dumbfounded. So the question asked by Qiao An must be challenging to answer.

"An An, what do you think of my brother?" Amy Shen wanted to ask about the question, but she also wanted to ask about Qiao An's opinion towards Shen Jun Shan.

Qiao An did not reply straight away. She drove carefully and after they reached the coffee shop, then only she answered Amy Shen's previous question to her.

"He's handsome."

"Quite okay. I don't feel awkward towards him."

"That's all".

Amy Shen kept on looking at Qiao An while waiting for her to tell her opinion. Amy Shen was disappointed as Qiao An gave a very general impression about her brother.

"As a woman to man, what do you think of my brother?" Amy Shen did not give up.

"Well, I am a woman, and just now I already told you my opinion about him" Qiao An was a direct person, she did not think much about people around her if it's nothing. Amy Shen got frustrated at how Qiao An answered her question, so she tried paraphrasing her question.

"I mean, as a woman to man, how do you feel about my brother? What do you think of him if he were your boyfriend?"

Qiao An was quiet for a while. She did not know how to answer that question because she never had the thought of her and Shen Jun Shan being a couple. She tried to imagine how it feels if they were a couple.

Like how they will hold each other's hand, or how they will snuggle to read a book when it rains – or how it feels if they kiss each other before sleep.

A blush crept into Qiao An's cheek when she realised that she had imagined herself kissing Shen Jun Shan. How could it be? Her thought was impure; she was ashamed of herself.

At the end of the day, Qiao An did not answer Amy Shen's question. She did not want to imagine herself kissing and snuggling with Shen Jun Shan. Impure thought invites a lot of negative expectation. As someone who tries her best to be happy, Qiao An needed to get rid of every negative and wicked thought.

When they finished their coffee and went back, while on their ways to D1006, Qiao An and Amy Shen were discussing the coffee and how lovely the cake was. As they were about to reach the door to D1006, the door suddenly opened to reveal Shen Jun Shan with a black garbage bag on his left hand.

"I thought both of you are going to come back late" Shen Jun Shan looked back to see the clock on the wall. "It's a quarter before ten. Quite early"

Amy Shen wanted to tell her brother that Qiao An needed to get back before ten because she was insecure about the dark. Also, Qiao An required to do her night routine of wearing a face mask, so they had to go back early. Amy Shen was about to spill everything, but Shen Jun Shan spoke first.

"An, why is your face red?" Shen Jun Shan looked at Amy Shen. "Are you sure you two are drinking coffee, not alcoholic drink?"

Qiao An did not say anything. She walked in a hurry up the stairs to escape the Shen siblings. It might seem suspicious, but it would be better than having to confess in front of the siblings.

When Qiao An reached her house, she closed the door and leaned back. She slapped her face lightly and thought how foolish she was. How could the picture of her kissing Shen Jun Shan popped out in her mind when she saw him?

She let out a sigh and decided to blame in on Amy Shen as Amy Shen was the one who made her imagined being a couple with Shen Jun Shan.