Chapter 45
Chen Qingtang still didn’t know that the Tongkang Community actually had a cafeteria. Pei Yunle hadn’t confessed yet, so she always felt that Pei Yunle was living a pitiful life, unable to eat lunch and only able to go back to the Liu family’s house for dinner.
One morning, the distant sky was still brewing with a thick, heavy fog, like a pot of thick, white fish soup.
Chen Qingtang had just woken up and was leaning against the doorframe, not yet fully awake. Pei Yunle had already left, but she hadn’t taken the lunch in the thermal container with her.
Perhaps she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to eat, or perhaps she had started to miss her so much after just two hours of separation.
Chen Qingtang picked up the thermal container and prepared to deliver it to her.
The small three-wheeler was bumpy all the way, but she still held the box tightly.
It was exactly twelve o’clock when she arrived at the community. The glass door of the community was always closed, regardless of whether it was during work hours or not.
Chen Qingtang pushed open the main door and just happened to see Pei Yunle half-lying on the computer chair, a black pen spinning between her knuckles.
“Hey, what are you doing here!”
Pei Yunle’s eyes widened, and she almost fell off her chair. She saw Chen Qingtang raise the thermal container in her hand.
“I left in a hurry this morning and forgot to take it. You didn’t have to bring it to me, it’s so far.”
Pei Yunle cupped Chen Qingtang’s face in her hands and deliberately squeezed her lips out. She looked so watery and tempting, but because there was a surveillance camera here, Pei Yunle could only pinch her soft flesh a couple of times and then let her go.
“Aren’t you opening the store this morning?”
Chen Qingtang shook her head, lowered her head, and typed. A moment later, she showed it to her: It’s okay to take half a day off.
Pei Yunle opened the lid of the box. The food inside was already half-cold. If it weren’t for the high temperature now, the red oil soaking the food would probably have congealed. But no matter what, the food still had to be heated up before it could be eaten.
“I’ve delayed Boss Chen from making half a day’s money. I’ll have to compensate you.” Pei Yunle pinched the first knuckle of Chen Qingtang’s little finger.
Chen Qingtang smiled and pulled her hand back, stuffing her phone into Pei Yunle’s hand. There was only one sentence on it: Touch it, over three hundred.
“Is it three hundred for one touch, or three hundred for one finger? Can you give me a 15% discount for a monthly subscription?”
Chen Qingtang was about to pat her on the shoulder when she suddenly saw someone come out of the corridor next to them. She immediately lost her nerve and sat a little further away from Pei Yunle.
Zhuang Yumian, in order to slack off, had played on her phone in the bathroom for half an hour, and her legs were numb.
Seeing the two of them sitting together, she said, “Yo, Dr. Pei isn’t going to the cafeteria for lunch?”
Hearing the word “cafeteria,” Pei Yunle coughed a few times, so loudly that her face turned red. Then she pointed at the thermal container in her arms. “Sorry, family is visiting.”
Zhuang Yumian pouted. “I was just about to tell you that there’s stir-fried potatoes today.”
The cafeteria made food in a large pot. All the ingredients were thrown into one pot and stir-fried. It was too troublesome to stir-fry with a large spoon, so they would mostly just add water and stew it into a pot. They had almost never seen any proper dry stir-fry here.
Pei Yunle closed the lid. “No, who cares about those stupid potatoes?”
Zhuang Yumian’s lips twitched. She pushed open the door and went out to find food herself.
The lobby was always crowded with people. Some old people didn’t care what time you went to work and would come to have their blood pressure checked whenever they had nothing to do.
“There’s a new stir-fried rice bowl place that just opened outside. The signature dish is shredded potatoes.”
Chen Qingtang listened to her explain to herself, and the corners of her lips couldn’t help but curve up.
“Let’s go to the dormitory to eat. There’s a microwave there.”
Pei Yunle carried the thirty-yuan thermal container in her left hand and held the three-hundred-yuan Chen Qingtang in her right.
The dormitory was not far, just next to the new residential area. It was converted from an old residential building. The light climbed over the hollowed-out carved walls, and the corridor was filled with the smell of rust from the rusty railings. A large piece of paint had peeled off the ceiling, and a green fungus was spreading along the cracks in the surface.
Pei Yunle’s room was simple, with a set of a table and chair, a bunk bed, and a cabinet in another corner, which contained various pots and pans. There was no fire here, so she had also bought an induction cooker.
Pei Yunle bent down to take out two porcelain bowls. The rims of the bowls were inlaid with a circle of raised floral patterns.
“Pour it in here. A few minutes in the microwave will do. You sit and wait for me. It will be ready soon.”
The microwave was a second-hand one that Pei Yunle had bought. It was still in good working condition. When she first came to Pingshun, Lin Zilan had not given her a single cent. Although she had saved some money, she felt that money should be spent on the cutting edge, such as on Chen Qingtang. So she had never had the heart to buy a new one.
Today’s dishes were the same as usual: stir-fried mushrooms with meat, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Because it was inconvenient to have soup, Chen Qingtang had also stir-fried a sweet and sour lotus white for her.
