On the Wedding Night, I Transmigrated to After the Divorce – Chapter 96
by Little PandaPuppy
Just kneeling at her feet like this
Liang Su said, “She really isn’t exaggerating. She had a client who was interested in her before — gorgeous, and rich too, drove a Ferrari. Even so, she had zero interest in seeing anyone. Her head was full of worry about you. She’d bring you up with us every few days.”
Shen Rui said, “That woman has gone through several partners since, and Xixi was still counting on you to come back and set her up with a girlfriend.”
God, to have missed out on a woman that beautiful and that rich — all because she only wanted someone her Yan-jie introduced. Truly touching. Yu Yan quickly patted her back, comforting her. “There, there, I’m back now, aren’t I? I guarantee you’ll be in a relationship within two months.”
“Wahhh, really?” Huo Xixi raised her head, looking at her with teary eyes. “Yan-jie, my jie, don’t trick me. Have you really come back?”
“How could I trick you? Am I not standing right in front of you?”
It was like a big boss comforting a long-lost little tagalong. They carried on like this for a good while before the group finally noticed Fu Yunqing standing beside them. They immediately reined in their wailing lunacy and greeted Fu Yunqing with reserved, well-behaved politeness.
Yu Yan introduced Lu Yu to them. Liang Su and Shen Rui smiled and said they already knew her — they’d added Lu Yu on WeChat back when they were searching everywhere for Yu Yan. Only Huo Xixi, tear streaks still on her face, stared blankly at this young person with a low ponytail who looked quiet and reserved.
As if her eyes had been caught by something and couldn’t look away. Whether during the wish-making and cake-cutting later, or during the meal, she kept looking at her — so obviously that even Yu Yan noticed. She found a chance to lean in and whisper, “What’s going on with you? Why do you keep staring at Lu Yu?”
“She…” Huo Xixi was still looking at her. “Does she have a girlfriend?”
Yu Yan was shocked. “You’re into her?”
Huo Xixi quickly glared at her to shut up, then looked down and guiltily stuffed a big piece of meat into her mouth.
Lu Yu noticed nothing, sitting across from them, focused on eating.
Yu Yan covered her mouth and lowered her voice. “You’re really into her?”
Huo Xixi stammered, “I only added her on WeChat before. She never posts on Moments, so this is my first time seeing her in person. I feel like… she has a very top, very reliable energy, and her looks are so easy on the eyes.”
“…” Yu Yan had to look at Lu Yu from an objective angle.
Very top, very reliable, and easy on the eyes. Clean-cut, tall too. Especially polite, with an artsy vibe, looked very knowledgeable — the type most attractive to lesbians.
Only then did Yu Yan realize that Lu Yu was actually a Heavenly Dish1 of a lesbian who could set one’s gaydar2 off like crazy.
It was just that Yu Yan didn’t know whether she still pined for the female teacher she’d once fallen in love with.
“…”
After the meal, the group moved on to karaoke. How could karaoke be without drinking to liven things up? Back in the day, they never left sober. This time, considering Yu Yan might still be sick and on medication, they hadn’t prepared alcohol in advance — they asked her first if she could drink.
Yu Yan had stopped her medication long ago. She’d drunk during her amnesia period too. But now with the “parent” present, she couldn’t make the decision on her own. Of course she had to proactively seek Fu-jiejie’s opinion.
“Can I drink?”
Yu Yan held her hand, lips pursed, eyes looking at her eagerly, full of anticipation, utterly well-behaved.
Still pretending to be good at this age — but who could blame Fu Yunqing for falling for it every time?
“You can.” Fu Yunqing said softly, “It’s fine. I’m here.”
How doting. How reassuring. With her by her side, what did it matter if she drank herself into a senseless, stumbling mess? The result, of course, would be being taken home and sleeping peacefully.
But…
Yu Yan’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly.
She didn’t want to sleep peacefully tonight.
Shen Rui had the worst tolerance — two sips and she was tipsy, starting to act crazy. A beer in one hand, a mic in the other, howling into it, while Liang Su waited next in line. Lu Yu listened to the singing quietly, occasionally amused. Huo Xixi nervously clutched her glass, sneaking glances at her, exchanging whispered asides with Yu Yan from time to time, fishing for information about Lu Yu.
It had been so long since it had been this lively. Of course she had to drink freely. Yu Yan knocked back drink after drink, while not forgetting to pour Fu Yunqing’s glass too, casting sultry glances her way.
Passionate, attentive, looking at her with those eyes… Fu Yunqing thought she was acting a little strange, but today they were celebrating her birthday, so naturally she wouldn’t refuse — advising her to slow down while drinking along with her so as not to be a killjoy.
Yu Yan was quite pleased with Fu Yunqing’s total compliance, thinking she’d get her drunk in no time — but she vastly overestimated her own tolerance.
Her estimate of her own tolerance was stuck in her younger peak: the era of hitting three venues in one night and drinking her way through every lesbian bar3 in all of Yuncheng. She’d forgotten that tolerance drops when you haven’t been drinking regularly. Before she could get any sign of Fu Yunqing being drunk, her own face was already flushed red.
Fu Yunqing set down her glass, cupped her face, and sighed in advice. “Your face is all red. Drink slower. What are you rushing for?”
What was she rushing for? Of course Fu Yunqing didn’t know what she was rushing for. She could only stew in her own desperate impatience.
