~~~
They paused from their passionate kiss to catch their breath. Su Jinglan’s eyes and the corners of her brows radiated irrepressible satisfaction. Outside the window, the thick ink-black night sky was dotted with twinkling stars, mirroring her heart in this very moment—stirred into surging waves of passion, tingles of electric pleasure rippling through her.
The doubts that had been weighing on her heart chose this perfect moment to surface, urging Su Jinglan to seize the chance and question Ning Jiuwei now that they had made their relationship official.
“Jiuwei, can I ask you a few questions?” Su Jinglan held Ning Jiuwei close, reluctant to let go even as she spoke.
Ning Jiuwei steeled herself mentally, her gentle smile brimming with indulgent affection. “President Su, ask away about whatever you want to know.”
With their new status, the title “President Su” felt too distant. Su Jinglan corrected her. “It’s your girlfriend who wants to know.”
“Alright, girlfriend.” Ning Jiuwei chuckled softly in amusement. “Go ahead and ask.”
Their understanding of each other wasn’t all that deep yet. The thrill of novelty and mystery was what kept the spark alive in a relationship, but too much distance could breed resentment. Since she’d decided to draw closer to Su Jinglan, Ning Jiuwei was fully prepared to be open and honest.
She didn’t hesitate to invite the questions, but Su Jinglan hesitated instead.
The TV droned on the screen, ignored by Ning Jiuwei. Her lovely peach-blossom eyes fixed steadily on her brand-new girlfriend, patiently waiting for Su Jinglan to find the right words.
“Why is the code to your front door Shi Wanxu’s birthday?” Su Jinglan had asked Ning Jiuwei about the code before, and Ning Jiuwei had said it wasn’t anyone’s birthday. Bringing it up again now, her jealousy was impossible to hide, spilling out naturally.
Su Jinglan watched Ning Jiuwei’s face closely for a reaction. There was no guilt or shock—Ning Jiuwei simply smiled and turned the question back on her. “My door code is 95175382. Does that look like Doctor Shi’s birthday to you?”
It didn’t just look like it—it was. Su Jinglan nodded.
Ning Jiuwei feigned confusion. “Su Jinglan, I don’t know Doctor Shi’s birthday. Why don’t you tell me?”
“Shi Wanxu’s birthday is August 2nd.” Su Jinglan pulled out her phone’s memo app and typed in the code. “The last two digits, 82, are Shi Wanxu’s birthday. I haven’t figured out what the first six mean yet.”
Watching Su Jinglan’s earnest expression, Ning Jiuwei let out another soft laugh.
Using a birthday as a password was the least secure option. She normally unlocked the door with her fingerprint, and when she’d set the numeric code, she’d picked something easy to remember but unlikely to be guessed. She never imagined it would coincidentally include Doctor Shi’s birthday.
“Thanks, President Su. Now I know Doctor Shi’s birthday.” Ning Jiuwei took Su Jinglan’s phone. Su Jinglan let her have it without resistance, not worried in the slightest about her snooping.
Ning Jiuwei didn’t poke around. She switched to the numeric keypad input, using the nine-grid layout, and had Su Jinglan enter the code again.
Su Jinglan typed it in hesitantly and immediately understood.
It was just a pattern on the keypad: crossing diagonals plus the top and bottom points.
The jealousy that had gnawed at her for so long had nothing to do with Shi Wanxu after all.
Su Jinglan pressed a hand to her forehead. Ning Jiuwei laughed out loud. “I told you back then it wasn’t a birthday, President Su. You didn’t believe me.”
Love required mutual trust. To Ning Jiuwei, Su Jinglan’s suspicions were harmless little things. But hearing it, Su Jinglan panicked that their hard-won relationship—barely an hour old—might already be in jeopardy. She hurried to explain. “It’s not that I didn’t believe you. I didn’t believe in myself. If it came down to choosing between me and Doctor Shi, I thought you’d pick her.”
“I get it.” Ning Jiuwei’s smile faded, her expression turning serious as she looked at Su Jinglan. “When I get home, I’ll change the code to your birthday.”
This side of Ning Jiuwei caught her off guard.
Su Jinglan’s heart bloomed with joy. She pulled Ning Jiuwei into a tight embrace, pressing her down onto the sofa in an intimate tangle, pouring her excitement into a deep kiss.
