Chapter 29: The Kiss
“This is?”
Mu Qing was already near Shu Yao. When someone beat her to it, she graciously withdrew the hand she had just extended and turned to Lin Ran with a friendly smile.
As if she couldn’t see the action between the two, which was more intimate than that between ordinary girls.
Shu Yao was about to speak when the person whose palm was still on her waist spoke first. “I’m her girlfriend, Lin Ran. I heard you helped Yaoyao a lot at school, and now you can even go shopping together. It seems you must be good friends—”
Lin Ran’s dark eyes only now turned to the person beside her, a gentle smile hanging on her lips as usual. “So, can I introduce myself to your new friend like this?”
Shu Yao was both flustered by her calling her “Yaoyao,” her mind wandering, and couldn’t help but look at Mu Qing. Even though society was now quite tolerant of same-sex relationships, and the law for same-sex marriage had been passed, she was still afraid of seeing disgust in others’ eyes.
Mu Qing showed a look of surprise at the right moment, but it quickly turned into a smile. Her gaze went back and forth between them. “So that’s how it is. Nice to meet you. I’m Mu Qing.”
After saying that, she looked at Shu Yao again. “Didn’t the students say that there was a super beautiful woman who picked you up from work before? That’s your girlfriend, right? Why haven’t I seen her lately?”
Lin Ran said calmly, “I’ve been on a business trip recently.”
“No wonder,” Mu Qing clapped her hands lightly, feigning realization. “I was wondering why, with all the trouble Teacher Shu has been having lately, I haven’t seen that legendary beautiful woman who used to pick her up from work.”
“But you appeared just in time,” Lin Ran narrowed her eyes. Compared to her veiled sarcasm, she preferred to get straight to the point. “I heard that every time Yaoyao encountered those strange things, you happened to be on the scene? What a coincidence.”
Their verbal sparring took place in just half a minute.
Like the clash of swords and shadows in an invisible duel.
Shu Yao was a little confused, but Situ Jin next to her put her hands in her pockets and whistled softly.
Exciting!
Is this a showdown she can watch for free?
…
Compared to Situ Jin’s relish in the drama, Shu Yao, at the center of the storm, was not so relaxed. Although she didn’t know why Lin Ran and Mu Qing were at odds the first time they met, she instinctively didn’t want this atmosphere to continue.
The originally deserted ice rink had already attracted many passersby because of the gathering of these extremely outstanding beauties. At this moment, many were changing their ice skates on the side and had also pricked up their gossipy little ears.
Shu Yao gently tugged on Lin Ran’s sleeve, looked up at her with a smile, and said softly, “Yes, it’s a good thing Mu Qing was there. That’s how I could wait for you to come back safely. It seems my luck is not bad?”
Mu Qing did not comment.
But Lin Ran, from her act of overcoming her social anxiety and taking the initiative to say sweet words to her in public, sensed that this Mu Qing had left a better impression on her girlfriend than she had thought.
Originally, Lin Ran had planned to test her further.
For example, to find an opportunity to see if the other person was really just a lucky, kind, ordinary person, or a malicious person with ulterior motives, wearing some kind of disguise.
However, the emotion in Shu Yao’s light brown eyes at this moment made her hesitate.
In addition to the joy of seeing her, there was also a very faint, perhaps even unconscious, request.
A request that she not get into a conflict with her friend.
Lin Ran looked at Mu Qing’s sunny smile again. The loathing that had been clamoring in her instincts did not lessen in the slightest.
But—
Forget it. A creature that she disliked so much probably wouldn’t taste good anyway.
She lowered her eyelids and watched as Shu Yao took her arm, like a kindergartener waiting for her parents to pick her up, and said goodbye to her friends, ending today’s outing.
Shu Yao, who felt that she was not good at being impartial and always felt that she was not thoughtful enough, tried to make it up to her girlfriend all the way. After all, Lin Ran was the one she was closer to.
And, in the end, she didn’t say anything to Lin Ran about her bad guess about the umbrella.
For one thing, it was just hearsay. She hadn’t had a professional hospital check-up yet, so it was not right to attribute those strange things to the gift from her girlfriend. For another, even if it was the umbrella that brought the bad luck, Lin Ran had only given it to her with the intention of giving her a gift. If she were to tell her before finding a solution, it would only make Lin Ran feel guilty and regretful, and wouldn’t do any good.
So she cheered up and pulled Lin Ran to buy the lychee variety that she had liked in the lychee soda earlier. She even went to the fresh food section, wanting to make a delicious seafood feast for her girlfriend in the evening.
Because her girlfriend had driven over to find her, the trunk of the small car was full on the way back. And these soon filled the refrigerator at home.
Shu Yao, who had planned to clean the seafood, was instead assigned to arrange the fruits. With the thought of “inspecting the quality for her girlfriend first,” she stood in front of the refrigerator, putting the lychees in and peeling them to feed herself.
Ah, sticky rice dumpling!
This sweet juice, the plump and large pulp, so delicious!
It wasn’t until Lin Ran had put the fish and shrimp into the tank and looked back that she saw the pile of lychee shells Shu Yao had peeled on the side, gradually becoming as large as the part she had inspected and put into the refrigerator drawer.
Shu Yao, caught in the act of sneaking food: “!”
