Rose Lock - Chapter 32

“Your chin was pinched by Gong Yan, a force that made her raise her head involuntarily. Hua Manyi’s lower back was braced against the washbasin, and the lipstick on her lips was being forcefully wiped off.

‘Gong Ma…’ She felt the woman in front of her was being too rough, her lips stinging from the wiping.

However, Gong Yan merely glanced at her indifferently, said nothing, and showed no intention of being gentle with her hand. The washroom was silent except for the running water from the tap.

She only stopped after wiping for a long time. Gong Yan looked at the vividly clear lip makeup losing its color, returning to its natural shade. She pinched her lips open, revealing a gap where a faintly pink tongue was visible. Her gaze dropped, placing the stained handkerchief in her hand on the washbasin.

‘Did she… use her tongue.’

Hearing this, Hua Manyi’s heart suddenly constricted. Her hands gripping the edge of the washbasin tightened, her chin forced up, ‘It seems… she did. Slippery… and soft.’

‘Shameless!’

A sudden sharp, scolding voice hit her. Hua Manyi abruptly stopped speaking, unsure whether Gong Ma was scolding her or Irene.

‘Open your mouth.’

Hua Manyi obediently opened her mouth. As soon as she did, her tongue was met with a not-so-smooth handkerchief, and slender fingers pressed down on the handkerchief to wipe. Her tongue was wiped raw and red, as if this could wipe away the mark Irene had left in her mouth.

‘Hua Manyi, forget it.’

‘But… I can’t forget.’ Hua Manyi looked up, her pair of peach blossom eyes, red from pain, stared blankly at Gong Ma, her tone helpless. It wasn’t like she had no sensation; how was she supposed to forget these feelings?

‘Hua Manyi, stick your tongue out.’

Hua Manyi dutifully stuck it out again, but just as half of it emerged, her vision darkened. A cold, jade-like hand covered her eyes, her chin was lifted, and her tongue touched a hard, shell-like object. Her lips seemed… to touch something soft.

Gong Ma…

Her heart suddenly raced. Just as Hua Manyi was about to close her eyes to perceive this sudden ambiguity and delight, a sharp pain shot through her tongue. All softness and hardness receded, and the world before her returned to brightness.

She felt the bloody, fishy smell covering her taste buds, followed by the spreading pain. Tears silently streamed down her face, against her will.

‘Do you still remember?’ Gong Yan’s voice was cold, devoid of emotion.

Hua Manyi shook her head in pain, her thick lashes trembling. All she felt now was pain; her tongue hurt, and her chest felt suffocated and uncomfortable.

‘She’s waiting for your answer.’ Blood stained her red lips, which Gong Yan saw in the mirror and casually wiped away.

Hua Manyi struggled to recall what this meant. Unexpectedly, her chin was pinched even harder, her eyes immediately reddening and welling up with tears. She couldn’t help but grab Gong Yan’s wrist and cry out, ‘It hurts.’

‘Answer me.’

Hua Manyi finally understood what she was referring to: the answer to Irene’s question at the party—if she would be with her, if she would be with a woman. At that time, she was drowned out by the surrounding whispers and gazes, unable to think.

She only knew that she, Hua Manyi, seemed like a rash intruder into the forbidden territory of those who had once lived together in Haicheng. She and they were no longer the same kind but different, seemingly intent on drowning her with their saliva and condemnation, leaving her terrified.

But despite this, she couldn’t deny that she ultimately liked women.

‘I won’t, but—’

‘Remember this: this kind of thing must never happen to you.’

Gong Yan wasn’t interested in hearing her subsequent ‘but.’ Her face was cold as she released the constraint on her chin and turned off the tap. In this era, at least in Haicheng, such absurdities were not allowed to happen in broad daylight.

Hua Manyi’s expression froze. She asked with difficulty, ‘Why?’

No one had told her that such feelings couldn’t exist since childhood, yet Irene could openly admit in front of the world that she was pursuing her.

She looked at the woman much older than her and pressed, ‘Why can Irene?’

Gong Yan frowned, ‘She is different from you.’

‘How is she different?’ Hua Manyi insisted on an answer from the elder, like a student, ‘She’s a woman, and so am I. What’s the difference?’

‘She is a foreigner, and her uncle is a major foreign trade magnate in Haicheng.’ Whether in terms of culture or economic status, what she did would not be condemned by the local shackles of Haicheng.

