Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 140
by Little PandaMy First Family
Sun Miao and Su Ruixi sat on the bed, looking at each other. Su Ruixi’s mind was full of question marks; she truly had no idea what Sun Miao needed to prepare. She really wasn’t particularly clear on the matters between lesbians, but since there was no need for contraception between two women, they shouldn’t need to buy things like condoms. So Su Ruixi wondered: What exactly do we need to prepare?
Sun Miao took in her confused expression completely.
Su Ruixi was a mature and very rational woman, but in a field she knew nothing about, she was truly in a fog. At this moment, it was up to Sun Miao to explain everything to her, down to the last detail.
“Susu-jie, look,” Sun Miao began, holding out her hands for Su Ruixi to see. “My nails aren’t long, but they haven’t been properly cared for. Since I’m always cooking, no matter how cleanly I manage them, there will still be lingering smells in the crevices.”
She was speaking the truth, so Su Ruixi nodded. “Mhm, and then?”
“So, well, for us to do that, my fingers definitely need some prep work. They need to be trimmed and then filed smooth. For the first day or two after filing, no matter how well it’s done, they’ll still be a little rough. It doesn’t feel like much normally, but… down there… um, it’s more delicate and tender, so we have to wait a day or two before it’s okay.”
Su Ruixi’s ears turned red. She understood what it meant now—that “manual stimulation.”
Sun Miao continued, “And then, even between women, we need to buy some necessary supplies, like finger cots, lubricant, and such. Since you and I haven’t had sex before, Susu-jie, I don’t know your situation. We’ll need lubricant for the first few times; this is to protect you. It’s inevitable that there will be bacteria on one’s fingers, so finger cots also serve a protective function.”
As she spoke, her voice grew a little softer. “And the finger cots nowadays… they seem to have some special designs, like textured bumps or something. I hear they can make it more comfortable…”
Su Ruixi’s head lowered as well, and she just let out a soft “mhm.”
But immediately after, she started to drill into a bull’s horn1. She didn’t really care if Sun Miao had ex-girlfriends; after all, they were adults of this age, so having exes and a sexual history was very normal. It was just that Sun Miao seemed to know so much… could it be that she’d had many ex-girlfriends?
Although she claimed not to care that much, deep down… Su Ruixi grumbled internally for a long time before finally concluding with one sentence: Okay, I still care a lot.
She didn’t want Sun Miao to have had many ex-girlfriends, or even a single one. It wasn’t some damned virginity complex; it stemmed purely from her own possessiveness over Sun Miao. Su Ruixi never thought that one day, because she liked someone, she would start feeling jealous of a former partner she didn’t even know.
Fortunately, at that moment, Sun Miao said something that put her completely at ease.
“Also… Susu-jie, I only have experience from discussing it on paper2. I’m not really sure how to do it myself. I’m afraid I’ll hurt you. Let’s… let’s do some more homework.”
Su Ruixi was satisfied. Her voice became cheerful. “Mhm!”
That night, they were finally able to get a good night’s sleep.
The next morning, when Sun Miao woke up, she found that Su Ruixi had once again stolen her blanket and snuggled into her quilt and her arms. She yawned, carefully moved Su Ruixi’s head aside, got out of bed, and went to the other room to wash up.
Thinking about last night’s events, Sun Miao first furtively3 went online and ordered the related items she had mentioned, then headed out, full of energy, to buy groceries.
She finished making breakfast, and after Su Ruixi got up, the two ate together. It was during breakfast that Sun Miao received a friend request. The request message read: “Yuanfu Lou’s Yuan Xiangyi.” Sun Miao paused for a moment, confirmed with Su Ruixi that this Yuan Xiangyi was indeed the owner of Yuanfu Lou, and then accepted.
Yuan Xiangyi first apologized again for the incident with Chef Qian and the manager, then politely asked for Sun Miao’s bank card number, preparing to transfer the promised compensation. After hesitating for a moment, Sun Miao asked Su Ruixi, “If I ask her to donate that 540,000 yuan directly, she wouldn’t just pocket it, would she?”
Today, Sun Miao had made small steamed buns with condensed milk. Su Ruixi was in the middle of breaking open one of the fluffy white buns and dabbing it with condensed milk. Hearing Sun Miao’s question, she shook her head. “500,000 yuan, she wouldn’t stoop to that. If you’re worried, just ask her to show you the donation receipt. Nowadays, whether it’s an online or in-person donation, they always issue a receipt.”
Sun Miao nodded and told Yuan Xiangyi: Um, you don’t need to give me the money. Please help me donate it to the orphanage here that needs the most help. Thank you.
Yuan Xiangyi replied: Of course. This can be considered accumulating good karma for myself. I’m the one who should be saying thank you.
After Sun Miao put down her phone, Su Ruixi asked, “Sun Miao, you’re not keeping a single cent of that money?” Su Ruixi was all too aware of how poor her little girlfriend was. Moreover, Sun Miao was a bit of a penny-pincher; she even charged Su Ruixi for meals at her stall and wouldn’t give an inch when regular customers asked for a discount.
Faced with 540,000 yuan, a huge sum for an ordinary person, she had donated it all without batting an eye. To Su Ruixi, this was actually a bit incredible.
Sun Miao, however, was very nonchalant. “That’s right. This money never belonged to me in the first place.” Sun Miao took a bite of a small bun, and with her mouth still a little full, she said, “This should be compensation for you all. After all, you were the ones who ordered the takeout; I didn’t order a single thing. It was only because you all refused it that Boss Yuan, giving you face, said she would give it to me. To me, this money is just an unexpected windfall4.”
