Try Saying You Don't Like It - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“Boiling a frog slowly?” The academic champion Yin Qiuman’s mind paused.

“It just means taking things slowly,” Xiao Hua explained. She thought Yin Qiuman would definitely choose this method. In Xiao Hua’s memory, Yin Qiuman’s personality was reserved and quiet; the “direct assault” approach clearly wasn’t suitable for her.

However, Yin Qiuman decisively shook her head under Xiao Hua’s gaze.

“We can’t go slowly.” Yin Qiuman didn’t know how long He Xinglan would stay at her grandparents’ house. If she proceeded slowly, He Xinglan might leave before they made any progress.

“Whoa!” Xiao Hua couldn’t count how many times Yin Qiuman had shocked her tonight. Yin Qiuman actually chose the “direct assault” approach.

“Manman, you’ve really opened my eyes tonight.”

“The other method is actually very simple: lure her into bed and make her unable to leave you,” Xiao Hua suddenly looked at Yin Qiuman with an extremely suggestive gaze. “Manman, do you know how to do that? Should I find you some videos to study?”

The topic suddenly turned suggestive, and Yin Qiuman’s cheeks instantly flushed red. “I’m not talking to you anymore.”

With that, Yin Qiuman hung up the video call.

Yin Qiuman hadn’t expected to sincerely ask for advice only to get such an unreliable answer from Xiao Hua. Yin Qiuman searched online, even seeking help in the fan circle of a certain same-sex blogger on Weibo, only to find the answers were consistent with what Xiao Hua had said.

Could this really be the only way?

Yin Qiuman bit her lip, her gaze suddenly falling on the pajamas she had bought. She had actually made up her mind long ago. She just hadn’t expected He Xinglan to book her a separate room.

So, the most critical question was, how to get into He Xinglan’s room and into He Xinglan’s bed?!

Yin Qiuman fell into contemplation, taking a full ten minutes to come up with a potentially feasible plan.

He Xinglan was lying in bed, just about to drift off to sleep, when her phone suddenly vibrated wildly. He Xinglan frowned and picked up the phone to look.

It was Yin Qiuman. What did she want?

He Xinglan’s heart inexplicably tightened. A sense of unease crept up, but this unease wasn’t about Yin Qiuman; it was about herself. He Xinglan instinctively felt there was something wrong with Yin Qiuman’s call. But even if He Xinglan refused to answer, Yin Qiuman’s call would ring again. She was terrifyingly persistent.

Reluctantly, He Xinglan pressed the answer button.

“What’s wrong?”

“He Xinglan, someone is knocking on my door.” Yin Qiuman’s voice was very faint and slightly trembling, as if she were afraid.

He Xinglan’s instinct took over. She sprang out of bed, wanting to rush to Yin Qiuman’s room, but her feet paused at the door. “It should be staff, right? Did you order food?”

“No, it’s not staff, and I didn’t order anything. He Xinglan, I hear a man’s voice saying something about the person he wants being inside,” Yin Qiuman said, her voice even carrying a hint of a sob.

When had He Xinglan ever seen Yin Qiuman cry? She remembered one time during P.E., Yin Qiuman was accidentally bumped while running and fell to the ground, scraping her knee, mixing blood with dirt. He Xinglan’s heart clenched just looking at it, but Yin Qiuman didn’t make a sound. Later, when they went to the clinic and antiseptic alcohol was poured on it, Yin Qiuman only gripped her hand exceptionally tightly, but she didn’t cry.

And now she was crying.

He Xinglan didn’t hesitate for a moment longer. She opened the door and strode towards Yin Qiuman’s room.

“Don’t hang up, and don’t open the door. Wait for me.”

With those simple words, Yin Qiuman on the other end of the line instantly calmed down a lot.

“Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

“Mhm.”

Their call stayed connected until He Xinglan arrived at Yin Qiuman’s room door. Yin Qiuman’s room was empty. After looking around, absolutely certain of this fact, He Xinglan told Yin Qiuman on the phone: “Open the door.”

Click. The moment the door opened, He Xinglan felt someone crash into her arms. Yin Qiuman rushed into her embrace. The entire body was still trembling slightly.

He Xinglan’s eyes narrowed, but her hand ultimately rested on Yin Qiuman’s back. Looks like she was really scared, He Xinglan thought. Suddenly, she felt something wasn’t right. Her hand was clearly separated by clothing, yet she could clearly feel Yin Qiuman’s body heat.

He Xinglan: “???”

Confused, she looked down, and He Xinglan’s face instantly darkened.

“Get inside.” He Xinglan quickly brought Yin Qiuman into the room.

“Yin Qiuman, what in the world are you wearing?”

A thin, almost translucent layer. This was not pajamas; this was clearly…

He Xinglan swallowed hard, quickly averted her gaze, but the arms wrapped around Yin Qiuman did not let go. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to let go; it was mainly that if she let go, He Xinglan felt she would be able to see Yin Qiuman completely bare. Just by glancing down, she had seen the fullness of Yin Qiuman’s chest and the red fruit.

She wasn’t a pure person, after all. He Xinglan clearly felt her heart rate accelerating.

Yin Qiuman pushed, trying to get He Xinglan to let go. Although she loved being locked tightly in He Xinglan’s arms, the effect of her pajamas was only two-thirds realized, and Yin Qiuman wasn’t satisfied. However, her movement not only failed to push her away but made He Xinglan hold her even tighter.

