So I Had No Choice But to Stop Being the White Moonlight – Chapter 49

“Do you want to go to the bedroom?”

The shades of night were heavy; the silver moon was like a hook¹.

The hot steam floating out of the hot spring slowly merged with the dark night; the world seemed to have been pressed with the mute button, everywhere quiet and soundless.

Chi Qian clasped Shi Jinlan’s wrist, kissing her under the old-style pendant lamp.

The deliberately distressed lighting draped a layer of dim yellow over their bodies; long shadows overlapped, accompanied by bursts of warm fragrance.

Her throat swallowed sluggishly; Shi Jinlan’s mouth held a mass of lukewarm alcohol.

Scorching hot, biting cold, then under someone’s stirring, it changed into a touch of sweetness, spreading across the tip of her tongue.

What should a drunkard who drank alcohol taste like?

Is it the sour air toasted up by hot wind;

Is it the foul stench of rude overbearingness;

Or the rotting breath of slurred speech?

A long kiss crushed over Shi Jinlan’s lips, from shallow to deep.

The taste of alcohol wrapped around a flame, bitingly burning through Shi Jinlan’s mouth; that kind of clean taste made one feel numb.

Those eyes that were originally staring in shock did not know from which second, or starting from which movement, began to close.

Shi Jinlan’s drooping eyelashes trembled lightly under the lamp, as if a butterfly had landed on them, slowly and leisurely flapping its wings, enjoying the nectar that belonged only to it.

This person had made progress compared to before, wrapping her teeth, and she didn’t knock Shi Jinlan into a stagger as soon as she came up.

Chi Qian leaned over to press down, and Shi Jinlan slightly raised her head.

The alcohol vapor was dense, enough to make a person’s bones go soft and melt.

Clearly this was only their second time kissing, yet the tacit understanding was such that they simply didn’t need to break in.

Even when it was about to end, Shi Jinlan understood just by feeling the movement between Chi Qian’s lips.

Shi Jinlan was surprised at her own familiarity, then she clasped Chi Qian’s waist.

She had something to ask Chi Qian, but not because of this “familiarity”: “You have something on your mind.”

Chi Qian had drunk several times her usual capacity; her whole face was drunk with a light pinkish redness.

Her breathing did not recover as fast as Shi Jinlan’s, nor did she run away after teasing like last time; one hand after another, she rested them all on Shi Jinlan’s shoulders, drunkenness making her voice slur: “Miss Shi, what are your eyes made of?”

These words were looking left and right to speak of other things², simply an irrelevant answer³.

Yet it was also indirectly admitting to Shi Jinlan’s question.

Shi Jinlan looked at the intoxicated Chi Qian just like this, a light smile at the corners of her eyes.

She was not anxious to press for an answer; the hand pressed against her waist stroked unhurriedly, as if playing with a treasure: “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

The hot spring in the backyard continuously transported heat into the room; within the lukewarmness, a tender ambiguity was revealed.

Chi Qian looked at Shi Jinlan’s eyes, undefended, wanting to speak out all her matters.

But she opened her mouth.

It was as if a thousand needles had been stuffed into her throat.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t speak, but that there was simply no way to say it.

People who tell lies must swallow a thousand needles.

She had no way to ask anyone for help; she could only face death alone, could only walk alone toward the dead end of jumping down the abyss.

She deserved it.

She deserved to die.

“Haha.”

Very suddenly, Chi Qian laughed out loud.

These two short laughs made her whole body shake; the redness smeared at the corners of her eyes was indistinguishable between happiness or sadness.

She took down the hands resting on Shi Jinlan’s shoulders; her fingertips lightly traced across the hollow of Shi Jinlan’s collarbone, lingering and wandering, then she patted it: “A little matter, it can be solved very soon, don’t worry.”

Chi Qian acted wantonly and boldly, and spoke lightly and casually.

She thought she should be a pretty good student, learning from how Shi Jinlan was on ordinary days very quickly.

But her Teacher⁴ did not feel this way.

The dim yellow light cast its brightest beam on Chi Qian’s face; Shi Jinlan was calm and waveless, taking all of Chi Qian’s changes in expression into her eyes, not very believing of her phrase “don’t worry.”

The sound of sea waves beating against the shore rang out in the distance; the moonlight was stirred into fragments by the blowing wind.

And the mutual gaze was silent, allowing their breaths to blend together; the whole world had only the two of them left.

“You…”

“Do you still want to continue?”

Shi Jinlan didn’t finish speaking, and was cut off by Chi Qian’s question.

