The Guide to Faking Innocence to Win His Wife - Chapter 47

That night, neon lights and wine filled the steel city. Brick walls insulated the rowdy music, enclosing adults indulging in their intoxication, while outside remained only the evening breeze and the rustling street trees.

Walking further toward the stillness, one found Xunyang University, which had returned to its usual nighttime tranquility. The dormitories had turned off their lights early, leaving behind only rows of windowpanes reflecting the moonlight.

Jiang Zhongmu stood alone on a narrow balcony. Resting both hands on the iron railing, she silently looked down at this unfamiliar city.

The clothes she wore during the day had been soaked in sweat and washed upon her return from dinner. They now hung directly above her head, swaying in the wind.

She had changed back into the clothes she used to wear in the small town, a white sleeveless tank top and knee-length shorts. A black hair tie encircled her sun-browned, wheat-toned arm. Her calves were slightly bent as she rested one leg over the other, leaning obliquely against the railing to save her strength.

Her light amber eyes reflected the distant lights, yet they lacked any focus, allowing her scattered thoughts to drift and expand. The somber space between her brows held a rare trace of youthful bewilderment.

She was like an ant searching for treasure, dropped into a maze of towering ridges, knowing exactly where her destination lay but suffering from the lack of a map to navigate.

Furthermore, there seemed to be other competitors inside the maze.

This realization brought a sense of frustration to the young girl.

A sudden friction sound echoed as the glass door behind her was pulled open. Jiang Zhongmu instinctively turned her head to look.

A girl wearing a loose, oversized short-sleeved shirt as pajamas stepped out. Her waist-length hair was dyed pink, and a distinct tattoo marked her forearm. Judging by these traits alone, one would certainly assume she was a sharp, fiercely independent girl. In reality, her facial features were exceptionally sweet and proper, with lingering traces of baby fat on her cheeks.

“What a coincidence, roommate,” she said, her voice a soft, gentle melody.

This was currently Jiang Zhongmu’s only roommate. The girl had arrived at the school in a leisurely manner, practically waiting until the freshman reception desk was entirely deserted. Because it was so late, she had been arranged into this dormitory first, leaving the remaining procedures to be handled the next day.

Jiang Zhongmu pursed her lips, genuinely unable to find a similar greeting to offer in return. After all, this person slept directly across from her bed. When Jiang Zhongmu got up, the other girl had just shifted her eyes away from her phone screen to watch her climb down the ladder.

Was it a coincidence?

Perhaps it was.

The girl did not mind the silence either. She simply smiled and asked, “Can you not sleep?”

This was yet another piece of redundant conversation.

Jiang Zhongmu fell completely silent. Possessing a naturally taciturn personality to begin with, she now transformed entirely into a mute.

Tang Li gave her own hair a messy scratch, instantly deflating as she said, “Forget it, I am terrible at initiating topics. Do you want one?”

She drew a cigarette pack from her shorts pocket and proffered it toward Jiang Zhongmu. Her movements were highly practiced, indicating she indulged in the habit quite often.

Jiang Zhongmu’s gaze lingered on the pack for a moment before she slowly shook her head in refusal.

“Do you not want to?”

“I do not know how,” Jiang Zhongmu replied candidly.

Tang Li was somewhat surprised, but she soon spoke in an unreserved manner, “I have a bit of an addiction. Sometimes I come to the balcony to have a couple of cigarettes. You do not mind, right? If you mind, I can go outside to smoke before coming back.”

“It is fine,” Jiang Zhongmu turned her head back to look into the distance.

She did not particularly like those things. In the past, Jiang Nanxun had attempted to teach her with ill intentions, only for Jiang Zhongmu to casually mention it to her godfather. That resulted in Jiang Nanxun receiving a beating and having his living allowance docked for half a month, which proved just how much she disliked the habit.

Only, a moment ago, her resolve had wavered for a split second.

The hands resting on the railing interlaced and tightened, the veins on the back of her hands bulging before flattening once more.

She thought of a certain person again.

In truth, this was not the first time Jiang Zhongmu had harbored such thoughts. The affection of youth always carried a touch of adoration. One would instinctively categorize everything the other person did as a desirable ideal, unconsciously imitating their every action.

Smoking was one such instance.

Even though the older woman had deliberately concealed the habit, wishing not to set a flawed example for the younger girl, the Jiang family residence was only so large. She would still occasionally drop her guard and be caught by the youth.

