MTB - Chapter 10
Chapter 10: What Do You Call Me?
In the end, Yun Yang ended up taking “paid leave”—when Guan Yan messaged her on WeChat to ask if she was coming back to the dorm for the night, she was on Tang Yuelou’s sofa.
The phone on the coffee table vibrated twice before the screen went dark. Yun Yang, holding a cup of hot water on the sofa, had typed out “Not coming back,” but just as she saw Tang Yuelou emerge from the kitchen, her finger paused over the “Send” button, and she didn’t press it.
“Drink some honey water. It’ll help with the alcohol.”
“I’m trying to quit…” Yun Yang trailed off under Tang Yuelou’s gaze. A certain homophone came to mind, and she swallowed the rest of her sentence, changing the subject. “I meant to say, don’t add too much. I don’t like things too sweet.”
“Alright.”
Tang Yuelou added honey to her cup and stirred it slowly with a small spoon. The thick honey gradually dissolved in the warm water, its surface shimmering with gentle ripples under the living room lights.
Tang Yuelou took off her glasses, her features gilded with a soft warmth. Yun Yang found herself staring, lost in thought, at a drop of condensation trickling down the side of the glass. When Tang Yuelou pulled out a tissue and wiped it away, Yun Yang blinked, realizing her eyes felt a little dry.
“What’s wrong? Are your eyes still bothering you?” Tang Yuelou asked. “Is the light too bright?”
Any dimmer and they’d be completely off, Yun Yang grumbled to herself, shaking her head.
“I saw you went to the hospital this afternoon. What medicine did they prescribe? Did you bring it with you?”
“I did… There are pills and a bottle of eye drops. They’re in my bag, you can look for them.”
Tang Yuelou sat down beside her and took her canvas tote bag. Yun Yang shifted over, but the sofa was only so big. Sitting about thirty centimeters away, she picked up her cup and sipped slowly, watching as Tang Yuelou rummaged through her bag and pulled out a pack of strawberry capsule cigarettes, with one missing.
“Excuse me, Teacher,” Yun Yang said, using a smile to mask her embarrassment. “I don’t think that’s the medicine.”
“Confiscated,” Tang Yuelou said with a smile.
“On what…”
“And no more drinking. You need to abstain from alcohol with this medication.” Tang Yuelou said, reading the instructions for the pills. “Tonight was the last time.”
Yun Yang: “…Oh.”
She was starting to realize that no matter what Tang Yuelou said, it was best to just agree with her for now.
“Is that what you really think?” Tang Yuelou asked, tilting her head to look at her.
“Couldn’t be truer,” Yun Yang said with a dry laugh.
—But only for right here, right now. Who could say what the future holds?
Tang Yuelou smiled, opened the bottle of eye drops, and said, “Come here.”
Yun Yang froze for a moment, initially thinking the four glasses of red wine had finally gotten to her. But as she watched Tang Yuelou smooth the fabric of her skirt, she slowly understood what she meant.
The living room was so quiet they could hear the ticking of the clock. They looked at each other for a moment before Yun Yang lay down, resting her head on Tang Yuelou’s lap.
It was a very intimate position. Although there was no overt physical contact, the thin fabric of the skirt was all that separated them, leaving her senses completely exposed and enveloped in the other’s body heat. Any movement felt awkward. When Tang Yuelou brought the bottle of eye drops closer, Yun Yang instinctively tried to flinch away, but Tang Yuelou gently held her cheek in place.
“Don’t move,” Tang Yuelou said softly.
“Okay.”
Yun Yang lay still obediently. She felt the cool drop fall into her eye and asked, “How long do I have to keep them closed?”
“Five minutes.” Tang Yuelou’s fingers brushed the hair from her temple. “I’ll tell you when the time is up.”
Her vision was filled with darkness. Yun Yang couldn’t see her movements or expression, but she could feel the warmth of her palm and smell the faint, woody rose scent from her wrist.
It was supposed to be bitter, a bit like astringent traditional medicine, but right now, it had an inexplicable, warm sweetness.
There was also the sound of their breathing, very soft in her heightened sense of hearing. Combined with the regular ticking of the clock, it made her unconsciously tense.
Tang Yuelou seemed to sense her tension and asked with a laugh, “What are you thinking about?”
…What do you think I’m thinking about? Yun Yang retorted in her head.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” She tilted her head slightly, imagining she was looking right into Tang Yuelou’s eyes. “We broke up a long time ago.”
