After Flirting with the God-Tier Beautiful Tycoon - Chapter 53

As the lights were switched off, the moonlight from outside spilled into the room, spreading across the floor like an ash white carpet.

Shen Xiaojiang’s bed was positioned right against the window by simply lifting her head, she could gaze out at the boundless night.

She and Chen Yi lay flat on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“Auntie, what happened just now?” Shen Xiaojiang asked.

Chen Yi’s lips parted as if she were about to speak, but after a moment of hesitation, she simply said, “It’s nothing.”

Even if that little girl from her past was Shen Xiaojiang, she would have been so small back then as small as Ruirui is now and she surely wouldn’t remember.

And if that girl wasn’t Shen Xiaojiang, speaking her heart might make the girl feel like a mere substitute.

How frustrating.

Chen Yi decided it was better to remain silent.

At the very least, today had been fruitful. She had met a child the same age as the girl in her memories: Ruirui.

She could confirm that not every child possessed that specific light in their eyes. She could also confirm that she could only feel that light from the little girl thirteen years ago.

That was enough.

Time was long,she would eventually find the answer in her own way.

“Auntie.”

At some point, Shen Xiaojiang had turned over, shifting from lying flat to lying on her side, staring intently at Chen Yi’s profile.

“What are you thinking about? You didn’t even answer when I called you.” Shen Xiaojiang pouted, acting spoiled and vulnerable.

Chen Yi remained flat on her back but turned her head to look at Shen Xiaojiang. “Sorry, I was just spacing out.”

“Why?” Shen Xiaojiang moved a bit closer.

Looking at the little one approaching, Chen Yi instinctively swallowed. Her throat felt dry, and there was nothing to swallow down.

“I…” Chen Yi blinked, answering guiltily, “I was just thinking about the bar.”

So she was thinking about work, Shen Xiaojiang thought, feeling a dull ache in her chest.

When Chen Yi lied to others, her heart wouldn’t race and she wouldn’t even blink. But she couldn’t lie to Shen Xiaojiang. Whenever she said something against her heart, she felt a blockage, as if a surge of hot air was trapped in her chest, unable to move up or down, it was terribly uncomfortable.

“Shen Xiaojiang, why did you call me?” Chen Yi asked.

Shen Xiaojiang smiled. “Nothing much, I just feel like this is incredible.”

“What is?”

Shen Xiaojiang looked at her with pure sincerity. “The fact that you’re lying in my room, on my bed.”

“Didn’t we also yesterday…” The words died in Chen Yi’s throat.

She thought of last night, their bodies intertwined. She thought of Shen Xiaojiang’s fingertips gliding over her skin. She thought of the surge of desire that had nearly exploded within her.

“Yes,” Chen Yi corrected herself, “it is quite incredible.”

“Auntie, were you just thinking about… naughty things?” Shen Xiaojiang narrowed her eyes, her smile mischievous and roguish.

“I was not!” Chen Yi denied flatly.

Shen Xiaojiang moved closer still, close enough to see the slight tremble of Chen Yi’s eyelashes.

“I was,” she said firmly.

Chen Yi looked away, she didn’t want Shen Xiaojiang to see the raw desire she was desperately trying to mask.

Shen Xiaojiang watched her and laughed.

Unable to take it, Chen Yi turned her back to her.

“Go ahead and laugh by yourself, I’m going to sleep.” Chen Yi’s voice was petulant and proud, even a little bit cute.

Shen Xiaojiang reached out and wrapped her arm around Chen Yi’s shoulder.

“Don’t touch me,” Chen Yi whispered.

Why did Shen Xiaojiang find her “angry” auntie… even cuter?

Shen Xiaojiang’s arm slid down, resting on the curve of Chen Yi’s hip.

“Alright, I’ll stop talking about it. Auntie, you said you were thinking about the bar… I was wondering if I could ask you something.” Shen Xiaojiang pressed closer, closing the distance between them completely.

Chen Yi stopped trying to break free. “Ask what?”

Shen Xiaojiang pressed her face closer, breathing in the intoxicating scent of Chen Yi’s skin. “I wanted to ask… are you really the owner of ‘Venus’?”

“I am.”

“I’ve never been to a bar like that. It feels like it would be very expensive,” Shen Xiaojiang said calmly.

Chen Yi laughed. “Next time you come, it’s on me.”

She continued curiously, “You said you’ve never been to a bar like that. What kind of bars have you been to?”

Shen Xiaojiang pulled her a little tighter. “I’ve only been to quiet bars. The drinks don’t burn your throat.”

“Do you like them?”

“What?”

“Quiet bars.”

Shen Xiaojiang slowly closed her eyes. “I’ve only gone a few times. I wouldn’t say I like them; I only went because Jiabao asked me to accompany her.”

“Oh.” Chen Yi’s gaze drifted to the wall, staring blankly at Shen Xiaojiang’s various award certificates.

The little one’s hand rested on her abdomen like a heater, warm and comforting.

At that moment, Chen Yi placed her hand over the back of Shen Xiaojiang’s. Their fingers interlaced, locking tightly together.

“Managing such a large bar all by yourself… it must be exhausting.” Shen Xiaojiang’s warm voice brushed against Chen Yi’s ear.

It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact. Shen Xiaojiang truly felt that Chen Yi was tired.

Was she really tired?

Chen Yi had never thought about it.

What was “Venus”? It was a bar, a money-making machine, an entertainment venue saturated with chaotic hormones. It was her dream when she entered society at nineteen.

She wanted to be the master of that place the undisputed ruler of that den of gold. As long as she had enough money, she could connect with the wealthy heirs who spent fortunes there, and through them, meet their parents and extract even greater wealth. Perhaps she could even gain greater power.

