Shadowed Love: A Lover Who Refuses to Let Go - Chapter 15

The warm yellow light cast on the desk mingled with the moonlight seeping through the curtains. Yin Yunzhu leaned against the desk, her fingertips pressing against the edge of the keycard.

The open laptop occasionally beeped with incoming messages as fellow writers chatted and shared in the group. The right half of the screen displayed the outline she had just pulled up.

Annoyed by the noise, Yin Yunzhu muted the notifications and leaned back quietly. Her left hand held her phone, showing the call log from her previous conversation with Jiang Menghe.

Finally making up her mind, she dialed the number.

After two rings, the call was quickly answered.

“Hmm?” Jiang Menghe’s voice was husky, laced with the dampness of someone who had just stepped out of the shower. She didn’t speak first, as if waiting for Yin Yunzhu to broach the subject.

The tension in Yin Yunzhu’s mind tightened, and the rehearsed conversation in her head abruptly vanished. Her feelings toward Jiang Menghe were complicated like the way condensation beads seeped into peeling walls during the humid southern spring.

Pervasive. Inescapable.

How should she phrase it…

A soft chuckle came through the receiver, followed by footsteps and the sound of a door closing. The woman’s languid voice asked, “So, have you made up your mind?”

Her tone didn’t sound particularly urgent. While there might have been a hint of persuasion earlier, now she seemed to leave the choice entirely to Yin Yunzhu.

“When?” Yin Yunzhu fiddled with the keychain charm.

She was clearly nervous beyond measure. Even as she tried to sound composed, her voice trembled slightly.

Jiang Menghe brushed past the skincare products on her vanity, her tone lazy. “Tomorrow night at eight?”

“Fine.”

“You sound like you’re arranging some underground deal.”

Rarely in the mood for teasing, Jiang Menghe’s remark made Yin Yunzhu choke. A flush crept from her cheeks to her earlobes, and she nearly fumbled her phone. “Do I?”

Strictly speaking, the two of them really did resemble a transaction where emotions and physicality were completely separated.

She knew she was nothing more than a dirty secret to Jiang Menghe, unsure when this relationship would come to an end, completely at the other’s mercy.

Still, once she agreed to something, she wouldn’t back out. At the very least, Yin Yunzhu could admit she was a woman of her word.

She had read countless posts about couples who were physically compatible but ultimately split due to clashing values or family issues.

And she and Jiang Menghe had no emotional foundation to begin with.

In the heart of Quan City’s busiest district stood rows of towering skyscrapers. The InterContinental Hotel, renowned worldwide, was the go-to choice for the wealthy and powerful.

Though they had agreed to meet at eight, Yin Yunzhu had finished dinner by six, taken a shower, and obediently sat waiting by the bed.

Her skin, soaked too long in hot water, glowed a faint pink. Clasping her hands together, she listened to the sound of running water from the shower. After about ten minutes, it stopped.

Perhaps knowing what was coming next, Jiang Menghe didn’t bother dressing properly. She simply wrapped herself in a bathrobe and stepped out barefoot, droplets of water trailing down her calves to her ankles.

The woman’s figure was a sight to behold like a meticulously crafted work of art, lean yet not bony, with striking collarbones framing the alluring curves beneath. A small, seductive red mole adorned her left breast.

Standing on the bath mat, she surveyed Yin Yunzhu with an invasive gaze, like a panther staking claim over its territory.

Yin Yunzhu lowered her head, uneasily pinching her earlobe. Far from the passionate scenario she had imagined, the two of them now seemed like robots going through the motions.

So… what now?

Her hand pressed against the edge of the bed, leaving a slight indentation in the mattress. Jiang Menghe sat beside her, using a towel to dab the moisture from her hair ends.

“Let me help…” Yin Yunzhu clumsily raised her hand, attempting to take the towel, but grasped only air.

“I didn’t call you here to put you to work,” Jiang Menghe said lightly, her eyes lifting with a meaningful smile.

“Ah?” Yin Yunzhu inched closer, then awkwardly withdrew her hand. “Oh.”

“Got it.”

Her reply was stiff, making it hard to imagine any trace of playfulness in her.

“Then I’ll… I’ll go disinfect.” She stood up, catching the scent of Jiang Menghe’s hair so intoxicating it nearly set her whole body aflame.

The hotel bedside was stocked with various daily necessities. Opening the business-style drawer, she found everything from suppressants to barrier patches, including finger cots.

These were clearly meant for Alphas and Omegas. The hotel staff probably never imagined they’d be used by two female Betas.

Strangely, her mind felt sluggish despite being sober. Slipping on the finger cot wasn’t as smooth as before. The thin, transparent material clung tightly to her finger, its textured surface designed for added sensation.

Crouched beside the nightstand, she curled up like a frightened quail, unaware of the woman behind her legs crossed, watching her back with amused interest.

Then, the soft press of a foot against her calf.

Startled by the sudden touch, Yin Yunzhu tumbled to the floor, her eyes wide with alarm.

The curve of Jiang Menghe’s lips faded, her smile not reaching her eyes. Yin Yunzhu caught the shift instantly, realizing she might have just ruined the mood.

Though there was no emotional foundation between them, intimacy was meant to be enjoyed mutual desire was the key to pleasure. But right now, she seemed more like she was being forced.

Sure enough, the woman brushed her bangs aside and murmured, “If you’re not ready, forget it. I don’t like pressuring people.”

With that, she unwrapped the towel from her hair and tossed it carelessly onto the nearby sofa.

The warm lighting did nothing to ease the tension, which hung thick like the dread of a pounding heart. Jiang Menghe stood and opened the wardrobe, searching for a comfortable sleep robe.

It seemed she had no intention of continuing.

Yin Yunzhu slowly got to her feet, hesitating like a child who’d done something wrong.

She had agreed to this yesterday so why was she hesitating now?

She fiddled with the edge of the finger cot, the rim leaving a red mark around her finger.

Then, a gentle hand cupped her cheek. Jiang Menghe tapped her chin lightly. “Don’t overthink it. I’ll wait for you.”

Her tenderness was like hazy moonlight, impossible to resist. For a moment, Yin Yunzhu was lost in it.

She had always assumed Jiang Menghe was the type to flit through lovers without attachment, someone so effortlessly alluring that a mere wave of her hand could draw admirers in droves.

When Jiang Menghe had chosen her, alcohol had played a part. She had simply been there during the other woman’s lonely interlude.

But now, as she wavered, Jiang Menghe offered only comfort no reproach, not even impatience. Just patience.

Had she been colder or more insistent, Yin Yunzhu might have stayed silent. But Jiang Menghe was, through and through, a good person.

No wonder there were never any scandals about her. Anyone who had been with her must have been utterly disarmed by her charm.

Her earlier prejudice cracked like a fractured mirror. The scales in Yin Yunzhu’s heart tipped slightly.

So, when Jiang Menghe turned away, she reached out and tugged lightly at the hem of her shirt.

“How could you, ” Jiang Menghe turned around.

Only to see Yin Yunzhu slowly kneeling between her legs, her face flushed with heat.

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