At the door?
Lin Yi sat up in bed. She stared blankly at the text in the chat window, wondering dazedly what Xu Shuyan meant. What door? Wasn’t Xu Shuyan at the company in S City?
She glanced toward the door.
The dorm room door was dark green. The small window for ventilation was covered by a curtain. A gentle breeze lifted a corner, but she couldn’t see anything in the hallway. Her breath caught for half a second. No way, she thought. She hadn’t seen any flight itineraries or anything. Xu Shuyan couldn’t have just appeared at her door through some magical portal, right?
All these thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. By the time she came to her senses, she had already rushed to the door and opened it.
The wind rushed in completely. This place was near the sea, and the wind always carried the salty dampness of the ocean. Standing before her, looking travel-worn, was Xu Shuyan. She twirled her phone in her palm, put it in her bag, and waved a hand in front of Lin Yi’s face. “Surprised?”
Lin Yi blinked and let out a soft “ah.”
A surprise.
How could she not be surprised?
But more than that, it was an emotion that was constantly amplifying. She could have held it in. She missed Xu Shuyan, but before seeing her, she could endure it, counting the hours on her fingers until she could see Xu Shuyan again. But her countdown hadn’t even finished, and Xu Shuyan had appeared right in front of her.
The longing became unbearable.
It crashed over her like an overwhelming ocean wave, submerging her, releasing her, and then submerging her again. Her heart grew damp, and her eyes welled up, the feelings surging forth, impossible to hide any longer.
“Lin Yi?” Xu Shuyan’s smile gradually froze, then melted into a doting, gentle one. She reached out and pinched Lin Yi’s cheek. “Looks like it’s all shock and no surprise, huh?”
Lin Yi grabbed her wrist, her lips moving. “…There is.”
Xu Shuyan asked deliberately, “There’s what?”
Lin Yi looked at her, her big, watery eyes enough to make anyone’s heart melt. Xu Shuyan couldn’t bear to tease her any longer. She pushed her into the room, turned to close the door, and cupped Lin Yi’s face, the pad of her thumb stroking the corner of her eye. “I know you missed me. Didn’t you?”
Lin Yi hummed in a wronged, pitiful way.
Then she tried to explain herself. “Well, I didn’t miss you that much. It’s just… I was just thinking about when we were boarding at school, about the time we got into a fight. There were two of us back then, and now I’m living here all by myself, so miserably. It’s quite pitiful.”
“So that’s why you missed me?” Xu Shuyan asked.
That wasn’t it either.
Lin Yi tilted her head. Missing her own girlfriend wasn’t anything to be ashamed of. What was the point of being stubborn? Xu Shuyan could see right through her with a single glance. It was better to be direct, bolder, braver—
“I want to sleep with you,” Lin Yi blurted out.
The moment she said it, her heart skipped a beat. “!!!”
Heavens, what was she saying! Encouraging herself to be bold and brave didn’t mean she had to make such a breakthrough! After getting together with Xu Shuyan, they did often sleep together. Sometimes it was just sleeping, sometimes it was not just sleeping, and sometimes they intended to just sleep, but it ended up becoming not-so-innocent. In any case, it was quite frequent.
Saying it like that made her sound so sexually frustrated!
Lin Yi quickly tried to patch things up. “What I mean is, I fall asleep faster when I sleep with you! Back when we were in the dorm, I slept so soundly every night! You’re my sleeping pill, fam!”
“Fam?” Xu Shuyan seized on the unimportant detail. She disagreed. “I haven’t married you yet. It’s not quite right for me to be your family, is it?”
“Do you even go online!” Lin Yi lightly punched Xu Shuyan. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
Xu Shuyan asked unhurriedly, “Is that so?”
Xu Shuyan wasn’t wearing any makeup. Her face, full of collagen, scrunched up cutely like a little piggy bun when she furrowed her brows slightly. The sight made Lin Yi’s heart itch, and she couldn’t resist leaning in to plant a kiss on her cheek.
It was fragrant and soft.
She asked Xu Shuyan, “What perfume are you wearing now? It smells so good, like milk.”
Xu Shuyan didn’t answer the question. “Does it really smell good?”
Lin Yi nodded without any suspicion. “It does!”
The next second, she was pulled into an embrace, enveloped by a faint coconut milk scent mixed with a brilliant shimmer. She couldn’t help but take a small sniff, nuzzling against the soft cheek, her voice muffled. “Xu Shuyan, you smell so good.”
