Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 124
by Little PandaI Love You, I Like You (Part One)
Anzhi felt this kiss was far more intense than any before. Her breath grew increasingly shallow until her brain felt starved of oxygen. With her head tilted back, she was entirely oblivious to the soft, sweet whimpers escaping her own throat.
The warm yellow light of the wall lamp bathed their forms, casting them in a soft, intimate silhouette.
Yan Xi was drawing her close, their skin pressing together in intimate contact. Her lips, soft and fragrant as flower petals, lingered on Anzhi’s mouth and neck, sending shivers through her that left her breathless.
Under this soft, gentle torment, Anzhi felt hot all over. She wanted her to kiss her more, to caress her more, craving her kisses, craving her touch.
She heard Yan Xi’s rapid breathing and could feel her smooth hands skimming her waist, sliding back and forth from her stomach to her lower back, never climbing a fraction of an inch higher, nor dropping a fraction lower.
But Anzhi could no longer endure it. She felt as though her entire body were about to dissolve into water droplets, soaking into the quilt, or perhaps it was the prelude to evaporation, burning hot like fire.
Yan Xi hovered over her, carefully keeping her full weight from pressing down. The two of them clung tightly together, feeling their racing heartbeats, their erratic breathing, and the graceful, undulating curves of their bodies pressed close.
Anzhi instinctively rubbed and caressed her, their feverish murmurs drifting between them. Things were rapidly spiraling out of control. Yan Xi’s hair almost tangled with Anzhi’s, and her fingertips began to slide upward, inch by inch…
Yan Xi lost track of how many times she had let go of Anzhi’s lips. She, too, was breathless. Her eyes, clouded with a misty, passionate warmth1 stared fixedly at Anzhi’s face. Her fingers, which had succumbed to temptation, finally withdrew from beneath Anzhi’s clothes. She rested her forehead against Anzhi’s, her breath sweet and rapid as she struggled desperately to maintain her composure.
“Taotao…” Yan Xi’s palm cupped Anzhi’s cheek. Beneath her touch, the girl’s face was burning hot, damp with a light sweat, her eyelashes slick with moisture.
Yan Xi’s fingertips brushed over her half-closed eyelids. Anzhi slowly opened her eyes and offered her a shy, tender smile.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. They just lay quietly against each other, feeling one another’s presence.
Anzhi rested her face against Yan Xi’s arm, her almond eyes shimmering with pure devotion.
Anzhi took Yan Xi’s hand again, rubbing it against her own cheek.
“I’m sorry,” Yan Xi said suddenly. She paused, then gathered her into her arms. “I had a bad attitude earlier. I was cold to you.”
Anzhi’s hand slid down from Yan Xi’s arm, her fingers intertwining with hers. “Do you love me?” she asked softly.
Yan Xi froze, her cheeks flushing with the reserve of the older woman.
Anzhi bit her lip, her eyes shining bright. Taking a quiet, deep breath, she gathered her courage to call her: “Yan Xi.”
It was the first time Yan Xi’s name had ever crossed her tongue, instantly placing them on equal footing. Her tone brooked no evasiveness. Anzhi asked again, quiet but resolute, “Yan Xi, do you love me?”
Anzhi’s heart was hammering like a drum. Anxiety gnawed at her. She forced herself to watch Yan Xi’s expression, not wanting to miss even the tiniest flicker. She needed her validation.
Yan Xi did not shrink from her gaze. Even though the pressure of being the older partner brought a dusky flush to her cheeks, she parted her lips and answered in her beautiful voice, “Taotao, of course I love you.”
Anzhi took a deep breath. Just as she was about to let out a sigh of relief, another thought surged up. “Then… do you like me?”
Yan Xi’s delicate brows knit together slightly. She hesitated with concern before saying, “I can’t…”
Can’t what?
Anzhi was completely stunned. Yan Xi immediately squeezed her hand and explained, “No, it’s not that. I like you, and I want to be close to you. But I can’t. You’re still so young, and I have to be responsible for you. I can’t do… to you, to you… cough, cough… before we’ve even told the family.”
She found it incredibly difficult to say, and by this point, she could not go on. The heat in her cheeks rose steadily.
She could only look at her with gentle constraint, murmuring, “Taotao, do you understand?”
Anzhi blinked her long eyelashes and gazed at her. Flushed from their kisses, her face was still rosy, her damp lashes giving her a touchingly delicate look, as if her eyes themselves could speak.
She understood, yet she didn’t quite understand.
Yan Xi voiced the pressure weighing on her under that gaze. “This house is where the two of us have lived since you were small. Every corner holds traces of you growing up. I… need some time to slowly…”
In her past relationships and courtships, Yan Xi had always been the passive party, and she disliked cloying romances that demanded daily emotional disclosures. But the partner she was with now was the girl who had grown up by her side—sensitive, sweet, sincere, and so much younger than she was. So pure, so precious. It left her heart in agonizing turmoil.
Yet she knew this hesitation hurt Anzhi. Yan Xi lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
A pair of soft arms draped around her neck. Anzhi touched her nose lightly to Yan Xi’s, her eyes shining as a smile blossomed on her face. “I know. Don’t apologize anymore.”
The girl’s fragrant embrace wrapped warmly around her.
They held each other for a long time, unwilling to let go. Once they communicated and their feelings were laid bare, every moment of physical intimacy felt warm and precious.
Outside, the world was a blanket of pristine white snow. Inside, the candle had burned down a fraction, its tiny flame casting a warm, cozy glow.
