Cross the Boundary GL - Chapter 20

Late-night in the hospital was still bustling. Taxis lined up with their lights on. Qin Song hailed one and got in. Through the car window, the gloom in her eyes seemed to have lessened, as if a glimmer was hidden within.

Li Chu thought she was seeing things.

But Qin Song actually rolled down the window. Her still-damp bangs clung to her cheeks, and a few strands on her chest, having been pressed down for so long, were now curled and frizzy.

“Not getting in?” she said flatly.

Li Chu stupidly said “Oh,” and walked around to the other side to get in.

The drive was short. The car took a shortcut through a back alley and stopped in front of the kiss.me shop. She had left in such a hurry during the day that the flashy sign and neon lights were still on, blinking in a riot of colors by the roadside.

Seeing this, Qin Song paused for two seconds before getting out. She turned her head and gave Li Chu a faint look.

Fortunately, the colorful lights here made it impossible to see a person’s embarrassment. Li Chu forced herself to explain, “I was in too much of a rush to leave and forgot.”

Qin Song didn’t seem to care, but she still couldn’t resist a sharp comment: “A waste of electricity.”

Li Chu didn’t dare talk back and went to unplug the sign.

Lin Zhiyan had already found a new place and left the shop spotlessly clean. All Li Chu had to do was move her things back in.

Li Chu walked in and out, putting things away. Qin Song stood in the corridor, her hand, holding a cigarette, trembled slightly as if she hadn’t come to her senses.

The lanterns hanging on either side of the sign swayed in the wind like two brilliant flames. This rhythm was similar to a heartbeat.

Perhaps because of the difficult-to-mention disease symptoms, or because she was still shaken from the recent events, Qin Song felt a ghostly and frantic pounding in her heart that made her feel a little breathless.

Annoyed, she twisted the cigarette, the scarlet ember climbing up bit by bit until the heat burned her fingers.

The pain was faint but provided just the right distraction she was looking for.

After Li Chu finished, she rested a hand on the iron door, her movements hesitant. “Not going home?”

Her lips were very pink, so when she held the tongue ring in her mouth, it was soft and warm. Qin Song twisted her ring and then beckoned to her.

Li Chu obediently walked over, her innocent eyes so pure they were spotless. “Are you feeling unwell? Should I take you home?”

Qin Song’s face still lacked color. With the colorful lights off, only moonlight fell on her face, the silver-white making her look even weaker.

Li Chu began to worry that the other person might faint midway.

However, despite Qin Song’s exhaustion, her physical strength and energy hadn’t been severely depleted. She leaned down, as if the moon were approaching the water’s surface.

The kiss under the lantern became ethereal due to the moonlight. Li Chu didn’t have the strength to lean back for too long, so she carefully wrapped her hands around Qin Song like vines, loosely embracing the slender waist below her elbows. From a distance, it looked like they were hugging.

It was a one-sided embrace, though, as Qin Song only reached out one hand, resting it lightly on the back of Li Chu’s head.

The fumbling between their lips and teeth held an indescribable intimacy. In this moment, Qin Song was like the moon falling into the water, no longer high and mighty, no longer untouchable, swaying and tumbling downward.

Her zipper was probably broken by Li Chu’s hurried tug in the elevator, and it was now completely impossible to zip up. Li Chu saw the wide-open edge of her collar up close, plated with a faint outline.

Even with the tattoo, a closer look revealed it was covered in scars.

So Li Chu reached out and touched her. She remembered the location of the blood charm, from the tip of the arrow to the tail. Her body was too thin and lacked flesh; all the way to her abdomen, she could only feel thin skin and bones.

Qin Song was explored by a palm that was ridiculously hot. It was hard not to think of the humiliating and tolerant scene in the elevator.

She grabbed Li Chu’s wrist, which wanted to continue wandering, and pulled back. The darkness in her eyes was not hidden as she stared at her silently and intensely. Finally, she turned around without a word and prepared to step down the stairs.

Li Chu snapped back to attention. This time, she was extremely bold. She chased after Qin Song and grabbed the high hem of her jacket.

“I won’t say anything,” she repeated the same words, but after a moment of silence, she added, “It’s okay, Qin Song. Humans are flesh and blood. This is normal.”

Li Chu racked her brains for examples. “I’m actually very afraid of the dark. I was even more afraid than you were. My hands were shaking when I was pouring water.”

Qin Song had her back to kiss.me and thought of Qin Zhen on the hospital bed, his sallow face dimmed, his breath carrying the decay of death.

He had said to learn to miss, to learn to love.

But no one had ever taught Qin Song how to love. She couldn’t learn.

Her barren and desolate mind only knew that if she hated, she would resist; if she was afraid, she would hide; and if she was sad, she would pretend nothing was wrong.

Qin Song felt it was very difficult to be open-minded. She was clear-headed; some things couldn’t be forgotten or let go of. It was truly difficult.

Behind her, Li Chu’s voice floated in the air, so soft. “It’s a sickness. You can’t control it. If you’re embarrassed because I saw it, then I’ll pretend it never happened.”

Qin Song wanted to rebuke the person behind her with her usual aggression. She had even turned her head and reached out her hand.

Li Chu stood still. Her neck was slender and fragile, encircled by Qin Song’s thumb and index finger, as if it would snap with a little more force.

Qin Song was used to using domineering and sharp extreme methods to make others submit because she was indeed humiliated and couldn’t accept it.

Li Chu swallowed with difficulty. Qin Song felt a slight movement in her palm, which quickly returned to its original softness.

The girl’s eyes were always so flawless, so pure that even the dark circles under her eyes were alluring.

She gazed at her expressionlessly, her hand tightening slightly. Li Chu felt suffocated and immediately opened her mouth, much like she had in the elevator.

So Qin Song curled her lips and said in a very flat tone, “Does it hurt? Is our pain equal?”

Li Chu shook her head, tears streaming down her face. She couldn’t utter a single word, her pupils dazed from lack of oxygen.

Qin Song took a step forward. Li Chu could only passively step back, one step after another, until her back was pressed against the half-closed iron door.

A small lamp was on inside the shop. The sensual chain on the counter sparkled.

Qin Song stared at it for a moment, then relaxed her grip. Li Chu immediately bumped against the door, bent over, and coughed, instinctively mumbling a cry for help. “It… hurts…”

“How could it hurt?” Qin Song looked down at her coldly. “Ten years ago, I thought it was enjoyment.”

Li Chu didn’t think she was fierce and brutal right now; on the contrary, she thought she was pitiful. The way she was desperately trying to maintain her composure was truly pathetic.

Some people who are hurt become vulnerable and seek protection, while others do the opposite, raising their defenses and attacking.

Qin Song, teetering on the edge of an emotional breakdown, was the latter.

Li Chu’s eyes were bloodshot, the whites covered in a thin layer of red. She slowly straightened up, her voice tearful and heavy with a nasal tone. “Then enjoy it. Didn’t we sign a contract?”

Qin Song was stunned.

She was always calm, except when it came to her illness and loss of control.

But this moment was truly one of shock. She quickly raised the corners of her mouth. “So?”

The smile was like a knife cutting a white rose, killing without bloodshed.

Li Chu tucked a few strands of messy black hair at her lips. The contrast between her paleness and the dark color made one want to wantonly abuse and destroy her.

When she moved, her eyelashes also trembled. Her eyes were impossibly clean, not mixed with anything else. “Then fulfill the contract.”

Qin Song watched her silently, judging the truthfulness of her words.

“You’re so dedicated to a contract, then act on it.”

“I signed it, too. I’ll fulfill it.”

So Qin Song’s hand, which she had held up for so long, dropped back to her side. Li Chu’s words were like a detonator, making the atmosphere explosive.

But she was still talking. “Illness isn’t something to be ashamed of, Qin Song. It’s you who feels ashamed. But the more you feel ashamed, the more it proves you care. You want to escape it but you must rely on it. It’s better to fully accept it.”

