Chapter 58
Shen Su and Lu Yan left the planning of their engagement banquet to the professionals. They only needed to provide the guest list, specify their desired style, and iron out the details.
Thus, in early October, both took a long block of leave together.
Their first stop was a snow-capped mountain.
First up was skiing. Lu Yan was a complete novice and required Shen Su to teach her hand-to-hand, which naturally involved plenty of physical contact. Shen Su occasionally felt that someone as smart as Lu Yan should have picked it up by now, but looking into Lu Yan’s innocent, beautiful eyes, she tossed that thought aside and became even more detailed and patient in her instructions.
Once prepared, the two shared a smile at the starting line and set off.
Shen Su was the first to reach the bottom. When Lu Yan caught up, Shen Su helped her take off her protective gear.
“Sister, how did I do? I didn’t embarrass you, did I?” Lu Yan tilted her chin up, her tone light and playful.
“You made me proud!” Shen Su laughed, gently brushing her finger across the bridge of Lu Yan’s nose. She couldn’t help but ask, “Have you really never learned before? You skied so well, not like a beginner at all!”
Lu Yan gave a shy smile. “I only learned a tiny bit online! I don’t fight unprepared battles, so I definitely looked up information beforehand. But it’s mostly because Sugar is a great teacher!”
“Since I’m such a great teacher, isn’t there a reward?” Shen Su raised her eyebrows, pointing to her own cheek.
Lu Yan could obviously tell Shen Su was fishing for a kiss, but she deliberately refused to play along. Bypassing her cheek entirely, she went straight for her soft lips.
“So soft and sweet!” Lu Yan merely sampled them fleetingly, her eyes brimming with a soft warmth.
“Savoring them for just a brief moment like that, I’m afraid you won’t taste the full flavor. Why don’t we head back to the hotel to sample them properly?” Shen Su’s index finger lightly brushed the corner of Lu Yan’s mouth, speaking with a playful smile.
Lu Yan licked Shen Su’s index finger. “Sure!”
Hand-in-hand, the two returned to the hotel for the buffet dinner.
After eating, they went to soak in the hot springs. This time it was a private spring for couples, and the hotel had provided a complete set of everything they could possibly need.
A evening breeze drifted past, causing the leaves to rustle softly. Unnamed cherry-pink petals floated gently on the surface of the spring water.
They were pressed tightly together. Lu Yan pinched a petal between her fingers. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she placed it onto Shen Su’s shoulder, saying with a smile, “So beautiful. It makes Sugar look even fairer.”
As she spoke, Lu Yan wrapped her arms around Shen Su’s waist, pressing her lips against that exact petal before slowly moving away. Dense, lingering kisses trailed across Shen Su’s shoulder, then her collarbone, finally halting right at the skin exposed above the water line.
“Any further down, and we’ll submerge into the water.” Shen Su panted softly, her fingers sliding into Lu Yan’s hair, running through it unconsciously.
Taking it as encouragement, Lu Yan ducked underneath, pressing her lips against the softest spot through the water of the spring. Hearing a soft gasp surface above the water line, she emerged instantly, hooking her arms around Shen Su’s neck. Her long, damp hair draped down her back as she leaned into the hollow of Shen Su’s shoulder, her words laced with a subtle seduction: “Mark me. Aside from you, I will never be with anyone else…”
Shen Su gazed at Lu Yan’s water-droplet-laden eyelashes. Seeing how incredibly alluring she looked, her resolve wavered for a fleeting moment.
In truth, it wasn’t impossible to mark her. Furthermore, an S-rank mark was indeed a safer bet, but the prerequisite was that Shen Su would have to undergo the agonizing process of removing her gland all over again. Given that Lu Yan occasionally recovered memories from the previous world, the risk involved in removing her gland was simply too high.
Shen Su’s eyes flickered subtly, silencing Lu Yan’s words with a burning, intense kiss.
