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Tang Ruoyao's eyes were locked onto Qin Yinong's slowly approaching profile. Her slender eyebrows were elegant and passionate under the warm yellow light.
Eyelashes like cicada wings lowered, and Tang Ruoyao meekly closed her eyes.
Qin Yinong lowered her head, her thin lips gently pressed on the girl's upper lip with a touch of coolness, very similar to the scent of her body. Her character was so sensual, but her lips were slightly cold.
At this simple touch of the lips, Tang Ruoyao’s heart let out a sigh of satisfaction.
The last time they had kissed was before Qin Yinong went abroad to shoot a movie. These last two years, Qin Yinong had gradually shifted the focus of her career to abroad, and she’d often leave for months without returning home. Tang Ruoyao missed her, but did not dare to tell her. Since their relationship was already like this, it would only add to the awkwardness.
Qin Yinong touched her briefly, like a dragonfly grazing over water, before slightly backing away. Tang Ruoyao slowly opened her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Her eyes were clear and her tone was calm, hiding her disappointment.
"Nothing." Qin Yinong looked into the depths of her unwavering eyes. If it weren't for the slight hitch of her heartbeat, even she wouldn't have noticed it. Her acting skills were getting more and more exquisite. Qin Yinong's eyes curved slightly, feeling relieved.
"I wanted to get on yesterday's flight but was delayed by something instead, so I couldn't attend the award ceremony." Qin Yinong gently put both hands on her shoulders, seriously gazed into her eyes, and gently explained.
In the end, she was still too young… Tang Ruoyao couldn't hide things from her. After being coaxed by a few gentle words, the guard around her emotions was let down, her grievance and indignation surfacing.
Tang Ruoyao was silent. Without looking at her, she faintly said: "You never promised to come in the first place."
In March this year, the Golden Laurel Awards, one of the three major awards for Chinese films, announced its shortlist. Tang Ruoyao was nominated as Best Actress for the second time for the "Three Golds" awards. She was confident that she would win this time, so she wanted Qin Yinong to sit in the audience and witness it with her own eyes. The unrealistic side of her even imagined that Qin Yinong might present the award to her in person, even though she was rarely active in China in recent years.
Holding onto this secret hope, Tang Ruoyao tossed and turned all night. For the first time in three years, she mustered up the courage to speak to Qin Yinong about this, who was filming in France at the time. She didn’t directly say that she wanted Qin Yinong to come back, but Qin Yinong understood it well enough. She first congratulated her and wished her good luck at the awards ceremony. Then she apologized that she had been invited as the guest of honor at the Cannes Film Festival, and could not return home until after the closing ceremony.
The closing ceremony of Cannes this year was exactly two days before the Golden Laurel Awards ceremony, leaving Qin Yinong plenty of time...
But Tang Ruoyao waited all night last night and Qin Yinong still didn't come back; she didn’t even send her any message. If she told her in advance that something had gone wrong, it wouldn’t be any better, but Tang Ruoyao would ultimately understand. What was she doing now, explaining herself afterward?
"Are you angry?" Qin Yinong still asked her gently.
Tang Ruoyao’s face turned sullen, her eyes gradually reddened, trying to suppress the sense of helplessness in her heart.
"Jiejie admits her mistake to you, okay?" Her tone was slightly raised, holding a loose, light smile. She spoke the words of an apology, but Tang Ruoyao could not hear a sliver of guilt in her voice. Instead of an apology, it felt more like coaxing an unruly pet.
Tang Ruoyao tightened her lips, looked into her eyes, and sulkily bit out a sentence: "Not okay."
"Not even an apology? Then what do you want?" Qin Yinong smiled, but the warmth of the smile was slowly overtaken by the coolness in her eyes.
There was a limit to the master's patience and indulgence.
As if mentally splashed with a pot of cold water, Tang Ruoyao's emotionally dizzy mind instantly calmed down. Her expression changed several times in just a few seconds; her eyes flashed with resistance, and was finally replaced with a docile face, befitting of her role as a Canary.
It was she who lost herself, and had overstepped her bounds for a moment.
