WRR – Chapter 20

Before she started drinking, Xu Shi sent a message to Xiao Yu, telling her she was having drinks with Teacher Yu and might get a little dizzy later.

Before Xu Shi could say anything more, Xiao Yu, quick on the uptake, replied that she would definitely come pick her up, regardless of whether Xu Shi was dizzy or not.

Xu Shi put down her phone and smiled. She said to Yu Lingshan, “My colleague really wants to meet you.”

Yu Lingshan hummed, unfazed.

Xu Shi added, “She has a friend who loves your designs.”

Yu Lingshan hummed again, then took the empty glass beside her, poured a small amount into it, and pushed it in front of Xu Shi.

“Too many people like me,” Yu Lingshan said.

Xu Shi nodded in agreement. “Yes, that’s true.”

Yu Lingshan asked, “Are you one of them?”

Xu Shi continued to nod. “Yes, I am.”

Yu Lingshan let out a scoff, her tone full of disbelief.

Yu Lingshan raised her glass. Seeing this, Xu Shi raised hers as well. The two glasses clinked lightly, making a crisp sound in the air. Yu Lingshan tilted her head and smiled at Xu Shi, then drank the wine in her glass.

Xu Shi followed suit and downed her glass. The cold temperature of the red wine sent an initial chill through her, but very quickly, she began to feel warm.

“Ying Jie and I, we were in adjacent dorm rooms,” Xu Shi said the moment she set her empty glass down.

“She wasn’t like this before,” Xu Shi said with a laugh. “No, I shouldn’t say that. I should say, I never realized she was this kind of person before.”

“We went to class together, ate together, did homework together. She was very clingy back then, and very good to me. She followed me wherever I went, and she praised and encouraged me in everything I did.”

When something happened to Xu Shi’s family, Ying Jie was even the first one to show up. She went to the hospital with her, stayed with her the entire night, and even asked her father to use his connections to find a doctor.

How ridiculous. In the end, everything Ying Jie had done was twisted into that one sentence: “I’ve been so good to you, shouldn’t you repay me?”

As Xu Shi spoke, Yu Lingshan listened. When Xu Shi wanted to drink, Yu Lingshan poured for her. Later, as she kept talking, Xu Shi talked herself into tears.

It seemed she had never told anyone about her history with Ying Jie in such detail, not even Weiwei. So now she was incredibly sad, exceptionally, terribly sad.

The wine seemed to be a catalyst for sorrow. Why did her heart grow more bitter with every sip?

“Ying Shide’s sphere of influence isn’t that large. Why didn’t you look for a job somewhere else?” Yu Lingshan asked her.

Xu Shi shook her head. “I can’t leave. I can’t leave my mom here by herself. Her health isn’t good.”

Yu Lingshan sighed and reached out, using her thumb to wipe away a tear from under Xu Shi’s eye.

“So you stopped updating your Weibo, too,” Yu Lingshan said.

Xu Shi seemed dazed for a moment before saying, “Weibo?”

Yu Lingshan said, “Yes. Yan Zhi You Li.”

Xu Shi repeated the name “Yan Zhi You Li,” then stared at her wine for two seconds before letting out an “Oh.” “I don’t use it anymore. I don’t like that account. A lot of people came to curse at me.”

Yu Lingshan wiped away another of Xu Shi’s tears, then placed her hand on the back of Xu Shi’s, capturing her index finger.

For someone like Ying Shide, dealing with someone like Xu Shi was as easy as crushing an ant. It required no thought, and he didn’t even have to do it himself. Over time, the public outcry would fade, and people would forget what had happened. Everyone would continue living on their own tracks. Only Xu Shi was pushed off hers, never to return.

Yu Lingshan suddenly remembered the last post from “Yan Zhi You Li.” It was a video of a magic trick. Xu Shi was in front of the camera, trying to fool everyone with a clumsy technique that was easy to see through. It was unclear which classmate was acting as her phone stand, but they couldn’t hold it steady. The camera shook, not to mention the classmate behind it was made to laugh by her antics.

Xu Shi had been so happy back then. When she succeeded with the trick, she leaped up from her stool to applaud herself, only to knock her head on a cabinet. She was laughing even as she winced in pain.

