Shrine - Chapter 19
Chapter 19
After slowly finishing her coffee, the B-team wrapped up, but Shi Ran still hadn't finished work. Ruan Ruan had no reason to stay any longer, so she and Wu Mei headed home, pulling their location cases behind them. It was still early, so the two linked arms and went to the supermarket, buying a pile of daily necessities before going to eat at a locally famous potsticker restaurant. When they came out, the city lights were just beginning to glow. Ruan Ruan looked through the dense cluster of buildings, her gaze lifting to the iconic infinity pool of the distant Jingyue International.
A few floors up from there—one, two, three, four… was Shi Ran's room.
Had she finished work? There were no more messages on her phone.
After a shower, Ruan Ruan changed into the cotton pajamas she usually wore. She folded the pajama set she had brought with her before, planning to find a chance to take it to the dry cleaners. From outside, she could hear the sound of Wu Mei sniffling and crying while watching a drama. Ruan Ruan unfolded the pajamas she had just folded on the bed, then folded them again, then unfolded them once more. She pressed her index finger against the hem of the garment and lifted it gently.
Her heart throbbed slowly. Ruan Ruan pinched her upper arm, where goosebumps had risen.
"Mei Mei," Ruan Ruan opened the door and poked her head out to ask the person on the sofa, "are you going to sleep with me tonight?"
"What's up?"
"I want to get some rest early today."
"Oh, then you go ahead and sleep. I'll go back to my own room." Wu Mei turned off the TV and shuffled off in her slippers to take a shower.
Ruan Ruan pulled back and closed the door. The world fell silent, except for her own heart.
She tried reading Shrine for a while, but the content wouldn't sink in. She scrolled down to read the author's notes, then searched for the author's Weibo to see if there was any news about a screen adaptation. There was none. Everything was sealed tight, making Ruan Ruan's transaction with Shi Ran feel even more like a sunless, secret dream.
But the changes in her body couldn't lie. As she lay in bed, the slightly rough fabric of her pajamas slid across her full curves, and her nipples instantly hardened in response. Once you've had a taste of sweetness, you can't help but look on with anticipation.
What's more, it was a sweetness given by Shi Ran.
She couldn't sleep. It was almost one in the morning, and still, she couldn't sleep. Ruan Ruan coughed lightly, picked up her phone, and posted on her Moments: "Shouldn't have eaten so many potstickers tonight…"
She scrolled down, and then down again. There were a few likes and three replies, which was as good as nothing.
Her gaze went vacant, her fingers mechanically refreshing the screen. Disappointment arrived when she least expected it.
Was she missing Shi Ran? Was she missing Shi Ran herself, or that suite above the infinity pool, the top-tier makeup artist, and that half-room of gowns she didn't get a full glimpse of? There must have been a few haute couture pieces, right? Ruan Ruan had never seen haute couture in person.
Her finger flicked, and in the next second, a new post from Shi Ran appeared on her Moments. It was a picture for an endorsement she had announced before, looking like a routine post.
Ruan Ruan pursed her lips, tapped on it, then tapped on Shi Ran's profile picture. Holding her breath, she sent her a message: "Not asleep yet?"
She looked timid, but she wasn't cowardly. A wild weed surviving in the cracks knows to grow toward any sliver of light. In her heart, she used the coffee Shi Ran had given her that afternoon as encouragement.
"No. You're not asleep either?"
"Yeah."
Ruan Ruan sent another message: "Thank you for the coffee this afternoon."
"You're welcome."
The other person is typing… A few seconds later: "Was it good?"
Ruan Ruan bit her lip and smiled. She wasn't sure if Shi Ran was just making small talk like she was, but she didn't seem like the kind of person who would care whether coffee was good or not. Besides, don't lattes from those chain brands all taste more or less the same?
Ruan Ruan felt encouraged again. She slowly typed: "Can I call you?"
She wanted to hear Shi Ran's voice.
Shi Ran called her back with a voice call. Ruan Ruan answered and sniffed, "Hello?"
"Mm."
Ruan Ruan paused for three seconds, moistened her lips, and said in a soft, sweet voice, "It was very good."
"Mm." That word again. Her cool voice was slightly hoarse.
"Are you… unable to sleep?" Ruan Ruan asked tentatively.
The person on the other end seemed to turn their head. "A little."
Shi Ran gazed at the empty space on the bed beside her. She had left late today and hadn't asked housekeeping to come in, so there were still a few of Ruan Ruan's hairs on the pillow. Shi Ran could recognize them; Ruan Ruan's hair was finer, with a slight natural curl. Her hair, like her, liked to curl up when sleeping, like a little cat that couldn't stand the cold.
Shi Ran rarely shared a bed with anyone, let alone did something she rarely even thought about. In college, she had curiously touched herself and come, but she hadn't found it particularly interesting and had no desire to explore further after that. It turned out that exploring someone else was different. And being explored by someone else was different, too. Life rarely offers moments where someone lets you take whatever you want, and Shi Ran had rarely experienced having her emotions handed over, hooked by another's lips and fingertips.
The moment of being utterly captivated was so fast it was disorienting.
Shi Ran wanted to do it again. But Ruan Ruan's call now sobered her up quite a bit.
She had been intimate with someone she didn't know at all. This was only their second phone call.
So she gathered herself and asked, "What perfume were you wearing yesterday?"
Her fingers unconsciously stroked the bedsheet.
"I didn't wear any perfume. Didn't I tell you? You're sensitive to perfume, I remember," Ruan Ruan said earnestly.
"Then did you use the body wash in my bathroom?" Shi Ran's voice was cool and light.
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Shi Ran pulled her hand back and gave a faint smile.
Ruan Ruan paused for a moment, then asked her, "Are you not sleeping yet? Do you have a call time tomorrow?"
"Yes, at noon."
"Oh, I don't. Mei Mei wants to get her hair done tomorrow, so I'm going with her."
Shi Ran took a moment to recall who Mei Mei was, then continued after a few seconds, "You two… aren't sleeping together today?"
"No, I'm sleeping with the kittens today."
"Kittens?"
"Mhm," Ruan Ruan laughed, lightly patting her quilt, where several fluffy kittens were lying. "They're Xiao Ju's babies."
"How are you sleeping?" Shi Ran's voice was a little low.
Ruan Ruan observed them in the moonlight. "Hmm… one is by my feet, one is pressed against my waist, and another one," she laughed out loud, "is trying to burrow into my covers."
Shi Ran fell silent as she listened. Ruan Ruan possessed a contradictory sense of being both quiet and lively. When she stood there, her entire being seemed to say, "I don't want to trouble anyone." Yet even her bed was so lively. Sometimes she slept with Wu Mei, sometimes with kittens, and yesterday, she had slept with Shi Ran.
Yesterday, she had also pressed against Shi Ran's feet, wrapped her arms around Shi Ran's waist, and had wanted to burrow into Shi Ran's body.
She herself was a little cat.
Ruan Ruan heard Shi Ran sigh softly on the other end.
"If you have time, you can come see the kittens," Ruan Ruan said, then paused. "I mean, really see the kittens. This is when they're cutest; their butts wiggle when they walk. Once they're a bit older and have their shots, I'll have to find homes for them. You might… not get to see them then."
Shi Ran listened seriously. "Got it."
Ruan Ruan gave a soft, warm smile and said in a hoarse voice, "I'm going to sleep then. I won't disturb you anymore."
Her ears were already hot from the call.
"Good night."
"Good night." Ruan Ruan said these two words with a lilt, the sound popping playfully from the tip of her tongue.
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