Intimacy

Everyone enjoyed the meal. Wei Yin rode home in Hua Yu’s car, while Xu Ya Qing stayed behind at the Hua household to keep Auntie company. Li Leran didn’t say much, and she didn’t cause any trouble; along with Wei Yin, she became one of Madam Hua’s main targets for inspection.

“Xiao Yin and Leran both need to eat more,” Madam Hua said, stressing the importance of regular meals. Then she turned her attack on Xu Ya Qing and Hua Yu. “And you two alphas need to pay attention to your schedules too. How can you keep doing this to your bodies? Ya Qing, you used to stay up late playing games when you were little, and Hua Yu, you’re always pulling all-nighters in the lab. Is your time made of gold? You don’t even have time to sleep?”

Wei Yin nodded repeatedly as she listened. Hua Yu had been fine during the days after they reunited; even though she worked overtime, it was at most a shift from a 5:30 p.m. off-duty time to around seven or eight, adding two or three hours a day and cutting her holidays in half. Overall, she could still rest.

But over these past few months, once Hua Yu became busy with the clinical trial, she had been getting up early and staying up late, working harder than a high school student, and hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in a long time.

“I know,” Hua Yu admitted very promptly, lowering her head to accept the scolding. “It’ll get better once this stretch is over.”

“If it comes to it, I’ll go talk to your dean,” Madam Hua kept chattering. “Your dean was my student…”

“Mom, I’ll take care of my health,” Hua Yu cut off the part where Madam Hua was about to use her connections for personal reasons. Standing by the car, she said with a smile, “And I’ll take good care of Xiao Yin, so don’t worry.”

Madam Hua glared at her twice, knowing the children were grown now and didn’t like being nagged. She waved them off. “Go on, then.”

Wei Yin had a very hard time holding back her laughter in the car.

“If you want to laugh, just laugh,” Hua Yu sighed. “I won’t get embarrassed and lash out.”

Wei Yin shook her head. She couldn’t hold back her amusement, and her tone was bright. “Does Dr. Hua get nagged every time she goes home?”

Hua Yu answered honestly. “Sometimes. I’m thirty already, after all. I probably haven’t been home much these past few months, so when they see me, they can’t help nagging.”

“Oh, right. The last time Ya Qing and I came over for dinner, you were in surgery; the time before that, you were squeezing in a cold meal between two operations; before that, you were on a business trip…”

Wei Yin clearly remembered every instance of Hua Yu’s overtime and rubbed the tip of her nose. In a small voice, she said, “Suddenly I feel like Auntie wasn’t wrong.”

Hua Yu raised an eyebrow. “About what?”

Wei Yin said earnestly, “Dr. Hua, you’ve really been too busy lately.”

There was concern, worry, and dissatisfaction in that complaint. Hua Yu said nothing after hearing it; only when they were stopped at a red light did she look into Wei Yin’s eyes and say, “Sorry.”

Wei Yin was not very happy; her lips couldn’t help pouting upward.

She hadn’t wanted Hua Yu to apologize. Of course work being busy was understandable; she spent every day in her studio too. But Hua Yu’s work was different from hers. Wei Yin could balance work and rest, and when she got tired, she could go out for a walk or water the flowers and plants in the yard. Hua Yu, on the other hand, had to use her brain most of the time and stay under constant strain. How could she hold up like that for long? Even a draft animal needed time to rest.

“Does being this busy have anything to do with Yu Tiantian?” Wei Yin bit her lip and couldn’t help asking.

Hua Yu’s hand on the steering wheel stiffened for a moment, then relaxed and came to rest loosely on the gear shift.

She looked straight ahead at the red light; when the countdown ended, she started the car and drove on for a hundred meters before saying quietly, “Is it that obvious, or are you just that sensitive?”

“It’s that Yu Tiantian is too shameless,” Wei Yin said, staring at the road ahead. The more she thought about it, the more wrong it felt. “Dr. Hua, are you still going to be her consultant and help with her project?”

“A little,” Hua Yu didn’t deny it. “Not completely. My main focus is still the clinical trial.”

