After Flirting with the God-Tier Beautiful Tycoon - Chapter 45.1

“Speak.”

“We’ve found her.”

“Oh?” Old Man Bai’s hands stopped moving. “Where?”

“In Haishi.”

“Haishi?” Old Man Bai narrowed his eyes, his expression carrying a chilling frost.

After the Artist’s Sanctuary was abandoned, it became a popular spot for local residents to take walks.

With a loud creak, the iron gate opened. Shen Xiaojiang stepped in first, then stood by the door waiting for Chen Yi.

“Give me your hand,” Shen Xiaojiang’s voice drifted from the gloom of the doorway. Along with it came her clean, slender fingers. “The gate is rusted and the metal is peeling. Be careful not to scratch your hand,” she added.

Chen Yi looked at the rough doorframe, and without hesitation, placed her fingertips in Shen Xiaojiang’s palm.

After walking for a while, Shen Xiaojiang let go of Chen Yi’s hand and jogged toward a white building.

“Auntie, look at me!” She stood on her tiptoes, waving her arms vigorously. “Auntie!” She called out to her again.

Chen Yi followed with a smile. “Mhm, I see you.”

“One, two, three!”

As Shen Xiaojiang finished her countdown, countless faint lights reflected through the stained glass of the white building behind her, creating a romantic and ethereal scene. The light and shadows rotated with the lamps, casting flower patterns onto Shen Xiaojiang’s shirt dim and subtle.

If Shen Xiaojiang hadn’t called out to her, Chen Yi never would have noticed. She froze, looking at Shen Xiaojiang’s face, and her lips curled up involuntarily.

Something seemingly insignificant was, at this moment, imbued with a special meaning.

Seeing Chen Yi smile made Shen Xiaojiang even happier. Her goal in bringing Chen Yi out was exactly this: to make her happy, to make her laugh from the heart.

“You come too,” she gestured.

Chen Yi walked over. “What for?”

Shen Xiaojiang stood side-by-side with her, waiting for the rotating lights to swing back their way.

“One, two, three…look!” Shen Xiaojiang held out both hands, a flower pattern landing in each palm. “Your turn, your turn!”

Before Chen Yi could think, she also reached out her hands, palms open just like Shen Xiaojiang’s.

“Hwah!” Shen Xiaojiang made an exaggerated gesture. “The shifting of the stars!”

The two flower patterns transferred to Chen Yi’s palms, one on each side.

Chen Yi laughed and sighed at the same time, looking at Shen Xiaojiang as if she were looking at a complete dork. “Aren’t you being childish? Hmm?”

Soon, the light rotated away again. Though Chen Yi called it childish, she still mimicked Shen Xiaojiang, curling her fingers inward as if trying to catch those two flowers, those flowers that looked like stars, or stars that looked like flowers.

“If it’s so childish, why are you following along?” Shen Xiaojiang tucked her hands behind her back and walked carefully along the edge of a flower bed, her legs straight.

Chen Yi didn’t answer. Watching the swaying figure ahead of her, she said with concern, “Be careful.”

“Auntie, look at those kids in the distance,” Shen Xiaojiang pointed ahead.

“Mhm.” Chen Yi followed her finger.

“Do you know why they’re so happy?” Shen Xiaojiang asked.

Chen Yi didn’t answer. When she was that small, she didn’t seem to have been very happy.

Shen Xiaojiang turned around to face Chen Yi, walking backward. “Because they’re childish.”

Chen Yi remained silent.

Shen Xiaojiang’s pace was slow as she walked backward, and her speech slowed down accordingly. “I don’t think being childish is a bad thing. On the contrary, the older I get, the more I feel that being able to be childish is a form of happiness. If there’s someone by your side who tolerates your childishness, understands it, and joins in on it… that would be an incomparable kind of bliss.”

Shen Xiaojiang’s words weren’t necessarily “correct,” but they touched Chen Yi deeply in that moment. She even felt that, right now, Shen Xiaojiang was acting like a mature, responsible adult.

The trees here were tall and large, and the few high-mast streetlights were dying, emitting a pale, sickly glow. Chen Yi looked at Shen Xiaojiang’s profile and seriously doubted if this place was truly meant for walking. Perhaps it was better suited for a secret tryst. Like the one they were having.

Suddenly, Shen Xiaojiang felt a drop of water hit her face. She looked up sharply at the pitch-black sky. “Is it raining?”

Chen Yi seemed to feel it too, reaching out to catch a few drops.

Shen Xiaojiang frowned, looking around. “The forecast didn’t say it would rain tonight. Weather reports failed me.”

Soon, the raindrops became dense. The two ran side by side toward an abandoned, hollowed-out building.

In Shen Xiaojiang’s memory, this place was originally supposed to be a botanical garden. “There are several abandoned buildings like this in this area; they all belong to the ‘Artist’s Sanctuary.’ When I was little, this place was still thriving. Then the developer ran away, the government ignored it, and it fell into ruin. I used to hear that some big boss was going to lease the land, but nothing ever came of it.”

She shook the rain off herself as she spoke. “I used to spend whole afternoons here reading novels or listening to music with my headphones. Back then, time felt like it had no end.”

Chen Yi looked at her. “How old were you then?”

Shen Xiaojiang thought about it. “Probably… fourteen or fifteen? Anyway, before high school.”

