Frivolous - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Chen Ran bowed her head, covered her mouth, and let out a small, drunken hiccup. “I’m done,” she said.

Yu Lanzhou lifted an eyelid, and Xu Wan immediately understood, stepping forward to help support Chen Ran as they walked out.

After getting Chen Ran into the car, Xu Wan returned to the establishment to handle the photos that had been taken of them in the bar.

The lights in the car were dim. Yu Lanzhou turned off another light, and in the murky darkness, she curved her index and middle fingers, reaching out to gently pinch the cheek of the squinting Chen Ran.

Hot, soft, and delicate. It was exactly the texture she had imagined.

She smiled faintly, hooking her index finger to graze a line down Chen Ran’s high bridge, before withdrawing her hand.

Once Xu Wan returned, she drove them to the villa in Linxi and then took her leave. The vast house was left with only Yu Lanzhou and Chen Ran.

Under the bright indoor lights, Yu Lanzhou finally came to her senses, realizing what she was doing—and realizing that she wanted to continue.

Chen Ran had brought nothing with her to Linxi. After confirming she was still capable of basic self-care, Yu Lanzhou found her a set of new underwear and placed them alongside her own white pajamas on the counter. “Go take a shower,” she said flatly.

Chen Ran’s cheeks were flushed, and her reaction seemed a beat slow. She nodded. “Oh, okay.”

After a while, Chen Ran walked out of the bathroom, but she was only wrapped in a crisp white bath towel, looking like a fresh, pink apple. Her newly washed hair hadn’t been dried; it draped wetly over her pale shoulders. Her hands clutched the somewhat loose towel at her chest.

It was a deliberate, silent provocation.

Yu Lanzhou was sitting by the window in white silk pajamas, answering a phone call. Chen Ran felt a sudden surge of gratitude that the sandalwood necklace couldn’t touch water; otherwise, she would still be seeing it around Yu Lanzhou’s neck.

As she approached clad only in a towel, Yu Lanzhou scanned her up and down. Her thick eyelashes cast shadows under the light, and there seemed to be a shimmer on her eyelids. In her eyes was an emotion Chen Ran couldn’t quite decipher.

Before Chen Ran could observe more closely, Yu Lanzhou turned away, said a few more words, and hung up. She tossed the phone onto the sofa and leaned back, watching Chen Ran with an appraising gaze.

Chen Ran glanced at the phone on the sofa, then walked over slowly, her heart thumping uncontrollably. She lowered her head slightly. “Auntie Yu, I might be sick.”

“What kind of sick?” came the cold reply.

“I can’t handle the way you just looked at me.”

Yu Lanzhou ignored her, stood up, and pointed toward a room on the first floor. “Your room is there. Get some rest.”

In her peripheral vision, she saw Chen Ran’s towel slipping slightly. Yu Lanzhou glanced at her again.

Chen Ran’s breath was hot and damp. “If you look at me one more time, I really won’t be able to hold back.”

“Hold back what?” Another glance.

Chen Ran’s throat bobbed twice. “Kissing you.”

Yu Lanzhou instinctively tilted her chin up. Before she could react further, Chen Ran stepped closer, her eyes flitting toward the phone on the table. She asked with a hint of aggression, “Were you on the phone with Professor Zhou just now? Is it hung up this time?”

Before Yu Lanzhou could answer, Chen Ran kissed her.

The moment their lips touched, Chen Ran’s mind went blank. Struggling for clarity, she pulled back just a fraction, using the tip of her tongue to trace Yu Lanzhou’s beautiful lip shape before pushing past her teeth to intrude. The inside of her mouth was cool and fragrant.

Chen Ran was dizzy, and she knew Yu Lanzhou was allowing her to be; otherwise, the moment she had said “kissing you,” Yu Lanzhou would have told her to “get out.”

She hooked her right hand around Yu Lanzhou’s wrist and gave a gentle pull, causing the other woman to fall back onto the soft sofa.

A proper knockdown.

Chen Ran kissed her again, sitting beside her but surging her entire body against her without a gap. Her tattooed right hand cupped the back of Yu Lanzhou’s neck, her lips engaging in a gentle, lingering friction, kissing those pale lips until they were vivid red.

