Chapter 25 : Jealousy

Suddenly, Jiang Yanlin felt that going out wasn’t so painful after all.

If she stayed with Péi Wanyi any longer, she really would use up a lifetime’s worth of lovemaking.

So, just after ten at night, Jiang Yanlin dragged the reluctant Miss Péi and arrived on time at El’s restaurant.

In the few days she hadn’t been there, the place had undergone some significant changes. The sign looked better, and there was a handwritten board outside with the daily specials. A cheerful young girl in a uniform stood at the door. Seeing the two of them, she immediately smiled and said, “Sorry, we’re closed.”

El peeked out from behind the bar and quickly called out,
– “Hey, Lily, these are my friends. Let them in.”

The young girl smiled sheepishly and opened the door for them.

Jiang Yanlin thanked her and walked up the steps.

“The place is looking good. You’ve put in a lot of effort lately, haven’t you?”

She said, scanning the restaurant’s decor. The changes were quite significant. Although the main structure was the same, the decorations and lighting had been adjusted, giving it a refreshed atmosphere.

El gestured for them to go upstairs, saying,
– “I’m full of energy right now. I wake up every day thinking about how to do better.”

Péi Wanyi, walking behind them, let out a laugh at his words.

“No wonder I haven’t seen you looking for me lately.”

El scratched his face and smiled shyly.

– “What have you two been up to?” he asked, looking at Jiang Yanlin.

Once upstairs, Jiang Yanlin found a familiar spot on the sofa and sat down before answering,
“Same old, same old. Work, eat, sleep.”

Péi Wanyi strongly agreed with this, especially the last part.

So she said with a calm expression,
“Same here.”

El poured them some water and then looked at Péi Wanyi.
– “I heard you were on a business trip?”

Péi Wanyi didn’t need to think to know who had said that in the group chat and replied with a “hmm.”

El said apologetically,
– “I thought you hadn’t come back yet.”

He at least found an excuse on the surface.

But Péi Wanyi didn’t mind. She smiled, sat down next to Jiang Yanlin, and started playing on her phone.

El had prepared a few low-calorie dishes from the new menu. He told them about it and then went downstairs to get them.

Jiang Yanlin picked up the remote and turned on the projector, planning to play a movie to avoid any awkward conversations later.

Péi Wanyi said without even looking up, “How does Miss Jiang plan to solve this?”

Being invited over every other day was tiring.

Jiang Yanlin casually selected a new Marvel movie, which looked boring and sleep-inducing.

After pressing play, she put down the remote and turned to the side.

“Lift your arm.”

Péi Wanyi lifted her arm at her words, her gaze still on her phone screen.

Jiang Yanlin leaned against her and patted her arm. “Okay, put it down.”

Miss Péi followed her every command, cooperating perfectly.

Jiang Yanlin leaned on her, took out her phone, adjusted the front-facing camera, found some good lighting and an angle, and then said, “Head up, look at the camera.”

Péi Wanyi looked over and asked,
“Should I smile?”

Jiang Yanlin kept adjusting the angle, directing her, “Smile a little, yes, just like that, head a little closer.”

Someone was coming up the wooden stairs, but the two of them didn’t seem to hear.

Péi Wanyi saw that she had been adjusting for a long time without taking many pictures and reached for the phone.

“My arm is longer than yours. Let me do it.”

“Hey, don’t move, don’t move, don’t move.”

Jiang Yanlin had just found a good angle, and she had ruined it.

Péi Wanyi immediately pulled her hand back, pretending it had nothing to do with her.

Jiang Yanlin glanced at her with a straight face. “Aren’t you the one with the long arm? Take it, you do it.”

Péi Wanyi started to look around at the scenery and saw El who had just come upstairs.

So she very naturally pulled her arm back from Jiang Yanlin’s shoulder and asked,
– “Is there more? I’ll go down and help you get it.”

El shook his head, placed the items on the small wooden table, and said,
– “I know you two don’t eat much at night, so I made less. Just help me taste it.”

He was indeed very dedicated to his business. Inviting Jiang Yanlin over was also because he valued her taste and opinion. After all, she was the biggest help in getting his restaurant off the ground.

Jiang Yanlin was also aware of his intentions and very seriously tasted the new dishes, taking notes on her phone as she ate.

After finishing everything, she took a sip of lemon water to cleanse her palate and said,
“I’ll write it down and send it to you, but overall, I think it’s a great new attempt. It has more of a South American flavor than before, which is a unique and memorable point.”

El had been waiting beside her for her to finish. Péi Wanyi, who ate quickly, had already given her evaluation in a few words.

Miss Péi was well-traveled and knowledgeable, and her comments were simple and direct, pointing out his shortcomings.

El noted everything down and then asked her if she wanted to drink. The restaurant had new wine in stock.

Since they weren’t driving…

El, having finished his work, was also relaxed. He picked up the empty plates and went downstairs, asking them to wait a few minutes.

As soon as he left, Péi Wanyi consciously lifted her arm. Jiang Yanlin glanced at her, quite satisfied.

