Chapter 8: Let’s Have Sex
How would you feel if someone lived under the same roof as you yet went an entire week without speaking to you or striking up a conversation, as though you were invisible?
Yan Jingyao was certain Ji Lan’s “brain had been stuffed with Pei Jinxi’s piggy buns until she became ill.”
She had lived alone from an early age. Apart from Chen Jin and Pei Jinxi, she had never allowed anyone to stay overnight—not even Xu Wei.
She was accustomed to living alone. Having another person suddenly inserted into her home, especially someone with whom she shared no intimate relationship whatsoever, made her deeply uncomfortable.
Ji Lan, however, was perfectly at ease, behaving as though she had decided to make the best of the situation. She existed quietly, neither speaking unnecessarily nor striking up conversations. Her commute to and from work continued without disruption, and she didn’t even raise an eyelid when she saw Yan Jingyao emerging naked from the shower.
What a paragon of chastity. The atmosphere in the house had suddenly become like the meditation chamber of a Buddhist monastery—enter and remain silent, cleanse the heart, and abandon all desire.
Yan Jingyao was going insane.
That morning, after Ji Lan left to teach, she hid on the balcony and relentlessly spam-called her mother until the call was finally answered.
“Cough. I have a meeting.”
It had been an entire week, yet every time her mother answered, she was supposedly in a meeting. That old fox was an expert at evading responsibility. Yan Jingyao was speechless. “My dear Comrade Salt-Baked, your meeting has lasted an entire week.”
“I’m busy.”
“Avoidance won’t solve the problem.”
“…What do you want?”
“Ji Lan.”
Another tactical silence came from the other end. Yan Jingyao was speechless once again. After a long while, her mother finally forced out a few words. “Her mother was my high school classmate.”
“And?”
“I made an agreement with her. Um… I have to help her once.”
“So you sold me?”
“What do you mean, sold you?” Yan Rui suddenly became assertive. “If you’re so capable, stop using the Yan surname! If you’re so capable, throw her out yourself!”
“…”
Her mother actually sounded aggrieved now. Yan Jingyao finally understood what was happening. Apparently, her fucking mother couldn’t handle Ji Lan’s fucking mother, so she had sold out her own daughter instead.
What the fuck was this supposed to be—a fucking surprise?
Fine. “Does Ji Lan like men or women?”
“Did I tell you to date her?”
“…”
“Ji Wanyan. I’ll send you her number. If you’re so capable, talk to her yourself.”
“…”
The call ended, and Yan Rui sent the number over. While complaining that her mother was unreliable as fuck, Yan Jingyao dialed it.
“Hello, who is this?”
“Aunt Ji, I’m Yan Rui’s daughter, Yan—”
“Sorry, the subscriber you have dialed cannot be reached at the moment. Please try again later.”
“Um, Aunt Ji, I…”
“Elles recouvrent la mousse, les pierres et les sentiers.”
“…”
“Ihr naht euch wieder, schwankende Gestalten, die früh sich einst dem trüben Blick gezeigt.”
What the hell was that?
Yan Jingyao began doubting her own ears. When she looked at her phone again, the call had already ended.
“…”
Fine. Now she understood why her fucking mother couldn’t deal with Ji Lan’s fucking mother. Who the hell could handle someone like that?
She raked her fingers through her hair in frustration. It seemed that she could only start with Ji Lan herself. She decided to have a proper discussion with her that evening.
Once she left the house, she remained busy until eight or nine that night. When she finally returned and opened the door, Ji Lan arrived right behind her.
Not having a key apparently didn’t matter. Her timing was uncannily precise. Yan Jingyao couldn’t help admiring her. “How did you do that?”
“I was sitting beside the window in the café downstairs. I saw your car.”
Her bright-red Ferrari was impossible to overlook. Ji Lan walked past Yan Jingyao and entered the living room, then calmly sat at the dining table and resumed working on her unfinished manuscript.
Yan Jingyao rolled her eyes inwardly ten thousand times. After changing her shoes, she brewed herself a cup of rose tea to soothe her throat and sat opposite Ji Lan.
“Professor Ji.” She went directly to the point. “I think the two of us need to talk.”
“About what?”
“Why are you so determined to make me one of your research subjects?”
“Because you’re an excellent subject to observe.”
“But I don’t want to be one.”
“Then what would make you want to?”
“…”
In certain respects, Ji Lan was genuinely stubborn. Once she decided upon something, she would investigate it to the very end. That was very professor-like. Yan Jingyao felt that there was no reasoning with her.
“All right, I’ll be honest. I don’t like living with other people.” She decided to cut straight to the point. “I want you to move out.”
“You still haven’t told me what it would take for you to agree.”
“I don’t want to agree.” Yan Jingyao interlaced her fingers and rested them lightly on the table, adopting the standard posture for a negotiation. “Furthermore, I believe your so-called observation is invalid.”
“How do you know it’s invalid?”