She had been climbing relentlessly, stopping at nothing. She never paused.

She wasn’t tired. She didn’t dare be tired. She couldn’t be tired.

“Why do you work so hard?” Shen Xiaojiang’s forehead rubbed gently against the back of Chen Yi’s head.

Warm breath swept over the back of Chen Yi’s neck. The cocoon she had wrapped herself in cracked slightly, and her heart softened.

“When you have nothing, that is reason enough to give it your all,” she said.

Shen Xiaojiang squeezed Chen Yi’s hand.

“Little one, do you know? You can choose never to climb a mountain, but you must have a mountain in your heart.” Chen Yi’s voice was soft. “Like the vow you wrote on the handprint wall: ‘One should possess high aspirations, so as not to have lived one’s youth in vain.'”

“One should possess high aspirations, so as not to have lived one’s youth in vain,” Shen Xiaojiang repeated.

Her “high aspirations” might be a little different from Chen Yi’s.

“I have to go back tomorrow afternoon,” Chen Yi said abruptly.

Shen Xiaojiang’s eyes snapped open. “Why so soon? Isn’t the Dragon Boat holiday three days long?”

“I actually intended to tell you earlier,” Chen Yi smiled gently. “Old Man Bai told me that several elders involved in the election are returning to Nancheng. This is my chance to make an impression; I need to accompany them the whole time.”

“Can’t you leave the morning after next?” Shen Xiaojiang loosened her grip and slid her hand up to clasp Chen Yi’s wrist, as if trying to physically hold her back. “There are so many places I haven’t taken you yet. My grandfather has a bamboo grove when the wind blows, the leaves rustle beautifully.”

“My grandfather makes bamboo leaf tea. And, and… his rice wine is way better than my mom’s.”

How could Chen Yi not want to stay longer with Shen Xiaojiang, to drink rice wine and bamboo leaf tea?

She wavered. She had pondered Shen Xiaojiang’s words, wondering what life was truly for. Money and power, or happiness and freedom, which was more important? What truly meant “not living in vain”?

But Chen Yi hadn’t figured it out yet. All she knew was that she couldn’t disappoint the Old Man, and she certainly couldn’t disappoint her past self.

“I must go back.”

Chen Yi was smiling, but her voice held no joy.

Shen Xiaojiang didn’t understand this “Chamber of Commerce election” nonsense. But if Chen Yi said it, she had to listen. She understood Chen Yi’s choice and respected her persistence. She wanted her to succeed and for her to get everything she desired.

She realized that even if she had briefly plucked her beloved moon from the sky, she would eventually have to let it return to the heavens.

“Fine,” Shen Xiaojiang pouted. “Then I’m going back with you.”

Chen Yi smiled. “Aren’t you going to stay with your parents?”

“It’s okay. Summer break is coming soon anyway; I’ll come back then.” Shen Xiaojiang’s expression softened.

Chen Yi turned around, and their eyes met.

“Okay,” she said.

The pillow was soft, and the mattress was soft. Chen Yi felt that Shen Xiaojiang’s bed was the most comfortable one she had ever slept in.

The daytime in the coastal city was hot, but the nights became cool with the sea breeze. The breeze fluttered the papers on the desk and gently lifted the white gauze curtains.

A thin shadow fell over their faces, along with a sliver of cool moonlight.

In the dim light, they could both see each other’s eyes and the clear smiles within them.

Chen Yi reached up and gently stroked Shen Xiaojiang’s cheek. The girl had a hint of baby fat her clean, dry skin needed no adornment she was naturally, boundlessly beautiful.

Those deep, dark pupils were like black holes, slowly consuming Chen Yi’s heart. Yet, they were also like the night sky outside tender and alluring, slowly unraveling Chen Yi, tightening, loosening, then tightening again.

Suddenly, she leaned in and pressed a soft, sweet kiss to the corner of Shen Xiaojiang’s lips. Then, Chen Yi buried her face against Shen Xiaojiang’s chest, right over her heart.

“Okay, we’ll go back together,” Chen Yi answered once more.

This time, she was saying it to Shen Xiaojiang, and to herself.

Shen Xiaojiang could not leave her, and she could not leave Shen Xiaojiang.

Suddenly, Shen Xiaojiang rose, bracing her hands on either side of Chen Yi, looking down at her.

Chen Yi was cast in shadow, while Shen Xiaojiang was illuminated brightly by the moonlight. Her snow-white skin and exquisite features were tinged with a direct, raw desire.

She leaned down to kiss the corner of Chen Yi’s eye, then moved to the side of her neck, gently nipping at her earlobe.

A warm, moist breath enveloped her the temperature rose as they tangled together. Chen Yi’s hair spread across the pillow, allowing the girl’s tireless self-indulgence.

The girl’s lips grazed Chen Yi’s neck, her firm teeth biting into the soft cartilage like a long starved predator seizing the throat of its prey, refusing to let go for a long time.

Warm, humid breaths traced over her shoulders, her neck, the symmetrical curves of her body, and her slender ankles. Arrogantly and dominantly, Shen Xiaojiang stamped her exclusive brand upon her.

The night was long from somewhere unknown, droplets of water dampened the moonlight at the head of the bed.

It was the following night by the time they returned to Nancheng.

Chen Yi remembered the reluctant gaze of Shen Xiaojiang’s mother when they left, and the many bags of things she had prepared for them.

So this was what it felt like to be loved. It felt wonderful.

He Zhong had instructed the hotel kitchen to prepare dinner for them. After Shen Xiaojiang and Chen Yi finished eating, they showered and unpacked. By the time they lay down in bed, it was already ten o’clock.

The two day, one night trip to Haishi had been fulfilling. Both of them fell asleep quickly.

The next day.