Intense

Zhu Qing didn’t sound worried, and she wasn’t pressing the matter either. It was the sort of casual chatter couples traded; one asked out of curiosity, and the other only had to answer with a smile.

Li Lan managed a smile and decided to let those restless guesses go.

“It was my mistake,” Li Lan said, lifting a hand to tuck the stray strands of hair by Zhu Qing’s cheek back into place. With a faint smile, she added, “Our Xiaoqing is very capable now. She can take care of me, take care of Xiao Bao, and take care of herself too.”

Zhu Qing was caught off guard by the praise, and her cheeks flushed.

Li Lan said softly, “Do whatever you want. I believe you’ll do it well.”

“Of course.” The corners of Zhu Qing’s mouth lifted. “There are only a few of us in our family. Xiao Bao is only five, and I’m a preschool teacher. I can definitely take good care of her with ease.”

Li Lan pinched Zhu Qing’s reddening earlobe; it felt wonderful. “Didn’t you say you’d forgotten everything?”

Zhu Qing shook her head with a smug little look. “I thought I had forgotten too. Ever since I woke up in the hospital, I had a hard time accepting that I’d become a preschool teacher, and I was scared when Xiao Bao called me Mommy. I’m only twenty-two. I went from a college student who hadn’t even graduated yet to a low-level wage slave and ‘housewife’ overnight. Other than being very satisfied with you, I had a little trouble accepting everything else.”

Li Lan looked at her quietly, then said warmly, “I know.”

Zhu Qing went on happily, bright and animated. “But I still have muscle memory. The moment I touch Xiao Bao’s hair, I automatically tie it into a bun. If you think about it, these are all things I really experienced myself; I shouldn’t reject them. Whether it’s bitter or sweet, I have to walk that road myself.”

Li Lan’s hand paused. Her voice softened. “If you think it’s bitter, you don’t have to walk it.”

“That won’t do. I don’t want to miss anything that has to do with you.” Zhu Qing said it as if it were only natural.

Li Lan was moved. Her lashes trembled, and she let out a very soft “Mm.” “Really?”

Zhu Qing tilted her head up and kissed Li Lan.

There is a safe distance between people. When Zhu Qing first met Li Lan, they were probably three meters apart. Later it became one meter, then half a meter.

Once the distance between them became negative, Zhu Qing no longer felt sensitive to Li Lan’s closeness; the two of them always ended up near each other, vaguely and inevitably.

Now, when Zhu Qing tilted her head up, she could kiss Li Lan’s cheek.

“Really. I like you so much.” Zhu Qing’s voice was sweet, and in her eyes was pure admiration and dependence, as if the person in front of her were her whole world. “You’re the luckiest thing that happened to me after I lost my memory.”

For a moment, Li Lan seemed to see Zhu Qing as she had been a year ago: a lover in the throes of romance, filled from eyes to heart with nothing but the other person, wanting nothing more than to stay clinging together every minute and give the best things in the world to the one they loved.

“Then what if I hadn’t treated you well before?” Li Lan murmured.

Zhu Qing brushed her lips against Li Lan’s cheek. “It’s hard to imagine you treating me badly. But... if you keep treating me like this in the future, then no matter what bad things you’ve done, I’ll declare unilateral forgiveness.”

Color seeped into Li Lan’s gaze little by little. “...I’ll take your word for it.”

Zhu Qing laughed. She laughed so openly, with a kind of fatal appeal.

Zhu Qing. Her Xiaoqing, had come back.

Li Lan stared at Zhu Qing, then lowered her head and kissed her lips with a kind of frenzy.

The two of them stumbled and fell onto the living room sofa; in the rubbing and tugging, Zhu Qing’s pajamas slipped off one shoulder.

Lips and tongues tangled, leaving one bite mark after another on pale skin.

The passion was like fermented incense, burning hotter and higher by the minute.

Zhu Qing stopped Li Lan’s movements, her breathing uneven. “Go to the bedroom.”

Li Lan lifted her head, panting. She was braced above Zhu Qing, gaze scorching as she looked down at her, trying hard to steady her breathing, her eyes restless and impatient.

Zhu Qing’s hand rested on her back; the smooth, soft lines felt wonderful. She sniffled, then urged her again in a softer voice, “...The bedroom.”

Li Lan drew in a deep breath, lifted Zhu Qing into her arms, and carried her toward her bedroom.

Zhu Qing’s arms were around Li Lan’s shoulders, swaying with her movement. Just before they entered the room, she suddenly lifted a hand to touch Li Lan’s face and stopped her in a low voice. “Go to the master bedroom.”

