“A double room.”
Lu Yuanchen had already entered Jian Lingxuan’s hotel room and surveyed the place where she had been staying for the past two days.
The question Jian Lingxuan had been avoiding for so long finally received the worst possible answer.
Lu Yuanchen’s tone was icy, cold enough to start a fire. The weariness from her long journey had just faded from her eyes, only to be replaced by the sharp edge of a blue flame.
She was angry. Jian Lingxuan knelt properly, her head lowered, lips pursed, trembling from time to time.
No one told her to kneel, nor gave any command.
They had naturally fallen into this posture.
Lu Yuanchen sat up high like her master, tapping her own arm with her fingertips, as if she could lift her chin at any moment.
She was a naughty dog, about to receive her reprimand.
“We didn’t sleep together either…” Jian Lingxuan had just started, her voice filled with emotion, but her explanation sounded weak.
She had chased Lu Yuanchen for three years. Lu Yuanchen had never shown any indication of interest, and before today, she wouldn’t have even thought there was a problem with her going out alone with someone who was interested in her.
Hadn’t she been sad all these years?
And now she comes in and immediately starts questioning her.
Jian Lingxuan held her breath and mustered the courage to look up.
“So, should I thank you for not booking a king-sized bed?” Lu Yuanchen’s long-held jealousy had soured her entire journey, and now her stomach burned with a fiery pain from hunger.
She even felt a little regret.
The preserved egg and lean pork congee had lost its flavor. Was Jian Lingxuan about to leave her?
The root of this problem was indeed her, but she was overwhelmed by several feelings at once, making it painful to endure.
“You, why are you suddenly getting angry about this?” Jian Lingxuan was furious too.
Jian Heng’s suggestion had been realized unintentionally, which should have represented a change in Lu Yuanchen’s heart, but she couldn’t bring herself to be happy about it.
She had been a dog for so long, and just when she decided to stop, Lu Yuanchen finally realized her worth.
“You say that as if you were going to respond to me. You don’t even like me, and we’re not dating. Can’t I try to develop something with someone else?”
She was speaking out of anger. Perhaps she was being reckless, emboldened by Lu Yuanchen’s possible change of heart, or perhaps she hoped Lu Yuanchen would completely fall out with her and let her go from this one-sided love.
Jian Lingxuan tore everything open and laid it bare before Lu Yuanchen.
“It’s been years! When people asked me out before, I never saw you get upset. This time it’s a course requirement, a last-minute business trip! I didn’t even get to decide on the room. You didn’t come with me, so what’s wrong with a double room?” The more Jian Lingxuan spoke, the more righteous she felt.
She wanted her to express her feelings; at this moment, she just wanted to force Lu Yuanchen to make a decision.
Her chest ached with a stabbing pain. For the first time, Jian Lingxuan realized how tiring it was to look up at Lu Yuanchen.
She was annoyed at her crybaby constitution that appeared whenever she wasn’t painting. They had only argued for two sentences, and her eyes were already welling up with tears.
She didn’t want to look pathetic while crying, so she sniffled, trying to stop the tears from falling.
A pink flush spread across her face. Paired with her actions, she didn’t realize she looked even more adorable.
And Lu Yuanchen… was gradually sobered by her angry words.
The fierce momentum she had upon arrival was gone, and the anger that had been building for hours suddenly dissipated.
Jian Lingxuan had to care about her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be this angry with her.
“I never said I don’t like you.” Lu Yuanchen’s speech slowed, each word deliberate as she gazed into Jian Lingxuan’s eyes.
It was almost too serious. Her deep, forest-green eyes shimmered with a faint light, filled with Jian Lingxuan’s incredulous emotion.
A positive sort of disbelief seized Jian Lingxuan’s heart in an instant.
Lu Yuanchen shifted her gaze.
She was very afraid of Jian Lingxuan crying for real. Before today, Jian Lingxuan’s tears had a theatrical quality, usually happening after being bullied by Jian Heng.
She would be in charge of coaxing her, and Jian Lingxuan would fall for it, recovering in two minutes and clinging to her for a hug, becoming very clingy.
But these were genuine tears of sadness, filled with impulse and resentment. All caused by Lu Yuanchen.
Lu Yuanchen, for once, didn’t know what to do.
She couldn’t just leave her here to cry. She had played dumb for three years, and the one time she finally faced Jian Lingxuan’s feelings, she made her this sad. Were they really suitable for each other?
