Chapter 2

For several days in a row, the weather had been unusually pleasant. The sky was clear and expansive, the temperature comfortable, and the sunlight illuminated everything outside with remarkable clarity.

Ye Zhiqing had few recreational activities and rarely attended social gatherings. Over the past few days, she had been leisurely lounging on her balcony, basking in the sunshine while looking up information related to archaeological research.

Her posture was relaxed, and she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

Unfortunately, someone clearly had no intention of letting her remain so idle.

The woman’s voice on the other end of the phone was soft, alluring, and almost seductively sweet. Anyone who overheard their conversation would undoubtedly misunderstand the nature of their relationship.

Ye Zhiqing raised her eyelids slightly, her expression cool and indifferent, completely unmoved.

“My dear Zhiqing, I’m leaving Baibai in your care for the next half month. Mwah~~~” Before hanging up, the woman even sent her a loud, exaggerated kiss.

Clearly long accustomed to Ruan Yu’s enthusiasm, Ye Zhiqing shook her head helplessly. Ruan Yu had grown up alongside her since childhood. She was currently divorced and had a four-year-old son.

Rongbaozhai Auction House was a business under her ownership.

One was a domineering, stunningly beautiful CEO, while the other was a cool, aloof antique appraiser personally recruited by that very CEO. Naturally, several different versions of the relationship between Ruan Yu and Ye Zhiqing had long been circulating throughout the company.

Lowering her eyes to check the time, Ye Zhiqing saw that it was four in the afternoon. By the time she picked up Ruan Bai and brought him home, it was already five-thirty.

“Baibai, your mommy has to go away on a business trip for half a month, so Auntie Zhiqing will be taking care of you during that ​stolen content​time, okay?” Ye Zhiqing lifted the little boy out of the car and carried him into the house, speaking in a soft, gentle voice.

“Okay. Thank you, Auntie Zhiqing.” The child in her arms pouted unhappily. Although he looked terribly aggrieved, he stubbornly held back his tears.

The little boy had long eyelashes, bright, sparkling black eyes, and adorably chubby cheeks. Despite his young age, it was already easy to see that he had inherited his mother’s good looks.

Ye Zhiqing awkwardly tried to comfort Ruan Bai. Because of work, Ruan Yu had pitifully little time to spend with her son. Perhaps because he rarely had his mother’s company, Ruan Bai was exceptionally well-behaved.

Having no experience coaxing children, Ye Zhiqing turned and went downstairs to retrieve the LEGO building blocks and several remote-controlled toys she had bought on the way home.

Children were supposed to like toys, weren’t they?

Sure enough, the moment Ruan Bai saw the toys, his attention was immediately drawn to them, and he began playing with the building blocks.

Leaning against the doorframe, Ye Zhiqing breathed a long sigh of relief, as though a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Once Ruan Yu returned, she would definitely give her a proper scolding. She couldn’t neglect her son just because she was busy with work.

Seeing that Ruan Bai was happily occupied, Ye Zhiqing began preparing dinner. She wasn’t particularly concerned with satisfying her appetite and had always kept her meals simple.

However, children needed balanced nutrition. Ye Zhiqing pressed a hand to her forehead in frustration. Ruan Bai’s arrival had made her feel as though she were facing a formidable enemy. Raising a child really was a troublesome business.

And apparently, that wasn’t the only trouble awaiting her. Halfway through preparing dinner, Ye Zhiqing became unable to ignore the burning gaze directed at her from behind.

It was Ruan Bai.

Ye Zhiqing put down the knife in her hand and crouched so that her eyes were level with the child’s. “Baibai, what’s wrong?”

“Auntie Zhiqing, the airplane fell into the neighbor’s yard.”

“The toy airplane we just bought?”

“Mm.”

After wiping her hands dry, Ye Zhiqing reached out and reassuringly stroked the little boy’s soft hair. “It’s okay. Go upstairs and play for now. Auntie will go and get it back in a little while.”

The cool white glow of the streetlights filtered through the golden leaves of the plane trees, scattering patches of fragmented warmth across the ground.

The temperature during the day had been just right, but as evening fell, a faint chill silently crept into the air.

The moment Ye Zhiqing stepped outside, she shivered from the cold. Looking toward the house Ruan Bai had pointed out, she saw that its lights were brightly lit. Clearly, someone was living there.

The two houses stood quite close together, but the gravel path followed the natural contours of the land, winding and twisting along the way. It took Ye Zhiqing two minutes to reach the neighboring house.