Cradled against Yan Xi, Anzhi’s heart settled. Just as she was about to fall back asleep, she shifted her legs. As her clothes rubbed together, she belatedly registered a rather embarrassing situation.
It was not that she was entirely ignorant of such matters—the internet had taught her a great deal—but she was young and inexperienced after all. Feeling it firsthand made her feel… incredibly awkward and shy. And the internet certainly had never taught her what to do when this actually happened.
This was bad!
She quietly bit her lip, stealing a glance at Yan Xi, whose eyes were closed as she lay beside her, seemingly asleep.
Anzhi lay frozen for a few seconds. Feeling genuinely uncomfortable, she gently shifted away.
But the moment she moved, Yan Xi noticed. “What’s wrong?” she asked in a low murmur.
Anzhi’s face instantly turned beet red. “N-nothing. I… I need to use the restroom.”
“Oh. Go ahead, then.”
Anzhi swallowed, a nervous shiver running through her. The problem was, while the restroom was on her side, the wardrobe was on Yan Xi’s side. She had to go to the wardrobe to get a clean pair of underwear.
What should she do? This was too mortifying, too awkward. How was she supposed to handle this?
Inhaling sharply, she lay back down.
Yan Xi turned her head to look at her, puzzled. “Why aren’t you going?”
Anzhi pulled the quilt all the way up to her forehead. “It’s nothing. Go to sleep.”
She would wait until Yan Xi was asleep.
Yan Xi fell silent for a few seconds. “…Do you… need to go to the wardrobe?” she asked softly.
Anzhi’s sharp intake of breath under the covers was incredibly loud. The atmosphere froze for about a minute. Finally, Anzhi pushed the quilt aside, her face burning crimson as she looked at her. “I…”
Her lips moved, but she could not make a sound.
“Ahem.” Yan Xi’s throat cleared, momentarily at a loss for words.
The two of them froze in a bizarre silence, staring blankly at each other.
“Actually…”
Being the older one, Yan Xi was forced to speak first. Fortunately, the dim light in the room hid the faint flush on her face. “Actually, this is nothing. It is a completely normal physiological phenomenon.”
“We were just close… so… yes.” Yan Xi could not bring herself to say any more. She had wanted to end the conversation with “you can just go to the restroom,” but Anzhi’s face was already completely flushed, leaving only her glowing, sparkling eyes peering at her. “Does Auntie… have that happen too?”
Yan Xi’s mind went entirely blank. She genuinely felt this was more mortifying than making a fool of herself in front of the entire city while hosting a broadcast.
She froze for a long while, unable to conjure a single word, as a deep flush slowly spread across her elegant cheeks.
“D-do you… not?” Anzhi lowered her eyes, unsure of how to feel.
At that moment, Yan Xi’s eyelids twitched.
She closed her eyes. “…Yes,” she whispered, barely audible.
Anzhi’s heart almost stopped. She nearly cried out, but instead, by some inexplicable urge2 she pressed, “Really?”
The moment the word left her mouth, she wanted to faint. Why on earth did she ask if it was true? How was Yan Xi supposed to prove something like that…
Yan Xi nearly trembled. She waited another few seconds before slowly opening her eyes.
Her dark eyelashes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly as they lifted, her eyes shimmering with a liquid light that gradually deepened. She said nothing, her lips merely pressing into a thin line.
She just stared fixedly at Anzhi, slowly reaching out to take her hand in a firm grip.
Anzhi gazed back at her with dazed eyes, understanding yet not fully comprehending.
Yan Xi’s hand was as smooth and warm as ever, but in this second, the heat of her palm felt like boiling water.
It was even damp with a light sweat.
She held her hand. One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Amidst a suffocating atmosphere of intimacy.
Slowly, as if in slow motion, she guided Anzhi’s hand, raising the hem of her nightgown to reveal a patch of pale thigh. Under the dim yellow light, her skin looked like white jade nestled in rough stone, breathtakingly beautiful.
Anzhi’s heart suddenly began to hammer wildly like a war drum.
It was truly a lightning-fast instant3.
Anzhi felt as though she were about to faint.
Then Yan Xi sat up and turned away, letting go of her hand. Anzhi only caught a glimpse of her flushed ears and her profile, clearly too embarrassed to meet her gaze. She climbed out of bed, pulled open the wardrobe to grab something, and headed out of the room.
Anzhi instantly went limp on the bed, her mind like fireworks exploding in the night sky—bloom after vibrant bloom bursting forth with a deafening roar.
Only after several seconds did she get up, fetch what she needed, and go into the en-suite restroom. When she came out, Yan Xi was already lying in bed, sleeping with her back turned. Anzhi stood there in place, watching her quietly. Her tumultuous emotions from moments ago gradually settled, replaced by a deep, enduring swell of love.
She slipped nimbly back into bed, fully understanding her auntie’s bashful reserve in this moment.
This woman embodied all her desires, all her expectations.
Her body was her promised land.
She snuggled closer, wrapping her arms around her from behind, and slept contentedly against her.
Footnotes
- The term chunyi literally translates to 'spring warmth' or 'spring atmosphere,' which is colloquially used in literature to evoke feelings of rising passion, romantic desire, or sexual tension.
- A four-character idiom (chengyu) literally meaning 'led by demons and dispatched by gods,' describing actions done on an inexplicable impulse, as if guided by an unseen force.
- The four-character idiom (chengyu) dianguang shihuo translates literally to 'lightning light and flint-stone fire,' representing an incredibly brief, fleeting instant.
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