Green Plum, Green Plum (20)
“Help me.”
Offend?
Shen Yelan heard this overly polite phrase, retracting her previously indulgent gaze from Xu Jiao. Her eyelashes drooped slightly, and she pressed her lips together without responding.
The voice that had not appeared for a long time now came uninvited, whispering softly near her earlobe, “What do you mean by offend? That was clearly an invasion.”
The tone was so cloying it made one uneasy.
Shen Yelan’s cheeks tightened, and her eyelashes fluttered.
Xu Jiao watched her in silence for a long time. Seeing that she even averted her gaze silently, Xu Jiao’s sense of guilt deepened. She reflected on how she was so careless outside, easily falling into a trap, and even…
Even did such things to Shen Yelan.
Xu Jiao barely maintained her composure, but the images in her mind grew increasingly vivid, like a balloon floating on water, struggling to be pushed down but ultimately let it drift freely with the current.
She recalled her actions last night after getting drunk, reckless like a child jumping into a pool of toys. Later, when the effect of the drink kicked in, she felt both hot and restless, yet her temper flared uncontrollably. She sat on Shen Yelan’s lap, wriggling around, and even shamelessly clung to her neck, whining:
“Help me.”
“Move.”
Xu Jiao couldn’t help but wince, drawing in a sharp breath.
The scene was too beautiful… better not to dwell on it.
She had vented her frustrations under the influence of alcohol and didn’t have many clear memories, not even a severe headache. But as for Shen Yelan, who had suffered this unwarranted disaster, she probably wasn’t feeling much better.
Xu Jiao sighed inwardly, pulling back the blanket. A glance at herself revealed just how restrained Shen Yelan had been last night—
Well, maybe not exactly.
Shen Yelan didn’t have the same inclination towards women as she did. Perhaps she was just scared stiff by Xu Jiao’s persistent begging and pleading and, with no other option, finally softened and helped her out. Restraint didn’t really come into it.
Xu Jiao pushed aside the fleeting thought, chuckling to herself for seeing the world through “rotten” eyes.
She got out of bed, opened the wardrobe, and hastily put on a set of clothes, her back turned to Shen Yelan. Her smooth, curved back, delicate waistline, pert, round… and long, slender legs…
And the black thorny cross tattoo on her ankle.
The smooth, almost reflective ankle moved slightly within Shen Yelan’s line of sight, ensnaring her gaze like a spell. She quickly glanced up, but just as quickly, as if scalded, she turned her eyes away.
Her memory was too good.
Even with just a glance, the sights she should and shouldn’t remember were seared onto her retina with a warmth that persisted. Even when she closed her eyes, the outlines stubbornly imprinted themselves on her eyelids.
After an indeterminate amount of time, she heard a voice close by: “Sorry for the chaos last night. Are you feeling okay? You should be able to wear my clothes. How about this set?”
The voice was still gentle, but it lacked the fiery passion of the previous night.
One could easily detect the calm politeness beneath it.
A faint sense of wistfulness and loss surged in Shen Yelan’s heart. She wished that last night would never end, that the morning sun would never rise. But she knew… it was impossible. Even if she hadn’t slept all night, time would not stop for her will.
So she could only suppress her emotions, opening her eyes to the sound of that voice. She saw Xu Jiao, neatly dressed, standing by the bed.
Perhaps out of guilt, Xu Jiao’s expression was softer than usual, and there was even a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips.
Shen Yelan tried hard to brush away the dust that had settled on her heart, continually comforting herself: Actually, this is good. This indifferent Xu Jiao will never let you confuse her with an illusion, right?
This version of her could keep her forever awake.
“Why aren’t you talking? Have you gone mute?” Xu Jiao bent down, propping one hand on the edge of the bed. Her eyes, full of playful curiosity, moved closer, trying to peer beneath the blanket covering Shen Yelan’s shoulders, as if she could discern something through the air-conditioned duvet.
Shen Yelan moved her lips and finally uttered her first words of the morning. Her voice was very soft, tinged with reluctance, as if she was unwilling but had no choice but to say goodbye:
“No.”
Even her voice was raspier than it had been the previous night. “I’m fine. I can wear this set of clothes.”
Xu Jiao didn’t quite believe her. She shook her head and reached out to pull the blanket away, but Shen Yelan instinctively clutched it tighter, her reaction almost a reflexive rejection.
Xu Jiao thought she was traumatized and a bit triggered, so she immediately withdrew her hand and softened her tone, almost with a protective tenderness:
“Alright, alright, I won’t touch you.”
“I just want to see if you’re hurt. Be honest, or I’ll have to call a doctor to come over.”
Shen Yelan had never seen her so gentle before, and for a moment, she was at a loss, her eyes filled with a bit of confusion. She followed Xu Jiao’s words and did a mental check of her current state.
Somewhere did feel uncomfortable.
However… it was nothing compared to the pain in her back.
Last night, she had collided with the steps at the entrance while carrying Xu Jiao’s weight, and it wasn’t a light hit. Without timely treatment, the pain had intensified after a night’s rest, and she wondered just how bad it looked now.
Xu Jiao kept a certain distance from her and, seeing her recollecting something, gently said in a coaxing tone like one would use with a pet: “You need to apply medicine quickly to the uncomfortable spots.”
After thinking for a moment, she added, “I know what happened last night was sudden and hard for you to accept. It’s too late to say anything now, but I still want to offer my sincere apology, and I promise to make amends as much as I can, alright?”
Hearing the word “amends,” Shen Yelan seemed slightly moved and finally met Xu Jiao’s gaze, though she just moved her lips without saying anything.
Xu Jiao noticed her intention and felt a bit relieved. It was good to have demands; it gave her a direction for compensation. The most troubling ones were those who, after being wronged, were too timid to ask for anything and ended up depressed in the shadows. That would make her feel deeply guilty.
“No rush, you can think about it slowly.” After saying this, Xu Jiao patiently repeated for the third time, “Can you tell me where it hurts now?”
Shen Yelan slowly replied, “My back hurts a bit.”
Xu Jiao: “?”
Back pain? She could understand if it was waist pain or something else, but why would her back hurt?
……
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
When Xu Jiao saw the large bruises on Shen Yelan’s back, she was shocked. Unfortunately, she couldn’t recall when she had caused Shen Yelan to fall, so she could only apologize regretfully. Then she went to find some ointment for bruises and injuries and carefully treated Shen Yelan’s back.
“I don’t know if the bones were hurt… maybe we should go to the hospital for an X-ray?” Even after treating the injury, Xu Jiao felt that the bruises on Shen Yelan’s back were quite alarming and couldn’t help but suggest it.
By that time, Shen Yelan had already changed into loose, comfortable loungewear. Noticing that Xu Jiao had finished applying the ointment, she slightly moved her shoulders, let her clothes fall back into place, and said in a low voice, “No need.”
Xu Jiao wanted to insist, but seeing Shen Yelan’s demeanor, she felt as if being more forceful would be akin to bullying. So, she relented and then asked, “How about something light for breakfast, like porridge?”
Shen Yelan had never been cared for so attentively before. Under Xu Jiao’s gentle treatment that morning, she felt disoriented and could only nod quietly after a long pause. She watched in surprise as Xu Jiao rolled up her sleeves and walked out of the room, asking:
“Are you… making breakfast?”
Xu Jiao had already reached the door. She turned back to look at her and said, “Yes, Aunt Su had some family matters and had mentioned resigning some time ago. She won’t be coming anymore starting today. I didn’t want to go through the hassle of getting used to a new maid, so I learned to cook from her. If it doesn’t taste good, just let me know, and we’ll order takeout for lunch.”
Shen Yelan nodded blankly.
Xu Jiao noticed that she seemed a bit more spirited than before, smiled at her, and then opened the door to leave. Shen Yelan remained immersed in this dream-like gentleness, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
Until one question slowly surfaced in her mind—
Xu Jiao liked girls.
If she could be so gentle with someone she had just met, how would she treat someone who became her girlfriend?
What will it be like?
The dark seed that the cultivator had resolutely decided to uproot suddenly hesitated as it was about to be exposed to the sunlight. Somehow, it sensed the cultivator’s thoughts and began to struggle, its roots digging deeper and deeper into the soil, burying itself ever more deeply.
All the previous efforts were suddenly in vain.
One could only watch it grow wantonly, with luxuriant branches and leaves, even willingly becoming its nourishment.
……
“I remember you don’t have any particular dietary restrictions, right?”
Xu Jiao entered with a bowl of side dishes in her left hand and a bowl of porridge in her right. Before she even reached Shen Yelan, Shen Yelan could already smell the fragrant porridge, cooked to a soft consistency with diced century eggs and minced meat, sprinkled with chopped green onions, making one’s mouth water.
Placing the two bowls on the nearby desk, Xu Jiao brought over a bed tray table and arranged the food in front of Shen Yelan. She then went outside and brought in two more small dishes, pickles that Aunt Su had left behind.
Shen Yelan glanced over and noticed there was only one bowl of porridge. She asked, “Where’s yours?”
Xu Jiao replied matter-of-factly, “I’ll eat outside. Call me if you need anything—oh, do you want me to feed you?”
At this, she leaned in patiently. Although there was still a hint of a smile in her eyes, they were clear and bright, making the somewhat ambiguous act of “feeding breakfast” seem like an ordinary gesture of helping a classmate.
At this moment, Xu Jiao had returned to her usual self.
There was no trace left of last night.
Shen Yelan felt as if it had all been just a dream.
Seeing that Shen Yelan did not respond, Xu Jiao smiled to herself, stood up, and walked towards the door. Just as she touched the handle, she heard Shen Yelan’s low voice from behind:
“That compensation you mentioned earlier… was it real?”
Xu Jiao paused, turned back to meet Shen Yelan’s gaze. Her eyes were so purely dark that when they locked gazes, it felt as if they could draw one’s soul in like two magnetic stones.
“Can you—” be my girlfriend?
For some reason, Xu Jiao suddenly had a bad feeling. She abruptly interrupted Shen Yelan and repeated what she had promised earlier: “Yes, as long as it’s something I can do and it doesn’t go against my principles, I will do it.”
A slight pain arose in Shen Yelan’s heart.
It was like a splinter had lodged itself in her.
Oddly enough, she sensed rejection in Xu Jiao’s words, as if her intentions had already been seen through, even though she hadn’t yet voiced them.
She lowered her eyes, and the courage she had painstakingly mustered dissipated just like that.
But Xu Jiao pressed on, “What were you going to ask me just now?”
Shen Yelan looked at the bowl of hot, fragrant congee with preserved egg and lean pork in front of her. The rising steam stung her eyes, making them feel moist after a while.
She was silent for a long time, then finally spoke again, her voice light and deliberately devoid of emotion, making it hard to discern her true feelings:
“Can you—”
“Let me do it ten times?”
The room was very quiet, without any extraneous sounds. Although they had a dog at home, Xiao Huang was usually very quiet, often amusing himself by sitting on the sofa and turning on the TV with the remote control.
So Xu Jiao heard these words very clearly.
But no matter how clear, she couldn’t hide the astonishment in her eyes. After being stunned for a while, she couldn’t help but repeat, “What?”
Shen Yelan raised her right hand, causing the wound on her back to throb with pain, but her expression showed no trace of it. She calmly picked up the spoon in the bowl and stirred the porridge in front of her. In her slow movements, she patiently repeated her previous declaration of “ten times.”
Finally, she said, “When you buy something from a store, there’s even the ‘one fake, ten compensation’ rule. Besides… it was Sister Xu Jiao who made the first move on me, so making double the compensation isn’t too much, right?”
(LP: The “one fake, ten compensation” rule (“假一賠十”) is a common business practice in China, meaning that if a customer buys a fake product, the seller will compensate them tenfold.)
Moreover, Xu Jiao couldn’t say this went against her principles, because last night, not only did she make the first move, but she also offended Shen Yelan.
But—
Xu Jiao couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, pondering over this “double” compensation. Ten times… this isn’t just double, it’s super double!
She stared at Shen Yelan for a long time, feeling as if she had fallen into some kind of trap. But then again, she was indeed the one who had provoked this person. After hesitating, Xu Jiao asked, “Let’s communicate first, you… don’t have any particularly perverted preferences in that area, right?”
Shen Yelan slightly curled her lips and sincerely replied, “I’ve never been in a relationship, nor have I had any intimate encounters with anyone before, so I don’t really know my preferences in that regard.”
Xu Jiao understood. Generally, someone with such limited experience wouldn’t likely have developed any weird fetishes.
Besides…
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
Shen Yelan, being such a top student, looked like a decent person.
Nothing strange happened last night either.
Xu Jiao didn’t realize she was relaxing too soon. After thinking for a long time, she reluctantly nodded, “Just ten times?”
Shen Yelan fed herself a spoonful of the delicious century egg and lean pork congee, nodded slightly, and made this agreement with her.
Since she couldn’t become her girlfriend for the time being…
Doing what girlfriends do first wasn’t a bad choice.
……
“Now?”
Xu Jiao had just finished washing the dishes and was planning to spend a leisurely day petting the dog and browsing through her target school’s programs. When Shen Yelan called her into the room, even someone as composed as Xu Jiao couldn’t help but be momentarily bewildered.
Xiao Huang had grown into Da Huang by now. Normally, he would follow Xu Jiao everywhere, wagging his tail. However, when they reached the door to Shen Yelan’s room, he seemed to catch a scent of something and, with a yelp, tucked his tail between his legs and ran off.
This left Xu Jiao alone to face the hidden “big boss” inside.
Looking at Shen Yelan’s frame and recalling the injuries on her back, Xu Jiao’s face was filled with intense confusion. She exaggeratedly looked Shen Yelan up and down, who was sitting by the bed, and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure you can do it?”
Though she was ready to repay kindness with her body a second time…
But…
No matter how she looked at it, Shen Yelan didn’t seem capable.
Shen Yelan didn’t answer her question. Instead, she pulled out two packages from the messy pockets of her pants. They were items she had been forcefully given by Dong Qing when they left the club last night.
At the time, her mischievous master, who loved to tease her, had taken a look at the person she was carrying on her back and had given her an ambiguous smile. As they passed by, she patted her on the arm and whispered:
“This is for you, a little gadget I got recently. It’s pretty fun, keep up the good work.”
Shen Yelan had always been treated like a trash can by Dong Qing, receiving all sorts of things from her.
And most of them were quite peculiar.
Sometimes they were things that looked good but were useless, other times they were downright bizarre. She remembered one time Dong Qing gave her a cute little cat toy. It was pink, pretty, and delicately made. However, when she held it in her hand, it suddenly jumped as if triggered by something. She didn’t catch it in time, and it fell to the ground. (LP: ?!!!)
She later found out what it was for.
Last night, she was worried that what Dong Qing gave her was too stimulating, so she didn’t use it. Now, as she carefully looked at the description, she tore open the packaging and gently wrapped the thin, slippery item, which felt like fish skin, around her fingertip.
It fit snugly over two knuckles.
But this wasn’t an ordinary finger protector.
Shen Yelan looked at the semi-transparent color, then raised her eyes to Xu Jiao and said, “Of course I can’t do it, so I’ll have to trouble you, Sister Xu Jiao.”
Xu Jiao: “…???”
Is this too fast?
She watched as Shen Yelan finished all her preparations and waited for her to sit down. She didn’t feel quite right about it, especially since it was broad daylight outside with the sun shining brightly.