The clinical trial and the gene-targeted treatment could cure Wei Yin’s illness; this was a positive contribution to Wei Yin, and Hua Yu had always placed it first. As for Yu Tiantian… at most, she was a tumor to be removed, a negative cleanup operation. It was certainly important, but it had to rank lower on the list.

Wei Yin remained doubtful about all this. She just kept feeling that Yu Tiantian was up to something with Hua Yu.

Yu Tiantian’s visit had been enough to make things unpleasant. At the dinner table, the family could sit together in harmony and push her to the back of Wei Yin’s mind, but on the way home, with the atmosphere quiet, those words resurfaced like a bone-deep parasite.

“Yu Tiantian said she wanted you to invest money,” Wei Yin said softly. “What’s that about?”

She still couldn’t help asking.

She hadn’t had time to think through the things Yu Tiantian had said to her, but the words Yu Tiantian had said to Hua Yu didn’t need much thinking to know what she wanted to do.

Investment, one boat, fortunes and misfortunes shared together; it was obvious she was trying to drag Hua Yu down with her.

Hua Yu was silent for a few seconds. “I’ll tell you when we get home.”

After they got home, Wei Yin trailed after Hua Yu. She stayed quiet and made no sound, but she didn’t leave Hua Yu’s side for even a step.

Hua Yu stood at the bathroom door and sighed. “I need to use the bathroom.”

Wei Yin stared at the door. “I’m not going in.”

“You know how awful it feels to be using the bathroom while knowing someone else knows you’re in there and is standing guard at the door,” Hua Yu said patiently.

Wei Yin: “Oh. Then I’ll wait in the living room.”

She glanced at the time and said coldly, “Five minutes.”

Hua Yu: …

After using the bathroom, Hua Yu changed into loungewear and sat down on the living room sofa, pressing her fingers to her temples.

Across from her sat a very properly seated Wei Yin.

“It’s just what it sounds like,” Hua Yu said in a low voice, though not especially heavily. “She gave me a number and asked me to invest.”

Wei Yin didn’t understand. “Why?”

“This is a long story,” Hua Yu leaned back. The warm overhead light shone down from above her forehead, giving the delicate line of her brows and eyes a hazy glow. “The research I’ve been following these past few years overlaps with some of Yu Tiantian’s development projects. You should know that pharmaceuticals and medical devices make a lot of money… very, very much money. Once the patents are in hand and the product reaches the right level of adoption, the returns are enormous.”

Wei Yin studied this field, so of course she knew how much profit there was in it. But there were plenty of highly profitable industries, and this kind of project was not something that could simply be done and then succeed on its own. It required long-term, endless research investment; after that came publicity and going public, which was another hurdle entirely, and even after that hurdle there were still twists and turns like an eighteen-bend mountain road.

“But you’re only a doctor. Why must she look for you?” Wei Yin was utterly confused. Yu Tiantian’s company should have its own researchers. Even if Hua Yu was needed later for publicity and Yu Tiantian wanted her help making introductions, that still didn’t mean she had to rope Hua Yu in completely. “And she even wants you to invest money. That’s too absurd.”

“Probably because of my family,” Hua Yu didn’t want to say more and summed it up simply. “All the uncles, aunts, and elders in my family are either in politics or business. Even though I became a doctor, my connections have always been there.”

Wei Yin still felt that something about it was off, but she couldn’t say exactly what.

“You don’t need to worry about this,” Hua Yu said calmly. “I’m in control.”

Wei Yin wanted very much to ask what Hua Yu was thinking, but Hua Yu had already moved on. “What did Yu Tiantian say to you in the kitchen?”

Wei Yin lowered her head and said stubbornly, “You don’t need to worry about it.”

Hua Yu was helpless. She shifted over, sat beside Wei Yin, and let their legs touch.

“I won’t let her manipulate me. You have to trust me.” Hua Yu lowered her eyes. In her line of sight, Wei Yin’s hand was pale enough to seem almost translucent as it rested on her knee; faint blue veins could be seen beneath the skin.

Her frame was small, so even her palm wasn’t large. Every knuckle was delicate, but the inner side of her index finger had developed some calluses, and there were subtle dry lines in her skin; just one look made it clear these were not the hands of someone raised in comfort.

