For The Rest Of Our Life – Chapter 129

Loving you is my instinct

On the evening before their departure, Xiao Wanqing and Lin Xian were checking their luggage for the last time before they each took a shower, aiming to go to bed early so they could catch the morning flight.

Xiao Wanqing was almost done with her shower when Lin Xian slowly emerged from hers. Somehow, mosquitoes from the balcony had bitten Lin Xian several times. Worrying about Xiao Wanqing getting bitten too if she stayed, Lin Xian, who usually clung to her, unusually urged Xiao Wanqing to go back to the room without waiting for her.

Unable to resist her, Xiao Wanqing reluctantly returned to the living room. She sat on the sofa, admiring Lin Xian as she tied up her long hair, revealing her pale, beautiful neck—a sight to behold, her eyes filled with affection.

“Wuwuwu,” Xiao Wanqing’s phone on the coffee table vibrated twice. She took her gaze off her beloved and checked the message. It was from a colleague, saying that the document she asked to be revised in the afternoon was already modified and sent to her mailbox. Xiao Wanqing connected to the Wi-Fi and immediately checked the document. After thinking for a moment, she casually opened WeChat to double-check if there were any last-minute changes or notices regarding work.

Just as she finished reading all the unread messages and returned to the home screen, a new WeChat message popped up.

To her surprise, the message came from Shi Man. Without opening it to see the details, the message preview showed “[Image]” on the chatbox.

Since adding Shi Man on WeChat, they hadn’t really had a proper conversation. And now, out of the blue, Shi Man sent her a message. Was it to wish her a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day?

Curious, Xiao Wanqing opened the chatbox and was taken aback, her eyes widening in astonishment.

The first message Shi Man sent her was an image. In the picture, two naked women were intimately entwined in an extremely explicit and provocative pose, their expressions a mixture of pleasure and pain. Xiao Wanqing immediately understood where this kind of image was taken from, and a blush quickly spread across her fair complexion.

She was still trying to come up with an excuse for Shi Man. Could her account have been hacked? But before she could even think further, Shi Man swiftly slapped her face.

“Lin Xiaoxian, this one and the one you said you preferred before are part of the same series. Should I send it to you?”

Xiao Wanqing’s brows furrowed immediately.

She unconsciously read the message filled with substantial information again, bewildered for a few seconds, and involuntarily looked towards Lin Xian, who was blissfully ignorant, washing clothes on the balcony.

Feeling her intense gaze, Lin Xian turned around and faced her, displaying a pure and bright smile.

Xiao Wanqing, seeing Lin Xian’s smile, felt her face inexplicably heat up. Looking at the picture and the heavily implied message once again, she suddenly recalled how Lin Xian had been sneakily watching something on her laptop in her room a few days ago. In an instant, all her questions were answered.

For a moment, her emotions were a bit complex.

Putting herself in their shoes, when she was Lin Xian’s age, although not entirely clueless about these matters, she had absolutely no curiosity or desire to explore them. Thus, she instinctively felt that Lin Xian was still young and innocent, not yet of age to know or experience such things.

But was it that the young people of today were entirely different from their time? Or was it that Shi Man had truly led her Lin Xiaoxian astray?

She exited the chat window, giving a glance at the pinned profile of Lin Xian, only to discover that at some unknown time, Lin Xian had quietly changed to a profile picture that matched hers as a couple. Perhaps it was this that Shi Man had mistakenly sent?

Indeed, the next second, Shi Man, realizing her mistake belatedly, sent an “Ah”, followed by several “……” and then a flurry of exaggerated emojis sent in rapid succession without pause.

“Auntie Xiao, I sent the wrong message earlier, it was a private conversation full of embarrassing sweet nothings between Zhijin and me. You must promise me, please, please don’t scroll up, I beg you, don’t look, I’d die of embarrassment!” Attached was a self-made sticker of her pouting in a pitifully cute way.

Xiao Wanqing couldn’t help but burst into laughter, feeling both annoyed and amused. If she hadn’t just happened to see it, hearing it put this way, she really wouldn’t have been motivated to scroll up for a look.

Pretending she hadn’t seen the message, she replied with a simple “okay,” and then completely exited WeChat, sinking into deep thought.

So, how many of these little videos had Lin Xian secretly watched? Thinking about the past few days, the moments when Lin Xian’s kisses accidentally stirred her into nearly losing herself in passion, she felt both nervous and vexed.

She always thought she was overthinking things, even blaming herself for recently being too consumed by lust, easily ignited. Could it be that she thought of Lin Xian as an innocent rabbit, when in fact, she was the rabbit in Lin Xian’s eyes?

Suddenly standing up, Xiao Wanqing glared at Lin Xian with a mix of irritation and playfulness, then headed back to her room on her own.

Lin Xian watched Xiao Wanqing’s departing figure, puzzled. Had she taken too long to wash, making Xiao Panpan run out of patience? She quickly sped up her actions, swiftly drying the clothes before returning to her room to coddle her little treasure.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Xiao Wanqing and Lin Xian got up to wash and eat breakfast, catching the taxi they had reserved in advance to rush to the airport.

According to the schedule of the cruise they had booked, boarding was between six and eight in the evening at the dock, so they weren’t in a rush. But Lin Xian thought, now that they were in Yiping—a city that had appeared several times in the documentaries she read, a place where many beautiful love stories happened—she wanted to walk the streets of this city with Auntie Xiao and share some of those lovely tales. Therefore, she had booked an early flight.