…
The two trifled around in the hot spring for quite some time. In the end, Shen Su carried Lu Yan, who was slumped over her shoulder, to the bed and very patiently blew her hair dry.
Once it was dry, Shen Su rose to return the hairdryer to its place, only to look down and find Lu Yan’s arms wrapped around her waist again, her little canines resting right against her gland.
It tickled a bit.
“Want to bite?” Shen Su hesitated for a moment before asking.
Lu Yan’s eyes lit up. “Can I?”
“You can,” Shen Su murmured. An Omega couldn’t permanently mark her anyway, so it was merely a gesture of yielding.
To her surprise, Lu Yan actually bit down firmly, causing Shen Su to take a sharp breath.
With a quick twist of her body, Shen Su pinned Lu Yan down onto the bed. “Back in the hot spring just now, did you not have enough fun?”
“A little. After all, we couldn’t stay underwater for too long, and there were some places I didn’t get to kiss enough.”
“Which places didn’t you kiss enough?” Shen Su took hold of Lu Yan’s hand. “Is it here?”
Her palm pressed against a soft warmth, and Lu Yan’s face flushed a deeper red. Shen Su leaned down to capture Lu Yan’s lips. Lu Yan quickly offered an even more fervent response.
…
The next morning, Lu Yan opened her eyes, her gaze landing on Shen Su’s gland. The wound from her bite had already scabbed over.
She leaned in with utmost care to press a soft peck against it, only to hear Shen Su’s quiet chuckle: “Awake?”
Shen Su rolled over, propping her elbow on the pillow and resting her head in her palm, looking at Lu Yan with a beaming smile.
Lu Yan buried her face into Shen Su’s chest, taking a deep breath. “When did Sugar wake up? You smell so good. It’s not your pheromones, what is this scent…?”
“Maybe it’s the body wash provided by the hotel?” Shen Su took a light sniff of her own arm; a trace of fragrance did seem to linger.
Lu Yan huffed softly. “It doesn’t smell as good as your pheromones.”
Shen Su laughed, rubbing Lu Yan’s head. “Get up first.”
After washing up, the two headed to the hotel’s buffet restaurant for breakfast.
“A heavy snow fell late last night, and it seems the mountain roads have been blocked,” a passing server mentioned. “Even the signal is completely down…”
The two looked out the window simultaneously. A thick, unbroken layer of snow blanketed the ground outside.
“It seems plans have changed?” Shen Su let out a helpless laugh. They had originally intended to head to their next destination today.
“Then we’ll just stay one more day. It doesn’t matter; as long as I’m with you, anywhere is fine.” Lu Yan took hold of Shen Su’s hand, tightly interlocking their fingers.
“I’m just a bit worried…” Shen Su set down her knife and fork, her eyes narrowing slightly. “First blocked roads, now no signal. This isn’t a good omen.”
“But I checked specifically before we came. The weather forecast didn’t mention any snow for these few days…” Lu Yan bit her lip. “Surely nothing will happen, right?”
“This snow came out of nowhere. I just hope it doesn’t keep snowing heavily over the next few days. Otherwise, if the roads stay blocked for days without a signal, we might even lose water and electricity. At that point…” A shadow of anxiety settled between Shen Su’s brows.
Lu Yan prayed silently: I hope the mountain roads clear up soon…
At around eight o’clock that evening, the lights in their room suddenly went out. At that moment, Shen Su was lying in bed reading a magazine, while Lu Yan was in the bathroom.
CRASH—
The sound of shattering glass drifted out from the bathroom.
“Yan Yan?” The sudden darkness was difficult to adjust to. Shen Su rubbed the bridge of her nose, tossed the magazine aside, turned on her phone’s flashlight, and slipped into her slippers. She walked toward the bathroom. “Are you alright?”
There was no response from Lu Yan.
Sensing that something was wrong, Shen Su quickly pushed the bathroom door open, only to find Lu Yan curled in a corner, trembling violently.
