Online Love, Based on the Real Object - Chapter 62

Chu Yunjing gave a soft hum and turned around slowly. She saw the person inside standing and holding a towel. By the time she handed it over, the towel had turned from warm to cold. Chu Yunjing crouched down and rinsed the towel in the washbasin. Once soaked in hot water, the towel became warm again, and even her own hands no longer felt so chilly.

Chu Yunjing stared at the narrow back in front of her, focusing single-mindedly on wiping her down. Qi Ning held the hem of her shirt with both hands and lifted it up. Compared to her thick down trousers, her waist appeared even slenderer.

“Lift your clothes a bit higher,” she said while moving the towel upward. She carefully wiped the shoulder blades and the underarm area.

Qi Ning felt a tickle, and her body twisted involuntarily.

“Do not move.”

“It is so itchy.” As she spoke, the towel moved to her waist. Qi Ning could not help but twist again to escape the sensation of the towel traveling across her skin.

“It is almost finished.” Chu Yunjing could feel that Qi Ning was so cold her goosebumps were rising. she wanted to finish quickly so they could go back to sleep, but the other woman’s constant movement was becoming annoying. To fix her in place, Chu Yunjing simply used her other hand to circle Qi Ning’s waist and hold her steady.

This movement made Qi Ning’s body stiffen. She felt a hand pressed against her abdomen and could clearly perceive the position and shape of every finger. It felt as if a string in her heart had suddenly snapped.

Before her thoughts could wander further, a sudden noise erupted from outside the small cubicle. It sounded like something moving through a pile of straw. Terrifying fragments from horror novels she had read in the past flashed through her mind. They were deep in the mountains, and it was pitch black.

Qi Ning let out a small shriek and instinctively hugged Chu Yunjing. “Ah! Holy crap!”

A squeaking sound followed.

“It is just a mouse,” Chu Yunjing said. Looking at the person curled up in her arms, she let her lips drop in a helpless smile and patted Qi Ning’s head. “It is fine.”

Still shaken, Qi Ning stayed nestled in Chu Yunjing’s embrace for a long time before pulling away. She said with a face full of resentment, “Damn it! Why are there mice even in the middle of winter?”

“Maybe,” Chu Yunjing thought for a moment, “it did not store enough food for the winter and came out to forage?”

Qi Ning glared at her. She was annoyed that Chu Yunjing was in the mood to joke.

Fortunately, the wiping was mostly done. Qi Ning fixed her clothes and stepped out of the small cubicle. She watched as Chu Yunjing rinsed the towel in the basin, wrung it dry, and poured out the water before walking out.

“Go back to sleep. I will head back once I finish wiping down,” Chu Yunjing said while scooping water from the pot.

Fortunately, the residual heat from the small stove had kept the water warm, which was just enough for both of them to clean themselves. Qi Ning felt very insecure alone in this environment and wanted to finish quickly so they could go back to the room together.

“I will help you wipe. It is inconvenient for you to do it alone. Let us get this done quickly so we can sleep,” Qi Ning said.

Chu Yunjing glanced at her with eyes full of obscure emotions, but she did not refuse.

The two of them entered the small cubicle again. Qi Ning soaked the towel in hot water and wrung it dry. Chu Yunjing stood with her back to her, then crossed her arms to grab the hem of her shirt and slowly lifted it. In the dim cubicle, her fair skin was quite visible. At a glance, Qi Ning saw her narrow waist and the faint curve of her ribs. Her figure was slender but not bony. The strap of her bra still sat horizontally across her shoulder blades, unfastened.

When there was no movement for a long time, Chu Yunjing could not help but turn her head to look at the person behind her. She made an inquisitive sound. “Hmm?”

Qi Ning quickly snapped out of it. She looked at the row of hooks and said, “I will help you unfasten your underwear.”

“Okay.”

Qi Ning remembered that they used to shower together when they were in school. Back then, it felt like nothing. They could chat while washing and help scrub each other’s backs. But now, even though she was only facing a back, she felt a certain sense of shame. She had to admit that this back was truly beautiful and glowed white. Chu Yunjing looked thin in clothes, but she had a fit body underneath. Her skin felt firm to the touch.

Chu Yunjing felt that the other person seemed slightly off. There was no rhythm to her movements. Rather than wiping her back, she seemed to be wandering aimlessly, even giving an occasional squeeze.

“What are you doing?” As a lesbian, being touched like this was grueling. Suppressing the fluctuations in her emotions, she asked in a low voice.

“Oh,” Qi Ning quickly recovered her senses, and her movements became more honest. “I am helping you wipe your back.”

She said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world, as if she were truly just wiping her back. In truth, she was indeed wiping her back, but she had found it a bit fun and touched the shoulder blade that protruded due to the movement.

“The back is done.” As soon as Qi Ning finished speaking, Chu Yunjing turned around immediately. Her movement was so fast it seemed she could no longer endure the other woman’s mischievous hands. However, she did not account for the fact that Qi Ning had not yet withdrawn her hand. As she turned, she immediately felt the towel slide across her skin, finally coming to a stop on her chest.

Qi Ning looked down. The clothes had fallen with the movement and happened to cover her hand. She took a second to process the situation, then quickly and nonchalantly continued to wipe her body.

Before Chu Yunjing could speak, Qi Ning said, “My, why are you so impatient? I am helping you wipe right now.”

The towel had already turned from warm to cool. Qi Ning soaked it again and wrung it out. When she stood up, she saw that Chu Yunjing had already pulled her clothes down. Holding the towel, Qi Ning did not yet realize the severity of the situation. She simply thought the other woman had turned around so hastily because she wanted the front wiped.

