After Flirting with the God-Tier Beautiful Tycoon - Chapter 39

It turned out that even a powerful woman who called all the shots outside could have such a fragile and helpless side.

Shen Xiaojiang turned around, her gaze softening.

As long as Chen Yi called her, she would turn back at any moment.

As long as Chen Yi needed her, she would stay by her side, never leaving.

Shen Xiaojiang didn’t leave; instead, she sat down and patted her own shoulder.

Chen Yi stared at her shoulder for three seconds before leaning against it, as obedient as a kitten.

She extended her claws because she was afraid of being hurt.

She cried out softly because she craved to be loved, begging you to stay the moment you turned to leave.

“It was my fault. I shouldn’t have spoken recklessly about your father,” Shen Xiaojiang said in a low voice.

Chen Yi shook her head, her tone returning to a state of calm. “What you said was right. He is indeed a scumbag.”

Shen Xiaojiang looked at Chen Yi’s fingers resting on her knees.

The dark red manicure against her snowy-white skin looked like red plum blossoms, but also like tears of blood.

“But there is a reason he became like this,” Chen Yi’s pace of speaking slowed. “Before I was born, he was a good employee and a good husband.”

Chen Yi gave a faint smile and remained silent for a few seconds.

“His wife was physically frail and not suited for pregnancy, but I appeared by accident. Throughout the nine months of pregnancy, his wife endured countless hardships. I was restless and wanted to come out early; on the day of delivery, his wife suffered a difficult birth and hemorrhage. The doctor asked him whether to save the mother or the child, and he chose the latter,” Chen Yi’s voice trembled slightly, though her tone remained as icy as if she were telling someone else’s story. “And so, from that moment on, he completely lost his wife.”

Throughout the entire account, Chen Yi never mentioned the word “mother,” referring to her only as “his wife.”

Clearly, she did not consider herself a part of that family.

Deep down, she was filled with self-reproach.

The light in the bathroom wasn’t very bright, making Chen Yi appear full of a sense of shattered fragility in that moment.

Shen Xiaojiang remained quiet, being a proper listener.

“His wife’s family said that ‘where there is life, there is hope’ and that he should have saved the mother. But the relatives on his side said that his wife’s body was ruined anyway and she wouldn’t be able to have children in the future; the child was innocent and should be saved.” After Chen Yi finished speaking, her fingers slowly moved closer to Shen Xiaojiang’s.

But she stopped when she was infinitely close.

“Later, his personality changed drastically. He felt that his choice had killed his wife, and he also felt that my appearance had ruined them both. So, he quit his job and spent his days in a haze of smoke and alcohol, even picking up other bad habits. He never recovered.”

Shen Xiaojiang shuddered. Compared to Chen Yi, she had lived a life dipped in honey.

With a loving father and mother, although they weren’t as wealthy as the “rich second generation” who threw money around, they treated her as their everything.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Shen Xiaojiang said.

Chen Yi turned her eyes and met hers.

“Little One, what did you say?”

Shen Xiaojiang’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was firm. “You are a victim, too.”

Chen Yi paused, staring blankly at the narrow gap between their fingers, murmuring softly: “A victim?”

No one had ever said those words to her.

And no one had ever truly cared about her past.

When she was a child, most people around Chen Yi pitied her, but that look of commiseration made her uncomfortable.

She didn’t need sympathy; she didn’t need pity.

People are not born equal.

People put in different levels of effort for their goals.

And the joys and sorrows of human beings are never truly shared.

The elders in her family didn’t like Chen Yi’s work, saying she was improper, that she sold her looks, and that she was a disgrace to her dead mother.

They had some nerve.

Those old fossils, clinging to the past, unwilling to work hard for a better life, stayed huddled in a dead end their whole lives yet dared to try and pull others into the abyss with them.

Chen Yi refused.

She wanted to change her fate she wanted to become someone different, someone stronger than them.

And so, in the eyes of those old fossils, she became an anomaly, a deserter.

Shen Xiaojiang finally understood why the relatives at Sun Jiabao’s birthday banquet had looked at her with such malicious eyes.