Tang Ruoyao did not say anything. She slightly tilted her face, and then leaned over and kissed Qin Yinong's cheek.
Her lips were soft, with the unique sweet aroma of youth and femininity.
Qin Yinong’s eyes darkened. She raised her hand and grabbed Tang Ruoyao’s chin before she could retract. Tang Ruoyao could not avoid her, but she seemed not to mind as the corner of her lips began to curl up. In Qin Yinong’s palm, a soft and charming smile slowly blossomed.
"Jiejie..." she murmured, slightly opening her red lips, issuing a silent invitation.
She was an actress, and a highly talented one at that.
Playing the seductive fox, she could be adept at that.
The more coquettish and playful her posture, the more intoxicating she was. Tang Ruoyao was fully aware of how she looked at that moment. She was fully aware of her effect.
A hint of surprise passed in Qin Yinong's eyes.
Did she underestimate her?
She cupped Tang Ruoyao's chin and listened to her heart, claiming her thin lips. She was a master of teasing: she pecked and kissed gently, rendering Tang Ruoyao unable to do anything but lean ever closer to her.
Her lips felt the wetness and warmth of the tip of a tongue entering deeper, tenderly plundering her breath and absorbing her sweetness. Little by little, deeper and deeper, closer and closer, until their breaths had melted together and become indistinguishable.
Tang Ruoyao soberly felt that she had been split right into two people: one who followed her emotions and threw herself into this kiss that made her soul tremble; and the other who was aloof and observing them rationally.
Tang Ruoyao regained a bit of sanity in the midst of her daze. Slowly opening her eyes and looking into the dressing mirror on the side, she saw entwining lips and tongues of the two women that could not be separated. Coolness took over her eyes.
She knew full well that Qin Yinong didn’t love her.
Though, it couldn’t be said that Qin Yinong did not feel any love for her either.
Qin Yinong loved her like a beautiful flower. Like a valuable painting, like a yellow warbler with a melodious singing voice. Like many, many things, but not like loving a lover.
Qin Yinong lightly bit her lip to punish her for her inattentiveness. Tang Ruoyao frowned lightly, let out a low whimper, and gathered her fluttering thoughts.
The temperature in the closet was getting warmer and warmer.
If you were destined to step into the abyss, you might as well take the initiative and leap down.
Tang Ruoyao panted lightly and quickly, and pulled on Qin Yinong’s wrist, still not satisfied. She opened her eyes again with a flash of doubt, and then let out a delicate moan.
Qin Yinong let go of her lips, and pressed her forehead lightly against the other. White cheeks had been painted scarlet from emotion. With uneven breaths and a raspy voice, she let out, "Ah-li...." (T/N: Li 狸 means tanuki [also called racoon dog; the same species as Tom Nook from Animal Crossing]; ah is added in front as a nickname)
Tang Ruoyao hummed in a low voice.
In her heart she thought, Qin Yinong loved her like she would a cat, treating her with extreme thoughtfulness and tenderness.
Qin Yinong wrapped her arms around her, quietly intimate for a moment, and then whispered, "Go take a shower."
Despite these words, her misty eyes were slightly closed, and she kept intermittently kissing the corners of Tang Ruoyao's lips shallowly, calling her nickname from time to time—a name that Qin Yinong personally coined and belonged to her alone.
This probably greatly satisfied her possessiveness.
Tang Ruoyao thought, patiently waiting for her to completely calm down and let go of her cheek. She took a step back, and said with a tone that was neither too brave nor too shy, "Then I'll go take a shower first."
Qin Yinong couldn't help but smile: "Okay."
Tang Ruoyao slightly nodded and turned to leave. She felt the strands of hair that brushed past her face as she pulled away. The new necklace Qin Yinong gave her was around her small neck, shining with a cold light that matched her aloof expression.