“Lift your clothes up.”

“No, there is no need.” Chu Yunjing tried to refuse, but Qi Ning cut her off.

“Oh, stop being so fussy. Let us finish this and go to sleep. It is freezing outside.”

As she spoke, she pushed the other woman directly against the wall and tried to lift her clothes, but Chu Yunjing held them down. Qi Ning looked up at her. She wanted to speak but met the other woman’s eyes. It was strange; even though it was very dark, she seemed to be able to see the emotions in her gaze.

“I am gay,” Chu Yunjing said after a long silence.

“What does being gay have to do with it?” Qi Ning said dismissively. She had not yet understood Chu Yunjing’s subtext. Whether the other person was gay or not did not matter to her; she was not going to force herself on anyone. She just wanted to finish up and go to sleep.

“You do not seem to realize where the problem lies.” Chu Yunjing sighed softly in her heart with a look of helplessness. She stopped holding her clothes down and instead reached out to pull the other woman into her arms.

Because they were already close and Qi Ning was off guard, she fell directly into the embrace. She looked up at her blankly. In the darkness, Qi Ning felt the other woman’s face getting closer and closer, and then her lips were suddenly attacked. The other woman simply pressed her lips against hers for a moment and then pulled away.

Qi Ning felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She wondered what just happened. She had been kissed. It was not on the cheek, but on the lips. The other person was her best friend whom she had grown up with.

“I am gay. I am that kind of gay. Do you understand?” Chu Yunjing said. Hugs were one thing, but this kind of unconscious provocation was dangerous.

Qi Ning fell silent. Thinking about her actions just now, they were indeed inappropriate. It was like a man saying to a gay man, “Let me touch your backside.” It almost bordered on sexual harassment.

“Then,” Qi Ning paused and quickly added, “you still should not have kissed me!” Her voice carried a hint of unconscious bashfulness.

Chu Yunjing naturally heard the shyness. She bit her lip and smiled, then lowered her head to whisper in Qi Ning’s ear, “You are allowed to bite me, but I am not allowed to talk back?”

Qi Ning was speechless. She wanted to say something cheeky to move past the topic as usual, but she found she could not get the words out. She scrambled out of the other woman’s arms in embarrassment, threw the towel at her, and said resentfully, “You are something else! Giving away your first kiss by kissing someone randomly.”

“I never said that was my first kiss,” Chu Yunjing said gloomily.

Qi Ning immediately became alert. She wondered how it was not her first kiss. She knew Chu Yunjing’s dating history too well. The only public relationship she had was the one in university, but she had said herself that they had not progressed to that stage. Since then, she had been single.

She wanted to continue the topic, but the other woman sent her away. “Go on out. I will handle the rest myself.”

Qi Ning gave a small sound of acknowledgment and stepped out of the small cubicle. She stood at the door, resting her chin on her hand and thinking hard about when Chu Yunjing had lost her first kiss. After thinking it over, it seemed the former online dating partner was the most likely suspect. They had even gone out to dinner recently.

Chu Yunjing soon finished cleaning herself and came out. She saw Qi Ning leaning against the wall, her face twisted in a scowl as she thought about something.

“What are you thinking about?” She tapped her to snap her out of it. “Go back to the room and sleep.”

As the two lay in bed, Qi Ning felt inexplicably gloomy. Thinking that she had been busy all day and had not checked her phone much, she pulled it out to see if anyone had messaged her. She opened it only to find no signal.

“Why is there no signal?” She turned to look at the person who was already lying down and ready for sleep.

The other woman replied calmly, “Is that not normal? There will be a signal once we get to the hillside.”

Qi Ning suddenly regretted not downloading some television dramas before setting off. Now she had no way to entertain herself. She let out a sigh of disappointment and set her phone aside, pulled up the quilt, and lay down. The bed was truly small. Qi Ning estimated it was at most one point two meters wide. As they lay flat, their arms had to touch. The bed was not a simple modern wooden bed, but something like an antique couch with a frame on top and a tucked up mosquito net.

Qi Ning stared at the white bundle of the mosquito net. She tried to induce sleep for a long time but could not fall asleep.

“Are you asleep?”

“Hmm?” Chu Yunjing answered groggily while opening her eyes a crack. “What is it?”

“I cannot sleep.”

“What do you want then?”

Qi Ning rolled over, propping her head up on one hand. She looked at Chu Yunjing’s sleepy profile and asked enthusiastically, “Who did you give your first kiss to? How come I did not know about it?”

“You want to know?” She half opened her eyes with a lazy voice.

“Yes!”

Chu Yunjing gradually woke up. She also rolled over, propping her head on her hand, and looked at her with a beaming smile.

“An exchange of information,” Chu Yunjing said. “Who did you give your first kiss to?”

“That…” Qi Ning thought seriously and came to a conclusion. “I forgot.”

“Then let us sleep.” With that, Chu Yunjing prepared to lie back down.

Qi Ning hurriedly said, “Wait, wait! Hold on!”

Chu Yunjing stopped and waited for her to continue.

“I truly forgot,” Qi Ning replied honestly, then added, “I feel like there is nothing worth talking about anyway. It was just a press of the lips. No tongues were involved!”

“Why?”

Qi Ning made a face of disdain. “How should I put it? I felt that exchanging saliva was a bit disgusting. Besides, men’s lips are quite rough, and their stubble is prickly.”

“Oh.” Chu Yunjing raised an eyebrow with an ambiguous smile. “Then what about mine?”

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