Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 129

Are You Willing?

Yan Xi pulled her close, her hand resting against Anzhi’s back. Anzhi’s breathing was still uneven, her brain still starved of oxygen.

Anzhi’s rapid breaths echoed her own. They clung to each other, eyes brimming with tender affection, their cheeks flushed with a fragrant warmth.

            

Yan Xi cupped Anzhi’s face, asking in a low whisper, “Are you uncomfortable?”

Anzhi’s eyelashes fluttered slowly. Her gaze drifted down from Yan Xi’s face to her neck, and then to the disheveled front of her clothes. In the next second, she unconsciously licked her lips.

A few face-flushing thoughts crossed her mind—scenes she had once shyly looked up online… Borne on the surging tide of her heartbeat, those images flooded her mind, making her ache with a restless discomfort.

            

She licked her lips again in nervousness. To Yan Xi, the gesture looked as if she were savoring their previous kiss. A dark warmth settled in Yan Xi’s eyes, though a sudden blush crept onto her cheeks. “A kiss will make it feel better…”

Yan Xi suddenly took her by the chin and captured her lips, the two of them instantly tangling together again.

Yan Xi’s warm, fragrant tongue and breath trailed down to Anzhi’s jawline, earlobes, and cheeks, leaving searing marks on her tender neck.

            

Anzhi trembled. Like a little rabbit lost in a fantasy realm, she was completely helpless. She wanted to say something but couldn’t; she wanted to cry out but had no voice, only able to let out tiny, muffled “wuwu” sounds.

In her daze, she only felt a completely different kind of ache.

When they finally parted, Yan Xi breathed heavily against her ear, her pants short and rapid. “Is that any better? Are you still uncomfortable?”

            

Anzhi swallowed hard and met her eyes, unsure of how to answer. Caught in her gaze, Yan Xi’s heart also throbbed wildly.

Everything was understood without a single word.

But… was this going too fast?

            

Yan Xi thought to herself that since she was the older one, Anzhi probably expected her to take the initiative. Anzhi trusted and relied on her so deeply; if she showed even a hint of desire, the girl would undoubtedly yield to her.

But because of that very reason, she absolutely couldn’t.

She was so much older, and they were of the same gender. She couldn’t offer her many guarantees yet, especially with such a massive family looming over them. Before she had secured her family’s acceptance, she couldn’t allow herself to do something so irresponsible.

            

Yet, driven by the sheer depth of her feelings, she was finding it harder and harder to control herself.

It was truly a sweet torture.

Yan Xi let out a soft sigh.

            

She felt she was still neither mature nor strong enough; she simply couldn’t find a way to have both.

The way Yan Xi looked when lost in thought—her long eyelashes fluttering slightly, a faint blush still lingering on her cheeks, her expression gentle yet slightly helpless, her brow faintly furrowed—easily struck a chord deep in Anzhi’s heart.

Her own thoughts were beginning to drift as well.

            

If she were to take the initiative, it would be like scaling a mountain in uncharted territory. Boundless, breathtaking scenery awaited her; it all depended on whether she had the courage.

Anzhi believed she was good at very few things, her own field of study being the sole exception.

“Boldly hypothesize, carefully verify,”¹ coupled with a courage to put things into practice and a spirit that fears no failure.

            

In her nervousness, her mind had instinctively conjured up her usual motto for conducting lab experiments and research.

She immediately scolded herself. How could she make such a comparison? How could they be the same? This was Yan Xi—the Auntie she loved. How could their intimacy be compared to a science experiment?

Intimate behavior…

            

Anzhi’s face flushed red once more. Yan Xi didn’t seem to resist her taking things a step further. This was especially true of how Yan Xi had looked just now with her eyes closed, her face fully flushed, and the soft sounds she made.

If she took it a step further, if she asked for just a little bit more… would she be willing?

Pulling her thoughts back, Yan Xi noticed that the young woman in her arms was also silent. She lowered her gaze to look at her and found Anzhi looking dazed and lost in thought, her dimple sinking deep into her porcelain-fair right cheek as her soft, slender finger tapped her own chin unconsciously.

            

She looked as if she were contemplating some monumental life decision.

The corner of Yan Xi’s lips curled up slightly. She smoothed down a stray lock of Anzhi’s hair and leaned closer, whispering, “What are you thinking about?”

Startled as though her train of thought had been abruptly shattered, Anzhi blushed a highly suspicious crimson. The moment she met Yan Xi’s gaze, her face grew even redder, and she buried herself in the crook of Yan Xi’s neck.

            

The smile in Yan Xi’s eyes deepened. She swept her hair over to her other shoulder to tease her, letting out a soft “Mn?”

Anzhi hid against her neck in shy silence for several seconds before finally emerging. She pursed her pink lips, her eyes filled with a mixture of timidity and intense adoration, looking as if she wanted to speak but didn’t quite dare.

Yan Xi poked the hollow of her deep dimple, teasing her with a smile. “What is it, really?”