‘And I’m just a mere dancer, is that it?’ Hua Manyi suddenly understood the meaning in her words. ‘If I do this, it will not only cause a sharp drop in the dance hall’s business but also make you lose face, Gong Ma, is that right?’

Most of Fenghai’s patrons were men. What attracted men to spend money were naturally the beautiful and young dancers and singers. If it spread that Fenghai’s cash cow, Hua Manyi, liked women, those men would likely steer clear.

Gong Yan didn’t deny it. She pulled her out of the washroom, ‘Go change out of these clothes.’

‘Is it just because of the difference in status?’ Hua Manyi looked at her back, somewhat unwilling, ‘What if… Irene said she would buy me out and give me a legitimate status, then could I…’

Escaping her humble status, avoiding those people’s gazes under Irene’s halo.

‘Hua Manyi, you are daydreaming.’ Gong Yan stopped, turned back, and looked at her with cold eyes. ‘Don’t forget, you belong to me, Gong Yan. Irene can never buy you out; she’s just humoring you.’

Hua Manyi’s face turned pale, and the fishy smell in her mouth became even more bitter, ‘What if that person wasn’t Irene, but… you, Gong Ma?’

Would there be a day when she would give her a status, allowing her to be fearless of those shackles.”

Gong Yan thought she was comparing her to Irene, and her face instantly turned cold. “I am not Irene. Stop comparing her to me. Change your clothes.”

Seeing her expression, Hua Manyi swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue and replied, “Alright.”

Seeing the person undressing, Gong Yan turned slightly and walked to the telephone stand, dialing a few numbers. After waiting for a few seconds, the other side finally picked up. “This is Gong Yan. Can you check if Jiang Yin is still at the party?”

The person on the other end was a waiter at the party. Hearing this, he scanned the dance floor. “Madam Gong, I saw Miss Jiang Yin here a quarter of an hour ago, but it seems she’s not at the party now.”

“If you see her return, ask her to give me a call.”

“Yes, Madam Gong.”

Putting down the phone, the waiter, worried he had made a mistake, circled the ballroom and confirmed that Miss Jiang Yin was nowhere on the dance floor.

“Strange. I clearly served her a drink a quarter of an hour ago. Why is she gone now?”

The waiter couldn’t figure it out and had no choice but to return to his post.

At this moment, outside the tall, magnificent building, the golden light faintly covered the parked cars. The black car bodies blended with the night, adding a touch of understated elegance.

Inside one of the cars, the temperature was rising, and two women sat in the small space.

Gong Shulan sat in the center of the back seat, uncharacteristically not in a wheelchair. Her two long, senseless legs were naturally ‘standing,’ their excessive length causing a slope, and a woman was obviously straddling her.

On the right side lay a lone piece of black lace thong on the leather seat.

Jiang Yin supported herself with one hand on Shulan’s shoulder, the other desperately gripping the slit of her cheongsam. She couldn’t let it tear, or she wouldn’t be able to return to the party under such circumstances, or even go home properly.

“Shu, Shulan… is that, alright?” Jiang Yin’s body had been tense the whole time, her voice impossibly weak, sweat seeping out. “I should go back…”

She had been out for nearly half an hour. If she were asked later, how would she explain?

“You don’t like it?” Gong Shulan listened to the sound of water, looked up at her indifferently, her tone carrying an undeniable threat.

Jiang Yin recognized the threat in her voice. With the movement of the woman’s slender finger bones, she tensed up completely, closing her eyes in endurance. “…I like it.”

Even if she said she didn’t like it, this woman would judge her enjoyment based on the wetness in her palm, perhaps even mocking her for being insincere.

“If you like it, then keep it in your mouth.”

Jiang Yin hadn’t processed what she meant when, the next moment, she felt a circular object slide in. The cold, jade-like texture made her afraid to guess what it was.

“Shulan…” Jiang Yin’s voice trembled, “What is that?”

At this, Gong Shulan removed her hand and neatly adjusted her cheongsam, acting like a qualified lover. “My mother’s blue jade archer’s ring, passed down to me. Don’t lose it. I’ll check when you get back tonight.”

“Gong Shulan, you’re crazy!” Jiang Yin couldn’t believe this woman could be so insane. The blue jade archer’s ring was a family heirloom only for the direct descendants of the Gong family. The one Gong Yan had was a white jade ring. Unlike the wide archer’s rings worn by men, this Gong family ring was specially carved by artisans into a style for women. But no matter what, it symbolized the noble status of the Gong family.

