Chapter 10

Mu Wanyan stood where she was, her gaze fixed on Su Xingwei’s calm face, torn. After hesitating for quite a while, she couldn’t help asking again, “Are you sure?”

Su Xingwei nodded with complete composure, as if staying the night here were the most ordinary thing in the world, with the slightest hint of impropriety nowhere in sight.

“Sure.”

This time, Mu Wanyan was truly at a loss. Her eyes drifted unconsciously toward the bedroom. The rental apartment was small to begin with; the bedroom only held a double bed that wasn’t exactly spacious. Living alone, she found it perfectly comfortable, but with another person added, it would feel a little cramped.

Su Xingwei had a cleanliness obsession; there was no way she would share a bed with someone else. Besides, Mu Wanyan knew full well she couldn’t stay completely unfazed around Su Xingwei. But it was even more unreasonable to make Su Xingwei sleep on the living room sofa.

After turning it over again and again in her head, Mu Wanyan finally decided to make the sacrifice herself for one night. She let out a soft sigh, turned, and went into the bedroom to take out the blanket and pillow from the wardrobe.

“You sleep in the bedroom; I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

Avoiding the other woman’s gaze, Mu Wanyan was about to set the things down on the sofa when Su Xingwei suddenly snatched the pillow and blanket from her arms.

“Where’s the sense in making the host sleep on the sofa?”

Su Xingwei lifted a brow. “When a guest is staying in someone else’s home, she should follow the host’s arrangements. Since I’m here, of course we sleep together.”

With that, she turned and carried the blanket and pillow straight into the bedroom, setting them casually on the bed. Then she looked at Mu Wanyan, who was still frozen in place, amusement glinting in her eyes as she teased, “What? Are you acting like this because you’re afraid I’ll eat you?”

Her tone was ambiguous, laced with that lazy, teasing kind of flirtation. Mu Wanyan’s cheeks instantly burned; she hurriedly looked away.

She really couldn’t figure out what Su Xingwei was trying to do. A few days ago, she had still been making things difficult for her; now she was suddenly taking the initiative to get close. Could tormenting her not have been enough?

Su Xingwei, on the other hand, showed no sense of distance at all. She sat down on the bed with complete ease, as if this were her own room.

She glanced at her phone and ordered Mu Wanyan around. “I didn’t bring sleepwear. Lend me yours.”

Mu Wanyan felt a little speechless, but still obediently did as she was told. She opened the wardrobe and searched through it for a long time. Her sleepwear was usually simple, solid-colored styles; there was only one pink teddy-bear pajama set she had barely worn. The fabric was soft, with a chubby brown bear on it. The original owner had bought it on a whim. It was practically new, and it felt wasteful to throw it away, so it had stayed in the corner of the wardrobe all this time.

When she handed the pajamas to Su Xingwei, she looked away a little guiltily.

She knew this was completely unlike Su Xingwei’s taste; the other woman would definitely dislike it.

Su Xingwei narrowed her eyes and examined the little bear on the pajamas. Her displeasure was obvious, and she said mockingly, “You’re pretty whimsical. You like this kind of style?”

Mu Wanyan was embarrassed by the comment and quickly defended herself. “I didn’t buy it. Someone else gave it to me.”

“Someone else?”

Su Xingwei frowned. “Who gave it to you? Someone you’re very close to?”

Mu Wanyan caught the displeasure in her tone, though she didn’t know why, and instinctively explained, “An old friend. We haven’t been in touch for a long time.”

Su Xingwei didn’t ask any further. Soon after, there was the rustling sound of clothes changing behind her.

Mu Wanyan stood with her back to her, listening to the faint sounds, and for some reason, a strange anticipation rose in her heart.

When the other woman finished changing, Mu Wanyan finally turned around. The moment she saw Su Xingwei wearing the teddy-bear pajamas, the corners of her mouth lifted before she could stop them. She quickly pressed her lips together and tried to look serious.

Su Xingwei usually preferred mature styles; Mu Wanyan had never seen her wear anything with a cartoon print before. Somehow, she actually looked a little cute.

She tried hard to keep a straight face, but that little bit of effort was nowhere near enough to escape Su Xingwei’s notice.

Su Xingwei shot her a dissatisfied look. “Were you laughing at me just now?”

“No.”

Mu Wanyan immediately suppressed her smile and denied it with perfect seriousness, refusing to look into the other woman’s eyes for fear of cracking again.

Su Xingwei gave a soft harrumph and beckoned her over. “Come here. Why are you standing so far away?”

Mu Wanyan shuffled over slowly and sat by the bed, keeping some distance between them. Just as she was about to say good night, Su Xingwei spoke again.

“Like that day. Kiss me.”

Mu Wanyan snapped her head around, her eyes widening in disbelief. For a moment, she even wondered if she had heard wrong; she couldn’t believe those words had come out of Su Xingwei’s mouth.

Seeing her stunned expression, Su Xingwei curved her lips in a playful smile. “You didn’t hear wrong. I said, kiss me.”