Xu Shuyan’s hand slid down her slender spine, then back up, tracing that narrow, beautiful back as she held Lin Yi completely in her arms. Finally, her index finger and thumb gently squeezed the nape of Lin Yi’s neck, and she turned her head to blow softly against her ear.
The warm breath traveled along the shell of her ear, sending a tingling numbness straight to her heart. She flinched sensitively, wanting to pull away, but she was trapped in Xu Shuyan’s embrace, unable to move.
Xu Shuyan was addicted to teasing her, slowly and deliberately provoking her until her ears turned completely red. Lin Yi finally couldn’t take it anymore. She bit her lightly through her clothes and stammered a plea, “Y-you, stop teasing me.”
“You’re my wife. Who else would I tease?” Xu Shuyan took her earlobe into her mouth, nibbling back gently and patiently. Then she asked, “Do you know why you always fall asleep so fast and sleep so soundly with me?”
“Why?” Lin Yi’s mind didn’t go in that direction. Her thoughts were a bit naive, and she hated herself for being so predictable. “Maybe it’s because I like you too much. I heard that when the person you like is sleeping next to you, you sleep more soundly.”
“I don’t think so,” Xu Shuyan countered. “Back when I first started to realize I liked you, you didn’t like me back, and I couldn’t figure out my own feelings. When you slept next to me, I really couldn’t sleep all night.”
“Oh? Why?” Lin Yi asked.
Before Xu Shuyan could answer, she guessed, “Was it because of the pain of unrequited love?!”
Xu Shuyan chuckled. “Something like that.”
Her hand roamed mischievously over Lin Yi’s waist, making Lin Yi shrink further into her embrace. Only then did she say, “Back then, I would think, while I’m tossing and turning, worrying about this person, what right does she have to sleep so soundly? Does she know how conflicted I am? Today she talked to Chen Yuan again, but why is it Chen Yuan that I can’t stand seeing?”
Lin Yi laughed. “So you went through that kind of struggle too, huh?”
Xu Shuyan hummed in agreement. “Of course.”
“Back then, I hadn’t figured out my feelings. You hadn’t either. Insomnia is normal,” Lin Yi brought the topic back. “But now we’re dating, and it’s mutual. Don’t you sleep soundly too?”
Xu Shuyan guided her. “Why don’t you think again? When do you sleep the most soundly?”
Lin Yi wasn’t truly naive. She had started watching “films” earlier than Xu Shuyan and was self-taught earlier too. She could even make a dirty joke now and then. She had just been blinded by innocence a moment ago. Now, with Xu Shuyan’s hint, she was instantly enlightened.
Lin Yi: “!!!”
When did she sleep the most soundly?
Of course, it was when they weren’t just sleeping. Lin Yi didn’t know where Xu Shuyan had learned all her tricks, but she had somehow become an expert overnight. She would pin Lin Yi to the bed and wear her out for ages. Her equipment was always fully prepared, and her techniques were always new and exciting. Every time, Lin Yi would be so exhausted that she couldn’t even lift a hand to help Xu Shuyan.
Xu Shuyan would kiss her sweaty face. The thing she’d stuffed into Lin Yi’s hand would still be buzzing softly. Xu Shuyan would coax her, “Just kiss me. That’s enough. A few more kisses, deeper, longer, and I’ll be even happier.”
In the end, the two of them would hold each other, sleeping soundly and deeply, their dreams filled with amorous spring scenes.
…Great. She’d fallen in love and turned into a prude, connecting everything to blushing and affection. Xu Shuyan, on the other hand, had changed completely. She could make a dirty joke out of anything and had taken off like a rocket. It made their current position feel awkward, as if she were about to drag Xu Shuyan to bed at any moment, just so they could both sleep more soundly that night.
Seeing Lin Yi go quiet, Xu Shuyan tapped her on the shoulder. “Remember now?”
Lin Yi, her face red, stubbornly replied, “No!”
Xu Shuyan drew out a long “Ahhh.” “Then what should we do? How about I help you remember?”
Lin Yi wanted to, but then she remembered that the soundproofing probably wasn’t very good. Her assistant was in the next room. If they made any suggestive noises, how could she face her assistant again?
So she gently pushed Xu Shuyan away and refused righteously, “NO!”
Only then did she see that Xu Shuyan’s face was also red and slightly flushed, as if she hadn’t been the one saying all those teasing words. She blinked slowly, gently, and her tone softened. “Really? We can’t?”
Lin Yi: “…”
Green tea! That’s green tea behavior, right! Just a moment ago, holding her in her arms, she was so confidently offering to help her “remember.” Now that she’d been rejected, she was starting to act pitiful. Who was she acting pitiful for! Who would soften? Who would fall for it? Who would believe her?
