Chapter 18

Jin Zijin’s lips lingered on the bandage for a moment before she slowly pulled away.

She didn’t immediately let go of Wen Yan’s hand. Her thumb was still absently rubbing the edge of that tiny white adhesive strip, as if she could soothe away even that faint sting.

“I’m not done yet,” she said, looking up at Wen Yan. Her gaze was soft behind her glasses. “Go back to your room and rest for a while?”

Wen Yan nodded. “Okay.”

Then she paused, her eyes sweeping over the study’s rather cool, austere atmosphere, and asked tentatively, “Do you want some fruit? I can cut some up for you.”

“Sure.” Jin Zijin agreed at once.

“Then… would you like some milk? I can warm up a cup,” Wen Yan asked again, her tone turning a little coaxing.

Jin Zijin’s lips curved. Her voice was indulgent. “That works too.”

Wen Yan immediately looked happier. “Then I’ll go get it ready.”

She gently drew her hand back. When her fingertips left the warmth of the other woman’s palm, a trace of reluctance surfaced unexpectedly.

Jin Zijin watched her leave the study before sitting back down and putting the headset she had taken off back on.

The smooth British-accented voice sounded again, seamlessly returning to the world of business, completely unrelated to tenderness.

Wen Yan went downstairs; in the kitchen, only a single warm yellow wall lamp was lit.

She took fresh milk from the refrigerator, poured it into a small saucepan, and turned the heat low to warm it slowly.

With her other hand, she selected a few fruits from the fridge and began washing them.

Cold water flowed over the fruit.

She carefully clipped the grapes off one by one, peeled the kiwi and sliced it into neat half-moons. She removed the stems from the strawberries and cut them in half, revealing the tender flesh inside.

On the porcelain-white plate, a bright, colorful still life soon took shape.

Tiny bubbles rose around the edge of the saucepan; the scent of milk quietly spread.

She turned off the heat and poured the warmed milk into a striped mug with a simple design.

That hollow, empty place in her heart was gradually filled by these small, concrete actions, until a sense of steadiness and warmth began to bloom.

She went back upstairs soon after, placing the fruit plate and the cup of milk discreetly on a corner of the study desk where they wouldn’t get in the way. When Jin Zijin looked up, Wen Yan silently made a little “please enjoy” gesture.

Jin Zijin was listening to the other party speak; she only gave a slight nod. Her gaze lingered again for a moment on Wen Yan’s bandaged finger before returning to the screen.

Wen Yan stepped back without a sound and returned to her room.

She didn’t turn on the main light, only switched on the reading lamp beside her desk.

When she opened her tablet, new experimental data and literature materials popped up on the screen.

She took a deep breath and let her mind sink into those familiar charts and terms.

Her fingertips slid across the screen, making notes, trying to use the order of reason to smooth out the ripples still stirring inside her.

Time passed quietly.

It was nearly midnight before familiar footsteps sounded outside the door.

Wen Yan practically set the tablet down at once and got up to meet her.

Jin Zijin was walking toward the master bedroom while rubbing the back of her neck, her face carrying the faint weariness of prolonged, intense concentration.

Wen Yan hurriedly asked, “You’re done?”

“Mm.” Jin Zijin’s voice was a little hoarse.

She loosened her bun, and her black hair spilled down over her shoulders like a waterfall, instantly softening the last trace of workplace sharpness in her features.

Wen Yan lowered her voice and asked, “Do you want me to run you a bath?”

“Okay.”

Jin Zijin nodded and followed her into the bathroom in the master bedroom.

Wen Yan bent down to adjust the water temperature, watching the clear stream pour into the wide bathtub and steam up into a hazy cloud of heat.

Citrus bath salts were dropped into the water, quickly dissolving into a pale golden ripple as fragrance spread through the room.

A rustling sound came from behind her.

Wen Yan turned and saw that Jin Zijin had already taken down the shower cap hanging on the wall and casually gathered her hair into it.

Then she lifted a hand and began unzipping the side of her pale gray knitted long dress.

Halfway down, with the hem loosely bunched at her waist, Jin Zijin suddenly froze.

She turned around. Under the warm yellow light, a faint blush rose on her cheeks.

“Turn around.”

Her voice was lower than usual, carrying a trace of barely concealed awkwardness.

Wen Yan blinked, a little surprised.

They had shared so many more intimate moments before; this almost innocent avoidance only made her curiosity stir.

“Why?” she asked gently. “We know each other so well now. Can’t I look?”

“This is different.”

Jin Zijin glanced away slightly; even the tips of her ears seemed redder.

“How is it different?” Wen Yan pressed, the corners of her lips tugging upward.

It was rare to see Jin Zijin look so nearly at a loss.

“Ugh, you’re so annoying.” Jin Zijin shot her an embarrassed, annoyed glare, completely shedding her usual effortless composure as President Jin; she looked more like a girl whose secret had just been exposed.

