Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 140
by Little PandaYour Resistance Is So Weak
In the morning, Anzhi lingered in bed. Yan Xi watched her from the bedside for a moment before poking her dimple. Anzhi frowned slightly as she woke, letting out a yawn, her eyes bleary with sleep. “Are you going to work?”
“Mmh.” Yan Xi smiled. “It’s time to get up.”
Anzhi had been so worried about her lately that she had been staying up every night, waiting until Yan Xi fell asleep before quietly slipping out of bed to catch up on her coursework and read papers. Even with her youth, she was starting to wear thin from the lack of sleep—except for last night.
“I want to sleep a little longer.” Anzhi burrowed back into the warm blankets, only to be held back by Yan Xi.
Anzhi giggled. “I’m really sleepy. Let me sleep.”
The girl’s face in the morning was like a rosy apple. Youth was the finest adornment, even on a morning when she had yet to wash and dress.
Yan Xi leaned down and gently bit her small ear.
Anzhi caught her breath slightly and pushed at her. “It tickles…”
“You weren’t the one who got tired last night…” The woman took her earlobe into her mouth, whispering against her ear, “It was me…”
Anzhi’s face flushed red. She wanted to say something, but shrank back instead.
“Hmm? What is it?” Yan Xi tickled her ear.
Anzhi recalled the sensation of being pressed down and kissed in the darkness of Boston.
Truthfully, she wanted that feeling to continue.
She knew from Yan Xi’s restraint how deeply she cherished her, but Anzhi was too thin-skinned to say it aloud.
Yan Xi kissed her lips lightly. “But next time, you won’t get off so easily…”
Anzhi widened her eyes slightly, as if unable to believe these words had come from Yan Xi’s mouth.
So proper, so old-fashioned, always calling herself “old.”
But that didn’t mean she couldn’t flirt. Whenever she wanted to, her words carried devastating power.
Well, now Anzhi was thinking of their intimacy in the dark again.
Yan Xi quickly changed the subject, however. “I’ve already booked your flight for tomorrow morning.”
“…”
“I’m fine now, so you should head back early.” Yan Xi stroked her hair. “Aside from your studies, you have your work.”
Anzhi took her hand, remaining silent but scratching at her palm to show her reluctance.
“The program we recorded before the New Year has already started airing, and I’ll likely have some miscellaneous tasks to deal with soon—going to meetings in neighboring cities, doing some interviews, and things like that. Once I’m done with all of it, I’ll go to Boston to see you, alright?” Yan Xi squeezed her hand.
Anzhi gave it some serious thought but shook her head. “No, don’t fly back and forth. Besides, I’ll probably be super busy once I get back. I might not even be able to come home for spring break.”
The two of them fell silent for a moment.
They both simultaneously realized a problem: they had never actually discussed the issues of the time difference and long-distance.
But having gone through the agony of losing their dearest loved ones, these problems seemed trivial now. As long as they loved each other, that was enough.
Yan Xi held her hand, her heart softening after all. “Sleep a little longer, then get up.”
Just thinking about parting from her tomorrow made Anzhi loath to let her go. Clinging to her sleeve, the two of them lingered in sweet affection for a long while. In the end, Yan Xi even had to reapply her lipstick before she could step out the door.
As the final snow of early spring fell over Beicheng, the colors of spring spread across the entire city, painting the branches with a vibrant green. Year after year, the scenery remained much the same, and as the seasons turned, their youth had not yet faded.
Sure enough, once Anzhi returned, she became so busy that she barely had a spare moment. There were several times she fell asleep mid-conversation, and several times she pulled all-nighters.
She hadn’t even had time to watch Yan Xi’s new program. She only knew it was a show where celebrities were invited to recite poetry and essays, and it had been receiving widespread critical acclaim and non-stop praise.
Though Yan Xi wasn’t a celebrity, she had still managed to drive a wave of online traffic.
On this particular weekend, when they called, it was midday for Yan Xi and midnight for Anzhi. Enjoying a rare moment of leisure, Anzhi found herself unable to sleep and opted for a video call with Yan Xi instead.
“Actually, our research group’s main focus is to develop a low-cost visual detection technology…”
Somehow, when the topic shifted to her field of study, Yan Xi interrupted her with an amused chuckle from the other end. “Alright, alright, Doctor Tao. I really don’t understand any of this.”
Anzhi giggled on her screen. “Fine, I won’t say any more.”
The current project was progressing quite smoothly. As long as her advisor signed off on it, she might be able to return home once the break started. Anzhi kept this piece of news to herself for now.
“Alright, no more talking. Go to sleep,” Yan Xi said.
Anzhi propped up her tablet against her pillow and stared at her through the video feed, pouting. “I miss you so much.”
Yan Xi tapped her face on the screen. “I know. I miss you too.”
Anzhi’s face flushed slightly. “I want to kiss you.”
Hearing this, Yan Xi let out a soft chuckle. Her voice sounded slightly distorted over the connection, adding a sense of distance, but it still left Anzhi feeling a pleasant itch in her heart.
Anzhi couldn’t help but ask, “What about you?”
