Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 136
by Little PandaHer Candy
The evening was settling in. Yan Xi had cooked two simple bowls of noodles, and they ate together. She wouldn’t let Anzhi clean up, telling her to sit on the sofa and rest.
The dormitory was nothing like the house in Beicheng1—complete with all the essentials, sure, but by comparison it was a sparrow’s nest. Anzhi sat on the living room sofa watching Yan Xi bustle about, her feet tucked beneath her, her heart calm and sweet.
“Yiyi, will your work be all right?”
Yan Xi smiled at her. “I was supposed to go back on the eighth2—same as every year—but the program I prepared before the new year has already been recorded. It’ll air after the Lantern Festival3. I don’t have anything important on my plate right now, so I can stay here a few more days.”
“Really?” Anzhi’s whole face lit up.
“Really.” Yan Xi finished washing the dishes, came out, and stood in the doorway, smiling as she looked at her.
There were tired lines beneath her eyes. She had taken two flights, a journey of dozens of hours, and hadn’t really rested at all. The moment she arrived, she had started taking care of Anzhi.
But her smile was like starlight kindling in the small room.
Anzhi’s dimples hid honey deep within, and as their eyes met, their gazes were full of lingering affection.
Yan Xi walked over and sat down on the sofa. Anzhi nestled into her arms, her heart full of sweetness. She took a deep breath and asked softly, “You must be tired?”
“I’m okay.” Yan Xi nuzzled her forehead, her lashes half-lowered. Anzhi tilted her face up to look at her—from this angle, her skin had almost no visible pores, only faint lines and a few small freckles. In Anzhi’s eyes, these were all lovely marks. Time had been very kind to her beloved; in Anzhi’s eyes, she was perfect.
“Go rest for a bit.”
Yan Xi laughed softly. “All right.”
She pressed a gentle kiss to Anzhi’s forehead, then tidied herself up before going to the bathroom to wash up.
Anzhi stared blankly, her cheeks flushing, unable to stop herself from thinking about that dream. She thought about her courses for the next few days—she had already taken two days off, and would probably need to make them up. Maybe she could try appealing to her advisor4… tell her that her girlfriend had come to visit.
Girlfriend.
Anzhi’s shy smile had barely appeared before she thought of her strict advisor and her face fell. Better not mention it yet. Finish the lab work first.
“What are you thinking about?” Yan Xi, dressed in a white bathrobe, saw her sitting there looking adorably dazed and couldn’t help but ask with a smile.
Anzhi shook her head and stood up. “I’m going to wash my change of clothes.”
There were a few shared washing machines downstairs. Anzhi’s building had few residents, so they were relatively clean.
She went to the bathroom and looked around. “Where are the clothes I changed out of earlier?”
Yan Xi paused. “I washed them for you.”
“Huh?” Anzhi froze.
Besides her pajamas, there had been her underwear. This wasn’t the first time Yan Xi had washed them for her—back when she first got her period, Yan Xi had washed them then, too.
She had been embarrassed enough back then, but now she could hardly bear to imagine it.
Because she had just been dreaming about them being intimate. Her underwear probably had…
Just the thought made her blush without her permission. “You… washed my underwear too?”
“Cough…”
Anzhi kept her head down, not noticing that Yan Xi’s face was also slightly flushed, though Yan Xi was forcing herself to seem natural. “Mm, it’s no problem. You sweated, so… they needed to be changed.”
It probably wasn’t just sweat. Anzhi shrank her neck in further embarrassment. Yan Xi must have noticed, and said that only to spare her the awkwardness.
Yan Xi was truly riddled with guilt. Originally she had just wanted to nap beside Anzhi, but after she had wiped her down, Anzhi was lying there in nothing but her underwear, sleeping sweetly in her arms, deeply asleep, murmuring “Yiyi” in her sleep.
The girl’s body was as beautiful as a budding gardenia, as smooth and fragrant as cream. She couldn’t help herself and kissed her—
She didn’t dare do anything more. She was afraid of hurting her.
They were lovers, yes, but Anzhi had been sick and unconscious. No matter how she looked at it, it wasn’t right.