The gesture was no longer unfamiliar. Jiang Yanlin used her as a pillow, leaning on her shoulder to polish her notes, and after revising them, she copied, pasted, and sent them to El.

Péi Wanyi had never done something like this in her life, and it felt quite novel.

She turned her head and asked, “?”

…a photo of the two of them together, her tone flat:

“Behave yourself next time you take a picture, and I’ll be more satisfied.”

But her fingers tapped and swiped, unable to find anything to fix on that face.

Jiang Yanlin sighed.

Well, for the sake of her good looks.

Péi Wanyi leaned closer to look at her phone screen, not forgetting to give her opinion:
“You made my face look big. Can you fix it?”

The ultimate example of getting a bargain and still complaining.

Jiang Yanlin said nothing and, with a few quick moves, gave her a pointy chin.

Péi Wanyi was immediately satisfied.

“Yes, that’s a true representation of my beauty.”

Jiang Yanlin said nothing and continued to edit her, enlarging her eyes, smoothing her skin to the max, and adding a few layers of deathly pale whitening. Finally, a perfect alien appeared.

This time, even Péi Wanyi couldn’t stand it.
“Won’t you have nightmares looking at that face?”

Jiang Yanlin replied with a straight face,
“Don’t you know how I’ve been sleeping these past two days?”

Péi Wanyi really didn’t know.

She was always the first to fall asleep. When she woke up, Jiang Yanlin would be curled up in a ball, her whole face hidden.

But she was quite quiet.

El brought two glasses of wine upstairs. Only now did he notice what movie was playing and said with a smile,
– “I’ve been meaning to watch this one. It’s the only one in the new series I haven’t seen.”

Jiang Yanlin thought it was better if he didn’t watch it. She had already felt its power from just a few lines of dialogue.

But El was interested. After putting down the wine glasses, he sat on the single sofa next to them, his attention on the screen.

A very familiar scene.

The same three people in the same positions, at the same time.

This moment was just like that moment.

But everything was different.

Given that today’s movie was even more boring than the Korean one last time, in the end, no one was watching except for El.

Jiang Yanlin leaned on Péi Wanyi, using the spare time to scroll through her unread messages.

She had a pile of “unimportant messages” that had been sitting for days. Since she was free now, she might as well clear the red dots.

There were some asking about her recent situation, which Jiang Yanlin replied to selectively. There were also some inviting her to dinner, which Jiang Yanlin also replied to after judging whether the other person had something important to discuss or not.

Finally, there was the fish pond that hadn’t been managed in a long time.

As she was clearing her messages, a window popped up at the top of the screen.

[“?”]
– From Mavis.

Jiang Yanlin glanced at it and ignored her.

A few seconds later, another message popped up.

[“Why do you have so many messages? Is it the New Year?”]

Jiang Yanlin just assumed she was bored and trying to make conversation, so she generously replied,
[“There are still five months until the New Year.”]
—You foreigners really have no common sense.

The person beside her suddenly started typing faster, replying in two or three seconds.
[“I know when the New Year is.”]

She even added an angry red pound sign emoji at the end.

Jiang Yanlin couldn’t be bothered with her and continued to scroll through her messages. She didn’t even click on the ones that were obviously up to no good, just swiped to hide the conversation.

She went on like this, and it took quite a while to clear all the unread messages.

Jiang Yanlin yawned. Seeing that the movie’s progress bar was still so long, she suddenly wanted to leave.

She had to go back and catch up on work. Her life had been too absurd lately. It was time to shift her focus back to work.

As for whether El’s attitude towards her would change after today, that was no longer within Jiang Yanlin’s consideration.

She had done what she could and should do. To accommodate him any further would be asking for trouble.

If she hadn’t actually had a relationship with Péi Wanyi, Jiang Yanlin would have even cut off contact with them quickly to avoid any more meaningless back and forth.

Well, this was also one of the costs of eating something poisonous.

Jiang Yanlin didn’t want to analyze the complex relationship between the three of them anymore. What’s done is done. Thinking too much is useless.

The person beside her suddenly got up without a word and went to the restroom.

El was engrossed in the movie, laughing along with the plot from time to time. Who knows if he even noticed.

Not long after, Jiang Yanlin’s phone vibrated. She wasn’t surprised at all and opened the message to take a look.

[“Come over.”]

Just two words, but Jiang Yanlin could feel a familiar low pressure from them.

It was surprising. She had even started to use the word “familiar.”

Jiang Yanlin was wondering whether to ignore her when El, sitting in front of her to the left, suddenly spoke up.
– “Jiang, do you still like Mavis?”

She paused and looked over. He was still looking at the screen, not having turned his head.

Jiang Yanlin thought for a moment and told him,
“I’m not sure what this feeling is, but I want to continue to get to know her.”

The one thing she hated most in her life was lying.

So even now, she gave a truthful answer.

El nodded, not looking very surprised.

He was silent for a moment, as if hesitating, but after a moment, he still chose to speak.
– “If you want to be with Mavis, I will wish you both well. I just hope that even if you break up one day, we can still be friends.”

A normal person’s first reaction to this would probably be a bit unhappy.

Because no matter how you look at it, it’s like pouring cold water.

But Jiang Yanlin caught his real concern—El was indeed worried about this happening.

In just a few short seconds, Jiang Yanlin understood why.

Péi Wanyi’s last relationship had ended very unpleasantly. Although she didn’t know what had happened, it had reached the point where even their friends were affected. El must have known the situation.

He was probably still shaken by it and didn’t want to see it happen again.

Especially not to Jiang Yanlin.

But this logic was actually very interesting.

Why would he think it “might happen again”?

After all, Jiang Yanlin was not Péi Wanyi’s ex. The formula here had a clear variable.

Jiang Yanlin looked up and smiled at him.

“Okay, I promise you. No matter what happens between me and Mavis, you will always be my friend.”

On the condition that you also don’t do anything disappointing.

Only then did El turn around and smile at her.

Her phone vibrated again. Jiang Yanlin got up with a straight face.

“I’m going to the restroom.”

“Okay,” he nodded.

From the second floor to the restroom in the corner, you had to cross the entire floor.

A wooden screen divided the space. The balcony was just outside, and the evening wind blew in through the open window, bringing a bit of coolness.

Jiang Yanlin reached the restroom. Before she could knock, the wooden door was opened.

An arm reached out and pulled her in. Then the door was closed, locked—a whole series of fluid movements.

Jiang Yanlin was stumbled to the sink, her lower back pressed against the smooth, cool porcelain edge.

Péi Wanyi nonchalantly brushed away her stray hairs and asked, “What were you whispering about with him?”

She was always so good at asking questions in that cold, declarative tone.

Jiang Yanlin was pressed against the sink and had to straighten her back to avoid hitting her spine.

When she looked up again, the distance between them was almost nonexistent.

Jiang Yanlin was not one to patiently coax people, so she simply retorted,
“You said it was a whisper. How can I say it out loud?”

Péi Wanyi looked at her for a moment. In the silent standoff, it was she who finally reached out and gently pulled Jiang Yanlin into her arms.

She sighed, a little tired, and her low, husky voice fell on Jiang Yanlin’s ear:
“…I don’t like you talking to him.”

Jiang Yanlin’s lips parted, but for a moment, she didn’t reply.

The feeling of black hair on the side of her neck was not very comfortable, causing a strange itch.

She felt Péi Wanyi’s breath, steady on the back of her neck, then it suddenly missed a beat, hidden in a brief daze.

Jiang Yanlin thought for a moment, then reached up and gently stroked her back.

“I’ve already made things clear with him.”

In the end, this was the sentence Jiang Yanlin gave.

Although it wasn’t very clear, the effect was not bad.

Miss Péi was clearly susceptible to this.

She buried her head in the side of Jiang Yanlin’s neck and slowly relaxed her tense body.

Jiang Yanlin slowly stroked her hair and gently rubbed her head.

Quite obedient.

Just as she was thinking, a hand pulled up the hem of her dress.

“…”

“Péi Wanyi.”

Jiang Yanlin said her name coldly.

But the person hugging her just turned on the tap, washed her hands with hot water, and let out a “hmm?” from her nose.

Jiang Yanlin would not praise her for being “very hygienic.”

“You, mmm…”

The rest of her words were muffled in her mouth. A wet hand covered Jiang Yanlin’s lips, not letting her make a sound.

“Shh.”

Péi Wanyi’s voice was low, her tone somewhat serious.
“I don’t want anyone else to hear your voice.”

Her other hand, wet with warm water, lifted the hem of the beige dress. Péi Wanyi’s gaze was always on her face, taking in every change in her expression.

Jiang Yanlin was different from many girls.

She was smart, sharp, and had a deep mind. It was hard for ordinary people to figure her out; they would only be played by her.

But at the same time, she exuded an illusion of being easily obtainable, attracting a string of fools, one after another, who fell for it.

Péi Wanyi didn’t like to be a fool.

But she couldn’t resist such an illusion.

The hot water from the sink ran, covering all the sounds.

The mirror reflected the two of them pressed together. One stood there, well-dressed, not even a hair out of place.

The other sat on the counter, her clothes all properly on, yet so disheveled that she couldn’t move.

Péi Wanyi gently kissed her skin. That hand never let go, not letting her make a single sound.

The sheer dress was splashed with water. Her long legs instinctively wanted to close, but they were forced to stay in place, gradually losing control under the relentless force.

“Jiang Yanlin, look at me.”

Péi Wanyi’s tone was very light, as if it were full of deep affection.

The person in front of her had half her face covered. Only her eyes looked over hazily, the corners red and moist, like the touch of fingertips.

It made her pulse skip a beat.

Péi Wanyi finally let go, cupped her face, and kissed her, invaded, overwhelmed.

The next second, her lips were bitten hard, so hard that the taste of rust instantly filled her mouth.

Péi Wanyi didn’t even pause. With an effortless increase in speed, she completely defeated her.

The sound of the water in the sink finally stopped.