Indulgence - Chapter 5
Chapter 5
After a long silence, Ruan Xin decided not to press the matter so explicitly. Instead, she said, "Anyway, you're free now, so you should date someone you actually like. Want me to introduce you to some handsome guys? I've got all types."
"Not interested," Yao Ran refused without a second thought, knowing Ruan Xin was just concerned about her. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine on my own right now."
For her, a relationship wasn't a necessity, not something she felt compelled to pursue. She knew herself well; someone like her wasn't suited for relationships. She was better off alone.
Ruan Xin could understand her lack of enthusiasm at the mention of men, as she felt the same way. She looked at Yao Ran and smiled. "Hey, since you're so against men, is it possible you're like me and actually prefer women?"
Ruan Xin had only said it casually, as a joke.
But the listener took it to heart.
An image of that face, along with scenes from the previous night, flashed through Yao Ran's mind, impossible to dismiss. She reached for her glass and took another sip of water.
It was just an impulsive accident fueled by alcohol. Nothing to dwell on.
"You have no idea how much girls these days love your type. Haven't you noticed? Every time you come to Moments, more women are looking at you than men," Ruan Xin continued, growing more animated. "You could give it a try. If it were with a woman… maybe you wouldn't be so averse to it?"
"That's enough," Yao Ran cut her off rather abruptly. For some reason, Ruan Xin's words kept steering the conversation in that direction. All she wanted was some peace and quiet, not to continue this topic. "Change the subject," she urged.
Ruan Xin didn't press further. On second thought, it wasn't as if no women had ever pursued Yao Ran before, and she'd never seen Yao Ran show any interest. She crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair. "Fine, new topic. Director Yao, are you free tomorrow?"
Tomorrow was the weekend, so she was free. Yao Ran asked, "Yes, what's up?"
"I want to get a tattoo."
"A tattoo?" Yao Ran looked at Ruan Xin. "What made you suddenly want to do that?"
Ruan Xin said, "I just suddenly got interested. I'm planning to get one on my waist. Imagine taking off my clothes in bed—it'll be so sexy. My future girlfriend won't be able to handle it."
"…" Yao Ran had no response to that. She simply offered a quiet reminder, "Have you thought this through?"
Carving a permanent mark on one's body required careful consideration.
"Of course I have. I made the appointment a month ago and even finalized the design. I'm getting it done tomorrow afternoon," Ruan Xin said enthusiastically. "It's the same place our bar's Xiao Ji went to. The results looked pretty good."
Since she had decided a month ago, Yao Ran said no more. This was just Ruan Xin's personality—willing to try anything. As for regrets or whether it was worth it, she would say those were things to consider in the future.
Yao Ran couldn't be like Ruan Xin. Their approaches to life were like two extremes: one was excessively spontaneous, the other excessively rational.
"I've met the tattoo artist once. She's a girl, very beautiful, especially her figure."
Yao Ran shot her a look. "You're not getting a tattoo just because of that, are you?" To be fair, it was exactly the kind of thing Ruan Xin would do.
"Not entirely," Ruan Xin laughed. "Getting a tattoo hurts so much. Having a beautiful woman do it is pleasing to the eye and can serve as a bit of a distraction. I had to wait over a month to get an appointment with her."
Yao Ran smiled without a word. Hearing Ruan Xin's description, she wondered just how beautiful this girl must be to make her willing to wait a month.
"You know I'm scared of pain, so come with me tomorrow, will you? For moral support," Ruan Xin added.
Yao Ran didn't quite understand. "If you're scared of pain, why are you still getting it?"
"I want one, even if it hurts."
Yao Ran agreed. Aside from work, she had very little free time, and opportunities to hang out with her friends were rare.
Jiang Nian was sleeping soundly in bed. She reached out a bare arm, searching the space beside her, but found only emptiness. Half-awake, she blearily opened her eyes.
Her mind was foggy for a few seconds before she remembered what had happened last night.
She licked her lips. The space beside her was already empty, but she could still smell the faint, sweet fragrance of another woman on the pillow. She had spent the entire night lost in that scent, her face flushed and her heart pounding.
Jiang Nian propped herself up on her arms and sat up in bed, surveying the room. Only her own clothes were left on the floor.
The other woman had already left.
It felt like a dream. Jiang Nian leaned against the headboard, her mind wandering. The other woman's scent clung to her own body, a subtle, restrained fragrance, like the soft, stifled gasps the woman had made last night, her eyes closed in passion.
The details were hazy, but just thinking about them made her heart race. The sounds of kissing and the falling rain had mingled all night. She recalled how they had clung to each other, their bodies trembling uncontrollably together…
Jiang Nian's heart quickened, and an unexpected warmth spread through her lower body. She was about to get up and take a shower when her phone, lying beside her, rang.
It was Qiu Lan.
She picked it up, her voice raspy and thick with exhaustion. "Hello…"
"Damn it, don't tell me you're still sleeping at home. The client is here, waiting for you."
Jiang Nian ran a hand through her long hair, only then remembering she had an appointment this morning. Last night had been too wild; she was in no condition to work today. "I can't do it today. Tell the client we need to reschedule."
"What?!"
"I…" Jiang Nian murmured, "I drank too much last night."
Qiu Lan's voice on the other end sounded murderous. "Fuck, you were out all night? I reminded you that you had work this morning…"
Jiang Nian's head throbbed as she listened to Qiu Lan's nonstop tirade, only managing a few dazed "uh-huhs."
Qiu Lan was speechless. Jiang Nian enjoyed drinking, but she had never let it interfere with work before. From the sound of it, she was definitely in no state to tattoo anyone.
