“I don’t know if she likes me.” Yue Bai’s voice was laced with a sob, as if tears might spill out at any moment. She fumbled in her pocket for a tissue and hastily wiped at the tears welling in her eyes.
“Can you tell Senior Sister who the person you like is?” Sang Wan asked nervously, steadying Yue Bai with a hand that slid from her cheek down to linger near her lips.
Yue Bai sniffled, her chest heaving with each shaky breath, on the verge of suffocating. She stared stubbornly at Sang Wan, saying nothing, her lips pressed into a tight line.
Sang Wan watched her struggle with heartache, tempted to speak up herself, but the words died on her tongue.
“Little Bai?” Sang Wan pulled Yue Bai toward a dark corner of the sports field untouched by the lights.
Their bodies slipped into the shadows. Yue Bai’s back pressed against the chain-link fence as Sang Wan took a small step closer, narrowing the gap between them until their clothes brushed together. Sang Wan lowered her head.
Her warm breath ghosted over Yue Bai’s neck, sending a tingling itch that made Yue Bai’s sobs quiet down.
Or perhaps it was simply that Sang Wan was so close that Yue Bai instinctively held her breath.
“Senior Sister.” Yue Bai’s nose filled with Sang Wan’s faint, pleasant fragrance mingled with her own warmth. The subtle, comforting scent enveloped her, yet she couldn’t find her voice.
She gazed in confusion at Sang Wan drawing ever nearer. The darkness here was too deep; only the faint moonlight outlined her silhouette.
“Hm? Senior Sister’s right here.” Sang Wan’s voice was soft. She swallowed, waiting patiently for Yue Bai to speak.
After a long silence, Yue Bai finally spoke again, her voice even softer and lighter. Sang Wan tilted her head slightly, straining to catch her words.
“The person I like… is a girl.”
Sang Wan heard Yue Bai’s confession and fought to keep her lips from curving upward. Matching Yue Bai’s hushed tone, she murmured gently, as soft as a breeze: “Mm.”
“I don’t know if she likes girls.” Yue Bai continued in a whisper, her eyes fixed on Sang Wan. Though she couldn’t make out her expression, Sang Wan’s relaxed tone and posture showed no surprise.
“Mm, and then?” Sang Wan coaxed her softly. “If you don’t tell her, how will she know?”
Yue Bai followed her own train of thought, rambling on with sobs and breaths blending together, her words halting: “She’s so good to me. During military training, she’d bring me water and candy, take me to competitions…”
Yue Bai listed them one by one.
The smile at the corners of Sang Wan’s lips deepened. It was so obvious now—who else could she be talking about? If Sang Wan still didn’t get it, she’d have to be truly dense.
Yet she stayed silent, letting Yue Bai go on.
“She washes my hair when my foot’s hurt, does my laundry. During roll call, she sneaks me snacks.” Yue Bai’s voice grew louder, her tone returning to normal. “And during evening self-study, she brings me to the sports field and asks who I like…”
At some point, Yue Bai had begun staring intently at Sang Wan, teardrops still clinging to her lashes, sparkling and translucent.
“Senior Sister…” Seeing no response, Yue Bai called out weakly.
She’d said it all so clearly—Sang Wan couldn’t possibly misunderstand. But why wasn’t she saying anything? Could it be…
Fresh tears welled in Yue Bai’s eyes, her nose stinging, her throat parched and aching.
“Little Bai.” Sang Wan sighed softly, cupping her cheeks with gentle hands. “Why are you so worked up about this?”
“Sen… Senior Sister.” Yue Bai tilted her head back, and in her line of sight, Sang Wan buried her face in the crook of her neck.
“Anything else you want to say?” Sang Wan lifted her head with a beaming smile, her thumb brushing away a fallen tear.
“I…” Yue Bai choked up, unsure what more Sang Wan wanted from her.
“Do you like Senior Sister?” Sang Wan asked, taking pity on her speechless state and not pressing further.
“Mm.” Yue Bai slowly sank down, hugging her knees to her chest with her head bowed between them.
Something in Sang Wan’s heart clicked. She couldn’t hold back her smile anymore. Bending down, she wrapped her arms around the fragile girl. “Then why don’t you ask if Senior Sister likes you?”