It was getting cold at midnight these past few days. The moon was obscured by clouds and soon hid away. The sky began to drizzle.

Qin Song’s long, purple-pink hair was wet with some mist, fluttering beautifully but also dangerously, with a hidden blade.

“It’s not a bad thing to be addicted to pain,” Li Chu said softly.

After a long silence, Qin Song was the first to move. She pushed Li Chu into the shop and then slammed the iron door shut.

So only a small lamp dimly lit the room. Li Chu stumbled backward from the push, her hand instinctively pressing against the counter. The cold touch made her bones and muscles ache.

Looking down, a long, vertical object was swaying and dangling in the air.

Qin Song’s pupils flickered with the movement of the object.

“Not going home?” She pulled out a cigarette. When she lit it, only a small part of her warm, cream-colored jawline was visible.

Li Chu glanced at the small door leading upstairs, then back at Qin Song two seconds later, instantly understanding the question. Her heart pounded like a drum.

The attic had no windows and would be stuffy without the air conditioner. Li Chu opened the door and went to the bed to find the remote control. “It’ll take a while to cool down.”

Qin Song gave her a meaningful look and bent down to take off her shoes. Li Chu immediately went to the shoe cabinet and took out a pair of slippers. “These are clean. I bought them too big, so you should be able to wear them.”

She had been so eloquent just now, but now she was as docile as prey that had fallen into a trap. Qin Song pushed the door shut with her back and leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

She was still holding the object from the downstairs counter in her hand, a section of which had probably warmed to body temperature.

Li Chu stared at it, admitting that she wanted to flee at this moment. She wanted to stall for as long as possible. “I’m going to take a shower first. I was at the hospital today.”

Without waiting for Qin Song’s reply, she immediately turned around and hid in the bathroom, locking the door and making some vague noises inside.

Qin Song leaned against the wall for a while, guessing the other person would be in there for at least half an hour, so she unceremoniously sat down in a chair.

The room wasn’t very small, with all-solid wood decor. To make it less monotonous, there were two beautiful bouquets on the table.

The computer was on, the page paused on the screen from before she left, but Qin Song thought Lin Zhiyan must have been the last person to use it.

The URL was still an external link, and the enlarged video, full of eroticism and lust, was too explicit to look at.

When Li Chu finally emerged from the bathroom, Qin Song had her legs crossed and her eyes closed, resting. At first glance, she eerily resembled the flowers on the table.

“Do you want to shower?” Li Chu’s skin was flushed pink from the steam. She hadn’t washed her hair and had it clipped up high, giving her a maturity not usually seen. The two wisps of hair at her temples were wet and stuck to her ears.

As soon as she heard the voice, Qin Song opened her eyes and stared at her, without the slightest hint of avoidance.

Li Chu was so flustered she didn’t know what to do with her hands and feet. The hickey on her collarbone had become very prominent from being in the stuffy place for too long.

They were in an overly cramped space with an overly ambiguous atmosphere, mixed with other inappropriate feelings. She was even more panicked.

So the towel slipped. Li Chu, with lightning speed, grabbed the edge, preventing it from falling completely.

But Qin Song was sitting on the right side, watching the soft fabric fall open on both sides, the corners heavy as they fell to her shins.

Her gaze was calm and steady, seemingly unmoved.

Li Chu, however, was on the verge of fainting. Her heart was racing, and the accelerated blood rushed to her head. The muscles in her calves were tense, and she didn’t move.

Steam seeped out from the bathroom behind her. Qin Song’s sharp features were also softened, becoming hazy and sticky.

The computer screen next to her arm flickered. Although there was no sound, the images were playing one after another, cutting through her shoulder.

Qin Song maintained her chin-on-hand posture, looking at her with a cold expression, as the explicit videos behind her continuously shortened their progress bars.

The air seemed to be nailed, frozen, and solidified, sinking into a dead silence.

After a long while, Qin Song lowered her hand. Her smooth, sharp jaw lifted slightly as she gestured toward the computer, speaking with a cool and indifferent tone.

“Want to do it?”

Please don’t misunderstand, this is for proper academic study.

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