“Cherries are red, too,” Xu Shi suddenly said.

Yu Lingshan’s thoughts returned to the present. She followed Xu Shi’s gaze to the cherries, then quickly looked back. “So?”

Xu Shi said, “The red wine is red, and your clothes are red, too.”

Yu Lingshan looked down at her clothes. Indeed, they were red.

She smiled and finished the last bit of wine in her glass.

“Are you still sad?” Yu Lingshan asked.

Xu Shi took a slow breath in and let it out just as slowly. “Sad.”

Yu Lingshan asked, “What are you sad about?”

Xu Shi stared at the cherries, thinking hard. “I don’t know.”

Yu Lingshan asked, “Do you want to eat one?”

Xu Shi: “Yes.”

Yu Lingshan asked, “Will you get it yourself, or should I feed you?”

Xu Shi raised her eyes, as if contemplating her options.

Yu Lingshan offered a suggestion. “How about I feed you?”

Xu Shi said, “Okay.”

Yu Lingshan reached out, picked up a cherry by its stem, and lifted it. Xu Shi looked like she really wanted it; her eyes were fixed on the cherry as it traced an arc and stopped in mid-air.

Her head was spinning, and she saw multiple images of the cherry, one here, one there, but none of the images seemed to be coming any closer to her.

“Move a little closer. I can’t reach,” Yu Lingshan said.

Xu Shi heard her and said, “Oh,” obediently scooting her chair over.

Just as Xu Shi settled, Yu Lingshan said again, “A little closer.”

Xu Shi moved again. Yu Lingshan still said it wasn’t enough, that she needed to move closer. Finally, Xu Shi’s chair bumped against Yu Lingshan’s, and only then was Yu Lingshan satisfied.

She held the cherry between them and said to Xu Shi, “Open your mouth.”

After moving her chair a few times, Xu Shi was even dizzier, swaying unsteadily.

Hearing Yu Lingshan’s words, she just mechanically opened her mouth and leaned toward the cherry. But for every fraction she leaned in, the cherry retreated a fraction. For every inch she moved forward, the cherry pulled back an inch.

She leaned in until she felt something was off, and then she stopped.

She lowered her gaze and saw that behind the cherry, another red thing was hiding. A pair of red lips.

Yu Lingshan’s teasing made her heart itch with desire; she wanted the cherry even more. So, in the next moment, determined not to let Yu Lingshan have her way, she grabbed Yu Lingshan’s hand, tilted her head, and bit down on the cherry.

Just as she bit into it, she heard Yu Lingshan say, “I want to eat it, too.”

Xu Shi looked at Yu Lingshan, the cherry still between her teeth.

Then, her brain made her do the following.

She leaned forward again, bringing the exposed half of the cherry to Yu Lingshan’s lips.

Yu Lingshan didn’t open her mouth. Fearing she didn’t understand, Xu Shi pushed it closer to her lips.

The red skin of the fruit instantly parted the red lips, and Yu Lingshan finally opened her mouth willingly.

Xu Shi pushed it further in, her lips brushing against Yu Lingshan’s as they bit into the cherry together.

Juice immediately trickled out. Xu Shi felt it dripping down and hurriedly pushed the pit and flesh into Yu Lingshan’s mouth, then used her lower lip to lick the juice from the corner of Yu Lingshan’s mouth.

Then she pulled back, finishing the cherry with Yu Lingshan.

When they were more or less done, Xu Shi moved away. She swallowed the cherry in her mouth, along with whatever else might have been there, and then held her hand under Yu Lingshan’s chin.

Yu Lingshan asked, “What are you doing?”

Xu Shi: “The pit. Spit it out for me.”

Yu Lingshan didn’t spit it into her hand. Instead, she turned her head and spit it into the trash can.

Xu Shi said, “Oh,” and pulled her hand back. “There’s a trash can.”

Yu Lingshan looked at Xu Shi expressionlessly for about two seconds before letting out a soft sigh. Then she picked up the wine glass from the table. At first, she only drank half, but feeling it wasn’t enough, she downed the entire glass.

Xu Shi asked, “Are you angry?”

Yu Lingshan laughed. “You can still tell I’m angry?”