She grabbed the thick, soft towel hanging nearby and flung it over Wen Yan’s head. “Close your eyes!”

Wen Yan laughed, but she respected that sudden shyness.

She caught the towel and obediently used it to cover her eyes, tying it loosely at the back of her head to make sure her sight was fully blocked.

Wen Yan tipped her chin up, docile as a big cat. “Okay; I can’t see anything.”

The moment her vision was taken away, the other senses seemed to expand infinitely.

She heard the faint rustle of fabric; the dress finally slid to the floor with a soft thud.

Then came the light sound of bare feet stepping on the cool tiles; one step, then another, toward the bathtub.

Water splashed lightly; a fingertip or toe was testing the temperature.

Then came the clearer sound of water shifting, mixed with the soft sigh of a body sinking into it.

The citrus scent seemed even stronger, mingling with the steam and closing in around them.

Every sound, in the darkness of her vision, was outlined vividly by her imagination.

Vivid, alive, and even more tantalizingly ambiguous than seeing it with her own eyes.

“Can I open my eyes now?”

Wen Yan tilted her head back and asked; her voice sounded a little muffled in the steam-filled bathroom.

“Mm.”

Jin Zijin’s voice came from the direction of the bathtub, calm again, though still carrying a laziness washed in warm vapor.

Wen Yan untied the towel and turned around.

The woman had her back to her, soaking in the pale golden water, only a section of fair, graceful neck and shoulders visible.

She was leaning against the edge of the tub, her cheek resting on her arm. Hearing the movement, she didn’t turn around; she only gave a faint, complaining hum. “I was sitting too long; my lower back’s a little sore…”

Wen Yan was very good at reading faces and immediately stepped forward. “Then let me rub it for you?”

“Mm.”

Jin Zijin gave a nasal hum in assent.

Wen Yan rolled up her pajama sleeves and reached into the water.

The temperature was just right; the skin under her fingertips was smooth and slightly hot.

She found the tense muscles on both sides of Jin Zijin’s lower back and, using the pads of her thumbs, slowly pressed and kneaded along either side of the spine in steady circles.

“Mmm…”

Jin Zijin let out the faintest sigh. Her body instinctively rose and fell with Wen Yan’s movements, the stiff muscles gradually loosening.

Wen Yan watched the changes in her shoulders and back, smoothly shifting the rhythm between pressure and kneading.

The delicate sensation under her fingertips, the warming heat of the bathwater, and Jin Zijin’s increasingly relaxed little sounds all braided together into an atmosphere that was almost intoxicating.

She couldn’t help thinking of last night on the sofa; the woman in her arms, the taut, trembling curve of her body, and those intermittent, restrained breaths.

Really...

It was deadly.

Wen Yan’s throat moved. She could feel her own breathing quietly warming as well.

But she took a deep breath and forcibly pressed those stirring thoughts down, focusing only on her hands.

She tried to use that almost clinical, professional attitude to cool her increasingly unruly heartbeat.

However, that “professional” massage had become another kind of torment for Jin Zijin.

She had never imagined her body could be this sensitive.

Every press of those slightly rough fingertips, every glide, was like a tiny electric current; a tingling numbness shot up her spine and spread through every limb.

The hot water didn’t ease it; if anything, it amplified every inch of sensation.

She bit down on her lower lip in difficulty, her fingertips unconsciously gripping the smooth edge of the tub.

Finally, her reason snapped.

With a splash of water, Jin Zijin turned around without warning, sending droplets flying.

She grabbed Wen Yan’s shoulders, tipped her head up, and suddenly kissed her on the lips.

Wen Yan froze for a second, then immediately accepted the kiss and quickly took the lead.

She wrapped an arm around Jin Zijin’s slippery waist; her tongue slipped in gently but firmly, brushing over the sensitive roof of her mouth.

“Mm…”

Jin Zijin shuddered all over; her spine went weak as if electrified, nearly unable to stand. Only by clinging to Wen Yan did she avoid sliding into the water.

Another, louder splash sounded.

Jin Zijin hooked her arms around Wen Yan’s neck and pulled her down into the spacious tub with her.

Warm bathwater instantly soaked through Wen Yan’s cotton sleepwear, clinging tightly to her body.

The two of them held each other close in the steam and drifting citrus fragrance, lips and tongues entwined, breaths mingling.

The water rippled with their movements, knocking against the sides of the tub with soft, suggestive sounds.

When they finally parted, both were breathing hard.

Tiny beads of water clung to Wen Yan’s lashes, making them look wet as they drooped. Her lips had been kissed a vivid, glistening red, shining seductively under the light.

Jin Zijin half-lidded her eyes and reached out, her fingertips lightly tracing the outline of Wen Yan’s swollen lips.

Wen Yan instinctively parted them slightly; the soft tip of her tongue slipped out and obediently licked the fingertip resting there.

