Chapter 12: Almost Caught

The living room lights had already been turned off.

By the faint glow filtering in from the yard, she opened her door and walked step by step to Meng Zhenyue’s room, pausing to listen carefully.

Meng Zhenyue had just come out of the shower when she noticed a new message on her phone.

Yun Zhixue — What are you doing?

Meng Zhenyue replied —  Just finished showering. Why aren’t you asleep yet?

She frowned slightly. When she’d gone upstairs earlier, Zhixue’s room had been dark.

Yun Zhixue — Is my mom asleep?

Meng Zhenyue — Not yet.

Knock knock knock-

The knocking was urgent.

When the door opened, Meng Zhenyue looked at Yun Zhixue in surprise.

“I didn’t bring my medicine,” the girl said softly.

“I have a spare. Wait a second.”

Yun Zhixue glanced inside. Yun Jing was sitting at the edge of the bed, looking at her phone, still in the same clothes.

Yun Zhixue rarely initiated conversation with her mother, but today she did.

“Mom… can I take her to my room?”

Yun Jing frowned. “It’s late. Take the medicine back and apply it yourself.”

“It hurts and it itches,” Yun Zhixue said, lifting her shirt slightly. A small scab had come off, revealing tender pink skin. “I want to scratch it.”

Meng Zhenyue had intended to simply hand over the ointment and send her back to bed, but she changed her mind. “I’ll go with you.”

The door closed behind them, leaving Yun Jing alone inside.

They walked down the hallway.

Suddenly Meng Zhenyue said, “I saw the medicine in your bag.”

The lie was exposed.

Yun Zhixue’s heart lurched. If Meng Zhenyue had been standing in front of her, she would have seen the panic on her face.

“I… I just didn’t want you two to worry…”

Meng Zhenyue stepped closer and looked at her. “What? Afraid your mom would bully me, so you came over?”

“…Yes.”

Meng Zhenyue laughed softly to herself. At least her kindness hadn’t been wasted on this girl.

Inside the room, Yun Zhixue lifted her shirt again. Meng Zhenyue’s fingers gently examined the healing wound. Just now, Meng Zhenyue had indeed been taking a bath, wearing a very sexy black bathrobe with crisscrossing straps at the neckline.

The entire dress was made of lace, with glimpses of fair skin visible through the openwork.

The dress only vaguely covered her thighs.

Her outer garment was probably just something she’d casually put on to avoid suspicion when she came to the room; a fragrance emanated from it, offering no real concealment.

“Didn’t shower?”

Suddenly, she didn’t care about propriety anymore. Yun Zhixue shook her head faintly.

Meng Zhenyue grasped her wrist and asked, “Is it painful or itchy? If it’s painful, I’ll take you to the hospital; it might be infected.”

Yun Zhixue’s cheeks flushed. “Itchy…”

“Go wash up first.”

When she was discharged, the doctor had prescribed antibiotics and painkillers, but the side effects made her dizzy and nauseous. She’d stopped taking them once she felt better.

“Go shower,” Meng Zhenyue repeated, opening the bathroom door.

Yun Zhixue washed quickly the first time and came out almost immediately.

Meng Zhenyue was still there.

“Go back and wash properly.”

This time she did. She washed carefully, even used fragrance. She regretted that she had once refused Meng Zhenyue’s invitation to shower together. Tonight Meng Zhenyue hadn’t even tried to come in, had she given up?

When she came out again, Meng Zhenyue was holding a glass of water.

She placed the pill near Yun Zhixue’s lips. “Open your mouth. Take it and you’ll feel better.”

Yun Zhixue swallowed obediently. Meng Zhenyue made her drink more water.

“Good girl.”

Her face burned.

After the medicine, Meng Zhenyue was about to leave.

“I can’t sleep,” Yun Zhixue said quickly.

“Afraid of your mom?”

She nodded.

“The fight was my responsibility,” Meng Zhenyue said gently. “It has nothing to do with you. Focus on studying.”

Yun Zhixue hesitated. “Won’t she be angry that I called you out?”

“Why would she be? She just flew back eleven hours. She’ll probably be asleep by the time I return.”

“…That’s good.”

The itching on her abdomen had subsided, but something else itched, restless and unnameable.

“Can you… stay with me? I keep having nightmares,” she lied again. “I dream about being pinned down and no one helping me.”

That made Meng Zhenyue pause. Earlier she had even suggested Yun Jing arrange psychological counseling for her.

She guided the girl to bed.

Yun Zhixue moved aside, leaving half the bed empty. “You can sleep here.”

It was already past one in the morning. Meng Zhenyue lay down with a yawn.

“You won’t suddenly change your mind and kick me out tomorrow, will you?” she teased.

Yun Zhixue flushed.

“Sleep.”

In the darkness, the scent of pomegranate mixed faintly with tuberose, just ordinary body wash, yet it made sleep impossible.

Her mother’s lover was sleeping in her room. She wanted to turn over and hug Meng Zhenyue, to let her touch her, just for a moment, it was so painful not to be able to touch her.

Why, why couldn’t she give it up?

It was just the scent of shower gel, why did it smell so good? She could have weaned from breast milk as an infant, why did she suddenly want to drink her mother’s milk?

She knew that as long as the wound healed, she would have a chance to separate Meng Zhenyue and Yun Jing, but… picking at the scab every day would be discovered.

“Meng Zhenyue, why didn’t you do anything to me?”

