As soon as we got off the bus at the entrance of the residential area, Chai Qianning's jinx came true, and a few drops of rain actually fell on the otherwise fine day.
She didn't bring an umbrella, but luckily the rain wasn't heavy. The distance from the door to the building wasn't far, so she didn't get wet. There were just a few drops of water on her shoulders and clothes, as if she had accidentally gotten them there.
She took the elevator directly to the 10th floor, knocked on the door, and Chai Qianning opened it, her eyes sparkling with clear light: "You're here?"
".."
Didn't you send me?
"Come in, come in quickly." Chai Qianning stepped aside to let her pass, and then closed the door.
"You got wet?" Chai Qianning looked curiously at the clothes on her shoulders, where a few drops of rain had dripped, but they were now almost dry.
"No, it wasn't raining when I came out; it only started raining after I got to the neighborhood." Sheng Muxi changed her shoes and was about to straighten up when she almost bumped into Chai Qianning.
Chai Qianning was very close, almost touching her. Sheng Muxi subconsciously took a few steps back, her back touching the white wall.
The other person raised their fingertips, placed them on the clothes on her shoulder, twirled them, and breathed out softly: "Teacher Sheng, I was just about to take a shower."
Sheng Muxi licked her lips: "Then go wash up."
Why are you hugging me?
"But you got wet."
"Just a little bit."
"I'm afraid you'll catch a cold."
"It's fine."
"Let's take a bath together."
".."
Sheng Muxi's heart raced. She placed her hands on the other person's shoulders, and a few strands of hair brushed against the back of her hands, tickling her. She stared intently into Chai Qianning's eyes, seeing her own reflection in them.
The warm yellow light from the living room dimmed slightly at the entryway, casting a soft halo only on the back of the person's figure.
Her long, curled eyelashes trembled, and a smile appeared at the corner of his eye as he stared at her intently.
After a few seconds of lingering thoughts, a sudden realization dawned on her. She bit her lip: "I have some doubts..."
"Hmm? What do you suspect?" Chai Qianning looked at her with a smile.
The surrounding air seemed to thin, and each exhale from the other person exacerbated her breathing difficulties.
Sheng Muxi's chest heaved, her half-lowered eyelashes casting a faint shadow. She looked at the other person's chin, her red lips parted slightly, and said, "When you messaged me, it wasn't raining or thundering at all. Did you...?"
She swallowed hard: "Did you trick me into coming back on purpose?"
Hearing this, Chai Qianning's smile widened. This made Sheng Muxi a little embarrassed and annoyed. She reached out and pinched Chai Qianning's clitoris. Chai Qianning let out a muffled groan and pulled Chai Qianning closer to her: "Yeah."
Unexpectedly, this person actually admitted it so honestly.
Sheng Muxi looked at her.
"If I didn't say that, how long would you have stayed there, chatting and laughing with that male teacher?"
"Where did I... chat and laugh with them...?" Sheng Muxi pursed her lips: "It was just normal colleague conversation."
"Is that so?" Chai Qianning smiled gently, but her movements were purposeful as she pulled her towards the bathroom: "But why did I see you smile at him?"
"I can't exactly sit there with a long face while I'm chatting with people, can I?" Sheng Muxi said before realizing she was already in the bathroom.
The white light illuminated the fine downy hairs on the sides of their cheeks, and the thought of bathing together made Sheng Muxi's face burn.
This is different from turning off the lights at night, since you can't see anything when the lights are off, and the bathroom is too open to the naked eye.
Chai Qianning didn't let go, holding her captive: "But last time, at the Japanese restaurant, I was just saying hello to an old friend, and you said I was flirting with him."
Sheng Muxi: "..."
They hold grudges quite a bit.
The top button had already been undone, and feeling the touch of the other's fingertips on her collarbone, Sheng Muxi blushed and stammered, "I...I just finished eating..."
"Let me help you digest your food."
"Wait a minute." Sheng Muxi stopped her hand from going any deeper. "I think, that..."
Chai Qianning touched her lips with her fingertips, stroking them back and forth, then gently tapping them. Sheng Muxi forgot what she wanted to say, pursed her lips, and under the white light, the blush on her face was more obvious than ever.
"Teacher Sheng, do you remember that summer at the foot of Yuding Mountain, by that stream, you said you would promise me something?"
Sheng Muxi blinked lightly: "Huh?"
"Don't you remember?" Chai Qianning gently stroked her cheek with her palm. "Let me help you remember. You made a bet with me, and you voluntarily gave up, saying you'd promise me something..."
Sheng Muxi's pupils widened, and she gently patted her shoulder: "You had this thought back then?" Her tone was gentle, but with a hint of urgency and shyness.
"I was afraid that if I told you too soon, it would be too sudden for you, so I didn't have the heart to say it."
