Amnesia Trap (GL) - Chapter 22

Home?

Which home? What home?

Thinking this, Sheng Zhi asked the question aloud.

Ji Qingfan seemed truly very drunk. She held onto Sheng Zhi’s neck, her light breaths accompanied by a low voice: “…Back to our home.”

Hearing Ji Qingfan’s blurry words and the address, her first reaction was that she’d misheard.

How ridiculous. Ji Qingfan could say back to her home, or back to my home, but where did they have a common home to go back to?

Although she mentally concluded that it was most likely Ji Qingfan’s address, hearing her say our home sparked Sheng Zhi’s interest, as this was a lie that was about to be exposed.

—And she couldn’t wait to expose it.

So, Sheng Zhi agreed. Not only did she agree, but her tone was incredibly kind, her overly beautiful face looking capable of making anyone fall head over heels: “Okay, then back to our home.”

Sheng Zhi called her family driver.

While waiting for the driver, her gaze involuntarily fell on Ji Qingfan again.

Ji Qingfan felt very soft in her arms now, completely dependent on her. Sheng Zhi had no doubt that if she let go now, Ji Qingfan would immediately collapse onto the floor.

She sighed. Even though she knew Ji Qingfan probably didn’t know what she was saying, she couldn’t help but say: “You’re too easily influenced by alcohol. I’m telling you, if you’re alone in the future, don’t drink. You collapse after one cup, and you still dare to drink…”

Hearing her voice, Ji Qingfan suddenly propped herself up slightly in Sheng Zhi’s arms. After looking at her for a while in the dim light, she leaned back down and rubbed her ear: “It’s alright. I know this is the wine you fed me.”

“And… you are right here beside me.”

The look in her eyes was too affectionate, too honest.

Sheng Zhi couldn’t help but have a terrible suspicion and asked doubtfully: “Ji Qingfan, you’re not actually drunk, are you?”

As she asked, her heart was alarmed by this hypothesis—

If Ji Qingfan wasn’t drunk, then she had made a complete fool of herself.

For a moment, Sheng Zhi regretted her impulsive actions earlier. Why couldn’t she control herself?

All sorts of thoughts raced through her mind, but after a long wait, Ji Qingfan still hadn’t answered. Sensing something was wrong, she looked down and realized that in just a minute or two, Ji Qingfan had actually fallen asleep in her arms.

Sheng Zhi instantly realized she had overthought things.

…Not drunk? Ji Qingfan was clearly very drunk.

It made sense.

If she weren’t drunk, how could Ji Qingfan call her that name? Let alone being coaxed to say it again after the first time.

She should stop overthinking.

After waiting for a while, the driver arrived.

Sheng Zhi looked at Ji Qingfan, who was almost completely glued to her, and decided to put her in the back seat first before getting in herself.

However, as soon as she tried to separate from her, Ji Qingfan, who had been completely still in her arms, suddenly opened her eyes.

She quickly grabbed Sheng Zhi’s wrist, and with an intensely frantic reaction, as if she had made some terrible association, her tone was even tinged with panic: “Don’t go. Don’t leave me behind.”

She held onto her tightly, with an intensity that was almost obsessive.

Sheng Zhi looked at the spot where she was being grabbed. She understood and found it amusing, but she didn’t make any large movement to shake her off. She just hummed: “That’s enough. How are we supposed to get into the car if you don’t get off me?”

Sheng Zhi didn’t know if Ji Qingfan had heard what she said. After she spoke, Ji Qingfan still held onto her. The rimless glasses she had been wearing were gone, and without the glasses to hide them, her already flushed eyes seemed even more alluring. Her misty eyes had a fragility that was completely different from her usual self, as if she was genuinely afraid Sheng Zhi would leave her, afraid she would abandon her.

Sheng Zhi couldn’t help but be stunned.

Her casual tone momentarily faltered. She tossed her hair and clicked her tongue: “This is my family’s car. It’s not like I can run away, right? Fine, you can hold my hand, and then I’ll get in. That works, doesn’t it?”

Ji Qingfan hadn’t reacted to her previous words, but she seemed to hear this one and, obediently, took her hand.

But it was a very tight grip, her fingers intertwined with Sheng Zhi’s.

