Chapter 91

Bright light illuminated the gentle smile, sending uncontrollable shivers through Su Jinglan. Every breath was filled with Ning Jiuwei’s alluring scent. Her surging blood whispered her name, possessive desire flooding her entire body.

“Your reaction tells me you’re very excited right now.” The now-proactive Ning Jiuwei controlled the rhythm with perfect poise, each word like fingers dancing over harp strings, making Su Jinglan’s taut nerves tingle deliciously.

Su Jinglan’s body burned hot, a fierce fire igniting in her chest. “Jiuwei, what kind of feelings did you have for me back then?”

Her anticipation swelled like the sea at high tide, waves crashing relentlessly against the shore, carrying the churning emotions from the ocean’s depths. The affection buried in Su Jinglan’s heart was like an immeasurable sea, poised to sweep away all reason in an instant.

The long years had sculpted them both, their feelings growing ever more intense. Had Ning Jiuwei liked her for more than a decade as well?

Ning Jiuwei gazed intently at Su Jinglan, who was mere inches away. Her fingertips served as a paintbrush, soberly tracing the sharp contours of her face. “You weren’t this slim back in your first year of high school. You had a touch of baby fat and were so aloof, looking down on everyone. The first time I learned your name was after the midterms—Su Jinglan, top of the grade.”

Memories drew Ning Jiuwei back to those vibrant, youthful days. The long-faded scenes gradually sharpened in Su Jinglan’s eyes, bright as stars in the night sky.

She had entered Jiangji No.1 Middle School with the highest scores, never imagining anyone could surpass her. Yet reality slapped her hard across the face, teaching her that there were always greater talents beyond one’s own and heavens beyond the sky.

The school never publicly posted rankings, and Ning Jiuwei paid little mind to monthly quizzes or minor tests. But when the first midterm results came out, her homeroom teacher revealed her place, praising her effusively: “Ning Jiuwei, you did wonderfully—second in the entire grade.”

The Teachers’ Office had been empty save for the homeroom teacher at that moment. Ning Jiuwei felt as if she’d been struck by lightning, her mind buzzing, sharp alarm bells rattling her heart.

“I got the score sheet from the homeroom teacher and memorized your name, stroke by stroke, in my mind: Su Jinglan.” Ning Jiuwei’s fingertip brushed Su Jinglan’s sensitive temple as she recalled her feelings from back then. “For the rest of that semester, I threw myself entirely into studying, determined to beat you in the finals.”

The outcome was something they both knew well—Ning Jiuwei claimed first place in the grade for the final exams.

“I did it, but then in the midterms of the second semester, you took first again.” Ning Jiuwei paused her recounting of the past, her smile radiant as she asked Su Jinglan, “Do you know what I was thinking at the time?”

Su Jinglan had shared the same experience and felt it deeply. “I was your fierce rival. You had to surpass me.”

“Exactly.” Dissecting her inner thoughts proved less painful than expected; instead, it brought a profound sense of release and relief. Ning Jiuwei laid it all out plainly for Su Jinglan. “I saw you as my arch-rival. I hated you, but I couldn’t stop liking you. It was such a conflicted mess. I warned myself not to like you—that emotions would only distract from my studies—but I couldn’t help it. Part of me wanted to claim first place, while another part was irresistibly drawn to you, the one holding it.”

Su Jinglan’s lips parted, but she held back her words.

When Ning Jiuwei had surpassed her in those finals, Su Jinglan had felt the same magnetic pull toward her.

“In the finals of first-year second semester, I beat you again, holding on to first until the midterms of second year. After that, you took first in the finals, and then in both the midterms and finals of second semester.” Repeated failures had worn away at Ning Jiuwei’s ironclad determination, leaving her to wonder if she could ever surpass Su Jinglan. “My feelings for you twisted into something complicated amid our hidden rivalry. I hated your guts.”