            

Anzhi took a deep breath as though summoning immense courage. She looped her arms around Yan Xi’s neck, leaning close to whisper in her ear, “If I wanted to…” Her breath fluttered past her lips like a soft feather, yet her words carried a crackling electric charge that seemed to sizzle and echo right in Yan Xi’s ear.

“Auntie… are you willing?”

“…”

            

Yan Xi froze for several long seconds before she finally processed the words. Before she could even begin to formulate a reply, her face flushed a visible shade of pink, rapidly heating up. Right under Anzhi’s watchful gaze, there was simply nowhere to hide.

It was over. After over thirty years of living a life of pure and clean-hearted restraint, she had been thoroughly teased by an innocent girl. Her heart was in complete disarray, fluttering wildly with intoxicating warmth.

The adoration in Anzhi’s eyes was soft and crystal clear, still waiting for her answer. Since Anzhi was still nestled in her arms, Yan Xi had absolutely no way to escape.

            

It was simply… simply…

She was going to faint…

Speechless, Yan Xi could only stare as Anzhi waited for her reply. The atmosphere grew a bit strange and awkward.

            

The kind of awkwardness that offered absolutely no way out.

So when the phone on the coffee table suddenly rang, both of them let out a collective sigh of relief.

Anzhi scrambled off Yan Xi’s lap. She steadied her racing emotions, sat down on the seat beside her, and only picked up the phone after staring at the caller ID for a few seconds to confirm who it was.

            

It was Chen Muqi on the other end.

He gave a warm chuckle. “Anzhi, I called you several times but you didn’t pick up. Are you busy?”

Anzhi paused, offering a few vague murmurs to brush past the question.

            

Since she had gone abroad, Chen Muqi had called her frequently. He had even visited her once in Boston, bringing her many things and offering her money, which Anzhi would accept a little of when she couldn’t refuse. He had finally settled into his role as a father, his temperament softening considerably. Between them, they had established a stable, comfortable dynamic as elder and junior. Although she still couldn’t bring herself to say ‘Dad,’ Chen Muqi didn’t mind in the slightest, referring to himself as “Dad” with absolute, effortless naturalness.

Chen Muqi said over the line, “Are you free to come out and have lunch with Dad tomorrow? And come take a look at Dad’s gallery. How about it?”

Anzhi’s mind was still entirely occupied by the awkward scene from just now and Yan Xi’s reaction; she hadn’t paid much attention to what Chen Muqi was actually saying.

            

“Did you hear what Dad said? Anzhi? Anzhi?”

“Ah… Oh…”

“What’s with the ‘ah’? Do you know the address? Just take a taxi to the gallery…”

            

Anzhi felt a wave of restlessness. Just as she was about to wrap up the call, Yan Xi leaned in, wrapping her arms around her from behind and drawing her into a soft embrace.

Then, Anzhi felt Yan Xi rest her head gently on her shoulder.

All at once, Anzhi’s heart settled.

            

After a brief thought, she said, “Okay, I’ll go over tomorrow.”

Chen Muqi laughed happily. “Dad will send you the address in a bit, and you can just show it to the taxi driver when you get in. Do you have anything you want to eat? Actually, never mind—Dad will take you to a private kitchen. The food over in Boston is really too limited…”

His voice was quite loud, his sheer excitement carrying clearly over the line. Anzhi’s feelings were somewhat complicated, so she simply said, “Got it. You can decide.”

            

“Alright. Oh, by the way, is Yan Xi coming along?”

Anzhi turned her face to look at Yan Xi. Yan Xi shook her head gently. Anzhi then said, “No, she has to work tomorrow.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll treat her to a meal separately in the future. That’s fine too; you two spend plenty of time together normally anyway. Tomorrow, you can just spend some time alone with Dad.”

            

Although his words didn’t carry any double meaning, Anzhi still felt a flush of guilty embarrassment.

She hung up the phone.

The two of them still remained silent, not speaking.

            

Yan Xi cleared her throat. “Then I’ll just grab lunch at the station tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Anzhi replied.

Yan Xi never pried into her relationships with her parents, leaving her to handle them as she saw fit. She knew that Anzhi’s relationship with Chen Muqi had been decent over the past few years, but she no longer maintained any contact with Tao Zhenzhen.

            

She wondered if she should inform Chen Muqi of their relationship. After all, Anzhi was his daughter, and it would require her consent. But this wasn’t a major concern; she was fully prepared to accept his reproaches. Her own family, on the other hand, was the trickier matter—but even that wasn’t an urgent concern right now.

At this moment, the most pressing issue was Anzhi’s question from earlier. She glanced at Anzhi, who kept her face lowered in silence.

“Ahem,” Yan Xi cleared her throat.

            

As if receiving a signal, Anzhi looked up at her.

In an instant, Yan Xi found herself entirely tongue-tied.

Watching her embarrassed expression, Anzhi couldn’t help but burst into a soft giggle.

            

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