Wei Yin curled her fingers inward so Hua Yu couldn’t see them and said muffledly, “But you still have a connection to her. Before, you were so bothered when I mentioned her. I promised I wouldn’t meet her alone anymore, that I’d stay far away from Yu Tiantian. But you’re still dealing with her. That’s double standards.”

Only then did she finally start to understand what felt wrong.

Since Hua Yu had so many resources and so much ability, why had she agreed just because Yu Tiantian wanted to pull her in?

Hua Yu could have simply ignored her.

“Mm, you’re right,” Hua Yu looked up and quietly met Wei Yin’s gaze. Her eyes were deep, carrying emotions Wei Yin could not read. “I can’t tell you the reason for now.”

Wei Yin glared at her. “Hua Yu.”

Hua Yu gently looked away and said nothing.

“Could it be related to me?” Wei Yin couldn’t ask outright and could only let her imagination run wild. “Yu Tiantian said that if it weren’t because of me…”

“Xiao Yin,” Hua Yu cut her off coldly. “Don’t go looking for the reason in yourself for everything. Yu Tiantian isn’t a normal person, and you can’t take anything she says to heart.”

Hua Yu rarely spoke to Wei Yin like this; it was not just that her tone was serious, but that her emotions were no longer as steady as before.

Wei Yin wasn’t afraid of her, nor was she frightened. She widened her eyes and stared back at her without blinking.

After a long moment, Hua Yu was the first to look away.

She still had no way to deal with Wei Yin. With a sigh, she said, “A few months ago, during your university reunion, I mentioned when we got home that to make Yu Tiantian lower her guard, she had to be allowed to reveal a flaw. Do you remember?”

Wei Yin nodded. “I remember. You deliberately let Yu Tiantian know I had lost my memory so she would think she had the upper hand. But do you remember that I said then that, even though I didn’t know what you were thinking, I would always stay by your side?”

Hua Yu’s throat felt dry, and she gave a rough “Mm.”

“I don’t know why my amnesia would make you fall into a weaker position, and I don’t want to believe what Yu Tiantian said,” Wei Yin said. “But it seems like you don’t have confidence in me. Why? Do you think I wouldn’t always stand on your side? Or that if you told me something important, I’d leak it and ruin your plans?”

Wei Yin couldn’t think of any other reason.

Of course, she believed Hua Yu wasn’t so stupid as to let Yu Tiantian use her for free.

What she worried about was what Hua Yu wanted to do, and what exactly Yu Tiantian had that she could use to hold Hua Yu in check.

Was that too much?

At the very least, Hua Yu had her own calculations. Wei Yin could choose not to pry, but Yu Tiantian had dragged her into it too.

Wei Yin didn’t want to hide behind Hua Yu. Since this matter involved her as well, she should do her part.

“You really are impossible; why can’t you just be a little more foolish?” Faced with Wei Yin’s pressing questions, Hua Yu did not feel offended. Instead, her mood turned very subtle. She reached for Wei Yin’s hand, exerted a bit of force, and took it into her palm, gently rubbing her fingers over it as she said softly, “You’ll know all of this once you recover your memory.”

Wei Yin tried to pull her hand back, but she couldn’t. When she used more force, Hua Yu instead interlaced their fingers and pressed her hand down on her thigh.

She shot Hua Yu a sharp look, trying to show her displeasure.

Hua Yu lifted her other hand, bent one finger, and brushed it across Wei Yin’s eyelashes before letting it rest on the side of her face. As if she couldn’t see the expression on Wei Yin’s face, she went on evenly, “This matter isn’t as simple as you think. Yu Tiantian is involved in a huge, filthy industrial chain. This may be related to you… You’ve been asking me all these questions, but I also really want to ask you what happened back then. When you were a senior in college, your gland was clearly still in its juvenile state, but when you were hospitalized this year, it showed signs of being force-matured and already in atrophy. What happened to you?”

“I’ll work hard to remember,” Wei Yin said, dejected. “If I could remember, I wouldn’t keep asking you.”