It was so luxurious for one person to eat three dishes.
The lighting here was good. The two of them held their bowls and ate slowly in the warm and pleasant weather. From time to time, they would put some food in each other’s bowls, until they saw that their bowls were piled high like a small mountain.
Although it was very plain and boring, this kind of life was already very precious to most people.
In fact, Chen Qingtang would always feel dizzy after lunch. Her mind would be groggy, and sleepiness would come in waves.
She had wanted to go back after eating, but her whole body just wanted to stick to the pillow. She heard the sound of bowls and chopsticks clashing in the water. It was a natural ASMR, created by Pei Yunle.
Her eyelids had only been closed for a second when an itch came from the tip of her nose. The tingling sensation slid from the tip of her nose to her lips, and then to the hollow of her collarbone.
Chen Qingtang lifted one eye and saw Pei Yunle twirling a strand of her hair to tickle her.
Seeing that her harassment was successful, Pei Yunle’s sharp features were softened by her smile.
Chen Qingtang ignored her and wanted to turn over to sleep, but was held back by Pei Yunle.
“Aiya, you’ll sleep for a long time after you die. Can’t you just stay with me?” She dragged out her words, making them sticky.
A person doesn’t need to deliberately learn how to act spoiled. As long as they know that the other person will indulge them in every way, they will unconsciously act a little willful.
Chen Qingtang didn’t feel annoyed at being disturbed from her sweet dreams. On the contrary, she felt that Pei Yunle was very cute. When you like someone, you feel that everything about them is good, and you will unconsciously find excuses for them.
There was no other way. She liked her too much.
But sleepiness still had the upper hand. Chen Qingtang had to give up her soft pillow and lie on Pei Yunle’s lap, her hand resting on her waist, gently and softly squeezing.
There was a small cabinet in the corner of the bed. The first layer was filled with underwear, the second with cosmetics, and the third with some jewelry.
Pei Yunle pulled the cabinet over and opened the third layer. It was filled with all sorts of small things: clips, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and a few brooches.
She rummaged through it and picked out a Van Cleef & Arpels carnelian bracelet. It was a congratulatory gift from Lin Zilan after she graduated from high school, but she had rarely worn it.
Chen Qingtang was already asleep, revealing her fair and beautiful side profile. Pei Yunle looked down from her brow bone to her equally fair earlobes and neck. She was not wearing anything. A little force was enough to leave a red mark.
Pei Yunle was like dressing up a Barbie doll. She carefully clipped a pearl ear clip onto Chen Qingtang’s earlobe. This touch still made the restless Chen Qingtang frown.
The pearl exuded a faint luster, which suited Chen Qingtang very well. Her whole person became gentle.
Pei Yunle bent down, her gaze falling on Chen Qingtang’s eyebrows and eyes, sliding down her nose bridge, and passing her small, slightly protruding lips.
Chen Qingtang felt uncomfortable, as if something was burning on her face. She opened her eyes and met Pei Yunle’s dark, shining pupils.
“If a touch is three hundred yuan, then how much is a kiss?”
Chen Qingtang’s mind was still groggy, and her consciousness was still hazy. She only caught some numbers.
Seeing the hazy confusion on her face, Pei Yunle lifted her from her lap onto the bed, then spread her legs and pressed them down on either side of Chen Qingtang’s.
“Can we close the shop for a day?”
Chen Qingtang blinked slowly, as if digesting Pei Yunle’s intentions. In the brief moment her eyes were closed, a large patch of darkness fell from above, like the sudden arrival of night.
In the unfamiliar darkness, her earlobe fell into a moist place. Chen Qingtang almost immediately gripped the thin bedsheet. The tip of a tongue swept over the pearl, causing it to tremble. This slight vibration was transmitted entirely to her earlobe through the clip. Before Chen Qingtang could take a breath, her earlobe was taken into a warm, moist mouth, sucked and licked and bitten. The collision of lips and teeth revealed the pearl within; at this moment, the earlobe was more like a red pearl in a soft clam.
Chen Qingtang couldn’t control her spine. The back that was always straight in front of others now involuntarily curved under Pei Yunle. A tingling itch crawled up from her tailbone along her spinous processes, while a numbing sensation was released from the top of her head. Chen Qingtang’s abdomen began to tremble unconsciously.
The two of them were pressed extremely close. Chen Qingtang’s every reaction was an invitation to Pei Yunle.
The moment Chen Qingtang pushed her away a little, it was as if Pei Yunle was waiting for her to take a breath of fresh air before pouncing again.
The skin kissed by her fingertips caused a slight shiver. The roundness was held in her palm, then squeezed slightly. Pei Yunle loved the feeling of soft flesh overflowing from between her fingers, the fabric of the clothes pulled into shape.
Pei Yunle’s voice was trembling, with a hint of hoarseness. “You haven’t answered my question just now. How much is this?”
Her hands moved quickly, following up on the question. Chen Qingtang couldn’t answer, her reason crumbling bit by bit.
