After a few moments of rustling and rummaging, Niulang reappeared with a guitar in his hand. He beckoned her to follow him.
‘Come with me.’
‘Meet Taurus.’
They were outside in the sweet softness of the summer night, among the chirrups of the crickets. The cow was kept towards the back of the inn, in a field that faced a forest. Niulang had clicked his tongue twice and the animal had lugged towards them almost immediately.
Zhinu laughed and leant over the fence to pat the soft fur on Taurus’s large head. ‘She’s stunning. Why is she up at this time?’
Niulang reached over to tickle Taurus under the chin. ‘She prefers the night. Ever since she was little. Hence the name.’ The cow blinked her long lashes coquettishly at Niulang.
Zhinu raised a brow at him. ‘You sure you were joking about the kissing thing?’
Niulang straightened, grinned and passed her the guitar he’d acquired from the storage room. ‘We sometimes have musicians play at the weekends, open mics, that sort of thing, so we keep a few instruments in storage. I thought that Taurus and I would make a wonderful audience for your first show as a singer-songwriter.’
Zhinu laughed and shook her head. ‘Sweet. But absolutely not.’
‘Why not? You have a song in mind. I can see it in your face.’
Zhinu opened and shut her mouth. She looked at Taurus for help, but she almost looked as expectant as Niulang in the dim of the outdoor lights. ‘I . . . it’s not finished. It doesn’t have a bridge, yet.’
Niulang shrugged. ‘So?’
Zhinu tried to protest again, but her fingers were already brushing against the guitar, wanting to do what they were accustomed to doing.
‘What if she boos me?’ Zhinu asked, as she put the strap around her and started tuning up.
Niulang looked horrified at the thought. ‘Who, Taurus? She would never do that. She might moo you, though.’
Zhinu laughed. ‘Wow. That was terrible.’
But it had worked, because she found her nerves receding and the pounding in her ears fading. Niulang turned and leant his elbows on the fence, and Taurus’s head peered over to watch. Zhinu closed her eyes. She listened to the babbling brook in the distance, the chorus of crickets, and the sound of Niulang’s deep breathing. She felt she had a whole orchestra behind her.
And so she sang. The song wove itself around the guitar strings as her voice rose up from her soul to the heavens. It was a song about pain and anger and yearning, and as she sang, the bridge danced from her tongue, flew into the sky, with words of hope and triumph and love. Of a strength she didn’t know she had. She switched up the chorus to mimic it.
When Zhinu opened her eyes, she realised tears had fallen from them. Niulang’s eyes were glistening, all playfulness had vanished from his face as he took her in. Zhinu’s stomach flipped, as she removed the guitar from her neck and propped it against the fence.
‘Was it bad? It’s really the first draft of—’
‘Zhinu, that was . . . you are . . .’ Niulang shook his head, as if trying to force the words to fall into proper formation. ‘It was beautiful. You are beautiful.’
It was around 4 a.m., and the birds had started to chirp, as if responding to Zhinu’s song. Though the sun had barely shown its face, Zhinu felt her own glow within her. For the first time she felt like she didn’t need to look outward to seek guidance, to know what to do, to measure what she wanted. She knew what she wanted. Niulang stepped closer to her, and the heat in her burnt with increased ferocity. Then, her chest was against his, his arm was around her waist and her hand was stroking across his chest. She enjoyed feeling her power over him; the rapid movement of his ribcage. Her palm roamed across his heart and pressed against it. Their noses bumped and grazed each other, and, for a moment, Zhinu relished the stillness of just being; without her mother’s voice, without pressure, without expectations. She felt almighty and in possession of her destiny. She curved her hand around the back of his neck and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. He kissed her back immediately, eagerly, as if he’d been waiting for her, as if he was welcoming her home.
The kiss became more voracious, indulgent, his hands traversed and caressed her, both satiating and worsening her hunger. She jumped up and curled her legs around his waist, needing to be as close to him as was possible. Niulang sat her down on the fence. When they pulled apart for breath （why did they need to be mortal?）， Niulang gently pushed some hair out of her face and smiled at her tenderly.