Moreover, if she were to return to the party with something like that in her mouth…

She simply couldn’t imagine the scene; it was utterly preposterous!

“Please, take it out, okay?” Jiang Yin pleaded bitterly. “Shulan, you can’t do this to me…”

Gong Shulan smiled faintly, unmoved by her entreaty. She reached out and opened the car door. Jiang Yin immediately covered her mouth, her plea abruptly cut short. She looked helplessly at the smug woman, and after a moment, accepted this punishment with a broken heart.

Getting off Gong Shulan, Jiang Yin closed the car door tightly and blindly searched for the lace thong she had taken off. After searching for a while and finding nothing, she felt anxious. “Shulan, did you see…”

“No.”

Before she could finish her sentence, Jiang Yin was choked by the shameless woman. Gong Shulan sat thinly on the side, her cheongsam outlining her curves, looking particularly fragile under the faint neon light. Jiang Yin gazed at her, on the verge of tears, but Gong Shulan refused to hand it over, determined to make her embarrass herself publicly.

Finally, Jiang Yin despairingly pushed the car door open and walked back to the party.

Soon after entering, the sharp-eyed waiter spotted her and hurried over, almost startling Jiang Yin. He apologized, “Miss Jiang Yin, I’m sorry, I came to pass on a message. Madam Gong called just now and asked you to return her call when you have a moment.”

Jiang Yin placed her hands on her waist, trying hard to ignore the archer’s ring, and nodded gracefully. “I understand. Thank you.”

With that, she followed the waiter to the telephone stand and called back. “Ayan, it’s me. Did you need something when you called?”

Gong Yan was still in Hua Manyi’s room, folding the removed gown and preparing to put it back into the gift box for return, when she received the call.

“Something came up. I took Hua Manyi back to Fenghai. Are you still at the party? Do you want me to come pick you up?”

“No need to trouble you to come out again. You rest well. I’ll take a rickshaw back later.” Jiang Yin thought of the decadent scene in the car just now and absolutely dared not let her know about the outrageous thing that had happened between her and her sister.

“Alright then, be careful on your way.”

Hanging up the phone, Jiang Yin breathed a sigh of relief and planned to return to her seat to wait for the party to end. However, not long after she sat down, a figure appeared before her.

“Beautiful lady, may I have this dance?”

Jiang Yin was taken aback. She looked up and saw that the person was a charming gentleman. A flicker of panic crossed Jiang Yin’s eyes, but she quickly calmed down and politely refused with a smile. “I’m sorry, I’ve already danced and I’m a bit tired. I apologize.”

The gentleman was a little disappointed but respected her decision. “Then may I sit down and have a drink with you?”

“This…” Jiang Yin found it hard to refuse again and had no choice but to agree to his request.

The gentleman happily sat down, clinked glasses with her, and chatted for a few sentences. Jiang Yin was somewhat distracted but didn’t realize she was drinking more and more. By the time she noticed, a flush had already appeared on her face, making her fair, snow-white skin look particularly alluring.

“Excuse me, I need to leave for a moment.” Jiang Yin instinctively felt that this man had ulterior motives. She hurriedly made an excuse to leave, but as she reached the main entrance, her arm was grabbed by the man. “Miss Jiang Yin is drunk. Would you like me to take you back?”

“No need!” Jiang Yin resisted this inexplicable kindness, shaking off his hand and staggering towards the door. The man was persistent and blocked her way. “Miss Jiang Yin—”

“Liu Zaiyuan, Miss Jiang Yin doesn’t want you to take her home. Why do you insist on going against her wishes? Or do you have some motive?” A female voice came from behind. Jiang Yin’s head was spinning and she couldn’t clearly see the person. Before her was a blurry silhouette, a graceful figure, and a somewhat familiar scent.

Liu Zaiyuan’s face was gloomy. “What motive could I have? Don’t you slander me! Huo Suqiu, you just got back. Instead of staying at your Huo family’s embroidery business, you’re meddling in other people’s affairs!”

Seeing more and more onlookers, Liu Zaiyuan left in exasperation. Huo Suqiu took the unconscious Jiang Yin into her arms, a hint of meaning flashing in her eyes. “Little sister Jiang Yin, long time no see.”

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