As the flashlight illuminated the room, Lu Yan looked up at Shen Su. Tears fell uncontrollably from her eyes, and though her lips trembled, she couldn’t utter a single word.
“What’s wrong? Don’t be afraid, I’m right here.” Shen Su glanced at the shattered glass bottle on the floor, swept it into a corner with a broom first, and then walked over to scoop Lu Yan up in a bridal carry, stepping out of the bathroom.
Back in the bedroom, Lu Yan’s breathing gradually steadyed. Shen Su laid her down on the bed with care, placing her phone face-down on the nightstand so the ambient light wouldn’t leave the room pitch black.
“Hold me…” Lu Yan extended both arms toward Shen Su, her eyes misty and looking completely aggrieved, her voice still trembling slightly.
“Alright.” Shen Su gathered her into her arms, gently stroking Lu Yan’s back. “Don’t be afraid.”
“I never used to be afraid before,” Lu Yan murmured against Shen Su’s chest. Hearing the powerful, steady thumping of her heart, her panicked soul gradually settled down.
“Is it because of Sheng Suyu?” Shen Su’s gaze darkened. “Because of what she did, you’ve started fearing enclosed, dark spaces?”
“Maybe?” Lu Yan pressed a tiny peck against the skin exposed above Shen Su’s bath towel. “Shall we do something interesting to distract ourselves?”
Shen Su understood. Reaching out to turn off her phone’s flashlight, she lightly pinched Lu Yan’s chin. “In that case, tell me—on a dark and windy night like this, what is appropriate to do?”
“Let me think…” Lu Yan put on a show of serious thought, licking her lips. “How about we search online to see what’s good to do at night? Oh! Right, the network is down! What do we do now?”
Shen Su raised an eyebrow. “Then we sleep.”
“Wonderful! I want to go to sleep-sleep with Sugar!” As she spoke, Lu Yan beat her to the punch, capturing Shen Su’s lips. Shen Su cradled the back of Lu Yan’s head, deepening the kiss. Intimate gasps and distinct, wet sounds soon echoed through the room.
…
Fortunately, none of the scenarios they worried about came to pass. The next day, the weather was bright and clear, and both signal and power were fully restored. A flood of messages popped up on their phones. After replying to each one to let everyone know they were safe, they headed to their next destination.
Their next stop was also a mountain, though not a snow-capped one—it was a lush, green peak. The mountain air was pristine, so they climbed at a leisurely, unhurried pace, stopping to rest whenever they felt tired. Even so, by the time they reached the summit, both were panting heavily from exhaustion.
Shen Su trotted over to a stall to buy two popsicles, handing one over to Lu Yan.
“The popsicles at the shop sell out very quickly, this was the only kind left. I’m not sure if you’ll like it?” Shen Su assumed Lu Yan would simply say she liked it.
Lu Yan, however, didn’t reply immediately, drifting off into a brief daze. “I remember when I was little, our family didn’t have much money. My grandmother would give me cash to buy ice cream. That time, she gave me two 50-cent coins. I originally wanted to buy the 1-yuan ice cream, but because I was quite short back then, one of the 50-cent coins slipped into the freezer. I was too shy to call for help, so I just bought a 50-cent popsicle instead.”
“The popsicles sold at the summit are bound to be a bit more expensive; this one costs 3 yuan!” Shen Su took a bite, the icy coolness feeling incredibly refreshing.
Lu Yan gave an “mm.” “In truth, after so many years, popsicles have long since gone up in price. I recall the retail price for this exact popsicle is also 1 yuan now. If it had been this price back then, I’m afraid I would have had to walk home empty-handed with just 50 cents.”
“So, the childhood version of you didn’t confess to your grandmother that you lost 50 cents?” Shen Su asked around her popsicle.
Lu Yan took a bite of hers. Crushing it between her teeth, the ice quickly melted away, leaving a trace of sweetness amidst the chill. “Yes. Spending money to buy a 1-yuan popsicle wouldn’t make my grandmother feel too much distress, but if I had simply lost 1 yuan, she would have been heartbroken,” Lu Yan said slowly.
