That “Bad” Woman Next Door – Chapter 36

It’s Nice to Have a Little Excitement Once in a While.

That box of condoms had originally been locked inside the cabinet. Yu Xi had been too impatient just a moment ago and hadn’t managed to close the drawer in time after opening it; as a result, it was carelessly discovered by Jiang Yan.

Condoms weren’t exactly a rarity, but seeing that the condoms had been tampered with made Jiang Yan lose her cool. She hurriedly called Yuan Yue over, wanting to get to the bottom of it.

Seeing Yuan Yue remain silent, Jiang Yan repeated what she had just said: “Tell me yourself, what exactly is this?”

Yuan Yue’s heart felt like a roller coaster¹, thankful that Jiang Yan had only seen these. She quickly composed herself and said with a straight face, “Condoms.”

Jiang Yan gritted her teeth and said, “Of course I know they’re condoms. I’m asking you, what did you buy them for? And why are there a few missing from inside? Didn’t you say you haven’t had a boyfriend this whole time? So what is going on here?”

Since she had already been caught, Yuan Yue decided to simply smash the cracked pot². “I really don’t have a boyfriend. I bought them to play with.”

“To play with?” Jiang Yan was dumbfounded. “Do you think I’d believe that? Speak up, what exactly are you hiding from us? Are you secretly seeing some man…”

“I’m not with a man!” Yuan Yue couldn’t help but shout. In a fit of anger, she snatched the item back and tossed it into the trash can, complaining, “Ma, I’m not a child anymore. Can you please stop trying to control me all the time?”

Jiang Yan wasn’t happy either and criticized her, saying, “You think I want to control you? I’m just afraid you won’t learn good and hang out with those no three no four³… Ugh, never mind. Do whatever you want!”

Jiang Yan packed up her small cloth bag, turned around, and walked out of the bedroom.

Yuan Yue realized her attitude had been a bit excessive and hurriedly pulled Jiang Yan back. “Ma, I’m sorry. I know you mean well, but please believe me, I absolutely haven’t been messing around with anyone. I just bought those things to play with. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Yu Xi!”

Yu Xi had been keeping watch outside in the living room. Hearing the dispute, she was just about to come over to check when her name was suddenly called. She paused for a moment. “Ask me what?”

Yuan Yue said anxiously, “It’s about that box of condoms. I told Ma I bought them to play with, but she doesn’t believe me.”

Yuan Yue winked desperately at Yu Xi. Yu Xi immediately caught on. “That’s right, Ma. I bought that box of condoms when I went to the supermarket. Yuan Yue and I were just curious for a moment, so we bought them to play around with.”

They indeed weren’t lying. Yu Xi knew that even with clean hands, it wasn’t very hygienic, which was why she suggested buying condoms. They only said they bought them to play, but as for how exactly they played, that certainly couldn’t be told to Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan looked at the two of them with a strange expression. Although she still had doubts, such intimate items weren’t something even a biological mother could ask too much about. Times were different, and her thinking couldn’t keep up with the pace of the era. She shook her head helplessly and decided not to pursue the matter any further.

The condom incident came to a temporary close. Jiang Yan returned the keys to Yuan Yue, and once her anger had subsided, she said, “I’m leaving.”

Jiang Yan insisted on going back without waiting for lunch, so Yuan Yue and Yu Xi had no choice but to take her to the station.

Because of the unpleasantness earlier, the atmosphere in the car was a bit heavy. Yuan Yue held Jiang Yan’s arm and acted coquettishly. “Ma, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have lost my temper at you. Don’t be mad anymore, okay? Say something, will you?”

Jiang Yan kept a cold face. “What is there for me to say? I’d better keep my mouth shut so you don’t complain about me nagging again.”

Yuan Yue knew she was in the wrong and continued to soften her tone. “Then just nag a little less! We can chat instead.”

Jiang Yan glanced at her and huffed. “Even if you complain about me nagging, I still have to say it. You met Xu Ming today; how did you feel about him?”

Yuan Yue hadn’t expected Jiang Yan to bring this up at all. She immediately changed her expression and said with a lack of interest, “I didn’t feel anything. Xu Ming isn’t my type; I don’t like men who look so bookish.”

Jiang Yan advised her, “What a man looks like isn’t important; what’s important is his character and personality. You’ve only met him once and don’t understand each other yet. Saying whether you like him or not right now is too rash.”

Yuan Yue completely disagreed and retorted, “But I didn’t like him from the first glance, so what’s the point of talking about the future?”

“I think you’re just deliberately opposing me. You don’t want to date Xu Ming at all!”