Pei Yunle wasn’t in a hurry, just moving lightly and then heavily, watching as Chen Qingtang’s bitten lips turned a vibrant, moist red. She covered them, starting their first entanglement of lips and teeth, biting and licking and grinding, the wet kiss bringing forth an unbearable, obscure, watery sound.
Chen Qingtang’s eyes were shimmering with moisture. She felt those hands slide past her lower abdomen and then downwards. Chen Qingtang reached out and grabbed Pei Yunle’s wrist, as if to forbid her.
Pei Yunle followed her will and stopped. Her other hand was very naughty, just lightly circling on Chen Qingtang’s lower abdomen.
Pei Yunle had stopped to think about something. There were no finger cots here. It had been a long time since they had done it, so they probably had to go slower, more gently.
Having come to a conclusion, Pei Yunle began to act, only slower, more gently.
This was a form of invisible torture. Chen Qingtang’s breathing also became light and then heavy. Her already beautiful and clear eyes were even more shimmering with moisture, her snowy cheeks flushed, her on-the-verge-of-tears look very alluring.
Pei Yunle pressed down on her, her two fingers slightly parted. Chen Qingtang saw the crystal clear moisture being pulled apart, and then she saw Pei Yunle with a harmless look on her face, asking her in an innocent tone, “Don’t you like it?”
Chen Qingtang almost lifted her leg to kick her, if her legs hadn’t been spread and pressed down.
“With my hand or with my tongue? I feel like you preferred the tongue just now?” Pei Yunle wiped her fingertips under Chen Qingtang’s lips, then cupped her face, guiding her to eat this thing that belonged to her.
Chen Qingtang felt her throat itch. She couldn’t tell if she wanted to moan or if she wanted Pei Yunle to stop.
All she knew was that the bedsheet by her arms had been crumpled beyond recognition.
Pei Yunle suddenly stopped again.
Chen Qingtang was a little angry.
It wasn’t until Pei Yunle got up that she felt something cold wrap around her ankle.
She rubbed her eyes, her hands wet with tears. Only then did she see clearly that Pei Yunle had put a four-leaf clover carnelian chain on her.
The red was extremely vibrant, and against her cold, pale ankle, it made one’s heart itch for no reason.
Chen Qingtang didn’t know why she had put this on her in the middle of it all. She just felt a little unaccustomed to it.
It wasn’t until Pei Yunle’s hand slid from her ankle to the inside of her thigh. The red four-leaf clover swayed in mid-air with the trembling of her leg, dazzlingly.
Pei Yunle’s eyes were only filled with the vast expanse of delicate white and this single point of vibrant red. The bedsheet underneath had been crumpled beyond recognition. She followed the line of sight and her gaze fell on Chen Qingtang’s clenched, white knuckles.
The watery sounds continued. The things in the cabinet were scattered in a mess, the chains all tangled together, making a crisp, tinkling sound with the shaking of the bed.
Pei Yunle casually pulled out a bracelet from inside, then felt it was not right, threw it back, and exchanged it for a blue necklace. The cool chain slid over her warm abdomen. This extreme contrast in temperature made Chen Qingtang want to arch her body. She wanted to grab this annoying thing.
Her fingers had just waved in mid-air when they were caught by Pei Yunle. The wet, sticky five fingers slowly slid into the gaps between her fingers, and then pressed down on the protruding knuckles without any deviation.
The chain that had been wrapped around Chen Qingtang’s breath was now wrapped around the back of their hands. The necklace was a bit short, and Pei Yunle had wrapped it a few more times, so it could only be tightly wound around their joined hands, also encircling each other’s wrist bones.
The ice-blue snow mountain melted, and the crystal clear liquid flowed along the chain that had been warmed by their body temperature, covering each other’s pulses.
Pei Yunle looked at the back of her hand, which had been constricted with shocking red marks by the chain. Her wet lips kissed Chen Qingtang’s, only to find that she was crying, the hair by her side already wet.
Pei Yunle considerately brushed away her messy hair. “Why are you crying like this?”
“Is it that you don’t like it, or is it not enough?”
Chen Qingtang turned her head away, not wanting to look at the mischief in her eyes.
Her gaze moved from the wooden board to the scattered clothes and jewelry on the bed.
Pei Yunle pressed her face against hers, their breaths slowly synchronizing, as if they were taking a break.
Pei Yunle took out the hand that was wrapped in the chain, and her fingertips, stained with transparent water, hooked a thin shoulder strap.
Chen Qingtang’s heart, which had just calmed down, tightened again as the clothes unfolded.
Why did this outfit have long ears and a round tail, and they were all fluffy, just like a rabbit.
Pei Yunle’s bewitching voice sounded again. The two of them were close, and the voice seemed to hit her eardrums directly, making her ears ache.
“Wear it for me, can you?”
She looked back at the sky. It was early, and the day was not over yet.
The bunk bed was very narrow, generally only able to accommodate one person. Pei Yunle used this narrowness to circle the person in her arms, leaving no way out.
She considerately gave Chen Qingtang time to breathe, wiping away the tears that were about to roll out again. Her palm pressed against Chen Qingtang’s protruding and obvious iliac crest. “Wear it.”
The end of her words was drawn out, making one’s heart itch.
