She Comes Into My Dreams Every Night - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Frank Exchange

Su Huaiwang hung up the phone and subconsciously glanced towards the door.

This time, Lin Jue hadn’t come out. Su Huaiwang paused, wondering why she had the illusion that Lin Jue had been listening to her phone call.

Pushing the door open, the young woman had her back to her, her waist slender and straight, concentrating on drawing something.

Hearing the movement, she immediately stopped drawing, turned around, and didn’t hide the joy on her face.

“Are you done with your call?”

Su Huaiwang felt a sudden warmth in her heart. “Mhm.”

“What are you drawing?”

She asked, looking around curiously.

The portrait of her that had been on the easel was already taken down, likely put away carefully by Lin Jue, as was her usual habit.

What was on the easel now was a deep blue painting.

Night and Sea.

Lin Jue seems to be particularly fond of the color blue?

Su Huaiwang wondered, and she asked the question out loud.

Lin Jue sat obediently to the side, and hearing her question, she was momentarily stunned, seemingly not having expected Su Huaiwang to ask this.

“Am I?”

That fleeting, ethereal feeling, like something rootless, that occasionally appeared around Lin Jue was detected by Su Huaiwang once again.

The young woman in front of her lowered her eyes, seeming to be contemplating something.

Su Huaiwang asked curiously, “I see you often use blue in your paintings. Is it not because you like blue?”

She paused and thought for a moment, then added, “Then, do you like things that are blue-hued?”

Lin Jue slowly shook her head with a smile, her hands folded over her lap. “I don’t know.”

“?”

“If we follow that logic, the thing I should like the most is you.”

Su Huaiwang’s face unexpectedly burned.

I tried to steal a chicken only to lose the bait.

Su Huaiwang waved her hands, embarrassed. “Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this anymore.”

Lin Jue always listened to her, so she truly stopped talking obediently.

Su Huaiwang leaned closer to look at the unfinished Night and Sea, marveling, “You paint so well.”

Even an outsider like Su Huaiwang could recognize the beauty.

But Lin Jue herself didn’t seem to care much. “Is that so?”

She merely gave a cursory glance at her own painting before shifting her gaze back to Su Huaiwang.

Su Huaiwang was intrigued. “Which sea is this? Do you have a reference?”

“No. I’ve never been to the seaside.”

“You’ve never been to the seaside?” Su Huaiwang was astonished. “Then this painting…?”

“I painted it from memory. Maybe I’ve seen pictures of the seaside before.” It was also possible that a piece of memory from one of the resentful souls within her body longed for such a sea.

Su Huaiwang was even more amazed. “You can paint this just from seeing a picture? Are you some kind of genius? Have you thought about going to a professional art academy for further study?”

She thought about it. Although it was a defunct resort project, a villa was ultimately not a cheap property.

Being able to buy the villa next door to hers, Lin Jue probably didn’t have financial worries.

Lin Jue shook her head and said softly, “I prefer to live quietly by myself rather than studying art.”

I prefer for it to be just the two of us together.

But those words couldn’t be spoken.

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“Have you considered continuing to study art?”

“Of course not.” Su Huaiwang’s voice involuntarily deepened. “I don’t like school, and I don’t like painting.”

As soon as she said this, she realized her slip of the tongue.

Sure enough, Lin Jue across from her showed a self-reproachful expression. “You don’t like painting? Then I still…”

“No, no, no! That’s not it!” Su Huaiwang uncharacteristically interrupted someone and exclaimed in a hurry, “Painting with you is fun! What I meant was…”

“You mean you don’t like painting with others?” Lin Jue smoothly finished her sentence, the earlier despondency gone, replaced by a slightly sly smile.

Su Huaiwang didn’t deny it. “…Mhm.” Only her ear tips were red, and her eyes darted away.

“I don’t like being judged… on my artwork.”

Memories surged up with her words, and Su Huaiwang was suddenly enlightened.

She remembered the appearance of the art studio back then, her gaze scrutinizing every corner, with the strict gaze from the highest point being the most dazzling.

She gripped her brush, her wrist trembling, unable to start, as if starting anywhere would be a mistake, ultimately culminating in error.

I can’t break down. Even if I can’t achieve perfection, I can’t break down. I must take the first step, even if I have to force myself to take it.

She broke down.

Everything was over.

She sobbed uncontrollably in front of her own poor artwork.

Hatred.

But who should she hate?

The judges? Her classmates? Her talent? Her effort? The painting she ruined? Or her own mediocre life?

As if a self-protection mechanism had been triggered, the memory abruptly ceased.

“Are you okay?” Lin Jue looked at her with concern, stood up, and reached out to touch her face.

Perhaps because she had recalled something unpleasant, Su Huaiwang didn’t think to refuse this time, obediently letting her face rest in Lin Jue’s hand.

“I’m fine. Sorry, I remembered some things. Did you say something just now?”

“I said I won’t judge your work, and there’s no need to judge it.”

“Thank you.” Su Huaiwang thought she was comforting her and immediately brightened with a smile.

But for some reason, Lin Jue seemed dissatisfied. She extended her other hand to cup Su Huaiwang’s face.

“Mph!” Su Huaiwang was suddenly having her cheeks massaged by the palms of the girl who was half a head shorter than her. She was too surprised to react for a moment.

“You didn’t listen, did you?” Lin Jue raised an eyebrow. What would normally be a slightly frivolous expression looked extraordinarily beautiful on her face.

Su Huaiwang didn’t know what she was talking about and could only try to apologize first, trying to salvage her face from Lin Jue’s hands. “S-sorry…?”