Yan Xi leaned closer to the screen, her lips curving upward. “Of course I miss you.”
“Really?” The dimples on Anzhi’s cheeks deepened; she wanted to compose herself but simply couldn’t.
Yan Xi pointed at her own face. “I’m leaning in this close—you can practically see all my wrinkles. So, is it real or fake?”
Anzhi burst into laughter. “You don’t have any wrinkles at all.”
“I don’t?” Yan Xi sighed in a mock-solemn manner. “But I’m getting old.”
Anzhi truly laughed this time, her heart feeling as though it were soaking in honey. She wished more than anything that she could fly straight to her side.
“I really miss you,” Anzhi said, looking at her, suddenly feeling a tiny, inexplicable wave of grievance.
“Mmh!” Yan Xi tapped her finger against the screen. “Be good…”
“You still haven’t answered my other question,” Anzhi grumbled, pouting. In their time together, they sometimes felt like an old married couple, understanding each other’s unvoiced thoughts and actions with just a glance. At other times, they resembled students experiencing their first stirrings of love—clumsy, reserved, constantly trying to guess if there was any hidden affection in the other’s every move.
Yan Xi’s lips curled up as she pretended not to hear. “What was that?”
Anzhi muttered in dissatisfaction, “Nothing… I’m going to sleep.”
Yan Xi nodded. “Alright.”
Anzhi glared at her, unwilling to let it go. Yan Xi merely pressed her lips together and blinked innocently, waiting for her to close the call.
Left with no other choice, Anzhi locked eyes with her for a few seconds before finally cutting the video feed.
Humph.
So unromantic. Such an old fogey. Would it have killed her to say she wanted to kiss her too? She grabbed the pillow beside her and began punching it as if it were a person. “I hate you!”
But she had barely given it two punches before she couldn’t bring herself to do it anymore.
Her phone rang just as she was hesitating. Anzhi’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the name on the screen, her dimples instantly popping out. She lowered her voice as she picked up. “What are you doing?”
The woman chuckled softly on the other end first, sounding as though she were in an exceptionally good mood. Then, she spoke: “Of course I want to kiss you.”
It was as if brilliant fireworks had suddenly exploded in the darkness, leaving behind glittering trails of starlight. Her voice was pure, rich, and utterly enchanting. “But your resistance is too weak—last time, you fainted almost instantly.”
…
Anzhi felt as if something had dropped with a resounding crash from the heavens right onto her head, leaving her completely dazed.
Out of pure reflex, she hung up the phone.
Ahhhhhh!
Why didn’t she say that during the video call just now?! She had been waiting, but Yan Xi wouldn’t say it then! And now she was springing it on her so suddenly!
Just like the last time she had kissed and caressed her in the dark, she wouldn’t say it to her face—even over video was apparently too much—and instead waited to turn around and call her just to tease her!
Anzhi squeezed her face between two pillows, which felt as if they were about to catch fire from her burning cheeks.
Yan Xi, Yan Xiao Wu, Yiyi!
She really was such a closet romantic1!!!
Yet, no matter how hard Anzhi tried, she couldn’t suppress the upward curl of her lips.
How was she supposed to sleep now?!
In the middle of the night, with sleep completely out of the question, Anzhi ended up staying up to revise her thesis.
By the time spring break arrived, Anzhi had spent another stretch of time at school. Yan Xi’s new program had achieved spectacular ratings and critical acclaim, so the production team was already preparing for a second season and beginning the initial phase of gathering materials.
They hadn’t seen each other for more than three months.
Yan Xi let out a soft sigh. Though she suffered immensely from missing her, she was too proud to say so openly, resorting instead to high-sounding words like “work is important” and “your research and experiments are what matter most.”
Endless partings and reunions: parting left behind a melancholy longing, while reuniting brought dizzying ecstasy. This constant swing between sorrow and joy was the true taste of love—soaring in the clouds, yet bound to the earth. She was the one who cast a soft, warm glow over the most mundane corners of her world.
Yan Xi opened the front door and stepped inside. Unbuttoning the collar of her shirt, she went into the kitchen to drink a glass of ice-cold lemon water.
The trees and flowers in the courtyard were lush and well-spaced, carrying a faint, fresh fragrance of plants warmed by the sun.
Yan Xi’s lips curved. It must still be nighttime over where Anzhi was.
Since they weren’t together, she couldn’t even see her sleeping face. Next time, she’d definitely have to take a picture of her.
She stood for a moment before heading upstairs. The carpet on the floor had been removed. Standing on the walnut-colored wooden floor with her straight, slender legs, she had just opened her laptop and casually put on a lively, cheerful variety show to watch.
Someone quietly crept up from behind. Her nose caught a hint of a familiar peach scent, carrying a damp warmth—it was the very body wash she had recently started using.
Before she could even turn around, a soft body leaped onto her back, arms instantly hooking around her neck, accompanied by a crisp, bright laugh: “Yiyi, surprise!”
The author has something to say:
I’m a bit tired, so this one is on the shorter side.
Thank you all for the blessings. I’m not very good with words, and I don’t really know how to express my gratitude, but please know I keep it all in my heart.
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