Having her thoughts read, Yuan Yue felt guilty for a moment and stammered, “Anyway, I just don’t like his type. Besides, he’s a high school teacher and is usually so busy; where would he find the time to date me?” Speaking of this, Yuan Yue had a flash of inspiration and tried to persuade Jiang Yan. “Ma, haven’t you heard? Long-distance relationships are very unreliable. Especially when one is incredibly busy and the other is bored to death—problems easily arise in relationships like that. The chances of staying together are slim!”

Yuan Yue didn’t give Jiang Yan time to think and chattered on, “Ma, Xu Ming and I aren’t suitable at all. Even if you want to find someone for me, find someone reliable, okay?”

Yu Xi, who was focusing on driving, also chimed in to help persuade her. “Yeah, Ma. I met Xu Ming today too, and I also feel he and Yueyue aren’t a good match. Xu Ming teaches in the county town; he only has time on weekends and holidays. You can’t make him run back and forth between the county and the city every time they meet, right?”

Yuan Yue added fuel to the fire, saying, “Ma, stop thinking about getting me to flash marry⁴ someone. I won’t possibly get married without dating for two or three years. And if you want me to have a long-distance relationship with Xu Ming, that’s also impossible. I won’t accept it.”

Hearing their arguments, Jiang Yan felt a bit conflicted. Before, she had only thought about how Yuan Yue wasn’t getting any younger and that finding a good man to marry and settle down with was the key. Now, listening to their analysis, she actually felt it made some sense.

Jiang Yan hesitated. “But Xu Ming…”

“Don’t mention Xu Ming. Who knows where he is right now? I reckon we won’t have any contact in the future anyway,” Yuan Yue interrupted.

As soon as the words fell, Yuan Yue’s phone rang very inopportunely. Seeing another unknown number, she subconsciously wanted to reject it.

Jiang Yan suddenly held her hand down and said, “Maybe it’s Xu Ming calling. Answer it, quick!”

Yuan Yue hadn’t saved Xu Ming’s number before. Hearing Jiang Yan say this, she thought it wasn’t impossible, so she answered unhurriedly.

The person on the other end got straight to the point. “Miss Yuan, I’m really sorry. An accident happened today that made our meeting very unpleasant. Next time there’s a chance, I’ll treat you properly and we can chat.”

Yuan Yue didn’t put it on speaker this time. She immediately recognized Xu Ming’s voice. Under Jiang Yan’s nervous gaze, she said to the person on the phone, “It’s okay. Your business is more important.”

Yuan Yue deliberately didn’t mention Zhuang Xiaochen, and Xu Ming didn’t mention a word about her either. He said guiltily, “I’m really sorry. A colleague just called me saying there was an emergency at school to deal with. Time was too tight, so I couldn’t say goodbye to you in person before going back.”

Yuan Yue secretly rejoiced. She wasn’t sure if this was an excuse from Xu Ming, but it suited her perfectly. She said in a cheerful voice, “Are you going back now? Then drive carefully on the road. I wish you a whole journey with smooth wind⁵!”

Yuan Yue hung up the phone, and Jiang Yan couldn’t wait to ask her, “Who was it?”

“It was Xu Ming.” Yuan Yue told her the content of the conversation just now, pretending to be very regretful. “See, I guessed right, didn’t I? Xu Ming has no interest in me at all. Ma, stop wasting time on him.”

“That shouldn’t be,” Jiang Yan muttered to herself. But since Xu Ming had already left, she couldn’t really say anything more.

After dropping Jiang Yan off at the station and watching her get on the bus, Yuan Yue and Yu Xi finally felt relieved enough to head back.

On the way back, Yuan Yue sat in the passenger seat. She stretched and sighed with emotion, “Finally, some peace and quiet.”

Yu Xi reminded her, “Fasten your seatbelt.”

Yuan Yue unhurriedly lowered her head to fiddle with it. Her gaze inadvertently swept over Yu Xi’s waist, and she suddenly noticed something. She hurriedly reached over and pulled out the object that was half-exposed from the side pocket of Yu Xi’s pants, finding the tactile sensation slippery and very strange.

Yuan Yue unfolded the thing in her hand. Realizing what it was, she screamed, “Why did you hide this in your pocket?”

Yuan Yue simply couldn’t believe it. Yu Xi had actually hidden the two condoms they had used in the living room earlier in her pocket. Thinking about how that slippery sensation on her hand was partly the fluids from her and Yu Xi, Yuan Yue threw the two used condoms aside in disgust and hurriedly pulled out a tissue to wipe her hands.

Yu Xi glanced at her and smiled faintly. “It was an emergency; I was afraid Ma would find them if I threw them in the trash, so I had to hide them in my pocket.” Seeing Yuan Yue’s intense reaction, she deliberately teased her, “Who asked you to be curious and pull them out yourself? And you threw them away; I originally wanted to wait until we got home to dry them and save them.”

