After applying the medicine to her, Zhu Qingjia suddenly noticed something amiss. “Where is the bedding I use to sleep on the floor? And where is the rug?”
The questioned young mistress was instantly choked up, her tears halting in their tracks. Her room had always been fully carpeted, if the rug had been there, she wouldn’t have fallen so painfully.
Seeing the odd look on her face, Zhu Qingjia didn’t press further. She searched the room herself, and when she found nothing, she went to the adjacent room, coming up empty-handed there as well.
Upon her return, Gu Ruoling held her knees and peeked up at her cautiously. Sensing that questioning gaze, her guilt quickly overrode her grievance, and she mumbled softly, “The rug was sent out to be cleaned, and I had someone throw your things away.”
“Threw them away?” Zhu Qingjia inhaled deeply. “You should have told me earlier. I wouldn’t have come back tonight then.”
Gu Ruoling blinked and remained silent.
“So where am I supposed to sleep?” Zhu Qingjia asked.
Before Gu Ruoling could pat her own bed to offer a spot, she heard Zhu Qingjia say, “I guess I can only sleep next door.”
“Can’t you sleep with me?” Gu Ruoling asked.
“No, I’m afraid you’ll get upset and throw me out, too.”
That night, Zhu Qingjia lay in bed half-asleep and half-awake. In her haze, she felt someone tugging at her blanket, followed by someone pinching her waist. The rustling, subtle movements were constant. She initially thought it was a dream, but soon realized something was wrong.
She caught a familiar scent. It was laced with a hint of camellia, the new body wash Gu Ruoling had switched to.
Zhu Qingjia opened her eyes and looked at the person burrowing into her chest. Forget it, she thought, closing her eyes again. But the foreign sensation against her chest soon became completely impossible to ignore.
Thinking Zhu Qingjia was fast asleep, the other girl began to do as she pleased, her movements growing bolder. She was even rubbing against her through the fabric.
A cool hand slid over her waist and abdomen, quietly slipping beneath her pajamas. Just as it was about to touch a critical area, Zhu Qingjia grabbed the misbehaving hand.
Without saying a word, she reached for her phone. The light in the dark room was blinding, and the screen read 1:05.
“Do you know what time it is?” Zhu Qingjia asked.
The other girl merely offered two soft hums in response, keeping her head buried beneath the blanket.
Tossing her phone aside, Zhu Qingjia pulled the person out. “How did you get in? I clearly locked the door.”
Gu Ruoling clung to her tightly, utterly terrified of being driven out, her voice muffled, “I have a spare key.”
“Are you trying to strangle me by hugging me this tightly?” Zhu Qingjia threw her head back and tried to pry Gu Ruoling’s arms away, but the girl struggled and refused to let go. “I can barely breathe.”
Only then did the young mistress loosen her grip a little. She wedged her leg between Zhu Qingjia’s thighs, wrapped her arms around her waist, and pressed her face into her chest, saying aggrievedly, “I can’t sleep.”
“So you came to harass me?” Wrapped up like she was being held by an octopus, Zhu Qingjia couldn’t shake her off no matter what. She caught her breath. “Stop moving around, or I really will throw you out.”
“It’s so cold sleeping by myself, my feet are like ice.” The young mistress used Zhu Qingjia’s body heat to warm herself.
“You could turn on the air conditioner.”
“It’s too dry, I don’t want to.”
“Then add a humidifier.”
“No, my picture frames will warp.”
She could always find a suitable reason, even if those reasons didn’t actually matter.
“I won’t do anything else. Will you just hold me while we sleep, please?”
Zhu Qingjia, who was already holding her: “…Do I even have a choice?”
As silence suddenly fell over them, suppressed emotions began to spread overwhelmingly.
“Zhu Qingjia.”
“Yeah?”
“I miss you so much.”
It felt like being struck by a shooting star, or like a tranquil lake being disrupted by a towering splash of water.
At school, there was always something to keep her busy, classes, assignments, activities, exams, meetings; there was always a never-ending list of tasks waiting to be handled.
Sometimes, during a lull in her busy schedule, Zhu Qingjia would pause and wonder what Gu Ruoling was doing at that exact moment. Gu Ruoling wasn’t as busy, but she still had plenty of things to do, taking medicine, getting IV drips, painting, playing the piano, reading, and seeing her doctor from time to time. In the intervals between those activities, did she think about her?
Zhu Qingjia wasn’t so presumptuous, nor would she ask such a melodramatic question. But the answer had presented itself voluntarily.
She did.
“Let me tell you! mmph!”
Her lips were eagerly met with a kiss. Greed and desire erupted in that instant. Wasn’t she asking to claim something? Then let her claim a kiss, claim an act of love, claim a relationship that was unadulterated and entirely genuine from beginning to end.
Hot breaths fanned across her face, burning so intensely that Gu Ruoling’s arms trembled. Her breath seemed to melt away, and the scent of camellia turned into the sweetness of cotton candy. It spun and wrapped around her expanding heart, feeling so warm and full that it didn’t seem real.
Until it ended, she was still panting softly. Gu Ruoling held Zhu Qingjia’s shoulders and caught her breath for a good while. “You weren’t gentle at all today.”