Those relatives were truly pathetic.

“No,” Shen Xiaojiang brushed away the stray hairs blocking Chen Yi’s vision. “I was wrong. You aren’t a victim. You are an independent person a victor.”

Chen Yi listened absent-mindedly, saying nothing.

“Although I don’t know exactly how you’ve lived all these years, I understand or at least, I am trying to understand,” Shen Xiaojiang lowered her hand again, and their fingertips touched. “Moreover, I hope you stop blaming yourself and stop hurting yourself. Seeing you in pain makes me feel terrible, it breaks my heart.”

As she spoke, Shen Xiaojiang stared at the finger marks on Chen Yi’s neck.

Judging by the direction of the pressure, those marks weren’t left by someone else; Chen Yi had strangled herself.

“Mm, here…” Chen Yi’s expression was faint. “I won’t do it again. I can’t bear to.”

“Huh?”

“I can’t bear to see you feel bad.”

Looking at Chen Yi, Shen Xiaojiang’s eyes grew hot, and she looked away.

“I also… can’t bear for your heart to ache.”

After Chen Yi finished speaking, she tapped her finger against Shen Xiaojiang’s.

Shen Xiaojiang shifted her gaze back to Chen Yi’s fingertips.

When Chen Yi stopped moving her finger, Shen Xiaojiang followed suit and tapped twice gently.

The two shared a smile.

“Then, what about him?” Shen Xiaojiang asked. “Are you going to keep answering his calls?”

Chen Yi knew exactly who Shen Xiaojiang was talking about.

“Occasionally.”

“Will you still see him?”

“Occasionally, yes.”

Chen Yi’s gaze was direct, with no intention of hiding anything.

Shen Xiaojiang knit her brows slightly and fell silent.

“I hate him, and he hates me. We torture each other,” Chen Yi traced small circles on the back of Shen Xiaojiang’s hand. “I want those who wronged me to see me doing well, to see me getting stronger, to see me treading them underfoot. And then, no matter how they beg for help, I won’t lift a finger.”

“They are alive, yet it’s as if they are dead, because without me, they are nothing.” Chen Yi’s eyes were cold.

Shen Xiaojiang was stunned.

A bone on the back of her hand twitched very slightly.

Chen Yi stopped her circling finger.

“I’m quite wicked, aren’t I?” she asked.

Shen Xiaojiang shook her head.

“Actually, I am very wicked.” Chen Yi propped one hand on the edge of the bathtub, closed her eyes, and withdrew her hand, letting it hang in mid-air.

Suddenly, Shen Xiaojiang caught her suspended wrist and pressed her cold lips against it.

They stayed entwined for a long time.

When Shen Xiaojiang let go, the corners of Chen Yi’s closed eyes were tinged with moisture.

“I don’t think you’re wicked,” Shen Xiaojiang turned her wrist, taking Chen Yi’s small hand into her palm and passing her own warmth to her. “I believe in you.”

Chen Yi’s heart skipped a beat.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked at her own hand inside Shen Xiaojiang’s palm.

What kind of fool was Shen Xiaojiang?

She didn’t pity her, didn’t question her, and certainly wasn’t afraid of her or disgusted by her. She simply… believed in her.

Chen Yi didn’t know what to say, offering only a single “Thank you.”

Shen Xiaojiang moved forward a bit, and Chen Yi’s head naturally dropped, her forehead resting against the other’s chest.

She listened blankly to Shen Xiaojiang’s strong, steady heartbeat.

Perhaps time doesn’t make one forget everything, but love does.

Shen Xiaojiang stroked the back of Chen Yi’s head and asked tentatively, “For the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, would you like to go out and clear your head?”

Chen Yi looked up, her eyes full of confusion. “Go where?”

Shen Xiaojiang: “Is there anywhere you want to go?”

Chen Yi pondered for a few seconds and shook her head.

Shen Xiaojiang laughed, revealing a row of clean, white teeth. “Then, let’s go to my home Haishi.”

Shen Xiaojiang didn’t know why she had suddenly suggested taking Chen Yi home.