Chen Yi gave a bittersweet smile and said softly, “That sounds nice.”

Shen Xiaojiang was wearing a shirt over a low-neck ribbed tank top. She adjusted her collar and suddenly noticed Chen Yi standing beside her, arms crossed, standing as straight and tall as a tree. Her hair was damp with mist, sticking to her forehead and face. In the faint light, she looked air brushed so pale she seemed like a beautiful lie.

“Auntie.” In the hollow building, Shen Xiaojiang’s voice echoed like a sound in a deep valley.

Chen Yi was startled, looking at her blankly.

“Are you afraid of rats?” Shen Xiaojiang’s gaze suddenly turned mischievous.

Chen Yi subconsciously looked into the dark space behind her, her eyes blinking rapidly as she scolded, “I… am not.”

Shen Xiaojiang stifled a laugh. Auntie really is adorably stubborn.

Shen Xiaojiang didn’t really mean to scare her; she just wanted to tease her. Watching her act guilty and flustered was incredibly entertaining. She shifted her feet, a small pebble grinding against the ground with a fragile sound.

Chen Yi panicked, catching her breath. Perhaps even she hadn’t expected to one day be defeated by the thought of a rat. Her heart tightened.

Having achieved her goal, Shen Xiaojiang decided to let her off the hook. “I’m just kidding.”

“It’s not funny at all.” Chen Yi’s expression was cold, but her tone didn’t suggest she was truly angry.

Neither of them suggested leaving. It seemed that with the rain falling outside, time could move a little slower.

Shen Xiaojiang retreated into the shadows behind her. Chen Yi turned her head but couldn’t see her anymore. The light was already dim, and the shadowed areas of the building were truly pitch black.

“Shen Xiaojiang, where are you going?” Chen Yi looked toward the darkness, her voice trembling slightly.

Shen Xiaojiang kept stifling her laughter, remaining silent.

Chen Yi uncrossed her arms and moved her feet, her voice rising an octave. “Shen Xiaojiang, this isn’t funny at all.”

Seeing that Chen Yi’s voice had turned serious, Shen Xiaojiang suddenly rushed out of the darkness and closed in on Chen Yi. The collar of her shirt brushed lightly against Chen Yi’s bare, slender shoulder. Their chests stopped just a hair’s breadth apart.

Shen Xiaojiang smiled, her fingertips stroking the back of Chen Yi’s hand like a feather. Quickly, before the other could react, she moved her fingers away. She looked into Chen Yi’s eyes, completely enveloping the older woman in her shadow.

Chen Yi’s gaze traced Shen Xiaojiang’s features down the nose, finally landing on her lips. Her cheeks flushed, and her heart raced. The air became thick and ambiguous. Even the sound of the rain outside took on a sensual, lingering quality.

Chen Yi’s eyes lingered between Shen Xiaojiang’s lips and neck. Just as she was about to speak, Shen Xiaojiang suddenly took a step back.

One step, then another. All the way to the threshold.

As the shadow lifted, Chen Yi’s eyes regained their sparkle. “Where are you… going?” Her voice was tiny, almost swallowed by the rain.

Shen Xiaojiang took another step back, almost standing in the downpour.

“Shen Xiaojiang, you’re crazy.” Chen Yi chased after her, reaching out to grab her.

Shen Xiaojiang caught her wrist. “Do you want to come? Let’s be crazy together.”

Chen Yi froze for a second. Even though the light was dim and the rain was falling, why… why did she see that light? That light that belonged only to her.

She let out a soft laugh.

Crazy? Wasn’t she already a madwoman? In that case… she would regret it if she didn’t go a little crazy today.

Chen Yi stepped out, feeling as if she were stepping on cotton, soft and weightless. Unconsciously, she reached the doorway, the cool rain streaking across her face. She had wanted to say something more, but at this moment, she forgot. She forgot her identity, she forgot time, she forgot everything. Her world was left with only Shen Xiaojiang.

The next second, without waiting for Shen Xiaojiang to react, she grabbed the girl’s arm.

In a blur of motion, the world spun, and the two left the shelter of the eaves. This wasn’t the first time Chen Yi had been in the rain, but it was the most exhilarating. It felt as if years of unhappiness were being washed away all at once.

The rain washed over their faces, soaking their eyelashes, their collars, soaking everything. When she came to, Shen Xiaojiang was breathing heavily. She hadn’t expected to be the one pulled into the rain by Chen Yi.

She looked at the delicate woman before her and placed her hand on Chen Yi’s cheek, stroking it slowly and with deep affection.

“Not calling me childish anymore?”

“Mhm, no more.”

“Not afraid of catching a cold?”

“If I do, you’ll take care of me.”

Shen Xiaojiang took a step forward, closing the distance between them. Chen Yi took a step back. Shen Xiaojiang’s hand naturally fell away. Light and shadow coexisted between them.

“Shen Xiaojiang, can I believe you?”

“What?”

“When you said you’d stay with me, that you’d only be sweet to me… is everything you said real?”

“I’m not lying to you. You can believe me.”

“Okay.”

With that, Chen Yi lunged forward, closing the distance to zero as her wet lips met Shen Xiaojiang’s. Sometimes soft, sometimes fierce deeper, and deeper still.

The rain fell harder, but the fire in their hearts only burned brighter. Tonight’s rain was sweet. So very sweet.