Indulgence - Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Yao Ran remained silent, neither answering nor offering a contradictory rebuttal. The woman before her had thrown the rhythm of her life into complete disarray, making her indulge in impulse time and time again.
Jiang Nian had a faint feeling that they had both been moved the last time they slept together, which was why their subsequent meetings had been so fraught with ambiguity. Yao Ran coming over tonight made her even more certain that she wasn't the only one who had been touched.
Jiang Nian knew Yao Ran wouldn't admit to missing her. She met Yao Ran's eyes and confessed her own thoughts honestly, "I asked you to come see Si Mao because I wanted to see you."
The ambiguity was laid bare, like a confession.
Face to face, Yao Ran couldn't escape Jiang Nian's warm, direct gaze. She used a relatively calm expression to mask her unnatural heartbeat.
Unable to hold back, Jiang Nian wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss the corner of her mouth again.
Yao Ran was well aware that she wasn't being rational at this moment. She thought she would push her away, but when their lips met again, soft and warm, she had no strength to refuse. She slowly closed her eyes and responded. Even just a kiss, she was infatuated, she liked it.
Her return kiss was also light. Receiving this small response, Jiang Nian kissed her more forcefully. She had wanted to kiss her in the kitchen last time, and holding back had been agonizing. She used her fingers to undo the top button of Yao Ran's shirt, letting her breathe, before her palm familiarly caressed the back of her neck.
Yao Ran leaned against her. The loosened collar and deeper kiss were indeed more comfortable.
Perhaps because of what had just been said, the ambiguity had doubled. As their lips intertwined again, the wet, deep kiss became even more lingering and passionate.
In the silent room, the only sounds were the wet noises of their urgent kisses and Jiang Nian's irrepressible, soft gasps.
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached from outside the door, followed by a soft but distinct knock.
The two of them froze in unison, their chests heaving from breathlessness, but their lips were still pressed together.
Hearing the knock, Si Mao ran over to their feet.
After a brief pause, Jiang Nian ignored the knocking and tried to continue the kiss.
Yao Ran had to bite her lip gently and whisper, "Stop." Kissing like this, they were far too "thirsty," and they were still in the studio.
"Jiang Nian, Si Mao's cake is here." It was Qiu Lan knocking outside. She hadn't pushed the door open directly, afraid of walking in on an overly spicy scene. They were friends with benefits, after all; what else would they be doing when they met? It was obvious.
Si Mao nudged them then and barked twice.
Yao Ran gave Jiang Nian a little push and saw Si Mao staring at them with wide eyes. Who knew how long he'd been watching...
Only then did they part their lips.
Jiang Nian wanted to laugh. She whispered an explanation to Yao Ran, "I ordered a cake for Si Mao to celebrate him getting out of the hospital."
Yao Ran said nothing, simply playing with Si Mao.
They wiped the lipstick smudged from the kiss off their lips before heading downstairs.
Once downstairs, Yao Ran was once again the picture of ascetic elegance, showing no sign that she could be moved by passion. Jiang Nian grumbled internally. Director Yao was so good at putting on an act; no wonder Ruan Xin was completely oblivious to her true side.
"What are you spacing out for? Cut the cake," Xiao Chen urged Jiang Nian.
Jiang Nian had been staring intently at Yao Ran. At the prompting, her gaze finally shifted away. "Okay."
Yao Ran lowered her head. Jiang Nian's gaze was getting even more unruly now.
Qiu Lan could see something was up. In the blink of an eye, their lipstick was gone. It was self-evident what the two of them had been doing alone in the room.
Tonight, the studio staff threw a simple welcome party for Si Mao. They had specially prepared a custom dog cake, as well as a large cream cake for themselves.
"Do you like strawberries?" Jiang Nian asked Yao Ran quietly while cutting the cake.
Yao Ran said anything was fine. She watched as Jiang Nian cut a huge slice for her, piling on several strawberries. If she took them all, what would the others eat? She said to Jiang Nian, "I can't eat this much."
Jiang Nian smiled. "Then share some with me."
Qiu Lan watched from the side. The way these two interacted, they really didn't seem like friends with benefits. They were more like a couple. Still, she was a little worried for Jiang Nian. The journey from a physical relationship to an emotional one probably wouldn't be that easy.
Si Mao was also happily devouring his own special cake.
Yao Ran smiled again as she watched Si Mao. It seemed that anyone who stayed by Jiang Nian's side could be quite happy.
"Are you guys having an event tonight? It's so lively."
Yao Ran looked up to see a woman walking in from outside. She had on mature makeup and was holding a bouquet of flowers.