Yue Bai cautiously peeked sideways, one eye peering out. Blurred by tears, everything was hazy in the dark—she could see nothing clearly.
“So… does Senior Sister like me?” Yue Bai whispered, lips pursed.
“Mm, I do.” Sang Wan gently pulled her up from the ground, drawing her into an embrace with a slight tug of her arms. “Good girl, no more crying.”
She patted Yue Bai’s back lightly. After her words, Yue Bai’s sobs grew louder. A couple of students on the nearby path heard and glanced over curiously.
Seeing one girl crying heartbrokenly in another’s arms, they assumed a breakup and hurried away.
“Really?” Yue Bai whimpered. “Senior Sister doesn’t have to comfort me.”
“How are you this adorable?” Sang Wan chuckled, steadying Yue Bai by the shoulders and easing her back from the hug. Her voice was tender: “Really, Senior Sister likes you—a lot, so much…”
“Senior Sister.” More tears streamed down Yue Bai’s face.
“Why are you still crying?” Sang Wan teased with a laugh, coaxing her. Was this girl made of water? No matter how much she wiped, the tears kept coming.
“I’m just happy.” Yue Bai forced a grin, but it looked worse than her crying.
Her tears gradually subsided amid repeated efforts to hold them back. After wiping the last ones away with a tissue, Yue Bai sniffled and gripped the hand Sang Wan had rested on her shoulder.
“So, Senior Sister… will you be my girlfriend?” Yue Bai asked, feigning composure.
Sang Wan smiled, her gaze dropping to their clasped hands. Yue Bai was gripping tightly, as if afraid she’d pull away.
So nervous?
A mischievous urge rose in Sang Wan, but seeing Yue Bai’s nearly swollen eyes, she set it aside. “Sure.”
She’d been waiting for those words a long time.
Sang Wan led Yue Bai by the hand back to the Teachers’ Apartment she’d already booked, intending to comfort the teary-eyed girl. As luck would have it, they ran into Wen Mo and Zhou Qingyan in the elevator, just returning from the sports field themselves.
Yue Bai hid behind Sang Wan, not wanting to be seen.
“Huh?” Sharp-eyed Zhou Qingyan yanked her out from behind Sang Wan, staring at her puffy, red-rimmed eyes. “What happened? Sang Wan, did you bully her?”
Wen Mo’s gaze shifted to Zhou Qingyan, flicking between the two.
“N-No…” Yue Bai murmured, her voice still thick with tears, making Zhou Qingyan frown.
“What’s going on?” she pressed relentlessly.
Sang Wan pulled Yue Bai back into her arms, her eyes full of tender affection. “Don’t scare my girlfriend.”
Yue Bai’s eyes were still red, and she shrank further into Sang Wan.
“Your girlfriend?” Zhou Qingyan’s tone rose unconsciously at Sang Wan’s smug pride, then she clapped a hand over her mouth. “When did this happen? Don’t tell me it was on the…”
The word “sports field” was silenced by Wen Mo’s tug.
“Well, damn, that was quick.” Zhou Qingyan twitched her lips. “Little Bai, you got swept off your feet just like that?”
“I confessed to Senior Sister first,” Yue Bai mumbled weakly from Sang Wan’s embrace, adding softly that Sang Wan hadn’t tricked her.
“…” Zhou Qingyan rubbed her forehead, looking away in exasperation.
The elevator dinged to a stop. Wen Mo nodded politely to the pair inside and dragged the reluctant Zhou Qingyan out.
Now the elevator held only the two of them.
“Sleep at Senior Sister’s tonight?” When it stopped again, Sang Wan unlocked the door and asked after they entered.
“…” Yue Bai fell silent. Before, she’d have agreed casually, but now that they were dating, she felt shy.
“Stay here.” Sang Wan slipped off her shoes and grabbed a new pair of slippers from the cabinet, placing them at Yue Bai’s feet. “Keep Senior Sister company.”
Yue Bai nodded, face flushed.
After washing up, Yue Bai sat obediently against the headboard.
Sang Wan changed into her pure black pajamas and stood by the bed with a glass of water. She took a sip, then extended her arm. “Want some water?”
Yue Bai shook her head.
Noting her shyness, Sang Wan set the glass on the nightstand, a drop of water lingering on her fingertip from the rim.
