Let Me Go, My Childhood Sweetheart [Rebirth] - Chapter 24

“Xiao Yi’s hands are so soft, and they’re so thin and long.”

This sudden remark from Chu Weiran completely stunned Jin Yi. She felt like she was being hit on, point-blank. To hide her confusion, she pretended not to understand and hurriedly changed the subject.

“Just remember not to let it touch any water.”

Jin Yi likely didn’t realize that she was blushing furiously as she spoke. As an adult who was attracted to women, she found it impossible not to overthink Chu Weiran’s comment. Talking about the length and thinness of fingers; how could she be so direct?

Her embarrassment made her body stiffen. She fumbled with the cap of the burn ointment twice before finally getting it closed. She stood up and told Chu Weiran, “Take your dress off. I’ll help you wash the oil out.”

Chu Weiran hadn’t intended for her comment to sound so suggestive; it had simply slipped out because Jin Yi’s hands were so beautiful. However, seeing Jin Yi’s flushed face, she suddenly found the situation quite entertaining. She stood up as well, reaching out to brush a hand against Jin Yi’s reddened cheek.

“But what should I do about my shower tonight?”

“Hmm? What about it?” Jin Yi was slow to catch on to the sudden shift in topic and asked blankly.

“Hehe, Xiao Yi, you’re so cute when you’re dazed.” She pinched the soft, blushing cheek.

The language was ambiguous and the gestures were intimate. Jin Yi forced herself to look away. “Don’t talk nonsense. You’re the dazed one. Look at the mess you’ve made of yourself.”

“Besides, we are only pretending to be a couple. This is far too intimate,” Jin Yi added, feeling overwhelmed. Every time she looked away, Chu Weiran would follow her gaze to stay in her line of sight.

“Pretending to be a couple is still being a couple,” Chu Weiran replied dismissively.

Jin Yi had a headache. She couldn’t keep up with Chu Weiran’s train of thought. Her goal was simple: to get through this holiday in peace. If Chu Weiran kept acting like this, Jin Yi was seriously considering running away.

Unaware that Jin Yi was planning an escape, Chu Weiran was still immersed in the joy of teasing her. She knew Jin Yi was being a “fake prude.” Several times she had wanted to just tell Jin Yi that she liked her and wanted to be together for real. But she knew someone like Jin Yi would reflexively refuse. She needed to confess in a situation where Jin Yi couldn’t say no!

Once the playfulness faded, Chu Weiran looked down at herself and realized she felt greasy and dirty.

“I’m going upstairs to change.”

She ran upstairs with a speed that left Jin Yi speechless. Jin Yi finally relaxed, but it only lasted a few seconds. Chu Weiran stopped at the turn of the stairs and asked again, “Seriously, what am I going to do about my shower tonight?”

She’s still on that?

Jin Yi didn’t know how to answer. She scratched her head and gave a perfunctory reply. “We’ll see. We’ll talk about it later.”

She was genuinely terrified of the idea of helping Chu Weiran shower. Even though they had bathed together as children, they hadn’t done so as adults. Most importantly, Chu Weiran’s figure had developed so well that Jin Yi couldn’t help but blush at the thought.

Chu Weiran skipped happily the rest of the way up. To her, “we’ll see” meant there was a chance, and a chance meant it was going to happen!

She changed into a modest T-shirt and jeans. She didn’t actually ask Jin Yi to wash the dirty dress; they had a washing machine, and she didn’t want to tire Jin Yi out.

The whole process took about half an hour. Jin Yi realized that as Chu Weiran grew up, she had become slower at everything: eating, walking, and changing.

The only usable part of Chu Weiran’s failed breakfast was the hot milk. Jin Yi used the time to make two simple sandwiches. They were ready just as Chu Weiran came back downstairs.

“Where are the clothes? Where did you put them?” Jin Yi asked.

“I washed them already,” Chu Weiran said cheerfully, with a hint of pride.

Jin Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Was she really such a “young mistress” that she needed praise for doing a load of laundry?

“Alright, come eat.”

“Aren’t you going to praise me?” Sure enough, there it was.

Jin Yi blinked. “You need a compliment for washing your own clothes?”

“But you were the one who said you’d wash them, and I only did it myself because I didn’t want to tire you out,” Chu Weiran muttered. Her voice was slightly lower than usual, but Jin Yi heard every word.

Is she really this fond of acting spoiled? Jin Yi wondered. Was this always her personality?

“Fine, fine. You did great! Now eat.” Even though it didn’t match the image of Chu Weiran she had in her head, Jin Yi had to admit she quite liked this version of her. It was cute.

Satisfied with the praise, Chu Weiran sat down. She was wearing tight jeans that accentuated her curves. Jin Yi stole a glance and felt her ears heat up, suddenly remembering the way Chu Weiran had bitten her earlobe.

She couldn’t understand what Chu Weiran saw in her. Why was such a beautiful, well-off girl so foolishly in love with her?

