Shadowed Love: A Lover Who Refuses to Let Go - Chapter 24.4

Her palm suddenly pressed against soft warmth, the flat plane of Yin Yunzhu’s stomach rising and falling with each breath. Slowly, her hand slid upward, slipping beneath the hem of clothing. When their hands were forced together, Jiang Menghe interlaced their fingers with deliberate force, making Yin Yunzhu feel the frantic pulse of her own heart.

The erotic tension was suffocating, leaving Yin Yunzhu flushed and stunned into silence.

“Once you’re completely dependent on me, I’ll trample your dignity underfoot.”

Each word was deliberate, her husky voice laced with condescending arrogance. With a slight exertion of force, Yin Yunzhu had no choice but to yield.

The woman’s ruthless side had never been revealed before. Now, tearing away her gentle facade, she gripped Yin Yunzhu by the nape, forcing her to confront the unscrupulous, merciless version of herself.

“I—” Yin Yunzhu stammered, her voice trembling beyond recognition.

“When that time comes, do you really think you could escape me?”

All she’d be left with was the sight of the victor walking away, forever haunted by the scars of betrayal.

The air smelled damp, like rain-soaked earth in the height of summer. Then, abruptly, the grip on her wrist loosened.

Jiang Menghe took a step back, withdrawing her hand from beneath Yin Yunzhu’s clothes.

“Scared?”

Covering Yin Yunzhu’s left ear, Jiang Menghe watched as she snapped out of her daze, then pinched her cheeks playfully, the earlier darkness vanishing without a trace.

“If I were truly a villain, I wouldn’t have stopped just now,” she mused, pausing for effect. “I’d lock you in a dark room, torment you with a little whip every day, and never let you out, no matter how well you pleased me.”

Even before lying down, Jiang Menghe was already spouting shameless bedroom talk.

“Get lost.” Yin Yunzhu hastily covered her ears and shot her a glare.

She was usually gentle-natured, but this was the first time she’d ever despised someone so much. Still shaken from the earlier scare, she braced herself for another round of mischief.

Her chin was forcibly tilted back as Jiang Menghe leaned in, whispering, “I need to clear my name.”

“From the very beginning, there’s only ever been you.”

“Ren Yu was fake. There are no messy exes. Of course!”

“If you have any unusual preferences, I can play along in bed.”

“I don’t want to hear it.” Yin Yunzhu shut her eyes.

This was humiliating enough whether it was her misunderstanding or Jiang Menghe’s explanation, she just wanted to change the subject.

A soft laugh brushed her ear, followed by the warmth of lips against hers. Jiang Menghe’s plump lower lip was easily caught and teased between kisses.

“You writers so sentimental, so imaginative.”

“Such a little drama queen. Adorable.”

She couldn’t resist kissing Yin Yunzhu four or five more times before finally letting go.

“I’m not appeased.” Yin Yunzhu stubbornly wiped her kissed lips, playing hard to get.

Spoiled by affection, she knew she was being unreasonable but she couldn’t help it.

Time and again, she broke her own rules and lowered her standards.

Jiang Menghe ignored her protest, pinching her nose instead. “Why do you sound so stuffy? Do you have a cold?”

Sure enough, Yin Yunzhu took the bait. “It’s fine. There’s been a flu going around you should be careful too.”

Hearing this, the woman burst into laughter, her almond-shaped eyes curving like crescent moons. “Not angry anymore?”

“Still angry.” Yin Yunzhu stiffened her face again, rigid as a wooden stake.

She turned on the air conditioner and walked to the living room to close the curtains.

“What should we do then?” Jiang Menghe followed closely behind like a tail, trailing her all the way to the kitchen.

Yin Yunzhu plugged in the socket, boiled some water, and tossed in the lemon slices she had bought from the supermarket a few days ago.

The hum of the boiling water drowned out her heavy breathing. As she busied herself tidying the countertop, Jiang Menghe pressed close. Resting her hands on the edge of the counter, she buried half her face in Yin Yunzhu’s hair, assuming an intimate posture.

“That tickles.” Yin Yunzhu shrank her neck, raising her collar to keep her at bay.

“Let me kiss you.” Jiang Menghe’s eyes burned with desire as she gazed at her.

Their usual encounters never strayed far from that one thing, always rushing straight to the main event. Today’s prolonged foreplay, coupled with the rising temperature, left them parched and restless.

Yin Yunzhu half-heartedly resisted, but as soon as her shoulders were embraced, they tangled together only for her to suddenly push away. “I have a cold. I might infect you.”

“Can’t avoid it anyway.” No sooner had Jiang Menghe spoken than she captured Yin Yunzhu’s lower lip, sucking gently.

