Chapter 53: So That’s How It Is, and So It Is Again Part 2

Su Ye coughed twice. “No, no. I’m just hot.”

“It’s only a few degrees above zero today. Feels like it’s going to snow.”

Su Ye composed herself and picked up the conversation. “Hard to say. Last year the first snow was around the middle of the month. It feels like the snow is coming later every year.”

“Isn’t that the truth? What was it called… global warming? Hah, I heard refrigerators cause global warming. How many refrigerators do we even have here? Hey, Boss Su, when are you going to start selling refrigerators?”

“Those are too big. We have to wait a bit, wait a bit.”

“I’ll be waiting for your good news. I’ll be the first to order one.”

Su Ye gave a sweet smile and agreed.

That evening, after Yue Chengqi finished the hot compress treatment, she picked up the water basin and asked, “Do you want to sleep together tonight?”

The word “sleep” was like a thorn, instantly activating the wonderful memories Su Ye had been obsessing over. A heatwave rolled from her core to her internal organs. She stammered, “No need. I can manage on my own. I’m not a kid anymore.” The tips of her ears were burning.

Heaven help me.

Two lesbians discussing whether to lie down and sleep together.

Su Ye’s face was expressionless, but inside her head, a tiny version of herself was sprinting, screaming, and crawling up the walls in excitement.

But all Yue Chengqi saw was her increasingly cold face and her reddening ears. She reached out in confusion and pinched Su Ye’s earlobe. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m fine!” Her voice lacked any conviction.

Yue Chengqi stared at her for a moment. “Fine. Then get to sleep early. I’m going to bed too. How about we settle the accounts tomorrow morning?”

“Great, accounts tomorrow! Accounts tomorrow!”

The girl shrunk into her quilt, watching as the woman turned off the lights in the room and then the living room. Only when she heard the creak of the rusty hinges on the bedroom door did she breathe a sigh of relief. She waited a bit longer before tiptoeing out, clutching her discarded undergarments.

How embarrassing. These suspicious marks… though the sensation wasn’t as “viscous” as described in the book. Probably because this was just her body’s reaction to reading, unlike the people in the book who underwent such… teasing. Naturally, it wouldn’t be as slippery as spring rain.

But it was still embarrassing.

By the moonlight, Su Ye secretly turned the tap to a trickle, slowly washing the small garment. Her fingers were frozen red, and her ears were burning red.

After a long time, she let out a soft whimper and crossed her arms over her face.

So shameful!

She suffered from insomnia that night. The next day she was drowsy, nearly making mistakes in the accounts.

She had to force herself into a state of hyper-focus, which meant her daytime efficiency plummeted. She no longer had time to sneak off and read. At night, Yue Huan would pull her in for the hot compress, so she could only wait until Yue Huan went to bed, then secretly flip through a few pages by flashlight before sneaking out to wash her underwear…

She thought her plan was flawless.

It was only what she thought.

Late on the fourth night, Su Ye stifled a yawn as she turned another page. She used the flashlight to illuminate the book, then blinked at the light.

Don’t sleep. Haven’t reached five pages today. Can’t sleep.

Suddenly, the weight on her back vanished.

Su Ye’s sleep-deprived brain was slow to react. She slowly looked up, and the moment she saw that cold, handsome face, she snapped awake. She clutched the flashlight and bounced backward—

“Ah, Ah Huan! Weren’t you asleep?!”

Yue Chengqi gave a cold laugh. She leaned over and picked up the book spread out on the bed.

Su Ye: !!!! Crap, crap, crap! I didn’t hide the book!!

She lunged forward, trying to snatch the book before Yue Chengqi could flip it open, but the lingering ache in her leg caught her at the critical moment. She tripped forward, nearly performing a “New Year’s kowtow” early.

Yue Chengqi said dryly, “For New Year’s, you’re supposed to give me a red envelope. There’s no need to kowtow.”

“Ah Huan!! Look all you want, but don’t tear the book, okay? I borrowed it! I borrowed it from someone else!”

Yue Chengqi glanced at her. “I don’t have such violent habits. I just wanted to see what you were doing instead of sleeping. Do you really spend every night reading… this?”

She had prepared herself mentally before coming in. After all, Su Ye looked drained, and she was washing those specific undergarments every day; the book was bound to be indecent. But she hadn’t expected it to be… this.

“Auntie, you don’t have to object. We won’t leave any marks. Only if you love me will my place be in your heart. Until then, our relationship is something even we cannot define.”

The woman’s fingers traced over perfect curves, the firm waist, and stopped slowly at the mark left by childbirth. Her thumb pressed against the lines of the skin, slowly and gently…

Yue Chengqi’s eyes widened instantly.

It was bad enough that it was a “forbidden” book, but it was a lesbian novel? And it was an aunt and niece???

Reading this for your first one… isn’t that a bit too immoral!

Su Ye’s heart sank further. “Ah Huan…”

“You…” Yue Chengqi closed the book and hid it behind her back. Her emotions were so complex that despite her best efforts, she could only utter that one word.

She suddenly felt the stifling frustration of seeing her own pure white cabbage being contaminated by low-quality fertilizer from the neighbor’s yard. As for who the book belonged to… the answer seemed obvious.

However, the kid was growing up. She had a woman she liked and wanted to learn information through certain channels; it seemed normal.

After all, the one thing the country lacked most was proper sex education.

Yue Chengqi tried to convince herself to relax. While she was having an internal struggle, she looked down and saw a girl huddled in a quilt, watching her with cautious, wide eyes.

Her self-persuasion failed instantly.