Ding-dong~ She pressed the doorbell and waited for a while, but there was no response.

Tentatively, Ye Zhiqing called inside, “Excuse me, is stolen content anyone home?” Then she pressed the doorbell again.

The evening breeze was quite cold, and Ye Zhiqing was wearing only a fitted wool sweater.

At last, footsteps sounded, approaching from somewhere in the distance.

Tap~ Tap, tap~~

It was her.

A dark cloak swayed gently as the owner of the house emerged into the light, walking toward her step by step. She resembled a proud, solitary deity, carrying an air as sharp as the wind itself. Intricate, mysterious totemic embroidery adorned her collar, lending her an almost overwhelming sense of mystique.

Once again, Ye Zhiqing found herself staring at the woman in a daze. The empty space within her heart seemed to fill with a strange, indescribable sensation.

There was a trace of panic, yet it came with an intoxicating warmth that she couldn’t help craving.

She didn’t want to resist it.

Before Ye Zhiqing could react, a cloak still carrying its owner’s body warmth settled over her shoulders. The woman fastened the ties with practiced ease, her movements so natural and seamless that there was nothing awkward about them. It was as though she had performed this action countless times before, and an intense, irresistible tenderness seemed to permeate every gesture.

With the light behind the woman, Ye Zhiqing couldn’t clearly make out her expression. All she knew was that the woman’s hands were extraordinarily beautiful, with rounded fingertips and well-defined knuckles. Rather than the slender, delicate whiteness traditionally associated with beautiful hands, they had a subtle wheat-colored complexion and conveyed a distinct sense of strength.

Like their owner, those hands could easily make someone feel overwhelmed.

As though she had already anticipated Ye Zhiqing’s next move, the woman gently covered the back of her hand with a warm palm just as Ye Zhiqing raised it to remove the cloak, stopping her.

A warm voice, slightly husky, sounded.

“You’re cold.”

“H-hello. The little boy staying at my house dropped his toy airplane into your yard…”

Ye Zhiqing’s mind went blank for an instant. The scorching warmth against the back of her hand seemed to seep straight into her skin and spread outward from within. Her entire body began to burn, and a faint pink flush appeared across her exposed skin. She was so nervous that she could barely speak coherently.

The corners of Edith’s lips curved into the faintest smile. She patiently listened until Ye Zhiqing finished speaking, then calmly withdrew her hand and placed it behind her back. Leaning slightly to one side, she gestured for Ye Zhiqing to go inside and retrieve the toy herself.

Ye Zhiqing guiltily averted her gaze, as though she had something to hide. She felt awkward and terribly uncomfortable, a situation she had never encountered before.

In her flustered state, she hastily lifted her foot to step inside, only to discover that the cloak was clearly far too long for her.

She had barely taken two steps when she stepped on its hem, instantly lost her balance, and pitched forward.

A strong arm wrapped around her waist. Everything happened so quickly that she had no time to react. Pulled along by the sudden force, Ye Zhiqing stumbled heavily into Edith.

Edith instinctively retreated until her back met the gatepost.

They were extremely close. Beneath the warm yellow light, their bodies were pressed tightly together, their white breaths mingling in the cold air. The erratic pounding of their hearts was clearly audible.

Like a machine that had suddenly jammed, Ye Zhiqing remained frozen in place, staring blankly at Edith without moving. She seemed completely unaware of just how intimate their current position was.

Something didn’t seem quite right.

“Your hand.”

“Ah!”

Only after being reminded did Ye Zhiqing belatedly realize that her hand was resting against a soft, yielding mound that wasn’t particularly full, a gentle curve that fit perfectly within her palm.

Her beautiful eyes widened slightly. As though she had been electrocuted, Ye Zhiqing snatched her hand back. Resembling a cat whose fur had suddenly stood on end, she pushed Edith’s arm away and hastily retreated several steps.

Edith, on the other hand, seemed entirely unconcerned. With a smile playing on her lips, she gazed gently at Ye Zhiqing, flecks of light seemingly shimmering in her eyes.

Both embarrassed and annoyed, Ye Zhiqing flushed an even deeper shade of red, so vivid that it remained noticeable even beneath the night sky.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s all right. I’ll help you look. It’ll be faster that way.” Edith gently shook her head, interrupting Ye Zhiqing’s explanation. Then, with an air that brooked no refusal, she took Ye Zhiqing’s hand and led her into the courtyard.