Jian Lingxuan sniffled and blinked, and the tears she had held back for so long finally broke free, wetly crushing the fine, downy hair on her flushed cheeks.
“I said… I like you.” Lu Yuanchen didn’t know how to confess either.
Jian Lingxuan was the closest she had ever come to love, and also the first time.
Past crushes might happen in an instant and end just as quickly, like the wind stirred up by running in one’s youth.
Now that she was an adult, the love Jian Lingxuan gave was a wine aged over time.
“…watching others, asking Jian Lingxuan to stay the night?”
“I’m a bit slow when it comes to feelings, so I need you to be more direct. Not by using this kind of… method of getting close to others to test me. Xiao Zhi,¹ you’ve liked me for three years, why not try confessing one more time?”
It got to the point where for a while, Lu Yuanchen didn’t even realize Jian Lingxuan still liked her.
“I only realized after searching our chat history these past two days that you’ve done this more than once. This… little dog questioning thing isn’t the first time. It’s just that this is the most outrageous one.”
They were even living together.
Thinking about it made Lu Yuanchen want to ask again. If she hadn’t come, who knows what else Jian Lingxuan might have done.
By then, they really would have no chance, and it would be too late for regrets.
Jian Lingxuan felt guilty and shrank back into an ostrich, burying her head deep down.
She needed to think of how to explain it to Lu Yuanchen.
She had a wicked sense of humor, was insecure, and resented Lu Yuanchen for not responding for so long. All these thoughts, when examined closely, boiled down to cowardice.
She loved herself very much; the only thing she could talk about were her tactics.
She didn’t want to ruin the confession that Lu Yuanchen had finally given her.
Jian Lingxuan had never expected to receive a confession from Lu Yuanchen at this moment. It wasn’t formal, there was no sense of ceremony, and she was even wearing… did their anniversary have to be on this day?
She would repeatedly recall this nightmare of Lu Yuanchen coming to catch her in a rage.
“You never showed it at all…” Jian Lingxuan spoke unconsciously, her tone quite weak.
“I… I didn’t know you liked me.” The excuse was hard to say.
Jian Lingxuan kept her head down, only seeing Lu Yuanchen’s legs in front of her.
Who knew how long she had dreamed of this, dreamed of hugging Lu Yuanchen’s legs.
Unfortunately, despite their spacious home, they had never slept together. Although they were living together, Lu Yuanchen had her own room, more like roommates who were co-renting.
The one time they slept together, there was a third wheel between them.
With her younger sister present, it wasn’t even convenient for her to act spoiled with Lu Yuanchen.
“Well, you know now.” Lu Yuanchen didn’t want to keep arguing with Jian Lingxuan about the past.
Her tone was flat, but she stepped down from the high bed.
Lifting the hem of her skirt, folding it neatly, she knelt down.
With her usual elegant posture, she wiped away the tears at the corner of Jian Lingxuan’s lips.
She drew out another string of them, feeling helpless.
“…Yuanchen.” Jian Lingxuan couldn’t control her tear ducts after all.
“I, I was wrong.” She was indeed twisted.
These past few years, she had felt insecure and didn’t know how to win over the person she liked or how to express her true feelings.
Ultimately, if she had reminded Lu Yuanchen of her feelings over and over again, Lu Yuanchen might not have taken this long to react.
Jian Lingxuan received a hug.
It was warm against her face. A warm presence enveloped her.
“No, it’s not…” Jian Lingxuan didn’t want to just give in like this. She had admitted her mistake, but she still felt wronged.
Her dating anniversary, her confession anniversary. Would she have to relive this sour memory every time in the future?
But the hug was so warm. Jian Lingxuan’s inertia pulled her down, and she fell back against Lu Yuanchen’s body, pressing softly against her.
Lu Yuanchen lifted her up, their foreheads touching.
She probably hadn’t eaten much; her hands and feet were weak, lacking strength.
At this moment, she pushed through her exhaustion to hold Jian Lingxuan in her arms. The two held each other steadily.
This was their first time being so intimate.
Needless to say, Jian Lingxuan was so happy that tears streamed down her face, wishing she could rub herself into the embrace.
Lu Yuanchen didn’t find it unpleasant. She quite liked the faint cherry sweetness on Jian Lingxuan, which she figured was the scent of her alpha pheromones.
They were reproductive beings (shengzhi ling) with pheromones, and partners should also be identified by their pheromones.
Since she liked Jian Lingxuan’s pheromones so much, did that mean they were meant to be compatible?