“Aren’t you cold, Senior Sister?” The weather had cooled, and Yue Bai worried about her in the thin sleepwear.
“I’m fine.” Smiling, Sang Wan lifted the covers and slipped in, the chill of her skin meeting the warmth. She sighed contentedly. “The bed’s all nice and toasty from you.”
Yue Bai lay flat, frozen in place, her rigid body starting to go numb.
Sang Wan’s eyes narrowed as her body warmed, then she scooted closer to Yue Bai. Her pale arm draped straight across Yue Bai’s waist, fingers deliberately tracing the back of her hand. Feeling Yue Bai stiffen further, Sang Wan chuckled delightedly. “Why so tense? Senior Sister won’t do anything to you.”
Her teasing gentleness didn’t soothe Yue Bai, whose knuckles clenched in bewilderment, her pinky pressing hard against her side.
“Alright, no more teasing.” Sang Wan sighed helplessly, turning Yue Bai to face her. “Today’s our first day as an official couple. Still not used to it?”
Yue Bai’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as she stared blankly at Sang Wan. After a long moment, she tilted her head slightly. “Senior Sister, do you really like me? You’re not just saying this because you’re afraid of hurting me, are you?”
“Senior Sister really likes you,” Sang Wan thought with a soft sigh in her heart. Was her junior sister really so lacking in confidence?
She met Yue Bai’s gaze, her expression utterly serious. “I only like you.”
Plenty of people had confessed to her back in high school, but none of them had stirred any feelings in her. Yue Bai was different. Even without a word, simply standing there was enough to quicken Sang Wan’s pulse and fill her with an irresistible urge to reach out, to touch and explore.
“I only like Senior Sister too.” Yue Bai’s head slowly came to rest against Sang Wan’s chest, her voice soft and tender.
Sang Wan’s chest rumbled faintly, and Yue Bai knew Senior Sister Sang was laughing—a silent, gentle laugh.
Mimicking her, Yue Bai wrapped her arms around Sang Wan’s waist, though her palm unwittingly slipped down to rest on her lower abdomen.
The vibrations grew more pronounced. Yue Bai bit her lip, her face burning crimson as she froze in place, not daring to move.
After what felt like an eternity, Yue Bai couldn’t bear it any longer. She sneaked a glance upward to see what Sang Wan was doing, only to collide directly with her eyes.
Sang Wan had been watching her all along, her gaze gentle and brimming with deep affection, just like that night. Yue Bai’s heart fluttered wildly.
“Senior Sister.” Yue Bai found herself especially fond of the words today. She nuzzled against Sang Wan’s neck and whispered shyly, “What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing.” Sang Wan rested her chin atop Yue Bai’s head and asked slyly, “Do you want to hold on to Senior Sister’s belly while you sleep tonight too?”
“…”
Yue Bai silently burrowed under the covers.
“Alright, I’m done teasing.” Sang Wan pulled her scrunched-up junior sister back into her arms and said soothingly, “Let Senior Sister hold you while you sleep, okay?”
“Mm…”
Once the breathing in her arms grew steady and even, Sang Wan quietly fished out her phone and sent a message: “Why doesn’t Little Bai have any desire for that with me?”
She’d just fallen asleep right here in my arms? Not even a little kiss?
“???” The reply came back incredulous. “You two just got together, okay?” It was followed by a rolling-eyes emoji.
“Little Bai is super innocent. Don’t corrupt her so soon.”
“You’ve got it wrong.” Sang Wan typed back. She just wanted Yue Bai to take the initiative and kiss her.
“Wrong about what? You’re the one being improper.” The response carried a hint of anger. “You even came up with that scheme of having Hua Yun confess to Wen Mo just to push Little Bai. The forums are flooded with that video—we spent a whole hour scrubbing it.”
“Thanks, you two.” Sang Wan knew she was in the wrong. “I’ll cover meals for you both for a week.”
“Throw in another week of milk tea.”
“…Deal.”
Sang Wan set her phone aside and gazed tenderly at Yue Bai. She leaned down to inhale the faint, sweet fragrance at the crown of her head. Her junior sister was so adorably oblivious. It looked like she’d need a little gentle nudging after all.