She stayed like that, face cupped, staring at Fu Yunqing for a good while. Yu Yan’s gaze drifted, hazy and unfocused, impossible to read. Suddenly, she got up and snatched the mic, saying she wanted to sing a song for Fu Yunqing to express how much she’d missed her. And so, a liquor-soaked, lung-straining rendition of 《Don’t Think of Me》 blasted through the private room —
A few friends recorded videos, clapping and cheering. Yu Yan floated on the praise. She was a bit tone-deaf, and the whole time she sang, she locked eyes with Fu Yunqing, seeing only her jiejie’s smiling expression. Lost in the heartbreak of the song, she sang with increasing passion, completely oblivious to how the others were laughing so hard they clutched their stomachs, not knowing how absurd and hilarious the scene was.
Too many high notes — after two songs, she felt oxygen-deprived and dizzy. Yu Yan collapsed into Fu Yunqing’s arms, lying down on the booth seat with her head pillowed on her thigh.
Fu Yunqing looked down, using cool fingertips to stroke her burning cheek. “Dizzy?”
“Rest a bit if you are.”
“You sang so hard. Is your voice hoarse?”
“…” Yu Yan couldn’t tell at all that Fu Yunqing was also holding back laughter. She only felt the sweetness of her jiejie’s gentle concern, relishing it inside, smiling goofily at her and whispering sweet nothings as if no one else were around. It took a while before she noticed Lu Yu sitting diagonally across, laughing and aiming her phone camera at her. Only then did she realize everyone’s eyes were converging on her in teasing mockery. A huge wave of embarrassment washed over her, and she quickly covered her face, whining for Lu Yu to stop recording.
“My God, Yu Yan, who could possibly be happier than you.”
The noise, the laughter, the fun — they played until dawn before calling it a night. By then, only Fu Yunqing and Lu Yu were still sober. The younger ones were all more or less drunk. Fu Yunqing arranged drivers to take them home. Before they parted, a tipsy Yu Yan grabbed Huo Xixi’s wrist and pulled her aside, saying loyally, “I’ll help you ask her whether she has someone she likes. And if she doesn’t…”
Huo Xixi, her face flushed pink from the drinks, gave a shy nod.
Lu Yu looked puzzled. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she felt that the girl Yu Yan had pulled aside kept giving her a look that burned a little.
She’d caught that look many times throughout the evening without meaning to.
It felt strange to her. She wanted to grab Yu Yan and ask what was going on, but the girl was already dead drunk, slumping face-down in the back seat and falling asleep.
And it would be awkward to ask Huo Xixi directly. Lu Yu was truly at a loss.
Fu Yunqing helped up the girl lying face-down on the back seat, fastened her seatbelt for her, and let her lean against her. Seeing her face flushed hot, she cracked the window open for air.
She’d drunk quite a bit; Fu Yunqing expected her to feel sick, but she fell asleep, resting quietly against her the whole way. When they arrived at the building and she woke her to get out, she didn’t make a fuss. Still bleary-eyed, she reached for the door handle. Fu Yunqing’s heart softened. She steadied her, telling her to take it slow.
Waiting for the elevator together, Yu Yan’s body was limp; just holding hands wasn’t quite enough to keep her steady, so she wrapped her arms around Fu Yunqing’s waist, chin resting on her shoulder, eyes lowered, waiting quietly.
Fu Yunqing held her close, noticed how silent she was, and asked on her own, “Did you have fun today?”
Yu Yan said quietly, “Yes.”
“You went so quiet, I thought you weren’t happy.”
Yu Yan thought, Fu-jiejie has become so sensitive. She’d been having such a good time earlier; now she’d just been quiet for a little bit, and already she was worrying whether she was in a bad mood.
The elevator doors opened. Fu Yunqing steadied her as they stepped inside, and heard Yu Yan say softly, “I was thinking, your 34th birthday — you must have had a terrible time.”
Fu Yunqing was ten years older, her birthday came earlier, in November. Which meant last year, when Fu Yunqing still didn’t know about her amnesia, during the period they were still locked in cold war.
How had Fu Yunqing spent her birthday then? Had she been happy? How could she possibly have been? Yu Yan hadn’t remembered her birthday, had been out fooling around, hurting her over and over.
“I’m sorry,” Yu Yan said.
Fu Yunqing hadn’t expected her to bring this up, hadn’t expected her to connect it to such a happy moment. Fu Yunqing didn’t want that. She just wanted her to be happy while she was happy.
“It’s all right.” Fu Yunqing rubbed her back, comforting her. “It’s all in the past. Just make it up to me by staying by my side every year from now on.”
Yu Yan was silent. The elevator arrived at the 36th floor. Fu Yunqing nudged her gently and guided her through the door. The high-demand little black cat was already waiting at the door to greet them, watching her Mommy help her jiejie inside.
After changing into slippers, just a few steps into the apartment, Yu Yan suddenly slipped down from Fu Yunqing’s arms and dropped to her knees, clinging to her legs.
Fu Yunqing thought she’d lost her balance and fallen. Panicked, she bent down to help her up — but Yu Yan stayed kneeling, clinging to her legs and refusing to let go.
It wasn’t a fall. It was deliberate. Fu Yunqing was confused. She rubbed her head. “What’s wrong? Why are you kneeling? Get up.”
Yu Yan pressed her face tight against her legs, nuzzling for a while before tilting her head up to look at her.
She was drunk, undeniably adorable — but whether intentional or not, those flushed, dewy eyes carried a well-behaved kind of sensuality. Fu Yunqing gazed down at her, kneeling at her feet like this, and felt something shift inside her.
Then Yu Yan said, “I want to be your puppy.”
Footnotes
- 'Heavenly Dish' (tiancai) is Chinese internet slang for someone who is perfectly one's type.
- 'Gaydar' (jida) is a Chinese internet slang portmanteau combining 姬 (lesbian, a homophone of 机/machine) with 达 (from 雷达/radar), creating a 'lesbian radar.'
- 'La ba' (拉吧) is modern Chinese slang for a lesbian bar.
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