Shen Su nodded, speaking thoughtfully, “That makes sense. Spending money to get something of equal value is a mutual agreement; there’s no reason to feel distressed. Losing it means coming away empty-handed, so anyone would feel a twinge of heartache. When I was a kid, if I accidentally lost my New Year’s pocket money, I’d feel completely heartbroken. Even though my parents replaced it for me, what was lost was lost. Unless you find it back, that kind of heartache is difficult to erase.”
Though she got a beating after it was replaced—that was something that happened in the real world. She thought to herself that if it were her parents in this world, they would likely have comforted her instead.
“Must be nice,” Lu Yan couldn’t help but think. If her own mother and father were still around, what would life look like now?
“If your grandmother found out you lost 50 cents, would she have blamed you?” Shen Su asked out of curiosity.
Lu Yan’s eyebrows curved into a peaceful smile, though her tone was entirely certain: “No.”
“That certain?” Shen Su raised an eyebrow.
“Even though I didn’t say anything, my grandmother definitely knew the price of that popsicle. She knew the ice cream I liked cost 1 yuan, which is why she gave me 1 yuan. But seeing that what I brought back was a completely different popsicle, she probably would have thought I found a new favorite. She would have gone to the shop to ask, and one question would reveal exactly how much that popsicle cost.” Lu Yan took another bite of her popsicle.
“But she didn’t say a single word?” Shen Su looked into Lu Yan’s smiling eyes, thoroughly affected by this display of warmth.
“Not only did she say nothing, but she also started secretly slipping a bit of extra money to me. She was terrified I wouldn’t be able to buy the things I liked.” Lu Yan turned her head away, setting aside the finished popsicle stick, her eyes rimmed with red. “But she passed away when I was six years old, and for a very long time after that, no one was ever that good to me again.”
Shen Su drifted off into thought. The Lu Yan of that time had been a child raised in love.
“Sugar, you are the second person to be this good to me. You’ll stay with me forever, won’t you?” Lu Yan tugged at the corner of Shen Su’s shirt, asking tentatively.
“Still dwelling on that dream? Dreams are fake, but I am real, and I am right here.” Shen Su’s eyes flickered subtly. She reached out to take the trash from Lu Yan’s hand, throwing it away together. After throwing away the trash, Lu Yan reached out to take her hand. “Let’s go offer a prayer inside the temple, shall we?”
“Alright.” Shen Su followed Lu Yan into the bustling temple. Lu Yan offered her incense with utmost piety. Shen Su followed her example, pressing her palms together and staring up at the golden Buddha statue, silently repeating in her heart: May Lu Yan be safe, prosperous, happy, and healthy.
Half an hour later, the two emerged from the summit temple and sat on a bench at the peak.
Shen Su asked curiously, “What wish did you make?”
“I can’t tell you, it won’t come true if I speak it aloud,” Lu Yan blinked, speaking with a smile. She hoped Shen Su would live a long life and stay by her side forever.
“Fair enough,” Shen Su let out a helpless laugh. She figured the wish was likely for the two of them to stay together forever. Pity was, that wish was destined to fall through eventually.
After sitting together for a while, they went to eat a vegetarian meal. Afterward, they strolled around the peak a bit longer, snapping a few photos of the scenery before slowly making their way down the mountain.
Their third stop was the seaside. The beach was a golden yellow, and the sea was a vivid azure blue. A few tiny crabs were scuttling across the sand, acting completely domineering.
Walking one after the other along the sand, Shen Su suddenly came to a halt.
“The sea breeze feels amazing—” Shen Su opened her arms comfortably, while Lu Yan wrapped her arms around her from behind, nuzzling her affectionately.
Lu Yan suddenly recalled a classic film and couldn’t resist asking, “Sugar, if we ever end up in a desperate situation where either only one of us survives, or we die together—which one would you choose?”
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