Mu Wanyan didn’t move for a long time. She couldn’t quite describe what she was feeling; part of her wanted to get closer, but reason told her she couldn’t do that.

After waiting a moment, Su Xingwei said impatiently, “This is part of your duty as my lover. It’s what you’re supposed to do.”

That single sentence seemed to settle their current relationship into place; everything was duty.

Mu Wanyan slowly moved closer to Su Xingwei and, tentative as if testing the waters, brushed a kiss against her soft lips. Their breaths mingled. Mu Wanyan closed her eyes and, feeling the other woman’s response, gradually deepened the kiss.

By the time Mu Wanyan came back to herself, she realized the two of them had somehow already fallen onto the bed, bodies tightly pressed together, their breathing tangled beyond separation; the temperature in the room had suddenly risen.

Su Xingwei lay on her back on the bed and, in those clear, bright eyes, saw her own reflection. The emotion in Mu Wanyan’s gaze made her instantly wake up to herself.

She abruptly pushed Mu Wanyan away, rolled over to the other side of the bed, and her voice cooled with her.

“Sleep.”

Mu Wanyan was still catching her breath, her face full of confusion.

She swallowed and quietly turned off the bedroom light. The room was instantly swallowed by darkness.

When she got back into bed, she heard the person beside her say faintly, “Don’t crowd me at night. I don’t like sleeping next to other people.”

And who was it that insisted on staying the night in the first place? Now she was saying this?

“Got it.”

Mu Wanyan lay down carefully against the edge of the bed, trying her best not to touch the person beside her. But the moment she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with that kiss from just now.

She didn’t know what they were now.

The next morning, the sky was still a little dim, and downstairs was very quiet.

Su Xingwei opened her eyes, only to find the spot beside her empty. She lay there staring at the ceiling, confusion filling her heart.

Ever since Gu Xi left, she had often suffered from insomnia. Her cleanliness obsession was severe, and even in her own home, she would wake at the slightest disturbance around her. Yet last night, she had somehow slept soundly, without dreaming once, all the way until morning; it had been a long time since she had felt this at ease.

Su Xingwei couldn’t help wondering why, with someone sleeping beside her, she had still been able to sleep so deeply.

It seemed this little assistant was still somewhat useful.

She got up and went into the living room, where she saw Mu Wanyan coming out of the kitchen with a glass of milk in her hand. Two simple breakfasts sat on the dining table: buttered bread with fried eggs, and hot milk.

“There wasn’t much in the fridge, so I just made do,” Mu Wanyan explained gently as she set down the milk.

Su Xingwei pulled out a chair and sat down, took a bite of the bread, and didn’t stand on ceremony with her at all.

After finishing the last bite, Su Xingwei set down her utensils and wiped the corner of her mouth.

“After work today, I’ll take you shopping. We’ll buy some clothes and shoes that fit you properly, and pick up some ingredients while we’re at it to stock the fridge.”

Mu Wanyan smiled when she heard that. “No need. I have plenty of clothes; they’ll last me a long time. As for ingredients, I can buy them myself on the way home from work.”

But Su Xingwei didn’t listen to her refusal at all. “Since you’re mine now, of course I can’t mistreat you.”

With that, she didn’t give Mu Wanyan a chance to speak and turned back to the bedroom to change.

Su Xingwei had always meant what she said, and once she made up her mind, nothing short of eight horses could drag her back.

By the time work was over, Su Xingwei indeed intercepted Mu Wanyan directly and, without further discussion, got her into the car. They drove to a mall in the city center. As soon as they entered, Su Xingwei led her to a familiar clothing store. No matter how Mu Wanyan tried to stop her, any clothes or shoes Su Xingwei thought were suitable were all packed up by the clerk and sent to the designated address.

When the two of them returned to Mu Wanyan’s place, the trunk was stuffed full of ingredients bought from the supermarket. The mall staff also delivered large and small bags to the doorstep. The butler had already been waiting for them at the entrance to the building, carrying a suitcase filled with Su Xingwei’s changes of clothes and daily necessities.

Mu Wanyan looked at the mountain of things piled up in the living room and felt a headache coming on.

“It’s way too much. There’s nowhere to put it all.”

Su Xingwei, however, didn’t take it seriously. “This is a lot? These are all things we use every day.”

As she spoke, she took a delicate gift box out of one of the bags and handed it to Mu Wanyan. “Put it on and show me.”

Mu Wanyan opened the box in confusion. Inside was a purple silk nightdress.

This was clearly Su Xingwei’s style.

She hadn’t even noticed when Su Xingwei had bought it.

Mu Wanyan carried the box into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Before long, the bathroom was full of steam, hazy and blurred, until even her vision was obscured.

As the sound of water gradually quieted, Mu Wanyan changed into the purple nightdress and stood in front of the mirror. Her face turned red at once.

Inside was a slip dress with straps; the cut clung to her figure and outlined her body perfectly. The neckline dipped low; even the slightest bend would reveal everything. Outside was a silk shawl, and the material was so soft and smooth that it could slip off her shoulders at the slightest mistake. It could cover the top, but not the bottom.

This style was a little too sexy.