Su Jinglan felt no sadness at those petulant, childish words. She burst out laughing and voiced the unspoken truth. “But you liked me just as much, didn’t you?”

Ning Jiuwei smiled but offered no admission.

Seeing Ning Jiuwei so adorably evasive, Su Jinglan couldn’t resist seizing her wrist and pressing a kiss to her fingertips, barely restraining the impulse to consume her entirely. “During those three years of high school, was I the only one you liked? No forty-year-old woman?”

Su Jinglan worried a little that Wanyuan’s tall tales might hold a kernel of truth—that Ning Jiuwei had encountered some captivating older woman who had stolen away her affection.

“As I told you, that was all Wanyuan’s fabrication. I was buried in my studies day and night; I had no time for dating anyone else—not even you.” Plenty of high school couples were sneaking around in romance, but Ning Jiuwei’s heart was tethered to Su Jinglan at the far end of the corridor. She poured all her feelings into her.

Secret crushes were sweet and efficient. Why bother with an open relationship?

Su Jinglan smiled and let out a wistful sigh. “Between studying and me, you always chose the former. I was forever in second place.”

“Yes, I chose studying. No one in the entire school knew I had someone I liked—someone better than me in every way, even prettier: the top student in our grade.”

Being loved by the object of her own affection made Su Jinglan’s heart burst with joy. She tamped down her elation and asked Ning Jiuwei, “Then why didn’t you confess to me after the Gaokao?” But as the thought of Ning Jiuwei seeing a psychologist crossed her mind, Su Jinglan’s smile faded, her eyes filling with concern. “Why on earth did you go to a psychologist?”

Ning Jiuwei’s eyes reddened. She paused for a moment, her once-clear voice turning hoarse. “I worked so hard to surpass you—holding first place in midterms and mock exams—but I lost to you in the most crucial Gaokao. Isn’t seeing a psychologist perfectly normal?”

Her vulnerable look tugged at Su Jinglan’s heartstrings. “It was just one Gaokao. You and I have always been neck and neck. Over the course of high school, we’ve traded first place so many times it was even. I’m not any better than you, Ning Jiuwei. While you were pushing yourself, I was pushing just as hard. Because of you, I couldn’t afford to slack off for even a second—I was terrified you’d overtake me the moment I did.”

“So President Su has liked me since high school?”

Su Jinglan’s gaze burned with fervent desire, but all she did was lean in and press a gentle kiss to Ning Jiuwei’s forehead, leaving behind her scent and a subtle claim.

She didn’t answer the question. Instead, she rested her forehead against Ning Jiuwei’s and murmured tenderly, “Jiuwei, let me make it up to you. Part of the reason you needed that psychologist was me. What if I give you all my assets… and myself? Would that be enough compensation?”

Her gentleness was utterly disarming. Ning Jiuwei couldn’t refuse it—didn’t want to. “Wanyuan told me everything you said to her.”

Su Jinglan’s heart skipped a beat. Anxious, she hurried to explain. “I was just trying to provoke her, make her lose her cool. I never intended to toy with your feelings.”

“That’s not it.” Ning Jiuwei placed her hands on Su Jinglan’s shoulders and pushed her back a little, her blazing eyes flickering like flames. “You said my reactions were naive and awkward—not like someone with experience.”

Su Jinglan: “…That’s a fact.”

“You let Wanyuan know we’d slept together. How am I supposed to face her now?” Some things were better left unsaid, kept locked away in the heart. When Wanyuan had pressed her for confirmation, Ning Jiuwei had denied it coldly, refusing to admit any physical intimacy. “Besides, how exactly was I naive?”

Su Jinglan opened her mouth to respond, but Ning Jiuwei latched onto the key point. “How many people has President Su been with, to call my reactions awkward? Why doesn’t President Su go find someone more experienced—someone who knows how to make it fun, with that top-tier thrill? A stodgy designer like me can’t give you that heart-pounding rush.”