Hua Yu pinched her cheek and said quietly, “Mm. I believe you.”

Wei Yin felt the warmth from Hua Yu’s side and saw a similar image flash through her mind. She said instinctively, “Actually, these past few days I’ve occasionally remembered a little bit of something.”

“An image? A fragment? Or a sound?” Hua Yu was startled for a moment, then hurried to ask.

Wei Yin thought about it and said uncertainly, “It seems like all of them.”

She turned her head and leaned against Hua Yu’s shoulder, closing her eyes a little. In a low voice, she said, “It’s not very coherent. I can’t tell whether it’s a dream or a memory.”

“That’s a good sign,” Hua Yu said softly, wrapping her other arm around Wei Yin’s waist and helping her lie into a more comfortable position in her embrace. “I’ll take you to the hospital for an examination tomorrow.”

Wei Yin nodded. “Okay.”

Their argument ended without clarifying anything, but Wei Yin nevertheless felt as if she had been given a steadying dose.

At the very least, no matter what happened, Hua Yu’s attitude was there; sincere, respectful, and beneath that seemingly cool and taciturn exterior, a heart that protected her in every way.

Wei Yin was lying very comfortably in Hua Yu’s arms and couldn’t help wanting to press closer.

She sat up and pushed Hua Yu backward.

Hua Yu let herself fall back obediently, her whole body pressing into the sofa’s backrest.

Wei Yin rose to her feet, observed her for a moment, then suddenly lifted a leg and straddled Hua Yu’s thighs.

Hua Yu’s body stiffened for an instant.

Wei Yin was already softly leaning back into her arms again.

That movement left Hua Yu momentarily frozen. A phrase suddenly popped into her mind from somewhere: [The most liked posture between couples, first place: facing each other while straddling in an embrace], with thirty-seven percent approval.

Wei Yin didn’t have that many little schemes in mind. She only felt that this would be more intimate, and also more comfortable.

“Dr. Hua smells so nice,” Wei Yin murmured against Hua Yu’s shoulder, tucking her chin into the hollow of Hua Yu’s neck. “Did you use the woody perfume I brought home last time?”

It took Hua Yu a long while to recover before she lifted one hand to support Wei Yin a little higher, loosening her thigh muscles at the same time so Wei Yin could lean more comfortably.

“Mm. I left a bottle in the car.”

Wei Yin had actually smelled it long ago, but from a distance it had only been a faint fragrance. Now she was in Hua Yu’s arms, and the scent wrapped in Hua Yu’s body heat drifted into her nose, making every pore in her body feel open. It was so comfortable it almost made her melt.

Hua Yu lowered her head; half her face brushed through Wei Yin’s hair.

Wei Yin hadn’t cut her hair for several months. She had obediently listened and let it grow out; now it had reached below her collarbones.

Whenever Hua Yu had leave, she would do hair care for Wei Yin at home so that her slightly natural curls could become smoother.

“You smell nice too,” Hua Yu said in a low, husky voice.

At the tip of her nose there was a faint, mixed sweetness; Hua Yu always felt there was a note of agave in that fragrance.

Wei Yin’s pheromone scent was agave after rain.

Hua Yu lifted a hand and gently combed the hair away from the back of Wei Yin’s neck, her fingertip landing on the slightly raised gland.

“If I didn’t have any physiological response at all,” Hua Yu said quietly, “I’d probably think you were secreting pheromones.”

Wei Yin had already fallen asleep in her arms, letting out very light little snores.

Hua Yu’s hand brushed over the gland, skimming it like a dragonfly touching water before landing behind Wei Yin’s head and tilting it back a little.

Once her posture was adjusted, Wei Yin’s breathing smoothed out.

Hua Yu relaxed her body, closed her eyes, and didn’t wake her; she took a light nap with her in the afternoon.

The sunlight was warm, the temperature just right; at this moment, the two of them were intimately inseparable.

TL Note:

working harder than a high school student (比高中生还高中生／山河四省除外), a joke meaning extremely overworked, with “the Four Provinces of Mountains and Rivers” referring to the especially exam-competitive north-central provinces.