A Pharaoh and Her Beloved Queen: Modern Chapter - Chapter 2

For several days in a row, the weather had been unusually fine. The sky was clear, high, and far-reaching, the air comfortable and pleasant, illuminating everything outside until the scenery looked bright and transparent.

Ye Zhiqing usually did not have many forms of entertainment, nor did she attend many social engagements. These past few days, she had been leisurely lying on her balcony at home, sunbathing while looking up information related to archaeological research.

Her posture was lazy, and she was perfectly at ease.

But clearly, someone did not want her to be this idle.

The female voice on the other end of the phone was soft, sweet, and teasing. If anyone else heard it, they would definitely misunderstand the relationship between the two of them.

Ye Zhiqing’s eyelids lifted slightly. Her brows and eyes were cool and indifferent, unmoved.

“My dear Zhiqing, I’ll leave Baibai with you for this half month. Mwah~~~” Before hanging up, she did not forget to throw in a loud flying kiss.

Clearly long used to Ruan Yu’s enthusiasm, Ye Zhiqing shook her head helplessly. Ruan Yu had grown up with her since childhood. At present, she was divorced and raising a four-year-old son.

Rongbaozhai Auction House was an enterprise under her name.

One was a domineering, gorgeous CEO; the other was the aloof appraiser personally hired by that CEO. As for the relationship between Ruan Yu and Ye Zhiqing, several versions had already spread through the company.

Lowering her eyes to look at the time, Ye Zhiqing saw that it was four in the afternoon. By the time she brought Ruan Bai home, it was already five-thirty.

“Baibai, your mommy has to go on a business trip for half a month, so Auntie Zhiqing will take care of you for the next half month, okay?” Ye Zhiqing carried the little one out of the car, then carried him back into the house. Her voice was light and gentle.

“Okay. Thank you, Auntie Zhiqing.” The child in her arms pouted in grievance. He clearly looked extremely wronged, yet he endured it without letting his tears fall.

The child had very long eyelashes, and his black eyes were bright and sparkling. His cheeks were soft and chubby. Although he was still young, it was not hard to see the good looks he had inherited from his mother.

Ye Zhiqing clumsily comforted Ruan Bai. Because of work, Ruan Yu had pitifully little time to accompany her child. Perhaps because he lacked his mother’s company, Ruan Bai was unusually obedient.

With no experience coaxing children, Ye Zhiqing turned and went downstairs, bringing up the LEGO building blocks she had bought on the way, along with some remote-controlled toys.

Children should all like toys.

Sure enough, once he saw the toys, Ruan Bai’s attention was drawn over, and he began playing with the building blocks.

Ye Zhiqing leaned sideways against the doorframe as though a great burden had been lifted, letting out a long breath. When Ruan Yu came back, she absolutely had to give her a proper scolding. She could not neglect her son just because of work.

Seeing Ruan Bai playing happily, Ye Zhiqing began preparing dinner. She did not care much about indulging her appetite and had always eaten simply.

But children needed proper nutrition and balanced meals. Ye Zhiqing rubbed her forehead with a headache. Ruan Bai’s arrival made her feel as though she were facing a formidable enemy. Raising a child really was a troublesome matter.

Clearly, troublesome matters never came one at a time. When Ye Zhiqing was halfway through cooking, the burning gaze behind her became impossible to ignore.

It was Ruan Bai.

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

“Auntie Zhiqing, the airplane fell into the yard next door.”

“The toy airplane we just bought?”

“Mm.”

After wiping her hands clean, Ye Zhiqing reached out and soothingly stroked the child’s soft hair. “It’s all right. You go upstairs and play first. Auntie will go pick it up in a bit.”

The cold white glow of the streetlamps shone through the golden plane-tree leaves, scattering a fragmented warmth.

The temperature during the day had been just right, but once night arrived, several traces of chill seeped in soundlessly.

As soon as Ye Zhiqing stepped outside, she shivered from the cold. Looking toward the house Ruan Bai had pointed out, she saw that the lights were bright. Clearly, someone lived there.