She really was the “beast” Liu Yiyi had accused her of being. Yan Xi was horrified to discover this side of herself—she nearly broke down. Should she tell the truth? Should she confess?
“Then you go in and sleep…” Anzhi felt the atmosphere was too awkward and quickly pushed Yan Xi toward the bedroom.
Yan Xi brushed a strand of hair back uneasily, wanting to speak but holding back. Anzhi leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’m going to check my email. I’ll come keep you company in a bit.”
But before long, she climbed into bed and hugged her, her adorable face wearing a smile. “I want to keep you company first, then check my email.”
Yan Xi couldn’t help but smile, opening her arms to receive her.
The girl’s soft, sweet lips pressed affectionately against the side of her face. The corners of Yan Xi’s mouth curved up—then her expression paused, and she said, a little embarrassed, “Taotao, there’s something I need to confess to you…”
Poor Yan Xi. She had never done anything to feel guilty about in her entire life—her opening line alone was stiff. Realizing this, she felt even more mortified.
The girl’s eyes shone softly in the dimly lit bedroom. Yan Xi forgot her own embarrassment. Her voice dropped.
“While you were sleeping just now, I did something bad. I took advantage of you…”
Anzhi was stunned for a moment. It took her several seconds to process what Yan Xi had said, and her face gradually grew hot. She had been dreaming—but reality was even more real, even more heart-stirring than she had imagined.
Deep down, she loved that Yan Xi couldn’t resist her. She loved Yan Xi in all her forms—just as she adored the guilty, hard-to-voice expression on her face right now.
Anzhi couldn’t help but kiss her, pressing her face to Yan Xi’s and murmuring, “I was dreaming just now…”
Yan Xi listened to her words, stroking her hair, feeling the warm heat of her cheek—or perhaps her own.
They both fell silent, quietly savoring this rare tender moment.
After a while, Anzhi whispered against her ear, “Yiyi… Yiyi… how exactly did you take advantage of me…”
Her voice was thick and wanting, but in Yan Xi’s ear it exploded like a firework.
“I…” Yan Xi’s throat was parched, and she could not speak.
She straightened up slightly, looking down at her, and reached out her hand. She caressed Anzhi’s face, then trailed down from her young, warm neck and slender shoulders, slowly sliding lower…
Anzhi’s eyes widened slightly, like a little rabbit suddenly startled, then gazed at her with a look that was both dazed and expectant.
Yan Xi’s touch was gentle and tender as it traced the girl’s sweet peach, then slid toward her flat, taut belly.
She only caressed her through the thin fabric. Anzhi trembled, biting her lip, unable to bear it. Yan Xi’s eyes were moist and slightly dark, like a gravity drawing her body upward.
Neither spoke. Yan Xi’s hand only moved lower and lower, growing bolder.
Anzhi finally could not hold back. She released her lip, which had gone pale from biting, and murmured her name, “Yiyi… Yiyi…”
Yan Xi let out a low sound and leaned into her, kissing the girl’s pink, tender lips. Her lips moved down, pressing kisses through the clothing to her sweet peach.
Anzhi’s soft whimpers grew more urgent. She gripped the sheets, feeling like she was melting, and bent her milk-white knees to rub against the woman’s waist.
Yan Xi was in a state of inner war. She finally managed to pull herself back. She moved her hand away from the girl’s body, took a deep breath, and kissed Anzhi softly, letting them both calm down.
A faint, hazy light filled the bedroom, illuminating the girl’s face like pale pink magnolia petals. Her eyes gazed at her with pitiful tenderness.
Yan Xi covered Anzhi’s eyes and kissed her, to keep herself from falling. “I need to rest. I’m getting old…”
Evening deepened, and under the dark indigo sky, tiny lights flickered. Yan Xi lay on the sheets. She had shooed Anzhi out to do her homework; the girl, blushing, had snuggled with her for a while before finally leaving.
Yan Xi touched her own face. A young, surging tide of emotion filled her heart.
The night she had come to Boston, she had come clean to her grandfather about her and Anzhi.
She had gathered her courage and said to them, “Grandpa, Grandma, there’s something I want to tell you.”
Her grandparents looked at her, their gazes kind and accepting, waiting for her to continue.
