[Warning! Mild implicit sexual content.]
In 2018, nearing the end of the year.
At that time, Yu Zhou was very poor, even more so than when she had broken up with Su Chang. She was on probation for half a year without commission, and her base salary was minimal.
But she was also very rich at the time because she had just graduated from college with ambitious aspirations. Back then, she felt like a fresh young woman who could possibly become a white-collar beauty.
The work environment and the company’s reputation helped satisfy her fantasies. The lobby was upscale, and she could occasionally see film crews using their office building as a shooting location. The imagination of youth is the most precious, so much so that it could sustain Yu Zhou living in this expensive city and still feel content.
That year, she used her basic salary and subsidies from home to rent a room near her company. It was a small secondary bedroom with a shared bathroom, kitchen, and living room. Yu Zhou was already quite content, as she was a homebody and didn’t have many desires. In her bedroom, there was a 1.5-meter double bed, a desk with a bookshelf and a white two-door wardrobe, leaving little space left.
For Su Chang’s sake, she bought a carpet, placing it beneath a short table and a cushioned seat, making it a makeshift living and dining room.
The first time she invited Su Chang to her home, she was quite embarrassed. Long-legged Su Chang had nowhere to sit but on her bed, which would usually be a concern for most people regarding cleanliness. But at that time, Yu Zhou was worried that her bed would dirty Su Chang’s pristine white chiffon blouse.
But Su Chang didn’t say anything. She looked around Yu Zhou’s tiny room, leaning against the edge of the bed while smiling at her.
Su Chang was that kind of person – as long as she cared about you, it was easy for your heart to be filled with pink bubbles.
Yu Zhou was a bit nervous at the time. They had been dating for a little over a month, with only holding hands and going to meals together. Their first kiss happened in an alley off a bar street.
At the time, Yu Zhou bought a mojito and strolled down the street while holding hands with Su Chang, who turned to her and asked, “Is it good?”
Yu Zhou replied, “Not bad.”
Then Su Chang leaned in, gently sipped from the black straw, nodded, and agreed that it was not bad.
It was an indirect kiss, and Yu Zhou, who was experiencing love for the first time, couldn’t help but blush.
Su Chang glanced at her blushing face once, then again, before leading her to the dimly lit alley. Not far away were the flickering neon lights and piano music from the bars. Su Chang cupped her face and sought her consent with her eyes. Seeing Yu Zhou didn’t refuse, Su Chang, carrying the scent of wooden perfume, leaned in and began kissing her.
Su Chang’s kiss was gentle and inexperienced, first pressing a peck on her lips. Yu Zhou could smell their breaths intertwined, carrying a faint scent of mojito – a mix of sweetness and a hint of alcohol.
And then Su Chang blinked. Yu Zhou could even feel the shadows cast on her face by Su Chang’s eyelashes, rippling like waves, before Su Chang finally lowered her gaze to admire Yu Zhou’s lips up close and took them in her own.
At that moment, Yu Zhou felt as if her ears were being blocked. It took her three or four seconds to come back to her senses and let go, seeing Su Chang furrowed her brows slightly. She didn’t know how to take the initiative in a kiss, didn’t even know how to cooperate – she just held onto Su Chang’s sleeve and opened her mouth dumbly.
So stupid… As she felt her tongue being licked numb and her ears tingling, she couldn’t help but think how lame she was.
It was neither a long nor short kiss. Su Chang pulled away first, shyly pursing her lips.
Yu Zhou looked away, lifting her hand unconsciously to rub the corner of her mouth with her hand back.
It was only after doing so that she found Su Chang had been staring at her. Oops… that gesture might not have been appropriate.
Licking her lips, Yu Zhou said, “Um, I didn’t mean it like that. I wasn’t disgusted by you.”
Her voice was hoarse, perhaps sounding a bit sexy because she saw Su Chang gaze at her lips again, once again pursing the corners of her mouth.
Yu Zhou swallowed nervously and asked, “Do you want to continue kissing? My ears are feeling itchy, and so is my throat.”
She felt so uncomfortable. Looking down, she suppressed her pounding heart, her hand shaking, feeling as if the mojito had been poured directly into her bloodstream.
“Why would your ears be itchy?” Su Chang tilted her head and looked at Yu Zhou’s flushed earlobe, asking softly.
“Don’t,” Yu Zhou shrugged her shoulders, dodged as she frowned, “It’s even itchier now.”
As they walked out of the alley, Yu Zhou felt like she had a cold – sniffing her nose, wrapping her fingers in the sleeve of her clothes, touching her cold nose. After a while, she finally spoke up, “How did you know how to kiss?”