“Stop moving.” A somewhat domineering command came from above.

Yin Qiuman listened, not daring to move, because He Xinglan’s embrace was actually a little painful.

“It’s not that I wanted to wear this. It’s just that the lingerie store downstairs only sold these types. Mine is actually considered conservative; it covers everything,” Yin Qiuman found a scapegoat for her actions.

He Xinglan thought for a moment. Indeed, there was only one lingerie store downstairs, and the clothes displayed prominently were quite daring in style.

“Don’t you have any other clothes? Just wear the top you wore today for another night,” He Xinglan suggested. She couldn’t possibly hold her like this all night, could she?! He Xinglan felt a headache coming on.

However, He Xinglan was so focused on Yin Qiuman’s clothing that she completely forgot that if Yin Qiuman were alone in her room, no matter how daring her attire, or even if she wore nothing, it wouldn’t matter.

Yin Qiuman noticed the blind spot in He Xinglan’s thinking, but she didn’t say anything, only quietly retorted, “No, those clothes have been worn for several days. They smell.”

He Xinglan knew Yin Qiuman was clean-obsessed. After thinking, she could only offer her own clothes to Yin Qiuman.

“Then wait here, I’ll go get you clothes.” He Xinglan said, releasing Yin Qiuman, and quickly turned around, forcing her gaze not to land on Yin Qiuman.

Yin Qiuman felt a huge disappointment. She hadn’t expected He Xinglan to become such a gentleman after seven years. Seven years ago, He Xinglan was always looking for ways to take advantage of her, never stopping until she was thoroughly annoyed.

“Then hurry up, I’m scared,” Yin Qiuman said delicately, clinging to He Xinglan like a lifeline.

He Xinglan thought that although she hadn’t seen the person knocking on Yin Qiuman’s door, maybe they had just temporarily left. If they came back as soon as she left… Yin Qiuman in that attire wouldn’t be safe.

Initially, He Xinglan suspected there was no such person as Yin Qiuman described, since she didn’t see anyone. But seeing Yin Qiuman’s clothes, He Xinglan thought that perhaps when Yin Qiuman went down to buy clothes, someone saw her and followed her back to the hotel with bad intentions.

Thinking this, He Xinglan paused her steps.

“Never mind, I’m not going.”

“Get into bed and lie down,” He Xinglan decided not to leave, but she didn’t turn around immediately. She felt her breathing hadn’t calmed down and was afraid of seeing anything that might spike her blood pressure again.

“Oh, okay.” Yin Qiuman obediently got into bed, intentionally making the sound of rustling the duvet very loud.

After half a minute, Yin Qiuman spoke up: “I’m lying down properly.”

He Xinglan still didn’t trust her and waited another half minute before turning around.

However, the person she thought was tightly wrapped like a mummy was not lying down as she had instructed. No, not entirely. She just hadn’t fully obeyed. She was lying on the bed, but sitting up, only covering the part from her waist down. The upper part was completely uncovered.

He Xinglan distinctly felt her blood rush upward. She quickly took a few steps, pulled the blanket up, and wrapped Yin Qiuman until only her head was sticking out.

Yin Qiuman: “…”

“He Xinglan, are you… afraid?”

“Me? Afraid? What am I afraid of?!” He Xinglan met Yin Qiuman’s eyes. She swore Yin Qiuman was doing this on purpose, deliberately using provocation.

But by the time He Xinglan realized it, she had already fallen into Yin Qiuman’s trap.

“You’re afraid you can’t control yourself,” Yin Qiuman tried hard to wiggle herself out, finally exposing her bare shoulder. “He Xinglan, you used to say my skin was very smooth, very comfortable to touch. Do you want to touch it now?” Yin Qiuman didn’t know where she got such boldness from, but she managed to voice the invitation despite her heart pounding like thunder.

He Xinglan’s gaze unconsciously fell on Yin Qiuman’s shoulder. The fair, delicate skin was as beautiful as snow, making He Xinglan reluctant to look away for a moment.

Just one touch.

Just one touch.

See if twenty-five-year-old Yin Qiuman feels the same as seven-year-old Yin Qiuman.

He Xinglan felt a little imp whispering seductively in her mind. Slowly, she raised her hand and gently placed it on Yin Qiuman’s shoulder. Yin Qiuman’s shoulder was beautiful, not much flesh but the feel was excellent, so smooth it seemed to slip right out of her palm.

He Xinglan told herself internally that she would only touch once, just once, and then leave. But that hand simply refused to obey her control. Once it made contact, it wouldn’t leave, and a new round of temptation began in her heart.

If the shoulder feels this comfortable, other places must feel even better.

Don’t you want to try?

Try it? You’ve already started.

He Xinglan stared unblinkingly, the internal conflict intensifying.

“No.” He Xinglan was not immune to temptation, but just as she was about to move her hand further down, her gaze suddenly swept over Yin Qiuman’s face, which was noticeably more mature than seven years ago, and she stopped.

“Cover yourself properly.” He Xinglan quickly withdrew her hand, expressionlessly covered Yin Qiuman’s exposed shoulder, and walked to the window, silently reciting calming mantras in her mind.

Yin Qiuman looked at He Xinglan’s back, a huge sense of disappointment washing over her. However, Yin Qiuman quickly adjusted her mood.

Failed this time, I’ll try again next time.