The two houses were very close to each other, but the stone path had been laid according to the terrain, winding and twisting. Ye Zhiqing walked for two minutes before she arrived.

Ding-dong—

She pressed the doorbell and waited for a while. There was no movement.

Ye Zhiqing tentatively called inside, “Excuse me, is anyone there?” Then she pressed the doorbell again.

The evening wind was very cold, and Ye Zhiqing was only wearing a close-fitting wool sweater.

Belated footsteps came from far to near.

Tap. Tap, tap.

It was her.

A dark cloak swayed gently. The owner of the house appeared in the light and walked toward her step by step, like a proud, solitary god carrying a sharp wind with her. Intricate, mysterious totem embroidery adorned her collar, extending that mysterious aura to its limit.

Once again, Ye Zhiqing stared at her in a daze. The missing piece in her heart was filled by a strange feeling she could neither describe nor explain.

There was a hint of panic, yet it was a scorching heat that made one greedy for it, unwilling to refuse.

Before Ye Zhiqing could react, the cloak, still carrying the woman’s body warmth, fell over her shoulders. The woman tightened the ties with familiar movements, natural to the extreme, without the slightest sense of disharmony, as though she had practiced it thousands upon thousands of times. The gesture was permeated with an intense meaning that allowed no refusal.

Against the light, Ye Zhiqing could not see her expression clearly. She only knew that the woman’s hands were unusually beautiful, with rounded fingertips and distinct knuckles. They were not slender, soft, and fair in the traditional sense of beauty, but leaned more toward a softened wheat tone, full of strength.

Her hands were like their owner, very easily making others feel pressured.

As though she had long understood what Ye Zhiqing would do next, when Ye Zhiqing raised her hand to take off the cloak, a scorching warmth slowly covered the back of her hand and stopped her next movement.

The woman’s warm voice was slightly hoarse.

“You’re cold.”

“Y-you… hello. My child’s toy airplane fell into your yard…” Ye Zhiqing’s mind went blank for an instant. The scorching heat coming from the back of her hand swiftly rushed into her flesh, and then from the inside out, her entire body began to burn. A faint pink appeared on her exposed skin, and she was so nervous that her words became unclear.

The corners of Itis’s lips lifted into an extremely faint curve. She patiently listened to Ye Zhiqing finish speaking, then calmly withdrew her hand and clasped it behind her back. Her body leaned slightly to one side, indicating for Ye Zhiqing to go in and look for it herself.

Like a guilty thief, Ye Zhiqing shifted her gaze away, restrained and extremely uncomfortable. This was a situation she had never encountered before.

In her fluster, she lifted her leg and was about to walk inside, but the cloak was clearly far too long for Ye Zhiqing.

Before she had even taken two steps, Ye Zhiqing stepped on the cloak and instantly lost her balance, falling forward.

A strong arm wrapped around her waist. Everything happened too quickly for anyone to react. Following that external force, Ye Zhiqing fell heavily toward Itis.

Itis took a step back with the motion until her back pressed against the doorpost.

The two of them were very close. Beneath the warm yellow light, they were tightly pressed together, their white breaths tangling with each other, their chaotic heartbeats clearly audible.

Like a machine that had jammed, Ye Zhiqing stood there blankly, staring at Itis without moving. She did not notice at all how ambiguous their posture was right now.

Something seemed very wrong.

“Your hand.”

“Ah.”

After the reminder, Ye Zhiqing belatedly realized that her hand was currently covering that soft place that was not especially full, the curve fitting just right within her grasp.

Her beautiful eyes widened slightly. Ye Zhiqing pulled her hand back as though electrocuted, looking exactly like a cat with its fur standing on end. She pulled away from Itis’s hand and retreated several steps in an instant.

In contrast, Itis looked unconcerned. With a smile on her lips, she gazed gently at Ye Zhiqing, as though fragments of light were flickering in her eyes.

