Chapter 29: The Price of Proximity

Yu Niannian and Jin returned to the lounge, their hands intertwined.

Both their faces were still flushed with a faint blush, remnants of their recent activity.

Their clothes were slightly disheveled, as if they had just indulged in a playful romp or had their appearance subtly disturbed by the gentle evening breeze.

Lin Wan and Xia Yue had evidently completed their tasks.

They sat by the bed, patiently waiting.

Xia Yue’s eyes, sharp as ice shards, instantly registered the unusual atmosphere between the two.

She also noticed the subtle, intimate aura emanating from them.

Her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

The fingers gripping the bedside tightened unconsciously, her knuckles turning faintly white.

“Where did you two go?” Xia Yue’s voice, as frigid as a winter spring, cut through the silence.

Her gaze was scrutinizing, lingering for a moment on their still subtly intertwined hands.

Stung by the cold interrogation, Yu Niannian instinctively wanted to release Jin’s hand.

However, Jin’s fingers in her palm gently squeezed back, conveying a faint yet firm warmth.

This subtle gesture emboldened Yu Niannian.

She lifted her head, explaining, “I took Jin-jie for a walk in the base’s ecological greenhouse, just to get some fresh air.”

Hearing this, Lin Wan raised an eyebrow, a playful and probing smile gracing her lips.

Her gaze, like a precise scanner, swept over their faintly flushed cheeks, which bore a healthy glow (and perhaps a hint of lingering moisture?).

It then moved to their slightly swollen lips and the crumpled collars of their clothes.

“Oh? Just… a walk?” she drawled, a light laugh escaping her.

“It seems this ‘walk’ was quite… ‘deep’ and ‘intense,’ wouldn’t you say?”

Xia Yue abruptly stood up, the oppressive aura radiating from her seeming to drop the room temperature by several degrees.

“Pack your things,” her voice was unyielding, laced with a forcibly suppressed coldness.

“It’s time for us to leave.”

Her gaze, like an icy chain, remained locked firmly on Jin.

***
The atmosphere during the return journey was as oppressive as the sea before a storm, exceptionally silent.

Yu Niannian seemed entirely engrossed in her own world, clinging to Jin’s side like a small animal seeking warmth.

She would occasionally brush Jin’s hand, or reach out to smooth a wind-tousled strand of her hair.

Each seemingly casual, intimate touch carried the tender awkwardness and longing of a young girl’s burgeoning affections.

However, these small gestures were like pebbles dropped into an icy lake, stirring cold ripples in the depths of Xia Yue’s heart.

She gripped the steering wheel tightly, the faint blue veins on her hands slightly prominent, her knuckles pale from the exertion.

With every glance at the intimate interactions in the backseat through the rearview mirror, the line of her jaw tightened a fraction more.

Lin Wan, meanwhile, observed the subtle scene with keen interest.

Her gaze shifted between Xia Yue, who was driving, and the two in the back, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

Xia Yue remained expressionless throughout.

Only her clenched jawline and the overly tight grip on the wheel silently betrayed the tumultuous emotions swirling within her, feelings she herself might not have fully comprehended.

After dropping Jin off at her simple yet clean and cozy apartment, Lin Wan and Yu Niannian simultaneously received urgent communications from their organization, requiring their immediate return.

Yu Niannian was reluctant to leave.

At the apartment door, seizing the moment Xia Yue turned away, she swiftly pressed a feather-light kiss onto Jin’s cheek.

“Jie-jie, I’ll be back soon,” she murmured softly.

This intimate gesture, imbued with a sense of declaration, caused Xia Yue’s back, turned towards them, to instantly stiffen like iron.

Her eyes became piercingly cold.

The moment the door closed, only Xia Yue and Jin remained in the small apartment.

The air seemed to be sucked out, solidifying into a heavy block of ice.

Xia Yue advanced step by step, the sound of her heels on the floor unnervingly clear in the silence, carrying an irresistible sense of oppression.

Jin instinctively retreated until her back pressed against the cold wall, leaving her nowhere else to go.

“You’re quite pleased with yourself, aren’t you?” Xia Yue’s voice was low and dangerous, like a volcano about to erupt, covered by a thick layer of ice.

“To have her… so utterly infatuated.”

Jin opened her mouth, wanting to explain, to say it wasn’t as Xia Yue thought.

But Xia Yue had already seized her wrist without a word, her grip so strong that Jin’s slender bones protested with a faint crackle, bringing a sharp pang of pain.

With a sharp snap, Xia Yue’s other hand slammed onto the wall beside Jin’s ear.

Jin was completely trapped between Xia Yue and the cold wall, forming an inescapable cage.

“I warned you,” Xia Yue’s breath, icy cold, brushed against Jin’s sensitive ear, suppressed fury simmering in every word.

“Don’t play with… our feelings.”

She deliberately emphasized “our,” as if asserting a claim of ownership.

“But it seems you didn’t heed my words at all.”

Before Jin could react, Xia Yue suddenly leaned down.

With an almost punitive and possessive intent, she brutally kissed Jin’s lips.