She really seemed afraid of her leaving, afraid she would walk away and leave her behind.

She didn’t let go even after Sheng Zhi got into the car.

Their clasped palms felt scorching.

Sheng Zhi’s long hair, which she had casually tossed back, seemed to fall forward again with the motion of getting into the car. Sheng Zhi felt it obstructing her vision and casually brushed it away with her free hand, looking out the window.

…She didn’t expect a drunk Ji Qingfan to cling to her and refuse to let go. That was truly annoying. If it weren’t for the purpose of exposing her lie about their shared home face-to-face, she wouldn’t even bother with her. Giving her her hand to hold? Leaving her behind would be more like it.

Sheng Zhi thought this to herself.

But everything outside the car window was blurred in the darkness. Illuminated by the streetlights flashing past, all she could see clearly were Ji Qingfan’s hazy and affectionate eyes looking at her.

Perhaps because they were holding hands, Ji Qingfan seemed to gain some sense of security. After getting into the car, she closed her eyes and quietly leaned against Sheng Zhi.

This was a kind of difficult-to-express emotion of being relied upon, the kind of feeling that makes one’s heart subconsciously soften.

Sheng Zhi suddenly felt the car was too narrow—

So narrow that all sensations were magnified. She felt Ji Qingfan’s warmth, her shallow breathing, and the subtle, close contact that crept up from her fingertips.

So narrow that… Ji Qingfan’s presence was unavoidable.

Sheng Zhi raised her other, unclasped hand, covering her own eyes with it.

The place they got in wasn’t too far from the villa area Ji Qingfan mentioned, but it still took a little while to drive there.

“Our home” was a complete lie, but everything that had happened during this time was fake. It was nothing more than one lie layered upon more lies, like a precarious row of dominoes.

So, Sheng Zhi suddenly realized that if this lie was exposed, the chances were high that she and Ji Qingfan would be over.

There would be no reason to continue.

Initially, she had intended to give Ji Qingfan a hard time, play her games, and then walk away when she was bored.

But who would have guessed that everything that followed would be so different from what she had imagined?

Sheng Zhi was truly ashamed of her thoughts about Ji Qingfan. It wasn’t because she was particularly virtuous; the shame was only because the object of these thoughts was Ji Qingfan.

She didn’t like dogs that bite, and she especially disliked the feeling of a dog she had painstakingly raised biting her back.

But her reason and her desires wrestled with each other, and reason always lost.

Just like the way she couldn’t help but feel excited when she heard Ji Qingfan call her that name.

One moment, she thought she was cheap for both despising and being addicted to Ji Qingfan, and the next, she thought Ji Qingfan was even cheaper for smiling and pretending to cooperate with her, even humbling herself to please her, all for profit, even if she secretly hated her.

So, let’s just end it. Ending it here wouldn’t be bad.

On the contrary, she could thwart Ji Qingfan’s plan, get a divorce naturally, and never have to look at that face that made her feel so restless again.

Wasn’t this exactly what she had wanted all along?

Ji Qingfan probably never imagined there would be a time when she would be so thorough yet leave a loophole for Sheng Zhi to catch, right?

The car stopped as the driver’s voice rang out.

The driver had arrived at the address.

Sheng Zhi acknowledged him, lowered her hand, and opened her eyes, casually patting Ji Qingfan’s cheek: “Wake up, time to get out.”

Ji Qingfan was roused by her action, but only leaned further towards her, rubbing against her. Her muttered words were indistinct, and Sheng Zhi couldn’t tell if she was speaking to her or talking to herself. Sheng Zhi leaned closer and only caught words like “go home and sleep.”

Sheng Zhi thought for a moment. Seeing her not moving, she spoke again, but this time she said: “Get out of the car. We’re home.”

Ji Qingfan looked up at her for a while, as if processing the words. Once she understood, she curved her eyes, docilely hummed her agreement, and obediently and cooperatively prepared to get out of the car with her.

Sheng Zhi couldn’t help but crack a smile: “What’s wrong with you? Selective hearing, is that it?”

Ji Qingfan let out a low, questioning hum. She got out of the car, but as soon as she took one step, she stumbled and fell right into Sheng Zhi’s arms.

And once she fell into her arms, she buried herself there and didn’t get up.

