ORCBRB – Chapter 34
Chapter 34
On the way to find an empty parking spot, Sang Shi'an's fingers were tapping away on her phone screen. The only sound in the car was the gentle melody of the music.
Jian Cenyu inadvertently caught Sang Shi'an stealing glances at her. When she looked over, Sang Shi'an would immediately start typing again, her expression changing along with her actions.
Sang Shi'an was being unusually strange tonight. She hadn't even refuted the 'girlfriend' comment and had spent so long shopping at the mall.
When Sang Shi'an's typing slowed down, Jian Cenyu spoke as if making casual conversation, "I've made up for the past few years of birthday gifts. What about this year? What do you want?"
Sang Shi'an was born on Christmas Eve, a day of reunion abroad, much like the family environment she grew up in—surrounded by love.
Sang Shi'an thought for a moment and said, "Nothing in particular. When I was little, I wanted to book an entire amusement park so I could feel like a princess and play whatever I wanted on my birthday without waiting in line. Now, I think it's just so-so, pretty childish."
"Then have you thought about how you want to spend your birthday this year?" Jian Cenyu asked again.
"First, have a meal with my parents, then go out with friends and get a private room to hang out?" Since they were on the topic, Sang Shi'an asked Jian Cenyu, "What about you? How did you spend your birthdays during those four years in the UK? Do foreigners do things differently?"
A light snow began to fall outside. Jian Cenyu turned on the windshield wipers and said, "Not much different from university students here."
"Not much different from here, but you're different from me." Sang Shi'an gripped her seatbelt and turned sideways. "During those four years, were you single on your birthdays?"
Jian Cenyu: ...
The temperature outside dropped considerably with the light snow, and a thin layer of frost formed on the windshield. Jian Cenyu turned up the heat, which helped a little.
She reached out to loosen the knot of her scarf and undid two buttons on her light-colored shirt, smiling as she said, "Are you really asking how I spent my birthdays, or are you trying to pry into my private life?"
The latter, of course.
Sang Shi'an hadn't forgotten Jian Cenyu's comment about 'special kinks' after moving into her house, nor the dominant side Jian Cenyu showed towards Kitty.
Although it wasn't related to the actual BDSM scene, that sense of control was far too practiced. Sang Shi'an was dying of curiosity and wanted to find out more.
"Just say whatever. We're still far from Zuo'an, so we can just kill some time."
Jian Cenyu: "I didn't."
Sang Shi'an: "Huh?"
The light ahead turned red. Jian Cenyu slowly pressed the brake, bringing the car to a smooth stop, and turned to look at Sang Shi'an.
"I had to complete my bachelor's and master's degrees in four years. There was no time for dating."
Her voice hadn't changed, but with the soft music in the car, it carried a languid gentleness.
Sang Shi'an's ears tingled. She commented dryly, "Ah, your university life must have been really boring then."
"Not really. Don't you get along well with your friends? University doesn't have to include romance to be complete. But," Jian Cenyu seemed to sense something and turned to look at Sang Shi'an, "why are you suddenly asking about this? Are you asking for your brother?"
Sang Shi'an gripped the edge of the leather seat, her hand tightening repeatedly. "I'm not a tattletale. It's because..."
Jian Cenyu noticed the shift in Sang Shi'an's mood. Even with the music playing, she could detect Sang Shi'an's slightly nervous breathing.
She smiled. "What, you want to date someone?"
Sang Shi'an shook her head. "Not really."
Jian Cenyu asked again, "Then are you planning to, or did some boy confess to our An'an, making you think about it?"
Her tone was exactly the same as Sang Shiyue's when he brought up dating, as if she were just speaking from the perspective of an older sister, with no other intentions.
Sang Shi'an felt inexplicably irritated.
She hadn't intended to, but now that Jian Cenyu had asked, she actually wanted to test the waters.
The traffic light turned green, and the car started moving again. As if afraid Jian Cenyu wouldn't hear her, Sang Shi'an raised her voice, "It's just—"
Jian Cenyu took off her scarf and handed it to Sang Shi'an, gesturing for her to put it in the cramped back seat. She then waited patiently and quietly for Sang Shi'an to speak.
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, and the warm streetlights painted the road like a cozy oil painting. A pair of blinding high beams swept over from the opposite direction. In that brief moment when her anxiety vanished, Sang Shi'an said, word by word, "I like you."
For a rare moment, Jian Cenyu's hands on the steering wheel lost their precision as she made the turn, causing the car to cross the solid line, an action captured by the overhead camera.
