Let Me Go, My Childhood Sweetheart [Rebirth] - Chapter 35

With a quick “okay,” Jin Yi hung up the phone. She scrambled to put on her clothes and hurried downstairs.

Jiang Qiong was still awake, looking busy with work. Jin Yi had intended to slip out quietly, but…

“Where are you going?”

Remembering that she had just confessed her thoughts to her mother, Jin Yi didn’t feel shy anymore. “Going to see Chu Weiran.”

Hearing this, Jiang Qiong simply lowered her head and went back to work, acting as if Jin Yi wasn’t even there.

In the other house, Chu Weiran had a much smoother escape. Zheng Yuan had gone to bed right after eating, so no one saw her go out. In truth, Chu Weiran had also felt reluctant to let Jin Yi leave earlier. She had even grumbled to herself about her parents returning so early, ruining what should have been two more days of being alone with Jin Yi.

After eating with her mother, she had gone to her room to shower. The weather was turning cold, and after being caught in the rain, she felt damp and chilled to the bone. She thought she would have to wait for Jin Yi at the door, but she underestimated Jin Yi’s speed and decisiveness. She hadn’t delayed for a second, yet she was still later than Jin Yi.

The two stood at their respective gates, looking at each other.

“Chu Weiran…”

Jin Yi usually called her that, but now it felt a bit uncomfortable to hear. Chu Weiran furrowed her brows. “Xiao Yi.”

Jin Yi sensed the shift, but felt that changing the way she addressed her so suddenly was a bit stiff. The rain had long stopped, making the air even colder. Seeing how little Chu Weiran was wearing, Jin Yi couldn’t help but worry. “Why didn’t you put on more layers?”

“Wasn’t this just supposed to be a quick meeting?”

“Well… no. I have something to say to you.” After a moment’s hesitation, Jin Yi finally spoke. Once the floodgates opened, there was no stopping. “I wanted to say this this afternoon, but you didn’t answer me then.”

“What is it?”

“You said that day that you had been ‘like that’ with other girls too… was that true?”

Chu Weiran was speechless. So Jin Yi is still hung up on that? She walked over to Jin Yi’s gate and took her hand.

“I’m a little cold.”

Jin Yi hurried to wrap her hands around Chu Weiran’s to warm them.

“Xiao Yi, isn’t it obvious that I like you?” Chu Weiran asked softly. “Those things I said… I was just teasing you. I’ve never thought about being with anyone but you.”

In this life or the last, it’s only you.

“Xiao Yi, I love you.”

Chu Weiran looked at Jin Yi with bright, clear eyes and stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss against her lips.

Jin Yi’s heart gave a violent thud—a feeling she had never experienced before. It was so intense that she felt an overwhelming urge to embrace the person in front of her. Thinking it was one thing, doing it was another. She wrapped her arms around Chu Weiran’s waist and pulled her into her embrace.

The kiss deepened. Chu Weiran’s kiss was light and gentle, but Jin Yi was uncharacteristically forceful, stealing Chu Weiran’s breath away.

When they finally broke apart, both were breathing heavily, their cheeks flushed. Chu Weiran leaned into her chest, unable to stand steady. “Xiao Yi…” Her voice was soft and syrupy, her eyes filled with an affection that threatened to drown Jin Yi.

Jin Yi panted slightly. “I asked you today because I wanted to tell you something. If… you won’t be like that with other girls, then from now on, can you only be like that with me?”

“I want to try to learn how to like you, how to love you. I’m not sure how deep this feeling in my heart is yet, but I want to try…”

“Okay.”

Before Jin Yi could finish, Chu Weiran sealed her lips again. This time she wasn’t passive; she kissed Jin Yi actively, with a mix of dominance and longing. Her heart felt both bitter and sweet. She had waited so many years to finally be able to kiss Jin Yi like this. Jin Yi would belong to her, and she would belong to Jin Yi.

When Jin Yi returned home, Jiang Qiong was still awake, looking like she was waiting for her. The moment she saw her mother, Jin Yi felt a wave of guilt and instinctively wiped her mouth.

Jiang Qiong’s expression shifted. She had intended to ask if there was any progress, but now it seemed she didn’t need to. The progress was written all over Jin Yi’s face.

“Mom, not in bed yet?”

“Going now.” Jiang Qiong closed her laptop and smiled at her. “I won’t be home tomorrow, so you should bring Ranran over here.”

“Mom… I…”

“Alright, I’m going to sleep.” Jiang Qiong ignored her and headed off.

Jin Yi went back to her room. She lay on the bed and took out her phone, only to see two missed calls from Chu Weiran. She usually kept her phone on silent at night, so she hadn’t heard them. She called back, and a sweet, delicate voice answered.

“Xiao Yi, I miss you… why didn’t you answer my calls?”

Jin Yi never expected Chu Weiran to be so clingy and fond of acting spoiled. In their interactions in the past life, she had always been forceful, bossy, and willful. Now, that willfulness felt more like flirtation.

“It was on silent. I was talking to my mom.” Knowing this version of Chu Weiran, Jin Yi’s own voice softened. “It’s your period and you were out in the rain. You should drink some hot water.”

“Mm, I know.” Chu Weiran didn’t want to talk about health; she wanted to be mushy. Her answer was a bit perfunctory, but Jin Yi was serious.

“Go drink some…”

“Xiao Yi, I miss you.”

“Go do it now!”

Chu Weiran pouted. Jin Yi was still such a little prude. “What if I don’t want to move?”

“Then… I’ll come over and make it for you.”

And so, in the middle of the night, Jin Yi was back in the kitchen making a mess, which woke Jiang Qiong up again.

“Jin Yi, it’s the middle of the night! What are you doing?”