This kiss was utterly unlike Yu Niannian’s recent tender touch.

It was rough, urgent, and filled with a predatory hunger.

There was no tenderness, only cold possession and an outpouring of rage.

The forceful pressure between their lips and teeth was jarringly painful.

“No… don’t…” Jin’s faint protest was mercilessly silenced by Xia Yue’s lips and tongue, dissolving into broken whimpers.

Fear and intense humiliation spurred her to struggle violently, using her hands and feet to try and push away the person on top of her.

But Xia Yue’s strength was astonishing; her body, honed by years of training, easily neutralized Jin’s feeble resistance, pinning her even more forcefully against the sofa behind her, rendering her immobile.

Xia Yue straddled Jin, one hand pinning her wrists, the other roughly tearing open her shirt.

The sound of buttons popping off was jarringly loud in the silent room.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” Xia Yue’s voice was laced with icy sarcasm, her breath slightly ragged from their recent struggle.

“To get close to others… in this manner?”

Her fingers, with punitive force, dug into the sensitive flesh of Jin’s waist, leaving clear, stinging red marks, like brands.

Jin felt Xia Yue’s fingers unbuttoning her jeans.

Jin despairingly closed her eyes, ceasing all futile struggles, tears silently streaming from the corners of her eyes.

She could feel Xia Yue’s calloused fingers dangerously tracing her trembling skin, each touch sending shivers and a deeper sense of dread through her.

However, the anticipated further violation did not occur.

Xia Yue’s movements suddenly halted.

She propped herself up, looking down at Jin, who lay beneath her, tear-streaked and resembling a flower ravaged by wind and rain.

In Xia Yue’s icy blue eyes swirled a maelstrom of incredibly complex emotions: unspent fury, a chilling warning, a hint of vexation born of losing control that she herself refused to acknowledge, and… deeper still, an inexpressible tremor, pierced by the vulnerable sight before her.

A long, suffocating silence stretched between them.

Finally, Xia Yue slowly rose, stiffly adjusting her slightly disheveled clothes, attempting to restore her icy facade.

“Remember this feeling.” Her voice remained cold, but the raw anger within it seemed to have receded slightly, replaced by a deeper, more profound warning.

“If you dare betray me… I will make you pay a price far beyond this.”

She turned, walking towards the door without a backward glance.

Her posture remained straight, yet her steps carried an indescribable stiffness.

Just as she pulled open the door, her steps paused almost imperceptibly.

Ultimately, she did not look back, leaving only a cold, rigid silhouette.

The door gently closed, the click of the latch unnervingly clear in the silent apartment.

Jin remained curled on the sofa, her body trembling slightly from lingering fear and humiliation.

She lifted her hand, gently tracing the distinct red mark on her wrist and the faintly throbbing spot on her waist.

This was the first time she had witnessed Xia Yue in such an uncontrolled state so clearly.

The Xia Yue who was always self-possessed and calm, as if everything was under her command, had actually revealed such an aggressive and possessive side due to her closeness with Yu Niannian.

Xia Yue’s lingering touch and scent seemed to still permeate the air.

The suffocating sense of being forcibly suppressed, of being unable to resist, left her feeling utterly overwhelmed.

***
That evening, as if to diffuse the day’s tense atmosphere, the four gathered on Jin’s living room carpet.

A colorful Ludo board was spread out in the center.

Soft light cascaded down, intended to create a relaxed and cheerful ambiance.

Yu Niannian chattered excitedly, explaining her self-invented rules, complete with various harmless “penalties.”

Lin Wan smiled cooperatively, occasionally interjecting with playful remarks.

Jin also tried to curve her lips into a smile, attempting to blend into this superficial peace.

Only Xia Yue, though seated as usual with proper posture, seemed encased within an invisible, impenetrable wall of ice, shutting out all warmth.

“Your turn, Xia Yue.” Lin Wan gently nudged her with an elbow, trying to draw her back from her detached state.

Xia Yue seemed startled awake, her eyelashes fluttering slightly.

She picked up the dice with an expressionless face and casually rolled them.

The dice tumbled a few times across the board, coming to rest squarely on a “3.”

“Oh no! You landed right on my piece!” Yu Niannian immediately wailed dramatically, trying to lighten the mood.

“Xia Yue-jie, how cruel you are! Not giving me any quarter!”

According to the rules, a captured piece had to return to the starting point.

This was a common setback in the game, and Yu Niannian was merely complaining playfully.

Yet, Xia Yue’s reaction was unusually subdued, almost cold.

She merely uttered a faint “Hm,” then reached out to pick up Yu Niannian’s sky-blue piece.

With a somewhat stiff movement, she practically tossed it back to the starting square.

The piece landed in its square with a slightly sharp clatter, bouncing once before settling.

The air subtly froze for a moment.

Yu Niannian and Lin Wan exchanged puzzled glances.

Although Xia Yue usually had a cool demeanor, she rarely showed such almost… impatient and indifferent emotions towards them, especially towards Yu Niannian.

Another round began, and Jin’s red piece, aided by luck, was on the verge of reaching the finish line first.