Sang Shi'an didn't notice anything unusual on Jian Cenyu's face and softly added the rest of her sentence, "...Is that good enough for a confession?"
Jian Cenyu discreetly pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth, her tone nonchalant. "So it's not that someone confessed to you, but that you have someone you like? Just that one sentence might not be sincere enough."
Sang Shi'an nodded. Having said it once, it was much easier the second time. "I like you. You're the first person I've ever liked. Although I only recently realized I like you, I think I'll probably keep liking you in the future."
She spoke very smoothly, as if reciting pre-written lines, which made it sound even more like a joke.
"How about that?"
Jian Cenyu calmly drove the car onto the elevated highway. Her gaze fell on the license plate of the car in front, but her eyes, which had never been nearsighted, couldn't make out the numbers. All she could feel was the quickening rhythm of her own heart.
The bright yellow lights of the highway reflected off the car window, mirroring her pale eyes and brows.
"That's what I should be saying. I liked you long before you started liking me."
She mimicked Sang Shi'an's tone and turned to look at her. "Our An'an is so pretty. That boy will definitely reply to you like that."
Realizing that Jian Cenyu was just humoring her, Sang Shi'an grew even more irritated.
If she were facing any other woman, she might have thought the other person was just too shy and pretending not to understand.
But this was Jian Cenyu.
Sang Shi'an had witnessed Jian Cenyu's attitude towards Kitty.
Even before agreeing to Kitty, Jian Cenyu had already displayed an extremely strong sense of control and possession.
It was completely different from how she was treating her now.
Sang Shi'an let out a breath, her tone dejected. "I'm not sure if she likes me. Jian Cenyu, don't humor me like this. If I fail, I might come crying to you."
Jian Cenyu's voice held a hint of laughter. "Alright. You've come crying to me enough times since we were kids anyway. One more time won't make a difference."
Sang Shi'an gave a sullen grunt and fell completely silent.
She turned away and started drawing on the fogged-up window with her finger, ignoring Jian Cenyu.
In less than five minutes, several stick figures appeared, only to be crossed out. Worried that Jian Cenyu would see them, she pressed her palm against the glass and wiped them all away.
The coldness seeped into her bones.
Twenty minutes later, Jian Cenyu drove near the Zuo'an Community and found a relatively empty parallel parking spot on the street. When she turned to switch seats with Sang Shi'an, she found that she had fallen asleep.
A few strands of hair rested on her face, making her look inexplicably docile.
She didn't wake Sang Shi'an up. Instead, she quietly studied her sleeping face, thinking about what she had said in the car and her series of unusual actions tonight.
She thought, perhaps Sang Shi'an had truly realized something.
Or perhaps, it was just a whim.
Sang Shi'an wasn't sleeping deeply and sensed when the car stopped. She slowly woke up. "Jian Cenyu, are we here?"
Jian Cenyu responded, "You're awake?"
"If you're tired, just go back and sleep. The weather isn't great tonight, the road is starting to ice over, and the car might skid."
Sang Shi'an rubbed her eyes, then remembered she was wearing eye makeup and forced herself to stop. She flipped down the sun visor mirror to check her makeup.
Jian Cenyu hadn't expected Sang Shi'an's focus to be entirely on her face and couldn't help but laugh. "It's not smudged. No one will see it at night, so it's fine."
How could no one see? Wasn't Jian Cenyu a person?
Only after carefully inspecting her face was Sang Shi'an willing to respond to Jian Cenyu. "Your car has a low chassis, so even if it skids, it won't be too bad. If I can master driving on a slippery road, won't I be an even better driver when the road has more friction?"
Especially since it was a way to stall for time.
She suddenly didn't want to let Jian Cenyu go home so soon to flirt with Kitty.
Sang Shi'an had Jian Cenyu demonstrate the technique for parallel parking again, from the lines marking the space to the position of the tires and the timing for turning the steering wheel.
Jian Cenyu explained everything one by one. As she switched places with Sang Shi'an, she activated the car's anti-skid mode for extreme weather.
Although it wouldn't make a huge difference, it could add a little more friction.
The moment she pushed the car door open, snowflakes drifted in. The wind cleared Sang Shi'an's head a bit, and as she brushed past Jian Cenyu, an inexplicable emotion surged within her again.
It was the dissatisfaction of discovering that her years of friendship couldn't compare to some cat of unknown origin.
With this thought in mind, Sang Shi'an slammed on the brakes with unusual force, causing the gift bags in the back seat to jolt forward.
