PSW - Chapter 111
Chapter 111
"Zheng Yi..." Yu Yinan's eyes were hazy, a faint mist blooming within them. An indescribable tremor sprouted and flourished in her heart. Yu Yinan reached out, her slightly curled fingers touching Zheng Yi's waist, climbing up her back, trying to hold her tight.
Soft, vibrant rose petals instantly covered the entire bed, almost burying Yu Yinan completely. She dazedly looked up at the ceiling and saw the scattered, bright red petals still falling. Did... Did Zheng Yi bite through my neck? Is that why I'm hallucinating?
For a fleeting moment, that was what Yu Yinan believed.
The silent New Year's night grew inexplicably humid. Cool petals covered her entire body. Yu Yinan raised a hand to embrace Zheng Yi's shoulder and felt Zheng Yi lower her head, gently and earnestly following the path of the rose petals, planting soft kisses upon them.
Yu Yinan's breathing quickened, the last vestiges of reason in her mind fading away. She was an eternally burning flame, and this flame grew hotter under Zheng Yi's gentle touch. Even when Zheng Yi used her ability to conjure an ice wall to cool things down, steam still rose endlessly.
"Jiejie, Happy New Year." Zheng Yi placed a kiss on the corner of her lips, smiling as she nuzzled her cheek against Yu Yinan's flushed, burning face.
"..." Yu Yinan let out a low hum. Sensing that Zheng Yi was about to pull away, she silently and desperately hugged Zheng Yi tighter, her other hand grabbing the wrist Zheng Yi had planted on the bedsheet to push herself up. "...Don't tease me like this."
"Zheng Yi... Saint..." Yu Yinan murmured, her breathing erratic as she exhaled hot breaths. She pressed her lips together, then, biting them slightly, she began to plead, her voice fragile and anxious, yet filled with an indescribable persistence. "Zheng Yi... I... I like you so much." Zheng Yi, Saint, little sister... a person no one could see through, a goddess like the wind who could never be caught, never be bound by anything.
A single tear slid from the corner of her eye to her temple. Yu Yinan closed her eyes, the corners now tinged with red. The hand gripping Zheng Yi's wrist tightened slightly, stubbornly refusing to let go.
"...Jiejie~" The other woman seemed to sigh softly. A cold ice cube rolled onto her lips and was pushed into her mouth. Zheng Yi was feeding her an ice cube, seemingly to help her clear her head. Yu Yinan opened her eyes with a sob and saw Zheng Yi still gazing at her intently with those dark eyes she had lost herself in countless times.
"Jiejie worked so hard, studying all that... knowledge. I thought you'd want to be the one taking the lead~" Zheng Yi chuckled, pulling her hand free from Yu Yinan's grasp. She playfully tipped Yu Yinan's chin with her fingertips, then, sitting on top of her, she conjured a few more ice spheres and rolled them gently and slowly over her trembling body to cool her down.
Yu Yinan's mind went "buzz" and then blank. Her eyes widened. She never imagined Zheng Yi knew! No, no... with Zheng Yi's abilities, for me to hide this from her was... But-but when did she find out? From the beginning? But she didn't react at all! Yu Yinan's thoughts were a mess. The cold, stimulating sensation continued, and even though she knew Zheng Yi was just using the ice to cool her down, she couldn't stop trembling. She raised her forearm to cover her eyes as wet tears streamed down.
Zheng Yi... knew everything...
But, but...
"I didn't..." Yu Yinan choked out, trying to explain. "I just... I don't understand. I want to learn, I want... to be closer to you, to... to be with you forever. I just... like you too much."
"Whether I'm taking the lead or not, as long as it makes you happy... I'm okay with anything..."
"Oh, you." Zheng Yi took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the tears from Yu Yinan's face. She pulled Yu Yinan's hands away, lowered her head, and placed a soothing kiss on the corner of her lips. "In that case, let me teach you, Jiejie." The tear-stained handkerchief was folded and placed over Yu Yinan's eyes, completely obscuring her vision.
Zheng Yi was not afraid of fire. As a water ability user, she didn't care how high the flames' temperature rose. If it became uncomfortable, she had plenty of ways to cool the fire down.
She manipulated the flames, controlled them, making clusters of fire dance on her fingertips. The room's temperature climbed steadily, only to be cooled down occasionally by an ice wall that appeared out of thin air. From beginning to end, the fire burned with all its might, releasing its energy, burning as if it would never die, from flesh to marrow, burning completely and utterly.
She was like a rose trembling with dew, blooming in spectacular fashion.
Water and fire, fused together in perfect harmony.
Yu Yinan was in a daze. She felt as if she had returned to Chuanyang, to that stretch of sea. She bobbed in the water, deliberately pulled under by Zheng Yi, sinking deeper and deeper. Suffocation and cold enveloped her. The Grim Reaper reached for her from the depths of the sea, but just as he was about to grab her, Zheng Yi would pull her back to the surface. Then she was like a New Year's firework rising into the night sky, exploding in an instant, shattering into a thousand points of light, wanting only Zheng Yi to see.
After countless rounds of burning flames, Yu Yinan was panting, still exhaling and radiating heat. Her mental energy didn't ache; her head was just a little groggy. Confused and greedy, she tried to grasp something, only to find the lingering warmth of a fire that had burned out. She felt like a pile of embers heaped on the bed, mixed with rose petals, melting into a brilliant red ocean.
Why... is Zheng Yi so good at this?