Did dating really involve this much kissing? With her cheeks still aching, Ning Jiuwei blocked Su Jinglan with her palm, laughing through it. “President Su, what’s your next question?”
The warmth of her palm scorched Su Jinglan’s soft lips. Unable to help herself, Su Jinglan planted a gentle kiss there before shaking her head. “No more.”
She tucked the other questions back into her heart. Some things were best left unsaid, some actions left undone. Asking them outright might drive Ning Jiuwei away.
Their relationship was still in its fragile early stages. There would be plenty of time later, once things were more solid.
For now, she just wanted to get closer to her girlfriend.
Su Jinglan removed the hand blocking her view and guided it to her own neck instead. Her burning gaze trailed slowly over those lips, her fingertips tentatively tugging at the hem of Ning Jiuwei’s clothes, slipping beneath. “Jiuwei, I want to do it here.”
She wanted Ning Jiuwei right here.
Ning Jiuwei glanced up at the floor-to-ceiling window and crooked a finger around Su Jinglan’s nape. “Pull the curtains first.”
The curtains slowly drew closed under the Smart System’s control, blocking out the deep night. Su Jinglan moved to act, but Ning Jiuwei suddenly went back on her word and pinned her hand down. “Wait. Let’s go to the bed instead.”
Now that she had a legitimate claim, Su Jinglan had no intention of letting Ning Jiuwei slip away.
With the sound of the television droning in the background, Ning Jiuwei felt a shame that left her nowhere to hide. Her senses stayed on high alert, braced for any interruption. She couldn’t let herself go, and when Su Jinglan touched her there, she couldn’t help but call a halt.
Su Jinglan felt a forceful urge surging through her. Her body throbbed with such intense longing that she couldn’t easily stop. She leaned in closer, but Ning Jiuwei seized her wrist and flipped them over, ending up on top.
Her heart pounded wildly as she gasped for heavy breaths. Ning Jiuwei stared down at Su Jinglan, pinned securely beneath her. Destructive impulses broke free from the sealed depths of her heart.
Su Jinglan could handle it—she could take control if needed. Her pulse raced under the invasive gaze hovering mere inches away, beating faster than she could bear. Ning Jiuwei said nothing. Su Jinglan curved her lips into a smile at her, offering encouragement. “I’m really looking forward to how it feels to be possessed by Teacher Ning.”
She wanted Ning Jiuwei, and she wanted Ning Jiuwei to want her in return. They were both women, after all—their physical needs were no different.
Ning Jiuwei squeezed her eyes shut, forcing down the rampaging thoughts little by little until her breathing evened out. “I’m going to take a shower.”
She came up with an excuse and released the woman on the sofa, fleeing the living room as if her life depended on it.
Su Jinglan tilted her head and straightened her rumpled clothes.
Ning Jiuwei doesn’t want to touch me.
That heartbreaking conclusion drained the smile from Su Jinglan’s face. She sat up slowly, her gaze lingering with disappointment on the bedroom door. The adrenaline rush gradually ebbed back to normal levels, leaving behind an indescribable chill.
Su Jinglan opened her browser and searched: Does it mean my girlfriend doesn’t like me if she won’t touch me?
She wasn’t the only one who’d wondered. The suggested answers were all over the place, but the top-rated one was brutally concise: two words—Yes, it does.
It’s not that she doesn’t want to touch me at all. Ning Jiuwei is fine with kissing me. Su Jinglan reassured herself that she was overthinking it. Ning Jiuwei just didn’t know how yet—she wasn’t unwilling.
She cleared her search history and closed the browser. A news notification suddenly popped up in her bar, from the very browser she’d just used.
Shen Lanyan publicly declares her love in extravagant fashion. The lengthy article came with Weibo screenshots. Su Jinglan frowned as she read it, then tapped through to Weibo.
Over a hundred thousand comments had swamped Shen Lanyan’s feed. It wasn’t just fans down there—plenty of nosy onlookers from rival fandoms had piled in too. Su Jinglan’s private account followed Shen Lanyan, and when she spotted the ring on her finger—the one clearly designed by Ning Jiuwei—her expression darkened.
Make it clear: Do you like the person, or just the ring she designed? Su Jinglan messaged her: “Right—Ning Jiuwei’s girlfriend is me.”