“Then I will leave you to yourself,” Tang Li remarked casually, interrupting her train of thought.

Under Jiang Zhongmu’s watchful gaze, Tang Li walked over to the washing machine in the corner of the balcony and squatted down bluntly. Although she looked like a thoroughly proper and refined girl, her posture carried the distinct air of an old man lounging by the roadside.

Yet she did not care in the slightest, drawing out a cigarette and lighting it as if no one else were present.

As her gaze rested on the red ember glowing in the darkness, Jiang Zhongmu pressed her lips together and leaned slightly forward. The approaching night wind diluted the scent of smoke, and the distant moon gradually grew faint.

Although she would occasionally be caught, Xie Zhiyi always tried her best to avoid smoking in front of Jiang Zhongmu. Even when Jiang Zhongmu used every possible method to stay in her room and cling tightly to her, Xie Zhiyi rarely initiated lighting a cigarette. In fact, whenever Jiang Zhongmu was present, even the cigarette pack would be placed away inside a drawer.

Therefore, throughout her extensive time in Jiang Town, Jiang Zhongmu had only witnessed the other woman actively produce a cigarette once. It occurred on the night before Xie Zhiyi was scheduled to leave. As usual, Jiang Zhongmu had waited until nightfall to head upstairs, dallying and making a fuss for half the night.

It was a night of torrential rain. The downpour beat through the half-open window, soaking the floor completely with water.

Jiang Zhongmu reclined against the headboard, a fine sheen of sweat coating her forehead and neck. The corners of her eyes still bore the lingering traces of passion, resembling a glutton who had just finished a sweet dessert, lazily embracing her prey while generously granting her a brief moment to catch her breath.

The older woman lay on her side within the curve of the girl’s arm. The thin quilt only reached her waist, allowing her beautiful contours to wind and curve, adorned with plum-blossom marks that appeared both decadent and gorgeous.

Neither of them spoke. Their breathing was identical, deep and long, and their body temperatures were scalding hot.

The wall lamp by the bed had been switched off at some unknown point, leaving only the thin light filtering from outside the window. The darkness enveloped the pair, preserving only a sliver of faint illumination.

After resting for a short while, Jiang Zhongmu turned her body slightly to press even closer against the woman. Simultaneously, her heavily calloused palm rested upon the other’s waist and abdomen, controlling her strength to rub in gentle, circular motions.

The younger partner was not entirely inconsiderate; she understood the wisdom of not draining the pond to catch the fish. After a few rounds, she would always allow her sister to rest for a while, helping to massage her waist and legs.

Xie Zhiyi did not stop her, merely staring blankly out the window. Her long, sweat-dampened curls clung to her shoulders, and the corners of her eyes, flushed with a peach-blossom pink, were laced with a watery mist. She looked like a white magnolia drenched by the wind and rain, fallen into the dust, exceedingly beautiful.

Jiang Zhongmu nuzzled against her neck, wagging her tail like a large dog while calling out softly for her sister.

This was not the first time Xie Zhiyi had been clung to in this manner. She raised her hand with practiced ease, awkwardly rubbing the dog-like head. After smoothing her hair, she gave the girl a nudge, speaking in a hoarse, weak tone, “It is hot.”

“Move aside.”

Jiang Zhongmu refused. Wrapping a long arm around her, she tucked the woman even further into her embrace, insisting on leaving absolutely no space between them.

Xie Zhiyi felt helpless, knowing the girl was least inclined to listen to reason at times like this. She let out a faint sigh and said, “Move aside a bit, I want to smoke a cigarette.”

The young leopard behind her arched an eyebrow, hearing this request for the very first time, yet she obediently pulled back to create a small distance.

The drawer was pulled open listlessly. The lighter produced a sharp click, and waves of smoke soon began to curl outward.

The woman with long, curly hair continued to stare out the window. Her clean, slender fingers held the thin white cigarette holder, and her dark, ink-jade eyes were half-closed. Occasionally, rainwater driven by the wind managed to land upon her skin, sliding down along her curves and finally bringing a trace of coolness.

One could not tell what she was thinking. Over the past few days, she had constantly been melancholy and disinclined to speak, yet at night, she would hook her arms around Jiang Zhongmu’s neck, pressing the younger girl tightly against her body.

Jiang Zhongmu, meanwhile, had always been taciturn. She merely increased the force of her movements, demanding fulfillment with a fierce intensity.