Sheng Zhi caught a very faint scent of perfume, which enveloped her and Ji Qingfan together.

She tried to gently push her away, telling her not to cling so tightly. But just like before, the moment she moved, Ji Qingfan clung to her even tighter, whimpering softly: “Don’t separate…”

Sheng Zhi had seen drunk people act out, but this was the first time she had encountered Ji Qingfan like this. It was an indescribable feeling, subtle, like being gently scratched by a cat’s paw.

She paused, then looked away: “Fine, fine.” In any case, when they opened the door and she exposed everything, there would be nothing left to say between them.

She half-embraced, half-carried Ji Qingfan inside.

There were two pairs of slippers by the entrance. The styles looked similar, only the colors were different.

Sheng Zhi glanced at them. Just as she was thinking about whether to help Ji Qingfan change out of her high heels, she felt her arms empty.

As if sensing what she was thinking, Ji Qingfan moved away from her arms, took off her jacket, and draped it aside. But because she was swaying so badly, she had to hold onto the wall. Yet, she still murmured: “It’s alright, Zhi Zhi, I can do it myself…”

Ji Qingfan said this softly, leaning against the wall and bending her body slightly.

Her movements were very slow. When she bent down, her body’s curve was like a still, graceful painting of a beautiful woman. Her high heel slipped a bit. Her hair, which had been loosely tied up, became even more disheveled from the earlier movements. As she slightly bent over to take them off, the strands scattered uncontrollably like flower petals being ruffled.

Thick, slightly wavy, it cascaded down to her waist.

It was like a stone dropped into a calm lake, spreading ripples outward.

Sheng Zhi had the untimely thought of Ji Qingfan’s calm and self-possessed demeanor towards Xia Xiyan’s group in the private room earlier.

Ji Qingfan wobbled as she changed her shoes and almost fell again.

Sheng Zhi took in the scene and instinctively reached out to steady her.

Her hand moved faster than her thoughts. Sheng Zhi looked at her own hand, and then, remembering her original purpose for being here, her mood instantly soured.

As if to prove something, she spoke, her tone vicious: “You’re all over me as soon as you’re drunk… I really can’t tell you’re like this normally.”

Sheng Zhi was feeling choked up and desperately wanted to say something to alleviate her mood.

But when Ji Qingfan heard her, she simply curved her eyes.

Her eyes were filled with captivating charm. Her volume was low, but every word clearly drilled into Sheng Zhi’s ears, the final syllable hanging like a hook: “I only act like this with you.”

I only act like this with you.

What a beautiful line.

And few people could truly dislike such an open display of special treatment that symbolized favoritism.

Sheng Zhi listened to her words and then looked at the remaining pair of slippers on the floor.

She had only glanced at them before, thinking the styles were similar. But looking closely now, she realized they were definitely a couple’s slippers.

Wait, Ji Qingfan should be living alone, shouldn’t she?

As Sheng Zhi looked, she suddenly realized something.

Ji Qingfan usually loved calling her by her name, always “Zhi Zhi” here and “Zhi Zhi” there. But just now, her pronoun for her had strangely become “you.” She hadn’t called her by her name anymore.

So, those sweet, loving words—was she really saying them to Sheng Zhi?

Or was she saying them to someone else through Sheng Zhi?

Sheng Zhi looked at the couple’s slippers, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt her suspicion was correct. A surge of anger shot up, and her questioning volume was slightly uncontrolled: “Ji Qingfan, you’ve got guts! You said we had such a loving relationship, but you’re keeping a lover behind my back!”

She hadn’t even kept one, how dare she keep one!

The length of that entire sentence seemed to take some effort for the still-drunk person in her arms to understand. Ji Qingfan saw her looking at the slippers and leaned in to ask: “I’ve changed. Why aren’t you putting yours on?”

“I won’t wear them!” Sheng Zhi grabbed a pair of disposable slippers from the side, slapped them onto the floor, and angrily put them on.

She figured that the little lover wasn’t there; otherwise, they would have definitely come out when they opened the door.

But even if the person wasn’t there, it didn’t stop evidence of cohabitation from being present.