She was still holding half a lychee she had just peeled, the snow-white, crystal-clear pulp like jelly, exuding a tempting fragrance from the bright red, spiky shell. Out of a certain guilt for eating alone, when Lin Ran walked over, she reflexively fed this half of the lychee into the other’s mouth, trying to bribe her.
The juice of the fruit spread on Lin Ran’s tongue.
As her teeth bit down, she heard Shu Yao lean in and ask, “Is it delicious? It’s very sweet, right? This is the lychee used in the lychee soda that Mu Qing recommended to me when I was shopping with them this afternoon. Isn’t this variety particularly sweet?”
That name again.
Lin Ran really wanted to cover her lips, not wanting to hear the name of this annoying person from her mouth again, but her hands were still stained with the fishy smell from having just handled the fish and shrimp.
And Shu Yao, oblivious to this, saw that she had no reaction and thought that the one she had given her didn’t taste good. Coincidentally, this lychee was connected to another one on a branch, so she peeled the other one as well and carefully put it to her lips, biting off half.
Snow-white pulp, transparent juice, pink lips.
It suddenly aroused an enticing appetite.
Shu Yao tilted her head and said in confusion, “Huh? This one is also very sweet. Could it be—”
Before she could finish, her entire mind and attention were captured by Lin Ran’s approaching, magnified face.
And the softness and warmth of another’s lips that suddenly covered her own.
Her dark brown, unconsciously widened eyes reflected the other’s lowered eyelids and sighing expression:
Finally, it’s blocked.
Lin Ran thought.
…
It was almost seven o’clock now. The sun had long set, and even the clouds in the sky had faded from their colors, leaving only a grayish-blue.
The natural light in the kitchen had dimmed, and the sensor light of the refrigerator’s cold storage door became the warmest light between the two of them at this moment.
Shu Yao’s left hand was pressed against the edge of the refrigerator behind her. She felt the cool breeze blowing on her back, but the front of her was hot. It wasn’t the warmth from Lin Ran’s body, but simply the temperature on her lips.
As they repeatedly rubbed against each other, accompanied by shy emotions and a racing heart, her lips felt as if they were on fire.
Lin Ran was… was kissing her.
The unexpected progress of their relationship, and the initiative of her beautiful girlfriend, made Shu Yao’s heart beat even faster. Every inch of her skin became more sensitive, making the cold wind on her back even more obvious.
Alternating between hot and cold, a world of ice and fire.
Shu Yao forgot the correct way to stop. Although her right hand was only holding half a lychee and didn’t take up much space, and she could have used her palm or her elbow to create distance, she chose to clumsily open her mouth, wanting to remind her:
“Lin…”
Her tongue unconsciously brushed against the other’s lips.
The lips, which had only been at zero distance, instantly changed their taste.
She had made the predator suddenly learn the correct way to kiss. Even though she had no practical experience in this area before, Lin Ran instinctively knew how to tighten her grip on her prey more closely.
Even if her weapon was not her invincible feelers, but just the soft, non-aggressive tongue in the human mouth.
It was unknown how much time had passed.
The kitchen had completely darkened. The sensor light in the refrigerator was the only light source. Shu Yao had tried to speak several times, but she could neither break free from Lin Ran’s embrace nor escape from her lips and teeth.
Even calling out her girlfriend’s name had become an extravagant hope.
She could only let out a whimper that sounded like compromise and surrender. Whenever this happened, Lin Ran would pat her back gently with the palm of her hand and respond with a soft “Mmm.”
Although her girlfriend was so gentle and considerate, Shu Yao just wanted to cry.
Her tongue, every inch of the mucous membrane in her mouth, and her jaw were all sore…
Not to mention tomorrow, she was afraid she wouldn’t even be able to chew or swallow her food tonight, because every cell in her mouth was faintly protesting this excessive use.
The girl with the slightly curly light hair, her same-colored eyes were half-closed in a daze. Just as the wetness seeping from the corners of her eyes had wet her eyelashes and was about to gather into a teardrop and fall—
Lin Ran, as if she had sensed something, finally let go of the parts that had been blocked for too long and were now a little red and swollen. Her soft lips, which had been warmed by human body temperature, turned and kissed the corner of her girlfriend’s eye.
She licked away the tear, and only then did she ask, “Why are you crying?”
Shu Yao looked at her blankly for a while, then, after reacting, she buried her head in her neck like an ostrich, both out of shyness and to escape, not wanting to be caught and kissed like that again.
Her throat rolled for a long time, and the soreness in her jaw finally subsided a little.
She muttered a complaint, “So sore…”
“Mmm?”
Lin Ran’s palm, which had been behind her to prevent her from backing away, finally moved back. It traced the line of her jaw and finally held her chin, making her look up again. “Open your mouth, let me see.”
Shu Yao hesitated.
Because she felt that Lin Ran’s gaze, which was so deep she couldn’t see the bottom, made her heart palpitate a little.
She refused to open her mouth, and even raised her hands and crossed them to cover her lips tightly. Her muffled voice leaked out from between her fingers. “It’ll—it’ll be fine, but—but… don’t kiss me again…”
Lin Ran couldn’t see the condition of her mouth, but she could clearly remember her red and swollen lips before she had covered them.
Until Shu Yao turned and ran out of the kitchen, she was still thinking—
The human body is ultimately limited.
If she had used her feelers just now, would they have swollen?
