Chapter 58

Jin Yizhu did not answer her and simply drew a little closer to her.

They had already been very close, so close that their arms pressed against each other, their shoulders brushed shoulders, and in the warm hot spring water, their skin grew soft and slick. Even their shoulders touching felt intimate.

Misty steam rose, blurring the night sky and the stars.

A maple leaf drifted down, fluttering as it fell onto the water’s surface and sent ripples spreading out, but no one paid it any mind.

Wei Shuyu’s full attention was on Jin Yizhu.

She was the one who had extended the invitation, the one who had asked Jin Yizhu to kiss her, yet she felt extremely nervous, her fingertips curling slightly as if that could ease her tension.

Jin Yizhu reached out and pinched her chin without any warning.

Her fingertips were wet, warmed by the hot spring water, leaving a trail on Wei Shuyu’s skin.

Wei Shuyu was forced to tilt her face up. She did not dodge but instead took a deep breath and decisively kissed Jin Yizhu’s lips.

Jin Yizhu always used fruit-flavored lip balm. As she drew close, one could smell a faint fragrance, and kissing her directly was even softer and sweeter, like plucking the forbidden fruit hanging high in the Garden of Eden.

“It’s apple flavor today.”

Wei Shuyu gave her lips a light kiss and wrapped her arms around her neck.

“It suits you perfectly.”

She closed her eyes. They were so close that Jin Yizhu could see her eyelashes.

Jet-black like crow wings, they were damp with moisture. Whether from excitement or nervousness, they trembled faintly.

Jin Yizhu wanted to touch them, and she did.

Her palm brushed over Wei Shuyu’s eyes. From the first time they met, she had liked these eyes, though back then, she had not realized it was like.

She had simply felt captivated by them.

The soft eyelashes fluttered twice against her palm, a subtle sensation. Before Jin Yizhu could savor it, Wei Shuyu had grabbed her wrist.

She pulled her hand across her own lips and kissed her palm.

Wei Shuyu’s soft lips pressed into her palm, and Jin Yizhu’s mind went blank for a moment.

So soft, unbelievably soft, and yet Wei Shuyu stared into her eyes while gently licking her palm.

The wet, soft sensation made Jin Yizhu look into her eyes, where a misty haze held a hint of sly amusement.

It was Wei Shuyu, but different from her usual self—like a little fox.

“…You’re so cute like this.”

Jin Yizhu murmured in admiration and gave in to her desire, kissing her lips.

“They feel so soft to kiss.”

Softer than jelly, with a fragrance lighter than cherry blossoms.

Jin Yizhu suckled at her lips, her teeth nipping lightly at the petals, and unsurprisingly discovered that Wei Shuyu’s ears had begun to flush pink.

“Your ears are red,” Jin Yizhu said. “That’s cute too.”

In the brief gaps between breaths, she pressed against Wei Shuyu’s back, drawing her even closer.

In their embrace, which had left no space between them, they squeezed together even more tightly, yet the sensation was softer than clouds.

It was… so soft it drove her mad with desire.

She did not know who initiated it, but their tongues began to entwine. Their breaths grew hot, moist gasps crashing over them like waves, drowning them.

Her thoughts blurred, drifting off somewhere.

Jin Yizhu only wanted to hold the person before her tighter, deeper, to draw in her essence.

Her breath, her fragrance, her soft lips and inadvertent gasps—she wanted to claim them all, turn them into her treasures, hidden away in a place only she knew.

“Jin Yizhu… wait,” Wei Shuyu’s voice came in broken gasps. “I can’t… breathe.”

“Really?” Jin Yizhu whispered. “I was holding back.”

She loosened her hold on Wei Shuyu a little, no longer pressing her head.

Her fingertips trailed gently down her back—whether to soothe or to tempt, the two were much the same.

For the hot spring soak, Wei Shuyu had tied her long hair into a bun, which had been perfect before but was now coming loose.

A few strands of hair fell along her cheeks, accentuating her delicate, jade-like chin. Her freshly kissed lips were a vivid red, as if ravaged, drawing Jin Yizhu’s gaze again and again.

“Are you hot?” Jin Yizhu asked, her fingertips brushing Wei Shuyu’s lips. “They’re so red, like cherries.”

“…A little hot,” Wei Shuyu sighed softly and simply bit down on her finger. “But not because of the heat.”

Jin Yizhu asked knowingly, “Then what is it?”

Her lips and tongue were hot and wet, entwining her fingertip in a strange sensation.

She could hardly describe it, only that her heartbeat seemed to quicken a bit.

She had come to see the stars, but her gaze stuck to Wei Shuyu again. What to do? She wanted another kiss.

“…”

Wei Shuyu glared at her, but with her damp hair disheveled and cheeks flushed, it held no menace at all—instead, it seemed like coquetry.

“From your kisses. Satisfied?”