Couple’s slippers, double sets of toiletries…

Ji Qingfan, still oblivious, clung to her, saying she wanted to go upstairs, to the bedroom to shower and sleep. Sheng Zhi almost dragged Ji Qingfan up the stairs.

“This is the bedroom, right?” Sheng Zhi sneered and opened the door without waiting for Ji Qingfan to answer.

Good. Let her see what else was in the bedroom that she didn’t know about—

Sheng Zhi thought this, but what met her eyes wasn’t what she had imagined.

It was… Ji Qingfan’s and her wedding photo.

A strikingly prominent wedding photo, hanging in the most visible spot, impossible to miss.

She involuntarily froze.

“Zhi Zhi, actually, I wasn’t that drunk, but you were truly adorable when you thought I was,” Ji Qingfan kissed the corner of her lips: “Stepping into our home, seeing our wedding photo, do you remember anything?”

Sheng Zhi heard her words, remained stunned for a few seconds, and then let out a soft breath.

She heard what Ji Qingfan said.

So, Ji Qingfan was faking being drunk…

Yet, at this moment, knowing Ji Qingfan had been pretending, her first reaction wasn’t embarrassment over the things she had done thinking Ji Qingfan was genuinely drunk.

Instead, she felt a slight relief that Ji Qingfan had used such superb acting skills on her.

She shifted her gaze from their wedding photo.

It’s fake, after all.

It’s good that it’s fake.

How could Ji Qingfan possibly harbor genuine feelings for her? It was preposterous.

The tension in her body that had tightened upon seeing the wedding photo slowly dissipated. Sheng Zhi said nonchalantly: “It’s really hard for you to go to so much effort just to make me remember, but unfortunately, I don’t seem to recall anything.”

She had been careless again. Thinking about it, it would be strange if that amount of alcohol could genuinely get Ji Qingfan drunk.

How dangerous.

She had almost been completely fooled by her.

Sheng Zhi looked into Ji Qingfan’s eyes, feeling more awake.

“Our home”? It was all a trap and a snare Ji Qingfan had set little by little to make the person who “forgot everything that happened between them” truly believe her. It was full of motives and calculations. She couldn’t believe a single word she said.

However, if this was the case, she couldn’t end the bet early by exposing the lie today. But it didn’t matter. With all of Ji Qingfan’s tricks, she was sure that when the bet expired, Ji Qingfan would come up with some new reason to extend the time. Rather than that, she might as well see what other tricks she had up her sleeve. How long had it been? She didn’t believe Ji Qingfan could endure it if the time went on longer.

She still couldn’t end it like this. Ji Qingfan hadn’t been tormented by her enough. It couldn’t end.

Hadn’t her initial decision to join this game and agree to the bet been to torment her severely? Ending it here, as she had thought earlier, was no different from being afraid of Ji Qingfan. Just exposing the lie wasn’t enough.

Sheng Zhi’s answer was perfunctory, but Ji Qingfan wasn’t discouraged. Meeting her gaze, she held her even closer, her soft breath falling on Sheng Zhi’s ear as she whispered: “It’s alright, Zhi Zhi. How could you remember so quickly? But I believe that one day, you will love me just as you did before.”

“Is that so?” Facing Ji Qingfan’s increasingly intimate contact, Sheng Zhi took the opportunity to push her against the wall. She didn’t lean down, only looking at her with her beautiful cat eyes: “Speaking of which, I still don’t know, when did you start pretending to be drunk?”

She pinched and massaged the back of Ji Qingfan’s neck a little roughly, her finger gliding over the corner of her lips.

The pressure on her lips wasn’t light, carrying an indescribable sense of familiarity.

Feeling her movement, Ji Qingfan slightly parted her lips. Sheng Zhi hadn’t meant to, or hadn’t even thought about it, but her knuckle was suddenly taken into Ji Qingfan’s mouth a little.

Wet, warm, and slick, just like the breath Ji Qingfan had exhaled by her ear earlier.

Ji Qingfan’s voice became a little slow due to the movement: “I wasn’t completely pretending. I was still a little uncomfortable, but I still remember how Zhi Zhi kissed me and how…”

Her voice was muffled. As she spoke, her tongue ambiguously played with Sheng Zhi’s fingertip.

Sheng Zhi didn’t want to hear her talk about that, nor did she want to be teased by that small action—

She felt completely flustered under her touch.

