WRR – Chapter 18

Xu Shi was the perfect illustration of what it meant for a smile to gradually disappear. She had never expected Yu Lingshan to make such a request.

At that moment, Yu Lingshan was sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, her hand propping up her chin as she looked at Xu Shi. From Xu Shi’s perspective, she looked exactly like she was waiting to be kissed.

In that instant, everything Xiao Yu had said about Yu Lingshan rushed into Xu Shi’s mind, one sentence after another.

She was stunned for a long moment before asking, “Teacher Yu, are you a lesbian?”

The air was still for two seconds.

Then, Yu Lingshan laughed out loud. “What?”

Only then did Xu Shi realize how presumptuous her question had been. “I’m sorry.”

“Why do you ask?” Yu Lingshan paused for half a second. “Have you heard something about me?”

Xu Shi pressed her lips together. “No, I haven’t heard anything.”

Yu Lingshan nodded. “So you have.” She tilted her chin up, looking at Xu Shi. “Tell me. I’d like to hear what other people are saying about me.”

Xu Shi swallowed.

“Speak,” Yu Lingshan said.

Xu Shi thought for a moment, then said slowly, “They say you’re very popular in the lesbian circle.”

“And?”

“That’s all.”

“Speak.”

Xu Shi didn’t dare lie. “Also, that… that teacher with the short hair, she’s pursuing you.”

“Oh?” Yu Lingshan said. “Who?”

“I don’t know her name. She was sitting in the third row today, wearing a floral dress.”

“I don’t know her,” Yu Lingshan said, tilting her head slightly before picking up another strawberry. “Do you know what the ‘lesbian circle’ is?”

“I do,” she said, then added, “I just looked it up yesterday.”

“What is it?” Yu Lingshan asked.

“A circle for lesbians,” Xu Shi said, then grew uncertain. “Is that right?”

Yu Lingshan raised an eyebrow. “You’re asking me? This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

Xu Shi wasn’t sure if Yu Lingshan genuinely didn’t know or was just pretending. She didn’t dare ask any more questions. The atmosphere felt a bit awkward, and she regretted bringing it up in the first place.

Yu Lingshan didn’t continue the conversation. Xu Shi cleared her throat internally, walked over, and knelt down in front of her.

The scent of Yu Lingshan’s perfume immediately wafted over—a clean, refreshing fragrance with a hint of orchid that smelled wonderful.

She asked Yu Lingshan, “Where should I kiss you?”

Yu Lingshan propped her chin on her hand and looked into Xu Shi’s eyes. “Where do you want to kiss me?”

Xu Shi couldn’t help but swallow. “I don’t want to kiss you anywhere.”

Yu Lingshan turned her left cheek toward her and tapped it lightly twice with her index finger.

So it was a kiss on the cheek. Xu Shi relaxed slightly.

Yu Lingshan’s fingers were long, her nails immaculate—not like the other teachers she had seen these past two days, whose nails were covered in pink and floral nail art. Xu Shi stared at her nails, wondering whether she should kiss her slowly or just get it over with quickly.

Yu Lingshan’s finger was still on her cheek. If she leaned in, would she kiss her hand?

What should she do if she kissed her hand?

“I have a little friend at home, about your age,” Yu Lingshan said suddenly.

Xu Shi felt too embarrassed to lean in, so she decided to wait for Yu Lingshan to finish speaking.

She continued, “She loves to kiss me whenever she drinks. Do you know why that is?”

Of course, Xu Shi didn’t know why, but she had another way to respond. “Someone my age isn’t a little kid.”

Yu Lingshan finally removed her finger from her cheek but kept her chin propped on her hand. She asked Xu Shi, “If you’re not a little kid, what are you?”

“I’m a big kid,” Xu Shi said.

Xu Shi amused herself but immediately felt it was inappropriate to joke with Yu Lingshan, so she cleared her throat and composed herself.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Yu Lingshan said again. “Why do you think she kisses me?”

Xu Shi thought for a moment. “She probably likes you.”

For some reason, Yu Lingshan found this answer hilarious. She burst out laughing almost immediately, and it was a very happy laugh.

Xu Shi couldn’t laugh. She was still trying to figure out how to deliver the kiss.

How was she supposed to do this…

“What,” Yu Lingshan picked up another strawberry, “it takes this long to build up to a simple kiss on the cheek?”

“That’s not it.”