As the plane ascended to thirty thousand feet, Lin Xian gazed out at the sky above and the floating clouds below, interlocking fingers with Xiao Wanqing. She couldn’t help but smile broadly.

“This is the first time, you know. Our first time flying together, traveling together,” Lin Xian said, her eyes curved into smiles as she turned her head to look at Xiao Wanqing. She tilted her head, earnestly planning for Xiao Wanqing, “In the future, we will have a second time, a third time, and countless more. Domestically and internationally, let’s explore them all together, okay?” She wanted to take Xiao Wanqing to the northern grasslands for horse riding and campfires, to Northern Europe to see the pristine world of ice and snow, and to New Zealand to witness the world’s most beautiful starry skies.

Xiao Wanqing looked out at the blue sky, then at Lin Xian’s carefree smile, and her heart couldn’t help but sour.

She remembered what Zhou Qin had told her, how Lin Xian had refused the study abroad plan that had been arranged for her, refusing the blue skies that could have allowed her to soar freely.

She suddenly asked tentatively, “Xianxian, do you like living abroad? How did you feel in the United States, in Europe before?”

Lin Xian thought she was considering for future travels and thought about it seriously before answering, “They were all pretty good, um, but not being able to eat the delicacies of our homeland was a bit disappointing. On my third day in Europe last year, I started missing the rice and dishes from home.” After saying this, she rested her chin on Xiao Wanqing’s shoulder and whispered into her ear with a smile, “And, from the first day, I began missing you.”

“I’ve always thought, if only you were by my side,” she said. “So, the answer to the first question is: I like life both inside and outside the country. As long as I’m living it by your side, that would be wonderful.”

Lin Xian’s warm breath brushed against her sensitive ear, causing Xiao Wanqing’s heart to tremble with her breathing, moistening with her words.

She couldn’t bring herself to say anything more probing. Her gaze soft as water, she touched Lin Xian’s face, letting her own head rest on her shoulder, gently rubbing her cheek against hers, changing the subject with a soft voice, “Xianxian, have you heard a saying? You know if two people are suited to live together if they travel a long distance together.”

Lin Xian chuckled softly on her shoulder, teasingly saying, “Xiao Xiaowan, are you hinting that I should put in a good performance on this trip?”

Xiao Wanqing couldn’t help but laugh silently. Before she could retort, Lin Xian lifted her head, reversing their positions so Xiao Wanqing’s head was on her shoulder, considerately saying, “You should take a nap. You got up too early this morning and there might not be time for a noon break. I’m worried you’ll be tired in the afternoon.” Saying this, she took out a sleep mask from her bag and tenderly placed it over Xiao Wanqing’s long eyelashes.

“Is this a performance?” Xiao Wanqing leaned against Lin Xian, asking with a slight smile on her lips.

“This is instinct.” Lin Xian encircled Xiao Wanqing’s slender waist with her arms, barely touching Xiao Wanqing’s ear with a kiss, and said with a smile, “Xiao Xiaowan, loving you is my instinct.”

The curve of Xiao Wanqing’s lips deepened involuntarily. She couldn’t help but mock herself internally, thinking that perhaps women, no matter their age, all similarly indulge in the shallow pleasure of hearing sweet nothings from their significant other.

Upon their arrival in Yiping, they disembarked from the plane, took a taxi to the district where the pier was located, and found a hotel to leave their luggage in a room rented by the hour. Afterwards, they went out together for lunch and strolled around.

Throughout the journey, whether it was taking a taxi or checking into a room, ordering meals, or paying the bill, Lin Xian always took the initiative to take care of Xiao Wanqing. While walking through the streets and alleys, Lin Xian held a sun umbrella in one hand and intertwined her fingers with Xiao Wanqing’s with the other. She walked on the outside, constantly protecting Xiao Wanqing. Along the way, Lin Xian seemed to know every detail about the local streets’ special attractions and foods, allowing Xiao Wanqing to clearly feel the effort Lin Xian put into this trip and into making it special for her.

In a foreign land, on unfamiliar streets and alleys, Xiao Wanqing looked at the young and bright girl beside her. For the first time, she felt a genuine sense of security from Lin Xian.

It seemed like Lin Xian could indeed hold up her entire world. She began to relax her mind and let Lin Xian take the lead.

At five o’clock, they went back to their hourly hotel to pick up their luggage, took a short rest, and then hailed a taxi from the hotel entrance to head towards the pier.

After the taxi left the wide boulevard, it entered a messy, narrow road that could only fit two cars side by side. The driver, knowing they were tourists, was enthusiastically introducing the area along the way. Upon reaching this part, he slowed down and complained that this section was under construction for the subway, which had been going on for a long time, and it was unclear when it would finish.

Hearing this, Xiao Wanqing smiled, about to join the conversation, when suddenly, a shocking crash sounded, and the next moment, the car abruptly swerved and came to a fierce stop.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye, and before Xiao Wanqing could react, her body moved forward with inertia. The next second, the anticipated pain did not come. Instead, she fell into a soft embrace.

It was Lin Xian, who, in the first moment, turned around and dove on top of her, protecting her. Due to the inertia, Lin Xian’s back and shoulders slammed hard against the driver’s seat, causing her to let out a muffled groan.

LP: I wasn’t expecting an accident (⊙ _ ⊙ )