Troublesome – Chapter 81

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She wrote the name, stroke by stroke, on Lu Zhenqiu’s hand.

When that hand reached out, Lu Zhenqiu saw the wristwatch. It was Jin Shuilan. She didn’t struggle and was practically carried into the corridor. The blackness was like thick ink; only the safety exit sign flickered with a faint light. Lu Zhenqiu looked at Jin Shuilan: “Why did you come?”

The two people stood close together. Lu Zhenqiu’s back was against the door, and Jin Shuilan had her pinned between herself and the door. Moving forward slightly, their breaths mingled, and there was also a faint minty smell.

Jin Shuilan said: “You didn’t wear your jacket, I came to bring it to you.”

She held out her right hand, which was carrying a jacket. Lu Zhenqiu smiled: “It’s true, I didn’t.”

Jin Shuilan held the jacket open. Lu Zhenqiu very consciously put her arms out. Just as she slipped it onto her arms, Jin Shuilan took a step forward, pressing against Lu Zhenqiu. The jacket was left half-on, half-off, resting on both of their arms. Lu Zhenqiu raised her eyes and asked: “Let go of me, I still have to go move my car.”

“No need to move the car.” Jin Shuilan smiled: “It was a fake.”

Lu Zhenqiu shot her a glare.

In the wrong, Jin Shuilan lowered her head to look at the tip of Lu Zhenqiu’s nose. She handed out a tissue. Lu Zhenqiu was puzzled. She explained: “Chewing gum.”

Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head and took it, then raised her head after a moment: “Still not letting me go.”

“Really let go?” Jin Shuilan asked with her eyes lowered. In the faint light, her features were not very clear. Lu Zhenqiu could feel her breath constantly landing by her right cheek. Her voice was low and slow, truly worthy of being a voice that Ji Zibo wanted to pull in to be a voice actor; it was truly very pleasant to listen to.

Lu Zhenqiu was listening, captivated, and only reacted two seconds later. She nodded: “En.”

Jin Shuilan stood up straight. Just as she was about to take two steps back, the hem of her clothes was tugged. She lowered her head and saw Lu Zhenqiu’s fingers unconsciously pulling at her hem. Her fingers were slender and long, the gesture dependent and ambiguous. Jin Shuilan held Lu Zhenqiu in the same posture as just now. Lu Zhenqiu lifted her eyelids, her lips parting slightly, but just as she was about to ask a question, she was lightly pecked by Jin Shuilan.

Like a dragonfly touching the water’s surface¹, Jin Shuilan just touched her once, a light taste before stopping. In the darkness, neither could see the other’s face clearly, but as they drew near, heat washed over them from the other’s body. Lu Zhenqiu fell silent, her thin lips slightly parted as if waiting to taste and draw in more. Jin Shuilan lowered her head and kissed her forehead, her cheeks, the tip of her nose, and finally, closing her eyes, she kissed the corner of her lips. She used her teeth and the tip of her tongue to finely trace the shape of Lu Zhenqiu’s lips—soft, sweet.

Lu Zhenqiu’s hands were wrapped around her shoulders, the jacket hanging on her arms, obscuring their figures. When the corner of her lip was bitten hard, she let out a light hum to show her dissatisfaction. Hearing the sound, the taut string in Jin Shuilan’s mind snapped. She didn’t restrain herself; instead, she held Lu Zhenqiu even tighter than before, as if wanting to knead her into her own body.

Their bodies fit together seamlessly, soft flesh pressing against soft flesh. Jin Shuilan’s hands were always wrapped around Lu Zhenqiu’s slender waist, her five slender fingers sinking deep into her back. Separated by a thin layer of cloth, they seemed to be pressed against her very skin. The skin that was touched ignited with a high temperature, astonishingly hot. A dry heat rose from her lower abdomen, and the blood in her entire body was boiling.

She tilted her head up slightly to respond, also biting the corner of Jin Shuilan’s lips. A tingling, numbing sensation rushed straight to her brain, her tongue wrapped in sweetness. Receiving the response, Jin Shuilan began to rely on instinct, turning clouds and summoning rain² in Lu Zhenqiu’s world, attacking cities and seizing territory³. The more jealousy that grew, the crazier she became. At first, Lu Zhenqiu could still respond, but later she could not withstand such a strong offensive. Originally holding her in response, she gradually came to just hang on her body.

It was just a kiss, yet it seemed to have drained all the strength from her body. When it ended, she had to press her back directly against the door to barely remain standing.

