Please Marry Me (GL) - Chapter 18

The bedroom curtains had long been drawn. From outside the window came the faint chirping of mountain tits. It was past seven in the evening, and Haizhe City was shrouded in twilight, the night sweeping in like a heavy tide from the horizon.

On the bookshelf, a pair of white maiden angels wearing wreaths were hidden in the shadows, their hands clasped and eyes closed in thought.

“Let go.” Shen Siyun glanced at the woman who was gripping her wrist. The moment her fingertips made contact, Jiang Yi had flinched like a startled rabbit, clamping down on her wrist. Not only that, but Jiang Yi’s other hand grabbed her arm tightly, her knuckles turning white.

“Shen Siyun…” Jiang Yi didn’t know what to say. She was the one who had asked for help, yet she was also the one blocking her from proceeding.

But something like this was constantly challenging her psychological defense. How could she not mind!

After a moment of internal struggle, Jiang Yi decided to get it over with quickly. She slowly loosened her grip, allowing Shen Siyun to move.

Shen Siyun leaned down, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Her long hair on the other side inevitably fell forward, brushing against Jiang Yi’s knee.

Jiang Yi watched Shen Siyun’s profile. Her face was dignified, her red lips cold and elegant. Her long phoenix eyes were slightly narrowed, drawing in their radiance, as if she were focusing on something that deserved her serious attention.

This staring came to an abrupt end when Shen Siyun’s cool fingertips made contact. Jiang Yi’s face flushed scarlet, and she jerked her gaze downward, gritting her teeth as she watched that pale hand slowly descend before her.

“Relax.” Feeling resistance, Shen Siyun knit her brows. She looked up; the woman before her looked bashful, the corners of her eyes flushed a deep crimson, exuding a charm that was both seductive and tender. She looked like a small white flower that had fallen onto a lake, creating ripple after tiny ripple. The pure whiteness of the petals, soaked by the lake water, gradually transitioned into another color, making it impossible to look away.

When did it start? The girl she had kept as a mistress had transformed from a pure, beautiful college student into a soul-stirring, charming young woman. That vivid allure was like a cup of June spring tea—the more one tasted it, the more one became reluctant to swallow, feeling an impulse to let that tea fragrance linger on the tip of the tongue forever.

Shen Siyun pursed her red lips and retracted her gaze. She pushed the tampon forward. In that instant, her fingertips were enveloped in a gentle moisture. Even her perennially cold fingers couldn’t help but crave that circle of warmth.

“Done.” Shen Siyun remembered that she was another person’s wife. A trace of loneliness flashed in her eyes. She pulled out the applicator, tossed it into the bin, and took a tissue to slowly wipe the moisture from her fingertips.

Jiang Yi watched her expressionless wiping motion, stunned for a few seconds before looking away. “Thank you.”

She changed into clean clothes and tidied up the basin of water and the soiled skirt before preparing to head out for dinner.

Before opening the door, she glanced back at Shen Siyun. The woman had sat back down in the chair, her legs crossed and arms folded, her head tilted to one side in a relaxed posture of rest.

Jiang Yi turned the handle and opened the door. Song Rao’s voice rang out from outside.

“Jiang Yi, come sit down. Dinner is ready.”

“Okay.”

The door closed. The warm, happy atmosphere of the family could not penetrate the room, forming a sharp contrast with the lonely scene inside.

Shen Siyun slowly opened her eyes, staring blankly at a corner. In this vast apartment, not a single thing belonged to her—including the person. From the moment she bought this place to now, both the house and the person were identical in their fate: they had been forcefully stripped away from Shen Siyun’s name.

Her little lover had become someone else’s wife, and the house had become someone else’s marital home. How could this be so ridiculous?

What was even more ridiculous was that she had to hide in a bedroom, unable to see the light of day.

Her phone screen lit up. Shen Siyun picked it up; it was the 3,000-word self-reflection email from Yin Lei. She skimmed it quickly and deleted it.

Shortly after, a WeChat message popped up.