Yu Lingshan bit off half the strawberry. “Never kissed anyone before?”

Xu Shi shook her head. “No.”

Yu Lingshan’s expression immediately turned intrigued. “Not even on the cheek?”

Xu Shi shook her head. “No.”

“What about the lips?” Yu Lingshan asked again.

Before Xu Shi could answer, Yu Lingshan’s eyes twinkled. She suddenly reached out, pinched Xu Shi’s chin, tilted her head, and leaned in close.

Yu Lingshan’s breath washed over her, warm and carrying a faint scent of strawberries. Xu Shi was completely startled.

“Not going to dodge?” Yu Lingshan asked when their lips were almost touching.

Xu Shi quickly took a step back, instantly letting out the breath she’d been holding.

Yu Lingshan chuckled softly and said, “Alright, I’ll stop teasing.” She then offered the remaining half of the strawberry in her hand to Xu Shi’s lips.

Xu Shi was a bit dazed from the shock. When Yu Lingshan offered it, she ate it. Only when it was in her mouth did she realize what she had just eaten.

“Is it sweet?” Yu Lingshan asked.

Xu Shi answered honestly, “It’s a little sour.”

Yu Lingshan laughed, amused, and hooked a finger under Xu Shi’s chin. “You’re too well-behaved.”

Xu Shi swallowed the strawberry, not knowing what to say.

“From now on, I’ll eat the tip of the strawberry, and you can have the rest, okay?” Yu Lingshan said.

Xu Shi subconsciously wanted to say yes, but Yu Lingshan answered for her, “Of course not.”

Xu Shi was speechless.

This was so hard for Xu Shi…

Yu Lingshan didn’t trouble her any further. She even fed Xu Shi the tip of a strawberry and ate the remaining part herself. Then, right in front of Xu Shi, she took off her dress.

Yes…

Yu Lingshan’s figure was truly amazing. Perhaps it was Xu Shi’s own impure thoughts, but when she turned her head away, she noticed a tile on the wall that reflected a hazy image of Yu Lingshan.

Xu Shi only looked away from the tile for half a second before looking back. It seemed that as long as she wasn’t staring openly, she could convince herself it was okay.

“Did you take pictures for me?”

Yu Lingshan asked this as she was tying the bow on her waist.

Xu Shi quickly averted her gaze. “I did.”

She opened her phone, ready to show Yu Lingshan for inspection.

But Yu Lingshan said, “Don’t bother. You were sitting so far away, you couldn’t have gotten anything good.”

Xu Shi nodded. “That’s true.”

After getting dressed, Yu Lingshan touched up her makeup and, while she was at it, did a little for Xu Shi as well.

As Xu Shi applied lipstick and pressed her lips together, Yu Lingshan stared at her mouth, somewhat lost in thought. Xu Shi thought she hadn’t applied it evenly, so she pressed her lips together again.

Yu Lingshan smiled, then lifted her eyes to meet Xu Shi’s gaze directly.

She said, “What if I were a lesbian?”

Xu Shi’s heart suddenly clenched. In that instant, she got goosebumps, as if she were the one confessing to being a lesbian, not Yu Lingshan.

“Then,” Xu Shi stammered a little, “then what?”

“What do you think?” Yu Lingshan asked.

Xu Shi was a bit stunned. “I don’t know.”

Yu Lingshan laughed. “Are you nervous?”

Xu Shi blinked.

Yu Lingshan’s smile widened. “What are you nervous about?”

Xu Shi really wanted to say she wasn’t. After all, whether Yu Lingshan was a lesbian or not had nothing to do with her. But in reality, she was so nervous her palms were sweating, which was completely absurd.

Yu Lingshan reached out to tidy Xu Shi’s bangs, saying, “Don’t worry, I’m straight.”

Xu Shi felt inexplicably guilty. “Okay.”

“But you could be gay,” Yu Lingshan added.

Xu Shi quickly shook her head and said in a super loud voice, “I’m not!”

Yu Lingshan smiled and said gently, “Don’t get so worked up.”

Yu Lingshan didn’t continue to press the topic. Once she was satisfied with Xu Shi’s face, she took two bags from the closet, giving one to Xu Shi and keeping one for herself.

Xu Shi figured it was best to just be obedient. She had discovered that when she was, Yu Lingshan became very happy.

She quite liked seeing Yu Lingshan happy, and she liked seeing her smile. She was especially beautiful when she smiled.