On the one hand, she had to depend on another, and as a Canary, she had to show off her charm and do her best to please. On the other hand, she was as arrogant and proud as a noble black swan. The two temperaments merged in her strangely. Contradictory, yet harmonious. It gave Qin Yinong a refreshing feeling every time. (T/N: The word Canary in Chinese 金丝雀 means someone who receives money from a sponsor. Similar to sugar baby, but with different connotations）
After staying in the entertainment industry for a long time, one would come to know that there were many kinds of people, many kinds of faces, and many kinds of temperaments. All of these could be deceiving. Like some male star who grew up poor, but was gifted with the face of a prince. When they worked in films and television dramas, they were also aristocratic and professional, exactly like others who had been affluent since birth. Tang Ruoyao was the female version of this prince, destined from birth to be the proudest, most beautiful flower on the mountain.
Birth......
Qin Yinong turned her face and looked into the full-length mirror. The woman's deep and charming features were reflected in the mirror, and the corners of her eyes curved upward slightly, enough to captivate anyone.
Qin Yinong curled her lips mockingly. She hated the word.
The house where Tang Ruoyao was living in was bought by Qin Yinong, and three years ago, after she took Tang Ruoyao in, this became her second residence. Because she had a difficult life when she was a child, she didn't have the habit of spending a lot of money. She wouldn’t buy a garage full of luxury cars, or wear a famous watch besides those sent by endorsement brands.
The media had been making up stories about her and claimed a lot of luxury properties under her name. But in reality, she only bought a house for her mother, and two others unoccupied in case of emergencies. As well as appreciation in value.
When Qin Yinong stepped into the master bedroom, Tang Ruoyao had just entered the bathroom. The bathroom had a fully transparent glass room, installed for some reason that she had now forgotten. The consequence was that she could see the bathroom directly from the bedroom, in full view.
For the sake of excitement? Qin Yinong leaned on the edge of the table. Her slender white knuckles tapped rhythmically on the tabletop, and she looked at Tang Ruoyao’s back with a smile.
Sensing something, Tang Ruoyao turned her head and cast a glance from inside, only to find Qin Yinong teasing eyes through the glass. Her expression froze, as if she had been startled.
Qin Yinong's heart moved, and deliberately winked at her. With peach blossoms flying from the corners of her eyes, she smiled in a charming manner.
Tang Ruoyao turned her eyes back, her heart pounding.
Qin Yinong turned her head to see the night view outside the window, and laughed merrily like a little girl who had succeeded in a prank.
Tang Ruoyao was neatly dressed. First she opened the shower door, and when the water had heated up, the steam spilled out through the whole bathroom and covered the glass walls. She pursed her lips and stepped into the shower.
Qin Yinong stared at the steaming mist in the glass room. Her slim figure was halfway concealed, and the steam had changed the lighting and shadows in the bathroom. She could guess Tang Ruoyao’s movements.
Qin Yinong's eyes darkened gradually, she took a gulp, and licked her dry lips. She took a step toward the bathroom.
The water vapor in the glass bathroom was hazy.
Tang Ruoyao just finished washing her hair, and tipped her forehead back to reveal a white neck. With her face angled upward, she wiped the water drops from her face. She then raised her arm, about to shut off the shower, but she stopped after remembering there was another person in the bedroom. She took two steps to the side, letting the hot water dripping down her body pool on the floor. She held her palm up under the pump of the shower gel bottle, and pressing down with one hand, she squeezed the shower gel into her palm.
The water hit the tile floor, splashing endlessly. Very noisy, yet strangely quiet.
In this moment when Tang Ruoyao was all alone, a little demon in her heart peeked out its little head.
She really wanted... to take a look at Qin Yinong.
Tang Ruoyao furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lower lip. In the end she could not resist the urge, and she slowly moved her eyes to the glass wall separating the bathroom and the bedroom. She carefully wiped off a small piece of the fog with her fingertip.
Afraid of being discovered by Qin Yinong, this gap was only large enough to allow one eye to peer through.
She held her breath and slowly pressed her face to the glass.
Tang Ruoyao's eyes widened.
--There was no one in the bedroom.
Tang Ruoyao's frowned immediately.
Where was Qin Yinong?
Tang Ruoyao's eyes twitched for no reason. She waved her hand to turn off the shower, and then it was quiet. She listened carefully, and she heard footsteps approaching the door.
They got closer and closer.
previous chapter Translated and edited by mooie.