After Cat A Saved the Wrong Female Lead - Chapter 52

Chapter 52:  Almost

The days settled into a rhythm.

Not routine exactly—just repetition with feeling.

Mornings were quiet. Evenings quieter.

But something inside the silence had shifted.

Less distance.

More listening.

….

That evening, they made dinner together.

Not deliberately.

Tang Li was already chopping vegetables when Qin Shiyang walked into the kitchen and picked up a second knife.

They didn’t speak much.

But their hands moved in sync.

Like they’d done this before.

Like they would do it again.

….

Later, while the soup simmered, Qin Shiyang leaned against the counter.

She didn’t look at Tang Li directly.

Just asked:

“Do you ever wonder what this is?”

Tang Li didn’t pause.

Didn’t answer right away either.

Then she said:

“Sometimes I don’t want to name things. Because once you name them, you can lose them.”

….

Qin Shiyang was quiet for a while.

Then:

“And if we don’t name it?”

Tang Li turned slightly.

Met her eyes for a second too long.

Then said, very quietly:

“Then maybe it’ll stay.”

….

They didn’t touch.

They didn’t move.

But something between them tightened.

Almost.

….

After dinner, they sat on the couch, each with a book open.

Neither of them read much.

Tang Li’s fingers rested against the corner of a page.

Qin Shiyang’s gaze kept flickering to the curve of Tang Li’s shoulder.

The space between them narrowed.

A breath.

Then another.

And then—

Nothing.

Just that.

An almost.

….

Somewhere in the silence, Tang Li whispered:

“Are we ever going to say it?”

Qin Shiyang replied, without looking at her:

“Not yet.”

Tang Li nodded.

Then leaned just slightly closer.

Enough to feel warmth.

Not enough to touch.

And they stayed like that.

Almost.