Xu Shi shook her head. “I don’t know.” She then asked, “Why are you angry?”

Yu Lingshan asked, “Who am I?”

Xu Shi: “Yu Lingshan.”

Yu Lingshan: “When you sober up tomorrow, will you still remember that you kissed me?”

Xu Shi: “Huh?”

Yu Lingshan: “So you’re just going to let me be the only one who remembers this?”

Xu Shi thought for a long time before asking, “Was I not supposed to kiss you?”

Yu Lingshan: “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Xu Shi didn’t dare to speak.

Yu Lingshan said again, “Pour me some wine.”

Xu Shi obediently picked up the wine bottle, but her addled brain could no longer support the simple act of lifting something. She waved the bottle around erratically as if afflicted by some illness, which successfully made Teacher Yu laugh.

Yu Lingshan helplessly took the bottle from her and said, “Besides kissing, what else can you do?”

Xu Shi smiled sheepishly at Yu Lingshan. “Heh.”

Yu Lingshan laughed in exasperation.

This time, after drinking, Xu Shi had a place to sit. Even as her coordination began to fail, she had a place to sway.

She seemed to really love cherries, popping them into her mouth one by one. When she got tired of eating, she rested her head on the table, murmuring, “Dizzy.”

Yu Lingshan ignored her.

A while later, Xu Shi’s phone rang. She lifted her head and searched the air for a long time before Yu Lingshan finally answered the call for her.

“Xu Shi, how much longer will you be?” a voice belonging to someone named Xiao Yu asked from the other end.

Yu Lingshan guessed half of the situation. “Are you coming to pick her up?”

Xiao Yu paused for half a second, then shrieked, “Ahhh! Are you Teacher Yu?”

Yu Lingshan: “Yes.”

Xiao Yu: “Ahhh, I, uh, what was I saying? Is Xu Shi there?”

Yu Lingshan: “She’s asleep.”

Xiao Yu let out a disappointed “Ah.” “Should I come get her now, then?”

Yu Lingshan: “No need. I’ll handle it.”

Xiao Yu was instantly a little dejected. “Okay, then.”

“You’re welcome,” Yu Lingshan said, her voice softening. “Thank you, Xiao Yu.”

On the other end, Xiao Yu’s spirits instantly soared. “Not at all, not at all! I didn’t do anything.”

After hanging up, Yu Lingshan tossed the phone onto the sofa.

Despite the long conversation right next to her, Xu Shi showed no reaction. She was lying on the table, playing with a cherry stem.

Yu Lingshan called her name. “Xiao Zhi.”

Xu Shi: “Hm?”

Yu Lingshan: “Sit up straight.”

Xu Shi immediately sat bolt upright.

Yu Lingshan took the cherry stem from Xu Shi’s hand, held it in front of her, and said, “Put it in your mouth.”

Xu Shi’s eyes were hazy with confusion, but she obediently bit down on the cherry stem, using her tongue to hook it into her mouth.

Yu Lingshan: “Don’t swallow it.”

Xu Shi: “Mm.”

Yu Lingshan picked up another cherry stem and tied a knot in it in front of Xu Shi.

She asked Xu Shi, “Can you do it?”

Xu Shi started to reach for the stem in her mouth, but Yu Lingshan caught her wrist and said, “Use your tongue.”

Xu Shi blinked, seemed to think for a moment, then opened her mouth slightly. Her tongue rolled around inside a few times.

In less than five seconds, Xu Shi held the knotted cherry stem between her teeth for Yu Lingshan to see.

Yu Lingshan was so surprised she laughed. “You’re that good?”

Xu Shi smiled shyly and asked Yu Lingshan, “You can’t do it?”

Yu Lingshan really couldn’t…

So Yu Lingshan said, “You teach me.”

Xu Shi asked, “How do I teach you?”

Yu Lingshan leaned closer to Xu Shi and picked up a new cherry stem.

This time, Xu Shi knew what to do. She opened her mouth and bit down on it.

“Don’t move,” Yu Lingshan said.

Xu Shi obediently stayed still.

Yu Lingshan hooked a finger under Xu Shi’s chin, gave it a gentle squeeze, and pulled her closer. “Let’s begin.”

As the words fell, Yu Lingshan kissed her.