Seduced Me into a Deep Fall - Chapter 44

The morning sunlight fell on her eyelids. Ling Xi’s lashes fluttered as Song Yi covered her eyes, then pulled her into a soft embrace.

“Mmm…” Ling Xi shifted slightly, stretching her stiffened body before wrapping her arms around Song Yi.

“It’s still early.” Song Yi stroked Ling Xi’s hair. “Sleep a little longer?”

Ling Xi didn’t respond, only nuzzling restlessly against her.

“Why didn’t you close the curtains…” After a while, unable to bear the daylight any longer, Ling Xi opened her eyes.

She rested her head on Song Yi’s shoulder, staring sullenly at the window.

“Did you forget? Last night, you insisted on dragging me to experience the floor-to-ceiling window…” Song Yi’s voice murmured by her ear.

Ling Xi recalled the previous night and jolted awake with a shiver.

“So… were you satisfied?” She didn’t dare move, afraid Song Yi would see how flushed her face was, clinging tightly to her.

“Very much.” Song Yi twirled a strand of Ling Xi’s hair between her fingers, watching as the faint light turned the dark strands golden.

The sensation of the strands tugging at her scalp was distinct, as was the feeling of fingers combing through her hair.

Ling Xi couldn’t suppress the tingling sensation spreading across her scalp, gripping Song Yi’s skirt tightly.

“Then I’ll bring you a little gift tonight.” Still cradling Ling Xi’s head, Song Yi kissed the bow of her lips.

Since they were in a public place, they didn’t deepen the kiss. They returned the flowers to the car and headed to the restaurant Ling Xi had reserved.

“There’s something I need to tell you.” After ordering, Song Yi straightened slightly.

Seeing her serious expression, Ling Xi shed her usual languidness. “Go ahead.”

“Mu Xie has returned to the Song family.”

Ling Xi stared at her, biting her lip.

“I couldn’t stop her. Her mother—my sister—has also returned, along with my sister’s wife. There’s something off about that woman; I suspect she might be connected to the Tiancan Organization.” Song Yi shook her head.

“But I gave Mu Xie a warning today. She won’t be leaving the Song family anytime soon. You should be safe.”

Ling Xi lowered her head, deep in thought.

“Your bodyguards are with you. Don’t be afraid.” Song Yi patted Ling Xi’s head.

Ling Xi exhaled. “Being afraid of her forever isn’t a solution. I won’t let her intimidate me anymore.”

After successfully driving Mu Xie back last time, much of the lingering resentment in Ling Xi’s heart had dissipated.

No matter how terrifying Mu Xie had been in her past life, that was then. Now, Ling Xi had grown stronger and broken free from her control.

They were both flesh and blood—did Mu Xie really think she was invincible?

“That’s good. Want to hear how I scolded her?” Song Yi grinned.

“Sure.”

“Even though our security is tight and no one could be outside the window, the night view still made it quite thrilling.”

Though they were alone in the bedroom, Song Yi kept her voice low.

Ling Xi listened, her face burning, completely forgetting what she had planned to reprimand Song Yi for this morning.

“Getting up already? Fine, I’ll have breakfast prepared.” Seeing Ling Xi speechless, Song Yi released her and sat up.

Ling Xi followed suit, sitting dazedly on the edge of the bed as if contemplating life.

A while later, after Song Yi finished freshening up and planted a minty morning kiss on her cheek, Ling Xi suddenly gasped.

“You—I haven’t scolded you yet!” She had resolved last night to give this deceitful woman a proper lecture for hiding such a major matter from her, only to be distracted and forget.

“What did you say?” Song Yi sat beside her, her eyelashes brushing past, teasing Ling Xi’s heart.

Ling Xi was momentarily stunned before shaking her head.

“You tell me! How dare you play dumb with me!” Ling Xi pressed Song Yi back onto the bed and began pinching her cheeks.

Song Yi looked innocent. “I thought you’d already punished me last night.”

“The windowsill, the floor… You kept calling me ‘Professor Song’ while your hands were even rougher than usual. And here.”

Song Yi tugged her collar down, showing Ling Xi the marks on her neck.

“I can’t even face anyone today—I have to work from home.” She then waved her still-trembling legs at Ling Xi.

When Song Yi guided Ling Xi’s hand to touch… Ling Xi finally flipped her over and pinned her down.