Her table manners weren’t the best; Su Ruixi would absolutely never speak while chewing. Even when talking to Sun Miao at the dinner table, she would always wait until she had swallowed what was in her mouth.
But she wasn’t the type to be strict with her girlfriend over such things. The behavior wasn’t bothering anyone else, so what did it matter?
Sun Miao continued speaking as she chewed, “Money that you don’t earn yourself just doesn’t feel solid. Of course, winning the lottery is a different matter. That’s a gift from the heavens.” She took a sip of millet congee, swallowing everything down.
She hesitated for a moment before saying softly, “Susu-jie, I’m an orphan, too. I grew up in an orphanage. I definitely don’t have the spare cash to donate to an orphanage right now, so donating this money also fulfills a little wish in my heart.”
Su Ruixi had been listening, her breakfast movements uninterrupted. But now, hearing Sun Miao’s words, the motion of her spoon stirring the millet congee suddenly stopped. Sun Miao’s eyes were bright, but her voice was low. “Susu-jie, you’re the first family I’ve ever had.”
The first, and hopefully, the only one.
That was what Sun Miao hoped.
Su Ruixi was quite moved, because she heard something different in Sun Miao’s words. She has no relatives and no real friends. The only thing she has is me. This soothed the part of Su Ruixi’s heart that yearned to be “one of a kind” in someone else’s.
Although it was a bit unfair to Sun Miao, upon learning she was an orphan, Su Ruixi’s heart gave a shameful palpitation, followed by a dense wave of secret joy. Yet she had to suppress all the improper feelings in her heart, her face showing a look of seemingly empathetic pain. “I’m sorry.”
Sun Miao shook her head. “It’s nothing. It’s been so many years, I’m used to it. Besides, why would you say ‘sorry’ to me, Susu-jie? It’s not your fault.”
Covertly, as if by chance, though her heart was impatient, Su Ruixi waited a moment before carefully asking, “Sun Miao, have you ever thought about looking for your parents? If you need help, I can assist you.” She wasn’t actually very willing, but she said it anyway. “I still have some connections. If it really comes to it, I can go back and ask my parents for help…”
In fact, Su Ruixi didn’t really want to help her search. Sun Miao suddenly realized this. She understood Su Ruixi; the conflict in her eyes was no act. At first, Sun Miao didn’t understand why, just assuming the matter was very troublesome, so Su Ruixi was conflicted but still wanted to help her.
But soon she noticed the trace of secret joy deep in Su Ruixi’s eyes, and she understood what Su Ruixi meant.
Sun Miao was dumbfounded, then broke into a smile. Truth be told, this small, dark expression born from Su Ruixi’s possessiveness matched her tsundere-like feel quite well, and even showed a tendency toward developing in a yandere5 direction. But this was a side of her that Sun Miao didn’t dislike.
And soothing Su Ruixi’s little awkwardness was actually very simple.
“I’m not planning to look for my parents. I never thought about it before, and I won’t in the future.”
Sure enough, after hearing Sun Miao’s answer, Su Ruixi’s expression became much more sincere.
“Is that so?”
Sun Miao nodded. She was telling the truth. First of all, she had transmigrated to a parallel world completely different from her previous one. Although it was broadly similar, there were minor differences in many places. And in this world, there was no second person named Sun Miao.
Without her, there would naturally be no parents of hers. So even if Sun Miao wanted to look, she wouldn’t be able to find them.
Besides, Sun Miao had truly never thought about searching for her biological parents.
For whatever reason, she had been abandoned. Sun Miao was very sure of this. The orphanage director had told her that she had been left at the orphanage’s entrance on a day of heavy, swirling snow, wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Her swaddling clothes were intact, and Sun Miao herself was very clean. She was even wearing an outfit that looked new but had been patched. All signs indicated that she wasn’t stolen or taken by force, but had been abandoned by her parents.
Once upon a time, Sun Miao had also imagined that one day, her parents would appear before her and tearfully tell her of their hardships. But as she grew older, such thoughts faded. To this day, she no longer needed so-called parents.
So even in her original world, she had no intention of searching for her biological parents.
The inadvertent secret joy Su Ruixi revealed made the corners of Sun Miao’s mouth turn up as well. She smiled at Su Ruixi. “That’s why I said you’re my first family.”
Her smile was genuinely happy, like a little sun, and it even dispelled the dark thoughts in Su Ruixi’s heart, leaving her with only one feeling: “Mhm, I’m very honored!” She was truly honored to have met Sun Miao and to become her lover, her family.
Footnotes
- 鑽牛角尖 | zuān niújiǎojiān | A chengyu literally meaning “to drill into a bull’s horn.” It describes the act of getting stuck on an insignificant or unsolvable point; to overthink obsessively.
- 紙上談兵 | zhǐshàngtánbīng | A chengyu literally meaning “discussing military tactics on paper.” It refers to having only theoretical knowledge without practical experience; being an armchair strategist.
- 狗狗祟祟 | gǒugou suìsuì | A modern, cute slang term for acting furtively or sneakily, like a guilty dog.
- 飛來橫財 | fēiláihèngcái | An idiom literally meaning “a fortune that flies in from the side.”
- 病|嬌 | bìng jiāo | A term from ACG (Anime, Comics, Games) culture, equivalent to the Japanese “yandere.” It describes a character who is obsessively and dangerously devoted, often hiding a dark, possessive nature behind a sweet facade. The ‘|’ is used to bypass online censors.
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