This was no lie. In the past, whenever Lin Su was drunk and needed a bath, Ye Tong would help her, taking the opportunity to bathe herself as well. But that was then, not now. Ye Tong looked at the innocent, guileless Lin Su and gazed into those deep, clear eyes. Gritting her teeth, she managed to hold back from shouting. Giving the “old fox” some leeway for being intoxicated, she took a few deep breaths and let it go.
“I’m not bathing with you today. Be good and bathe yourself. If you need anything, just call for me.”
Ye Tong continued to muster her patience, using the same coaxing tone one might use on a child. As she gently pried Lin Su’s hands away and turned to leave, she stood on tiptoe and patted Lin Su’s hair to soothe her. “Be a good girl.”
After successfully closing the bathroom door, Ye Tong did not leave immediately. She stood outside until she heard the sound of splashing water before heading to the bedroom.
When Lin Su was drunk, she was no different from a child a complete contrast to her usual aloof, taciturn persona. There was no way to handle her other than through coaxing; otherwise, she would become stubborn and throw a tantrum, which was exhausting to deal with. Before Ye Tong and Lin Su were together, she had witnessed Lin Su’s drunken state several times. The first time had been shocking, but after seeing it enough, she had grown accustomed to it and found ways to manage her.
Seeing Lin Su’s silly expression again and comparing it to the serious, professional Lin Su the two versions were worlds apart Ye Tong, while soaking in the bathtub, covered her face with her hands, feeling both annoyed and amused.
Just who is eight years older than whom?
Ye Tong rested her head against the edge of the tub, enjoying a comfortable soak to wash away her fatigue and the scent of alcohol. Half an hour later, she stepped out of the tub with her slender legs. After drying off and wrapping herself in a bathrobe, she planned to get a good night’s sleep before the contract signing the next day. However, just as she stepped out of the bathroom, she caught sight of Lin Su sitting on her bed, completely caught off guard.
Lin Su was leaning against the soft pillows, her long, raven-black hair draped over her shoulders. A medium-weight white quilt covered her midsection, and the length of the quilt revealed the shape of her long, straightened legs. She looked at Ye Tong, and Ye Tong, standing by the bathroom door, stared back.
Ye Tong already guessed what Lin Su wanted to do next. Sure enough, Lin Su lifted a corner of the quilt and patted the spot next to her. “Tongtong, come here quickly. Let’s sleep together.”
“Sleep by yourself.” Lin Su’s consciousness was clearly present, and Ye Tong seriously wondered if she had a split personality; she was one way when normal and another when drunk.
Lin Su: “I want to sleep with you.”
The way she was posturing, it seemed she had no intention of leaving Ye Tong’s bed. Ye Tong was so annoyed she laughed. “Fine, you sleep here. I’ll go sleep in the guest room.”
The guest room was Lin Su’s master bedroom. Not wanting to lower herself to the level of a drunkard, Ye Tong turned and headed toward the door. Lin Su silently lifted the quilt, climbed out of bed, and followed closely behind her.
“Tongtong, I want to sleep with you,” Lin Su said, tugging at the hem of Ye Tong’s robe.
Ye Tong turned around and met Lin Su’s imploring gaze. Usually proud and never one to bow her head, Lin Su only showed her true self when intoxicated. Ye Tong felt a mix of anger, helplessness, and a touch of heartache.
Having worked at the LT Group for a long time and spent over three years with Lin Su, Ye Tong was well aware of Lin Su’s nature one that disregarded everything in her path but she knew little about her family. The Lin family valued personal privacy, and Lin Su rarely spoke of her home life. Even the mention of her only young niece was something that had only slipped out occasionally.
Lin Su was born into a wealthy family, a life path almost the opposite of Ye Tong’s. Ye Tong grew up in a warm, loving household. She wasn’t spoiled by her parents despite being an only child; they respected her interests and her life choices. She was lively and outgoing, surrounded by friends, and excelled academically.
Lin Su’s birth, however, destined her for a specific path. The eldest son of the Lin family Lin Su’s brother insisted on pursuing literature and had no desire for business. The old Mr. Lin saw that he lacked business acumen, so even before Lin Su was born, she was burdened with high expectations.
From a young age, Lin Su received a stellar education but was also raised with strict discipline. Whatever her father arranged for her to learn, she had to master. Her hobbies were stripped away, and her childhood memories were filled only with endless, grueling study. She was bright and intelligent; living up to expectations, she gradually displayed the wisdom of a seasoned business leader. Her personality became more composed and restrained than her peers, a process that forged an endurance beyond that of ordinary people.
Lin Su was just thirty when she became the head of the LT Group. The woman who never revealed her inner heart to others happened to meet the fresh-faced Ye Tong during that year. It was Ye Tong’s innocent and radiant smile that had moved her.
The heartache lasted only a moment. Ye Tong warned herself not to go soft, not to fall into the trap Lin Su had laid. But looking at the grown woman shaking her arm, calling her “Tongtong” over and over, and shamelessly acting cute to get her way…
Ye Tong’s temple twitched. She asked with a blank expression, “Lin Su, how old are you?”
Lin Su blurted out, “Fifteen.”
Ye Tong restrained herself: “Hold out your hand.”
Lin Su, confused, extended her hand. With a crisp “slap,” Ye Tong sternly tapped her palm.
“How old are you?”
Lin Su said again, “Twenty-five.”
Slap. Another sound.
