That “Bad” Woman Next Door – Chapter 13

A Watermelon-Flavored Kiss.

Yuan Yue stood barefoot on the soft living room carpet, a large, sharp knife raised in her hands. Gritting her teeth, she brought it down as if she’d gone mad.

“CRACK——” With a crisp sound, the large watermelon split open down the middle, revealing its fresh, red, sandy flesh¹. One look and you could tell it was a good melon.

Yuan Yue absentmindedly wiped the juice that had spilled onto the coffee table with a paper towel. Her phone was right beside it, its screen accidentally splattered with watermelon juice, but she couldn’t be bothered to wipe it. She reached over with a sticky finger and pressed it, just to check the time.

A full five minutes had passed since that woman entered Yu Xi’s apartment.

Yuan Yue couldn’t stop herself from thinking, Who on earth is that woman? What is her relationship with Yu Xi?

Judging by the way they had embraced just now, their relationship seemed far from shallow.

Could she be her girlfriend?

Impossible. Yu Xi said she was single. She wouldn’t lie to me, right?

A lot of things can be done in five minutes. What were they doing in there?

Yuan Yue stared at her phone, her mind running wild with random thoughts² for a long while, forcefully suppressing the urge to message Yu Xi. She shifted her attention back to the watermelon.

When your heart is unhappy, you have to find something to vent on. Yuan Yue went at the half-watermelon in a frenzy, hacking the flesh into large and small uneven chunks. She scooped them into a glass bowl, grabbed a piece, and popped it into her mouth. It was sweet, but it just didn’t have any kick.

She put the bowl, full to the brim with watermelon flesh, into the freezer and began to silently count the time.

Another five minutes passed.

No, she couldn’t wait another second!

Yuan Yue opened the fridge again, hugged the bowl of watermelon flesh, grabbed a handful of toothpicks and stuck them in, then slipped on her slippers and ran out.

She told herself in her heart that she just had to be shameless; if there was no opportunity, she had to create one for herself. She had already thought of a reason to knock on the door. Didn’t Yu Xi have a guest over? It wouldn’t be too much for her to deliver some food, right?

Having made up her mind, Yuan Yue lifted her foot, about to walk toward Yu Xi’s apartment, when she suddenly heard movement from that direction. Her heart instantly lost its nerve. Clutching the glass bowl, she hurriedly retreated, hiding her body behind her door and listening with a cocked ear.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to see you out?” Yu Xi said.

“No need, it’s a hassle to go back and forth,” the woman said.

“Then be careful. Bye-bye.”

“Bye-bye.”

After the brief conversation ended, it fell silent. Yuan Yue couldn’t resist peeking her head out to look. Without any warning, she saw the woman walking right toward her. Her heart gave a thump; she was in a state where it was difficult to advance or retreat. She had no choice but to put on an act, leaning against her doorframe, spearing a piece of watermelon with a toothpick and putting it in her mouth, her eyes darting everywhere.

The woman passed by her with her head down.

Yuan Yue watched the woman’s back hurry into the elevator and felt that things were getting more and more strange.

The elevator descended, and the woman’s figure disappeared from sight.

Before Yuan Yue could pull her gaze back, she suddenly heard a voice beside her: “When did you get back?”

“Cough——” Yuan Yue was so startled she choked on the juicy watermelon, clutching her chest as she began to cough violently.

Yu Xi quickly walked over, patting her to help her catch her breath.

Yuan Yue’s breathing settled, but her face was flushed bright red. A thief’s guilty conscience³ was at work. She looked at Yu Xi with a timid gaze, at a loss for what to say.

Yu Xi looked at the watermelon in her bowl, then at her face, which was as red as a watermelon, and frowned in confusion. “Weren’t you looking for me? Why didn’t you tell me when you got back?”

Yuan Yue poked listlessly at the watermelon with a toothpick and said sullenly, “Forget it. It wasn’t convenient for you.”

“What wasn’t convenient?” Yu Xi frowned again, catching a flash of disappointment in her eyes.

Yuan Yue realized her tone was off and quickly adjusted her emotions, pretending to be nonchalant. “When I came back, that person from just now and I…” Her tone paused slightly as she pointed toward the elevator. “We took the elevator together. I saw her go knock on your door, so I was too embarrassed to disturb you.”

Yu Xi followed her finger to look at the elevator, which had long since reached the first floor. It dawned on her. She smiled casually and said, “She’s a very good friend of mine. She came over today just to see how my home renovations are coming along.”

