~~~
The class bell rang, and the once-quiet school building erupted into a cacophony of voices in an instant. The umbrellas held aloft in front of the building drew immediate attention. Students pouring out of their classrooms leaned against the railings for a breath of fresh air, their eyes fixed on the tantalizing scene below as they began gossiping animatedly with their classmates.
Whispers and chatter flooded in from all sides. Ning Jiuwei released Su Jinglan’s hand and lifted the umbrella higher, gazing up at the school building.
The light was dim, but it was enough for the students to make out the figures sheltering beneath it.
“Two beautiful ladies!”
“Which class do they teach?”
Still craving more, Su Jinglan clasped Ning Jiuwei’s hand and gripped the umbrella handle over hers, lowering the canopy once again. In their private world under the gaze of onlookers, she leaned in for a tender kiss.
“Enough.” Ning Jiuwei couldn’t suppress the smile tugging at her lips. Joy bubbled up from the depths of her eyes, straight to her heart, washing away the long-buried pain. She felt utterly enveloped by Su Jinglan’s love. “The students are all watching us.”
“You kissed me first.” Pushed back gently, Su Jinglan pressed close again. She took the umbrella and wrapped an arm around Ning Jiuwei’s slender waist, steering her away from the school building. “Let’s head to the sports field and pick up where we left off.”
Ning Jiuwei burst out laughing. “Su Jinglan, don’t you have any sense of propriety? Dating isn’t allowed on high school campuses. The sports field is for physical exercise.”
“Kissing counts as exercise too.” Su Jinglan tightened her hold, whispering into her ear. “Back then or now, plenty of high schoolers dated early. You owe it to me to make up for the romance I missed out on back in high school.”
Ning Jiuwei couldn’t follow the logic. Whether Su Jinglan had dated in high school or not had nothing to do with her directly. She steered the conversation back. “The rain’s picking up. We should head back soon.”
“Don’t worry, Teacher Ning. I won’t let my Teacher Ning get wet.” Su Jinglan kept walking toward the sports field.
The rain-swept sports field was deserted. The plastic track, shrouded in mist, stood out clearly in the gloomy light. Su Jinglan and Ning Jiuwei strolled along it slowly, like an old married couple out for a leisurely walk after dinner.
“Jiuwei, you can tell me now.” Su Jinglan had been so dazed by Ning Jiuwei’s kiss that she’d nearly forgotten the important matter at hand.
Ning Jiuwei halted at her words. Shards of memory from the past sliced through her like jagged glass, scraping her skin and stabbing at her heart. She turned to gaze at her lover, so intimately entwined with her in this moment, her eyes glazing over.
Silence stretched beneath the umbrella. Ning Jiuwei’s gaze was as deep and boundless as the ocean. Su Jinglan’s heart pounded with a mix of anticipation and unease.
She longed for Ning Jiuwei to open up, yet dreaded what she might hear—a turbulent conflict of emotions.
Ning Jiuwei had always known exactly what she wanted to do and what she didn’t. Now, she hesitated. Raindrops pattered relentlessly against the umbrella as Su Jinglan held it steady, shielding her from the downpour and waiting patiently for her to speak.
“Everyone has secrets in their heart. There are reasons I don’t want you to know certain things, and that’s why I haven’t told you. What matters isn’t the past—it’s the present and the future.” Ning Jiuwei took the umbrella and clasped Su Jinglan’s hand, leading her forward. “If we get hung up on the past, our lives will be like this track—start and finish overlapping, circling endlessly through the same pain over and over.”
Ning Jiuwei turned them around, guiding Su Jinglan off the track and back toward the school gate. “Thank you for letting me know. You’ve liked me since your first year of high school.”
Her words carried the weight of a farewell, leaving Su Jinglan deeply unsettled. “Jiuwei, are you planning to abandon me again?”
Ning Jiuwei: “…”
She let out a helpless laugh. “Su Jinglan, what on earth do you think of me? If anyone’s worried about being left behind, it’s me.”
In the past, she hadn’t trusted Su Jinglan’s feelings, convinced it was just a fling for novelty’s sake—that once Su Jinglan’s desire for conquest was sated, she’d toss her aside like trash. Now that she believed in Su Jinglan’s sincerity, Su Jinglan was the one growing paranoid.