Yun Zhixue lay awake for nearly an hour before hearing Meng Zhenyue get up and quietly leave.

She followed a moment later.

In the dim living room, Meng Zhenyue had settled at the table with her laptop, likely working before resting her head down for a brief nap.

Yun Zhixue slept very poorly that night. She had a strange dream in which she took off her top and hugged Meng Zhenyue.

There was a knocking on the door, then the door opened, and her mother stood angrily in the doorway, watching them both. Meng Zhenyue touched her lower abdomen with one hand and played with her lips with the other, saying, “Silly girl, this is my little lover.”

The dream was very short, and she didn’t know where it got stuck, just repeating this part over and over again. When she woke up, her heart was pounding.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, the blush on her face subsided. She went out of her room, her hand on the doorknob, her foot just about to step out, then she pulled back and forcefully pried it open, staring blankly at the door.

A message came in on her phone:

Yun Jing — Come to the study and bring your report card.

The study was actually Yun Zhixue’s secret study, filled with many science books.

Yun Jing sat at her desk, fiddling with the computer. Hearing the noise, she looked up at Yun Zhixue and asked, “What are your feelings for her now?”

As soon as she spoke, she noticed Yun Zhixue’s expression twist, appearing very uncomfortable. “She saved your life and fought for you at school. Shouldn’t you like her?”

Yun Zhixue’s fingers clenched. She said, “I don’t know how to like her…”

Yun Jing said, “Then learn.”

Yun Zhixue looked up at her.

“Is it that hard? Like you learning, in a proper way?”

Yun Zhixue wasn’t sure what kind of liking she felt for Meng Zhenyue was appropriate. “What if she… doesn’t like me?”

Yun Jing said, “Do I need to teach you that? Don’t complicate things.”

Her tone was exactly the same as when they were children. Back then, she would teach Yun Zhixue to fight back if bullied. Now… Yun Zhixue had to understand it herself.

Yun Zhixue asked, “Mom, do you like her a lot?”

Yun Jing was taken aback by her question. She had many lovers, and leaned back, saying, “More or less.”

She didn’t quite understand Yun Zhixue’s thoughts and didn’t want to delve into them. “Otherwise, why would I bring her back? Just for you to play with?”

Yun Jing’s tone wasn’t gentle. “I’ll arrange for a stylist, and the driver will take you to get your hair done.”

Yun Zhixue counted on her fingers. “I want it this way.”

“I’ll handle this. You still need to pay attention to your image at school.”

“No, Mom,” Yun Zhixue said softly, “If I don’t keep her, people will think I’m bullying them…”

Yun Jing frowned, not in a compromising manner, and glanced at her hair. “Go to school later.”

Yun Zhixue didn’t answer, but asked, “Where did Meng Zhenyue go?”

“She’s sleeping downstairs.”

“Why is she sleeping downstairs?”

Yun Jing was jet-lagged and tired from the journey, and found her talkative. “Go ask her if you want to know.”

Meng Zhenyue had been busy with her studio since dawn, and to avoid disturbing Yun Jing, she had been working on her computer in the living room. Now she was quietly taking a nap on the table.

The faint chirping of birds drifted in from outside the window. The chef busied himself preparing dishes in the kitchen; a slight turn of his head revealed the entire scene in the side hall.

Yun Zhixue tilted her head, watching Meng Zhenyue beside her.

Meng Zhenyue’s fragrance wasn’t overpowering.

She gently touched her cheek with her fingers, her gaze falling on her chest, but she dared not touch it, only taking a deep breath.

After a few seconds, she placed Meng Zhenyue’s hand on her lips, stroking it back and forth.

Then, she pressed it into her mouth. “Mom. Do you know you’re touching my mouth? You even put it inside.”

The chef was cooking ribs, the simmering sound filling the air, then poured oil into the pot, creating a loud sizzling noise.

Yun Zhixue trembled in shock, almost biting Meng Zhenyue. She licked her fingertip with her tongue, as if suffering from thirst, reluctant to remove it.

She knew her strict mother was still upstairs in a meeting and couldn’t come down anytime soon. Her mother’s lover was asleep at the table, her lips red and glossy, with a full cupid’s bow.

The events of last night still lingered in her mind.

She placed her finger on Meng Zhenyue’s lips again.

First, she gently touched the cupid’s bow, a tingling sensation immediately shooting up her fingertip. She held her breath, her fingertip slowly tracing the lip line. So smooth.

Softer and wetter than she had imagined, carrying the warm breath unconsciously released in her sleep.

Her fingertips began to tremble.

As her knuckles tentatively pressed against the lip, the sleeping woman let out a soft moan, her teeth slightly loosening, it went in.

The sound of a door opening upstairs grew louder, footsteps growing closer. Her fingertip remained on Meng Zhenyue’s slightly parted lips,

Yun Zhixue reluctant to pull away, until the sound of high heels was clear enough to identify Yun Jing’s most frequently worn black block heels. The speed at which it was pulled out was too fast, even pulling out a strand of saliva.

The sound of footsteps going downstairs also woke Meng Zhenyue. Meng Zhenyue opened her eyes wearily, put her hand to her lips. What was wrong? Had the recent stress damaged her spleen and stomach? She was drooling.

Yun Jing came to the living room.

She heard Meng Zhenyue calling for her daughter to get tissues. Then her daughter pulled out two tissues and handed them over. She touched something, and her two fingers were wet. Under Yun Jing’s gaze, she put them behind her back and clenched her fingers tightly.