Yuan Yue’s head shot up. She saw that Yu Xi’s eyes were clear, and there wasn’t the slightest hint of ambiguity in her voice as she spoke. A great weight lifted from her heart. She shouldn’t have any more doubts, but she still couldn’t help but ask, “Just a good friend?”

“Then what else did you think?” Yu Xi leaned lazily against the wall, arms crossed, looking at her with an expression that was smiling yet not smiling⁴.

Yuan Yue bit her lip, slightly abashed, and hid the joy that was quietly bubbling up in her heart. She raised the glass bowl a little higher, using the opportunity to change the subject. “It’s too hot. Do you want a slice of watermelon? It’s very sweet.”

The watermelon was cut into uneven pieces, but its color looked very tempting, and it was studded with toothpicks. Yu Xi glanced at it, her eyes shifting until they fixed on a smear of red from the watermelon juice by Yuan Yue’s lips. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly. “Sure,” she said.

“To my place?” Yuan Yue invited her. “I have lots of other delicious fruits.”

Yu Xi readily agreed again.

The air conditioning was blasting inside the room. The living room was a bit messy. Yuan Yue put the glass bowl down and scrambled over to pick up a throw pillow that had fallen on the floor, pushing her handbag into a corner. She turned around and looked at Yu Xi, a little embarrassed. “I just got home, I haven’t had time to tidy up. You can sit here.”

“It’s fine.” Yu Xi didn’t mind such details and sat down in the clean spot she had specially cleared.

Yuan Yue pushed the watermelon bowl in front of her. “Here, have some watermelon.”

She was half-kneeling on the carpet, her upper body leaning over the coffee table. Her top was very short, and with her tight pants, a small section of her lower back was easily exposed when she stretched. The lines of her small hips were wrapped tightly, and the part of her skin revealed in the middle was delicate and white, dazzling the eyes. Yu Xi’s gaze flickered slightly. Without leaving a trace, she reached out and helped pull her shirt down.

Yuan Yue’s back instantly stiffened. Suddenly realizing something, she sat up straight, glanced at Yu Xi, and gave an awkward laugh.

With a calm and composed expression, Yu Xi picked up a piece of watermelon speared on a toothpick and took a light bite.

Yuan Yue’s face was slightly red. She unnaturally fiddled with her bangs and started a new topic. “You must really like fruit, right?”

“Mhm.” The watermelon was crisp, sweet, and refreshing. A smile colored Yu Xi’s eyes as she looked at her and said, “I do like it quite a lot.”

Yuan Yue had guessed correctly. The fruit under the coffee table was what she had carefully selected to give to Yu Xi. “You can take these fruits back with you to eat!”

“So much?” Yu Xi was surprised. “Why did you suddenly think to give me fruit?”

“I accidentally bought too much.” Yuan Yue had prepared this reason long ago. “I don’t know how long it would take me to eat it all by myself, and there’s still a lot more in the fridge. Since you like it, just take it. Consider it lightening my burden.”

Yu Xi took another piece of watermelon and ate it slowly, not forgetting to pick at the logical holes in her story. “If you knew you couldn’t finish it, why did you have to buy so much at once?”

Yuan Yue was at a loss for words. In truth, her sister had bought all this fruit. She had gone through the trouble of hauling it back for no other reason than to find an excuse to interact more with Yu Xi. She hadn’t expected Yu Xi to be so meticulous. She gave a sheepish tug at the corner of her mouth, found a new reason, and said, “Because I need to lose weight! From now on, I’ll just eat fruit for dinner.”

Yu Xi frowned. “Why lose weight all of a sudden?”

Yuan Yue shot to her feet and, without saying another word, lifted the hem of her shirt. She pinched her stomach, displaying it to Yu Xi without a shred of shame, her tone mournful. “Look at this! If I don’t lose weight soon, it’s going to become a swimming ring⁵!”

Yu Xi was stunned. She looked at the roll of flesh she was forcefully pinching out, wanting to laugh but not daring to, swallowed the watermelon in her mouth, and gave a low cough. “You’re actually fine like this. You don’t need to purposely lose weight.”

Yuan Yue’s eyes widened in a glare. “A few days ago, you said I’d gotten fatter!”

“I…” Yu Xi had indeed said that, but it was just an offhand comment. She hadn’t expected her to actually plan on losing weight. Struck speechless for a moment, she then said in a serious tone, “I’m sorry, let me correct myself. What I meant to express at the time was that you seemed a bit more fleshy than before, not that you’d gotten fat. Your weight is completely within the standard range; you don’t need to purposely lose weight.”