Lu Yuanchen buried her face in Jian Lingxuan’s hair. With every breath, she could feel Jian Lingxuan’s slight shiver.
“…I like you, Xiao Zhi.” Lu Yuanchen felt she should say it to her one more time.
At least they weren’t fighting anymore.
Jian Lingxuan’s hands around her waist tightened, squeezing a bit painfully.
“I know, I won’t do it again in the future,” Jian Lingxuan promised in a small, half-shy voice.
She no longer cared about any anniversary; she just wanted to confirm their relationship with Lu Yuanchen as soon as possible.
“So, are we dating now?”
She was actually a few centimeters taller than Lu Yuanchen.
It was just that she had been crying so hard earlier that she had gone limp, and when Lu Yuanchen caught her, she let herself slide down.
“Yes,” Lu Yuanchen replied, meeting her raised eyes.
They both liked each other, and Jian Lingxuan hadn’t said her feelings had changed. She had agreed to move in with her in the first place to get into a relationship.
“No.” Jian Lingxuan’s anxiety finally subsided.
She twisted away from Lu Yuanchen, clutching her skirt and biting her lip until new tears formed.
This was the Lu Yuanchen she was most familiar with. A bit theatrical.
When her mood improved, she had the energy to be mischievous. Her emotional changes were quite significant.
Jian Lingxuan liked her this way; she wanted to know Jian Lingxuan’s emotions.
“No, it’s not. My anniversary…” Jian Lingxuan was quite dissatisfied and pinched Lu Yuanchen’s waist again.
Lu Yuanchen didn’t have many romantic cells in her brain. Jian Lingxuan could already imagine the difficult days ahead.
Ugh. How did she end up dating someone like this? Did this even count as her first love?
“If you’re free, I’ll take you to dinner tonight.” Lu Yuanchen didn’t understand Jian Lingxuan’s dilemma, but she was trying.
“Alright then.” Jian Lingxuan’s tone carried a hint of playing hard to get.
She had to put up a little resistance, otherwise it would seem like she was too easy to please.
Jian Lingxuan turned her head away and huffed, then secretly peeked back, only to find Lu Yuanchen staring at her without blinking, her own cheeks flushing red.
She had no experience in this area; they could only watch each other quietly.
Their hearts warmed in the shared gaze, waves stirred, until a tsunami swallowed their reason, roaring past their ears, leaving a hazy blur.
“Yuanchen.” Jian Lingxuan stared until her eyes were dry, refusing to blink. In the microsecond before the world went dark, she quickly called out to her brand-new girlfriend.
“I’m here.” Lu Yuanchen didn’t know what she wanted to do either.
She had never considered having a girlfriend before.
This one had come so suddenly, and she didn’t know how to do anything.
She also had some aversion to a partner; she didn’t really like other people’s bodily fluids.
“Can we kiss?” Jian Lingxuan was anxious to deepen their relationship, but she didn’t dare do that, afraid of making Lu Yuanchen uncomfortable, so she settled for second best.
“Here?” Since Jian Lingxuan had made the request, Lu Yuanchen couldn’t well refuse.
“Oh, right.” They were still in the room Jian Lingxuan shared with her classmate.
The classmate had even come back with Jian Lingxuan to wait. To wait for her.
She would probably have to treat her classmate to a meal later.
“I’ll go get a new room. Yuanchen, how long are you staying?” Her research project was for another week.
“Three days, including today. I’ve been very busy.” She had managed to get three days off only with great difficulty.
“Should I book a king-sized bed then?” Jian Lingxuan’s wish was finally coming true; she could sleep with the person she liked.
She was a little excited. She didn’t know what their night would be like.
“Sure.” They would have to sleep together sooner or later anyway. Lu Yuanchen didn’t refuse.
She had to watch Jian Lingxuan reject that new ambiguous person before she could return to Capital Star with peace of mind.
These three days were going to be busy.
After the new room was booked, the two of them packed up Jian Lingxuan’s things and moved them.
By the time they finished moving, Jian Lingxuan’s lunch break was over.
They should have said their goodbyes and parted ways here. Lu Yuanchen might have, out of the goodness of her heart, helped her pack, and they would go on a dinner date that evening.
But just before leaving, Jian Lingxuan rushed over to Lu Yuanchen’s side and leaned down.
Supporting her back, she lightly pressed her lips against Lu Yuanchen’s.
It was just for a moment, and then she ran away like crazy.
Lu Yuanchen stood stunned in the room for a long time before touching her lips.
Only a trace of softness remained.
And a lot of cherry sweetness.