“Taotao and I… we’re together.” Yan Xi took a deep breath and said it out loud.
In her memory, her grandfather was always the picture of composure, and so was her grandmother—gently at his side, the two of them so in tune that a single glance told each other what they wanted to say.
Her grandfather looked at her, seemingly pondering what this “together” meant. Her grandmother also smiled at her.
Yan Xi exhaled, afraid they hadn’t quite understood. She deliberated for a moment, then continued. “I won’t be with anyone else. I love Taotao.”
“Not the kind of love between family,” Yan Xi said, watching the two elders’ expressions, but she couldn’t read anything from them. She could only go further. “I love her.”
Hearing these words, her grandparents just blinked. The two of them looked at her, silent.
Yan Xi wasn’t sure the two of them had really understood. In front of the elders who had always raised and loved her, she was still deeply uneasy. And in her memory, her grandfather had rarely ever gotten angry at her—whether it was her being naughty as a child and dismantling his flowers, or her bringing home a child to raise when she was young. He had always been accepting. Her grandmother, too.
Yan Xi had already prepared herself to be scolded. Her only consolation was that Taotao wasn’t by her side—she could shield her.
“Xiao Wu,” her grandfather said with a smile. “Is this all you wanted to tell Grandpa and Grandma?”
Yan Xi was stunned. She blinked. “…Yes.”
Then her grandfather said, “Noted. It’s late. Your grandmother and I need to rest.”
Her grandmother nodded and smiled at her. “Xiao Wu. Grandpa and Grandma heard you.”
Yan Xi couldn’t quite gauge their attitude. “…That’s it?”
“You don’t have anything to say to me?”
“You’re not a child anymore. You should know your own mind. Grandpa and Grandma won’t interfere with your love life.” Her grandfather told her.
Unexpectedly, her grandmother leaned over and said earnestly to him, “That’s not right. Xiao Wu is still a child.”
Grandfather took Grandmother’s hand and spoke gently. “Shunian, look—Xiao Wu is this tall now. She’s not a child anymore. She knows what she’s doing.”
“Oh, oh, oh.” Grandmother looked thoughtful.
“Grandma, Grandpa…”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t you have a flight to catch? Go on.” Grandfather waved his hand. Grandmother also gazed at her with a smile, and even let out a sleepy little yawn.
Yan Xi could only stand up and retreat to the doorway. Then she heard what sounded like her grandmother’s memory returning, and her grandmother softly asked her grandfather, “Just now… does the ‘together’ that Xiao Wu mentioned mean what I think it means?”
Grandfather said something Yan Xi couldn’t quite hear; she only caught him letting out a long, quiet sigh.
Yan Xi turned over in bed. Grandfather’s sigh weighed on her heart. She knew the two elders had always wanted her to settle down, to have an ordinary, happy family.
But life is unpredictable—everything was both within reason and beyond expectation. And so was love.
She had disappointed and worried the elders, and Yan Xi felt a little sad. But more than that, she felt relieved. At least she had taken this step. She was taking responsibility for her own love.
She believed they would understand.
Actually, she had always envied her grandparents’ love.
She hoped that she and Anzhi could be like her grandparents, too.
On this night, in her beloved’s bed, she felt at peace—more at peace than she had ever been. It was like when she was very, very small. It was raining hard outside, and she couldn’t go out to play. Her brothers, trying to coax her, had stuffed lots of candy into her quilt. She climbed into bed, pulled it back, and let out a wow—and there were candies under the pillow too. She peeled one open, popped it in her mouth, and fell asleep. Grandma’s going to scold me again for not taking care of my teeth, she thought.
But the adults would gently chide her, and still be accepting of her.
And when she grew up, there was a little girl who would specially save candy for her.
Very, very sweet—the sweetness of being loved.
And that girl—was her candy.
Footnotes
- The northern Chinese city where the story is set. Pinyin romanization is used to preserve the name.
- The eighth day of the first lunar month, often marking the official resumption of work after the Spring Festival holiday.
- Yuanxiaojie: a traditional Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, marking the end of the Chinese New Year period.
- Daoshi: a graduate student's thesis advisor or supervisor.
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