Belatedly swept up by her emotions, Zhu Qingjia was just about to apologize.
But then she heard her say, “But I like it so much.”
Zhu Qingjia let out a soft laugh. “You like this kind? What kind of preference is that?”
“Oh come on, can you kiss me one more time?” Gu Ruoling swayed her arm and acted cutely.
Zhu Qingjia leaned in and planted a quick kiss on her lips, pulling away immediately, restrained yet intimate.
“Not like that, like just now.”
Zhu Qingjia kissed her gently again. “This is like just now.”
Realizing she wasn’t getting what she wanted, the young mistress wrapped her arms around Zhu Qingjia’s neck, looking like she wanted to force it.
“Lingling,” Zhu Qingjia called out softly, her tone carrying a hint of a threat. “If you don’t sleep now, you’re going back to your own room.”
Though the young mistress wasn’t fully satisfied, she didn’t push her luck any further. She could tell that when Zhu Qingjia called her Lingling, she was deliberately assuming an older status, trying to scold her like a parent would.
But Zhu Qingjia clearly didn’t realize that Gu Ruoling wasn’t the type to behave just because someone pulled rank, it only made her more rebellious.
Gu Ruoling lay obediently in her arms, meekly making one last request, “Before you leave tomorrow, can you give me a kiss?”
It wasn’t an unreasonable request, so it could be granted.
“Okay, go to sleep.”
After spending the night together, their relationship warmed back up. In the morning, after Zhu Qingjia finished washing up, she gave her a morning kiss as requested. However, Gu Ruoling was sleeping so soundly that she didn’t react at all.
Zhu Qingjia smiled, went downstairs to eat breakfast, and happened to run into Uncle Li, who was carrying picture frames upstairs. “Good morning, Miss Zhu. The picture frames Miss Gu ordered have arrived, I’m bringing them up to the studio.”
The picture frames were half a meter tall, quite large.
“Do you need help?” Zhu Qingjia asked.
“No, no need.” Uncle Li waved his hand and pulled another large shopping bag over.
As Zhu Qingjia passed by, she took a glance inside. It looked a bit familiar; the sizes and shapes of the boxes inside were exactly the same as the paints she had bought yesterday. But the ones she bought had already been placed in Gu Ruoling’s bedroom.
Aunt Zhang came in holding a freshly arranged bouquet of blue tulips. Spotting Zhu Qingjia, she smiled and said, “Miss Zhu, look how beautiful these flowers are. Let me put some of them in your room.”
They were indeed very beautiful. Zhu Qingjia stepped closer to admire them. “Thank you, Aunt Zhang. Let’s put them in Ruoling’s room first. She’s sleeping in my room right now, so let’s not disturb her.”
Aunt Zhang accurately processed the piece of information, her face instantly lighting up with smiles. “Alright, then. I’ll take them upstairs first.”
At 10:00 AM, Zhu Qingjia sent her a text message.
[Are you awake?]
[Remember to reply to me.]
[Otherwise, I’ll keep waiting.]
[Waiting_Cat.jpg]
Gu Ruoling saw the newly replaced flowers and was in a great mood. She snapped a picture and sent it over. In the image, a bouquet of blue tulips was in full bloom.
After looking at it, Zhu Qingjia asked. [Where is the little cat?]
Gu Ruoling was confused, they didn’t keep a cat at home.
Zhu Qingjia: [The little cat is taking the picture, so I can’t see her.]
Only then did Gu Ruoling realize she was referring to her.
[I miss her so much, remember to pass the message along to her.]
The corners of her lips curled up involuntarily. Gu Ruoling read over this short exchange repeatedly before remembering she hadn’t replied yet. She typed, I miss you too.
Right before hitting send, she edited it. [I told the little cat, and she said she misses you too.]
The two of them smiled to themselves. Though they weren’t in the same space, they were still sharing the exact same feelings.
The school was hosting a sports meet, so Zhu Qingjia took her to the track to watch, and even brought her to the cafeteria for lunch.
Gu Ruoling had never eaten at a place where she had to line up to order food, making it a bit difficult for her to choose. “You pick for me.”
“Auntie, sweet and sour pork ribs, stewed beef, green vegetables, and broccoli, please.” Zhu Qingjia ordered for her before buying her own.
The two sat in the cafeteria. People were constantly passing by, and occasionally one or two would come over to greet Zhu Qingjia, glancing at their dishes as they spoke.
Gu Ruoling took a few bites and thought it tasted quite good. She then looked at Zhu Qingjia’s food. “Can I have a taste of that?”
“The poached sliced pork is spicy, you want to eat that?” A layer of red chili oil floated on top.
“One bite should be fine.” Ultimately, curiosity got the better of her. She tried a piece, and the rich flavor was incredibly addictive, but her physical reaction was immediate. Her tongue felt like it was on fire, stinging with a numb, burning sensation.
Zhu Qingjia dashed off to buy her a cup of iced milk tea, poked the straw in, and handed it to her. “Drink it slowly.”
It took a little while before Gu Ruoling felt better.