After hanging up, Jiang Nian felt a bit more awake. She threw off the covers and headed to the bathroom for a shower to clear her head. The hot water calmed her down considerably.
Dressed in her skirt again, Jiang Nian paced around the room. The woman had left quietly, without a word, leaving nothing behind.
Other than the fact that she was a bar owner, Jiang Nian knew nothing else about her.
She stood in the middle of the room, lost in thought for a while longer. Glancing down, she noticed a small object by the foot of the bed. She bent down to pick it up. It was a finely crafted necklace, but she had pulled it and broken it on the bed last night.
The next day was the weekend, and appointments were booked solid from morning till night.
In the early morning, as Jiang Nian walked in with a cup of coffee, her assistant was bracing herself while trying to communicate with a client who seemed to be from another dimension.
"Just give me something super unique, something that looks cool."
"Could you be a bit more specific? Or do you have any pictures you like?"
"No pictures. I don't want anything common. It has to be one-of-a-kind. Something that fits my vibe."
"…"
You meet all sorts of clients when you run a shop. Usually, they talk to the assistant first to get a general idea of the style and needs before discussing the details with the tattoo artist.
The studio was bustling on Sunday, with scheduled clients and many walk-ins for consultations.
On weekends, appointments were almost always back-to-back. Jiang Nian started working at nine and didn't get a break until one in the afternoon. Qiu Lan was just as swamped. The two of them cobbled together a lunch in the breakroom, eating toast with their coffee.
They managed to chat for a few moments while they could.
"I don't get you. Why give up being a rich kid to open your own shop? You work yourself to death every day. I do it to make a living, but what's your reason?" Qiu Lan had known Jiang Nian for years. Although Jiang Nian rarely talked about her family, it was clear from their daily interactions that she came from a wealthy background.
"What's wrong with having my own shop?" Jiang Nian took a sip of her coffee. It was bitter but invigorating. "It's freedom."
Freedom, it seemed, came at a price. Qiu Lan looked at Jiang Nian. "You've lost weight again recently. Look how skinny you are."
Jiang Nian was wearing a thin, form-fitting sweater today, and the black color did make her look slimmer. Hearing Qiu Lan's comment, she looked down at herself. "Really? I think I look fine."
"…" Qiu Lan was about to give up. "Alright, alright, I know you're busty. I know all the fat went to your chest."
They were only halfway through their meal when another client arrived. Jiang Nian finished her coffee and hurried out.
The client was a young woman who had just started working. She had been back and forth to the studio several times and had only made up her mind today.
When younger clients came in, Jiang Nian usually advised them to take more time to think it over. After all, plenty of people got tattoos on impulse only to regret it later.
The girl wanted a tattoo on her arm. It wasn't large and would take about three hours to complete.
Halfway through the coloring process, the girl stared at Jiang Nian's lowered profile and suddenly called out in a cloying voice, "Sister."
"Hm?" Jiang Nian didn't look up. The girl was actually around her age, but for some reason, she always called her "Sister." Jiang Nian couldn't be bothered to correct her; her personal style did tend to be a bit more mature than others her age.
The girl said, "Do you want to take a break?"
"Is the pain unbearable?" Jiang Nian asked casually. Her voice was slightly muffled by her mask.
"No. You must be tired today. Do you want to rest for a bit?"
It was rare to have such a considerate client. Jiang Nian replied simply, "It's fine, I'm not tired."
The girl thought for a moment, then tried a different approach. "It hurts a little. Let's take a break."
Only then did Jiang Nian stop. Among all the clients she'd had, this girl's pain tolerance was quite high; she had barely cried out or asked to stop.
They took a short break. The girl then asked quietly, "I heard you like girls?"
Jiang Nian's sexual orientation was no secret; many clients knew. She admitted it openly, "Yes."
"Me too."
Jiang Nian just smiled.
"Do you have a girlfriend, then?"
Jiang Nian sensed where this was going. "No."
The girl's gaze turned suggestive. "Well, when you're free, can I contact you?"
The subtext was obvious. Jiang Nian said calmly, "Sorry, I only like older, more mature women."
The girl was extremely disappointed. "Oh, is that so?"
The conversation was getting too personal, and Jiang Nian didn't like discussing such things during work. Before the girl could say anything else, she stood up. "I'm going to get a glass of water. You can rest for a bit."
As Jiang Nian walked out of the work area, she heard her assistant Xiao Chen's voice.
"It'll just be another half hour."
Another voice asked, "Can we take a look around now?"
Xiao Chen explained awkwardly, "Our tattoo artists don't allow observation while they're working, mainly to protect our clients' privacy."
The customer seemed dissatisfied. "Then how are we supposed to know if your artists are any good?"
"You don't have to worry about that. I can guarantee that the final tattoo will look even better than the design sketch."
Hearing that her young assistant was struggling with a difficult customer, Jiang Nian started walking over, pulling off her mask as she went. When she reached the reception area, she was about to speak, but the words caught in her throat.
She froze, staring intently at the person standing by the door…
When Yao Ran saw the person who had just taken off her mask, she too was stunned, and a wave of immense awkwardness washed over her. Her eyes flickered, but she did her best to remain composed.
She never expected to run into her like this.
Their eyes met, and for a moment, the air was thick with a subtle tension that only the two of them could understand.
The difficult customer was none other than Ruan Xin. She asked Jiang Nian, "Boss Jiang, so we can't watch?"
Jiang Nian glanced at Ruan Xin, then at Yao Ran. A smile curved her lips. "You can. I'll just have a word with my client."
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