“I’m afraid Ranran will catch a cold, so I’m making her brown sugar ginger tea.”

Jiang Qiong arched an eyebrow. Oh? In just a few minutes, ‘Chu Weiran’ has already become ‘Ranran’? “Then keep it down.”

“I know, Mom.”

Jiang Qiong started toward her room, then paused and turned back. “When you go over there in a bit, don’t bother coming back. I’m afraid you’ll wake me up again.”

Jin Yi’s hand slipped, and she nearly burned herself with the water. “Mom… I’ll be careful…”

“I don’t care how careful you are, I find it noisy. Don’t come back.”

Feeling “rejected” by her mother, Jin Yi carried the ginger tea over to the Chu house. The door was unlocked, and Chu Weiran was waiting for her in the living room. As soon as Jin Yi entered, Chu Weiran saw her long, miserable face.

“What’s wrong?”

“My mom won’t let me go home.”

“Why?”

“She said I’m too noisy.”

Jin Yi’s “wooden head” didn’t think too deeply into it; she was just hurt by her mother’s tone. But Chu Weiran understood Jiang Qiong’s intention perfectly. She looked at Jin Yi with a playful smile. “Xiao Yi, you’re so silly. This way, you can sleep with me, right?”

“Mm…”

“Don’t you like that?”

“It’s not that… I…” I like it a lot, but Jin Yi was too embarrassed to say it. She also finally realized what her mother meant. “Drink your ginger tea.”

“Mm. Let’s go upstairs to drink it.” Chu Weiran walked over and took Jin Yi’s hand, leading her up just like when they were kids.

Once the door was closed, Jin Yi set the tea on the table. Before she could urge her to drink, she was pulled onto the bed. Chu Weiran pinned her down, burying her face in Jin Yi’s neck. Jin Yi’s entire body went stiff with tension. Aside from that kiss earlier and the blurry drunken memories, she had never had such close contact with anyone. She was panicking.

Her neck felt ticklish and sensitive. “You… get up and drink your tea.”

“Mm… I want to ‘eat’ Xiao Yi.”

Chu Weiran’s soft moan sounded exactly like the one Jin Yi had heard through the door that night. Jin Yi was too scared to move. Chu Weiran remembered it too—and she remembered what Jin Yi had said.

“Do you know what you told me the night you were drunk?”

“Wh-what?” Jin Yi instinctively felt it wasn’t anything good.

Sure enough, once Chu Weiran finished speaking, Jin Yi felt she was too embarrassed to show her face.

“You said… if I had needs, you could help me. Well, I have a need… right now.”

Jin Yi’s face turned scarlet. She pushed against Chu Weiran’s shoulders and muttered, “Stop it. You’re on your period.”

“But you aren’t. I can ‘eat’ you.” Chu Weiran’s eyes were sparkling. She wasn’t ashamed at all, though her words made Jin Yi’s face even redder.

“No. Drink your tea.”

Seeing how red Jin Yi’s face was, Chu Weiran feared she might actually get angry, so she let her go and went to drink the tea. The weight was gone, but Jin Yi felt a strange sense of loss. Chu Weiran was soft and felt very good to hold.

But… no!

After finishing the tea, Chu Weiran felt warm and sleepy. She pushed Jin Yi back onto the bed and said clingily, “Xiao Yi, hold me while I sleep…”

Sleeping was one thing, but Jin Yi’s luggage had been moved back home after Jiang Qiong returned. “I don’t have pajamas…”

“We just agreed to be together and you’re already rejecting me.” Chu Weiran naturally interpreted the lack of pajamas as a rejection, her voice laced with grievance.

Jin Yi panicked and waved her hands. “That’s not what I meant! I really don’t have pajamas…”

Seeing the panic, Chu Weiran felt relieved. She started teasing her again. She had pajamas, but she didn’t want to give Jin Yi any. “Then… let’s sleep naked. We can both be bare.”

Chu Weiran’s words were laced with erotic suggestion, making Jin Yi’s face burn. Images of Chu Weiran’s beautiful body kept flashing in her mind. She even swallowed hard.

Seeing this, Chu Weiran was very pleased. She arched an eyebrow and straddled Jin Yi. She began to slowly unbutton her top.

Jin Yi closed her eyes, but the rustling of fabric only made her imagination run wilder. She kept swallowing.

“Pfft…”

The laughter made Jin Yi even more embarrassed. “Wh-what are you laughing at?”

Chu Weiran, now bare-chested, leaned close to her. Her voice was soft and seductive. “Xiao Yi, you’re such a closet pervert. You clearly want to look, yet you’re acting so proper.”

With her eyes closed, Jin Yi’s other senses were heightened. She felt something soft against her face. She instinctively opened her eyes to a view of snow-white skin. Chu Weiran laughed at her reaction. She was pushing Jin Yi, wanting to see her composed facade crumble.

Jin Yi clenched her fists, her body tense. The rosy peaks were right in front of her. If she just opened her mouth…

“I’m tired,” Chu Weiran said. “Let me help you take your clothes off, then let’s sleep.”

Jin Yi looked up with difficulty, watching Chu Weiran say these things with a straight face. How can she not be embarrassed? “I… I’ll do it myself.”

Halfway through undressing, Chu Weiran pinned her back down. “Xiao Yi is indeed quite a bit smaller than me… but I like it so much.”

The sight made Jin Yi’s eyes turn red with desire. She used to think she was aromantic and cold. But now, she couldn’t control herself. She rolled over and pinned Chu Weiran beneath her, pinning her arms above her head. Her voice was husky. “Stop testing my patience, or else…”

Chu Weiran blinked innocently. “I’m on my period, baby.”