Chapter 28: Terms of Address

Sheng Shubai’s state that night was very off, far more passionate than usual.

Lu Jia was forced to receive her kiss, her thoughts scattering until she could no longer grasp them. It was only after a good while that she was released, nearly melting into the woman’s arms.

“Miss Sheng, are you… taking the initiative tonight?”

She steadied her breathing, her expression carrying a gentle inquiry.

Sheng Shubai didn’t respond. The other hand that had just been pressing the back of the girl’s head trailed along her side neck, lightly and softly sliding to her chin, vaguely pressing against the slightly swollen lips that had been sucked.

Her gaze lingered on Lu Jia for a moment, then she took the girl’s wrist and, in this guest room that didn’t belong to her, turned the tables like the master of the house, casually leaning against the headboard.

With a hook of her finger, Lu Jia understood her intent and prepared to climb on top.

But before she could kneel steadily, the woman tugged her wrist, pulling her forward. Lu Jia swayed, half her body pressing directly onto Sheng Shubai, her lips landing right in the neckline of the sleep dress, against the gathered curves and cleavage.

Her lips touched a faint coolness—the pendant the woman favored.

Sometimes when they were in a rush, Sheng Shubai’s pendant wasn’t removed in time. As she bent down, the cool metal would brush against certain spots on Lu Jia’s chest, making her shiver several times.

But taking the initiative to kiss it was a first.

Perhaps it was the wine passed into her mouth earlier that was so intoxicating. With a flicker of thought, Lu Jia’s teeth lightly bit the edge of the pendant, lifting her eyes to look at the woman leaning against the headboard.

Her upward gaze was beautiful and obedient, her lips slightly parted, still bearing the flush from the earlier sucking.

Sheng Shubai’s lips curved in a smile. “Changed to containing something else tonight?”

Her words carried a pointed meaning.

In the past, what Lu Jia contained wasn’t the pendant resting at chest level, but…

Lu Jia’s ear roots heated, and she naturally knew what Sheng Shubai was referring to.

But with the object in her mouth, she couldn’t speak now, nor did she know how to respond.

“Mm…”

Meeting the woman’s increasingly meaningful gaze, Lu Jia vaguely realized something. But before she could open her mouth, something new was forced between her teeth.

It was slender, pale fingertips, then knuckles—one, two.

She instinctively parted her lips to take them in, letting the pendant fall back to the chest, the bit of wetness smearing away, though no one paid it any mind.

Her lips and tongue contained the knuckles, and naturally, other places weren’t neglected either.

Usually, Lu Jia faced away, held from behind by the woman. But tonight, it was almost entirely face-to-face, watching Sheng Shubai the whole time, coaxed and tempted with soft sounds not to close her eyes. She leaned down to contain the pendant, then something else.

After flipping over and taking the lead once, exhaustion left her without a shred of strength. Lu Jia lay sideways, soft in Sheng Shubai’s arms.

She felt a few strands of the woman’s dangling hair pressed under her arm, causing a faint, indefinable itch. She shifted, lifting her hand to brush the hair aside.

But as soon as she raised her hand, Sheng Shubai grasped her wrist.

Seeing that the other had no intention of continuing, Lu Jia breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought she was the one taking the initiative, yet tonight she was still tossed back and forth more.

The next second, a faint cool, delicate touch came from her fingertip.

Sheng Shubai was touching her.

More precisely, touching the spot where she had been cut by the carving knife before.

Lu Jia had scar-prone skin, and studying printmaking meant cuts took a long time to heal to the point of being invisible.

The wound from not long ago had scabbed over and healed, leaving only a faint white line that was barely visible unless looked at closely.

Now, it was being carefully examined.

They had just turned the lights back on during a simple cleanup earlier, and the light was fairly bright. With her hand held up close to Sheng Shubai’s line of sight, Lu Jia tilted her head to look as well.

Following the woman’s beautiful jawline, she saw that the originally curved peach-blossom eyes now held an unclear meaning.

The pad of the finger joined with the rounded fingertip, the touch gentle, making her feel uneasy inside.

Seeing that the woman still had no intention of letting go, Lu Jia pursed her lips. “…”

Before she could speak, a new force diverted her attention.

Away from the delicate fingertip caress, the next instant brought something all too familiar—the softness she had kissed many times.

Sheng Shubai’s lips.

Sheng Shubai was kissing her scar.

The thought flashed, and her fingertips trembled. It was clearly just a warm touch, yet it felt like being scorched by fire, wanting to withdraw instantly.

