“Don’t… Sister Pei, don’t be like this. You’re making me a bit scared.”
An Rong protested in a soft, low whisper. She didn’t dare push back too forcefully either, as any sharp movement might draw the attention of the people outside the door.
“Then will you try it on for me, please?”
Inside the paper bag was a pure white nightdress adorned with delicate lace trim.
An Rong had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.
The moment she thought of all the money Pei Chongxi had spent on her today, any words of refusal melted away. She could only obediently slip it over her body.
Although the heating in the shopping mall was turned up high, wearing nothing but a thin nightdress still left An Rong feeling chilly. A light layer of goosebumps rose across her skin.
Pei Chongxi leaned against the side of the door, quietly watching the girl in front of her put on the dress she had chosen.
An Rong’s face was turned to the side, flushed with a deep crimson glow. Her hands nervously adjusted the shoulder straps in discomfort.
“The neckline is a bit too loose,” An Rong murmured, placing a hand just below her collarbone.
“Ah, it really is a little empty.”
Pei Chongxi’s eyebrows arched slightly. She had somewhat underestimated An Rong’s figure, it was roughly the size that a single hand could perfectly cup.
This nightdress leaned towards the seductive side, yet on An Rong, it looked like a small child wearing an adult’s nightwear.
Because the shoulder straps were adjustable, Pei Chongxi stepped forward to tailor the fit, altering the length of the straps as well as the tightness around the waist.
Her fingers uncontrollably caressed An Rong’s shoulders. She lowered her head, her nose gently breathing in the delicate fragrance blending with the warmth of An Rong’s body.
It was the scent of the home reed diffuser Pei Chongxi frequently used.
It truly was a wonderful fragrance, a cool, crisp scent that merged with human body heat to create a unique aroma, smelling subtly distinct on every person.
Pei Chongxi pressed her lips against the tip of An Rong’s shoulder, her eyes curving into smile. “Our An’an is still so small.”
Understanding the double meaning, An Rong’s face flushed an explosive red. She looked entirely like a poor, bullied creature who didn’t dare talk back.
“You’re big! You’re big, okay?!”
Inside the enclosed, intimate room, Pei Chongxi propped herself against the edge of the vanity table, trapping An Rong between the counter and her embrace.
“I almost forgot, we still need to buy undergarments too.”
Pei Chongxi imprinted a gentle kiss onto An Rong’s chest, her eyes crinkling softly. “An’an’s life has been far too simple and frugal. You’re always wearing my old clothes. It’s high time we bought you clothes that actually fit your size.”
An Rong let out a strained, breathless groan.
The young girl was thin skinned, looking at her, she seemed right on the verge of tears.
“Don’t bully me like this… This kind of behavior from you, it’s just like…”
An Rong cut herself off midway, clamping her mouth shut.
She bit her lip with her teeth, resembling a poor little cat that had been picked on mercilessly, making one want to bully her even further until she wept.
However, the present Pei Chongxi was no longer the model student from ten years ago.
Her slightly cool palm pressed against An Rong’s cheek.
“Be good. Change out of the dress, I won’t bully you anymore. Let’s go buy a few other things.”
Without a word, An Rong carefully changed out of the nightgown.
This nightgown was extremely expensive, so An Rong didn’t dare be careless with it.
As angry as she was, her heart was filled with complex, indescribable emotions. She could only grit her teeth and issue a soft warning. “If anyone catches you doing this kind of thing to me, watch out… watch out or you’ll be locked up in a mental hospital.”
Pei Chongxi chuckled helplessly. “How many times do I have to tell you? Homosexuality doesn’t get you sent to a mental hospital.”
An Rong huffed silently without replying. Back in school, she had distinctly heard the head of discipline mention it, and she had seen similar rumors in tabloid magazines.
Besides, there was a girl back in her village who was dragged back from the big city by her family for that exact reason. Every day, they hired fortune tellers to force feed her talisman water. A perfectly healthy person was driven completely insane until she eventually jumped down a well.
An Rong stole a glance at Pei Chongxi out of the corner of her eye, ultimately keeping those words to herself.
As long as she didn’t say anything and nobody saw them…
Considering how good Pei Chongxi was to her, she could endure it a little.
The eighteen-year-old girl harbored emotions she herself couldn’t quite fathom, yielding her boundaries again and again. Perhaps from the very beginning, her heart had held an overwhelming soft spot for Pei Chongxi.