Is Zheng Yi really a goddess? Maybe talent is just a thing in this world. Some people are born with their skill points maxed out, and even if I wanted to report her for cheating, there's nowhere to file a complaint.
"Jiejie, Happy New Year~" Zheng Yi's voice sounded by her ear. She pressed down on the body beneath her palm, not too hard and not too soft, her voice gentle yet carrying a certain bewitching quality. "Jiejie, don't go out."
Yu Yinan closed her eyes. The hair at her temples was completely soaked, sticking sweatily to her cheeks. Her body heaved as she gasped for air, as if she were about to suffocate. She opened her eyes, met Zheng Yi's gaze, and gave a pure smile. "Zheng Yi..."
How could she ever go out? She wished she could cut out her own heart and offer it to Zheng Yi with both hands, just for the chance to see her smile.
"Happy New Year..." Her voice was hoarse, but she forced herself to speak.
On the first day of the New Year, Yu Yinan, for the first time ever, slept until the afternoon.
She had always been extremely self-disciplined. Zheng Yi woke up very early every day, and since Yu Yinan wanted to help her start the fire and do what she could, she would never sleep in. But this time was an exception.
Yu Yinan felt a little dizzy. She had slept straight through to the afternoon and woke up feeling famished. She pushed herself up and sat dazedly on the bed for a moment, looking at the fresh pajamas she was wearing. Clutching her forehead, she noticed the rose and a few deliberately leftover petals by her pillow.
"..."
Yu Yinan felt her ability going out of control again as the temperature in the room started to rise. If this keeps up until the extreme cold period, she thought, won't I be just like a walking heater?
Yu Yinan ruffled her messy hair, finally grabbing a long-sleeved shirt and a jacket from the bedside to change into before pushing the door open and walking out. She didn't feel any physical discomfort; after all, as an ability user, she wasn't that fragile. But the moment she opened the door and saw Zheng Yi sitting in the living room, her face instantly turned beet red. She had intended to hurry into the shower, but then she heard Zheng Yi ask with a smile, "Jiejie's awake~ Want something to eat?"
"...Yeah." Yu Yinan managed to reply. "Anything is fine... I'm going to take a shower first."
"But I already washed you yesterday, Jiejie." Zheng Yi's eyes crinkled with a smile. Her dark gaze drifted over as she said teasingly, "You smelled very nice."
"..." Yu Yinan was suddenly speechless. A few scattered, sensual, and wet fragments flashed through her mind. She tried hard to compose herself but failed, fleeing into the shower under Zheng Yi's gaze.
All that knowledge I studied!
But, but... from the moment I lost the initiative, it was a total loss.
No, from the moment my opponent was Zheng Yi, it was impossible for me to win.
Yu Yinan bit her lower lip and adjusted the showerhead. A stream of cold water quickly poured down over her, and steam soon filled the room. Her fingertips traced the faint and deep scratches and bite marks on her body as water droplets dripped from their tips. Looking at herself, Yu Yinan suddenly started to laugh.
Zheng Yi...
She and Zheng Yi...
Finally, they had taken another step forward.
She was special, one-of-a-kind, the one and only... eternally burning flame.
She was Zheng Yi's girlfriend, and Zheng Yi was also hers.
There could be no better New Year's gift.
After her shower, Yu Yinan had calmed down again. She pushed the door open, and Zheng Yi beckoned for her to sit down beside her, placing a large, steaming bowl of beef noodles in front of her.
A layer of spicy red oil floated on the broth, and large slices of beef covered the entire bowl, almost completely hiding the noodles. Yu Yinan gave it a light stir and unearthed a few pieces of perfectly seasoned white radish from the bottom.
"Hurry and eat, Jiejie." Zheng Yi propped her chin on her hand and watched her, her eyes curving into crescents. "By the way, you can also tell me~ what did you and Zhao Haiyue talk about?"
The noodles she had just picked up with her chopsticks froze by her lips. Yu Yinan looked up at Zheng Yi, pursed her lips, and hesitated, struggling. "But... but I promised Chu Yi I wouldn't tell you."
"She's afraid I'll retaliate," Zheng Yi said. "I don't have time for that. Jiejie, in your heart, am I really the type of person to hold a grudge?"
"...But I promised her," Yu Yinan said quietly.
"O~kay~ then~" Zheng Yi didn't press the issue, instead drawing out her words in response. She quickly changed the subject. "Hurry and eat, Jiejie. If you wait too long, the noodles will get cold and won't taste as good."
"Okay," Yu Yinan replied. But she still didn't bring the noodles to her mouth. She hesitated, conflicted, then bit her lip and said, "If... if you really want to know... we can go visit Chu Yi together later. It's the first day of the New Year. Visiting her with some gifts... that's pretty normal, right?"
Zheng Yi blinked. Given how guilty Chu Yi looked whenever she saw her... if she knew that she'd made Yu Yinan promise to keep a secret, only for Yu Yinan to uphold that promise by having Zheng Yi come ask in person, she would probably wish she could travel back in time and tell Yu Yinan that if Zheng Yi asked directly, she'd rather Yu Yinan just tell her everything. But what did that have to do with Zheng Yi? "Sure~ Chu Yi has helped us a lot, so we should thank her. We can visit Grandma Xu and the others, too."
"Okay!" Yu Yinan instantly relaxed. She broke into a brilliant smile and finally started to quickly eat her bowl of beef noodles.
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