Thinking this, Lin Yi fell silent, feeling utterly pathetic. Then she had to admit it: she had softened, she had fallen for it, she believed Xu Shuyan’s pitiful act.
Xu Shuyan only wanted to be close to her because she liked her, right? At worst, they could just be a little quieter. And if that didn’t work, they could just be thick-skinned about it. So what if someone heard? As long as I’m not embarrassed, the one who’s embarrassed is—
Before she could finish the thought, her vision blurred. Xu Shuyan cupped her face, and a kiss landed—on the space between her brows, on the bridge of her nose, and finally, between her lips. A tongue moistened her dry lips, and the friction only made them burn drier, hotter.
She no longer had the mind for stray thoughts. She focused, lost in the kiss, turning her head to kiss deeper, just as Xu Shuyan always guided her to do. A little deeper, a little harder, and she could be a little happier.
She was like a diligent student, improving a little with every test. Finally, Xu Shuyan kissed her back in satisfaction, fingertips brushing across her face, a seductive voice whispering, “Baby, you did so well. How do you want me to reward you?”
How to reward her?
She felt like a small bed floating on a vast ocean, tossed about with no escape in sight. She kissed until she was breathless, unwilling to let go. In the end, both she and Xu Shuyan tumbled onto the narrow little bed.
The single bed, suddenly bearing the weight of two people, let out a pained creak. As the frame swayed, Lin Yi rolled over and pinned Xu Shuyan beneath her.
She straddled Xu Shuyan, looking down at her breathlessly, her chest heaving. Xu Shuyan’s lips were a vivid color from her kisses, glistening as they curved into a faint smile. The corners of her eyes were also red, her hazy gaze holding a smile. Xu Shuyan panted, “Lin Yi, you—”
But her voice was abruptly cut off, swept away by the air conditioner’s breeze and disappearing through the exhaust fan into the distance.
Only the frantic, deafening sound of their heartbeats remained.
Xu Shuyan lowered her eyes, looking at the index finger Lin Yi had pressed to her lips. She touched it lightly. The warmth against the coolness made Lin Yi shiver. She shot her a reproachful look and whined softly, “Don’t move.”
Xu Shuyan said, “Okay, I won’t move.”
But as she spoke, it was as if she were kissing Lin Yi’s finger.
Lin Yi glared at her again, pulled her finger back, and cupped her face. “Let me take the lead this time, okay? I have more experience than you, and I’m a faster learner. Even though this is sudden and I haven’t made any preparations… but—”
She bit her lip. “I’ll make you happy, okay?”
The collar of her pajamas had been pulled open during their kiss and was now hanging precariously on her arm, revealing a smooth, snow-white shoulder. Flushed from her fluctuating emotions, she looked incredibly cute, speaking with such seriousness.
A searing heat spread through Xu Shuyan’s heart. Her voice was low and hoarse as she tried to refuse her request. “But I want to, too.”
“You always go first!” Lin Yi grew anxious, shifting her body. “You know this is my turf now, right? This is the dorm the show prepared for me. If you don’t please me, I’ll make you sleep on the street!”
Xu Shuyan: “…Huh?”
“Fine.” Lin Yi’s arrogant demeanor instantly deflated. “I just wanted you to see the current situation clearly and give up resisting! …Of course I wouldn’t make you sleep on the street!”
Pinned down and unable to move, Xu Shuyan figured it was better not to argue, especially with the risk of being thrown out. She simply lay back. “Alright, then. You can please me.”
“You’re the one pleasing me!” Lin Yi said, leaning down. She kissed Xu Shuyan’s lips lightly, then carefully took them into her mouth, making a soft sound as she sucked. Her face reddened, and she asked in a small voice, “What if the assistant hears us?”
Xu Shuyan also asked, “What should we do?”
Lin Yi tried to negotiate with her. “Be a little quieter later. It’s best if you don’t cry out.”
Xu Shuyan looked troubled. “But what if I can’t help it?”
Lin Yi thought for a moment. “How about I cover your mouth? That should muffle the sound a bit. You try to control yourself. If you really can’t, maybe you can bite the pillow?”
Xu Shuyan turned her head and looked at the pillow for a moment. “You should just use your hand.”
She added, “We can pretend it’s breath play.”
Lin Yi: “…”
She bit Xu Shuyan’s lip lightly, her voice muffled by the kiss. “Where did you learn all this weird stuff!”