“Are you sick⁶!” Yuan Yue looked at her in disbelief.

Yu Xi laughed happily. After laughing to herself for a while, she felt bored, composed her expression, and said, “What are you thinking about?”

Yuan Yue frowned and sighed. “I’m thinking, if our affair had really been discovered by Ma today, what kind of consequences would there be?”

Yu Xi pondered for a moment and asked hesitantly, “Are you scared?”

Yuan Yue slowly shook her head. “Not scared, just… I don’t know what to do. We can’t hide it from her forever, right?”

“Why is it impossible?” Yu Xi asked her back.

Yuan Yue was stumped by the question.

Yu Xi added, “You also said Ma is very conservative. If she found out, I’m afraid it would really cause a huge scene.”

“That’s why I said I don’t know what to do.” Yuan Yue was very distressed.

Yu Xi couldn’t think of a good solution for the time being either, so she comforted her, “Just let nature take its course. Don’t worry, there will always be a way.”

Yuan Yue remained silent.

The topic was too heavy. To divert her attention, Yu Xi said on a whim, “How about we go out for a trip?”

“Where to?”

Yu Xi thought for a moment and said, “How about going to the beach? The weather is cool now, and the sun isn’t that strong.”

Yuan Yue also thought this plan was feasible. A City was near the sea, just a few hours’ drive away. Although it was close, she had never been to the seaside. She said excitedly, “Sure! Are we going today?”

“We’re going right now.”

They went home and packed some simple things. Yuan Yue prepared swimsuits and a set of clothes for both of them; sunscreen was also essential. Just as she was about to close the suitcase, Yu Xi stuffed something else in. Yuan Yue saw it was the condoms she had thrown in the trash earlier. Her face heated up, and she asked deliberately, “Why are you bringing that?”

Yu Xi smiled at her suggestively. “It’s not safe even in our own home. Let’s go somewhere else to experience it.”

Yuan Yue said bashfully, “It’s even less safe outside.”

Yu Xi didn’t comment. She raised her eyebrows and said, “Unsafe is better. Life needs some adjustment sometimes. It’s nice to have a little excitement once in a while.”

Yu Xi didn’t fail to live up to her words at all. They arrived at the seaside that afternoon. With the blue sky and green sea, the scenery was excellent, and Yu Xi began to get restless.

Yu Xi ordered Yuan Yue to lie down, and Yuan Yue complied. Beneath her was a soft mat. Yuan Yue lay on her stomach, playing with the fine silver sand beside her while accepting Yu Xi’s service.

Yu Xi squeezed out a bit of sunscreen, spread it over Yuan Yue’s fair back, and slowly rubbed it in evenly, massaging until it was absorbed. After repeating this action several times, she suddenly untied the straps of Yuan Yue’s bikini on her back. Startled, Yuan Yue looked back at her and said in a panic, “What if someone comes over and sees?”

Yu Xi insisted on having her way. She untied the straps and soothed her, “I’m blocking you; others can’t see.”

They had deliberately chosen a remote corner right next to some jagged rocks, where few people passed by. But since they were outdoors, Yuan Yue was still a bit worried.

Yu Xi had always been bold. Yuan Yue was afraid she would mess around out in the open, so she lay dead still on the blanket to prevent herself from being exposed, struggling, “We’ll really be seen.”

Yu Xi gently patted her little butt and said strictly, “Alright, stop covering up. Even if someone really comes over, who’s going to see anything when it’s that flat?”

Yuan Yue hated it most when people said her chest was small. She sprang up abruptly, disregarding the risk of exposure, and pounced back onto Yu Xi, hugging her tightly and gnawing and biting at her face and neck.

Yu Xi couldn’t out-wrestle her, so she simply subdued her with a kiss. Yuan Yue indeed settled down.

As they were kissing, they suddenly heard movement not far away, faintly accompanied by the sound of people talking.

The two were forced to separate. Yu Xi tackled Yuan Yue down, her hands and eyes quick as she grabbed a nearby bath towel to cover Yuan Yue’s exposed upper body.

Yuan Yue lay motionless on her stomach, complaining, “See? I told you someone would come.”

Yu Xi looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man and a woman walking over, holding hands and treading through the waves. She narrowed her eyes, pressed one hand on Yuan Yue’s upper body, and said with a hint of warning, “Don’t talk yet.”

Yuan Yue couldn’t hold it in and asked in a whisper, “Who is it?”

Yu Xi’s gaze moved slowly as the man and woman approached. Her eyes darkened, and she leaned down to whisper in Yuan Yue’s ear, “Love rival.”

Love rival?

Yuan Yue was confused. She turned her head with difficulty and, without warning, locked eyes with the man and woman walking toward them. Her heart skipped a beat, and she frowned. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Why is it them again?”

---

---