Su Chang seemed to be an expert just now, and her heart had melted.
“I…” Su Chang didn’t quite know how to answer the question. Was this something that needed to be learned?
“Have you kissed anyone before?” Yu Zhou asked.
“No,” Su Chang thought for a moment, “Well, sometimes I have to do voice acting kissing scenes.”
“Ah?” Yu Zhou was suddenly nervous, “Do you really kiss when you act?”
“No,” Su Chang smiled gently, raising her hand, “We only pretend by kissing our tiger’s mouth (the area between thumb and index finger).”
Her hand stopped in front of Yu Zhou. Yu Zhou took a look, leaned in, and gently nibbled at the tiger’s mouth on her hand. It was fragrant, soft, and she liked it a lot.
Su Chang withdrew her hand with a smile, lowered her head to tuck her hand into her pocket, coughed lightly before she continued walking.
That time, when Su Chang took her home, they kissed again in the car. Later, they secretly kissed in many places. For example, when the lights went out in the movie theater, or when they were the only ones waiting in line; on a small street with only street lamps in winter, Yu Zhou put the hood on Su Chang’s clothes for her, and also put on her own, then hid inside the hood to kiss her. When their lips and tongue intertwined, their fluffy hoods were also kissing.
There was another time at the aquarium when a dolphin underneath kissed the trainer’s palm, and Yu Zhou kissed Su Chang like a dolphin.
So, at this moment, Su Chang sitting on Yu Zhou’s bed and caressing her lips with a tender gaze, Yu Zhou knew that Su Chang wanted to kiss her.
But she didn’t want it. She deliberately ignored it, sat cross-legged on the bed, opened the files on her computer and said to Su Chang, “You said you’d help me go through this ppt, this year-end summary I didn’t do very well.”
“I’ll take a look.” Su Chang picked it up and Yu Zhou leaned on her shoulder.
Rubbing against her once, then twice.
Su Chang pushed her hand back to pat her head, “If you do this, I won’t be able to check it.”
“Oh.” Yu Zhou obediently got down and went to the kitchen to wash grapes for her.
She brought up a bunch of dark purple grapes. Seeing Su Chang focused on her edits, Yu Zhou peeled the grapes and fed them to her. Su Chang’s lips accidentally touched Yu Zhou’s fingers, making Yu Zhou’s thoughts gradually go astray.
She lowered her head to play with her phone. Finally, after waiting for Su Chang to finish, Yu Zhou looked at her as she rubbed her sore neck and asked, “What time is it?”
“A little past eight.”
“It’s getting late.” Su Chang pursed her lips and said.
“Ah? Not late, is it?” Yu Zhou stood beside the bed, bent one leg, tapping the edge of the bed.
Su Chang lowered her head as she said softly, “I think it’s late.”
“Well… So…”
“Can I stay here?” Su Chang looked up from under her eyelids at her.
“I…” Yu Zhou’s heart began to race, but she scratched her head, “My place is a bit small, and the bathroom is not en suite, so it’s pretty basic. Why don’t we go to a hotel?”
“Hotel?” Su Chang’s lips parted slightly as she repeated her question.
Ah this…
“What do you want to do?” Su Chang asked with a slight frown and a smile in her eyes.
Yu Zhou didn’t want to talk anymore. She ran to open the wardrobe to find sleepwear for her, “I’ve worn this one. Is that okay?”
“Okay.”
At that time, Yu Zhou’s house was not very well-heated. The two of them felt a bit cold after taking a shower and lying in bed. Yu Zhou consciously snuggled up to Su Chang. Through the thin moonlight that fell from the unshaded curtains, she felt very happy.
And very much looking forward.
But Su Chang didn’t do anything. She first patiently asked if Yu Zhou’s hair was dry and what time they would be getting up the next day. Then she paused, her arm that was serving as a pillow slightly bending, and her slender fingertips resting on Yu Zhou’s shoulder before sliding along the side of her collarbone. Seeing that Yu Zhou didn’t object, Su Chang’s hand gently caressed her neck before finally settling on her cheek, flirting tenderly.
It was like soothing a little kitten, or touching a crescent moon.
“Zhouzhou.” Su Chang called her delicately, very gently, with that expensive voice of hers.
Was it because of her voice acting background? Her emotional expression was so accurate that Yu Zhou easily understood that it meant “not enough.”
Su Chang was telling her, it’s not enough, she wanted more.
Yu Zhou responded with a hum before she reached out to pinch Su Chang’s earlobe.
Su Chang’s hair curved around her neck, even her hair was so beautiful.