“Is it nice to smoke?” The person hidden in the darkness grew unwilling to be neglected, clinging to her once more within a few breaths and murmuring against her ear.

Xie Zhiyi casually rested her hand against the edge of the bed, causing the scent of smoke to thin instantly as the ember glowed faintly in the distance.

“Children are not allowed to touch it,” she spoke hoarsely.

“I am no longer a child,” Jiang Zhongmu protested, making a fuss against her neck.

“We will talk about it after you graduate from university,” Xie Zhiyi could not be bothered to argue, dismissing her directly while turning further onto her side.

Jiang Zhongmu possessed thick skin and did not care about the other’s rejection in the slightest. The more Xie Zhiyi tried to evade her, the closer she pressed forward.

“Jiang Zhongmu,” the older woman raised her voice in warning.

“Let me have a taste, Sister,” Jiang Zhongmu coaxed softly, displaying a talent she had seemingly learned from nowhere.

Xie Zhiyi grew impatient from the pestering. Taking a deep drag of the cigarette, she turned her body around forcefully, using her other hand to clasp the girl’s neck. Her jaw lifted slightly as she pressed her lips against the other’s.

Thin, faint smoke escaped from between their lips and teeth, dispersing into the dense night.

Jiang Zhongmu was left dazed and bewildered by this sudden action, merely lowering her head to accommodate the embrace by compulsion.

The heavy taste of tobacco blended with the coolness of mint, accompanied by the distinct fragrance unique to a mature woman. As everything rushed in together, the young girl could not help but feel her head grow dizzy, falling entirely into a hazy mist.

She kept falling downward.

The sound of wild wind and torrential rain echoed by her ears as she leaned forward, plunging into a bottomless abyss.

Jiang Zhongmu was pinned into the soft bedding. She appeared to be steeped in smoke, but in reality, she was being plundered, stripped of all capacity to resist.

What was it that Xie Zhiyi had said when the encounter finally reached its end?

Just as the prolonged embrace concluded, the older woman rose slightly. Her long, curly hair cascaded down like a waterfall, forcing the person beneath her to close her eyes.

The woman seemed to chuckle, releasing her grip on the girl’s neck as she remarked lazily, “This is not a good thing. Children are not allowed to learn it.”

What about you then?

Clearly, you have learned it yourself, so on what grounds do you withhold it from me? You are merely six years older, yet you constantly adopt a superior posture of an adult dealing with a child.

How self-righteous.

Jiang Zhongmu exhaled a heavy breath of turbid air. Although it was still the end of summer, a trace of chilliness began to spread as the night deepened, turning her fingertips and ankles icy cold. Her memories dispersed along with the wind, and those unspeakable emotions were temporarily suppressed.

The person beside her had finished smoking. Standing up bluntly, she patted the dust from her clothes and spoke up, “Roommate, are you still not going back inside?”

“I am going to daydream a bit longer,” Jiang Zhongmu replied.

“Alright then,” Tang Li did not stop her, simply finding this new roommate quite interesting. She added casually, “Military training will begin in a couple of days once registration ends. It will definitely be exhausting, so rest as much as you can right now.”

“Alright,” Jiang Zhongmu nodded and said, “Good night.”

“Good night.”

The glass door was pulled open once more, leaving Jiang Zhongmu alone on the narrow balcony.

Her legs and feet felt numb from standing for so long. After a moment, she shifted her posture to lean against the wall, drawing out her phone in the darkness. The screen lit up with a dim glow.

Reflected upon the young girl’s face, her light amber eyes appeared obscure and dark.

The distant elevated highway produced successive rumbles of traffic. The moon in the city always appeared distant and minuscule, emitting only a tiny fraction of weak light.

That string of numbers, which she had memorized thoroughly, appeared in the search bar only to be deleted digit by digit. She repeated this process many times, yet she still could not summon the courage to send an application.

Her slightly arched spine pressed against the cool tiles, bringing a cold ache, and her fingertips and ankles had turned purplish from the chill.

Jiang Zhongmu let out a sigh and switched to another interface. The upperclassman she had added today was constantly overly enthusiastic, still sending her messages late into the night. Perhaps because it had been too long since Jiang Zhongmu replied, she sent another good night message.

Jiang Zhongmu ignored it. Scrolling down the list, she found scattered messages, including one from Jiang Nanxun urging her to take more photos of the university for them to see.

The phone screen went completely dark. The glass door was pushed open carefully, leaving only the wet clothes hanging on the drying rack to be caught by the wind.

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