PSMD – Chapter 6

Qiu Yang wouldn’t find a new love interest anytime soon, but she needed to shift her focus. She didn’t want her mind to be consumed by thoughts of Tao Sixian all day long anymore.

Because it was truly exhausting, her head felt like it might explode any second.

And right now, the easiest shortcut to achieve this goal was interacting with Shen Ningruo; she had no desire to go out and have fun.

Only half a day had passed since arriving in Xicheng. Qiu Yang thought it over carefully and felt Shen Ningruo served this purpose.

At the very least, while competing with Shen Ningruo in the ring toss game, Tao Sixian had vanished from her thoughts.

To put it bluntly, she just wanted to use Shen Ningruo.

But perhaps it was a case of mutual need.

After all, Shen Ningruo’s “yes” hadn’t hesitated at all.

“Aren’t I already pursuing you?” Shen Ningruo didn’t let her surprise show too obviously. Her tone was natural, the end rising slightly. “Did you think asking you to play a game with me was just about playing a game?”

After speaking, Shen Ningruo grabbed Qiu Yang’s wrist and pulled her into the room.

The door closed.

Shen Ningruo’s room was different from hers; this one was mainly black and white.

Having only been occupied for half a day, it wasn’t messy at all, except for a corner of the duvet being turned back, clear evidence someone had slept there.

Shen Ningruo’s suitcase lay open on the floor, its contents unconcealed. Qiu Yang glanced at it unintentionally, her gaze shifting, then landing on the little bear rattle drum on the coffee table.

“You still haven’t told me your name.” Shen Ningruo suddenly felt a sense of “sweet revenge.”

Qiu Yang had left her hanging several times, and now she had actually come looking for her of her own accord. Thinking of this, Shen Ningruo couldn’t help but clear her throat.

She had thought Qiu Yang’s attitude towards her would remain unchanged.

Now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“Qiu Yang.” Qiu Yang shifted her gaze away from the rattle drum.

“Which Qiu? Which Yang?” Shen Ningruo raised an eyebrow. Although she knew the answer, she still had to ask.

Qiu Yang’s voice had the soft quality common among southern girls, her tone slightly sweet, but her intonation lacked variation.

Shen Ningruo felt that listening to Qiu Yang speak was like eating a mint candy—

Not cloying, very refreshing.

“You don’t need to know.” Qiu Yang didn’t answer.

Once the seven-day trip ended, she and Shen Ningruo wouldn’t meet again.

Therefore, the less they knew about each other, the better.

Shen Ningruo hummed in agreement, not refuting: “That’s true.”

She stepped forward slightly, closer to Qiu Yang, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly. “Then why did you come looking for me? Just to ask about my progress in pursuing you?”

Shen Ningruo had a rather strong aura; Qiu Yang had realized this the first time she saw her.

But Qiu Yang had no intention of backing down. Having entered Shen Ningruo’s room, she would stand firm in her decision.

“No.” Qiu Yang tried her best to appear calm.

“Then what for?”

Shen Ningruo’s heart was racing; she was actually a bit baffled.

Because frankly, her repeated attempts to interact with Qiu Yang were mainly to divert Qiu Yang’s attention. She had just underestimated this younger girl, not expecting Qiu Yang to ask outright if she was trying to pursue her.

Even less expected was Qiu Yang now coming to her door to ask if she had figured out how to pursue her yet.

“You mentioned half the time in your room, half the time in mine.” Qiu Yang seemed to be reminding Shen Ningruo, her voice still soft, like a gentle breeze.

Shen Ningruo: “Okay.”

She raised her hand and tucked a stray strand of hair from Qiu Yang’s forehead back behind her ear.

Qiu Yang wanted to flinch but resisted.

But this brought the two even closer; she smelled the faint lemon scent on Shen Ningruo.

Very pleasant.

“Shall we start allocating the time now?” Shen Ningruo lowered her hand, her fingertips secretly rubbing together, as if the smooth texture of Qiu Yang’s hair still lingered.

“Tonight.”

“Okay.”

After delivering her message, Qiu Yang returned to her own room again.

The sunset glow in the sky hadn’t completely faded. She stood by the window, taking a deep breath.

Just now, during her meeting with Shen Ningruo, she hadn’t thought of Tao Sixian even once.

Shen Ningruo really was effective.

Night fell quickly. Jin Yuan sent a notification in the group chat, telling everyone to gather for dinner.

Qiu Yang still had no appetite. Jin Yuan didn’t insist and led the others away from the guesthouse.

Zhao Mingfen knew Qiu Yang wasn’t going and specifically sent a WeChat message asking if she wanted her to bring anything back.

Qiu Yang declined, saying she would order delivery herself.

Only then did Zhao Mingfen feel relieved, sending two consecutive “Okay” characters.

Qiu Yang looked at the chat history with Auntie Mingfen; it was very short, not even a full page, impossible to scroll.

But it was undeniable that meeting such an auntie on this trip was a very fortunate thing.

The feeling of being cared for, she had always cherished it.

Because she had experienced too little of it before.

Miao Yi sent Qiu Yang another video of Pingzi; in the frame, Pingzi was eating dinner.

Again, not even a glance was given.

Qiu Yang showed a faint smile, watched the video several times before the door was knocked.

She put away her phone and walked to the door.

Shen Ningruo stood at the doorway. She hadn’t gone with the group for dinner either, simply saying: “It’s nighttime.”

“Okay.”

“Let’s go to my place first.”

“Okay.” Qiu Yang still gave this answer.