But the woman gripped tightly; she couldn’t break free.

Lu Jia lowered her eyes, her heart pounding dully in her chest. She even wanted to shift her body, to put some distance between her and Sheng Shubai.

She… feared the other could feel it.

Fortunately, it seemed not.

Lu Jia didn’t know how long the woman’s lips lingered on her fingertip.

Fleeting, or perhaps over ten seconds—she couldn’t remember at all.

When she came back to herself, Sheng Shubai had already placed her hand back down, calmly smoothing her hair.

Only then did Lu Jia realize that… she had just wanted to smooth the woman’s hair for her.

Lu Jia didn’t understand what the woman meant.

She didn’t ask, and Sheng Shubai didn’t say.

It seemed like this was just an insignificant detail in their interactions, no different from their usual hand-holding and embraces.

Perhaps Sheng Shubai was drunk and simply thought her hand was pretty.

Lu Jia lowered her eyes and said nothing.

Sheng Shubai often praised her hands as beautiful, holding them repeatedly and saying she liked them. This… was normal, nothing more.

The room lights dimmed again.

Lu Jia shifted slightly to the side, wanting to make some space for Sheng Shubai.

After so many times sleeping together, she was long familiar with the woman’s habits.

After drinking, the other sometimes complained of heat, no longer holding her and saying the temperature was just right, but loosening her grip a bit.

Lu Jia wasn’t sure how drunk she was tonight.

After being busy for so long, the drunkenness should have mostly worn off by now.

But she just wanted a little distance.

As Lu Jia had read in some book as a child, the number of heartbeats in a lifetime was limited.

Tonight was the first time her heart had raced so fast, and for so long.

Long enough that her rationality had twisted through nine bends and eighteen turns, yet her heart still thumped loudly, nearly swelling her eardrums.

Even after intense gym sessions several times a week, her heartbeat calmed quickly.

This was too abnormal.

Lu Jia thought she needed to stay a bit farther from Sheng Shubai.

She still planned to live a long life.

–

The idea of distancing herself from the woman didn’t come to fruition.

More precisely, last night, Lu Jia had barely moved an inch when Sheng Shubai’s arm draped over her waist and abdomen, forcibly pulling her back—even closer.

Lu Jia didn’t remember when she fell asleep.

Perhaps it was the scent on Sheng Shubai’s body, too alluring. With her nose close, faint strands of dark fragrance wafted, drawing her thoughts into shared dreams.

Otherwise… how could she, right after being like that with Sheng Shubai, dream restlessly of endless intimacy again.

Lu Jia rarely dreamed. Even when she did, people in them mostly provided new inspiration through atmosphere, their faces unclear.

To not only clearly identify the person in the dream but remember every detail upon waking, crystal clear—this was an absolute first.

“Awake? Why are you staring at me like that?”

Sheng Shubai seemed to have woken earlier, leaning against the headboard scrolling her phone, the screen in night mode with no glaring light.

Lu Jia shook her head, saying nothing.

Sheng Shubai thought she was still groggy from sleep and didn’t dwell on it, getting up as well. “What do you want for breakfast? I’ll have the auntie make it.”

“Anything’s fine.”

Her thumb lightly pressed the previous scar, Lu Jia applying a bit of force, but it didn’t hurt.

After washing up, she went downstairs to the first floor and saw Sheng Shubai already seated at the dining table.

On the table were soup dumplings and noodle soup, famous breakfasts from Z City.

Only two portions. Sheng Shubai had one in front of her, the untouched other across from her.

Lu Jia sat opposite the woman. “Where’s President Sheng?”

They hadn’t gotten up late; it was just past eight.

“She already ate and went up to the third-floor study. Seems like some online meeting.”

Sheng Shubai picked up a soup dumpling and took a small bite.

She didn’t like dipping in vinegar, just pushing the vinegar dish toward Lu Jia.

The soup dumplings looked appetizing. Thin, chewy, translucent skin revealed glistening broth and filling inside under the light, bursting with sweet savoriness in one bite.

The noodle soup had a pork bone broth base, with a nest of thin dragon’s beard noodles cradling a golden fried egg. Stirring the noodles with chopsticks, Lu Jia discovered another fried egg underneath, soaking in the bright broth.

Lu Jia looked up at Sheng Shubai.

Besides Sheng Shubai, no one here knew she liked fried eggs—or perhaps she had specifically told the auntie at some point.