Lin Su: “Thirty-five!”
“That’s for acting childish when you’re drunk.” Ye Tong didn’t know whether to be angry or amused. Having at least let out some frustration, she grabbed her hand and led her back into the bedroom. “Go to sleep.”
Lin Su stood by the bed, twisting the palm that had been struck. Ye Tong pulled back the quilt, pushed Lin Su down to lie on the bed, and tucked her in. Lin Su looked at Ye Tong and said softly, “Tongtong, you never hit me before.”
“Who told you to bully me?” Ye Tong kept her head down, meticulously smoothing out the wrinkles in the sheet, not even looking at Lin Su.
“I didn’t bully you,” Lin Su said earnestly. “I just wanted to sleep with you.”
“Old fox, you little hooligan.”
“What kind of hooligan?” Under the bright light, while Ye Tong looked at her with disdain, Lin Su clearly saw that her ears had turned pink.
Ye Tong didn’t want to engage with the childish and infuriating old fox. She got into bed and lay down with some distance between them fortunately, the bed was large. She truly found it hard to believe that a woman like Lin Su had such an unknown side to her.
“Tongtong, come home with me.”
Ye Tong froze for a moment and turned over. “What home? Where is there a home?”
Lin Su: “Our home.”
“It’s gone.”
“It exists. If you come back with me, it will exist.”
“Alright, go to sleep obediently.”
It wasn’t the first time she’d seen Lin Su like this. Once Ye Tong’s awkwardness passed, she shed the burden and felt the drowsiness take over the moment her head hit the pillow. Lin Su, lying beside her, seemed to have endless energy and kept talking to her. At first, Ye Tong managed to answer a few times, but eventually, she became too sleepy to continue. She reached out and patted Lin Su through the quilt. “No more talking. Go to sleep.”
Lin Su was quiet for a while before gently shifting her body closer to Ye Tong, cautiously reaching out to wrap her arms around Ye Tong’s waist. Ye Tong felt it and pulled her hands away, but she would wrap them around again. After being pushed away several times, the overwhelming drowsiness finally defeated Ye Tong’s reason.
In a half-dreaming state, Ye Tong felt someone whispering many things in her ear. She vaguely heard only one sentence: “I’ll wait for you to come home with me.”
What home? Where could there still be a home?
In the dead of night, Ye Tong dreamt of five years ago.
Those memories of joy, happiness, and pain were deeply branded into the deepest part of her soul.
That summer, Ye Tong was twenty-two, stepping out of school for the last time as a student to enter the so-called cruel society. It was that year, fresh out of college and interning, that she dreamed of becoming a powerhouse in the workplace. After several grueling interviews, she had successfully entered the LT Group, becoming a rookie with no experience.
Because she wanted to leave a good impression on her superior on her first day, she arrived very early…
Also arriving at the same time was another woman a mature, beautiful, and elegant woman.
The scene in the dream was very real.
Ye Tong stood at the elevator entrance. As she turned around, she inadvertently caught sight of that faint smile and froze in place, her heart swayed.
Ye Tong did not become a powerhouse.
Later…
She became the president’s assistant, and later still, she fell into a trap of love.
Back in her sleep.
Ye Tong saw her hugging her and crying incessantly. They were in a cold war an endless, eternal cold war.
She wore a cold expression, her eyes indifferent, the tenderness gone, replaced by a biting chill. Yet she didn’t know why things had turned out this way. Although they lay in the same bed, their hearts were separated by an unbridgeable chasm. She didn’t actually like to cry, but she cried continuously because of her, even shedding tears in her sleep, only for the person beside her to tenderly kiss them away.
This was a nightmare for Ye Tong, a nightmare she had experienced more than once. However, she smelled the light fragrance belonging to that woman very familiar and very pleasant, the same scent as the one in her dream. Just like the woman in the dream, Ye Tong turned and buried herself deep in her arms, never wanting to leave.
The darkness faded, and the horizon grew pale.
Waking from the nightmare again, Ye Tong opened her eyes to find herself held in the arms of the woman from her dream, sleeping right beside her…
Ye Tong didn’t react in time and nearly kicked this “old fox” out of bed… then she suddenly remembered that when Lin Su was sober, she wouldn’t remember what happened last night. But Ye Tong remembered it clearly. She certainly didn’t want Lin Su to know she had slept in her arms all night.
Pulling away from Lin Su’s embrace, Ye Tong got out of bed and stood by the bedside, looking down at her. Lin Su’s lips were slightly curled, carrying a faint, subtle smile; she looked as if she were sleeping very soundly.
As long as she was sober, the childish, infuriating, and funny Lin Su from last night would be gone.
Ye Tong withdrew her gaze, bent her right index finger, and tapped her temple. She took a few deep breaths to calm her emotions, then picked up her phone to check the time it was past seven in the morning.
The appointment to sign the contract was at nine.
Wash face, brush teeth, dress up.
Lin Su was still asleep.
At eight o’clock, Ye Tong left on time.
Before leaving, she called Xiao Ziyu, asking her to prepare a hangover remedy and to go up to check on Lin Su, just in case she had a headache or something from the drinking.
It was rare for Lin Su to sleep in after drinking. When she finally opened her eyes, she instinctively reached out to the side it was empty. Xiao Ziyu was sitting by the bed, watching Lin Su knit her brows in a daze, peeling an apple with a smile. “Boss, good morning.”