“That was just… just me losing control. How could that count as, uh, punishment?”

Song Yi nodded. “Fine, then how do you plan to punish me?”

Ling Xi shivered.

Something was off about Song Yi today—why did everything she say sound so provocative?

“Get up.” Ling Xi grabbed Song Yi’s hand and pulled.

“You pushed me down.” Song Yi remained unmoving.

Since she didn’t have to work today, she was blatantly lounging, refusing to leave the bed.

“Then if I ask you to get up now, will you?” Ling Xi let go, crossing her arms as she watched Song Yi’s antics.

It wasn’t her imagination. Ever since Song Yi’s failed attempt at pretending to be drunk, she had completely let loose, dropping all pretense and revealing her true nature.

She was just being contrary—opposing everything just for the sake of it.

“Alright, alright, I’ll get up. Don’t be mad at me, sweetheart.” Song Yi pouted as she sat up.

Ling Xi wanted to scold her, but those teary eyes made it impossible.

Finally, Ling Xi gave in. “Sis, you’re really… why are you so dramatic?”

Now she understood why Song Yi had come up with the idea of pretending to be drunk to seduce her.

This trick wouldn’t work on anyone else—only a drama queen like Song Yi could pull it off.

She genuinely loved acting, and she was scarily good at it.

They had already permanently bonded, so sudden ruts wouldn’t happen anymore.

But the scent of her partner’s pheromones still made Ling Xi’s heart itch faintly.

“I want to watch a show.” Yet the words that came out were completely unrelated.

“I’ll get some work done.” Song Yi saw through it but didn’t call her out.

Eventually, she’d make Ling Xi as bold as she had been when seducing her.

“Fine. I’ll use headphones.”

Song Yi choked back a retort.

The one suffering from restraint was still her.

But for the sake of long-term happiness, Song Yi decided to say nothing—waiting for Ling Xi to figure it out on her own.

That night, lying in bed, Ling Xi kissed Song Yi goodnight and bid her sweet dreams.

Day one of Song Yi’s silent sulking—clearly, Ling Xi hadn’t figured it out yet.

The next day, Ling Xi accompanied Song Yi to meet her cousin, Song Zhihua.

“I almost didn’t believe it when I heard you got married.” Song Zhihua appeared gentle and amiable, so Ling Xi wasn’t too nervous to speak.

Song Zhihua glanced at Ling Xi. “I was worried you’d rushed into it—either settling for someone or being forced into an arranged marriage by Fu Youyou. But now, it seems I should congratulate you?”

Song Yi held Ling Xi’s hand and nodded. “This is the one I love, my beloved. I married her because I wanted to.”

“I didn’t have many friends before, so I used to enjoy roleplaying multiple characters alone, acting out scenes from TV shows I’d glimpsed.” Song Yi leaned against Ling Xi’s shoulder, no longer teasing her.

Ling Xi held her hand. “Don’t be afraid. As you said, the punishment was already given last night. You’re my wife—no matter how angry I get, don’t I still have to live my life with you?”

“Besides, I like you so much. How could I bear to let you live in fear over this?”

“I didn’t even remember to scold you this morning.”

Ling Xi seriously took Song Yi’s hand, lecturing her. “Sister. Don’t be so timid next time, just tell me.”

“Understood,” Song Yi replied softly.

No matter when. The person she loved was always this gentle, dazzling like the morning sunlight that urged one to open their eyes.

“Also, I’m mainly angry that you hid it from me. I can overlook you doing it deliberately to get close to me before. But why didn’t you tell me after we got married and started dating?”

“Thinking back, it’s so embarrassing. You came to flirt with me while drunk, and I made such a fool of myself… Forget that! I actually thought you didn’t remember and was secretly happy about it!”

Ling Xi worked herself into anger again, pinching Song Yi’s ear and roughly rubbing her face.

“You’re really too much!”

Song Yi was momentarily stunned by her rapid mood swing.

Then she threw herself into Ling Xi’s arms, hugging her tightly. “I know I was wrong. I won’t hide things from you like this anymore. Nothing at all.”

“I… didn’t want to say it.” Song Yi opened her eyes, but her gaze drifted away, avoiding Ling Xi’s.

“Why?” Ling Xi didn’t quite understand.

She wanted them to be completely honest with each other.