Shen Ningruo chuckled, then asked again: “Are you hungry?”

“Not hungry.”

“I’m hungry.”

“I’ll order something.”

Qiu Yang uttered one word: “Okay.” Seeing Shen Ningruo’s clearly somewhat displeased gaze, she finally added a few more words, “I’ll go back to my room and take a shower.”

Shen Ningruo paused, then nodded.

The door closed once more, separating the two.

Qiu Yang’s back pressed against the door, her breathing irregular.

She was very nervous.

Growing up, she had hardly ever done anything out of line, but the current situation was already beyond her control.

She calmed herself down, then took her change of pajamas into the bathroom.

She washed her hair as well. By the time she had dried her hair, nearly an hour had passed.

The people who went for dinner were almost back.

Qiu Yang stared at the jumping numbers on her phone’s clock, steadying her nerves.

When she felt ready, she pulled out her room card again and left her room with her phone.

Shen Ningruo still opened the door quickly. She had also showered, but her hair was wrapped in a towel.

“I was just about to dry my hair,” Shen Ningruo said after closing the door, glancing at her. “Have a seat first.”

Qiu Yang sat on the sofa, lips pursed, nodding slightly.

The room wasn’t large, containing only some simple furniture.

Shen Ningruo went into the bathroom to dry her hair. The bathroom door closed, but the sound of the hairdryer still managed to sneak out a little.

Qiu Yang looked at the untouched rattle drum on the coffee table, feeling the bear face on the drum surface looked even sillier.

Perhaps it was due to the insufficient light; Shen Ningruo had only turned on the room’s standing floor lamp. The light was warm and soft, not very bright.

After perhaps ten minutes, the bathroom door opened.

Shen Ningruo had tied her curly hair up into a ponytail and appeared before Qiu Yang.

She stood not far in front of the floor lamp, blocking a large portion of the light.

Qiu Yang couldn’t see her face clearly.

Shen Ningruo asked again: “Are you hungry?”

Qiu Yang shook her head: “Not hungry.”

“Okay.” Shen Ningruo walked over in her slippers. She was wearing a dark blue silk nightgown, though in the current dimness, it was hard to tell if it was blue or black.

“I’ll just wipe my face.”

“Then we’ll start.”

Only after speaking did Shen Ningruo realize she had unconsciously adopted her work tone. However, Qiu Yang showed no reaction, so she didn’t dwell on it.

Qiu Yang neither spoke nor moved, just watched Shen Ningruo enter the bathroom again.

The bathroom door closed again.

Qiu Yang quietly let out a sigh of relief, but remembering Shen Ningruo’s “we’ll start,” her heart tightened again.

Her hands rested on her knees, palms gradually closing, her gaze fixed on the rattle drum.

Her mind felt somewhat blank, her heartbeat losing its rhythm.

The room seemed terrifyingly quiet; Qiu Yang even felt she could hear her own breathing.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths.

Very chaotic.

Not long after, perhaps just two minutes, Shen Ningruo came out.

Qiu Yang sat upright. Seeing her emerge, she tilted her head slightly, suppressing all her panic.

Shen Ningruo’s ponytail was still tied, swaying slightly as she walked, but it quickly stopped.

Because Shen Ningruo had already walked over and stopped right in front of Qiu Yang.

Qiu Yang tilted her head up, barely making out Shen Ningruo’s expression in the room’s light.

Her throat unconsciously made a swallowing motion. She attempted to speak: “I went to the hospital for a check-up at the beginning of the month.”

She tried hard to keep her voice from trembling: “No illnesses, very healthy.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Ningruo responded with a nasal hum: “Mm.”

Then she said nothing more. She bent down slightly, extending her hand forward until her palm rested against the back of Qiu Yang’s neck.

Qiu Yang’s body trembled slightly.

She hadn’t expected Shen Ningruo to make this move, as sudden as when she had tucked her hair back.

Shen Ningruo was very assertive; Qiu Yang was in the passive position.

And Shen Ningruo’s palm was somewhat cool, resting against the skin on the back of her neck like that.

It was sobering.

“Looking up at me like that, isn’t your neck tired?” Shen Ningruo spoke again. “You were carrying that camera this afternoon; your neck suffered quite a bit.”

Qiu Yang’s eyes blinked. Shen Ningruo didn’t remove her hand, but she sat down in the spot next to Qiu Yang.

The sofa was soft; the spot beside her sank down a little.

“Not tired,” Qiu Yang finally replied, though her volume was low.

Shen Ningruo let out a low chuckle, her fingertips gently squeezing the back of her neck. She asked, “Do you know that idiom?”

Qiu Yang turned her head, her eyes showing confusion.

There were so many idioms; how could she possibly know which one Shen Ningruo was referring to.

Shen Ningruo’s throat moved. The action of massaging Qiu Yang’s neck stopped, and instead, her hand slowly moved upwards.

The pads of her fingers lightly brushed against Qiu Yang’s neck; it was very smooth.

Qiu Yang’s warmth transferred through her fingertips, slightly cool.

Qiu Yang’s body tensed up slightly. She tried her best to control her breathing, her eyelashes having lowered at some unknown point.

Unable to see anything, her other senses became sharper and more sensitive.

Time felt both brief and drawn out. Shen Ningruo finally stopped, but the next second, her index finger flicked upwards, touching Qiu Yang’s small, delicate earlobe.

Qiu Yang’s hands on her knees tightened their grip, just as she heard Shen Ningruo say softly:

“That idiom is…”

“A sheep entering a tiger’s den.”

“Do you understand now?”