“What are you doing.” Lu Zhenqiu asked her, panting. Jin Shuilan said: “You’re going to be gone for half a month.”

Lu Zhenqiu understood. She lowered her head: “Even so, there’s no need to…”

The quality of her voice had changed from just being kissed. Jin Shuilan pulled her to sit on the nearby corridor stairs. She turned her head: “Are you still cold?”

Cold? Is she doing this on purpose.

Lu Zhenqiu turned her head. Her eyes were sparkling in the darkness, like splashing water. After several seconds, she said: “Not cold.”

“I’m cold.” Jin Shuilan held out her hand, placing it in front of Lu Zhenqiu. “Warm it up for me.”

Lu Zhenqiu reached out and held it. Her own temperature was probably too high, so Jin Shuilan’s hand felt a bit cold. She rubbed it and blew a warm breath on it, then turned her head: “Is it still…”

Jin Shuilan leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

Lu Zhenqiu gave her a sidelong glance and lowered her head with a smile.

A quarter of an hour⁴ later, the two of them dawdled their way to the restroom. Lu Zhenqiu even reapplied her lipstick. She turned her head to look at Jin Shuilan: “Where’s your lipstick?”

“I didn’t bring any,” Jin Shuilan replied. Lu Zhenqiu had no choice but to carefully apply some on her as well, only their lips were still a bit swollen. After the two finished dawdling in the restroom and went back, Ji Zibo was in the middle of speaking, though she didn’t know about what. Lu Zhenqiu was listening absent-mindedly. Bai Mao asked: “Is the car moved?”

Lu Zhenqiu hadn’t snapped out of her daze. Jin Shuilan said with breezy nonchalance⁵: “En, it’s done.”

Hua Luo giggled: “As long as it’s done.”

After she spoke, she secretly poked Lu Zhenqiu’s arm. Lu Zhenqiu turned her head, and Hua Luo said: “Are we going to Xiao Yu’s place tonight?”

Lu Zhenqiu made an “en” sound. Xiao Yu said: “The luggage has already been sent over.”

After speaking, she fiddled with her phone: “Qiuqiu, do your fans know we’re going together?”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded: “I think I mentioned it.”

“No wonder, there are so many of your fans in my private messages.”

Lu Zhenqiu leaned over: “What are they saying?”

“Asking me to take good care of you.”

Xiao Yu was smiling so much she couldn’t close her mouth: “Between the two of us, you’re definitely the one who takes care of me more. They’ve got the wrong person.”

Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head to look at the private messages on her phone, feeling both amused and warm. Everyone was chatting all at once⁶, talking about everything from recent film and television to radio dramas, and then to novels. Bai Mao asked Jin Shuilan: “Are you releasing a new story before the New Year?”

Jin Shuilan said: “I’ll release it. It can be released soon.”

She was used to the format of saving the entire manuscript before publishing. This book was already more than half finished, with only a little bit left to wrap up. During this period when Lu Zhenqiu was away, she could finish writing and release it.

Hua Luo rubbed her hands together: “I’m so looking forward to it! When this book is published, can Teacher Jin give me an autograph?”

Jin Shuilan smiled: “I can give you one right now.”

Hua Luo’s eyes lit up: “That would be great!”

As she spoke, she took out a pen and paper from her bag, very well-prepared. This stunned Xiao Yu, who was beside her. After she finished signing, Xiao Yu said: “Then can I have one too?”

Jin Shuilan nodded and also signed one for Xiao Yu. She asked Lu Zhenqiu: “Do you want one?”

Lu Zhenqiu gave her a sidelong glance. The people beside them were all watching, so she had no choice but to nod: “I’ll take one.”

Jin Shuilan asked: “Where should I write it?”

Lu Zhenqiu was just about to get some paper when Jin Shuilan pulled her hand over and said: “Just write it here.”

The tip of the pen landed on her palm, ticklish and tingly. Jin Shuilan lowered her head and very seriously wrote her name. The others who saw this scene tactfully coughed a couple of times. Hua Luo said to Bai Mao: “Teacher Bai…”

Bai Mao replied to her: “My hand hurts, can’t sign.”

Hua Luo pouted: “Oh.”

Xiao Yu was amused by her adorably silly appearance and laughed. Lu Zhenqiu looked at Jin Shuilan’s side profile. The crystal lamp shone on it, making her silhouette clear. Every stroke Jin Shuilan wrote went from her palm into her heart.