Though it was phrased as a question, Chi Qian did not give Shi Jinlan the opportunity to choose⁵.

There wasn’t much distance between them; Chi Qian’s hand silently climbed up Shi Jinlan’s neck; she stroked, she clasped, slightly leaned over, and it was another kiss.

More forceful than the one just now.

The matter about to happen was brought up by Shi Jinlan, and the emotions in Chi Qian’s head expanded.

The sourness had nowhere to be spoken of; Chi Qian’s brain, currently occupied by alcohol, only wanted to possess Shi Jinlan, wanted to mark her from outside to inside with traces belonging exclusively to herself.

It was herself.

Not that damned original owner.

The more she thought of this, the strength with which Chi Qian kissed Shi Jinlan increased a few degrees.

While she fiercely kissed Shi Jinlan, she clasped her into her own embrace, as if wanting to embed her inside, inseparable.

Chi Qian’s tireless repetition was drawing from her; Shi Jinlan lightly resisted with the tip of her tongue, feeling that she was about to be unable to breathe.

She lost sovereignty over this territory of her own; her teeth were knocked open by someone with ease, the alcohol stirred, and her slender waist was tightly held by Chi Qian, nearly about to break.

So she also lost her balance somewhat; her softening legs were continuously retreating.

Thud!

A dull sound of hitting the ground rang out in the room; Shi Jinlan’s legs, which were not agile to begin with, could no longer support her, and she fell backward.

And Chi Qian was willing to sink together with Shi Jinlan.

She clearly could have held onto Shi Jinlan, but she allowed Shi Jinlan to subconsciously clasp her tightly, and disregarding the pain, became Shi Jinlan’s cushion.

The numbness of alcohol and the pain of the fall appeared in Chi Qian’s head at the same time, letting her find a little feeling that she was still alive within the cracks.

They both fell on the woven grass floor; Shi Jinlan was kneeling.

The light chiffon fabric was lifted by the wind during the fall, placed messily by the side of her legs, revealing a section of well-proportioned, long legs.

Neither of them was wearing shoes; toes pressed against each other, the icy temperature was quickly assimilated.

Chi Qian lightly brushed past Shi Jinlan’s waist; alcohol manipulated her blood to gallop and surge wantonly, writing upon the jade-like, warm, and fragrant skin through the fabric.

“……!”

Shi Jinlan’s breathing tightened and became rapid for a moment.

Chi Qian’s hand, unbeknownst how, passed through the hem of the clothes, absentmindedly looking around all along the way.

Shi Jinlan felt even more that the surrounding heat was hard to disperse; Chi Qian’s breath was boiling hot and low, falling rustlingly onto the tip of her nose.

The lips that had just been released were stamped upon again, but Chi Qian seemed to have a sudden burst of mercy.

She suddenly became unhurried, repeatedly massaging Shi Jinlan’s lips, until she turned back into a dark red rose soaked in dew in the early morning, only then prying open her teeth.

This kind of methodical slowness was simply killing her.

Shi Jinlan had no strength, or perhaps didn’t want to push away Chi Qian’s hand.

The chiffon fabric could resist nothing; the restless blood burned from the inside out, and her bent feet searched for that sense of security that would let her step firmly.

Just like that day they first met, she grabbed Chi Qian’s hand in the chaos, and from then on did not fall again.

A long wind blew outside the courtyard; the heat surged over like seawater.

Warm and slightly cool, like a summer day.

The alcohol fermented rapidly in this temperature; Shi Jinlan felt that her surroundings were all filled with Chi Qian’s scent.

Memories were misty, heavy breathing sounds wrapped around in her mind; she reached out her hand and familiarly clasped Chi Qian’s hand that was horizontal on one side.

Click.

A sound like a metal buckle closing rang out in Chi Qian’s head, or perhaps it was a metal buckle being opened.

The rich alcohol was like a turbulent wave, overturning the things hidden at the bottom of the sea onto the sea level.

There was suddenly a burst of chaos in Chi Qian’s mind; the lamplight shrouded Shi Jinlan’s figure, the slim shadow floating with a layer of shallow pink.

She couldn’t distinguish between reality and dreamscape; there was only a familiarity lying across her fingers, folding over Shi Jinlan’s wrist, threading into the gaps between her fingers.

“Do you want to go to the bedroom?” Chi Qian lay at the side of Shi Jinlan’s ear; her voice was blazing hot and soft, a skilled tone that seemed considerate, but was actually coaxing.