The two of them locked eyes from a distance. Shen Yelan calmly looked at her and reminded her in a relaxed tone, “If you say something, you have to follow through, Sister Xu Jiao.”
Xu Jiao: “…”
She endured it.
She had brought this upon herself, so she had to bear it.
She walked over to pull the curtains. Although there were no residents in the building across from hers, the bright windows always gave her an indescribable feeling of being secretly observed, a subtle and inexplicable sense of shame.
Seeing her actions, Shen Yelan asked, “Can you not close them?”
Xu Jiao turned to look at her, “Why?”
Shen Yelan tilted her head slightly. Her eyes, black and white, focused intently, still resembling a swirling vortex. Xu Jiao heard her say slowly, “Because then it won’t be clear.”
Xu Jiao was about to say something like, “This curtain is not the type that blocks out light. Even if it’s closed, it will only be slightly darker inside and won’t obstruct the view.” However, just as the words were about to come out of her mouth, she suddenly thought of something and abruptly stopped.
Taking a deep breath, she asked, “Can’t see what?”
“You,” Shen Yelan answered without hesitation.
Not content with her answer, she further elaborated on the term, “Your actions.”
“Do you want me to be even clearer?”
Xu Jiao tightened her grip on the curtain, almost pulling the entire fabric off. For the first time, she felt that this little academic overachiever in front of her was not as simple as she appeared on the surface.
She had no idea where this person had learned such vulgar language.
Xu Jiao stood in front of the window for a long time, mentally preparing herself, and slowly made her way towards the person on the bed.
……
“Mm.”
The sound that slipped from her throat was fleeting, insignificant, like the soft breath of a cat, not only failing to suppress the hidden desires in her heart, but instead intensifying them.
Shen Yelan’s eyes were covered by Xu Jiao’s hand, unable to see the movements of the person so close by. However, her other senses became more acute, even hearing Xu Jiao’s disheveled and uncontrollable breath clearly.
So much so that her fingertips, enveloped in warmth, instinctively twitched.
Almost simultaneously, she heard the person in front of her inhaling sharply.
Realizing the other person’s intention to control the pace calmly, Shen Yelan suddenly spoke, “I forgot to mention earlier, there is a standard for the end of each session—”
Xu Jiao didn’t dare to put too much weight on her, although she leaned on her shoulder, she was afraid it would be too painful for her back to touch the bed. She could only face her, bearing the pressure on her knees, and squeezed out a sentence through her teeth, “Wh-what?”
Shen Yelan: “The material on my hand will melt. Only when it melts can this session be considered finished.”
(If you're not reading on littlepandatranslations.com, it means this has been stolen)
Xu Jiao was momentarily stunned. She had never heard of such a product before.
What on earth was it?
But before she could ask, she suddenly felt that something was off. She was like a fish trying to escape from the chopping board, desperately trying to jump up, but the chef’s knife closely pursued her, not allowing her to escape.
“What’s going on? Why… so cold? It’s so chilly, I can’t… I can’t…”
Xu Jiao regretted it. She was freezing and was about to retract, but Shen Yelan’s other hand firmly grasped her waist, keeping her under control.
“This is what I wanted to say. This thing, it can instantly cool down or instantly heat up. Only through continuous and regular friction can it melt. Otherwise, its transformation will never stop.”
Before she could finish speaking, Xu Jiao already felt the so-called heating up—
Was this an attempt to scald her to death?!
……
Alternating between cold and hot.
A duo of ice and fire.
Someone have overestimated their endurance and can’t bear it anymore. “I… I have no strength left.”
“Come on, Sister Xu Jiao, unfortunately my back hurts, and I can’t exert any force with my hands either.”
“Then get out—”
“No, didn’t we agree? This is not over yet.”
“Shen Yelan!”
“Yes, what’s wrong, Sister Xu Jiao?”
“I… help me, please… I really have no strength left… please, I beg you…”
LP: This chapter’s too spicy than I thought!