Why insist on hiding things when you knew she disliked it?

“Because… it’s about a past I don’t want to share with anyone, especially you. It’s also… the reason why I love you so much.” Song Yi let out a deep sigh.

“Just thinking about it makes me feel terrible. Xiao Xi… this is the one thing I’m not ready to confess to you yet.”

Truthfully, she wasn’t ready to confess anything at all.

It was just that Ling Xi was clever enough to discover things one by one.

Ling Xi said she was afraid. How could Song Yi not be?

She feared Ling Xi would discover her true nature—a woman who would stop at nothing.

She feared Ling Xi would think she was no different from Mu Xie.

She feared that after having Ling Xi once, she would eventually lose her again for various reasons.

So the lies piled up.

One after another.

But Ling Xi was too good.

Before their relationship—built on concealment—could collapse from its unstable foundation, she reinforced it with tenderness.

“I—I understand. Don’t cry.” Ling Xi panicked.

She hastily grabbed tissues to wipe Song Yi’s tears.

Qi Zhen wanted to say something more but met Ling Xi’s gaze.

“Mom. But I love her.”

Ling Xi had certainly thought about this before.

Sometimes, waking groggily at night, her dreams were filled with how they met, how they made their agreement, the details of their marriage.

Thinking about Song Yi’s deceptions, her calculated approach.

A voice in Ling Xi’s heart would say her feelings were the result of Song Yi’s step-by-step manipulation, that Song Yi wasn’t so different from Mu Xie.

But even after being deceived so much, for so long.

Even though their entire journey from meeting to knowing to loving was filled with Song Yi’s schemes.

Ling Xi still couldn’t bring herself to stay angry with Song Yi.

Her heart was filled with Song Yi’s every smile, Song Yi’s tears, Song Yi’s countless adorable expressions.

How could she bear to let something so trivial cause discord between them?

Qi Zhen had nothing more to say.

She fell silent, eventually letting out only a sigh.

“Your mother’s situation… it’s not as simple as it seems on the surface.”

The subject change was abrupt, but Ling Xi understood—this was her way of finally accepting Song Yi’s relationship with her.

Only then did Song Yi realize she was crying.

“Just one thing?” Ling Xi asked, wiping her tears while gently patting her back.

Song Yi blinked rapidly, trying to hold back the tears, but they still slipped down her cheeks.

“Just this one thing.” Song Yi pressed her face against the back of Ling Xi’s hand.

“Alright, I understand.” Ling Xi hugged her. “Don’t cry, sister. It hurts me to see you like this.”

“…And yet last night, you racked your brains to make me cry…” Song Yi’s mood shifted quickly, already teasing Ling Xi again.

Seeing her calm down, Ling Xi sat beside her, giving her a knowing look before feeding her breakfast bite by bite.

“Lunch together?” Ling Xi asked, slipping on her shoes and glancing back at Song Yi, who was seeing her off.

“Sure. I’ll pick you up later. I’ll try to find a high-neck sweater.”

Cough. Ling Xi nearly choked on her own saliva.

“If you don’t like that, I can wear a scarf instead.”

As Song Yi spoke, Ling Xi’s gaze lingered on the marks on her neck.

“Wear… wear both. Aren’t you embarrassed?” Ling Xi reached out to touch them. “Does it hurt? What about the rest of you?”

“Why would I be embarrassed about marks from my wife?” Song Yi pressed Ling Xi’s hand against her neck, urging her to trace the uneven marks.

“Making such a mess… Do you think it hurts?” She tossed the question back.

“I’ll be more careful with my strength next time.” Ling Xi stood straight, head bowed, like a scolded little girl.

“It’s fine. Even if it hurts… I like it when you’re rough.” Song Yi leaned in, whispering by her ear.

Ling Xi stumbled back a step. “I—I’m leaving! See you at lunch!”

Five minutes after Ling Xi left, Song Yi received a message from her.

[Check your social media!]

Puzzled, Song Yi replied with a sticker of a nodding puppy.

Another ten minutes passed—likely enough time for Ling Xi to settle in at the office—before she responded.

[Where did you get this sticker pack?] Ling Xi sounded genuinely surprised.

It was the first time she’d seen Song Yi use it.

[What’s wrong with the stickers?] Song Yi sent another from the same set—a bouncing bunny.

Ling Xi called immediately.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

“It’s just… sister, where did you download this sticker pack? I drew this series.” Ling Xi’s voice came through the phone.

Song Yi froze.

“I never released it publicly—just shared it with family.” Ling Xi added.

This was the first time she’d seen someone else using them.

“…I just downloaded it from the store. I got a new phone and made a new WeChat account. Everyone was sending stickers, so I wanted some too. This was the first set I saw, and I liked it. I don’t use it often.”

Song Yi turned on speakerphone as she spoke, opening the details page of the sticker pack only to confirm it truly couldn’t be downloaded. The creator hadn’t published any other series either.

“How strange. But it’s alright. Do you really like these stickers that much, sis?”

Thankfully it was Song Yi using them. If it were anyone else, Lingxi would’ve been frantic by now.

How could something meant exclusively for family be given to outsiders?

Even Jiang Yuyang and He Qingmo had only received one or two from Lingxi.

“I love them! The little animal series is just so adorably drawn.”

Now that she knew Lingxi was the artist, Song Yi poured on the praise enthusiastically.

Lingxi grew flustered from the compliments. “Stop it, sis. Any more and I’ll start floating away.”

“But they really are well-drawn,” Song Yi replied, utterly pleased by the softness in Lingxi’s voice. She even felt like blowing her a kiss through the phone.

“I’ll grant you access later. There are two more sets from the same series.”

Lingxi had stopped wondering how Song Yi had managed to download her stickers in the first place.

“If you like them, I could draw some more for you?”

“Only if it’s no trouble. You can’t monetize these, right?” Song Yi tried to dissuade her.

Lingxi burst into laughter on the other end. “It’s not about money. I just want to make a sticker pack for us. Exclusive use, our little secret.”

The thought of having stickers just for her and Lingxi made Song Yi smile too. “Then I want to be there with you while you draw them.”

“Deal. Oh, and check your social media account!” Lingxi reminded her before hanging up.

Just which of her alternate identities had been exposed to make Lingxi so persistent?

Recalling what Lingxi had asked about a few days prior, Song Yi had a vague suspicion.

She opened the forum and logged into her “Last Night’s Wind and Rain” account, immediately spotting the red notification dot in her private messages.

Her heartbeat quickened involuntarily as she clicked on it.

Then she saw those two simple words:

[Sis]

No further explanation was needed.

Who else but Lingxi would call her that?

Song Yi couldn’t help laughing at their seemingly endless serendipity.

Her random sticker download had led her to Lingxi’s unreleased work.

Lingxi’s casual forum follow had uncovered an account Song Yi barely used.

She’d assumed those thousands of followers were just platform-generated bots.

Song Yi followed Lingxi back and replied with [Sweetie], then screenshot their chat and sent it to her.

Lingxi was busy with work and took a while to respond.

[This time, I found you first, right?~]

Song Yi could practically hear the girl’s cheerful tone.

[Absolutely. You win this round. What do you want for lunch? Let’s celebrate.]

She immediately began searching for restaurants near Lingxi’s office they hadn’t tried yet.

[We’re celebrating this? Well, since you offered… how about a cha chaan teng?]

Song Yi sent back an OK hand sign.

Because Lingxi had uncovered her alias, Song Yi lingered on the forum a while longer.

Every post, every thread spanning hundreds of comments—all of it was evidence of her unrequited love.

Truthfully, she hadn’t wanted Lingxi to discover this.

Her entire history of pining had been filled with confusion, hesitation, and relentless avoidance.

Otherwise, Mu Jie wouldn’t have gotten there first.

Song Yi turned off the screen, unwilling to revisit those five painful yet fulfilling years.

Now that she and Lingxi were growing closer, her old obsessions were gradually fading away.

The thought of Lingyue calling her “beggar sister” was something she especially hoped Lingxi wouldn’t remember.

Their first meeting was neither glamorous nor beautiful.

She had nothing—everything about her was controlled by the Song family and Fu Youyou.

Even her once-proud physical strength had been whittled away by Fu Youyou’s torment.

She had been utterly destitute, like a bird stripped of its feathers.

Now, her wings had gradually grown back, taking on the form of a phoenix. The ugliness of the past—she desperately wanted to leave it behind.

If Lingxi never remembered, that would be fine too.