While Jin Yi was lost in thought, Chu Weiran began enjoying her breakfast. She took a bite of the sandwich and exclaimed dramatically, “Wow! Xiao Yi, this is delicious!”

Her tone was so exaggerated it snapped Jin Yi out of her trance. Whenever they were together, it felt like Chu Weiran forgot how to speak normally. Everything was high-pitched and affected!

I take back the compliment from earlier, Jin Yi thought. She’s just willful and melodramatic!

“Can you please speak normally?”

Chu Weiran was startled, her “peach blossom” eyes blinking with hurt. Xiao Yi is so mean today!

“Don’t look at me like that. I just want you to be more natural.”

“I am being natural.”

“Is this how you usually speak?”

Oh, so that’s what this is about, Chu Weiran realized. She usually spoke quite slowly and calmly, but she had been putting on a “cutesy” act because she thought Jin Yi liked that type. It was actually quite exhausting for her, too.

“You don’t like it?” she asked, her voice returning to its usual tone, the end of the sentence trailing up slightly.

Jin Yi’s heart gave a sudden thud. That… that’s a bit of a thrill! This “cool older sister” voice was incredibly seductive.

“Whatever. Speak however you want.”

Chu Weiran sighed silently. Jin Yi was so hard to please she almost didn’t know how to talk anymore.

Jin Yi felt she was being too controlling, so she changed the subject. “Did you hang the clothes?”

“Not yet. They’re in the washer.”

The reply was cold and flat—no sweetness, no languor. This made Jin Yi feel even more uncomfortable.

They finished breakfast in a chilly silence. Chu Weiran took it upon herself to wash the dishes and hang the laundry. Finding herself with nothing to do, Jin Yi expected Chu Weiran to come find her. Instead, Chu Weiran said, “I’m tired. I’m going upstairs for a nap.”

“Oh,” Jin Yi replied, her mood visibly dipping.

Chu Weiran smirked when Jin Yi wasn’t looking. Little girl, you clearly care so much, yet you keep acting like you don’t. Let’s see what you do when I ignore you.

Though she had said it to tease Jin Yi, Chu Weiran really was tired once she hit the bed. She struggled out of her clothes, but was too lazy to put on pajamas, so she just fell asleep naked.

They spent the morning apart, one upstairs and one downstairs. Around noon, Jin Yi went to ask Chu Weiran what she wanted for lunch, but her phone rang first. It was her mother, calling from some island abroad.

The first thing her mother said was: “Where is Ranran?”

She really isn’t my biological mother!

“She’s upstairs sleeping,” Jin Yi replied curtly. Jiang Qiong didn’t seem to care about her attitude at all.

Then Jin Yi heard her mother mutter to someone else, “No wonder she didn’t answer her phone…”

She was clearly talking to Zheng Yuan. Jin Yi was fuming. Her mother hadn’t even called her own daughter first; she had called to check on Chu Weiran. She only called Jin Yi because Chu Weiran didn’t answer.

“What did you have for breakfast?”

“Sandwiches.”

“And for lunch?”

“Is this an interrogation? What do you actually want?”

“If you haven’t eaten yet, I’ll order hot pot delivery for you. Or you can go out and buy ingredients for what Ranran likes.”

Then Jin Yi heard Zheng Yuan’s voice in the background: “Don’t just focus on Ranran, ask Xiao Yi too.”

“No need,” Jiang Qiong replied. “Xiao Yi can just eat whatever Ranran eats.”

Ranran, Ranran, Ranran! All she cares about is Ranran!

“Just order the delivery. I’m not going out to buy anything for her. Also, if you have something to say, say it to her yourself.”

Jin Yi was genuinely angry. She stood up and headed upstairs. She heard her mother yelling, “Don’t wake her up if she’s sleeping!” but she ignored her and knocked on Chu Weiran’s door.

“DA RAN! Your godmother is ordering hot pot for you!”

The loud shout of “Da Ran” jolted Chu Weiran awake. She woke up in a fit of rage! That brat Jin Yi, how dare she call me Da Ran again!

It felt like they were teenagers again. Back then, Zheng Yuan would occasionally call her “Da Ran,” and Jin Yi had picked it up. Dazed from sleep and only thinking about teaching Jin Yi a lesson, Chu Weiran threw on her slippers and flung the door open.

“Don’t you dare call me Da Ran! Call me that again and I’ll hit you!”

She finished her sentence only to realize Jin Yi was staring at her, completely unresponsive.

Jin Yi was, quite frankly, terrified. She never expected that Chu Weiran would open the door wearing nothing but a pair of lace underwear.

The soft, snowy curves and rosy peaks were right there in front of her. In that moment, it felt like a tiny seedling in Jin Yi’s heart was about to burst through the soil.

“I… I won’t call you that anymore! I’m leaving! Leaving right now!”

With a loud slam, Jin Yi shut the door and practically fled.

At first, Chu Weiran didn’t realize what happened. Then she looked down at herself. Oh.

She hadn’t meant to seduce her on purpose but Jin Yi’s reaction proved she definitely wasn’t as indifferent as she claimed!