I've Been Thinking About You Again (6)

She had just spent two nights on the sofa, but how her slender frame had curled up on it, cowering under a thin blanket, seemed to have been etched into his mind. It became so clear and real that it felt like the woman was really there in the room.

Without realizing what he was doing, Qin Yinan walked to the sofa, squatted down, and reached out his hand. His fingertips found only air.

Qin Yinan frowned, and then he realized that the sofa was unoccupied. There was not anyone on it; he was merely imagining things.

Qin Yinan froze in his squatting position. It was not until his fingertips sizzled with pain that he realized the cigarette had almost burned down to its butt. He tossed the cigarette butt into the ashtray and slowly stood up. He worked his two legs that had gotten slightly wobbly from squatting down for too long before moving to the balcony.