Amnesia Trap (GL) - Chapter 37

Sheng Zhi’s sleep was restless, filled with a constant sensation of being damp and watery.

She wanted to move but was held tightly; she couldn’t break free, and strangely, she didn’t particularly want to.

A soft voice by her ear occasionally coaxed her, and sometimes called her name seductively, saying how much she was loved.

Murmured, indistinct words came from an unknown direction.

They seemed to carry a tearful tone, pleading for her touch.

She seemed to touch something in return following the voice—something soft and moist, like flower petals kissed by morning dew.

She couldn’t grasp the specifics; a dense, wave-like sensation seemed to envelop her entirely. She drifted, never quite reaching the shore.

Even after waking up, her body felt heavy.

The curtains were drawn in the bedroom, but perhaps because it was bright daylight outside, it wasn’t so dark that everything was invisible like at night.

Sheng Zhi opened her eyes slightly and shifted. After sensing something, she looked at the person in her arms and then at their interwoven long hair, her mind trailing two seconds behind the reality.

—She had slept with Ji Qingfan last night…

The woman’s nightgown had become even looser because the ties were undone, leaving her smooth back completely uncovered—a skin more delicate than moonlight.

Thick, supple, long curly hair was scattered everywhere, with many strands resting against Sheng Zhi’s body. They were inseparable, creating a lingering sense of entanglement where one could not be distinguished from the other.

If she remembered correctly, Ji Qingfan had been holding her before they slept. How did she wake up clinging to Ji Qingfan and refusing to let go? Ji Qingfan even looked a bit uncomfortable as if she were being held too tightly.

In an instant, all the sensations from her dream flooded back. Sheng Zhi felt the skin-on-skin contact and for a moment thought she might not be awake yet.

Good heavens.

Just thinking about it made her hear that seductive, distressed, almost weeping voice from her dream again: “Help me…”

That panting, plaintive voice calling her name.

She felt a jolt of electricity run through her. She remained frozen in that posture, her expression shifting rapidly.

This was terrifying. How could she have such a dream? And even if she did, how could the protagonist be Ji Qingfan?

…It was definitely because she slept with Ji Qingfan. Otherwise, she would never have had a dream like that.

Sheng Zhi firmly affirmed this thought in her heart.

It wasn’t until the person in her arms moved slightly that she realized she was still holding Ji Qingfan.

Perhaps because she had just woken up, Ji Qingfan’s face showed a rare trace of daze, possessing a uniquely different kind of cuteness.

Seemingly surprised to find herself in Sheng Zhi’s arms upon waking, she froze visibly for a moment.

The moment Sheng Zhi saw Ji Qingfan’s stunned expression, her consciousness fully returned. She let go of her immediately as if she were a hot potato.

While calmly saying, “I’m going to take a shower,” she nearly tumbled off the bed. It was Ji Qingfan who reached out and caught her.

“Zhi Zhi…” Ji Qingfan hooked her wrist. “Be careful, don’t fall.”

She pulled her slightly. She was still lying there, having only changed her posture, completely unconcerned about her loosened nightgown.

Sheng Zhi looked back, and the sight nearly made her flush to the tips of her ears.

It hadn’t been this obvious in the dark last night, and even when she first woke up, the impact wasn’t this great while she was holding her. But now the sky was bright outside. The weather after the heavy rain was extremely clear, making the room dimly luminous. From her perspective, this scene of “disordered beauty” looked like the morning after a night of passion—gratuitously ambiguous.

Even though nothing had actually happened last night, it looked as if they had done everything.

Something was changing—

Sheng Zhi clearly felt this. For instance, right now, she didn’t want to blush, yet she couldn’t control the heat rising in her cheeks.

She pulled her hand back, ignored Ji Qingfan’s words, and without a second glance, bolted into the bathroom like she was fleeing a succubus.

Once inside, however, she couldn’t resist lowering her head to sniff her fingertips.

She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she felt a scent lingering on her fingertips that was similar to the aroma floating in the bedroom—an indescribable scent.

Sheng Zhi had entered the bathroom in such a rush that it wasn’t until she was almost finished with her shower that she realized she hadn’t brought a towel or a change of undergarments—the exact same situation Ji Qingfan was in last time.

“…”

The sudden realization made her want to bang her head against the wall.