She couldn’t help but reveal a small, expectant smile, leaning over to whisper to Yu Niannian beside her, “It looks like… I’m almost winning.”

This tiny, somewhat joyful sound seemed to prick a sensitive nerve.

Xia Yue’s throw of the dice clearly carried a suppressed force.

The dice bounced violently across the board, eventually rolling out the highest number—a “6.”

“Tsk.” She let out an almost inaudible, yet distinctly discernible, sound of displeasure.

According to Yu Niannian’s rules, rolling a 6 granted a special privilege: the ability to move any plane to any desired position.

Under the slightly surprised gazes of Yu Niannian and Lin Wan, Xia Yue unhesitatingly picked up one of her own dark green planes.

With precise, almost deliberate placement, she landed it directly in front of Jin’s red piece, which was poised to reach the finish line.

It stood there like a silent, formidable roadblock, firmly obstructing the final step to victory.

This move was unequivocally targeted.

“Xia Yue…” Jin looked up, her gaze meeting the icy face opposite her.

Her voice was very soft, carrying a barely perceptible tremor and confusion.

Xia Yue did not look at her.

Her gaze was fixed on the board, as if it were a strategic sandbox requiring intense focus.

Her tone was flat and devoid of emotion: “The rules allow it.”

Lin Wan raised an eyebrow, her gaze flickering between Xia Yue and Jin.

A knowing, slightly amused smile played on her lips, but she wisely chose to remain silent, not exposing the underlying tension.

Yu Niannian, with her simple mind, didn’t think too deeply.

She merely found Xia Yue’s competitive spirit unusually strong today, muttering, “Wow, Xia Yue-jie, you’re playing so seriously and intensely today!”

In the subsequent rounds, Xia Yue almost entirely focused her “tactics” on targeting Jin.

Given any opportunity, her pieces would invariably find a way to block Jin’s path forward, or mercilessly “send” Jin’s hard-won advances back to the starting point.

Every move she made strictly adhered to the game’s rules.

However, her tightly pressed, bloodless lips, and her overly sharp and swift movements, all betrayed an uncontainable, icy irritability.

As Xia Yue once again expressionlessly knocked Jin’s piece back to the start, her retracting hand, moving too broadly, accidentally knocked over a water glass on the adjacent low table.

“Clatter—”

The glass toppled.

Fortunately, only a small amount of water remained inside, quickly soaking a small patch of the carpet and leaving a dark stain.

All three were stunned into silence.

Xia Yue gazed at the rapidly spreading water stain, her brows furrowed deeply into a distinct “river” character, her jawline clenched like hard stone.

She took a deep breath, her chest subtly rising and falling, as if desperately trying to suppress a torrent of emotions within her.

“…My apologies.” She abruptly stood up, her voice maintaining its usual composure.

However, upon closer inspection, one could see her hands, hanging at her sides, were subtly clenched into fists.

In those eyes, usually as still as an ancient well and seemingly capable of freezing everything, now clearly surged a frustration and loss of control that she herself might not comprehend, let alone wish to acknowledge.

“I’ll get a towel.”

She turned, her steps slightly hurried as she walked towards the kitchen.

Her back remained straight, yet it carried an inexpressible stiffness and tension, as if she were fleeing from something.

The three remaining in the living room were speechless for a moment.

Only the colorful squares on the Ludo board and the abrupt dark water stain remained.

Yu Niannian scratched her head, leaning closer to Lin Wan to whisper, “Wanwan, what’s wrong with Xia Yue-jie? She’s been acting strange ever since we came back that day… Is she too tired from the previous mission, or under too much pressure?”

She habitually sought rational, external explanations for Xia Yue’s unusual behavior.

Lin Wan cast a meaningful glance at Jin, who had remained silent with downcast eyes since the glass had toppled.

She then glanced towards the kitchen, let out a soft chuckle, and reached out to ruffle Yu Niannian’s hair.

Her tone was teasing, revealing a complete understanding: “Silly Niannian, sometimes the reasons one feels ‘tired’ and ‘frustrated’ aren’t always about missions, you know.”

Jin kept her head bowed, her long eyelashes casting small shadows beneath her eyes.

Her gaze rested on the board, watching her own red plane, repeatedly cornered and blocked by Xia Yue’s pieces, unable to approach the finish line, appearing isolated and helpless.

Her fingertips unconsciously curled, pressing against the slightly cool carpet.

She clearly felt the cold, unvented fury emanating from Xia Yue.

And beneath that fury, she sensed a violent and chaotic emotional fluctuation, born of her, which Xia Yue herself had not fully perceived, or rather, vehemently denied.

Xia Yue, who was always as calm as a precise instrument, whose emotions never showed, had indeed become… different because of her.

When Xia Yue returned from the kitchen with a dry towel, her face was once again covered by a hard, icy shell.

She had reverted to her usual coldness and composure, as if everything were normal, as if the person who had just lost control, knocked over a glass, and revealed her frustration had merely been an illusion.

Yet the still, lingering air in the living room, the damp stain on the carpet, and the varied thoughts in each person’s mind all silently testified that unseen cracks and changes were indeed present.