Su Jinglan regretted digging so deeply into Ning Jiuwei’s past. She squeezed their interlaced fingers and let out a soft sigh. “You want to know?”
Ning Jiuwei nodded. “Mm.”
“I can sense you’re holding back. It’s glaringly obvious in our relationship.”
“Like what?”
“You’re not enthusiastic with me. Kissing, in bed—it’s always me taking the initiative.” Su Jinglan stared straight ahead, her voice growing more aggrieved. “I don’t demand it, but you never offer.”
Ning Jiuwei let out a delighted chuckle. “President Su’s memory isn’t always perfect, huh?”
Su Jinglan blinked in surprise, then caught on. “That doesn’t count. You only did that to shut me up and stop me from asking questions.”
“Want me to shut you up again right now?”
Ning Jiuwei saying something like that? Su Jinglan studied her closely. Ning Jiuwei met her eyes with a playful smile. “Well? Do you, President Su?”
“Are you Designer Ning?” Su Jinglan wondered if the walk around the sports field had somehow swapped Ning Jiuwei’s personality.
Ning Jiuwei withdrew her smile, instantly shifting to a distant demeanor that kept everyone at arm’s length. “If President Su doesn’t like it, then forget it.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than her sensitive waist was pinched. Su Jinglan’s eyes and brows brimmed with amusement, her soft chuckle sending tingles through Ning Jiuwei’s ear and straight to her heart. Ning Jiuwei nearly melted right there in her arms.
“I like it,” Su Jinglan said, her smile unwavering. “I like it way too much.”
She liked it so much that she wanted to take Ning Jiuwei right then and there.
That familiar scorching gaze set Ning Jiuwei’s heart into chaotic turmoil. She held her breath, tamping down the surge of desire, and quickened her pace back toward the car.
The black Porsche waited just outside the school gate. The gatekeeper spotted the two women approaching under the umbrella and swiftly swung the barrier open to let them through.
At last, back in the car, Su Jinglan tugged at the hem of Ning Jiuwei’s clothes, her eyes misty with longing. “Teacher Ning, block me up now.”
As if she needed to ask. Ning Jiuwei looped her arms around Su Jinglan’s neck, drawing her close and sealing her lips in a firm, unyielding kiss.
The partition divided the car’s interior into two separate worlds. Lin Fengmian kept her focus on the road, the rain and wind drumming against the vehicle, while Ning Jiuwei surrendered her heart completely to Su Jinglan’s allure. Their deep, tangled kiss ignited a blaze of fervent passion, heating them from the inside out until they ached to strip away their clothes.
Remembering where they were, Ning Jiuwei reined in the impulse for barrier-free intimacy in the car. The vehicle glided smoothly along. Amid the heated kiss, Su Jinglan shifted positions, bracing against the armrest to straddle Ning Jiuwei’s lap. She swept Ning Jiuwei’s hair back, pressed a hand to the nape of her neck, and responded with fierce, enthusiastic fervor.
In the midst of the kiss, Su Jinglan sensed the subtle shift in Ning Jiuwei—a change that sent her own heart flooding with emotion. She yearned to pour every ounce of her love back into her.
“Hiss.” The intensity proved too much; Ning Jiuwei’s tongue tip caught a bite. She tilted her head away to break the kiss, her smile unchanged. “That stings a little.”
Ning Jiuwei’s show of vulnerability only stoked the fire. Su Jinglan cradled her face, her gaze direct and devouring, as if she meant to swallow her whole. “Stick it out. Let me see.”
Ning Jiuwei could picture exactly what would happen next. Instead, she leaned forward, resting against Su Jinglan’s shoulder with a laugh. “No need.”
The muffled refusal filtered through her clothes, vibrating along her skin to Su Jinglan’s ear. Su Jinglan twined her fingers in Ning Jiuwei’s hair, her chin nuzzling gently against the crown of her head. “Next time, I’ll be careful. I promise—no more bites.”
“It’s inevitable,” Ning Jiuwei replied, sounding like she spoke from experience.
“Hm?” Su Jinglan tilted Ning Jiuwei’s chin up. “Doesn’t Designer Ning trust me?”