Her voice was very quiet, but the two of them were speaking right into each other’s ears, and Li Lan heard every word clearly.

Li Lan was visibly stunned.

The two of them had been sleeping separately for a long time; every time Zhu Qing thought of that two-meter-wide bed, she felt an empty ache inside.

“You still have to sleep with me in the future,” Zhu Qing said softly.

Li Lan’s expression tightened and then eased, her jaw clearly grinding.

Li Lan said in a low voice, “...Not tonight.”

Zhu Qing looked hurt. “Why?”

Li Lan hugged the person in her arms a little tighter, then spoke in a hoarse voice.

“...The lubricant and finger cots aren’t in the master bedroom.”

Zhu Qing: .

After hearing what Li Lan said, Zhu Qing instantly blushed from neck to eyes, her whole body burning like a stove.

Just as Zhu Qing was about to speak, Li Lan pushed the door open and went straight in. “If I don’t take them over, I won’t be able to wait.”

...

...

The next day, when Zhu Qing woke up, Xiao Bao was already properly dressed in her kindergarten uniform and standing by the entryway, putting on her shoes.

Zhu Qing crouched down so they were level. “Your mom was still worried I’d be too tired to take care of you. I only just got up now.”

Xiao Bao reached out to touch Zhu Qing’s head and spoke with the air of a little adult. “Mom said you were too tired last night and told you to rest well.”

Zhu Qing’s ears turned slightly red. “What nonsense did she tell you again? Xiao Bao, listen to me: this is called being lazy. Don’t learn from me.”

“Lazy?” Xiao Bao always felt that was a bad word, but Zhu Qing insisted on applying it to herself. Xiao Bao looked a little confused. “Then... Xiao Bao is lazy too.”

Zhu Qing laughed hard and hugged Xiao Bao tight.

Xiao Bao’s soft little body carried a milky scent. Li Lan walked over from behind and slipped a piece of cheese into the side pocket of her backpack.

“Mommy, the teacher doesn’t let us bring snacks,” Xiao Bao said, her eyes lighting up when she saw the cheese.

Li Lan tucked the cheese away and said casually, “Then sneak it into Zhu Zhu’s office drawer.”

Xiao Bao pouted. “Zhu Zhu isn’t at the kindergarten. I don’t want to go to her office. Teacher Eos keeps pinching my face.”

Eos was that British foreign teacher. Xiao Bao seemed to remember something and tugged at Zhu Qing’s clothes. “Teacher Eos asked me when you’re going back to work. She really misses the days when you were there.”

Li Lan immediately asked, “What would she be like there?”

Xiao Bao thought about it. “Zhu Zhu would follow Eos around to translate.”

“Is that so,” Li Lan said flatly. “Then tell her that since she’s come to China, it wouldn’t hurt to learn some Chinese.”

Zhu Qing gave a helpless smile. “Eos is very warm-hearted. After I lost my memory, I went to the kindergarten once, and she told me a lot about the work. She also told me to rest well and not rush back. She was just being polite with Xiao Bao.”

“I also miss the days when you were there,” Li Lan said, turning to look at Zhu Qing. “I’m not being polite.”

Zhu Qing secretly took her hand and shot her a resentful look.

Xiao Bao finished putting on her shoes, and Zhao Yun happened to arrive at the door just then. She took Xiao Bao and left.

Zhu Qing watched Zhao Yun’s retreating figure and sighed with emotion. “She really treats Xiao Bao like her own child.”

By rights, a private tutor wasn’t a nanny; there was no need to stay with Xiao Bao twenty-four hours a day. Yet Zhao Yun had, on her own initiative, filled every corner of Xiao Bao’s life.

“She’s only started watching Xiao Bao that closely recently. Before, with you here, she had it easier than she does now.”

Zhu Qing laughed. “My sick leave is almost over. Once I’m back at the kindergarten, I’ll definitely win back Xiao Bao’s favor!”

Li Lan couldn’t help laughing. “When are you going back to work?”

Zhu Qing thought about her leave and said after a pause, “Strictly speaking, I still have three days of sick leave. But next week is summer vacation, so I plan to go in a few times before then. It doesn’t count as officially going back to work; think of it as getting reacquainted with my old job.”

Li Lan said in a low voice, “Okay. Do whatever you want.”

Zhu Qing’s job paid very little. Especially compared with the tens of thousands Li Lan casually gave her as pocket money, that salary really wasn’t much to look at.