Without waiting for a reply, she fired off a follow-up command: Edit your Weibo post. Don’t make me think you’re after my girlfriend.
Shen Lanyan glanced at the ring on her finger and shot back: Not changing it.
Su Jinglan called her immediately. “Delete the Weibo post.”
“Your precious designer girlfriend is the one who asked if I liked her ring.” Shen Lanyan made it up on the spot, twisting Ning Jiuwei’s words. “I’ve signed on as your company’s spokesperson. This is perfect for some exposure. I’ll have Sister Ling whip up a marketing plan later that’ll leave you satisfied, President Su.”
Romance scandals generated the most buzz. The gossip hounds would swarm, and with the current momentum plus a targeted push, attention on the quarterly new products would skyrocket. Su Jinglan glanced toward the bedroom. The idea of leveraging a supposed fling between Ning Jiuwei and Shen Lanyan to hype the brand made her stomach turn.
Anyone else, maybe. But not Ning Jiuwei. Su Jinglan rejected the proposal in a cold voice. “You’re not to use Ning Jiuwei for marketing.”
“President Su, I’m the one putting my own love life to work for your jewelry brand.” Shen Lanyan lounged back on her sofa, her amusement clear even through the phone. “Am I really such a cooperative spokesperson that you’re going to pass up this golden promo opportunity?”
Su Jinglan didn’t respond. She simply hung up.
Shen Lanyan chuckled and drained the glass. She called over Ah Xiao. “Pour me another.”
“Sister Yan, maybe ease up? You’ve got an early shoot tomorrow.” Ah Xiao clutched the bottle but held off pouring.
“President Su finally won over the woman she likes. I’m happy for her.” Ah Xiao had been her assistant for years—the one person she trusted most. With no one else around, she had to share her feelings with her. “If Designer Ning never warmed up to President Su, I might not be able to resist pursuing her myself.”
“…” Ah Xiao didn’t quite follow. She puzzled over it for a moment but came up empty. “Sister Yan, who is it you can’t resist going after? Designer Ning or President Su?”
Shen Lanyan snatched the entire bottle of wine from Ah Xiao’s hand and tilted her head back to chug it down, utterly unconcerned with her image.
The more she drank, the clearer her head became. Shen Lanyan set the now-empty bottle aside and grabbed her phone to send a message to Sister Ling.
Five minutes later, Shen Lanyan’s Weibo account liked a post from a verified blue V account.
“Brilliant gems are infused with vibrant life by the designer, their refracted light mirroring the gaze in her eyes—a fatal attraction straight from the soul. Would you like it?”
News that Shen Lanyan was about to become the spokesperson for HS Jewelry spread like wildfire across the web.
HS was short for Hengsu Group, and it also stood for the initials of “human soul,” signifying that every piece from their designers struck right at the heart, resonating deeply.
The blue V account Shen Lanyan had liked was none other than the official verified Weibo for HS Jewelry.
Fresh from her shower, Ning Jiuwei sat on the edge of the bed, scrolling through Weibo Hot Searches. She had seen both things Shen Lanyan had done. When Su Jinglan entered, Ning Jiuwei glanced at her, then lifted the covers and slipped under them.
Su Jinglan showered in the guest room’s bathroom. She climbed into bed from the other side, half-reclining against the headboard as her inscrutable gaze settled on Ning Jiuwei beside her pillow.
“Did you see Miss Shen’s Weibo post?” Su Jinglan stayed silent, so Ning Jiuwei took the initiative.
Su Jinglan nodded, offering no words. Ning Jiuwei clenched her fist beneath the covers and asked Su Jinglan with loaded intent, “Are you going to sleep?”
They both knew the deeper meaning behind “going to sleep.” Su Jinglan switched off the light, propped herself up on the pillow, and leaned in close. Her fingertip brushed along the side of Ning Jiuwei’s neck in a gentle hook, drawing out the necklace looped around it.
“Jiuwei, do you know what the ring means?”
As a jewelry designer, Ning Jiuwei knew full well, but Su Jinglan’s question held layers. “What is President Su trying to say?”
Su Jinglan toyed with the ring. “I’m afraid Teacher Ning thinks it means she can’t touch me.” Her breath whispered warm against Ning Jiuwei’s ear. “I want to be possessed by Teacher Ning.”
