CH 30

The two girls were standing so close their noses were nearly touching. As Qin Juran’s warmth radiated from her body, accompanying her mellow, enticing voice, Ruan Nan’s cheeks became stained with a deep crimson.

Disregarding her embarrassed state, Qin Juran hooked a finger around her chin, as if impatiently waiting for her answer: “Hm? Will you?”

Ruan Nan felt tickled by Qin Juran’s finger, but she bit back her tongue and held a stern gaze: “Is—is this how you ask everyone to pay you back a favor?”

Qin Juran sneered. “I never do favors for anyone,” Qin Juran spoke as her hand lifted Ruan Nan’s chin higher, her thumb trailing closer and closer to her plump, red lips. Finally, Ruan Nan couldn’t take it anymore and turned her head away to dodge her fingers.

White, fluorescent lights lined the wall that Ruan Nan had pressed Qin Juran to. Standing under them, Qin Juran looked all the more calm, bold, elegant, and almost sickly beautiful with her pale skin.

Meanwhile, the wall that Qin Juran was now pressing Ruan Nan against hung orange-colored lights. The soft, warm lights shone on her face while her body temperature continued to rise from her embarrassment…

Qin Juran reached out to feel her forehead, mimicking Huang Ying’s voice: “Ah-Ruan, why do you feel so hot right now?”

“Qin Juran!”

“So you don’t want to kiss? Then I’ll be going now,” Qin Juran said as she turned to walk away.

Ruan Nan immediately grabbed her skirt to hold her back, answering somewhat helplessly, “Can—can you choose a different way?”

Qin Juran’s eyes glinted, and her mischievous smile grew wider. She let out a soft snort: “You don’t even want to give me a kiss on the lips, how could I ask for any more?”

“I, I…”

Qin Juran lightly pat Ruan Nan’s head. “It’s alright. Like I said, you don’t need to worry about it. I also won’t mention it anymore.”

Qin Juran tried to turn, but Ruan Nan continued to grip Qin Juran’s skirt firmly, despite her flaming cheeks. Her face seemed to have the words “Proud Little Ruan Refuses to Accept Defeat” written upon it.

Feeling that she’d already teased the girl enough, Qin Juran’s lips twitched. She lowered her head and coughed, trying to hide her smile. Then she raised it again, sighing in an understanding manner. “How about you kiss somewhere else?”

Seeing Ruan Nan’s expression, like a small deer in the headlights, Qin Juran let out a laugh. Her slender fingers reached towards the collar of her black shirt, its polished style complimenting her natural elegant aura.

She unhooked a button.

Then another.

She didn’t stop until a decent portion of her fair skin was showing. Qin Juran flounced her shirt collar, then pointed to the soft dip of her left collarbone: “Kiss here.”

“Okay?”

As Ruan Nan eyed her alluring, porcelain shoulders, she subconsciously found herself salivating. Her lips twitched in response, but she was unable to refuse.

Qin Juran watched as she dazedly inched closer, and her smile grew. Right before Ruan Nan was right in front of her, Qin Juran suddenly dodged to the side. “Oh my, I lost my balance all of a sudden.”

As she spoke, she led Ruan Nan by hand to the sofa, purposely positioning her on her right side. “It’ll be easier if you sit down.”

Ruan Nan’s eyes widened at her, but Qin Juran only continued simply, “Remember – left shoulder.”

Ruan Nan began to stand up, meaning to walk around the coffee table to get on her other side, but Qin Juran pulled her back on the sofa. The corners of her lips raised in an empathetic smile: “It’s too much work to go all the way around. Big Sister would feel bad.”

“…..”

No matter how ignorant Ruan Nan could be, she could tell Qin Juran, the fox, playing with her. But she had already been cornered to this point, so it would be too shameless of her to refuse now.

With one leg resting on the sofa, Ruan Nan helplessly thought of how she was to proceed. She tried to straighten her body and move forward, but nearly toppled onto Qin Juran’s chest.

She sat frozen in place awkwardly for a few moments, until Qin Juran pulled both her arms so that they were hooked around her waist. “Hold on like this.”

This wasn’t the first instance of physical contact between Ruan Nan and Qin Juran. When she had been scared in the forest that time, it was Qin Juran who held her on the way back. However, this was the first time that she voluntarily encircled her slender waist like this.

Qin Juran’s delicate figure was the kind that would make anyone get lost in fantasies as they hugged her. The warmth of her body lingered between the two, and before the heat could rise to her face, a kiss as soft as a dragonfly glazing on water landed upon her collarbone. 1

Qin Juran felt as if an electric pulse passed right through her shoulder directly into her heart.

Ruan Nan raised her head and let her hands fall. Her hair was slightly mussed from leaning in and her cheeks were flushed. She inhaled sharply, “Is that good enough?”

Letting out a soft laugh, Qin Juran glanced to the spot on her collarbone that had just been kissed. Shrugging her shoulder, she let her lips touch the spot as well, as if savoring her taste. Finally, she turned her head towards Ruan Nan and fluttered her lashes. “Mhm, that’s good.”

“So we’re even?”

“Yes. And our relationship is the same. It’s just a little peck on the collarbone between two love rivals, right?” Her cunning eyes glistened, each sentence she spoke sounding as if she meant the exact opposite.

Ruan Nan snorted softly but didn’t say any more. She followed her to the doorway and asked, “I’ll send you off?”