Yu Zhou’s gesture was like a little encouragement. Without any more delay, Su Chang kissed her. This time it wasn’t on her lips, but starting from her earlobe, down to her chin, her neck, and finally her collarbone.
It was the reverse order of how she previously touched Yu Zhou with her hands, but the gestures were equally light, even the possession seemed to be very polite.
As their breathing became more unsteady, the atmosphere grew more and more ambiguous. Yu Zhou’s eyes surrendered, so she tilted her head to give Su Chang access to her shoulder. A cool hand slipped in from her hem, caressing and teasing, then withdrew to unbutton her cloth, one by one.
Yu Zhou had never listened so intently to such a sound before, the sound of buttons being undone, unhurriedly and patiently. Two fingers pinched the button and pressed it slightly with the thumb, and then one area was conquered.
How could someone be so adept at multitasking? The trail her lips left was one thing, and the trail her fingers left was another; both doing their jobs, as if they belonged to separate entities that did not disturb each other and yet ultimately converged into one.
As they were about to get to the main point, Su Chang suddenly stopped, caressing her through the last layer of cloth: “I don’t have a finger cot.”
“Then…” Yu Zhou’s voice seemed to be squeezed out from her throat. “Go wash your hands again.”
As she said this, her hand was still kneading Su Chang’s softness, secretly and unobtrusively feeling its changes.
Su Chang waited for her to finish her movements before getting up. She first took a black hair band from the bedside of Yu Zhou, tied up her own hair before opening the door to enter the bathroom again.
The intermittent sound of water stopped, Su Chang opened the door with her hands wiped by a paper towel. She then hesitated a bit as she looked at Yu Zhou: “Um…”
Should we continue or start all over?
Yu Zhou also found it quite embarrassing. While Su Chang left, she too wondered whether she should bring her legs together or maintain the just-separated posture.
The two awkwardly exchanged glances before breaking into laughter.
“Then, I’ll…”
“Continue?” Yu Zhou spoke at the same time as Su Chang.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted to bite off her own tongue.
Fortunately, Su Chang didn’t laugh at her anymore but gently awakened the atmosphere. The moon nestled back into the clouds, leisurely and hazy.
Five minutes passed and Yu Zhou finally felt something was off. Su Chang stopped before asking her, “Is this the right place?”
“I…”
I don’t know either…
“You try,” Yu Zhou tentatively tightened her body, “Wait a minute, wait a minute, it’s so painful.”
Su Chang let out a soft breath before she sat up, pursing her lips for a while. Then she consulted Yu Zhou’s opinion, “Can I… turn on the light to have a look?”
“What are you going to look at?” Yu Zhou’s face was burning.
“I feel like something isn’t right. I’m afraid I’ll hurt you,” Su Chang also seemed troubled, her voice wavering in a rare emotional fluctuation.
“How do you look?” Yu Zhou almost began to cry.
How could this happen, but she couldn’t be sure either. The pain just now felt like it entered the wrong place.
“I’m not doing it anymore.” Yu Zhou became too embarrassed. She turned over, pulled her legs together before covering herself with the quilt.
Su Chang sat on the bed, gently let out a breath before pursing the corners of her mouth with furrowed brows.
How can she just stop here…
She carefully touched Yu Zhou’s shoulder, “I won’t go in, okay?”
“I’ve been interrupted twice already, Su Chang.” Yu Zhou covered her head, wanting to cry.
“You’re already twenty-five, and yet you have no idea about it at all,” her eyes became aggrieved and moist, “You’re good at kissing, confessing, and you asked to stay here, but you didn’t prepare a finger cot or find the right place.”
“You’re so unprepared yet you still kissed me, still kissed me.”
The more Yu Zhou spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. She buried herself in the pillow, not wanting to speak to Su Chang anymore.
Su Chang brushed her scattered hair back behind her ears. With no other choice, she could only let out a sigh.
Before the movement was finished, Yu Zhou lifted her head from the pillow to look at her. “You’re touching your hair.”
“I…”
“You just said you wanted to continue, and now you’re touching your hair again.”
“You’ve touched your hair so your hands are dirty. How can you continue? Are you going to wash them again?”
“You just said… you wouldn’t do it anymore.” Su Chang pursed her lips before saying.
“Didn’t you say you’ll come? Didn’t you say you won’t go in?” Yu Zhou was getting anxious.
Is… that so?
“So, should I go wash my hands now?” She asked Yu Zhou uncertainly.
“Why are you asking me about this!” Yu Zhou covered her face with the blanket and stopped talking.
She wouldn’t say another word to Su Chang.
Never again.
CNYuriTranslation 