The warmth that touched Jin Zijin’s finger made her jerk it back. She glared at Wen Yan, the blush still on her face, eyes shimmering with moisture. “Dr. Wen, you’re so lewd.”

Wen Yan looked at her, her gaze deep, her voice roughened by desire. “Am I?”

She paused, then moved forward on her knees a little, her eyes predatory. “Actually... I can be even more lewd.”

Before she finished speaking, she had already leaned down, sliding her hands beneath Jin Zijin’s knees and under her armpits, and with a bit of force, lifted her up slightly.

“Ah…”

Jin Zijin let out a short, startled gasp; her back slammed against the cold bathtub wall, and both hands lifted helplessly before finally clutching Wen Yan’s soaked black hair tightly.

Wen Yan was half-kneeling in the tub.

The shower at the tub’s edge hadn’t been turned off completely; fine streams of water continued to fall, pattering loudly and masking the more hidden sounds.

No one knew how long passed before Jin Zijin finally went weak all over and collapsed, falling into Wen Yan’s already prepared embrace.

She was breathing hard, her body still trembling faintly.

Wen Yan tilted her face up to look at her; her black hair, soaked with water, clung to her forehead and cheeks, and her eyes were damp.

Like a deer lost in a rainforest; pure, yet still carrying the last traces of desire.

She leaned in, brushing the tip of her nose lightly against Jin Zijin’s chin. Her voice was hoarse as she asked, “Can I kiss you?”

Jin Zijin’s mind was still blank from the afterglow. Hearing that, she only nodded instinctively.

Wen Yan kissed her gently, then deeper.

But only a few seconds after their lips met, Jin Zijin frowned and turned her head away in mild resistance.

“Don’t like it?” Wen Yan asked softly, concern in her eyes.

Wen Yan then understood at once; a flash of realization crossed her eyes, even carrying a bit of mischievous delight. “I like it a lot; it’s sweet.”

She raised two fingers before Jin Zijin’s eyes and slowly parted them. “Look…”

She breathed out, her expression earnest as if discussing a research paper. “It can even string.”

“...You really are...”

Jin Zijin was both embarrassed and indignant; she raised a hand to hit her.

Wen Yan easily caught her wrist and, using the motion, pulled her closer, whispering in her ear, her breath scorching. “Really what?”

“But this morning, didn’t you still wish I talked a little more?”

“Now that I’m saying this much, it’s not okay?”

Her answer was Jin Zijin’s angry, fiercer kiss, which completely blocked the rest of her words.

The two of them continued messing around in the bathroom for quite a while, until the water grew cool.

Wen Yan wrapped Jin Zijin tightly in a large, soft bath towel and carried her horizontally to the soft bed in the bedroom.

Jin Zijin had been teased until her whole body burned; the heat hadn’t yet subsided, and a fresh wave of craving had already seized her.

She stretched out a leg and gave Wen Yan’s calf a not-too-light, not-too-hard kick, her voice hoarse and soft. “Hurry up…”

Wen Yan set her carefully in the center of the bed and bent to kiss the center of her brow. “Wait, I’m getting something…”

She turned to open the drawer of her own bedside table.

Maybe because she moved too quickly, or maybe because the drawer had simply been too full, there was a crash as a bulging paper bag, together with several brightly colored little boxes inside it, spilled out all at once.

They scattered across the dark bedsheet, especially eye-catching.

Jin Zijin, who had been about to reach out and pull Wen Yan back, froze.

She blinked, her gaze sweeping over the pile of little boxes, surprise in her expression. “What is this?”

Under the warm yellow bedside lamp, she leaned in a little closer to see the words and images on the boxes.

After a few seconds of staring, she lifted her eyes toward Wen Yan, who was standing stiffly to the side with red ears; the surprise in her eyes gradually gave way to amused interest.

She casually picked up a small pink box, rubbing the embossed print on it with her fingertips, and drew out her words in obvious teasing. “Dr. Wen, you really know how to play.”

Her gaze swept over the “spectacular” array on the bed, and she asked while pinching the box in her hand, “When did you buy all this? So much?”

Wen Yan’s face was so red it looked like it might drip blood, but she still forced herself to stay calm, her eyes darting away as she honestly confessed, “…This afternoon.”

Her voice grew smaller and smaller, clearly mortified. “I didn’t know what flavor you’d like, so I bought a few of everything.”

That answer plainly pleased Jin Zijin.

The smile in her eyes deepened. She tossed the pink box back into the pile of “companions” and then reached out to hook Wen Yan around the neck, drawing her toward herself.

She tipped up her face, lightly caught Wen Yan’s soft lower lip between her teeth, and gave it a little tug.

A moment later, she let go of Wen Yan’s lip, cupped her face, and exhaled warmly, her breath fragrant. “Then let’s try them all, okay?”

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Sigh; today was another sweet day..