The trench coat draped loosely over her shoulders slipped off as entwined arms tugged at it. Yin Yunzhu remained reluctant, her jaw clenched in stubborn defiance.

Jiang Menghe simply gripped her waist through the long knit sweater and, amid Yin Yunzhu’s startled gasp, successfully breached her defenses.

Yin Yunzhu had never imagined the scent of gardenias could be so overwhelming. Growing richer and headier with the rising heat, it clung to her senses. Still resentful over their last encounter, she responded with only fleeting nips.

Jiang Menghe tilted her head to seek her earlobe, nibbling softly before burying her nose in Yin Yunzhu’s hair, inhaling deeply as if driven by some primal instinct testing, teasing.

The cold counter dripped faintly as the bare-ankled woman hooked a leg around Yin Yunzhu’s waist, jealousy flaring as she demanded more attention.

She brushed aside Yin Yunzhu’s sweat-dampened hair, delighting in the sight of her slightly furrowed brows.

The water had boiled long ago, steaming hot before cooling into indifference. Jiang Menghe suddenly laughed, lowering her head to slowly lick Yin Yunzhu’s fingertips.

As passion ebbed, she did as she always had slid the plain silver ring from her index finger and offered it. It slipped on without resistance.

Yin Yunzhu stared at the ring now adorning her right index finger, understanding it as a restraint, a reminder to end this absurd affair.

“Sorry.” She apologized again for her earlier offense.

“A bit late for that now, don’t you think?” Jiang Menghe slid off the counter. “Who knew such a docile little rabbit could bite?”

Yin Yunzhu couldn’t meet her eyes. Most of the time, she played the silent one, enduring whatever humiliation Jiang Menghe dished out at least, that’s how she saw it.

She wiped the counter clean with a damp cloth and poured a glass of water to cool.

A soft head nudged her foot. Glancing down, she found Xiao Yu, who had woken up at some point and slipped through the door crack, sniffing the unfamiliar scent.

“Go away.”

Shame flooded her mind instantly. Yin Yunzhu nudged the cat away, but it clung to her leg, more excited than if it had smelled catnip.

The two women locked eyes through the sliding door, their shadows overlapping. Seeing Jiang Menghe’s teasing smirk and whatever words she silently mouthed, Yin Yunzhu decisively scooped up the cat and tossed it into the living room.

Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been anything good.

She had tied the trash bag securely when the doorbell suddenly rang. Yin Yunzhu wondered who would visit at such a late hour, only to see Jiang Menghe take a delivery bag from the courier.

“What’s this?” Yin Yunzhu walked over and found an assortment of medicines inside.

Everything was there even common cold medicine came in multiple varieties.

Jiang Menghe popped out a capsule and handed her a glass of warm water. “Take this, you’ll recover faster.”

Yunzhu knew she was thoughtful, but she hadn’t expected her to pay attention to such minute details. Usually, Yunzhu relied on her strong constitution to let minor illnesses run their course. Only when her mother nagged relentlessly would she reluctantly take medicine.

Seeing her hesitate, Jiang Menghe teased, “Do I need to feed it to you?”

With that, she pretended to hold the capsule between her teeth. Guessing her next move, Yunzhu quickly snatched it away. “No need!”

She should’ve known this woman was never serious.

The night was heavy, starless. Hazy clouds veiled the bright moon, lingering over Quancheng.

Since it was late, Yunzhu tacitly let Jiang Menghe stay. She deliberately laid out the intimacy pad she had bought earlier in the master bedroom better to have it ready than ruin the mood by scrambling for it later.

Even for something like this, Yunzhu wore a serious expression, as if conducting some scientific experiment.

By the time Jiang Menghe finished showering, Yunzhu was already lying on the bed, working on her laptop.

Feeling the mattress dip at the foot of the bed, Yunzhu shifted inward. The scent of shampoo her usual brand lingered on Jiang Menghe’s hair, stirring an illusion of possession.

“Working so late?” Jiang Menghe propped her chin on her hand, glancing at the screen. “How diligent.”

Even though the angle likely only showed glare, Yunzhu tilted the laptop down, guarding her privacy.

Their relationship had always been one of mutual wariness.

Sensing her caution, Jiang Menghe reassured, “Relax, I’m not interested in snooping.”

Odd words, coming from a veteran in the entertainment industry, where sharp insight into scripts and films was essential. Even Beijiali pestered Yunzhu constantly for sneak peeks, how could Jiang Menghe be so indifferent?

She was probably faking it.

Yunzhu scoffed internally, shielding the screen further. “Once this gets adapted into a drama, you might all be fighting for the role.”

Writers always harbored irrational confidence in their work, only to plunge into self-doubt when inspiration ran dry. Yunzhu oscillated between the two, but Jiang Menghe’s remark sparked her competitive streak.