But Li Lan didn’t make Zhu Qing quit. She supported every decision Zhu Qing made, as long as Zhu Qing was happy.

“If I like this job, I’ll keep doing it,” Zhu Qing said with a grin. “If I don’t, then I’ll come back and keep editing my photos. I still have a whole pile of Africa photos that haven’t been post-processed yet.”

Naturally, Li Lan had no objections.

Zhu Qing rolled up her sleeves. “Since we’re both off today, come to the supermarket with me. I’m going to show off my skills and let you and Xiao Bao try my cooking.”

Li Lan rested a hand on Zhu Qing’s waist and rubbed gently. “You’re not tired, are you? Can you go out?”

Zhu Qing stiffened for a moment; the soreness and numbness below her waist were especially obvious. She was too lazy to glare at Li Lan and said quickly, “I’m fine. You’re not allowed to ask.”

Li Lan was still a little worried. “I checked last night. It was a little swollen, but the skin wasn’t broken. I put some medicine on it...”

“When did you check!” Zhu Qing whirled around and glared at Li Lan.

Li Lan blinked. “After you fell asleep.”

Fell asleep?

Was that what she called asleep?

She’d been worn out.

Zhu Qing snorted coldly. Fortunately, she’d gotten plenty too; in the end, these things all came down to stamina.

“You’re fine, so what could I possibly be?”

Li Lan’s eyes held a trace of confusion. She felt like Zhu Qing was trying to hide something.

“Stop dawdling. Hurry up and change clothes. My car is still with Qian Cancan today, so you’re driving.”

Li Lan nodded. “Okay.”

The two of them got ready quickly. Their usual outfits didn’t need to be particularly pretty; ordinary was enough.

Zhu Qing actually liked going to the supermarket. Even if she didn’t buy much, wandering around a lively supermarket felt good.

As for Li Lan, she had no preference. If Zhu Qing liked it, then she would stay behind her and choose with her.

Zhu Qing bought a pair of matching toothbrushes and cups, then two matching towels, a pile of fruit and vegetables, a piece of salmon, one chicken, and five jin of spareribs.

“I remember you like this kind of snack.” Li Lan stopped in the snack aisle and pointed to a certain brand of cucumber-flavored potato chips in green packaging.

Zhu Qing’s heart stirred, but she still gritted her teeth and refused. “I’m gaining weight now. I need to eat healthy fats, or I’ll put on too much.”

Li Lan thought about it and said seriously, “Fat doesn’t discriminate. Eat it. It all gets stored the same way.”

Zhu Qing walked away without looking back.

Li Lan quietly picked up the chips and, when Zhu Qing wasn’t paying attention, slipped them under the fruit.

They went to the basement supermarket of a remote mall. The goods were a bit expensive, but thankfully there weren’t many people. Along the way, the only commotion came when a cashier recognized Li Lan; nothing else caused any stir.

Once they got in the car, Zhu Qing let out a sigh of relief.

“I thought it’d be like when I went to the hospital with you, with a bunch of fans shouting.”

Li Lan took off her hat and put the things in the back seat. “That day, Qian Chu had me wear the brand sponsor’s clothes. They were easy to recognize. She also set up an interview with that brand for me that day, which I turned down.”

At the mention of Qian Chu, Zhu Qing thought of her best friend and took out her phone to send Qian Cancan a message.

“What else has Qian Chu arranged for you?” Zhu Qing said unhappily. “You just finished filming the variety show, and the final episode only went up not long ago. There are still a ton of behind-the-scenes clips and bonus content that haven’t been released yet.”

This travel variety show had borrowed the format of foreign reality programs and added some local content. Although they filmed one day and aired the next, the production team, for the sake of long-tail buzz, would keep releasing extra episodes and behind-the-scenes clips for another month after the main cut.

Of course the audience wanted more content, and naturally they paid for it.

Li Lan thought of this too and sent a message to Qian Chu.

“She hasn’t arranged any work for me these past two days,” Li Lan said.

Qian Chu was extremely conscientious; the phone call came very quickly.

Li Lan answered it. Before Qian Chu could even speak, a familiar voice burst out of the phone.

“What time is it, and you’re still messing around on your phone!”

Qian Cancan’s voice came through with angry, panting breaths, and Qian Chu also let out a muffled grunt. “I’m checking who you’re replying to!”

Zhu Qing silently leaned over. The next second, Qian Cancan probably saw the screen showing “on a call” and the contact remark “Manager Lan.”

The other side fell silent for several seconds, then hung up.

————————!!————————

We’ve reached another area the author isn’t very good at...