An Rong didn’t want to keep browsing.
At Pei Chongxi’s insistence, they finished buying daily necessities and changes of clothes at the mall.
Since she was on the receiving end of such generosity, An Rong behaved very obediently throughout the process.
Only right before leaving the mall, she came to a stop in front of a storefront.
“Want to buy something to eat?”
It was a convenience store situated right beside the shopping complex.
An Rong looked sweet and adorable, while Pei Chongxi was dressed in refined luxury.
Standing together at the convenience store entrance, almost every passerby couldn’t help but cast a second glance at them.
Pei Chongxi was looking at An Rong, but An Rong was staring intently at the recruitment flyer posted on the convenience store window:
Store Clerk Wanted: Age 18–55.
Monthly Salary: ¥4,500–¥6,500.
Educational Requirement: Associate Degree…
An Rong pursed her lips tightly. Forget about an academic degree, she didn’t even have an ID card right now. She was completely undocumented.
An Rong gently tugged at the hem of Pei Chongxi’s skirt. “Sister Pei, let’s go back.”
An Rong walked ahead, while Pei Chongxi glanced sideways at the spot An Rong had just been staring at the hiring notice.
Pei Chongxi’s brows twitched upward slightly.
She had never intended to let An Rong go out to work, but… an ID card.
Another dull, throbbing pain shot through the back of Pei Chongxi’s head.
How could she not have thought of the things An Rong was worrying about?
However, trying to obtain an official ID for someone who legally existed only within a court verdict… if word got out, she truly would have to spend time in a psychiatric ward.
The longer she stared at An Rong’s departing figure, the more a piercing, throbbing pain surged through her temples.
On the drive back, Pei Chongxi remained completely silent.
An Rong, dwelling on her own lack of education and identity documents, was equally weighed down by gloom.
Should I get a fake ID made?
An Rong calculated in her mind before ultimately shaking her head. Where would she even find the money for a fake ID?
If she used Pei Chongxi’s money to get one, what if the authorities investigated and traced the illegal act back to Pei Chongxi?
At the thought of this, An Rong let out another heavy sigh.
After parking the car in the underground garage…
Pei Chongxi stood on the staircase landing and said, “I’ll be working on the second floor. If you need anything, come find me anytime.”
“Oh, okay.” An Rong squatted on the floor, looking through the clothes inside the paper bags. She had no idea how to wash these obscenely expensive garments in a washing machine and was currently searching for tutorials on her phone.
If this were a hallucination, could it really feel this real?
Pei Chongxi silently observed An Rong’s lively, vivid movements, it felt as though she had never been absent over the past ten years.
Pushing open the door to the second floor art studio, Pei Chongxi sat down quietly on a spacious sofa inside.
She had just lied to An Rong, she didn’t have any urgent work to handle right now.
After finishing the pieces her manager had been rushing her for, her schedule mostly consisted of appearing at charity events, attending media interviews, donating art classrooms to rural schools, participating in noisy, meaningless evening galas, and sitting through association meetings.
Pei Chongxi leaned back against the sofa with her eyes half-closed, enduring the agonizing pain inside her head.
Before she knew it, her consciousness grew hazy, and she drifted off to sleep with her eyes shut.
She seemed to have forgotten something today. On days when they weren’t traveling, they would visit the cemetery every single week to lay fresh flowers for An Rong, never missing a day, come wind or rain.
Today, she hadn’t gone.
Perhaps this headache was a punishment for her infidelity to love.
Deep into the night, An Rong still hadn’t seen Pei Chongxi come out.
She tiptoed upstairs and, ducking her head, knocked softly on the door a few times.
“Sister Pei, are you inside?”
There was no answer from within. An Rong pushed the door open, only to see Pei Chongxi curled up on the long sofa. Her body was drenched in cold sweat, her eyebrows tightly knit as if trapped deep within a nightmare.
“An’an!”
In her nightmare, Pei Chongxi murmured An Rong’s name in a low whisper.
Strands of her hair were soaked through with cold sweat as the moonlight spilled over her figure.
Pei Chongxi hadn’t changed her clothes, she was still wearing the same black dress she had worn out earlier.
Her body was curled tight against the cold, while her hand held tightly onto the pearl chain, her sole piece of remembrance.