“Not interested.”

“You don’t want the money?”

“Nope,” Jiang Menghe drawled. “I don’t like acting.”

The answer wasn’t entirely surprising. Since Yunzhu had known her, Jiang Menghe had never shown enthusiasm for anything except pestering her for repeated encounters. Everything else was met with apathy.

Politely put, she was easygoing. More bluntly, she was lifeless.

Like a stagnant pond, she carried the weariness of an old woman despite her youth.

Yunzhu opened her mouth to speak, then realized they weren’t close enough for heartfelt confessions and shut it again.

After all, they were just fuckbuddies.

–

After that night when Jiang Menghe had rushed over, they resumed their entanglement and Yunzhu successfully passed her cold to her.

During a work break, Yunzhu leaned back in her chair, watching recent actor interviews. Jiang Menghe was photogenic, her narrow, angular face accentuating her refined bone structure. Seated beside the host, she exuded an air of poised elegance.

When asked about the recent uproar over the hotel photos, Jiang Menghe smiled faintly: “Just friends.”

The heavy nasal tone in her voice added a touch of nonchalance to her attitude, and the public seemed to accept this explanation. After all, two women staying in the same hotel close friends sharing a room was perfectly normal.

Even if some Betas had unusual preferences, they would still choose young and attractive Omegas. When the hotel staff stepped forward to confirm that only Betas had entered the same floor that night, the rumors were quickly dispelled.

As for Ren Yu, she had eagerly claimed the identity herself, only to be publicly contradicted by the person involved. After being ridiculed online, she swiftly deleted her original response, not even bothering to issue a clarification.

Jiang Menghe had achieved her goal.

On camera, she carried herself with grace and spoke eloquently, effortlessly answering every question the host threw her way.

Yin Yunzhu paused the video and scrolled through the comments below one by one.

【Huh? So the rumors about them were fake? [crying]】

【Back off, Jiangjiang is my wife! Some nobody stop trying to ride her coattails】

【LMAO these gossip accounts really have no bottom line, even making up scandalous rumors for clicks】

The rest were just the usual gushing over her beauty, along with fans photoshopping themselves as Jiang Menghe’s “wife.”

In the past, Yin Yunzhu had understood fans’ adoration when she saw comments like these. But now that the subject was Jiang Menghe, she felt an inexplicable discomfort.

There had once been a forum post asking what it was like to be the “unofficial wife” of a celebrity.

The top-voted reply went something like this: Thanks for asking, it feels amazing. Watching others compete for attention while you sit back like an outsider, reading fanfics with full immersion. Thanks for all the content, everyone.

The smug tone wasn’t particularly likable, but even if most people reacted with envy, no one could deny that this person had received all the love.

Some even dug into her personal information, analyzing every detail with meticulous logic.

Did it really feel that good in secret? Yin Yunzhu wasn’t sure.

People were selfish by nature. Having witnessed Jiang Menghe at the peak of her brilliance, it was hard not to harbor dark thoughts.

She wanted to hide her away.

Ring ring!

The sudden ringing of the phone snapped her out of her thoughts. Picking it up, she saw an unfamiliar number.

“Hello?” She answered and put it on speaker.

The voice on the other end echoed through the study, one she had heard just last month.

Yin Yunzhu remembered Zheng Xinyue well, all thanks to Jiang Menghe. Knowing their relationship was far from ordinary, she had paid extra attention to this woman.

“Hey is this Professor Yin?” Zheng Xinyue drawled, her tone polite.

The moment she called her “Professor,” Yin Yunzhu’s mind wandered, and her guard lowered slightly. “What is it?”

“Sorry to bother you. This is Zheng Xinyue, we met at the arts center last time, remember?”

“Here’s the thing, my friend’s workplace is planning a celebrity interview soon, and they think you’d be a great candidate. Would you be interested?”

If not for Jiang Menghe’s connection, Yin Yunzhu would have assumed it was a scam call. Without even guessing, she knew the “friend” Zheng Xinyue mentioned was likely the same person she constantly referred to as “my husband.”

She pulled up her calendar, the date set by the publishing house was still far off. Considering Jiang Menghe’s involvement, she agreed without much thought.

“Alright, send the details to my email. I’ll check them later.” She recited her email address, and after a brief exchange, the call ended.

After hanging up, Yin Yunzhu saved the number with a note and prepared to inform Jiang Menghe.

Yet when I clicked into the empty chat box, I found my recent message had gone unanswered. Thinking of how Cloud Entertainment had been scheduling numerous interviews for Jiang Menghe to clarify the situation recently, I suppressed my thoughts again.

Forget it. She’s so busy, it’s better not to bother her with such trivial matters.

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