Nightdress

Xu Zhitong felt a little annoyed that she’d ruined the mood.

But Lin Yang seemed to have sobered up quite a bit already, and Xu Zhitong no longer had any reason to linger in the room and keep teasing her, especially now that their relationship had been established.

She looked back reluctantly a couple more times before finally leaving the room.

In the living room, she waited a little while before the robot delivered their takeout.

The restaurant had been very thoughtful with the privacy packaging. They had even opened the outer bag, and the sealing strip on the inner package was decorated with heart-shaped sticker tape.

Xu Zhitong stared at the bag for a while. She didn’t even open it; she just shoved it straight to the bottom of her suitcase.

Hmph.

But she wasn’t the kind of person who sat still and stewed in her anger.

After showering and washing her hair, Xu Zhitong put on a face mask and turned self-reproach into a thirst for knowledge. She went back to search carefully for a few more instructional videos and saved them to her cloud drive.

They still had a performance tomorrow, and the hotel was not a suitable place to study. Once she got home, she would do a proper, systematic review.

After carefully scanning through the video titles, Xu Zhitong felt brimming with confidence.

She peeled off the face mask and was about to blow-dry her hair when she faintly heard the sound of running water from Lin Yang’s room as she got out of bed.

Why was she taking a shower so late?

Xu Zhitong was a little worried. If someone was half-drunk, could they get dizzy in the shower and pass out?

She pressed herself to the door and listened for a while, ears pricked.

The water stopped.

Only then did Xu Zhitong finally relax a little. After blow-drying her hair, she sent Lin Yang a good-night message before bed and got the same good-night in return.

Her heart finally settled completely. Xu Zhitong buried herself in the soft pillow and closed her eyes to sleep.

The next day, when she woke up, Xu Zhitong was still a little dazed.

She tried hard to remember what had happened last night.

Mm. Lin Yang had taken the initiative to kiss her.

Lin Yang had also made her swear, like a wedding vow, that she would always be good to her.

Heh. Happiness.

The more Xu Zhitong thought about it, the more the corners of her mouth lifted on their own.

Smiling like that, she washed up, changed clothes, tidied her hair a little, and went out.

She only put on sunscreen; the makeup and styling would be done at the makeup artist’s studio.

After opening the door, she was surprised to find that Lin Yang was still not up.

It was already ten o’clock.

Xu Zhitong hesitated for a moment, then went to knock on Lin Yang’s door.

“Just a second, Xiao Tong. I just got up,” Lin Yang said from inside.

Xu Zhitong felt a little disappointed. She had been thinking she could wake Lin Yang up herself, maybe even provide some morning wake-up service...

The idea had somehow popped into her head. She stood in front of the door and seriously thought about it, only to realize she had no idea what kind of wake-up service she could even provide.

Xu Zhitong said, “Then I’m coming in?”

After waiting a few seconds and hearing no objection from Lin Yang, she opened the door.

Lin Yang’s bedroom still carried the scent of the fragrance she usually used.

The curtains were tightly drawn, making the room look dim. Lin Yang had probably gone straight to the bathroom after getting up and hadn’t even turned on the bedside lamp; the only light in the room was spilling out from the bathroom.

The bathroom door was half open. Xu Zhitong glanced at the wrinkled duvet on the bed, at the marks left behind by a night’s sleep, and walked over to the bathroom door to look inside.

By the mirror cabinet under the warm light, Lin Yang was leaning sideways against the sink, brushing her teeth while scrolling through her phone.

When she noticed Xu Zhitong coming over, Lin Yang startled.

Xu Zhitong was a little stunned too.

These past few days, even though they had been living together, Lin Yang had always gotten dressed before coming out, and she always woke up earlier than Xu Zhitong.

But today Lin Yang had gotten up late; she was still wearing a black spaghetti-strap nightdress. The lace-trimmed V-neckline outlined her figure clearly, exposing a broad stretch of soft, fair skin.

The dress only fell to mid-thigh. These days Lin Yang had been wearing long skirts and long pants, and when Xu Zhitong’s gaze passed over her thighs, it was hard to look away.