Jian Cenyu seemed to notice and looked in her direction. "Why did you brake so suddenly?"
"I haven't driven in a few days, so I'm not used to the pressure needed on the pedals?"
Sang Shi'an mumbled, "Yeah, maybe."
She wondered, how could she verify if she truly liked Jian Cenyu?
Her confession just now didn't seem to have any real effect. After all, she could say those words to anyone; saying them to Jian Cenyu didn't cost her anything.
There was no difference.
What else was there that friends couldn't do, but lovers had to?
Sang Shi'an didn't speak, and Jian Cenyu continued to watch her patiently.
Sang Shi'an tilted her head and suddenly let out a soft hiss.
Jian Cenyu: "What's wrong?"
Sang Shi'an bit her lower lip and said, "The milk tea I drank earlier was too hot. I think I got a small blister in my mouth, and now I've bitten it open."
Jian Cenyu gestured for Sang Shi'an to shift into park, then turned on the interior light and leaned over, lifting her chin. "Where?"
Sang Shi'an pointed towards her left cheek. "There."
Naturally, Jian Cenyu couldn't find the non-existent injury.
Jian Cenyu tried looking from several different angles, but Sang Shi'an kept changing the location—first it was up, then down, and later it had apparently moved to the back of her throat.
Before Jian Cenyu's patience ran out, Sang Shi'an finally stopped her act and said dryly, "Um, it just really hurts."
To prevent Jian Cenyu from getting suspicious, Sang Shi'an secretly bit the inside of her cheek and said, "It really hurts."
A layer of mist seemed to form in her beautiful eyes.
Sang Shi'an saw her reflection in the car window and, remembering the second male lead from the movie Su Ningyue had mentioned, suddenly realized she was really turning into a little white lotus.
She was being so dramatic.
But what was even more infuriating was...
Even after all that drama, she still hadn't managed to kiss Jian Cenyu.
Sang Shi'an's heart sank to the bottom. She muttered a few random words and went back to practicing her driving, fuming.
This was Sang Shi'an's third attempt at parallel parking. When she could finally complete it perfectly once out of every five tries, Jian Cenyu glanced at the time and suggested, "It's almost ten. Let's go back. You have a class first thing tomorrow morning."
Sang Shi'an nodded absentmindedly, but her eyes were fixed on Jian Cenyu's lips. She wondered if she would be able to confirm tonight whether her feelings for Jian Cenyu were the kind that could lead to a relationship.
Jian Cenyu was still talking, "The snow is getting heavier outside, so it's not convenient to carry things. Let's leave what we bought in the car for now. I'll bring it up tomorrow morning. You should grab a thick coat to wear so you don't catch another cold."
The words went in one ear and out the other as Sang Shi'an remained completely absorbed in her own world. The moment Jian Cenyu opened the car door to get out, she called out abruptly, "Um—"
Jian Cenyu: "What is it?"
"I think my foot is cramping," Sang Shi'an said, pointing to her left foot.
When Jian Cenyu looked over, she felt that wasn't quite right and switched to her right foot. "Maybe from pressing the gas and brake too much. It hurts."
Sang Shi'an had only meant it as a test, but she didn't expect Jian Cenyu to actually get out of the car, walk around to her side, and squat down to check on her.
Snowflakes quickly landed on her shoulders, melting into icy water that seeped into her wool coat.
Sang Shi'an felt that taking advantage of Jian Cenyu's concern and deceiving her like this was a bit too much.
She felt embarrassed and changed her tune. "Actually, it's not that serious. I'll be fine after a moment."
"Don't be stubborn." Jian Cenyu seemed to smile, giving her a disapproving look. Then she pulled the car door open as wide as it would go and gestured to Sang Shi'an. "Get out. I'll carry you."
Sang Shi'an didn't dare to look Jian Cenyu in the eye. "There's no need..."
"Hurry up, you're really going to get wet," Jian Cenyu said, pointing at the snow.
Sang Shi'an awkwardly leaned over and was lifted out of the car by Jian Cenyu. Just as she was about to wrap her arms around Jian Cenyu's neck—
Jian Cenyu straightened up from her bent position, her arms habitually hoisting Sang Shi'an a little higher.
Caught off guard, Sang Shi'an tightened her arms, and her face collided with Jian Cenyu's due to the momentum. Her pupils instantly dilated.
Snowflakes danced in the air.
She had finally kissed the corner of Jian Cenyu's lips.
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment