Captive Moon: Redeemed the Wrong Temptress (GL) - Chapter 2

This was perhaps the third time Bai Lan had looked out the window on this surreal night.

At this time of year, the night rain in Hong Kong wasn’t heavy. It was just one drop after another, clinging to the windowpane and leaving a trail like a string of diamonds. The distant glow of red lights and green liquor blurred into indistinct shapes.

Just watching those muted shadows made her bones feel cold. Yet Bai Lan repeatedly scanned the lonely window, her body still burning with fever.

She pulled her wandering gaze back to Jiang Yunong, who lay unconscious in her arms, clearly drunk beyond reason. Suddenly, the warmth felt like a painful reminder.

“Sister Huang… she’s completely wasted. Can this deal even be valid?” Bai Lan couldn’t tell if she wanted to leave or stay.

But one thing she knew for certain: Jiang Yunong would regret this decision the moment she woke up tomorrow.

“The card’s been swiped, the money’s in my account. What’s there to question?” The owner, Sister Huang, leaned against the doorframe, jingling her keys.

As closing time approached, the bar had emptied out. Bai Lan knew that soon the owner would call for her strongest girls to carry the unconscious patrons out. How could an owner who maintained a friendly facade while caring only about money possibly allow Jiang Yunong to back out of this deal?

“But she’s lost her judgment,” Bai Lan said, feeling the woman in her arms begin to slip. She finally reached out to hold her, preventing her from falling.

“So what? I didn’t coax her into spending money on you. She came to me with this request herself. Bai Lan, debts have their owners. You don’t owe me anything now. If you want to repay her, you can work here again.” The bar owner smirked at Bai Lan.

What an ugly smile, Bai Lan thought.

Bai Lan felt weary. It was clear that no matter what she said, the money-grubbing owner would never return this windfall.

“Doing bad deeds will bring retribution,” Bai Lan warned. She couldn’t possibly stay at the bar overnight—the owner would charge her exorbitant room fees.

“Heh. You’re just a young girl, spouting empty platitudes. Aren’t you here selling smiles for money?”

Seeing her daughter arrive, the owner cut off the conversation.

“When you’re rich and a millionaire, then come lecture me about your principles, you little pauper. Now get your sugar daddy and get out! Every minute you stay costs you another day’s lodging fee!”

The boss’s voice came from behind her. Bai Lan heard her cursing and laughing at the drunkard and sighed.

Just five hours earlier, she had met the girl who was now clinging to her for warmth. They had spent nearly four hours and four hundred silver dollars on a heart-to-heart confession session.

Now, she was actually taking this woman home with her whose real name she didn’t even know.

The woman was clearly drunk, her cheeks flushed an unnatural red. Bai Lan struggled to guide Jiang Yunong under the nearest eaves to shelter from the rain.

The street outside the bar was cold and deserted. Not a soul was in sight, and only the occasional car sped by, its blinding headlights shattering the night. The drizzling rain wove a thin, lonely atmosphere.

There was no one they could turn to for help. Bai Lan had no umbrella, and she couldn’t let the still-sobering Jiang Yunong get drenched. So, the two of them trudged step by step toward Bai Lan’s rented room, their four legs moving in unison.

“Um… Miss Rain, are you still awake?” Just moments ago, they had been merely bartender and customer. Now, Bai Lan was the patron, and Jiang Yunong was the lover she had purchased at a high price. Bai Lan’s demeanor had become even more humble.

“Mmm… Mmm? My little beauty, you really did come with me.”

Jiang Yunong was in a half-dreaming state, clinging to Bai Lan like an octopus, instinctively grasping the only source of warmth nearby.

“Let’s go home, lovely sister. I’ll be good to you,” she murmured, her arm draped around Bai Lan’s neck.

The scent of alcohol wafted across Bai Lan’s face, mingling with the rain-soaked breeze that stung her eyes. She blinked involuntarily as Jiang Yunong’s head settled against her shoulder.

“Will you… come with me?” Jiang Yunong asked, her eyes half-closed, a droplet of water clinging to the tip of her nose. Her lips parted and closed, then gently nipped at Bai Lan’s earlobe.

Bai Lan shivered. In the cold night, the person beside her felt almost too warm. How could she possibly refuse someone so warm and soft?

Bai Lan struggled against the oppressive weight for a moment before wrapping her arms around Jiang Yunong’s waist.

“I wanted to come with you anyway.” Perhaps just over an hour ago, these words had been mere jest. Now, Bai Lan genuinely desired to follow this girl. Even if it was only for the warmth she offered amidst the cool autumn night.

“That’s wonderful! Let’s go home,” Jiang Yunong exclaimed, her eyes still half-closed with exhaustion, but her voice brimming with joy.

“But it’s raining outside. How will we get back?” Bai Lan gently brushed raindrops clinging to Jiang Yunong’s face with her free hand.

Jiang Yunong finally managed to open her eyes, blinking in confusion for a moment before saying, “I drove here. We can just take the car back.”

With that, she struggled to pull away from Bai Lan’s embrace.

Losing the warmth, Bai Lan couldn’t help but shiver. So the rainy nights in Hong Kong really were cold. The chill could pierce through skin with each raindrop, sinking deep into her bones.

Seeing Jiang Yunong’s unsteady steps, Bai Lan hurried forward. This time, she didn’t hesitate. She reached out and wrapped her arm around Jiang Yunong’s shoulder, using her own body as an umbrella to shield her from half the wind and rain.

“Be careful, it’s still raining.” A gust of wind carrying the salty tang of the sea swept past. Bai Lan immediately took off her coat and completely enveloped Jiang Yunong in her arms.

“You’re so kind. Can I call you ‘Jiejie’?” Jiang Yunong was too overwhelmed by Bai Lan’s spontaneous embrace to notice anything else.

“I’m already yours,” Bai Lan murmured, her voice low as she guided Jiang Yunong toward the parking lot.

Her crisp, brandy-clear voice reached Jiang Yunong’s ears with perfect clarity. 

“Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.”

They were nothing more than a patron and her gilded cage. Jiang Yunong had done so much for her for no apparent reason. From this moment on, Bai Lan would be Jiang Yunong’s obedient little songbird, bound to her every command.

“Then I’ll call you ‘Jiejie’ from now on,” Jiang Yunong declared, lost in her own happiness.

Bai Lan watched Jiang Yunong stop in front of a black car, understanding dawning on her face. This was Jiang Yunong’s car.

“Where are the keys…” Jiang Yunong rummaged roughly through her bag.

Bai Lan maintained her position, shielding Jiang Yunong from the rain, her gaze fixed straight ahead.

“Found them!” Jiang Yunong opened the car door and instinctively reached for the driver’s seat.

Bai Lan grabbed her arm. “Miss Rain, you’ve been drinking. You shouldn’t drive. Let me take the wheel.”

“How could I trouble a beautiful lady like you to drive?” Jiang Yunong waved her hand dismissively. “You just sit in the passenger seat, Sister.”

But Bai Lan’s tone was firm. “Miss Rain (Jiang Yunong), you absolutely cannot drive. Let me handle it.”

I’m here to serve you, not to enjoy your kindness, Bai Lan thought.

“Don’t talk like that. What’s with all this ‘service’ talk? Aren’t you my girlfriend, Sister? Just listen to me. I just want to take care of you, to be good to you.”

Jiang Yunong even poked Bai Lan’s cheek, looking slightly displeased.

Bai Lan suddenly understood why Jiang Yunong had spent so much money on her. It was likely because Jiang Yunong, fresh from a breakup, saw her as a substitute for her ex-girlfriend of two years.

Heartbroken, Jiang Yunong subconsciously wanted to treat Bai Lan better, to win her back, to keep her. But none of these feelings were actually for Bai Lan herself. She was merely a shadow of that ex-girlfriend.

And all this had emerged only after Jiang Yunong had gotten drunk.

Bai Lan sighed. She shouldn’t have entertained any illusions. In the end, their relationship was nothing more than a cold, transactional exchange of money.

“If I were your… your girlfriend, why wouldn’t I be able to take care of you?”

Bai Lan opened the back door and, without a word, pushed the limp, drunken Jiang Yunong inside.

“But… but if I can’t take care of you, why do you need me at all?” Jiang Yunong murmured, tears that had been welling up all night suddenly spilling from the corners of her eyes.

The car door remained open. Bai Lan hastily wiped off the rain from her clothes before climbing into the car.

She watched as tears continued to gather in Jiang Yunong’s eyes. Her sobs were violent, her tears shimmering more brightly and piercingly than the rain outside. When those tears landed on Bai Lan’s hand, they felt colder than the raindrops.

“Miss Rain,” Bai Lan said, cupping Jiang Yunong’s face and catching the tears that streamed down her cheeks. With gentle pressure, she wiped away the wet streaks. “Love is mutual, and care should be mutual too.” Especially now, neither of them loved the other. All that remained was a drunken haze of confusion and an overwhelming sense of debt.

“Really?” Jiang Yunong’s sobs weren’t cathartic. She hiccuped and shuddered, her body rising and falling with each ragged breath.

“Really,” Bai Lan said, leaning closer to Jiang Yunong.

Now, she was Jiang Yunong’s gilded cage, her servant, and the lover Jiang Yunong had fantasized about. Seeing her mistress so heartbroken, Bai Lan knew she should comfort her properly.

Like… offering Jiang Yunong, who was shivering with cold, a warm kiss.

Bai Lan saw Jiang Yunong close her eyes.

And she leaned in.

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