Unlike the slenderness of a narrow waist, delicate shoulders, and pretty collarbones, Lin Yang’s thighs weren’t that thin. They had a faint softness to them, all bright and snowy white, most of them hidden beneath the black, slightly wrinkled hem of the nightdress. Just looking at them somehow gave the impression of a faint fragrance.

Xu Zhitong blinked quickly.

She pretended she hadn’t been imagining anything.

“Morning...” she said, the last syllable dragged out a little in guilt.

Lin Yang looked very surprised. She probably hadn’t expected Xu Zhitong to come straight in and greet her.

“Morning.”

With a mouthful of toothbrush, her words came out muffled.

Xu Zhitong said, “Go ahead and brush.”

After saying that, she took the initiative to leave the bathroom, draw back the curtains, and tidy the bed.

There was still a pillow in the bedding, probably one Lin Yang had been hugging while sleeping. Thinking of how cute that looked, Xu Zhitong couldn’t help smiling. She smoothed the pillow flat and tossed it aside.

It was only a few minutes before Lin Yang came out.

Xu Zhitong was sitting at the edge of the bed, pursing her lips in feigned indifference. “Ahem!”

Lin Yang smiled, pressed a hand to the neckline of her nightdress, and bent down to kiss Xu Zhitong.

A very short, very warm good-morning kiss.

Fresh and clean, with the scent of floral toothpaste.

Xu Zhitong was happy.

So Lin Yang also remembered their “confession” from last night.

And she keenly noticed that Lin Yang’s attitude toward her had grown even more intimate.

It had to be because of the vow she’d made last night.

Xu Zhitong almost tilted her head up and leaned in to kiss her again.

Fortunately, she still had some sense left. She forced herself to stop. She had to go to the studio in the afternoon, and tonight she still had a livestream performance.

Sigh, work.

The livestream camera for the gala was in high definition; it wasn’t like ordinary livestreams, where she could still rely on a little beauty filter on her mouth.

Xu Zhitong braced her hands on the edge of the bed and looked up, unable to help asking, “After the performance, can we go home really soon?”

The anticipation in her eyes was practically sparkling.

Lin Yang paused for a moment.

She wasn’t entirely sure whether Xu Zhitong meant that after they got home... they would keep... kissing?

Maybe she was reading too much into it.

Lin Yang was a little doubtful, but not completely sure. Maybe Xu Zhitong just felt uneasy in this environment and wanted to return to a familiar place as soon as possible?

After all, Xu Zhitong’s memories only went up to when she was seventeen.

These past few days, aside from their first kiss, which had been a little deeper, at other times she’d also let go obediently very quickly.

She probably wouldn’t be very... adult, right?

As Lin Yang thought of that, she couldn’t help feeling a little dizzy.

For some reason, she suddenly thought of the opinions she had seen over the years in fan groups and on Weibo about Xu Zhitong.

Before the amnesia, when Xu Zhitong was still streaming, most of her fans were music fans and mother fans; there weren’t many romance fans, and she rarely made any openly horny comments.

Part of the reason was that her overall image was rather world-weary, and she looked like someone with a low sex drive.

The few bold comments there were mostly amounted to saying that she seemed like the type who could fuck herself silly, even adding a bit of force, and it would feel amazing.

When Lin Yang took care of herself, she actually didn’t imagine anything too outrageous.

After all, in middle school, Xu Zhitong had been even more innocent. Let alone erotic novels; she hardly even read romance novels.

Occasionally, when she came across a couple scene in some addictive web fiction, or even an erotic passage, she would quickly flip past those pages.

...Forget it.

It probably wasn’t the kind of meaning she was thinking of.

Lin Yang was silent for a while.

That silence fell into Xu Zhitong’s eyes, and she immediately felt dissatisfied.

If they weren’t going to head back to their little home earlier, to their own territory, what was so good about staying in this unfamiliar Hai City?

Xu Zhitong sprang to her feet and moved closer. She didn’t dare touch much of Lin Yang, who was only wearing a spaghetti-strap nightdress, so she held back and grabbed her wrist before lowering her head to rub against her nose.

Then she cooed, “Come on, okay? Wife.”

Lin Yang’s long lashes trembled repeatedly.

...That address.

Early in the morning, Lin Yang’s face warmed.

