Shen Ningruo ignored her, greeted Yue Chu, then glanced at Qiu Yang before calmly re-entering the bedroom as if nothing had happened. It wasn’t until the door closed again that Shen Ningruo lost control of her expression.
She covered her face, wanting to scream but unable to, so she just huffed angrily.
But it wasn’t anger, more a slight bewilderment, wondering why Yao Yao and Yue Chu had suddenly come to Qiu Yang’s place. She thought for two seconds and came up with the answer—
Maybe they came to thank them for letting them know last night!
Having figured it out, a slight curve appeared at the corner of Shen Ningruo’s mouth. But when she reached the dressing table, her smile instantly froze and solidified.
Seriously.
Who was this crazy woman in the mirror right now?
She was wearing Qiu Yang’s nightgown, her shoulders and collarbone exposed. Qiu Yang hadn’t left many marks, but there was a clearly visible hickey. More importantly, there was her hair, which she hadn’t had time to comb after getting up.
If her wavy hair were mistaken for grass right now, it wouldn’t be surprising at all.
Shen Ningruo stood with her hands on her hips, looking at herself in the mirror. After letting out a heavy sigh, she picked up the comb from the table. Just as she was about to comb her hair, the door opened a crack, and Qiu Yang’s figure came into view.
Shen Ningruo said piteously, “Why didn’t you tell me they were coming?”
“I messaged you,” Qiu Yang took the comb. “But you didn’t check your phone.”
Shen Ningruo: “…”
Shen Ningruo sat on the chair, but the chair felt as if it had rolled through a volcano, making her feel incredibly hot.
Because she had been sitting on it last night when Qiu Yang had… well, slept with her, and she had even begged Qiu Yang to stop, which finally brought it to an end.
The scene from last night replayed clearly in her mind. Shen Ningruo pursed her lips, looked at Qiu Yang in the mirror, and let out a soft hmph : “Do you know what Yao Yao said?”
“She called your name,” Qiu Yang answered her question very naturally while combing her hair.
Shen Ningruo’s eyelids fluttered. She had known Yao Yao for so many years, she naturally understood what Yao Yao meant by what she said.
“She meant the ‘ling’ from one, two, three, four, not the ‘ning’ from my name, Ningmeng,” Shen Ningruo patiently explained to Qiu Yang. But after saying it, she pursed her lips even tighter, almost hugging herself.
Seeing her like this, Qiu Yang stopped combing, lowered her head, and kissed Shen Ningruo’s face. Her voice was gentle: “Are you angry?”
“No.”
“I was very happy lying down.”
“I’m just still holding a grudge against Yao Yao.”
Shen Ningruo even clenched her fist as she spoke: “And this bottom is talking about me ?”
Qiu Yang’s eyes curved into crescents when she heard this: “Oh right, when I woke up this morning, I got a message from Senior Yue saying that Sister Yao Yao wanted to see the cat that made her jealous, and they happened to have time this morning, so they came over.”
“…To see Pangpang?” This wasn’t what she had expected.
Qiu Yang raised an eyebrow: “What else?”
Shen Ningruo waved her hand: “Nothing.”
Qiu Yang continued to comb her hair. Only after she finished did she leave the bedroom. Shen Ningruo changed her clothes first, then walked through the living room to wash up.
As soon as Yao Yao saw Pingzi, she immediately turned into a cat slave, sometimes holding a cat teaser wand, sometimes holding Pingzi and watching the birds outside the window. Pingzi had a good temper and didn’t mind being held by a stranger. He even started chattering at the birds outside the window again.
When Shen Ningruo finished washing up and came out, she saw Yao Yao holding Pingzi like a baby. She walked over with a frown, first rubbed Pingzi’s head, then said to Yao Yao: “If you want a cat, get your own. You have to pay to freeload at our place.”
“Even if our Pangpang went to a cat cafe, he’d be the most popular little cat.”
Qiu Yang rubbed her forehead and heard Yue Chu say from the side: “Indeed, Ping… Pangpang is very well-behaved. If we had the time, we would really like to adopt one.”
Pangpang, now the center of attention, looked bewildered. He looked at Qiu Yang, meowed, and Qiu Yang shrugged helplessly at him.
Pingzi’s eyelids drooped.
Fine, time to work, time to earn my keep. Mom works hard to raise me, cat food and wet food are expensive.