Seeing Cheng Qian arrive with the bouquet, Jiang Nian's eyelid twitched. She had made things clear last time; surely they wouldn't get entangled again.
"We're throwing a welcome party for the dog." Qiu Lan recognized Cheng Qian. Seeing her posture, she suddenly had a bad feeling. She smiled, "You could have just come, you didn't need to buy flowers."
"A friend opened a new flower shop today, so I ordered a bouquet to support her." Cheng Qian walked up to Jiang Nian. "Is it pretty? I just picked one randomly, I don't know what you like."
Yao Ran remained impassive, her gaze sweeping lightly over them.
Jiang Nian didn't take it. "You don't have to."
"What's with the formality? You can put it in your office." Cheng Qian was casual. "Or you can put it at the front desk for decoration. Just take it."
Perhaps she was just being sensitive. Cheng Qian said she wanted to come over and discuss a tattoo. Jiang Nian accepted the flowers and said generously, "Thanks."
Cheng Qian said, "Oh, there's cake too."
Seeing this, Qiu Lan brought over a clean paper plate and fork. "Want to have some?"
Cheng Qian looked at Jiang Nian and said with a smile, "Is there a slice for me?"
Jiang Nian gave an awkward smile. "Yeah, help yourself."
Cheng Qian didn't hold back, saying she hadn't had dinner yet.
Yao Ran vaguely sensed the somewhat unnatural atmosphere. As she ate her cake in small bites, she noticed Jiang Nian's gaze had turned to her again.
"Your mouth," she said, noticing a bit of cream next to the corner of Jiang Nian's mouth.
Jiang Nian pursed her lips but missed it.
Yao Ran said, "You missed."
Jiang Nian played dumb. "Where? Can you wipe it for me?"
Yao Ran was, as usual, helpless against her shamelessness. Just as she was about to grab a napkin from the table—
"Here, don't move." Cheng Qian leaned close to Jiang Nian's face and carefully wiped it for her. As she got closer, her gaze became incredibly ambiguous.
Jiang Nian took the napkin from Cheng Qian's hand. "I'll do it myself."
"How long has it been? You're already so distant with me? It's really hard to see you these days. Have you been busy? You said you'd go to the movies with me, you still owe me. When are you going to make it up?"
Cheng Qian's words were ambiguous. Her voice wasn't loud, but Yao Ran, standing right next to Jiang Nian, could hear most of it. She remained quiet.
"Are you ignoring me because you've hooked up with a new sister?" Cheng Qian said, half-joking.
"..." Jiang Nian was about to have a breakdown. She was at a loss for words. She immediately looked at Yao Ran, desperate to explain.
Yao Ran became even more composed, as if she hadn't heard a thing, and continued to eat the cake in her hand. She had an intuition that something was unclear between Jiang Nian and Cheng Qian. The moment Cheng Qian arrived, Miss Jiang had become completely flustered.
"Don't misunderstand."
Jiang Nian turned to look at Yao Ran, speaking nervously.
Yao Ran's face showed little emotion. This was just how she was; no matter what happened, she would face it with the calmest demeanor possible. She had also long considered that if Jiang Nian could be so ambiguous with her, she could naturally be just as vague with others.
Thinking of their passionate intimacy upstairs just a short while ago, Yao Ran found the cake in her mouth tasted bitter and unpalatable. Despite her best efforts to remain composed, she couldn't stay here any longer.
Jiang Nian was still trying to explain.
Yao Ran put down her half-eaten cake, looked at Jiang Nian, and said with extreme calm, "I'm leaving."
Jiang Nian watched her back, as elegant and calm as ever, as she walked out of the studio. Without hesitation, and ignoring everyone around her, she chased after Yao Ran.
Outside the studio, Yao Ran took a deep breath. A game was just a game. She shouldn't have played with such specious ambiguity.
"Yao Ran."
Jiang Nian jogged over and took her hand. "Don't go yet."
Yao Ran turned around and asked the woman before her with an unruffled expression, "Is there something else?"
The calmer she acted, the more upset Jiang Nian became. She knew Yao Ran must be angry and hurt inside, but was just habitually digesting the negative emotions on her own, not letting a single trace show.
"It's not what you think. She did pursue me before, but there's nothing between us. I made it clear to her a long time ago."
"You don't have to explain to me," Yao Ran cut Jiang Nian off. They were nothing to each other. True or false, Jiang Nian had no obligation to give her an account.
"I want you to know. I don't want you to misunderstand me." Jiang Nian was distressed. Standing on the street, she said to Yao Ran with conviction, "I'm not a promiscuous person. I've never been entangled with anyone else. Only with you..."
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