The last time Xu Zhitong had called her that, Lin Yang’s mind had been full of the strange feeling of confession and misplaced reality, so she hadn’t paid much attention.

She really wasn’t used to that way of addressing her. After all, this was only their first time in a relationship.

Wife or whatever...

That was the kind of thing that should come after a long time dating... or during an intense honeymoon phase...

Lin Yang said, “Don’t call me that.”

Xu Zhitong huffed softly. “Why not? I just have amnesia, but we’ve been together for a long time, haven’t we? Before the amnesia, she definitely called you wife too. Why can’t I call you that?”

She had sounded a little sweet at first, but by the end she had turned strangely jealous.

Lin Yang had no way to deal with her or all the fantasies around being together. After a pause, she said, “Fine... have breakfast delivered and eat first.”

-

The performance went very smoothly. Ever since she was in school, Xu Zhitong had been a genius at cramming at the last minute; she’d rehearsed intensively for the two days before the performance, so when the actual show came, it felt almost no different from rehearsal.

Mm. If she had to say anything, it was probably that she’d been born with the talent for this.

The campus singer competition had also been Xu Zhitong’s first time onstage. The school auditorium had been packed with classmates looking for a thrill, but Xu Zhitong hadn’t been the least bit nervous. After belting out the high notes, she even threw in a few runs for good measure.

Now, on the big livestream stage, with the spotlight centered on her and a sea of darkness below, Xu Zhitong treated the audience as though it were just an ocean.

She sang through the entire performance in perfect form.

The lift carried her and Teacher Gu, who was performing the opera segment, off the stage. Following the staff backstage, they found Lin Yang and Teacher Gu’s assistant waiting there.

Xu Zhitong ran over and asked for praise with a grin. “How was it?”

Lin Yang said, “Very good.”

Some people were simply born to shine.

Xu Zhitong snorted proudly. “Of course.”

Her heart was beating very fast. Having just finished something important, she was riding a wave of excitement and couldn’t help wanting to get close to Lin Yang.

But there were too many staff members moving back and forth in the backstage area; no matter how she looked at it, it wasn’t a suitable time.

Xu Zhitong could only gently grab Lin Yang’s wrist and sway it back and forth, easing the excitement in her chest.

Trying to shift her attention, she looked around.

By chance, she caught sight of the opera performer and her little assistant nearby.

Teacher Gu’s makeup was exquisite, with hair ornaments and jewelry all around her, her face heavily painted.

The little assistant stood on tiptoe, carefully wiping the sweat off Teacher Gu.

They were standing a little off to the side. After glancing over a few times, Xu Zhitong’s sharp eyes caught Teacher Gu, just as the assistant was about to pull her hand back, taking the assistant’s hand and quickly kissing the ring finger.

On the finger she had kissed, at the base of the ring finger, was a very beautiful diamond ring.

Xu Zhitong’s eyes widened slightly.

When she had rehearsed with Teacher Gu yesterday, she’d seen that Teacher Gu was wearing a diamond ring on a fine chain around her neck.

Ah—it was the matching one!

Xu Zhitong had no idea how to rein in her gaze, and the little assistant quickly looked back at her.

They were probably also keeping a secret relationship. The assistant was startled for a moment, and only after recognizing Xu Zhitong and Lin Yang standing beside her did she smile.

Oh.

Xu Zhitong understood. Lin Yang must have told this assistant that they were in a relationship.

She felt delighted, and then saw the assistant lift her hand and show Xu Zhitong the sparkling diamond ring on her ring finger from a distance.

So pretty.

Xu Zhitong couldn’t take her eyes off the ring. The assistant couldn’t help it; her smile widened a little.

Then Teacher Gu also looked over. She pinched the assistant’s face and turned her back around, saying, “Why are you staring at another woman for so long?”

Teacher Gu had been serious and stern during rehearsal; who would have thought she could be this jealous too?

The two of them walked away a little, and Xu Zhitong could faintly hear the assistant saying good-naturedly, “You’re at it again. They’re a couple...”

Teacher Gu said, “Anyway, you’re not allowed...”

Their relationship was really good.

A strange trace of envy rose in Xu Zhitong’s heart, and she lowered her head to look at her own hand.

Where were her and Lin Yang’s rings?