Yu Lanzhou could feel the burning heat of Chen Ran’s palm at the nape of her neck. The kiss brought a wave of vertigo; the sensation on her lips was soft, like a firm, sweet jelly. After this, she felt it would be very easy to become addicted.

Finally, when their breathing grew ragged, Yu Lanzhou tilted her head back to pull away. Chen Ran immediately let go, her eyes welling with tears. “I told you I couldn’t help it. Why didn’t you push me away or hit me?”

Yu Lanzhou didn’t answer. She only asked, “Do you like me?”

Chen Ran swallowed. Sensing something was about to happen, she sat up straight and answered seriously, “I like you. Very much.” Her expression was deeply moved.

“Love me?”

“I love you, deeply. So, so much.”

Chen Ran pressed closer, her towel already halfway fallen.

Yu Lanzhou asked again, her voice low and husky, almost enchanting: “Have you ever liked anyone else?” She cupped Chen Ran’s chin with her right hand, her thumb pressing against the reddened lips. “Have you ever been in a relationship?”

If any of those three questions had a “yes,” Yu Lanzhou would have left immediately.

“I’ve never liked anyone else. Only Yu Lanzhou.”

“No. Only you.” I only want to kiss you.

“No. Never been in a rel—”

Chen Ran kissed her again, the end of the word “love” swallowed between their chests.

Yu Lanzhou had wondered many times under what circumstances this would happen. Even though the person kissing her was drunk, she didn’t find the scent of alcohol repulsive at all. Instead, it felt like something she had looked forward to for a long time.

Chen Ran’s tongue hooked hers; her lips were soft and carried the sweet scent of wine. The dizziness returned.

“Teacher Yu,” Chen Ran whispered, her breath hot against Yu Lanzhou’s neck, “Do you know…”

“Know what?” Yu Lanzhou prompted.

But Chen Ran didn’t answer, focused only on undoing Yu Lanzhou’s buttons.

I’ve missed you so much. For so long.

Her hands were trembling uncontrollably.

Passion. Trembling. Flowing.

The lights in the bedroom were bright. After being pushed onto the bed, Yu Lanzhou’s vision suddenly went dark as a piece of soft fabric covered her eyes. She knew Chen Ran was using the silk scarf she had worn earlier. The cloth was pure white and blocked the light perfectly.

Yu Lanzhou’s body trembled instinctively, not knowing what Chen Ran would do next. Only the cool sensation over her eyes was clear.

“Chen Ran, untie it.”

Instead, she heard footsteps moving away.

“Where are you going? Come back…”

Chen Ran returned instantly, kissing her through the silk. Her voice was hoarse. “Zhouzhou, I’m not leaving. I’m not leaving.”

Such an intimate nickname. As she spoke it, a sharp pang of ache pulled at Chen Ran’s chest. Tenderness and passion mixed into a blunt, impulsive love, merging into this night filled with the sound of waves.

“Zhouzhou.” The love followed the melody of a song a track with a rhythm perfect for the dark of night. Though Yu Lanzhou was in no state to listen to lyrics, a rich yet delicate female voice crooned in her ear:

“Dancing through the night.”

Chen Ran’s heart melted at the reaction of the woman beneath her. She realized she needed to be this close to see the tiny, usually hidden mole on Yu Lanzhou’s right cheek it looked like a tiny kitten’s paw print. It made her want to kiss it.

Only she could see it. Only she could kiss it.

She knelt carefully beside Yu Lanzhou as if handling a piece of fragile, precious porcelain. She took her earlobe into her mouth, like a pure white pearl. Her tongue traced the edges of the clothes, brushing them aside to reveal a startling expanse of white and accented red.

Her heart began to race again, nearly at the point of a flatline.

Heaven help me.

A tear fell onto the swell of porcelain-white skin.

A dream come true. She never thought of herself as someone worthy. She didn’t deserve a normal life. She didn’t deserve to be loved. But yet… yet…

Chen Ran pulled a single thread of thought from her tangled mind: Yu Lanzhou was acting very unusually tonight.

How could this be? she sighed inwardly. Is she acting out of spite toward Zhou Jingting again? Spiteful enough to go this far?