She also didn’t know if the other woman would be willing.

Just as she was beginning to regret it, Chen Yi tugged at her pinky finger, her lashes trembling slightly. “Okay.”

Shen Xiaojiang hadn’t reacted yet. “What?”

Chen Yi’s expression softened. Hooking Shen Xiaojiang’s pinky, she squinted her phoenix-like eyes and smiled. “Didn’t you just ask me if I wanted to go to your home to relax? I’m answering you now. Okay, I’m willing to go.”

Shen Xiaojiang took a deep breath, looking both like she wanted to smile and like she didn’t a bit silly.

“Then… about that, I just remembered, my house might be a bit far from here. It… it might take several hours by car to get there.”

She asked again to be sure.

Chen Yi’s tone was calm. “It’s fine. We can enjoy the scenery along the way.”

Shen Xiaojiang rubbed the tip of her nose and continued: “Then… about that, Haishi isn’t like Nancheng. It’s an economically developing area. The roads aren’t as wide, and there aren’t as many skyscrapers…”

After saying this, she peeked at Chen Yi’s eyes.

Chen Yi’s face was gentle. She ran her fingers through her hair, her entire being radiating a sense of lazy relaxation.

As it happened, she was also looking at Shen Xiaojiang.

The moment their eyes met, Chen Yi’s smile deepened. “It’s fine. A thousand cities with a thousand faces is what makes it interesting. If everywhere was like Nancheng, what would be the point?”

“Uh… that’s true, but…”

“Shen Xiaojiang,” Chen Yi interrupted her.

“Yes!”

Chen Yi released Shen Xiaojiang’s pinky, raised her arm, and used two fingers to pinch her cheek, turning her mouth into an “O” shape.

The light reflected in Chen Yi’s pupils, shimmering with a certain ethereal and distant hue.

She arched an eyebrow slightly, her lips parting as she smiled mischievously. “Little fool, are you teasing me?”

At the end, she added: “Hmm?”

Shen Xiaojiang shook her head repeatedly, her “O” shaped mouth making strange noises that made Chen Yi giggle.

Chen Yi’s usual smiles seemed professional and fake, but when she laughed from the heart, she was truly, truly beautiful.

She had that feeling of “mountains and rivers reflected in her brow.”

Shen Xiaojiang couldn’t resist. With one hand she grabbed Chen Yi’s wrist, and with the other, she held Chen Yi’s chin and bit her lip.

Chen Yi was kissed until she lost all her edge.

Shen Xiaojiang’s tongue tangled with the other’s soft one, sliding deeper with practiced ease. Amidst the clash of teeth and breath, Shen Xiaojiang pressed against the roof of Chen Yi’s mouth and murmured blurredly, “You’re the one being naughty.”

Give her an inch, and she takes a mile.

Chen Yi playfully and with a hint of retaliation released Shen Xiaojiang’s lips.

The next second, she draped both hands around Shen Xiaojiang’s long hair and extended her tongue, sliding it over the skin near her ear.

The wet, slick sensation hit her suddenly, and Shen Xiaojiang flinched as if struck by an electric current.

Chen Yi looked up at Shen Xiaojiang’s expression, smiling as if her plot had succeeded, then bit down on Shen Xiaojiang’s earlobe.

The tip of her tongue pressed against the edge of the earlobe, sliding back and forth repeatedly.

Hot breath seeped into the ear, pampering the most sensitive spot.

Shen Xiaojiang let out a comfortable hum.

Her hands were no longer restless.

After fumbling for a bit, she felt it wasn’t enough. She crossed her legs, scooped up Chen Yi by her arms, and pulled her to sit on her lap.

Chen Yi was forced to stop. She rested both hands on Shen Xiaojiang’s shoulders and looked down into the dark, deep pupils of the other woman.

“Shen…”

The word “Xiaojiang” was swallowed right at her lips.

Shen Xiaojiang’s kiss was invasive, making it impossible to breathe or refuse.

Chen Yi’s breathing grew ragged, her mind went blank.

Shen Xiaojiang’s kisses slowly moved downward, heating and wetting every inch of exposed skin.