Embarrassed and annoyed, a deeper red spread over Ye Zhiqing’s skin, especially striking even beneath the night.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s all right. I’ll look with you. It will be faster.” Itis lightly shook her head and interrupted Ye Zhiqing’s explanation, then, with an attitude that brooked no refusal, took Ye Zhiqing by the hand and led her into the courtyard.

This was not the normal direction things should have developed in. Ye Zhiqing looked at their clasped hands in astonishment, yet miraculously, she could not summon the thought of refusing.

Clearly, she disliked being this close to strangers very much.

There were not many streetlamps in this neighborhood. They stood sparsely along the small paths, responding to the rules of day and night.

Itis held a flashlight. The two of them stood close together, searching along the darker areas. The sky grew darker and darker, yet there was still not the slightest sign of the toy airplane.

By now, Ye Zhiqing had already broken out in a light sweat. Her palm was damp, and her body felt sticky as well. Without letting it show, she frowned.

Itis quickly noticed Ye Zhiqing’s abnormal state. The thin light outlined Ye Zhiqing’s side profile in a hazy blur. Sweat slid down, making her skin look even fairer and more luminous. That familiar, delicate fragrance seemed to have grown stronger.

Darkness surged in Itis’s eyes. She released Ye Zhiqing and put a little distance between them.

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

After searching for so long without finding it, it seemed they could only come back during the day. Ye Zhiqing nodded. “All right.”

One in front and one behind, the two walked toward the entrance.

“Um, thank you for tonight.” It was only a few short steps, but Ye Zhiqing felt as though the distance was far too long. Her heartbeat was so fast it felt as though it might leap out of her chest.

“It’s all right.” As with the previous few times, Itis was pitifully sparing with her words. She only watched Ye Zhiqing gently, her gaze never leaving her.

A subtle awkwardness gathered in the delicate atmosphere.

Ye Zhiqing tried to do something to ease it. She reached out, intending to take off the cloak and return it to her, only to be unexpectedly stopped by Itis again.

“It’s cold at night. Wear it back. Return it to me tomorrow.” Her tone made it sound only natural.

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

“Itis.”

Ye Zhiqing nodded. “Then I’ll come again tomorrow. Sorry for disturbing you.” After receiving Itis’s response, she turned to leave.

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

“Ye Zhiqing.”

“A very beautiful name.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ve said thank you to me many times today.”

“Ah, have I?”

Ye Zhiqing was clearly in a dazed state, muddled and confused, led along by Itis the entire time.

Even though she had lived more than twenty years with a calm heart and few desires, and had never stepped into love, Ye Zhiqing still knew that the way the two of them were getting along was very wrong.

Having lost her usual composure, Ye Zhiqing was clearly thrown into disorder.

A subtle silence settled between them.

Itis’s gaze shifted slightly, spreading a few hazy, enchanting traces of light. She slowly walked closer, lifted a hand, and smoothed the hair scattered along one side of Ye Zhiqing’s face.

Their breaths met. Ye Zhiqing raised her head and looked at this woman before her from up close, a woman who was clearly a stranger yet seemed incomparably familiar.

She had to admit that Itis was extremely beautiful.

Unlike the standards of beauty currently in fashion, Itis had firm facial lines, handsome and grand features, and faintly wheat-colored skin that gave her a mysterious sense of dignity.

Ye Zhiqing did not know how to describe it. It was like a relic of civilization that had settled through several thousand years of time. What drew people in most was that distant, ancient, unpolished charm.

It was clearly a cold and lonely night, yet the two of them somehow gave birth to a few strands of dark, alluring intimacy.

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

The small of her back was Ye Zhiqing’s most sensitive spot. As soon as Itis touched it, Ye Zhiqing trembled.

Abruptly coming back to herself, Ye Zhiqing retreated several steps in succession, speaking rapidly. “I should go back.”

After saying that, she was about to leave.

“Wait.”

Ye Zhiqing stopped again and turned around, her eyes questioning.

“Bring your child tomorrow. He should know exactly where it fell.”

Something seemed off somewhere. Ye Zhiqing did not think too much about it. She hurriedly agreed and walked quickly back home.