Stroke by stroke, it was carved deep into her bones.

After dinner, Lu Zhenqiu left with Xiao Yu. Jin Shuilan drove them downstairs. As she was getting out of the car, Xiao Yu exclaimed “Aiya”: “The lights at home aren’t on yet, I’ll go turn them on.”

The reason she deliberately gave for the two of them to be alone was too clumsy.

Lu Zhenqiu stood up straight and said to Jin Shuilan: “You should head back early then.”

Jin Shuilan nodded; “You go in first.”

Lu Zhenqiu turned to walk inside, but after two steps, she turned back and waved at Jin Shuilan. Seeing this, Jin Shuilan simply turned off the engine, got out of the car, walked directly in front of Lu Zhenqiu, and pulled her by the hand into the lobby, asking: “Which floor?”

“The eighth floor.”

Lu Zhenqiu looked down at their two clasped hands, smiled, and entered the elevator.

After they reached the eighth floor, Jin Shuilan didn’t go in. Xiao Yu saw Lu Zhenqiu come in and laughed slyly; “Are you going to talk, are you going to talk, are you going to talk?”

Lu Zhenqiu was being tickled by her and asked with a laugh: “Talk about what?”

Xiao Yu said: “What else is there to talk about? Just tell me when you and Teacher Jin secretly crossed over to Chencang⁷!”

What ‘secretly crossed over to Chencang’?

Lu Zhenqiu gave her an exasperated look, sat up straight, and took a throw pillow, saying: “I just felt that we could give it a try.”

“Now that’s more like it!” Xiao Yu sat down beside her, leaning against her with her head on her shoulder. “People, you know, have to look forward. One failed relationship doesn’t mean anything. Who doesn’t run into a few scumbags, right?”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded.

Xiao Yu said: “I think Teacher Jin is reliable.”

She was much more reliable than Tang Yingxia at first glance. Moreover, her kindness toward Lu Zhenqiu was there for all to see, much better than the secretive Tang Yingxia. Xiao Yu let out a breath: “This is really great.”

It really is great.

Lu Zhenqiu hugged the throw pillow, having never thought things would be like this now. She possessed everything she liked: her voice acting, her live streaming, her love, her—Jin Shuilan.

She saw the name in her palm and muffled her laughter in the throw pillow, her toes curling and uncurling. Xiao Yu urged her: “Go take a shower, it’s time to sleep. We still have to catch a plane tomorrow morning.”

Lu Zhenqiu made an “en” sound but didn’t move, still staring at the name in her palm. Having no other choice, Xiao Yu dragged her into the restroom.

After she finished her shower and came out, Jin Shuilan had also arrived home. The two of them had a video call for a while. Maomao saw her and yelped twice, very excited. Lu Zhenqiu talked for half an hour before hanging up the video call.

The next day, the weather was good, and the sun was shining brightly. Xiao Yu and she arrived at the airport early. They ate breakfast at the airport and even ran into two colleagues. After taking a group photo, Lu Zhenqiu replied to messages in the lounge while Xiao Yu had already started chatting with others.

The temperature in the neighboring city was on the low side, and the snow on the roads had not yet completely melted. Just after getting off the plane, Lu Zhenqiu said: “It’s so cold.”

“It is colder than our place,” Xiao Yu said as she hailed a taxi. “Let’s go to the hotel first.”

The two of them took a taxi directly to the hotel. They registered at the counter and got their keys. Xiao Yu invited Lu Zhenqiu to go soak in a hot spring in a little while, since rehearsals would start tomorrow and today was the last day to relax. Lu Zhenqiu nodded: “Got it.”

She and Xiao Yu were not on the same floor. She was on the twenty-second floor, and Xiao Yu was on the thirteenth. Lu Zhenqiu got off the elevator carrying her luggage, saw the room number 2209, and walked over. She swiped her card, and with two beeps, the door opened. The heating was on inside, and someone had already arrived. That person had their back to Lu Zhenqiu and was busy unpacking their luggage. Lu Zhenqiu had just asked yesterday who her roommate was. She pushed her luggage inside, and just as she raised a smile, preparing to greet Xiao Ping, she saw the person with their back to her turn around.

Lu Zhenqiu furrowed her brows: “Lu Yan?”

Lu Yan gave her a nod as a greeting and said with a smile: “Qiuqiu, good morning.”

Lu Zhenqiu was silent for a few seconds. She felt that it was not good at all.

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