After all, Lingxi loved her.

At noon, when Song Yi went to pick up Lingxi, she was greeted with a flying tackle.

“Big sis~ Wasn’t I amazing this time? I guessed it was you just from that one line of poetry!”

Well, there was also the IP address and a stroke of lucky intuition.

“You were amazing.” Song Yi had obediently worn a high-necked sweater and a scarf.

She nuzzled Lingxi’s cheek, the soft fabric tickling Lingxi’s neck.

“When did you start following me on that forum?”

Song Yi just wanted to know how much of her late-night emotional outpouring Lingxi had actually read.

“College? Couldn’t sleep one night and stumbled across your blog. The things you wrote just… resonated with me. I even kept a notebook of excerpts. I looked up all the original quotes too. Back then, I thought if we ever met, we’d get along really well.”

Lingxi just hadn’t expected that she and Song Yi would be far more than just “getting along.”

They were at negative distance now.

“Oh, right—I used to think you had a girlfriend. When you posted happy, lovey-dovey lines, I figured you were all sweet with her. When you posted sad ones, I assumed you two had fought. I even secretly wished you guys well in my heart.”

“I’ve never been with anyone else. You’re the only one.”

That was the only part Song Yi heard. She grabbed Lingxi’s hand, insisting on interlacing their fingers.

“I know. You’re my only one too.” Lingxi scratched the back of Song Yi’s hand.

Song Yi fell silent for a few seconds, then pouted. “I’m jealous.”

Lingxi blinked in confusion. “Shouldn’t I be the jealous one?”

Song Yi lowered her eyes. “You thought I had someone else. I don’t like that.”

Now Lingxi understood. Her wife was being unreasonable again.

“I didn’t know it was you back then.” Lingxi laughed helplessly, pulling Song Yi—who looked ready to melt into her—into her arms.

“Still don’t like it. Lingxi, make it up to me.” Song Yi pushed her luck, pressing herself even closer.

Song Yi froze for a second.

Then Lingxi recited several more lines she’d posted on the forum.

“Stop…” Song Yi’s face flushed—a rare sight.

Sure, those words had been written for Lingxi.

But she’d never imagined there’d come a day when Lingxi would recite them to her face.

“How do you even remember all of them?” Song Yi grumbled, grabbing Lingxi’s hand to cover her mouth.

“Because I loved what you wrote.” Lingxi, mimicking Song Yi’s teasing, deliberately spoke the lines aloud to fluster her.

“They were just… random thoughts. Spur-of-the-moment stuff.” Song Yi’s gaze darted around.

“Don’t you think they sound like something an overly sentimental artsy type would write?”

“So what? Sometimes I like a little sentimentality. A little drama.” Lingxi’s gaze softened.

She looked at Song Yi, then kissed her reddened ear.

“Sister… who were those sentences written for?” She finally asked the question.

Song Yi turned her head, her earlobe just brushing past Ling Xi’s lips.

Song Yi’s heart skipped a beat at the touch.

“W-what do you think?” She met Ling Xi’s gaze.

At this moment, a sea of stars was hidden within each other’s eyes.

And in Song Yi’s eyes, Ling Xi saw herself—a rose in full bloom.

That single glance sent a shiver down Ling Xi’s spine.

She averted her gaze, then leaned against Song Yi’s shoulder.

“But… I really can’t remember…”

Both her dreams and Song Yi’s actions hinted at it—there was a past between them.

Yet, all that remained in Ling Xi’s mind were fragmented shadows of those memories.

One such scene: a girl who might have been Song Yi resting against her shoulder, sliding down to her lap, falling asleep there.

They had sat beneath the shade of a tree, the scorching summer heat baking everything around them, sweat dripping endlessly.

Even as the heat became unbearable, Ling Xi couldn’t bring herself to move Song Yi aside.

Surely, her lap was more comfortable than cold, hard stone, right?

A sudden realization struck Ling Xi.

Had she once loved Song Yi too?

Had that forgotten summer day held such intimacy between them, teetering on the edge of romance?

Had they, in those lost days, made promises or shared tender moments?

And for some reason, she had lost those memories, leaving only poor Song Yi waiting for her to fulfill a long-forgotten vow…

She lifted her eyes to meet Song Yi’s gaze—only to find it brimming with tenderness and love.

Not a trace of reproach.