Chapter 61: Balance
The bustling, luxurious mall was filled with glittering decorations, the air thick with sweet, artificial fragrances, a dizzying sensory overload.
Xiang Er stood amidst the crowd, her mind slightly dazed, yet a firm resolve surfaced within her.
She spoke softly, her voice clear:
“No. Next time, I’ll initiate it.”
Her first kiss, she would be in control. In this fleeting, uncertain world, all she had was herself, all she could control was herself.
When she experienced her true first kiss, it would be on her terms.
Thinking this, she added, her voice shy yet firm:
“What happened earlier… doesn’t count as our first kiss.”
Shen Yuhe looked at her, her eyes filled with confusion, a flicker of something else igniting within them.
She asked:
“But it happened, can we just pretend it didn’t?”
Xiang Er nodded resolutely:
“Yes, we can pretend it didn’t happen.”
Shen Yuhe’s confusion remained, but she hesitantly nodded, filing this information away.
Since that was the case, she would have to wait.
Xiang Er took Shen Yuhe to a regular restaurant, not a couple’s restaurant, and they had a simple meal, then bought milk tea, strolling along the street, their cups warm in their hands.
Xiang Er also explained the situation with her senior. She had helped the senior, who was also an outsider, with some club activities in university, and the senior had become fixated on her, repeatedly confessing her feelings.
“Back then, I thought I was straight, I was completely freaked out, I told her several times, but she wouldn’t give up, so I blocked her when she graduated, she definitely wasn’t my first love.”
Xiang Er’s explanation was slightly hurried, and Shen Yuhe, listening, smiled faintly.
Shen Yuhe, her words laden with meaning, asked:
“You said you thought you were straight back then, what about now?”
Xiang Er hesitated, looking down at her feet:
“Now… I’m not sure.”
Shen Yuhe leaned closer to Xiang Er’s ear, her voice soft and seductive:
“Then if she wasn’t your first love, who was?”
Xiang Er, her face burning, didn’t dare turn to look at Shen Yuhe, just quickened her pace, the bag of plush toys bouncing in her hand.
Shen Yuhe, watching her retreating figure with a satisfied smile, waited until she stopped before slowly catching up.
She knew the woman wasn’t Xiang Er’s first love, not even a friend, so she had only imposed a small punishment.
Let her stand guard at the mall until tomorrow.
The winter air in Lǜ’è City was cold, and Xiang Er warmed her hands with her milk tea, her mood shifting subtly. She deliberately kept a small distance from Shen Yuhe, but their elbows still occasionally brushed against each other, each touch making her heart skip a beat.
Shen Yuhe, holding her extra-sweet milk tea, walked beside Xiang Er, her gaze almost constantly fixed on her, but not too close.
In the plastic bag full of plush toys, the small eyeball was watching Xiang Er, its thin tentacles occasionally reaching out to touch her wrist, but each time Xiang Er looked down, it would widen its red eye, its expression pitiful.
Looking at it, Xiang Er remembered Shen Yuhe saying that it was like their child… That was ridiculous, how could that be? Although its expression now, really did resemble a child whose parents weren’t getting along…
Xiang Er shuddered at the thought.
Soon, Xiang Er found the owner of the hardware store near her apartment and took him back to measure the broken window. The owner returned to his shop to cut the glass, promising to deliver and install it tomorrow.
Xiang Er, Shen Yuhe, and the small eyeball sat in the living room, looking at each other.
The wind outside grew stronger, howling like a ghost, the temperature in the apartment plummeting, the heater struggling to keep up.
Shen Yuhe, looking at the broken window in the guest room, casually asked:
“You can’t sleep in your room tonight, why don’t you sleep in mine?”
Xiang Er:
“…”
She wanted to pretend she hadn’t heard.
Shen Yuhe’s slender fingers gently caressed the small eyeball on the table, not a trace of the black slime clinging to her skin, her touch smoothing the eyeball’s surface, making it gleam like obsidian.
The small eyeball, curled up as if asleep, didn’t react to her touch, only a tentacle, emerging from somewhere on its body, swayed gently, as if enjoying the caress.
Shen Yuhe, having smoothed the small eyeball, looked at Xiang Er:
“So? I promise, I won’t kiss you without your permission.”
Xiang Er:
“…That’s not…”
She took a deep breath and said after a moment of thought:
“I don’t think it’s appropriate.”
Shen Yuhe raised an eyebrow, her fingers slowly stroking the small eyeball again, but this time, her touch seemed to carry a warning, and the small eyeball suddenly opened its eye, flinching slightly under her gaze.
That night, Xiang Er still slept in her own room. After showering and changing into her pajamas, she came out to find that Shen Yuhe had sealed the broken window, blocking out the cold wind.
“Then… good night.”
Shen Yuhe’s expression was gentle, her skirt swaying as she turned to leave, quietly closing the door behind her.
Xiang Er sat on the edge of her bed for a moment, then crawled under the covers, trying to sleep.