Qin Juran fastened her shoes, then reached a hand out to fluff her hair: “No need. It’s right by the campus.”

“Oh right, when we came in, I realized that you don’t have an exterior lock on your door. In the future, whenever you enter or leave, you should make sure to have at least two locks, and put your spare keys in a safe location. Since Zhou Ziqing and Lin Wei can be lively and often go to the bar, it would be good to let them keep a spare as well.”

Qin Juran continued to open the door, her manner as polite as possible as she entered the elevator, as if nothing had happened. “Goodbye.”

Once she heard the elevator close and begin to move, Ruan Nan shut her door. She leaned by the doorway until the buzz of the security door faded in her ear.

She glanced at the clock to see that it had just struck 7. Since she had just eaten with Qin Juran, she didn’t feel hungry yet, and simply strode towards the sofa. The heavy curtains and hanging lamps made the entire living room feel all the more empty. The silence of the room seemed calm enough to lull her to sleep.

As she plopped down on the sofa, she landed right on top of the pillow that Qin Juran had been sitting against, and a light bluebell scent wafted up to greet up. Ruan Nan frowned, yanking the pillow from behind her and throwing it to the ground in a huff.

Then she quickly retrieved it again.

Ruan Nan placed the pillow by the armrest, then curled up and rested sideways on the sofa. She opened her phone, but the last message she received from the “Vixen” was last night’s text, asking, “Coming?”

As the phone screen lit up and dimmed again, Ruan Nan stared dazedly. For some inexplicable reason, she pulled up Baidu and made a search:

【Why would a 21-year-old keep believing that they are 26 years old?】

A few posts with similar questions popped up below:

“Why do some 20-year-olds believe that they are already old?”

“Plenty of 60-year-olds are still young people – why would you be old at 20?”

Below those were images of wholesale stock photos from the QQ website years ago. After Ruan Nan stared at these posts for a moment, she seemed to snap into realization at what she was doing. She meant to close out of the site when her finger accidentally tapped on an advertisement post.

She was immediately directed to a chat room, with a message sent from the other party that read, 【Emotional Counselor Sister Xiaoli at your service.】

【Hello, I am the late-night emotional counselor, Sister Xiaoli. If you are seeking guidance for any emotional problems or life hurdles, feel free to confide in me, free of charge. In this boundless sea of people, our encounter itself is a stroke of fate. Don’t let go of this opportunity~】

Ruan Nan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She was about to exit the chat room, but on second thought, she sent a message, 【It’s only 7 p.m. right now.】

【Love knows no time constraints, and heartbreak knows no limits. The fact that we are connecting in the very present is a sign that you are in a predicament. Let Sister Xiaoli guess – your “person” must have recently said goodbye? 】

“……”

Ruan Nan thought for a moment. Indeed, they didn’t request any personal information. So, she turned her body, leaning against the pillow, then began typing:

【What should you do if someone who you once hated suddenly says that they like you? 】

Xiaoli: 【Truthfully, you already know the answer to this question in your heart, isn’t that right? Since you said that you ‘once hated’ them, doesn’t that mean that you don’t hate them anymore?】

Ruan Nan pondered for a moment, frowning somewhat conflictedly. She pursed her lips as she replied:【Probably.】

Xiaoli: 【Not ‘probably’ – definitely. And not only do you no longer hate them, you’ve also come to like them a little bit, which is why this issue is stirring such conflicted emotions in you, yes?】

……

Some few minutes had passed when Ruan Nan finally followed with:  【She’s a woman.】

【And so am I.】

The other party is typing…

Xiaoli: 【Have you liked any other men or women before?】

【I haven’t.】

Xiaoli: 【Oh my, then this girl who managed to stir your heart, even when you’ve never liked anyone before and once hated her, must be very amazing? To meet someone who’s so outstanding and likes you back – what are you hesitating for?】

Ruan Nan: 【…..has anyone mentioned how unprofessional you are?】

Xiaoli: 【 There are no such things as professionals and whatnot in the realm of love; those are all liars. If you like them, then you should chase after them bravely, and accept the love with courage. If you don’t cherish it while it’s there, then regret it once it’s too late, letting your feelings become passing memories, then that is the greatest possible misfortune.】

【Is that advice professional enough for you?】

Ruan Nan: 【I understand. Is there a payment method?】

Xiaoli: 【[rose emoticon][rose emoticon] How generous, my dear! Just click on the tip button in the upper right corner and select any amount you would like! 】

Ruan Nan clicked onto the page and selected the largest reward of 100 yuan, then sent it over.

Xiaoli immediately sent a long string of emoticons: 【Xiaoli may dedicate the night to helping you. Come, come, feel free to talk about any other issues you may have.】

As Ruan Nan regarded the screen, she pursed her lips and replied briefly: 【No thanks. I’ll be going.】

Xiaoli: 【Wait, wait. My dear, since you are so generous, I’d like to impart one last piece of advice for you, my dear! Please wait a moment~】

Ruan Nan controlled her temper and waited for a while. Three full minutes had passed with no response still, nor anything indication that the other party was typing. Right when she was about to exit the page, a message popped up:

【The Earth is the one and only existence of its kind in the entire galaxy, and each and every person in this world is irreplaceable. We are alive, we are passionate, and we embrace our lives fully during our time on this planet. Millions of light-years of creation and passing have brought about our meeting; so if you love me, then please pull me into your arms and hold me tight.】