But no matter how conflicted or reluctant she felt, she didn’t have them, so she still had to ask Ji Qingfan for help.

Normally, this was a trivial matter, but the thought of saying it to Ji Qingfan made her feel inexplicably embarrassed.

Sheng Zhi endured the feeling and spoke with feigned composure. Once she finished, Ji Qingfan handed them in immediately—so fast it was as if she had noticed the oversight and had them ready all along.

But when Sheng Zhi saw them, she was even more speechless.

…How should she put it? They were the ones with pearls.

Outside the bathroom, Ji Qingfan’s voice was clear and serious: “Zhi Zhi, these were the ones you chose yourself when we went shopping together. The couple’s style.”

Sheng Zhi pinched that pearl.

If she didn’t have to maintain the persona of having “forgotten” Ji Qingfan and their past, she would have argued back.

Chose? She would never have chosen this pearl style, let alone a couple’s version.

She now felt that anyone who thought Ji Qingfan was cold and aloof was completely deceived by her facade.

But then again, Sheng Zhi felt she had been quite deceived herself.

In the past, she also thought Ji Qingfan was an incredibly abstinent, almost asexual person.

So she truly hadn’t expected Ji Qingfan to have these sides to her.

Her own wardrobe was full of bold styles; she found long skirts suffocating even in school and ignored the rules to shorten them above the thigh.

Ji Qingfan, on the other hand, was always prim and proper. Especially after starting work, she would button her shirts to the very top.

And yet, look at everything that has happened lately…

Even if it was just a calculated tactic, she didn’t believe a truly asexual person could come up with such methods.

In the end, Sheng Zhi put on the clothes Ji Qingfan brought her.

Setting the undergarments aside, she actually liked the dress. Sheng Zhi looked in the bathroom mirror and decided to pair it with strappy stilettos later.

Even though this wasn’t her own home, given how meticulously prepared Ji Qingfan was, there would surely be a pair, right?

Regardless, everything here suited her tastes perfectly—the food, the clothes, the living space. There wasn’t a single thing she disliked.

Sheng Zhi didn’t even realize that she had already begun to find this place comfortable and acceptable.

Senses are a subtle, creeping thing. The conscious mind might not have noticed anything, but the senses adapt and habituate first, even beginning to rely on things unconsciously.

After changing, Sheng Zhi remembered that when Ji Qingfan handed her the clothes, she mentioned she also wanted a shower. That had startled her so much she thought Ji Qingfan wanted to shower with her, and she immediately told her to use another bathroom.

With so many rooms, there was obviously more than one bathroom.

However, she decided to delay a bit longer by applying body lotion to her entire body, hopefully until Ji Qingfan finished in the other bathroom.

Predicting that Sheng Zhi would ask her to use another bathroom, Ji Qingfan took Sheng Zhi’s phone and left the room.

A name had already popped up on the screen several times.

Looking at the history, there were calls from even earlier.

During that time, they weren’t awake yet, and because the phone was on silent, it wasn’t obvious.

Ji Qingfan pressed answer. The cheerful, sunny female voice on the other end froze instantly after Ji Qingfan said, “Hello.”

“Where’s Zhi Zhi? Why do you have her phone?” Jiang Wanyin’s tone dropped, her voice sounding quite displeased.

Ji Qingfan listened, her expression unreadable.

A few seconds later, she spoke.

Compared to Jiang Wanyin’s tone, hers was incredibly friendly, even carrying a hint of a smile: “Zhi Zhi is in the shower. We went to bed quite late last night. Sorry, I just saw your call.”

Having spoken, she hung up the phone before Jiang Wanyin could say another word, then added a “Do Not Disturb” setting on top of the silent mode.

Sheng Zhi didn’t usually shower quickly, let alone when she was intentionally stalling. She applied body lotion with painstaking detail. After dressing, she spent quite a while admiring herself in the mirror.

When she finally came out, Ji Qingfan had, as expected, finished her shower and was sitting on the bed applying a different lotion.

Seeing her, Ji Qingfan’s eyes curved slightly.

It was hard to describe. It was a very gentle expression, but Sheng Zhi instinctively felt a shiver.

She thought suspiciously: She’s not going to ask me to help her apply lotion, is she?

Sure enough, the next second, she heard Ji Qingfan say: “Zhi Zhi, you’re just in time. Help me apply some lotion to my back.”

Her voice was very soft.