Zhong Yanling: [Daughter, I won’t be back for dinner tonight. Eat with your father and grandmother. Make sure it’s something good.]

Before she could reply, another avatar popped up with a similar message.

Shen Lei: [Siyun, I have something tonight and won’t be back. The weather is getting cold; remember to take care of yourself.]

Shen Siyun glanced at it and shut off her phone with a self-deprecating smile. Why was the gap between people so large?

In the living room, after finishing dinner, the student Xiaogu gathered her materials to leave. Song Rao looked at the time and felt it was too late, suggesting she drive Xiaogu home.

“Really, there’s no need to trouble you, Professor.” Xiaogu hugged her books, overwhelmed by the offer, and refused repeatedly.

“Xiaogu, your home is in the suburbs. It’s too dangerous for a girl alone.” Knowing the address, Jiang Yi also felt it was inappropriate for her to go back alone. Especially since there was a stretch of road without surveillance cameras; if anything happened, it would be unthinkable.

“Let Professor Song drive you back.” Jiang Yi handed the car keys to Song Rao. “Go and come back quickly, don’t delay.”

Xiaogu couldn’t refuse any further and agreed to take Professor Song’s car.

The two left one after the other. Hearing the door close, Jiang Yi waited a few minutes to make sure they had gone downstairs before returning to the bedroom.

“Shen Siyun… they’re gone.” Jiang Yi opened the bedroom door. The light had been turned off at some point, and the room was pitch black. The light from the living room spilled past her feet, casting her shadow long across the floor.

Receiving no response, Jiang Yi reached for the wall switch. The light clicked on, immediately capturing the figure in the chair.

Shen Siyun appeared to be asleep, her head tilted to the side, her sleeping face soft and peaceful. Jiang Yi stood at the door for a long time, unsure whether to wake her.

She paced over to the bedside and sat down quietly, her hands propping her up on the mattress. Her eyes traced the contours of Shen Siyun’s face, bit by bit.

The “reason” in her mind took a step back. In that moment, the love and affection she had suppressed surged like a tide. She couldn’t deny these feelings, no matter how hard Song Rao tried to pull her from the emotional vortex from the shore, or how much she tried to wake herself up with logic.

Just for this moment, she would let herself indulge. She would reclaim her reason once she was sober.

Her phone vibrated. Jiang Yi snapped back and looked at the screen. It was a message from her team leader, Lin Fei.

Lin Fei said she and Yan Zhijie had eaten at the Jiayu cafeteria before returning. She mentioned they had run into Yin Lei, but for some reason—whether Yin Lei had a problem with Qiguang or with them specifically—she hadn’t given them a single chance to interview her or get close after her presentation.

Yin Lei doesn’t seem like the type to have a grudge against Qiguang, Jiang Yi thought. She was a new Qiguang employee herself; if Yin Lei had an issue with the company, she wouldn’t have helped her this afternoon.

Wait…

A thought flashed through her mind. That fake story I told Yin Lei about being bullied by senior employees… could she be shunning Lin Fei and Yan Zhijie because of that?

Lin Fei’s messages came through in a flurry: [What did you mean by calling me this afternoon and then hanging up so suddenly?]

Jiang Yi recounted the events, including the fabricated identity of being an oppressed junior employee. She could only apologize in her heart.

Lin Fei sent a big “cat-thumbs-up” emoji: [We aren’t close to her anyway. If she doesn’t like us, she doesn’t like us. As long as the goal is achieved. Now it’s up to you.]

Jiang Yi replied with a “Good.” Just as she put her phone down and looked up, she saw the woman in the chair was awake, staring at her unblinkingly.

“You’re awake?” Jiang Yi guiltily turned off her phone screen. “Song Rao went to take her student home. Do you want to head back now?”

“I’m hungry.” Shen Siyun ignored her suggestion, simply stating a basic physiological fact.

Jiang Yi squinted at her for two seconds, weighing her words. “Don’t you want to… eat after you get back?”