"You're going to be so heartless now?"
"If I can't bear it, how can I bear to watch you get together with someone else?"
Sheng Muxi was completely confused.
"Just cooperate with me a little," Chai Qianning said, her tone slightly coquettish.
Sheng Muxi loosened her grip on the collar of his clothes, and the fabric slipped down, revealing porcelain-white skin that was as elastic and lustrous as a peeled egg, without a single flaw.
Warm water wets their shoulders, flows through their narrow gaps, and then onto the ground.
The swirling water vapor, like a thin, transparent veil, wrapped around the tangled bodies.
Nearly an hour passed, and both of them were exhausted when they came out.
Sheng Muxi, wrapped in a bathrobe, weakly reached for her phone on the table.
She had heard her phone ringing earlier, but hadn't answered it. Now, when she checked it, she found that Meng Xuelin had called her three times.
She exited her contacts, opened WeChat, and saw a message from someone whose contact name was "Handsome Gu": "Anyone free to grab dinner tomorrow? (Grinning)"
Before she knew it, Chai Qianning had appeared behind her, looking languid and satisfied.
Sheng Muxi quickly turned off her phone screen.
The other person yawned: "I saw it."
"Just a teacher from the same school."
"The one at the dinner party tonight?"
"no."
"You must have a lot of suitors." Chai Qianning hugged her from behind, breathing softly, "So, are you free tomorrow?"
Sheng Muxi tilted her head to the side, her skin brushing against her chin, and the other person pulled her into the bedroom.
Seeing the other person draw the curtains and put a clean, thin sheet on the bed, she already had a bad feeling.
She'd already been to the bathroom once; she couldn't handle another. Sure enough, before she could react, he'd already half-pulled off her bathrobe, his hand moving where it shouldn't, yet he still smiled gently: "Are you free?"
Sheng Muxi murmured, "I'm busy."
"That's more like it." Chai Qianning got up from her.
Chapter 44 The Ring
Watching Chai Qianning fold up the thin cloth that had been laid out, Sheng Muxi asked curiously, "Why did you put this out?"
"I only have this one thick sheet, so I can't change it. Besides, in this kind of weather, it won't dry even if I wash it."
Chai Qianning folded it very casually, almost as if she hadn't folded it at all, and then stuffed it into the wardrobe.
Sheng Muxi resisted the urge to take them out and fold them again, and blurted out instinctively, "Why don't you buy a few more?"
Only after she finished speaking did she realize that her words had a deeper meaning.
Chai Qianning smiled and said, "Yes, Teacher Sheng is very thoughtful."
Sheng Muxi turned her face away.
At this moment, she looked somewhat tired, her eyelids began to droop uncontrollably, and drowsiness gradually overwhelmed her. Ignoring Chai Qianning, she moved over and, without even a pillow, fell asleep.
The rustling sounds by the bed quieted down, followed by increasingly close breaths. Sheng Muxi weakly opened her eyes, a faint muffled sound escaping her throat, and wrapped her arms around Chai Qianning's neck: "Go to sleep."
"So tired?"
The warm breath enveloped one side of her cheek.
Sheng Muxi nodded vaguely.
However, this person showed no intention of sleeping, and chatted with her while holding her: "How do you save someone's contact as 'Handsome Gu'?"
".."
How handsome?
".."
Sheng Muxi pulled the covers up, her mind only on sleeping, and didn't think deeply about the meaning behind Chai Qianning's words.
"If you want, I can also add you as a nickname, 'Great Beauty'."
After a long silence, Sheng Muxi, whose consciousness was in a daze, suddenly regained consciousness for a moment and opened her eyes to look around.
The bedroom lights were off, leaving only a small nightlight on the bedside table. The nightlight's soft, moonlight-like glow cast a hazy, dreamlike light on one's face.
"Aren't you going to sleep yet?" Sheng Muxi glanced down and saw Chai Qianning's fingertips resting on her chin, gently caressing it, then moving to her collarbone, drawing on it like a painting, sometimes a straight line, sometimes a winding circle.
Finally, the other person grasped the corner of her bathrobe with their fingertips, twisted it back and forth, and frowned slightly: "Why is it wet? Did you get it wet after coming out of the bathroom?"
"I don't know," Sheng Muxi said softly.
"The whole corner is wet. Get up and change quickly, or you'll catch a cold."
Chai Qianning ran out of bed, went to the closet and found a set of pajamas for her, coaxing her, "Change into your pajamas before you sleep."
Sheng Muxi reluctantly got up to change her clothes. The room was dimly lit, and she didn't pay much attention to the people around her. She grabbed the clothes and just threw them on haphazardly.
After putting on her pants, she was shirtless and was about to put on her shirt when she turned her gaze and saw Chai Qianning sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed, staring at her intently.