Is that so? Yuan Yue squeezed the soft flesh on her waist, then looked at Yu Xi’s slender waist, whose lines were faintly visible beneath her clothes, and hesitated. “You really don’t think my waist is thick? And the flesh is all loose and flabby, it doesn’t feel healthy at all…”

Yu Xi’s eyes glanced at her waist again. She looked up and saw her brows knitted together in a very conflicted expression. She suddenly let out a very light laugh and said, “How about… I feel it and see?”

Feel where??? Yuan Yue met her faintly smiling eyes, realized what she was saying, and her face instantly burned hot. She defensively tugged at the hem of her shirt.

Yu Xi gave another ambiguous smile.

Yuan Yue felt the heat on her face rise even higher. She tucked her hair behind her ear, not daring to look at her. Lowering her eyes, she very stiffly steered the conversation back to the fruit. “There’s too much, I can’t finish it all by myself. You can take all of this back to eat slowly.”

Yu Xi could see she was intentionally dodging. After a moment of contemplation, she said, “No need. Leave it at your place.”

Yuan Yue looked up at her, thinking she didn’t want it.

Yu Xi lightly parted her vermilion lips⁶ and added unhurriedly, “When I want to eat some, I’ll come over and find you.”

Yuan Yue froze. After the shock, her heart filled with secret delight. It was such a simple sentence from the other person, yet she couldn’t help but wonder: was it because Yu Xi didn’t have a fridge at home, so she was temporarily leaving it here, or was there another, deeper meaning, hinting at something?

She hoped it was the latter.

But she was too shy to ask, so she could only nod with feigned composure. “Alright then.”

Yu Xi smiled at her.

Yuan Yue returned a bashful smile and put the fruits into the refrigerator one by one.

When she turned around, she found Yu Xi staring at something on the table—it was the wooden carved phone charm. An idea sparked in Yuan Yue’s mind. She walked over and said, “I really like the thing you gave me.”

“As long as you like it.” Yu Xi touched the wooden carving, paused, then turned her gaze to her and said, “This thing… I saw it when I was out with that friend from earlier.”

That beautiful woman? Yuan Yue remembered she had mentioned going on a trip before. So it was with her.

She already said it before, why emphasize it again? Yuan Yue’s lips moved. She asked her, “Why are you telling me this?”

Yu Xi looked at her eyes with great focus and said, “I’m just afraid you’ll misunderstand.”

Afraid you’ll misunderstand…

Yuan Yue chewed on this sentence in her heart, afraid she would interpret it wrong. She couldn’t help but ask again, “Why are you afraid I’ll misunderstand?”

Yu Xi looked at her steadily but was in no hurry to explain.

Yuan Yue’s heart began to panic. Her hands, hanging by her sides, fiddled with the seams of her pants.

Yu Xi patted the spot beside her and said, answering beside the point⁷, “Come sit. You’re either kneeling or standing, aren’t you tired?”

“…” Yuan Yue sat down beside her, still thinking about her words.

“Have some watermelon.” Seeing that she wasn’t moving, Yu Xi picked up a piece of watermelon and held it to her lips.

The cold watermelon with its refreshing sweetness and fragrance touched her lips, Yuan Yue’s expression froze, as she and Yu Xi came to a moment of four eyes meeting⁸.

She saw her own tiny reflection in the depths of Yu Xi’s pupils, along with a hidden trace of an emotion she couldn’t understand, stirring restlessly.

The atmosphere suddenly became indescribably subtle. Yuan Yue couldn’t quite put her finger on what was wrong, but she involuntarily opened her mouth and ate the bite of watermelon.

So sweet, so sweet.

It was too juicy for her small mouth to hold, and a trickle ran down the corner of her lips.

The pad of a warm finger touched her, tracing the line of her lips, wiping away the overflowing watermelon juice bit by bit.

Yuan Yue’s chewing stopped. She watched Yu Xi get closer and closer, felt the warmth under her fingertip, smelled the clean fragrance emanating from her body, and her mind suddenly went blank.

When Yu Xi lifted her chin, she glanced at her one more time.

Yuan Yue was completely lost in that moment. Her lips slightly parted, she gently closed her eyes.

Just as another drop of watermelon juice was about to fall, Yu Xi kissed her, taking in the sweet juice and the not-yet-fully-chewed watermelon together, sucking on them delicately, as if savoring the most delicious food in the world.

A watermelon-flavored kiss, wrapped in the sweltering heat of a summer day, its temperature rising persistently between their lips and teeth…

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