Xu Shuyan laughed and kissed her back. “Weren’t you the one who introduced me to it? I paid for it through proper channels, you know… Mmm…” She panted softly, holding Lin Yi’s waist. “I took this online course. I had to learn something, right?”
Lin Yi’s lead was inexperienced, but she still followed the procedure properly, not missing a single step as she kissed her way down from Xu Shuyan’s lips.
Suddenly, the wind howled outside. On the distant coast, a gentle squall stirred, surging onto the shore before slowly receding, repeating again and again, endlessly.
The floating clouds dispersed, and the moon hanging in the dark blue sky glowed faintly.
[Holy shit, have you guys heard? Xu Shuyan flew to G City!]
[???]
[Huh?]
[My shipping radar is going crazy…]
[Is it for work? Or a private trip? She can go wherever she wants, is this really something to make a fuss about?]
[Sis, Lin Yi is in G City recording Sing Out Loud!]
[Holy shit?!]
[No way? The little couple has only been apart for a few days, and they already can’t control their desire to see each other? Aren’t they being a little too clingy? I was only like this with my ex who I was deeply in love with, wanting to stick to her side every day. If you told me they weren’t a real couple, who would believe it?!]
[I heard from Xu Shuyan’s solo fans that she has work in G City, so she went over early.]
[If it’s for work, it would be a public schedule. So why did she sneak out from the underground garage after work and secretly take a flight? By the time the scalpers found the flight info, she was already in the air.]
[What kind of work? Don’t tell me she’s a guest star on Sing Out Loud?]
[Fuck! @Sweet Melon Entertainment be human for once! Sing Out Loud is Lin Yi’s solo gig! She earned it with her own skills! If you dare to shove her useless teammate in, I’ll really fight you!]
[Lin Yi’s fans, don’t get so worked up. We’re shipping a CP here. If you want to flame the company, go to their official Weibo, okay?]
[Can you stop shipping fake CPs? So she went to G City? So what? Is Xu Shuyan not allowed to go to G City just because Lin Yi is there? She really does have work, you know. Aren’t you afraid of poisoning yourselves shipping this fake stuff!]
The three factions of fans, plus the onlookers enjoying the drama, argued heatedly all night based on nothing but the flight information from the scalpers, without a single picture to go on. They started eight hundred threads, and just as the situation was escalating into an uncontrollable free-for-all, a fansite master’s side account posted a photo of the two of them.
Solo fans: “???”
Xu Shuyan, Lin Yi, you guys are for real!
CP fans: “???”
I was just shipping casually and enjoying the solo fans’ meltdown, but it’s actually real??
Onlookers: “Wow!”
It’s getting even more lively! Fight, fight, fight!
What shocked the netizens even more was that this fansite master wasn’t for Xu Shuyan or Lin Yi. She was for one of the popular contestants on Sing Out Loud. She had just come early to take photos of her bias heading to work and ended up capturing a surprise.
The fansite’s side account posted: The person Teacher Lin is seeing off into the car is Xu Shuyan, right? Even with the hat and mask, she looks a lot like her. Someone who looks that much like Xu Shuyan and is so intimate with Teacher Lin has to be her. Fans can come and confirm.
[………]
[What are they doing? A quickie and then a reluctant farewell?]
[I refuse to acknowledge this. I’m just going to pretend I never saw these photos.]
[I must have opened my eyes the wrong way today. I’m going back to bed and starting over.]
[Quitting the internet.]
[Ahhhhhh Xu Shuyan! Are you crazy! Why aren’t you working on your album and your career? What are you doing running off to G City? Haha! So the 26 million yuan necklace was real? Just end me!]
[Heh, some people shouldn’t be so desperate to cling. Coming all this way, what could it be other than trying to leech off my girl’s gig?]
[But your girl is putting a scarf on her, looking so gentle. Is this Winter Sonata?]
[Quitting the internet.]
The solo fans’ defenses were completely shattered. The CP fans were happily enjoying the sweet content but also secretly worried about what would happen if they came out. Meanwhile, the onlookers, who loved the drama, kept spamming KSWL and went on to learn more about the Gu Group, falling headfirst into the fandom without a second thought.
Lin Yi had a wonderful night and went to work happily. When the new day’s recording ended, she saw her assistant standing below the stage with a miserable expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Suddenly, she remembered last night. Xu Shuyan had covered her mouth, whispering, “Don’t make a sound, okay? I managed to hold it in just now, so you have to hold it in too, alright? Otherwise, we’ll be heard.” So she held it in and held it in, until finally she bit down on the pillow, muffling the sounds, swallowing them down her throat, until the very end.