With that, Ning Jiuwei turned and walked away. Su Jinglan hurried after her, slipping an arm around her waist and nestling close, her head pillowed on Ning Jiuwei’s shoulder in perfect intimacy. “Jiuwei, just give me the tiniest reaction, and I’ll be burning up for you.”

It all circled back to her being naive and inexperienced. Ning Jiuwei pressed her lips together to hide her smile and said coolly, “I can’t cut it. President Su should look elsewhere.”

Su Jinglan seized back the upper hand, pulling her close and laughing softly against her ear. “I’ll go take a shower first. Then Teacher Ning can give me some pointers.”

Ning Jiuwei felt her mind veering into dangerous territory. The perfectly innocent word “pointers” had her glancing instantly at the hand encircling her waist—long, nimble fingers laced together, pale skin conjuring up all sorts of indecent images.

“Su Jinglan, you’re sleeping in the guest room tonight.” Ning Jiuwei pried the hand away and strode into the bedroom without a backward glance.

The door didn’t fully close. Su Jinglan followed right on her heels, pinching the hem of her shirt and lifting it right in front of Ning Jiuwei to reveal a taut strip of abdominal muscle. Ning Jiuwei’s breath caught, heat flooding her body.

Seduction by beauty—shameless.

Noticing the bedroom curtains weren’t drawn, Ning Jiuwei hurried over to pull them shut.

The windows were one-way glass; no one outside could see in. Only after yanking the curtains tight did Ning Jiuwei realize how overly tense she’d been. To Su Jinglan, though, that reaction screamed possession.

“Su Jinglan, undress in the bathroom. Don’t do it in the bedroom.” Ning Jiuwei stood with her back to Su Jinglan by the curtains. The footsteps approaching from behind were so soft she didn’t notice until strong, warm arms enveloped her.

Su Jinglan, now stripped of her outer layers, hugged Ning Jiuwei close. Slender arms seared through the thin loungewear against her skin, ragged breaths ghosting fragmented across her ear. “Ning Jiuwei, can I use the bathtub here?”

She was hugging her just to ask about the tub? Ning Jiuwei’s heartbeat stuttered. “President Su, be my guest. Shower or soak—whatever you prefer.”

“I prefer bathing with Teacher Ning.” Su Jinglan’s arms tightened, restless fingers teasing at the hem of her shirt, fingertips wandering brazenly over bare skin.

Ning Jiuwei caught Su Jinglan’s hand. “I’ve already showered.”

“You haven’t showered with me yet.” Su Jinglan lowered her voice, her tone brimming with playful allure as she whispered into her ear. “Doesn’t Teacher Ning want to try how it feels in the water?”

Ning Jiuwei felt herself burning up, practically cooked through. What on earth had the years done to Su Jinglan? The aloof, distant girl from high school had transformed into this passionately clingy temptress.

“Next time.” Ning Jiuwei fell back on her usual brush-off.

Su Jinglan burst out laughing. “Teacher Ning will regret it next time.”

“Regret what?”

“Regret skipping out this time and missing the chance.”

Ning Jiuwei: “…”

She pried apart those tightly encircling arms and shoved Su Jinglan toward the bath.

Left alone in the bedroom, Ning Jiuwei chuckled softly to herself. Those fragmented memories she’d tucked away came rushing back, and she cast a lingering glance toward the bathroom door. Her smile deepened.

There was no need for Su Jinglan to know everything. Some burdens were hers to carry alone.

The closed bathroom door swung open suddenly. Su Jinglan leaned against the frame, peeking out with a grin as she issued her second invitation. “Teacher Ning, come join me for a soak.”

Ning Jiuwei opened her mouth to refuse, but Su Jinglan cut in with a teasing lilt. “Teacher Ning turned me down last time. Planning to do it again? Ning Jiuwei, are you scared to make a move on me?”

Ning Jiuwei let out a helpless laugh and headed toward the bathroom.

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