The dividing line between these two intentions was really not obvious enough, yet Shi Jinlan inexplicably understood the meaning of Chi Qian’s sentence.

She gazed at Chi Qian just like this; a heart that was tightly hooped restlessly emitted bursts of beating, one after another, knocking on her currently soft and hollow bones.

Knowing it shouldn’t be done, yet she does it anyway⁶.

The moon’s shadow swayed; Shi Jinlan was still sitting looking down from above at Chi Qian’s line of sight.

That slightly raised neck outlined a fair and continuous line, starting from her chin, passing by her neck, and collarbone.

A loose strap on one side hung on her arm, tilting the line that was originally level with her chest.

Her long hair was draped loosely; the jet-black strands were like a dense black bamboo forest, indistinctly revealing the snow mountain in the distant background in the wind.

“No.”

Shi Jinlan liked this place.

Last time was also here; Chi Qian pressed her hand down not letting her go, and slept in her arms for quite a while.

“Alright then.” Chi Qian raised her hand to wind past Shi Jinlan’s hanging long hair, smiling shallowly.

The hazy moon shadow fell by the seaside, following the seawater surging up the shore to drag out a line of white waves extending along the coastline.

The sea at night was far from as calm as during the day; in the dim darkness that people could not see, there were dark tides everywhere.

The sound of water stacked layer upon layer, gradually becoming clear in the quiet room.

Those trimmed and rounded fingernails pressed against the shoulder blades behind the person, scratching out several obvious red marks under the dim yellow light.

A distant light hung high in Shi Jinlan’s line of sight; her cold and clear pupils were smeared with a mist, spreading out of control; her lips were all occupied by Chi Qian, making her almost forget to breathe.

Silver threads connected into a long line, grinding the moonlight into a blur.

They sank unbridled into this night.

Yet it also seemed like,

This was not their first time having such an intimate “embrace.”

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The moonlight splashed into the room, illuminating the mess in the living room.

The liberated breathing was first rapidly drawing oxygen from the air, then slowly calmed down.

A layer of white haze haloed in the dim yellow light; even breathing finally occupied the main position of the room.

Shi Jinlan was tossed about for quite a while before finally being let off by Chi Qian; the instant she was let go, she only felt her body was both soft and empty.

Her deep pupils were still jet black, only the corners of her eyes were spread with crimson.

Her lips were the same.

The heat steamed one into exhaustion; when the familiar touch brushed past Shi Jinlan’s hair, she blinked her eyes lightly, slowly, and heavily, looking at Chi Qian who still occupied her line of sight, and went to sleep with a peace of mind.

The night wind carried a burst of warm coolness blowing past Chi Qian’s back; the feeling of alcohol was lonely.

She didn’t know when she sobered up, only sitting by Shi Jinlan’s side, gazing at her intently.

This person had been tossed miserably by her; a rich red color floated on her thin lips.

Her thin shirt was lightly gathered, long legs stacked, sleeping just like this without guard, little did she know that the person in front of her eyes who made her feel at ease was actually the most dangerous.

Chi Qian raised her hand, restraining that feeling of having eaten the marrow and known the taste⁷, carefully pushing away the long hair in front of Shi Jinlan’s face.

Just let her look one more time.

Just look one more time…

Tree shadows curled around, the light fluctuating for a moment.

In a trance, Chi Qian felt this scene was déjà vu; she seemed to have gazed at Shi Jinlan, who had been tossed to sleep by her, like this more than once.

How could… Ungh!

Chi Qian was frowning tightly, not daring to believe it.

But suddenly, her brows furrowed even deeper.

A burst of pain came from her chest, as if some animal had scratched a claw on it.

The pain could not be relieved, deeply embedded in a place Chi Qian simply could not touch.

【Host, there is not much time left.】 Thirteen’s voice rang out from within Chi Qian’s mind.

Amidst the dense mist, it agilely flipped over the courtyard wall, circled past the hot spring pool in the backyard, and walked to Chi Qian’s side.

The vibration in her chest suppressed all the pain.

Chi Qian realized that this was the warning the System gave her, wanting her not to delay any longer, that she should go execute the content of the original plot.

Chi Qian had never felt herself so reluctant to part.

She picked up Shi Jinlan’s clothes from the ground; the light and thin fabric was as heavy as a thousand jun⁸.

“Where are you going?”

In the dim darkness, Shi Jinlan opened her eyes.

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The author has something to say:

Qian Qian: Of course I’m going to jump off the cliff!

Lanlan: Kill the pigeon, snatch the System.

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