The Seductive Pretender: Sister-in-Law is Turning Gay - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: “Just Pretend I’m Drunk.”

Zhong Manjing had reached the shore, trailing faint ripples behind her like a swaying, long gown. She looked like a true mermaid as she tilted her head back.

Rounded droplets of water slid slowly from her chin, lashes, and fingertips, falling like brilliant pearls.

Zhong Manjing was not an untouchable goddess; she was a seductive siren. Lin Yuqing stood motionless, but her gaze no longer flickered away. She looked directly at Zhong Manjing. “I’ll just stay on the shore and admire the view.”

Zhong Manjing saw right through her. “You’re being shy. It’s not like I’m naked, and I’m not a ghost. Why are you afraid of me?”

“I’m not shy,” Lin Yuqing said. “It’s just…” Just what? She couldn’t answer. It just felt like she shouldn’t be the one to disrupt this “painting.”

Zhong Manjing and this scenery formed the most beautiful, tempting image an image Lin Yuqing hadn’t created. She just had a feeling: once she entered this lake tonight, she would never be able to leave it again.

Zhong Manjing gazed at her silently, her eyes asking a wordless question: Just what?

After waiting two seconds without a reply, Zhong Manjing let out a soft laugh. She spread her fingers slightly, flicking water droplets onto Lin Yuqing’s body.

Her lips parted slightly, silently mouthing three words: Little coward.

Zhong Manjing expected Lin Yuqing to remain silent. But in the next second, Lin Yuqing gripped her own collar with one hand and yanked upward. Her thin grey sun-protection shirt fell to the ground. Underneath, she wore a matching sports bra; the muscle definition on her taut stomach was clearly visible.

Her hair had come loose from the quick movement of undressing, so Lin Yuqing tied it back up.

She was still holding the roasted sweet potato she’d brought for Zhong Manjing. She placed it on the grass to weigh down their clothes and leaped cleanly into the water, swimming out instantly.

Zhong Manjing followed like a shadow, a faint, successful smirk on her face that she didn’t bother to hide from Lin Yuqing. She didn’t let Lin Yuqing out of arm’s reach, catching up quickly.

The water was about 25°C or 26°C a temperature that felt comfortable even in the summer. Zhong Manjing swam gracefully to Lin Yuqing’s side and whispered in her ear, “Is it cold?”

“It’s very hot,” Lin Yuqing replied, treading water. Zhong Manjing was close; every stroke of her arm sent cool splashes onto Lin Yuqing’s cheek, but Lin Yuqing’s heart had not settled since the moment she jumped in.

Even she didn’t understand what she was nervous about, what she was hesitating over, or what was brewing inside her.

Zhong Manjing laughed. She circled Lin Yuqing once before moving to a shallower area, sitting on an underwater rock. Her upper body was exposed from the chest up.

“It’s not safe there,” Lin Yuqing said, watching her. “Underwater rocks are slippery. Don’t sit there.”

Zhong Manjing toyed with her hair. “You’re the best lifeguard at the Yuhai Reservoir. If something happens, you’ll save me.”

Lin Yuqing frowned. She remembered that time in the swimming pool when Zhong Manjing had simply laid at the bottom, making her think she was drowning.

This was different. This was the wild; many unexpected things could happen. Although Lin Yuqing was only a part-time lifeguard, she had a natural instinct to scan for danger.

“Get down,” Lin Yuqing said. “It’s dangerous. Don’t take chances. Zhong Manjing, look at the surroundings. Do you know what they call this in novels? ‘A dark and windy night for murder.’ Do you really trust me that much?”

“It’s fine if I die at your hands,” Zhong Manjing laughed dismissively, but she quickly turned serious. “I would never fight back.”

“Zhong Manjing!” Lin Yuqing’s tone sharpened. She didn’t understand why, despite being a positive person in daily life, Zhong Manjing sounded so earnest whenever she said such gloomy things. It never felt like a joke.

That realization left a heavy feeling in Lin Yuqing’s chest.

Zhong Manjing reached out a hand. “Come pull me down, and I’ll come.”

Lin Yuqing swam over and took her hand. Zhong Manjing slid naturally into her arms. Lin Yuqing instinctively supported her. Due to the buoyancy of the water, she felt weightless. Since they were both skilled swimmers, this should have been easy.

But Zhong Manjing was wearing too little.

Her thighs felt like the lithe tail of a snake; her skin was so smooth Lin Yuqing barely dared to touch it. Yet, in the water, their limbs inevitably brushed against each other. Lin Yuqing gripped Zhong Manjing’s waist and said helplessly, “Stop playing. Once we’re washed, we need to go back and sleep.”

Lin Yuqing felt it was best if no one knew they had snuck out for a swim.

Being good at swimming didn’t justify this kind of risk. Lin Yuqing had to focus on the person in her arms, treading water entirely on instinct now.

“You say I have no sense of caution, but do you?” Zhong Manjing laughed. “I said I’d bring you here, and you came. I told you to get in the water, and you did. I said you’d save me, and you’re saving me.”

“Don’t be so full of yourself,” Lin Yuqing said. “I know you’re just teasing me like last time.”