“Why are you apologizing?” Lin Jue looked at her strangely.

“I… I don’t know…”

Su Huaiwang was somewhat embarrassed, but didn’t dare to yank the girl’s hands away directly. She could only weakly raise her own hands and cover the backs of Lin Jue’s hands.

Lin Jue didn’t pay attention to her small movement and continued, “I told you, every piece of work is the culmination of your heart and effort.

“Whether professional or not, good or bad, it is a reflection of you.

“To judge you from a certain angle? To judge a person’s emotions? That’s a bit too condescending. I don’t like it.”

Those eyes looked at her earnestly, and Su Huaiwang was nearly lost in them.

Feeling dizzy, she still instinctively retorted, “What if, in reality, I’m not serious enough, not hardworking enough, and my painting doesn’t count as the culmination of my heart and effort at all?”

Lin Jue stared at her for a moment, then suddenly smiled. “You argued with me?” Her voice held a note of novelty.

Su Huaiwang realized something was wrong and was about to apologize out of habit, but she heard Lin Jue say, “I’m so happy!”

Su Huaiwang: ?

“Doesn’t this mean our relationship has grown closer?” Lin Jue moved a little closer. Su Huaiwang felt like Lin Jue’s sense of personal space had been strange lately.

Her eyes sparkled. “You never treat me with the same attitude you have toward Tu Zhizhuo. Why? Is it because we’re not intimate enough yet?”

Her attitude toward Tu Zhizhuo? Her attitude toward Tu Zhizhuo was noticeably bad. Why would this person be envious of that?

“Uh… Friendship comes in different forms, and the way different friends interact is also different…”

Lin Jue suppressed the question in her mind: Then, what form of friend can have a sexual relationship with you? She knew Su Huaiwang became practically phobic when discussing sex in reality.

“Is that so?”

Su Huaiwang’s cheeks were rubbed again with a rolling motion.

The girl seemed oblivious and tireless, maintaining the raised-hand posture.

But Su Huaiwang couldn’t take it anymore. She felt like there was a furnace burning inside her, and it wouldn’t be long before it sharply contrasted with the other person’s cool hands. Before that happened, she had to rescue her face from Lin Jue’s hands.

“Lin…”

Just as Su Huaiwang opened her mouth, she saw the girl, who had been looking down in thought, smile and look up:

“I’ve figured out the answer to your question just now.”

“?” Su Huaiwang silently swallowed her request.

“The you who is not hardworking and not serious is still you, and that you reflected in your artwork is also you. I will like that, too.”

Lin Jue smiled happily, with a touch of childishness, which was different from her usual mature and steady demeanor.

Su Huaiwang felt envious inside; the other person seemed to return to a state of simple innocence whenever she dealt with something related to painting.

At the same time, she found it absurd, so absurd that she couldn’t help but laugh dumbly. Her hand, which was resting on Lin Jue’s, changed from holding to clasping.

“Is it really that magical?”

“Of course it’s real.”

“Then you really like me.”

“That is also true.”

The smile on Lin Jue’s lips faded, replaced by a serious expression.

She stared intently at Su Huaiwang. The atmosphere drew them closer and closer. Just as Su Huaiwang’s heart started racing and her breathing quickened, Lin Jue spoke:

“You are my best friend. Of course, I like you the most.”

Su Huaiwang froze instantly.

She took a deep breath and leaned back, pulling the distance between them apart.

That was close, I almost made a huge mistake.

Straight girls are terrifying.

The me who suspected a kiss was about to happen because of the atmosphere is also terrifying!

Lin Jue, on the other side, was completely unaware of the opportunity she had missed and completely oblivious to what Su Huaiwang was thinking.

She was full of anticipation, still waiting for Su Huaiwang to be frank with her, this “friend.”

But Su Huaiwang merely forced out a smile that was as stiff as her body.

“I also… like you very much, in a friendly sense.”

Lin Jue’s eyes curved with her smile.

Seeing her like this, Su Huaiwang became even more certain.

This person was simply throwing compliments around and didn’t mean anything by it.

“That’s great! Then can I kiss you?”

“Mhm mhm mhm,” Su Huaiwang responded perfunctorily, still immersed in her inexplicable disappointment, but suddenly realized something was wrong. “Wait…”

But it was too late. The girl stood on her tiptoes, and the hands cupping Su Huaiwang’s face gently applied pressure, making Su Huaiwang’s face yield downward.

A kiss was imprinted on her cheek, soft and fragrant.

It felt a thousand times better than the touch in her dreams.

Su Huaiwang was stunned.

She heard Lin Jue’s lips leave her, lingering extremely close to her skin.

The girl slightly gasped—

Then another kiss, tracing down her cheek. The heat spread across her face like wildfire.

Before the next kiss could land, Su Huaiwang hastily used her hands on Lin Jue’s shoulders to push her away.

Lin Jue, not having had enough, was confused.

“I’m sorry, I thought those could all count as one…”

That’s not the issue, is it?!

Lin Jue averted her gaze from Su Huaiwang’s tightly pursed lips and looked at her constantly changing expression. Suddenly, a realization dawned on her, and she asked anxiously:

“What’s wrong? Did I… did I do something wrong?”

She had thought Su Huaiwang agreed. This wasn’t a dream; she couldn’t hear Su Huaiwang’s desires, so she was especially anxious.

Su Huaiwang looked at her watery eyes and the clearly anxious, shrunken shoulders.

She had never seen this side of her before.

A thousand words converged into one sentence:

“It’s fine.”

I’ll swallow my resentment. Lin Jue was still young; how could she understand all this!

Su Huaiwang wanted to cry but couldn’t.