Xu Shuyan had brushed aside her sweaty hair, kissed her forehead, and praised her, “So good.”
Then she added, “Actually, there’s no one next door. I was afraid your assistant would disturb us, so I had her stay in a hotel.”
Unfortunately, Lin Yi had no strength left by then. All she could do was give Xu Shuyan a weak glare, cursing her inwardly for being so devious. But then Xu Shuyan’s repeated kisses melted away all her anger.
…Beauty is truly a dangerous thing!
“Xiao Yi?” The assistant’s voice broke her out of her reverie. Blushing, she came back to her senses. The assistant still had that worried look on her face as she handed over her phone. “Sister Fang said to call her back after the recording.”
“What’s it about?” Lin Yi asked, taking the phone and walking toward the dressing room.
“I don’t know either,” the assistant said, following behind her. “But she sounded very serious, like she’s going to settle a score with you. You should probably prepare yourself.”
Lin Yi: “…”
She turned her head. “Xu Shuyan got photographed in G City?”
The assistant nodded slowly.
Lin Yi understood. Now she knew what Fang Yi wanted with her.
She and Xu Shuyan had discussed whether to tell Fang Yi about their relationship. They decided to hide it as long as they could, and if they couldn’t, they’d just lay their cards on the table. After all, they had been a business CP before, and the fans held countless pieces of “evidence” of their love. Although it was all real now, the industry had an unwritten rule about not exposing same-sex relationships. As long as they didn’t come out themselves, their careers wouldn’t collapse.
Lin Yi closed the dressing room door and called back. As expected, Fang Yi was ready to interrogate her. “Aren’t you just regular teammates? Wasn’t sleeping together once just a drunken mistake? Why! Why has it turned into this! Did you sleep your way into having feelings?”
Lin Yi tried to calm her down. “Calm down, calm down!”
“How can I be calm?” Fang Yi slammed the table. “If I don’t go crazy, who will?! When I saw those photos of you two being all clingy and saying goodbye early in the morning, my heart turned as cold as someone who’s been killing fish at RT-Mart for ten years! And a scarf! Does G City even require a scarf!”
“…It really was a little cold in the morning.”
“Showing off your love?”
“I wasn’t!”
“Recording is over for today, right?” Fang Yi asked. “I remember you have an evening flight?”
Lin Yi said, “You remember so clearly!”
Fang Yi chuckled dryly. “Come straight to the company after you land. Explain this to me face-to-face. I want to see just how far this in-group romance of yours has gone!”
With that, she hung up.
Lin Yi stood there stunned for a moment, then gave Xu Shuyan a heads-up. Xu Shuyan said it was fine, she’d wait for her at the company. Lin Yi whined, “How is it fine? What if we lose our year-end bonuses?”
Xu Shuyan said, “You haven’t forgotten I’m a rich second-generation kid, have you? Who cares about that little year-end bonus?”
Lin Yi: “The person who went bankrupt after spending 26 million cares.”
Xu Shuyan: “…Okay, I care.”
The two joked around, and Lin Yi’s mood lightened. Just then, the assistant knocked on the dressing room door to tell her it was time to get ready for the airport. She answered, “Coming.”
It had sleeted in S City last night. The sky was gloomy, making it feel even colder and damper.
Lin Yi bundled up in a down jacket as soon as she got off the plane. It was past nine in the evening when she arrived at the company. Fang Yi had an impromptu meeting and told them to wait in her office. Xu Shuyan was already at the company, just one floor up, so when Lin Yi pushed the door open, she saw her sitting on the sofa by the window, gazing at the night view.
Hearing the door open, Xu Shuyan turned her head. When she saw it was her, a smile gradually appeared in her eyes. “You’re back?”
Lin Yi trotted over. “Miss me?”
She said smugly, “We just saw each other this morning, and you already miss me? Don’t love me too much!”
Xu Shuyan pulled her into a full embrace and was about to kiss her when the door opened again. Fang Yi walked in, talking as she entered. “You two got here fast. Good thing my meeting just ended… What are you doing?”
Lin Yi: “!!!”
Just as she was about to push Xu Shuyan away, Xu Shuyan cupped her face.
Fang Yi is going to find out anyway, Xu Shuyan thought. Who knows how long the three of us will be talking. I can’t wait until after we’re done to kiss my wife. I’ll just kiss her first.
With that thought, she leaned in and kissed her.
Fang Yi: “!!!”
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