Ning Jiuwei twisted away, burying her face back in the crook of Su Jinglan’s neck. Laughter bubbled against her fair skin, and Su Jinglan joined in, her chuckles deepening as she recalled Ning Jiuwei’s words on the sports field.
Once home, Ning Jiuwei stuck to her routine—shower first, then bed. She held back outside the bedroom, but once under the covers, she grew far more forward.
Su Jinglan had just lifted the blanket and settled on the edge of the mattress when Ning Jiuwei embraced her from behind. With a gentle flex of her slender arms, she toppled Su Jinglan onto the bed and drew her into her arms.
“Want it?” Su Jinglan twisted back, her smile radiant. The sudden, context-free question ignited Ning Jiuwei’s body like a spark.
Ning Jiuwei hesitated for a beat. “Why did you suddenly take me to high school?” She hadn’t asked on the way there, but now that they were home, curiosity won out.
The question captured Su Jinglan’s interest completely, diverting her attention. She adjusted her position, turning fully in Ning Jiuwei’s embrace until they lay face-to-face, pillows aligned at the same height. “I wanted to untie a knot. My knot.”
“Your knot?”
She had hoped the high school visit would loosen Ning Jiuwei’s own reservations, coax out the secrets buried deep in her heart. But Ning Jiuwei had stayed tight-lipped, so Su Jinglan turned the focus inward. Her deep, beautiful eyes held no trace of evasion as she gazed honestly at the woman beside her. “I wanted to hold your hand and stroll across the high school campus. To hug and kiss you in some quiet corner. To hear you say you like me—or better yet, that you love me.”
That earnest, hopeful look tugged too hard at Ning Jiuwei’s heart. Her pulse thundered. She slipped her hand free and pressed it flat against the blanket, drawing in cooler air to steady her rising heat.
If anything, her temperature climbed higher. An unquenchable fire blazed in her chest, spreading through her limbs in a rush of surging blood and soaring emotions. Ning Jiuwei parted her lips, but the word “love” wouldn’t come.
Su Jinglan stifled a laugh. She traced Ning Jiuwei’s cheek, her thumb grazing lightly over her cheekbone before settling on her earlobe. Leaning in close, her voice lost its clarity, laced instead with seduction. “When words fail, you can always show it.”
Ning Jiuwei didn’t stir.
Su Jinglan tugged the blanket over their heads, guiding her in another way to express love beneath its shelter.
The bedroom lights were on. The quilt had slipped from her back and fallen to the side. Ning Jiuwei clutched her wrinkled pajamas, which half-covered her body. She blinked open her eyes, and the harsh light from overhead made her lift an arm to shield her face. Su Jinglan, looming over her, gently grasped Ning Jiuwei’s wrist and moved her hand aside.
“Turn off the lights,” she said, the short sentence coming out in gasps, as if it had drained every last bit of her strength.
Su Jinglan obeyed without question, not even leaving a single wall lamp on. She switched off every light in the bedroom and surrendered fully to the enveloping darkness of the night.
Love was exhausting in every way. Ning Jiuwei had no memory of drifting off to sleep. By the time awareness returned, it was the next morning.
“Designer Ning.” The moment Ning Jiuwei arrived at the company, Assistant Tan followed her into the office, holding a bottle of mosquito repellent lotion. “This stuff works great. You can even put it on bites.”
Ning Jiuwei took it without a flicker of reaction and asked with perfect seriousness, “Where did I get bitten by a mosquito?”
“Right here.” Assistant Tan pointed to the spot where her own chin met her neck.
It was a place one wouldn’t normally notice. Ning Jiuwei lifted her head to check in the mirror, and her heart clenched. Her expression remained utterly composed as she calmly squeezed some lotion onto her fingertip and dabbed it onto the red mark.
“Thanks. It works really well.”
“Right? The itching stops right away.” When Designer Ning tried to hand the lotion back, Tan Yushu waved her off hurriedly. “Keep it, Designer Ning. I bought a whole dozen. I’ve got plenty more.”
Su Jinglan stood in the office doorway, smiling. “That mark on Designer Ning’s neck doesn’t look like a mosquito bite. It looks more like a hickey.”
~~~