But her mind was a jumble, replaying the kiss from earlier, her thoughts like quicksand, pulling her down, down, down.
Then she thought about other things, like Shen Yuhe asking her who her first love was… She wanted to answer, it’s you, but she couldn’t say the words.
What exactly was their relationship now?
Just then, her door creaked open.
Xiang Er flinched, but for some reason, she decided to pretend to be asleep, only opening her eyes a sliver to peek.
In the dim light, a graceful silhouette approached, her slender figure and flowing nightgown unmistakable, it was Shen Yuhe, in her beautiful silk pajamas!
Xiang Er’s heart pounded, her hands motionless beneath the covers, her pretense of sleep even more convincing.
Shen Yuhe reached her bedside and leaned over, her long ribbons dangling onto the bed, her long, cool, damp hair brushing against Xiang Er’s cheek.
Xiang Er remained motionless, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, like a butterfly with trapped wings.
Her lips were tightly closed, her breathing deep and even, her lips burning in the darkness, along with her racing heart.
Shen Yuhe’s hair fell forward, enveloping Xiang Er’s face in complete darkness, her strands of hair tickled by Xiang Er’s breath.
Xiang Er’s heart pounded with anxiety and a growing fear.
Shen Yuhe remained motionless, her gaze fixed on Xiang Er’s face, intense and unwavering.
After what felt like an eternity… Shen Yuhe climbed onto the bed, lay down beside Xiang Er, and pulled the quilt over them.
Xiang Er was stunned, her eyelids twitching, but she couldn’t move, she had to maintain her pretense of sleep.
She was pretending to be asleep.
And Shen Yuhe knew she was pretending.
A strange balance formed between them, and in the gradually intensifying sweet fragrance, they drifted together into the depths of a dark, dreamlike realm.
After the weekend, on Monday morning, Xiang Er and Shen Yuhe went to work together, parting ways at the elevators.
Xiang Er, standing alone at the entrance of her company, felt like she had stepped into a different world. So much had happened in the past week, including the weekend, her life turned upside down, her relationship with Shen Yuhe progressing rapidly.
Being alone like this was rare, and Xiang Er took several deep breaths, looking around the office, a sense of unease settling over her.
There seemed to be fewer people… A third of the workstations were empty, the open space feeling strangely desolate.
Last Friday, she had encountered the monstrous General Manager Cheng. After just a weekend, so many people were gone, could it be related to him?
Xiang Er hesitantly entered the office. She had planned to submit her resignation today, perhaps the others, like her, had simply quit.
She hoped that was the case… she had a bad feeling.
She put down her bag, sat at her workstation, and turned on her computer. Zhu Minmin suddenly appeared, her face pale and anxious, as she leaned in, surprisingly not mentioning the beautiful CEO, but asking Xiang Er:
“Investigators came to the company, saying there’s some strange scientific phenomenon here, they’re going to interview everyone, do you know anything about it?”
Xiang Er looked at her in surprise. Zhu Minmin’s round face was filled with fear, her eyes darting around nervously, her entire demeanor anxious and restless.
Xiang Er asked cautiously:
“What kind of scientific phenomenon? Are the investigators scientists?”
Zhu Minmin scratched her face, her voice trembling with fear and anxiety:
“I don’t know, I heard it’s some kind of magnetic field causing human mutations! Have you seen it? It’s terrifying, mutated humans! Like zombies, it’s contagious, just seeing them, or touching something they’ve touched, can cause mutations! Oh my god… I thought it was all fake, but it’s real! There’s even a government agency investigating, oh my god!”
The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, pulling out strands of hair without even noticing, her mind consumed by fear, unable to focus on anything else.
Xiang Er also felt a surge of anxiety, remembering General Manager Cheng’s head, covered in bone spurs… She quickly shook her head, trying to dispel the image.
She had Shen Yuhe’s protection, she didn’t need to be afraid, she didn’t need to be afraid… she repeated silently in her mind.
It was time to work, but no one seemed to be working, either whispering to each other or chatting online, no one organizing the tasks, the usual Monday morning meeting seemingly cancelled.
Xiang Er opened her computer and started writing her resignation letter. She had to leave this company, no matter what, and then figure out her next move.
As she was writing, a voice suddenly spoke behind her:
“You’re Xiang Er, right?”
Xiang Er turned around and saw a tall woman in a suit, her hair styled in a wild, wolf-like mane, the muscles in her exposed arm clearly defined.
She narrowed her eyes at Xiang Er, sniffing the air like a wolf, then raised an eyebrow, as if she had discovered something interesting.
She gestured towards a nearby meeting room:
“I’m An Yue, a government investigator, I’m investigating a safety incident at your company, please come with me to the meeting room. Xiang Er, was it? I’ll remember that.”
Xiang Er immediately stood up, her heart pounding with nervousness, and followed An Yue, who pressed a button inside her jacket as they walked.
At the same time, in the office downstairs, Shen Yuhe, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them, her expression serious, as she stood up, pushed open her office door, and strode out.
She could no longer sense Xiang Er’s presence!
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