And I was the one who dumped you, she added silently.
The air was silent for a second.
“I’m not one to dwell on the past.”
A soft laugh came from above. Yun Yang could feel Tang Yuelou’s thumb gently pressing the corner of her jaw, her fingertip grazing her earlobe. The tingling sensation entered her ear along with the woman’s light, gentle voice. It tickled, and Yun Yang couldn’t help but flinch.
“You also believe in cherishing the present, don’t you?”
As she spoke, her breath seemed to linger by Yun Yang’s lips, the last few words almost an inaudible whisper. Yun Yang couldn’t help but push away the hand on her neck, reaching up with her other hand to cup the side of Tang Yuelou’s face.
Tang Yuelou didn’t move, instead leaning down slightly to accommodate the gesture. It was a silent permission, allowing Yun Yang’s fingers to thread through her hair. But just as Yun Yang was about to open her eyes and pull her head down, Tang Yuelou caught her hand.
“Yangyang, you can’t open your eyes.”
“I don’t want to. The time is up.”
“Not yet. Be good.”
It was that tone again, the one that transported her to those dreams that made her toss and turn at night. Yun Yang felt a tightness in her chest, and then, the other woman’s breath drew close, her lips pressing against hers.
The scent of rose, mingled with the cool, medicinal hint of patchouli, gently parted her lips. Yun Yang’s eyelids fluttered. She tried to struggle up to wrap her arms around the other woman’s neck, but her wrist was caught and pinned above her head.
In stark contrast to Tang Yuelou’s usually restrained kisses, this movement forced Yun Yang into an awkward position. The back of her head pressed against the sofa’s soft armrest, it felt as if her body had been forced open, exposing every vulnerability to the woman above her. It made her feel uneasy and tense, her breathing turning ragged. As their mouths tangled, a faint, muffled moan escaped her.
Despite the gentleness of the kiss, Yun Yang felt as if she were suffocating. Tang Yuelou’s hand cupped her chin, forcing her head back as warm breath ghosted over her skin.
“Do you like this?”
Although she was being restrained, Yun Yang still tried her best to turn her head to the side, not wanting to answer.
“You don’t find it unpleasant?”
Well… it’s not exactly unpleasant, Yun Yang thought awkwardly, giving a slight nod.
A soft laugh sounded by her ear. She opened her eyes, and the light of the living room flooded her vision. Without even getting a clear look at Tang Yuelou’s expression, Yun Yang furrowed her brow and squeezed her eyes shut again.
Tang Yuelou asked in a low voice, “Is the light too bright?”
“…Yeah.”
“Alright.”
But the other woman didn’t turn off the light.
The hand holding her wrist released its grip. Yun Yang started to raise her own hand to shield her eyes, but in the next second, a long silk ribbon carrying Tang Yuelou’s scent was laid over them.
“Good girl. Head up.”
Yun Yang felt she had no room to refuse. The other woman supported the back of her head and tied the ends of the ribbon into a knot. It took Yun Yang a few seconds to realize it was the belt from Tang Yuelou’s shirtdress.
The realization sent a flush of heat to her cheeks. Yun Yang instinctively reached up to pull it off, but Tang Yuelou caught her chin, her thumb parting her lips.
“I don’t actually like too many restraints, Yangyang. You look beautiful right now.”
Yun Yang could hear the threat in her words. She couldn’t begin to imagine the gaze of the woman above her—Tang Yuelou seemed so full of contradictions. She was gentle and serene, seemingly without a temper, always unruffled whether faced with offense or praise.
But she was also dangerous, unlike most people Yun Yang knew. Just like now, with Tang Yuelou’s finger resting on the tip of her tongue, she heard her ask in that unusually soft voice, “Do you remember what I told you last time?”
Yun Yang stiffened.
It was as if the alcohol from an hour ago was only now kicking in. She really did feel a little drunk. In the darkness before her eyes, she recalled the glaring lights of the bar, the corner of the booth, and the dangerous, bitter scent of rose on her fingertips.
—Don’t move, and don’t bite me.
“Tang… Tang Yuelou…” As expected, Yun Yang didn’t dare to bite down, managing only to mumble the garbled syllables.
“What did you call me?”
The hem of her sweatshirt was lifted, and she was finally forced to correct herself: “…Teacher.”
“Mm, don’t move.” Tang Yuelou stroked her lower lip, satisfied. “That goes for now, too.”
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