Duty

Was she still half asleep, or was she hallucinating?

Those gold-and-silver chains, the pure silver bells hanging from them, and Zhu Qing standing by her bed with half her face masked... how could they possibly come together into such a bizarre scene?

"Xiao Qing?" Li Lan blurted. "What are you doing?"

Li Lan tried to sit up in bed, but the moment she moved her arm, a tremendous force dragged her back.

The chain around her wrist was pulled so tight that she didn’t even have enough length to sit up.

Zhu Qing gave her a sweet smile.

Zhu Qing hadn’t meant to put on the mask. She had been holding it and studying it; the thing Qian Cancan had sent over was exquisite, with carved patterns on the inside as well. Just then Li Lan had woken up, and Zhu Qing still hadn’t figured out how to face her, so she had unconsciously hidden her face.

Li Lan stared at Zhu Qing, her voice dropping. "Zhu Qing, speak."

Zhu Qing forced herself to stay calm. The mask happened to hide the blush on her face, and somehow gave her an inexplicable courage. "Teacher Li, I’m here to collect my compensation."

She sat beside Li Lan and looked her over closely.

Li Lan had her lashes lowered; their thickness veiled the emotions in her eyes. Barefaced, her skin was pale with a faint flush of pink, so lovely it made one want to pinch her, then kiss her.

Li Lan gave her wrist a shake; the chains jingled. "Qian Cancan gave this to you?"

"That doesn’t matter," Zhu Qing said, pressing a finger to Li Lan’s lips. "What matters is that it’s very useful."

"Useful?" Li Lan ground out. "Let me go."

Zhu Qing said nothing, but from her movements and the rhythm of her breathing, it was clear she had no intention of doing that.

She extended one finger and tapped the center of Li Lan’s brow, then slowly traced down the bridge of her nose.

Her skin was sensitive; Li Lan’s breathing quickly turned rough.

Zhu Qing lowered her head and kissed her lips, then lifted her face and licked the corner of her mouth before dipping down again to take her lips fully.

Li Lan was a little angry and didn’t want to cooperate. She turned her head away, only for Zhu Qing to pinch her chin and kiss her hard.

Zhu Qing looked into Li Lan’s eyes, deeply. The dim little lamp beside the bed cast a hazy shadow over the side of her face. Zhu Qing was a little embarrassed, but her tone was utterly serious. "I’ll fulfill my duty properly."

Li Lan drew in a sharp breath. "Duty?"

"I like you; I like you a lot," Zhu Qing said. "You like me too, don’t you?"

Li Lan was speechless. "Let me go first!"

"Don’t be afraid; I’ll be gentle." As she spoke, Zhu Qing moved to kiss Li Lan again.

This time Li Lan realized Zhu Qing meant business, and hurriedly said, "I’m not feeling very well. Let me go first."

Zhu Qing stopped, as if weighing whether Li Lan’s "not feeling very well" was true.

"Zhu Qing, you can’t leave me like this," Li Lan said, trying her best to remain calm; her voice trembled slightly. "I’m uncomfortable."

Zhu Qing tilted her head and reached out to knead Li Lan’s muscles. "Where does it hurt? I’ll massage it for you."

"Let me go," Li Lan said. "I won’t run."

Zhu Qing asked suspiciously, "You really won’t run?"

"This is my house." Seeing Zhu Qing waver, Li Lan softened her tone and coaxed, "Where would I run to?"

Zhu Qing paused for two seconds, then laughed. "I won’t."

Li Lan could almost hear the veins at her temple twitching.

"Keeping your arms raised for too long can damage the shoulder joint and make it hard to breathe properly," Li Lan said, drawing a deep breath. "If you’re going to tie someone up, at least change the position."

She sounded so professional that Zhu Qing carefully studied her condition; with her hands raised like that, it did indeed seem uncomfortable.

"Then I’ll loosen it for you," Zhu Qing said. "Don’t move around, okay?"

She carefully avoided Li Lan’s arms, worried she might really make her uncomfortable.

Once the chain was lengthened, Li Lan finally sat up.

She moved her shoulders and looked down at Zhu Qing’s sparkling eyes.

"You really want to fulfill your duty?" Li Lan’s voice was a little hoarse. "Now?"

Before Zhu Qing could answer, Li Lan went on, "After these past few days together, you must already understand my work and have at least a preliminary idea of what kind of person I am."

There was a subtle pause there; Li Lan’s lowered gaze revealed a faint unease.

"Have you really made up your mind?" Li Lan asked.

Zhu Qing smiled sweetly. "If not, what am I doing here, cosplaying?"

Li Lan’s eyes deepened. "I originally wanted to wait until you recovered your memory. Have you really... decided?"

Zhu Qing simply kissed her.

Li Lan half-closed her eyes; the fine curve of her thin lids framed a gaze that fell on Zhu Qing’s face and gradually grew heavy, languid, and dangerous.

Li Lan took the initiative and responded.

She lifted a hand, pressed it to the back of Zhu Qing’s head, and deepened the kiss again and again.

Li Lan’s kisses were nothing like her personality. She was reserved and cool, but when kissing, she was passionate and fervent, storming forward, conquering and plundering, kissing Zhu Qing until she was nearly suffocating.

Only after Zhu Qing could no longer catch her breath did Li Lan slowly loosen her hold.

There was still moisture at the corner of Zhu Qing’s lips; her full mouth looked bright and alluring, reminding Li Lan of lychees harvested in midsummer.

Freshly picked lychees, peeled at dawn, had flesh that was juicy and translucent.

One bite, and the flavor was exquisite.

Li Lan lifted a hand and gently wiped away the trace at the corner of Zhu Qing’s mouth with her fingertip.

Still panting, Zhu Qing came back to herself and unconsciously rubbed her cheek against the back of Li Lan’s hand.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Li Lan’s hand was long and beautiful. She didn’t wear nail polish; her nails were neatly trimmed, the curve rounded and lovely, with a healthy pink sheen.

Zhu Qing couldn’t help rubbing against it again.

After rubbing, Zhu Qing froze.

Wait.

Li Lan’s hand.

When had Li Lan’s hand become free to move??

Zhu Qing looked down; the chain bound to the bedpost had already snapped free, the other end still on Li Lan’s wrist. The dangling chain rested against her wrist bone, slender and exquisite, incredibly beautiful—wait, slender?

"Li Lan, you—" Zhu Qing snapped back to her senses. "You broke my chain!"

Under Zhu Qing’s gaze, Li Lan slowly revealed a smile full of possessive intent.

"This kind of chain," Li Lan said in a husky voice by Zhu Qing’s ear, "how about I give it to you to play with?"

She flipped Zhu Qing’s wrist under her palm and pinned it down.

Only then did Zhu Qing realize Li Lan’s camisole dress had already been tugged open. She was now sexy and breathtaking, irresistibly alluring, like a siren bewitching people as she stepped closer and closer.

Zhu Qing heard her own heart pounding faster and faster.

...

Li Lan held Zhu Qing around the waist, forehead to forehead, their noses almost touching in intimate affection. Lingering kisses fell on Zhu Qing’s face, her forehead, her eyelids; their necks brushed as they clung together.

Only when the kiss marks reached Zhu Qing’s chin and were about to go lower did Li Lan lift her head and look at Zhu Qing, who had been kissed silly and left breathless. "Are you really okay with this?"

Zhu Qing was breathing hard. The fact that Li Lan had her pinned on the bed and kissing her made Zhu Qing feel a little floaty, as if she were drifting on clouds.

Reason told her that this posture was a little inappropriate, but before reason could make a sound, her body’s reaction surged up. Zhu Qing couldn’t help lifting herself, hooking her arms around Li Lan’s neck and continuing to kiss her.

Li Lan held Zhu Qing down and kissed her deeply; their lips and teeth tangled together without leaving even the smallest gap.

"Li, Li Lan..."

"I won’t hurt you, okay?"

Zhu Qing shook her head in a daze. "This isn’t right. You, me, how did it become like this?"

Li Lan lowered her head and sealed her lips and tongue again, murmuring, "Don’t be afraid, Xiao Qing."

Li Lan’s voice was wonderfully beautiful; low and hoarse, with a bewitching quality to it.

By the light, Zhu Qing saw Li Lan’s face.

Such a dazzling, exquisite, proud face should have been displayed in a glass case, with diamonds scattered all around it, yet still only serving as Li Lan’s backdrop.

But Zhu Qing did not want anyone else to see Li Lan like this.

She wanted to lock Li Lan in a safe, with only herself knowing the key.

Li Lan no longer needed to endure; she told Zhu Qing everything she had thought and longed for over these days.

Li Lan did everything she had wanted to do, until Zhu Qing cried three times and fell asleep against Li Lan’s chest, before she finally stopped.

...

When Zhu Qing woke the next day, she still felt as though she were dreaming.

Her eyelids were swollen, and it seemed the sensation of Li Lan’s kisses still lingered there.

Li Lan really wasn’t a decent person.

That was the only thought left in Zhu Qing’s head.

Last night’s sultry scenes played back and forth in her mind like a movie; one moment they became Li Lan’s face, the next her own flushed cheeks.

Zhu Qing pounded the bed in fury. How had she fallen for Li Lan’s trick!

Clearly, at that time she had already tied Li Lan up; with just one more step, she would have had her—no, wait.

Zhu Qing remembered that chain; the reason her plan had failed was that very chain!

What kind of no-name junk had Qian Cancan bought, that Li Lan had broken free so easily?

She should not have softened her heart, should not have loosened the length, should not have let Li Lan kiss her!

Zhu Qing slowly rolled over, controlling the movement as much as possible, and raised a hand to cover her swollen eyelids.

Ugh, this was so embarrassing.

Li Lan was cooking outside. She hadn’t been in the kitchen for a long time and wanted Zhu Qing to wake up to a hot meal.

A door closed somewhere outside. Li Lan put down the spatula, untied her apron, and walked out.

"Xiao Qing?"

The living room was empty.

Li Lan pushed open the bedroom door to take a look; the bed was empty too.

She searched the whole house and finally found Zhu Qing’s abandoned phone on the bed.

Thinking of something, Li Lan hurriedly opened the surveillance feed at the front door.

As expected, the sound of the door she’d heard had come from Zhu Qing.

Zhu Qing, carrying a backpack, wearing sunglasses and a mask, had left home with a blank expression.

Li Lan looked at the phone Zhu Qing had left behind and fell silent.

She quickly asked property management to check the surveillance. Seeing Zhu Qing get into a taxi, she noted down the license plate and contacted the taxi company to reach the driver.

"You mean the woman in sunglasses from Xiyuan Community?"

Li Lan said, "Where did she get out?"

The taxi driver sounded utterly baffled. "She actually wanted to pay me in cash. These days people go out without their phones, and she wanted to pay me in cash."

Li Lan said nothing.

The driver went on, "I told her to just give me a hundred. It wasn’t much different anyway, but she flat-out refused and insisted I give her change. Who does that?"

Li Lan said, "I’ll give you a hundred. Tell me where she got out."

The driver immediately said, "No, that’s customer privacy."

Li Lan said, "Her route is private, but the way she paid isn’t?"

"In the end I had to get out and buy a bottle of water just to make change. That bottle cost me five yuan. I didn’t want any water," the driver grumbled to himself. "I even told her to have her friend come down and scan to pay for it, but she wouldn’t agree."

Have her friend come down?

Li Lan caught the key point at once and said, "Any operating vehicle that refuses to accept RMB is breaking the law. Want me to call the police for you?"

The driver paused. "Are you crazy?"

Li Lan hung up and immediately called Qian Cancan.

Qian Cancan did not answer.

She called seven or eight times in a row, but Qian Cancan still did not answer.

Li Lan grew anxious and called Qian Chu. This time the other side did answer, but far slower than usual.

Because of the nature of her work, Qian Chu normally picked up Li Lan’s calls within five seconds; this time it rang for a full thirty-five seconds before someone answered.

Qian Chu’s voice was a little muffled, her mood odd. "Manager Lan."

"Zhu Qing ran away from home," Li Lan said. "Hurry up and help me contact her."

Qian Chu froze for a moment, then drawled, "Ran away from home? Oh, no, I mean... ran off? Where to?"

Li Lan said, "I suspect it’s Qian Cancan’s place."

Qian Chu froze again.

"I called Qian Cancan and she won’t pick up. Contact her for me."

Qian Chu rarely hesitated, but this time she did.

"I contact her?"

Li Lan was already in a panic and, seeing Qian Chu dragging her feet, urged, "Yes. She won’t answer my calls, and Xiao Qing left her phone at home. I need to make sure she’s safe first."

Qian Chu said, "She’s an adult. If she went to find Qian Cancan, there shouldn’t be a problem."

Li Lan frowned. "I still don’t feel at ease. Hurry up and contact Qian Cancan."

Qian Chu hesitated for a rare, long moment before reluctantly making a sound of agreement.

While Li Lan was frantically searching for her, Zhu Qing had already opened Qian Cancan’s front door.

She used her fingerprint to unlock it. At first, Zhu Qing had wanted to be polite, to knock and ask someone to open the door, but there was no movement inside at all. The stairwell was hot enough to feel like an oven; on top of that, the stingy taxi driver had refused to turn on the air-conditioning on the way over. By the time she got here, Zhu Qing was already exhausted. Seeing that no one came to open the door, she had no choice but to go in herself.

The moment the voice saying "Door opened" fell silent, there was a thud from inside the apartment, as if something heavy had hit the floor.

Zhu Qing jumped.

Someone was in there?!

The next second, she and Qian Cancan, who had shot out like a wild cat fleeing for its life, stared at each other.

"You scared me to death!" Qian Cancan patted her chest. "I thought my mom had come!"

Faced with Qian Cancan treating Madam Qian like some kind of flood or beast, Zhu Qing looked around and said very unceremoniously, "I won’t allow you to talk about Auntie like that."

Qian Cancan looked haggard; it was obvious she’d stayed up late last night and still hadn’t really woken up. Beer bottles, snacks, and takeout boxes were scattered all over the room.

Qian Cancan walked over and took off Zhu Qing’s sunglasses. "Why didn’t you say you were coming... Wait, were you hit by someone?!"

At this, Zhu Qing angrily dropped her backpack and grabbed Qian Cancan by the shoulders, shaking her back and forth.

"It’s all your fault!"

Qian Cancan looked blank. "What?"

Zhu Qing’s furious expression was too vivid; Qian Cancan somehow felt a little guilty.

Zhu Qing shouted, "Didn’t you say that when Li Lan and I were making a fuss about getting divorced, one of the reasons was that I wasn’t fulfilling my marital duties?"

Qian Cancan said, "Yeah, you said that yourself."

"How did I say it?" Zhu Qing demanded. "Repeat it word for word!"

Qian Cancan was confused, but her memory was good. She immediately said, "You said you liked sleeping in separate beds, and that work was already exhausting enough every day; at night you didn’t want to work anymore."

After thinking it over, Qian Cancan added, "When you said that, your tone had this subtle sense of rejection and disgust."

Zhu Qing: ...

Qian Cancan said, "You said it yourself. You even asked me for pain-relief patches and wanted me to go with you to find a traditional Chinese doctor for acupuncture on your arm, but you were actually healthy and had nothing wrong with you. I, on the other hand, had a bit of tenosynovitis."

Zhu Qing: ...

Healthy.

Nothing wrong.

How had she never noticed she used to have this terrible habit of being stubborn to the bitter end!!

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The author has nothing to say.