Sheng Zhi’s first reaction was that her premonition had come true.

She stood by the bed and glared: “I’m not helping. Can’t you do it yourself? I did mine myself.”

Ji Qingfan nodded but changed her posture: “It’s just very inconvenient to do it myself. Help me, Zhi Zhi…”

Hearing “Help me,” Sheng Zhi nearly choked on air.

The way she softened her voice, almost like she was acting spoiled, made it sound even more like that seductive “Help me” from the dream.

Seeing that Ji Qingfan was about to say more, Sheng Zhi leaned down immediately to grab the lotion, interrupting her: “Fine, I’ll help. Just stop talking, you’re so annoying.”

However, in the brief window of picking up the lotion, she felt a kiss on her cheek.

The kind with a sound—a “mwah.”

The lips were very soft. Sheng Zhi reacted strongly, touching her face and turning to Ji Qingfan. Her cat-like eyes widened; she looked like a cat with its fur standing on end. “What did you kiss me for?”

Meeting her gaze, Ji Qingfan looked innocent. She made a move to kiss her again until Sheng Zhi dodged. Then she pointed to her mouth and shook her head.

Seeing this, Sheng Zhi realized she had just said “stop talking.”

She paused for two seconds, feeling even more awkward. “You can talk now.”

Only then did Ji Qingfan reply slowly to the question: “Because I was thanking Zhi Zhi for helping me, but since I was ‘muted,’ I could only kiss you to show my gratitude.”

…Nonsense.

“Muted”? How does Ji Qingfan have so many tricks?

Sheng Zhi thought this and said directly: “How childish are you? Talking about being ‘muted’… I think you just wanted to kiss me.”

“Indeed,” Ji Qingfan replied while unfastening her garment. As the fabric fell to her waist, she glanced sideways and winked. “Then should I just ask directly if Zhi Zhi will let me kiss her?”

The moment she removed the clothing, Sheng Zhi nearly threw the lotion. Now that the light was bright, she was even more afraid to look at Ji Qingfan.

“I’m not letting you,” she said, her face flushed as she turned her gaze away. “What are you doing now?”

Sheng Zhi felt that it was a good thing she didn’t actually live with Ji Qingfan, otherwise her heart rate would be permanently irregular.

Ji Qingfan’s voice became even more harmless: “Didn’t you say you’d help me apply lotion?”

She added: “Zhi Zhi, you can’t go back on your word.”

Sheng Zhi held the lotion, staring at the bottle to distract herself.

She belatedly noticed this lotion was identical to the one in the bathroom, same scent—it seemed to be Ji Qingfan’s regular choice.

She squeezed out a large amount. “Turn around.”

Fine, she’d apply it. She’d rub her to death today and see if she dared ask for help next time.

With this thought, Sheng Zhi not only used a heavy hand but was also very messy with the application.

However, Ji Qingfan seemed to have eyes in the back of her head, humming: “Zhi Zhi, over there, over there.”

If she didn’t rub it in evenly, she called out; if she rubbed too hard, she called out louder. If Sheng Zhi tried to finish quickly, she was told she wasn’t done and couldn’t cheat. From time to time, she would sway her waist as if uncomfortable.

After a while, Sheng Zhi couldn’t take it anymore. Both embarrassed and frustrated, she pinched Ji Qingfan’s waist. “Seriously, can you stop making those noises?”

She was practically vibrating with agitation, yet Ji Qingfan asked innocently: “Zhi Zhi, what noises?”

Seeing that she was about to turn around, Sheng Zhi tightened her grip on her waist, her speech fast and panicked: “Don’t turn! Don’t turn!”

The unfastened garment was still resting softly against her waist.

Ji Qingfan hummed a reply but still didn’t settle down: “I can help Zhi Zhi apply it, too.”

At those words, Sheng Zhi’s hand shook. Uncontrollable images flashed in her mind, and her ears burned. She refused loudly: “I don’t need you to!”

She was full of regret now.

She must have been possessed. She must have been.

Otherwise, why would she agree to help Ji Qingfan with her back, knowing full well she was doing it on purpose?

The skin under her palm was soft and delicate. The more Sheng Zhi rubbed, the harder it was to stay calm.

Half of it was anger, half of it was shame.

Hateful. Simply hateful.

She had planned to make things difficult for Ji Qingfan; how did things end up like this instead?