She wanted to pull her hand back, but seeing Ji Qingfan take more of her finger into her mouth, she couldn’t help but say: “Ji Qingfan, even though it’s just the two of us here, don’t be so excessive.”

“We’ve already kissed, and you’ve touched me a lot,” Ji Qingfan held Sheng Zhi’s wrist and looked up at her, her eyes swaying like a dangerous temptress who only appears at night: “Besides, doesn’t Zhi Zhi like my audacity?”

“You’re a pervert. I don’t like it.” Almost immediately after the words left her mouth, Sheng Zhi instantly denied it.

Her finger became very wet, and in the light, she could even catch a reflective sheen.

“Fine, you don’t like it,” Ji Qingfan smiled when she heard the denial, acknowledging every word Sheng Zhi said: “I’m a pervert, so what does that make Zhi Zhi, who likes being called that by me?”

She repeated the two words to her, her soft, low tone: “I also know Zhi Zhi secretly recorded it. When do you plan on listening to it—”

Sheng Zhi looked at Ji Qingfan’s opening and closing lips, hearing her directly point out the fact. The urge to do something to stop her from talking came back.

She suddenly bent two fingers, just as Ji Qingfan had done to her, and pushed them into her mouth: “Stop talking. You’re too noisy.”

Ji Qingfan made some vague, inaudible sounds, seemingly surprised by the sudden action, or perhaps because it was genuinely uncomfortable.

Her breathing became ragged. Sheng Zhi heard it, but her fingertips didn’t feel any resistance. Instead, Ji Qingfan’s tongue was still playing with them, seemingly inviting her to go further.

So, Sheng Zhi defiantly moved her fingers.

This time, it lasted much longer than the last.

On one hand, Sheng Zhi didn’t want to hear Ji Qingfan talk anymore, and on the other, she deliberately wanted to make her uncomfortable.

She truly didn’t want to see Ji Qingfan’s composed demeanor. But observing Ji Qingfan’s expression, seeing her slightly narrowed eyes, it didn’t seem to be working. She felt like Ji Qingfan looked both uncomfortable and not uncomfortable at the same time. Even her sounds were like that…

Saliva, too late to be swallowed, along with the slight arch of her back with her ragged breathing, a soft flush on her cheeks, creating an indescribable sense of languor on her.

It was too strange.

So, Ji Qingfan didn’t push her away because she couldn’t take it; instead, Sheng Zhi herself couldn’t stand watching and pulled her hand back first.

A glistening, transparent string stretched out and dropped into the air.

Sheng Zhi suddenly felt a little hot.

The hand she pulled back seemed to have nowhere to go. Even though she had retrieved it, that subtle, indescribable, moist feeling lingered on her fingertips.

There was a bathroom in the bedroom. She heard Ji Qingfan cough twice. Without looking, Sheng Zhi quickly darted into the bathroom, as if one look would make her unable to leave.

Even when the water rushed over her fingers, Sheng Zhi still felt very awkward.

The faint scent of the hand soap reminded her of Ji Qingfan’s smell.

She tentatively raised her hand and brought it close to her nose.

Just then, Sheng Zhi caught a glimpse of a graceful figure in the mirror.

Ji Qingfan leaned against the bathroom door. A few buttons on her shirt, which she had buttoned all the way up, were now undone. The lipstick that had smeared slightly from the previous activities made the sight even more seductive: “Leaving me aside without looking, yet secretly smelling your hand here—Zhi Zhi is also a pervert.”

Sheng Zhi put her hand down, scoffing indifferently, but a faint flush spread across the pale skin of her neck: “As if you hiding there and watching is proper.”

Ji Qingfan then walked towards her. Sheng Zhi’s cat eyes widened at her every move. Ji Qingfan’s incessant small actions had led her to believe that something was about to happen every time she got close.

Before Sheng Zhi could speak, Ji Qingfan, as if guessing her thoughts, said to her: “Zhi Zhi, I came to shower. I wasn’t intentionally peeking at you.”

But as she spoke, she hugged her: “But I really need your help. I wasn’t completely faking being drunk; I’m genuinely a little dizzy…”

“So, Zhi Zhi, can you help me shower?”