“Of course,” Jin Yizhu asked her. “Is this a real kiss?”

“Yeah,” Wei Shuyu caught her breath and shifted aside a bit, putting some distance between them. “How did it feel?”

Her embrace suddenly empty, Jin Yizhu felt a hollow ache inside.

Wei Shuyu was not far, but it did not feel close enough.

How close was close enough?

Hugging? Pressing together? Deeper kisses? Or…

Jin Yizhu could not figure it out, but she vaguely felt that perhaps her heart was beating for Wei Shuyu.

The heart she had always thought meaningless, unsure if it even existed, beat for Wei Shuyu.

“It felt great,” she said. “I felt so close to you, your kisses were sweet, my head felt a little dizzy, I felt like hugging you…”

Her feelings were many, fragmented and complex, spilling out in a gentle chaos.

Wei Shuyu watched her quietly and suddenly wanted to hug her.

Even if hormones clouded her mind, Jin Yizhu was still that gentle, clear-hearted girl who cherished every little thing about her. Even in a kiss, her feelings were cute like cotton candy.

Before Jin Yizhu finished sharing, Wei Shuyu had already wrapped her arms around her waist.

“What’s wrong?” Jin Yizhu was startled by the move. “Did I say it wrong?”

“Very right, perfectly right,” Wei Shuyu laughed. “And very cute.”

She gave Jin Yizhu’s lips a light kiss and asked, “Jin Yizhu, do you still want to see the stars?”

“The stars… I haven’t looked at them much tonight.”

Jin Yizhu tilted her head up to gaze at the velvet night sky, where stars twinkled far in the distance.

“I had so many star-related things prepared to tell you.”

“Can it wait until next time?” Wei Shuyu said. “I think we have something more important to talk about today.”

“Next time, then,” Jin Yizhu replied. “Stars are there every day, but being with you like this feels more important than stargazing.”

When together like this, hearts connected, only wanting to hold hands and head toward an unknown eternity…

More important than stars, than maple leaves, than anything.

Jin Yizhu stood up from the hot spring. Water streamed down her body from her collarbone, across her chest, to her waistline, tracing the graceful curves of an adult woman.

She did not shrink away but went to the rack for a towel. Knowing Wei Shuyu’s gaze followed her, she did not avoid it at all and even smiled at her.

“You just looked at me. This is my payback.”

Wei Shuyu stood from the pool and took the towel Jin Yizhu handed her, offering a feeble explanation.

“You can look however you want,” Jin Yizhu laughed. “Want another look?”

Wei Shuyu steeled herself. “…Now? Later.”

She realized Jin Yizhu had a carefree openness about such things.

Whether kissing or baring her body, she approached it with a ‘why not try’ attitude, utterly unashamed.

It only made her more embarrassed.

“Later? Back in the room?”

Whether teasing on purpose or serious, Jin Yizhu asked lightly:

“Want to shower together?”

“Um, Jin Yizhu.”

Wei Shuyu took a deep breath, looked at her, and asked:

“Isn’t our pace a bit too fast?”

“Fast?” Jin Yizhu looked at her earnestly, a hint of confusion in her tone. “Are there rules for this? Like, three days after confessing to kiss, five days for deep kissing, ten days for bed?”

“Well, not really…” Wei Shuyu pinched her earlobe. “It’s a bit cold. Let’s shower.”

After leaving the hot spring, Karuizawa’s night breeze chilled the exposed skin.

Wei Shuyu entered the bathroom first, tossed the towel into the bin, and turned on the shower, letting hot water pour over her and soak her completely.

“Wei Shuyu.”

Jin Yizhu followed behind. Once inside, she did not go to her side but chose another spot to start washing.

“Do you think it’s too fast?”

In the spacious Japanese-style bathroom that could fit five or six people, amid the patter of water, Jin Yizhu’s voice seemed to come from afar, almost ethereal.

She lathered foam on her head, eyes closed, feeling the hot water as she said:

“Maybe the steps are a bit off. After all, I kissed you before I even thought about it.”

“The fireworks at Tokyo Disneyland that day were too beautiful, and so were you.”

“In that atmosphere, I thought, could I get closer to you, never to part.”

“I don’t know if you’re shy or uneasy. What I want to say is…”

The white foam washed away, and Jin Yizhu opened her eyes to find Wei Shuyu standing before her, looking a bit annoyed.

She could not help laughing, pulled Wei Shuyu over, and pushed her under the shower spray.

“I know you think it’s absurd when I say this, but don’t be mad. I’m serious—about the confession, the kisses, all of it.”

“I know you’re serious! I’m just shy!”

Wei Shuyu squeezed her eyes shut. She had already washed her hair and now simply did not want to look at Jin Yizhu.

“Don’t make me sound like an overthinker who’s always anxious, okay? I just think showering together is so…”

So erotic.

The thought was even harder to voice than the act itself.