Chapter 25
"Is chatting really this hard?!"
Zhong Ning felt like her brain was about to explode from thinking.
"You really like playing games?" Xie Shiqing finally spoke.
Zhong Ning quickly replied, "Yes, yes, and I have really good luck, so I want to make money by streaming games and helping people draw cards."
Game streaming was very popular among young people. Some celebrities under the Xie Corporation had even endorsed games and participated in cosplay crossover commercial events.
Xie Shiqing had complicated feelings about games.
She used to think that games were fake, offering fleeting joy as illusory as moonlight in water or flowers in a mirror. To entrust one's soul to a string of virtual data—what kind of helpless, pitiful person would do that?
But later, after a major upheaval, she suddenly understood something.
If the real world held no sanctuary for the soul, then even a moment of comfort could be a lifesaving straw worth more than gold.
Only, she was now blind. Even if she wanted to find a distraction, games were no longer an option.
During that time, she began listening to a vast amount of music—musicals, operas, classical, pop, heavy metal rock, post-punk...
She turned the volume up to the maximum, nearly deafening, trying to drown out the persistent echoes in her mind—brake screeches, screams, pained gasps, fragmented last words... with sound.
It was a cover-up that only drew more attention.
But it did grant her a brief moment of respite.
Xie Shiqing never missed her mother; what she couldn’t let go of was the woman who gave birth to and raised her.
This rose garden also bore the love and effort of that gentle woman.
Her thoughts drifted from past memories as she listened to the rustling petals stirred by the breeze, a sense of calm surrounding her.
Thinking of Zhong Ning and that maid, she wasn’t exactly jealous—more so a possessiveness, an inability to tolerate someone bearing the title of her fiancée laughing and talking with another woman.
Even though that wasn’t really laughter.
But it still made her uncomfortable.
Xie Shiqing wasn’t someone who would suppress her feelings. When she was unhappy, she simply made those around her even more unhappy.
Though now, she did feel a little better.
After pondering for a while, she suddenly bit her lip and let out a few laughs.
Drawn in by her laughter, Zhong Ning's gaze fell on Xie Shiqing’s overly rosy lips—plump, soft, and sweet.
Her voice was like honey, “Ning Ning, do you want to kiss?”
Chapter 14
The evening breeze swept through Xie Shiqing’s smooth black hair, letting the strands brush against Zhong Ning’s arm, bringing a cool and tingling sensation.
A kiss.
Zhong Ning had never realized before just how passionate she could be about this. If conditions allowed, she truly wished she could spend day and night wrapped around Xie Shiqing, inhaling the scent of absinthe that clung to her—sometimes strong, sometimes faint—as if intoxicated, lips and tongues entwined, exchanging idle chatter in the lulls between kisses.
Faced with this invitation, she couldn't say no.
Zhong Ning's kissing skills were improving at a pace visible to the naked eye—she was an excellent student.
Xie Shiqing held the sole right to comment.
It only took a few tries before Zhong Ning found the method she liked best—her tongue's intrusion was tender and lingering.
As their lips met, the scent of pomelo blossoms immediately spread.
Pulling one right back into spring.
The effect of a one hundred percent compatibility was simply too perfect; the faint agitation in Xie Shiqing’s heart was quickly extinguished.
She closed her eyes and indulged for a moment. Once both her body and mind were fully satisfied, she reached out and pushed the other person away.
The sudden separation startled Zhong Ning, who opened her eyes in confusion and instinctively leaned down again, wanting to continue the deep kiss.
But instead of finding moist lips, she met a finger.
“It’s time to go back.”
“Huh?... Oh, right, it’s time to eat.”
Zhong Ning's voice carried undisguised disappointment.
Xie Shiqing heard her lingering desire and slightly lifted the corners of her lips. “Let’s go.”
She had done it on purpose, of course. Just as she depended on Zhong Ning, Zhong Ning also had an irresistible urge to get closer to her—and hers was undoubtedly even stronger.
She could feel it.
Perhaps the affection in her words was an act, but the instinctive closeness of her body was undeniably genuine.
To stir someone’s desire, then ignore their need—after all, the pheromones were already in play—Xie Shiqing maliciously savored the agitated aura and the unconsciously clenched hand of the person beside her.
The smile on her lips deepened.
After dinner, she deliberately ignored Zhong Ning’s hesitations and returned to her room alone.
After all, she couldn’t see—how could she be expected to know that someone had something to say? That was perfectly reasonable, wasn’t it?
Zhong Ning hovered at Xie Shiqing’s door like a headless fly, circling a few times, wanting to ask if she needed marking today, but unable to open her mouth.
With her current level of shame, she could only muster the courage to ask something on the level of holding hands.
Unlike Zhong Ning’s openness, Xie Shiqing maintained strict control over her pheromones—not a trace leaked out.
Zhong Ning felt like a starving person with a feast just behind the door in her imagination, yet without permission to partake.
The worst part was, she still vividly remembered the taste of that delicious meal, and the craving in her stomach was rebelling furiously.
Pacing a few more anxious circles, she finally gave up and pushed open the door to her own room.
Hold it in! Control yourself! You can’t act like some lust-crazed beast, Zhong Ning!
She stepped into the bathroom, planning to follow what characters in novels did—take a cold shower. But the moment the cold water touched her skin, she screamed and jumped back, shivering as she switched it to hot water.
This kind of suffering, she truly wasn’t used to.
Just a splash of cold water was enough to sober her up.
After a night of sultry dreams, Zhong Ning woke in the morning and quietly changed into a fresh set of underwear. When she stepped out, she saw that Xie Shiqing was already sitting downstairs.
It seemed like she always woke up earlier than her.
Breakfast had already been served on the dining table. Zhong Ning remembered that Xie Shiqing liked quiet environments, so she swallowed back her “Good morning” and sat silently on the other side of the table.