Yue Chengqi’s face darkened. “I’m taking this book. You go to sleep. I will return it to its owner myself. Don’t even think about asking for it back. I will never give it to you.”

“…” Su Ye pouted. “Don’t. Give it back to me, okay? Or else…”

“I know who this belongs to. I will deliver it precisely to her.”

“…”

Yue Chengqi wanted to rub the girl’s head, but she felt too awkward. She felt that whether she reached out or not, the situation would only become more embarrassing.

If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come to catch her.

Seeing the girl still looking at her with a feigned innocent expression, Yue Chengqi bit her lower lip and said hesitantly, “I know you’re curious, but you can’t read this in the middle of the night. Your eyes are already weak from crying so much. Don’t…”

“Don’t read such unreliable books in the middle of the night.”

Su Ye buried half her face in the quilt. “Is it unreliable? I felt the hand techniques were actually…”

“Generally speaking, women can’t grow as large as they do in these fantasy novels…” Yue Chengqi couldn’t go on. She simply tossed the book aside and sat down. “Fine, let’s have a proper talk about how things actually are.”

Su Ye: …? Wait, things are heading in a direction beyond my imagination!

But having crossed the threshold of embarrassment, the other woman simply flipped into “educational mode,” while simultaneously trashing the incorrect “proper” science that would persist even into 2023.

“…The stuff before was just a basic introduction. Now let’s talk about something meaningful. For example, a lot of ‘experts’ say you only feel something during penetration. That’s not entirely wrong, but it’s very skewed. Let’s do a quick review: where are the main pleasure points for a girl?”

Su Ye actually followed along, gesturing foolishly as instructed.

The atmosphere, which had been somewhat romantic and hazy, gradually shifted into a serious and academic one. Su Ye was forced out of the “viscous spring rain” and plunged into a desert of clinical education.

How terrifying.

Su Ye looked at the person who, after crossing a certain line of shame, had become shamelessly clinical. This was her only thought.

Yue Chengqi gave her a light flick on the forehead. “Do you understand?”

“I… I understand… The book really was wrong…”

“Then go to sleep!”

Yue Chengqi picked up the flashlight, then suddenly remembered something and turned around. “Do you need to wash… that, tonight?”

“It’s a normal physiological reaction, don’t be ashamed. But if you have ‘feelings,’ don’t just wash your underwear; you need to clean yourself properly. You must remember to use warm, clean water every day. You don’t need special soaps, and definitely don’t use those ‘feminine care’ products; they can mess up your flora and cause diseases. After having ‘feelings,’ you must clean even more carefully, and then…”

“…”

Su Ye, her face beet-red, lunged forward and clamped her hand over Yue Chengqi’s mouth. She hissed, “Ah Huan! Stop talking! That’s enough!”

The person being muzzled looked at her with a pitiful expression.

Su Ye finally understood the importance of tears. Yue Chengqi squeezed out two drops at the right moment. The one who usually cried first was dazed; Su Ye withdrew her hand and rubbed her nose. “You… forget it. Let’s just rest. I’ll wash tomorrow. Go to sleep.”

“You sleep too.” Yue Chengqi breathed a sigh of relief, only then feeling the massive wave of embarrassment hit her.

What on earth did I just say to Su Ye!!

The chaotic night ended with two “goodnights,” each carrying their own hidden thoughts. Yue Chengqi even tripped over the threshold on her way out. As for the one who got caught…

She couldn’t sleep at all. At breakfast the next morning, her head nearly hit the table.

Lin Wanjia reached out to catch her. “Are you okay? Are you trying to work yourself to death?”

Su Ye touched her forehead. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” she said guiltily.

She forced a smile. “Sister, shouldn’t you be heading to the hospital soon?”

“In a few more weeks. By then, your results should be out, and I can wait for the little one in peace.”

However, as the days passed, the book was never returned to Zhang Mingfang. They both silently let the matter drop.

Su Ye felt that she and Yue Huan no longer felt awkward about it; they could even lie together normally. But there was still no word from Qining Group.

Instead, a phone call came from the provincial capital.

Ever since she and Xie Chunhua had been publicly praised by the government, their relationship had become much closer.

After all, the authorities had characterized Su Ye’s actions as a benevolent deed that saved a private township enterprise. They had given her a commemorative plaque and stamped her proposal. Naturally, Red Sun was more than willing to cooperate with her.

But now—

Xie Chunhua: “Little Su, it’s okay. We can just keep selling our own products slowly. You’ve already revived our factory. Even if we can’t get the contract for this big company’s manufacturing, we have enough to survive. We’re satisfied. Don’t feel pressured.”

Su Ye thought to herself that it wasn’t enough. Red Sun was, after all, a low-end product line. Once she had mastered the low-end, she didn’t want to stop there.

Red Sun had enough to survive, but she didn’t.

But those were her inner thoughts; she wouldn’t say them and make Xie Chunhua worry. She simply used her usual innocent and cute tone to reply, “I don’t feel pressured. I just wanted to try. By the way, Sister, how is our plan being implemented in the other cities?”

With the government’s backing and policies favoring township enterprises, expanding into other cities was much easier. As the primary person behind the proposal, Su Ye stood to make a significant commission.

She already knew the current situation; she was just changing the subject.

Xie Chunhua gave a helpless smile, sighing inwardly that some gaps were hard to close.

Su Ye listened for a while, then looked up. “Oh, Sister, someone’s here. I have to go.”

She went to greet the visitor. The person looked at her and grinned. “Isn’t this the Boss Su from the bidding meeting? How is it? Any results yet? I heard that Qining Group is about to leave.”