This wasn’t how things were supposed to unfold.

Ye Zhiqing stared in astonishment at their joined hands, yet, miraculously, she couldn’t summon the slightest desire to pull away.

She had always disliked being so physically close to strangers.

There weren’t many streetlights in this residential community. They stood sparsely along the paths, switching on and off in accordance with the cycle of day and night.

Edith carried a flashlight as they searched the darker corners of the yard, walking closely together. The sky grew progressively darker, yet there was still no sign of the toy airplane.

By now, Ye Zhiqing had broken into a light sweat. Her palms were damp, and her body felt uncomfortably sticky. She frowned slightly without drawing attention to it.

Edith quickly noticed that something was wrong. The faint light outlined Ye Zhiqing’s profile in a soft blur. Beads of sweat slid down her skin, making it appear even fairer and more luminous. That familiar, delicate fragrance seemed to have grown stronger.

A dark, turbulent emotion surged through Edith’s eyes. She released Ye Zhiqing’s hand and put a little distance between them.

“It’s too dark. Let’s look for it again tomorrow.”

They had searched for so long without finding anything, so it seemed they could only return during the day. Ye Zhiqing nodded.

“All right.”

One following the other, they made their way toward the entrance.

“Um, thank you for tonight.” Although the distance was only a few steps, Ye Zhiqing felt as though the walk was unbearably long. Her heart was pounding so rapidly that it seemed ready to leap out of her chest.

“It’s nothing.”

Just like the previous few times, Edith spoke very little. She merely gazed at Ye Zhiqing with gentle eyes, never once looking away.

A faint awkwardness began to seep into the subtle atmosphere between them.

Ye Zhiqing attempted to do something to ease the tension. She reached up, intending to remove the cloak and return it to its owner, only to be unexpectedly stopped by Edith once again.

“It’s cold at night. Wear it home and return it to me tomorrow.” Her tone made it sound like the most natural thing in the world.

After hesitating for a moment, Ye Zhiqing didn’t refuse. “Thank you. I still don’t know your name.”

“Edith.”

Ye Zhiqing nodded. “Then I’ll come back tomorrow. Sorry for disturbing you.”

After receiving Edith’s acknowledgment, she turned to leave.

“Wait. You haven’t told me your name yet.”

“Ye Zhiqing.”

“It’s a beautiful name.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ve thanked me quite a few times today.”

“Ah, have I?”

Ye Zhiqing was clearly in a daze, feeling utterly bewildered. Throughout the entire encounter, Edith had been the one leading her along.

Even though she had spent more than twenty years living a life free from romantic entanglements and had never experienced love, Ye Zhiqing still knew that something about the way they were interacting was very unusual.

Having lost her customary composure, Ye Zhiqing was plainly at a loss.

A delicate silence settled between them.

A subtle change flickered through Edith’s eyes, their depths taking on a faint, mesmerizing glow. She slowly approached, raised her hand, and gently smoothed the strands of hair that had [Read on BaiLianTales]fallen along one side of Ye Zhiqing’s face.

Their breaths mingled. Ye Zhiqing tilted her head upward, gazing at close range at the woman before her, someone who was undeniably a stranger yet somehow felt extraordinarily familiar.

She had to admit that Edith was exceptionally beautiful.

Unlike the beauty standards currently in fashion, Edith had a strong, sharply defined face and handsome, striking features. Her lightly tanned skin lent her an air of mysterious authority.

Ye Zhiqing couldn’t quite describe it. Like an ancient monument that had endured thousands of years of history, what made Edith most captivating was the distant, timeless aura surrounding her.

Although the night was cold and silent, the two of them somehow filled it with an unexpectedly alluring, intimate atmosphere.

Edith lowered her head, slowly drawing closer to the lips she had longed for day and night. Her hand slid from Ye Zhiqing’s shoulder blade down to her waist.

Ye Zhiqing’s lower back was her most sensitive spot. The instant Edith touched it, she trembled.

Abruptly coming back to her senses, Ye Zhiqing retreated several steps in succession and spoke rapidly.

“I should go home.”

With that, she turned to leave.

“Wait.”

Ye Zhiqing stopped once again, turning around with a puzzled look in her eyes.

“Bring your child with you tomorrow. He should know exactly where the airplane fell.”

Something about those words seemed a little strange, but Ye Zhiqing didn’t think too much about it. She hurriedly agreed and walked briskly back toward her house.