The two went downstairs together and took a car, arriving at the hotel shortly after.

“Who’s coming tonight?” Xu Shi asked Yu Lingshan after they entered the room.

“About a dozen people, all from the circle.”

“What circle?” Xu Shi asked her.

“The lesbian circle.”

Xu Shi froze. “Huh?”

She had meant to ask if it was Yu Lingshan’s jewelry design circle or Teacher Wu’s circle. She hadn’t expected that answer.

“Aren’t we meeting Teacher Wu?” Xu Shi asked, confused.

“We are meeting Teacher Wu. He’s in our circle,” Yu Lingshan said with a helpless sigh. “It’s so much work joking with you.”

“Oh,” Xu Shi said.

“It’s not like you don’t know how to joke,” Yu Lingshan added.

Then she added again, “You just don’t joke with me.”

And again, “You don’t joke with Yu Lingshan.”

Xu Shi didn’t dare say a word.

When they arrived at the private dining room, a few people were already seated. Some faces were unfamiliar, others were familiar. Xu Shi followed Yu Lingshan, greeted everyone, and then they took their seats.

Xu Shi had assumed that when Yu Lingshan mentioned meeting Teacher Wu, she meant this dinner party. During the meal, she secretly plotted how she would sneak over to have a drink with Teacher Wu when things calmed down, how she would ask for an autograph, and how she would quickly snap a photo together after the dinner ended.

But she hadn’t expected the dinner to be a constant state of liveliness. There was always someone by Teacher Wu’s side, and she couldn’t get a word in. What she expected even less was that after this dinner, they would move to another venue, and it would be just the three of them.

They ended up at a teahouse. Yu Lingshan had already dismissed the server and was sitting at the tea table, brewing tea for everyone.

At first, Yu Lingshan was chatting with Teacher Wu, presumably about her own mentor, saying she was living comfortably lately but was also very proud and hard to invite out. Teacher Wu remarked that Yu Lingshan and her mentor had the same temperament. Later, she didn’t know how the topic shifted, but Teacher Wu very naturally started chatting with Xu Shi.

It was all casual talk. He asked Xu Shi when she had graduated, what her graduation project was about, and mentioned that he also knew her thesis advisor.

Later, when he heard about Xu Shi’s current job, Teacher Wu didn’t hide his regretful expression.

Then he brought up a competition happening next month and asked if Xu Shi was interested.

“If you’re interested, I can get you a spot.”

Teacher Wu said it so casually, as if he were talking about an event you could attend just by throwing on some slippers and a jacket. But how could Xu Shi not know about the Qingjie Cup? It was held only once every four years. What kind of people participated? It wasn’t something you could just join because you wanted to.

Xu Shi was very tempted, but she still glanced at Yu Lingshan.

Yu Lingshan smiled. “Why are you looking at me? It’s your own business.”

Teacher Wu set his teacup down slightly and asked Yu Lingshan, “Are you in charge of her?”

Yu Lingshan laughed. “How could I possibly be in charge of her?”

Teacher Wu waved his hand. “It’s fine. I’m not asking you to decide right now. Think about it for a day or two. When you’ve decided, have Lingshan tell me.”

Xu Shi nodded. “Okay, thank you, Teacher Wu.”

They hadn’t talked about much, but nearly two hours had passed. As Xu Shi and Yu Lingshan saw Teacher Wu off to his car, her mind was still in a daze.

The area around the teahouse wasn’t very busy. There was a bit of a breeze in the night air. Xu Shi watched the taillights of Teacher Wu’s car, thinking to herself that she hadn’t gotten an autograph or a photo.

But she didn’t feel any regret at all.

“Yu Lingshan,” Xu Shi called to the person beside her, her voice a little soft.

Yu Lingshan’s eyes were fixed on her phone. “What is it?”

“Did you know about me and Ying Jie?” Xu Shi asked.

“I did,” Yu Lingshan said, her tone nonchalant, as if she were only half-paying attention to Xu Shi’s words.

Xu Shi swallowed. “Then why did you still…”

Xu Shi stopped halfway, suddenly unsure how to continue.

Only then did Yu Lingshan lower her phone slightly and turn to look at Xu Shi.

The wind was blowing a bit hard, sweeping the hair from Yu Lingshan’s forehead across her face. She blinked slowly, a slow smile forming as she said to Xu Shi, “You’re worth it.”