The woman’s brows and eyes brimmed with a smile as she winked at her.

“Miss Sheng, thank you.”

Lu Jia gripped the edge of her bowl, the rim cool porcelain, but lower down warmed by the heat. Her fingertip trembled, pressed close then released.

She didn’t look up again, burying herself in half a steamer of soup dumplings and the noodle soup until she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Sis, lend me the driver later to take Lu Jia to the old mansion.”

Sheng Shubai looked up and called out.

“Sure.” Sheng Shuyun agreed.

Lu Jia looked up too. Seeing Sheng Shuyun glance her way, she politely said, “President Sheng, good morning.”

“Morning.”

Her gaze lingered half a second on Lu Jia’s neck, Sheng Shuyun nodded slightly, then subtly shifted away. “Calling me President Sheng is too formal. From now on, call me Shuyun-jie like Xiao Bai does.”

Lu Jia was a bit surprised.

She usually called Sheng Shubai “Miss Sheng,” not yet close enough to use familial terms like the other.

But the words had already been spoken; she softly said, “Shuyun-jie.”

Sheng Shuyun briefly asked about their plans for the day. Learning they would spend it at the Sheng Family Exhibition Hall, she sent her sister the contact for another driver and turned to head back to the study.

“Why isn’t the driver Xiao Liu today?”

Sheng Shubai asked with a playful smile.

Sheng Shuyun paused mid-step.

She knew it was deliberate.

Liu Zhao was her personal life assistant; the family naturally had other dedicated drivers.

Glancing down at Lu Jia by the table, then to her sister’s teasing expression, she said flatly, “Assistant Liu has other matters.”

She was about to say more, but seeing the woman’s gaze flicker over meaningfully, Sheng Shubai wisely shut her mouth.

After breakfast, they each went upstairs to pack.

She had little to pack, leaning against the desk edge to open a folder—something Sheng Shuyun had just sent her that morning.

Sheng Shuyun’s people were efficient. In just one night, they had found several printmaking major girls whose styles resembled Sheng Ling’s. She was flipping through their detailed profiles one by one.

She mentally eliminated two when a soft knock sounded at the open door.

Sheng Shubai looked up to see Lu Jia in a long-sleeved shirt, buttons fastened to the very top, even lifting a hand to cover the side of her neck.

What a blatant “nothing to see here.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle softly. Meeting the girl’s resentful look, she feigned confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“Miss Sheng.”

Lu Jia mumbled, “Did you see it this morning? You… didn’t remind me.”

While packing her skincare in the bathroom earlier, she had glanced up by chance and spotted two glaring hickeys on her left neck, fresh rosy red.

She had been distracted during morning wash-up and hadn’t noticed them at all.

Sheng Shubai walked to the door, smiling as she teased the girl. “I thought you noticed and just didn’t care.”

How could she not care?

Lu Jia hesitated to speak.

They were usually very discreet, leaving hickeys infrequently.

Even when aroused, they chose spots easily covered by clothes—mostly chest or inner thighs.

Some moments last night had her neck sucked hard. But the woman’s hands had been equally relentless; Lu Jia couldn’t spare attention to whether marks would be left.

She hadn’t expected actual traces, paraded unknowingly in front of the auntie and even Sheng Shuyun.

Her thoughts stalled; Lu Jia hesitated. “Then President Sheng, she…”

“Didn’t we say last night?”

Sheng Shubai raised a brow. “She knows.”

Lu Jia was even more shocked. “Knows about us—?”

The woman before her nodded candidly. “Mm, knows we’re—in this kind of relationship.”

The last four words were drawn out lightly and lingeringly.

The cadence carried a airy, seductive allure, even more captivating than the voice coaxing her to call “sister” last night.

Lu Jia only then realized belatedly why Sheng Shuyun had suddenly asked her to change her form of address that morning.

She must have seen the hickeys and known full well what had happened last night.

As she hesitantly voiced her question, she saw the woman’s eyes flicker, gleaming with mischief.

“Speaking of which, why don’t you call me ‘Shubai-jie’ too?”

Her peach-blossom eyes curved beautifully as Sheng Shubai leaned close to her face. She brushed aside Lu Jia’s hand that was covering her neck and carefully examined the depth of color in the two hickeys, very satisfied.

She grinned and said, “I’d quite like to hear it.”

The little blockhead only ever called her “jie” in bed.

Since they were already so intimately familiar inside and out, asking to hear it once in private didn’t seem excessive at all.