Chen Ran’s lips trembled in silent hesitation. She wanted to ask Yu Lanzhou if she was sure—sure about giving such a precious version of herself to her. But in an instant, she clamped her mouth shut.

Call me selfish. Call me rotten to the core. Call me a jinx, call me immoral. Call me…

Too in love with you.

Chen Ran hesitated no longer, pressing her lips to the red, rounded gemstone. Her thumb grazed Yu Lanzhou’s slender waist; the skin beneath felt as smooth as congealed fat.

Chen Ran’s hair must have been tickling her; Yu Lanzhou shifted her body slightly, her expression no longer cold, her teeth biting her lower lip.

Chen Ran’s face flushed a deeper red. The fire was lit by the curves of Yu Lanzhou’s body and fueled by the touch of her fingertips, burning through Chen Ran’s entire being until she let out an involuntary muffled groan.

She had actually reached it, just like that.

Yu Lanzhou noticed that after Chen Ran let out a soft cry, her body leaned back, causing a sharp pang where she had been biting.

Chen Ran released her lips and slumped weakly over Yu Lanzhou. Catching her breath, she brushed the stray hairs from Yu Lanzhou’s temples behind her ears and said with extreme tenderness, “I’m sorry.”

Once again, the final sound was swallowed as Chen Ran rushed to kiss her—breathing fast, moving fast, yet her lips remained soft. While kissing, she unfastened the remaining buttons of the pajamas from the top down.

Yu Lanzhou’s entire sensory world rose and fell with the trail of soft kisses Chen Ran left in her wake. Chen Ran clasped her hands, then suddenly ducked down.

Yu Lanzhou instinctively closed her legs, but her knees were kissed. Soon, her joints went limp, and the veins on the hand gripping the bedsheet became prominent. It was an alien sensation that left her without a shred of strength. Her soul’s perception converged on a single point where something was burning, slowly and fervently.

After a moment, Chen Ran looked up, her lips damp. She squeezed Yu Lanzhou’s fingers firmly. Then, one hand supporting Yu Lanzhou’s knee, the other followed the stream, touching her, exploring the shallows with gentle, patient, and meticulous care.

“Does it hurt, Zhouzhou?” Chen Ran lowered her head to kiss Yu Lanzhou’s eyes through the white silk.

Yu Lanzhou’s body seemed to tremble at the name, but she didn’t respond. Chen Ran smiled contentedly. “I’ll go slowly. Don’t be afraid.” She moved her body further down.

Chen Ran’s tongue was soft, but she soon replaced it with her fingers. At first, she used no force, moving only to the rhythm of the music. Once she felt moisture on her hand, she watched Yu Lanzhou’s expression closely. Confirming there was no discomfort, she began to apply pressure.

As she buried her head in the crook of Yu Lanzhou’s neck, she licked the small grey mole over her carotid artery. Yu Lanzhou was no longer calm and restrained. She held her, lifting her body slightly to sink deep into Chen Ran’s palm, letting out a soft moan.

Chen Ran’s heart hammered at the sound, and only then did she realize her fingertips were scalding hot. The song played the line: “Willing to fall into your hands.”

Chen Ran removed the barrier from Yu Lanzhou’s eyes. She saw a sprawling flush of crimson on her neck as she leaned back, the sacred light falling softly on her dazed eyes.

So beautiful. Even the red mole in her eye had become a burning boat (Lanzhou).

Chen Ran suddenly remembered a viral video of Yu Lanzhou on social media titled “The Soul-Snatched Six Seconds.” In the footage, Yu Lanzhou, wearing a simple but expensive grey coat, seemed to daze off for a moment amidst the decadence of a banquet. As countless spotlights and cameras turned toward her, her eyes held a blurred, focusless gaze for six seconds. In those six seconds, it was as if she saw through everything—no person or thing could be reflected in her eyes. No matter how noisy the surroundings, she remained still.

That gaze was so similar to this one. Both held the same beauty and allure.

Chen Ran kissed Yu Lanzhou’s shoulder, her heart melting along with her. How could seeing this expression once ever be enough?

She kissed Yu Lanzhou’s lips again and, between ragged breaths, sought her consent: “One more time, okay?”

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