“Observation isn’t the same as giving someone the silent treatment.”
“Oh.” Ji Lan suddenly smiled. Her lips formed a faint curve, while the rest of her expression remained aloof. Even so, she was beautiful. “If I ask you questions, will you answer honestly?”
It was as though an unattainable flower on a lofty peak had unfurled its petals ever so slightly. For a moment, Yan Jingyao was mesmerized. Ji Lan’s smile was extremely subtle, consisting of nothing more than the faintest upward curve of her lips.
Her cool, autumnal eyes remained fixed on Yan Jingyao. Leaning back against her chair, Yan Jingyao smiled deeply. “What would you like to ask, Professor Ji?”
“Your favorite movie?”
“The Devil’s Advocate.”
“Your favorite color?”
“Light blue.”
“Your favorite animal?”
“Cougars.”
“Your favorite food?”
“Noodles.”
“One final question. What is your sexual orientation?”
Ji Lan looked intrigued. Yan Jingyao smiled and raised her cup to take a sip of rose tea. “These questions don’t sound much like a psychological assessment, Professor Ji.”
“The best assessments often begin with two people getting to know one another.”
“Is that so?” Yan Jingyao’s voice became suggestive. “Then may I interpret this as Professor Ji attempting to seduce me?”
Ji Lan said nothing. Her expression remained cool and aloof. Yan Jingyao stood, walked around to her side of the table, braced her hands against its edge, and bent down.
“Aren’t you studying the psychology of romantic relationships? Why does my sexual orientation matter?”
“I never said I was studying only heterosexual relationships.”
“A man and a woman are what’s normal, aren’t they?”
“Whether a relationship is between a man and a woman or otherwise, the psychology involved should be the same as long as it’s romantic love.”
“It seems Professor Ji knows quite a lot.” Yan Jingyao stared directly at her, their gazes colliding like sparks. “Don’t change the subject. You have to move out.”
“Yan Jingyao.” Ji Lan stared back at her. “What is your sexual orientation?”
Neither answered the other. They confronted each other in silence, and Yan Jingyao’s gaze involuntarily settled on Ji Lan’s lips once again.
They truly resembled Monica Bellucci’s lips, tempting others to taste them with a kiss, yet Ji Lan’s aloofness made one reluctant to desecrate them casually.
Yan Jingyao laughed self-mockingly inside. It seemed her hormones and sexual appetite had been unusually intense lately.
Straightening up, she ended their staring contest. Her eyes held a hint of amusement. “All right, I’m hungry. I’m going downstairs to buy something to eat.”
She left without hesitation. Ji Lan watched her walk out, then finally released the breath she had been holding—she had actually felt slightly nervous just now.
She had never been in a relationship and didn’t know how to handle intimacy. However, she and Yan Jingyao could hardly be considered intimate.
It was said that a physical relationship was the easiest connection to establish. Ji Lan closed the document, revealing a child’s drawing as her desktop wallpaper.
The child’s drawing she could never forget.
Her phone suddenly vibrated. It was Ji Wanyan.
“Mom?”
“How long do you intend to keep wearing down that poor woman?”
“…I don’t know.”
Ji Wanyan sighed, fully aware of her daughter’s persistence. Holding on to a sliver of hope, Ji Lan asked once again, “Mom, can you truly not ask her for me? Isn’t Aunt Yan a good friend of yours?”
“It’s precisely because we’re good friends that I can’t ask!” She wasn’t stupid and refused decisively. “I already regret telling you. Yan Rui will beat me to death if she finds out.”
They sounded like children in kindergarten. Considering her mother’s age, Ji Lan was speechless. “Isn’t that a little exaggerated?”
“She’s a tenth-dan judoka and an expert in Brazilian jiu-jitsu! She’s the kind of person who could hide in a crowd and put a bullet through a hostage-taker’s head with a single shot!”
Her voice suddenly became agitated, startling Ji Lan into silence. Ji Wanyan was too embarrassed to mention that she had been the hostage. Her mind had gone completely blank at the time, and her legs had been so weak she could barely stand. The instant the gunshot rang out and the criminal died, she fainted.
Afterward, she barely remembered how she had been rescued. In any case, she couldn’t reopen Yan Rui’s old wounds—not even for her daughter.
“I absolutely refuse to ask Yan Rui. If you insist on knowing, find a way to coax it out of Yan Jingyao yourself.”
“…”
After ending the call, Ji Lan frowned tightly and stared at the childish drawing before her, sinking into prolonged contemplation.
As expected, Yan Jingyao was her only path forward.
She clenched her fist tightly and finally made up her mind. She had to do it. It was the only way.
The door suddenly opened, and Yan Jingyao walked inside. When she saw Ji Lan still in the living room, she frowned unhappily. “Why haven’t you left yet?”
Ji Lan looked at her, abruptly walked over, and placed both hands on her shoulders.
“Yan Jingyao, let’s have sex.”
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!