Zhong Manjing arched an eyebrow. “Don’t be stubborn. You know you would, and I know you would.”

Suddenly, she broke away from the embrace, moving out of reach toward the center of the lake, and dove under.

Lin Yuqing’s expression turned grim, her heart hammering against her ribs. This time she didn’t even wait a minute at most twenty seconds before she dove down too.

The moonlight pierced through the water, allowing her to see clearly where Zhong Manjing was. Lin Yuqing hooked her arm around her waist to pull her up, but Zhong Manjing’s legs wrapped around Lin Yuqing’s waist like a snake. She clung to Lin Yuqing completely.

Their bodies were pressed tight. Lin Yuqing was sure Zhong Manjing could feel her heart that wild, uncontrollable thumping that had lost all restraint tonight, like a runaway horse.

A beam of moonlight illuminated Zhong Manjing’s face. She saw that successful “I-knew-you’d-come” smile. It was the smile of a child who had finally been given the candy they wanted.

In an instant, Lin Yuqing remembered the temperature and sensation of Zhong Manjing’s lips on hers at the pool.

Her mind drifted for a second. She remembered the children saying Zhong Manjing could hold her breath for four and a half minutes.

Why was she so worried about her? It was clearly another calculated prank, yet she fell for it every time. Was it even “falling for it” anymore?

Lin Yuqing frowned, but the person in her arms leaned toward her neck.

Zhong Manjing didn’t kiss her this time.

Instead, she opened her mouth as if to bite seemingly determined to tease her aiming right for the carotid artery. Lin Yuqing felt the tiny vibrations in the water from the oxygen bubbles.

She vaguely remembered how Zhong Manjing had given her lower lip a tiny bite when they kissed before.

Does she just like biting people?

Before she could think, Lin Yuqing instinctively extended two fingers to block the “attack” as a protective reflex. At the same time, she tilted her head. In that precise gap, Zhong Manjing’s lips parted slightly, and Lin Yuqing’s fingers slid inside, pressing against Zhong Manjing’s tongue.

The bubbles around them increased. Lin Yuqing felt the soft, warm sensation against her fingertips. She thought this would quiet Zhong Manjing down. But in the next second, Zhong Manjing closed her mouth over her fingers.

She didn’t bite. She didn’t let go.

It was a strange test of wills. Lin Yuqing paused for only a second before pushing her fingers in a tiny bit further, hoping to force her to let go.

But she didn’t. Instead, her tongue wrapped around the fingers even more flexibly, hooking lightly over Lin Yuqing’s ring.

Lin Yuqing wore a small, simple ring on her left index finger. She could clearly feel the contrast between the hard metal of the ring and the softness of Zhong Manjing’s tongue.

In an instant, Lin Yuqing felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. She used a forceful burst of energy to lift Zhong Manjing back to the surface.

She swam to the shore, and Zhong Manjing followed close behind, saying softly and slowly, “I knew you’d save me.”

Lin Yuqing pressed her lips into a thin line and said nothing. She grabbed a towel from the bag and threw it over Zhong Manjing’s head. “Dry yourself.”

She quickly changed out of her wet underwear and into clean clothes.

Zhong Manjing heard the sounds of undressing and remained motionless under the towel. Her voice was slightly strained. “I can’t get dry.”

“It’ll dry if you wipe harder.” Lin Yuqing didn’t understand what she meant, just as she didn’t understand the reaction she’d had underwater. There was a fire burning in her throat. “Change your clothes after you’re done.”

Zhong Manjing dried herself haphazardly with the towel, noticing that Lin Yuqing had turned her back.

She looked down at herself. Wet. Everything was soaking wet.

People say alcohol leads to loss of control, but that’s a lie. It’s actually a matter of character. Unfortunately, Lin Yuqing had too much character; she wouldn’t do anything out of line.

Lin Yuqing: “Are you changed?”

“No,” Zhong Manjing said. “You can turn around, it’s fine. You already touched everything underwater anyway. I have what you have.”

“…” Lin Yuqing remained silent for a long time. Finally, she spoke slowly. “Zhong Manjing, are you drunk?”

Zhong Manjing pulled on a T-shirt and said softly, “You can pretend I am.”

“Don’t do things like this again. It’s dangerous, especially after drinking.” Lin Yuqing paused and repeated, “It’s dangerous.”

Zhong Manjing sat on the ground, looking at Lin Yuqing’s back. “Where is the danger for me, exactly?”

Lin Yuqing’s heart, which had been racing all night, suddenly went quiet. In its place was a surge of swollen emotions that rushed to her throat, finally finding an exit.

“Zhong Manjing,” her voice was raspy from suppression. “What if I told you I’m someone like Wang Dingchun? Someone so rotten they’re useless, who fled to a town where no one knows them just to start over because they were running from responsibility? If I am that kind of person, being near me is danger.”

The skill and calmness she’d shown when tying someone up, and the malice of pushing her fingers further into Zhong Manjing’s mouth just now it made Lin Yuqing see her own despicableness.

“That’s fine, Lin Yuqing. Lin Yuqing,” Zhong Manjing reached out to touch the ring on Lin Yuqing’s index finger. She whispered, “If you really are that kind of person, then take me to hell with you.”

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