However, Yue Chu and Yao Yao didn’t stay long. They put the cat down and prepared to leave. Qiu Yang felt that Yue Chu was much more at ease facing her now than before, probably because the “secret” had been revealed, and there was no longer a need to hide it, which made people feel much lighter.
“Oh right, do you have any plans for the May Day holiday?” Yao Yao asked before leaving. “Want to go out and play together?”
Shen Ningruo refused immediately: “Yao Yao Ling, please do not disturb our two-person world.”
Yao Yao: “…You’re so petty, you’re even bothered by me calling your name.” She took Yue Chu’s hand and softened her expression towards Qiu Yang, looking very friendly, “Then Yangyang, we’ll be going now.”
“Goodbye.”
Yue Chu looked at Qiu Yang: “Yangyang, just contact me if you need anything.”
Qiu Yang’s dimples appeared at the corners of her lips, and her eyes curved: “Okay, I know, Jie.”
After saying goodbye, Yao Yao and Yue Chu left. The moment the door closed, Shen Ningruo hugged Qiu Yang, burying her face in Qiu Yang’s shoulder hollow and taking a deep breath.
Qiu Yang hugged her back: “What’s wrong?”
“Hungry.”
“Replenish energy by ‘sucking’ on Yang.”
Qiu Yang smiled: “The weather is quite nice today.”
“Miss Shen, would you like to go on a date with me?”
Shen Ningruo let go of her, her eyes instantly lighting up: “A date?”
“Yes,” Qiu Yang said, pointing at Pingzi. “But we have to bring Pangpang. We’ll just go for a spring outing nearby. I take him out twice a month.”
“Are you going to take pictures too?”
“Yes.”
Shen Ningruo nodded: “Okay.”
“Then let’s go on a date.”
After eating at home first, Qiu Yang hung her DSLR camera around her neck, and Shen Ningruo became her designated cat carrier.
She carried Pingzi in front, teasing him like a child. When she saw birds in the sky, she would point them out to Pingzi. Pingzi was especially excited through the glass window, the scenery reflected in his two marble-like eyes.
Today’s sun was warm but not scorching, perfect for wearing hoodies. Qiu Yang and Shen Ningruo wore hoodies of the exact same style, just different colors. Shen Ningruo secretly took a picture of Qiu Yang’s back and saved it to her album.
When she looked up again, she found Qiu Yang’s DSLR lens pointed at her. The shutter clicked several times, capturing Shen Ningruo’s entire range of expressions from looking down to looking up.
Shen Ningruo raised an eyebrow, her tone quite displeased: “You’re taking candid photos of me again, madam.”
“So what?”
“Is that not allowed?”
Shen Ningruo shook her head: “It requires payment.”
“…Shall we settle up tonight?” Qiu Yang’s eyes filled with laughter after she said this, surrounded by vibrant spring scenery.
Shen Ningruo was dazzled by her smile and also raised the corners of her lips: “Then it’s free. You can take pictures however you want.”
Qiu Yang: “Okay.”
So she aimed the lens at Shen Ningruo and Pingzi again and pressed the shutter.
When the weather is good on a weekend, there are usually quite a few people out. They walked and chatted, but Qiu Yang also had to focus on taking pictures of the scenery, so their pace was much slower. After walking for a while, they sat down on a long bench.
The sunlight fell on them, and Qiu Yang lazily narrowed her eyes.
Last weekend she was still suffering, but this weekend made her feel like it would be nice if life could just stop here.
Shen Ningruo also gently closed her eyes. She heard the wind, the rustling of tree branches, the gurgling water, the comfortable footsteps of people, and her own heartbeat.
She rarely had such leisurely moments. Before she met Qiu Yang, she often worked overtime on weekends. She would keep herself busy so she could focus and enter her own world.
But she met Qiu Yang, and she started looking forward to the weekend. She wanted to go shopping with Qiu Yang, and she also wanted to go for a spring outing with Qiu Yang like this.
The things she wanted to do increased. As long as it was with Qiu Yang, that was her one small request.
A couple walked past hand in hand in front of them, talking and laughing. Shen Ningruo opened her eyes and saw the girl leaning her head on the guy’s shoulder.
Shen Ningruo turned her head to look at Qiu Yang, her mood suddenly dropping. Last night, her attention was focused on worrying about Qiu Yang being angry, to the point that she forgot a key point—
Qiu Yang had not reciprocated her feelings.
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