What Should I Do If My Ex-Girlfriend's Pheromones Smell Too Good? - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Kiss: You Can’t be The One Taking Advantage of me Every Time, Right?

Yan Xiangyu stopped talking, obediently following Shu Qiong to the door of a half-open rest cabin. Once they entered, the door slowly closed behind them.

Shu Qiong’s mood was complicated. Not long ago, she had supported a drunken Jin Yan in the same way, but back then she had been perfectly candid, a far cry from her current state of mind.

“Sleep for a bit?” She checked the time and asked Yan Xiangyu, “There are still four hours until the starship lands.”

The disposable bedding in the cabin was clean. Shu Qiong felt comfortable laying the other woman down on her back on the bed, preparing to turn and leave.

Yan Xiangyu, however, grabbed her hand with significant force, showing no intention of letting go.

Shu Qiong didn’t know how much the other woman would remember after sobering up. Her face flushed with embarrassment as she struggled to break free, her movement nearly dragging half of Yan Xiangyu’s body off the bed. She hurriedly hauled her back, sat down on the edge of the bed, and stared at the drunkard with a look of disapproval.

As they stared at each other, the tipsy Yan Xiangyu suddenly bolted upright and lunged, pulling Shu Qiong down with her. The two of them ended up lying on their sides, face-to-face, on a single bed barely a meter wide.

Her perspective spinning, Shu Qiong stiffly held her arms in front of her chest as a barrier, staring fixedly at Yan Xiangyu. “Acting out your drinks?”

It was unclear if Yan Xiangyu understood, as she was busy smiling. “Xiao Qiong, cute.”

Shu Qiong felt tortured. She struggled to climb up, only to be pressed back down by the strength in Yan Xiangyu’s arm, which firmly locked around her waist.

“I miss you,” Yan Xiangyu said as she leaned closer, like a large dog desperately seeking her scent. Her tone carried a hint of grievance. “I’ve missed you for a long time. Does Xiao Qiong miss me?”

Shu Qiong didn’t speak. Receiving no response, Yan Xiangyu used one hand to tilt Shu Qiong’s face up. Shu Qiong was forced to lift her chin slightly, looking directly into Yan Xiangyu’s drooping corners of her mouth and furrowed brows.

“Xiao Qiong is so excellent. I saw you were… specially recruited by Military University.”

Yan Xiangyu’s tone was low. The alcohol prompted her to pour out the sorrows in her heart, but her thick tongue made her speech slurred and difficult. She huddled closer, pressing her forehead against Shu Qiong’s. Their breaths were almost intertwined, both carrying the sweetness of the same drink.

Yan Xiangyu murmured her confession: “I wanted to keep up with your footsteps, so I came to Military University too. I came to find you. Xiao Qiong, do you hate my pestering? I hope not.”

Shu Qiong felt that she might be a bit tipsy herself; her brain’s processing speed was slowing down, and her speech was escaping her control. “I don’t hate it.”

“It’s good that you don’t hate it.” Yan Xiangyu let out a low laugh, the vibration traveling through their touching foreheads, but her tone turned somber again. “But your father…”

Shu Qiong’s mind cleared slightly. “What did he do to you?”

Yan Xiangyu blinked, answering beside the point: “You have an arranged marriage partner, don’t you?”

“Huh?” Shu Qiong was baffled. How come she didn’t know she was getting married?

She hurriedly pushed Yan Xiangyu away. The movement left Yan Xiangyu looking even more vacant.

Shu Qiong asked one word at a time: “Who told you that?”

Yan Xiangyu’s voice was muffled, her eyes following Shu Qiong’s movements. “Many people. Your family.”

Shu Qiong understood. It was Chen Aishu and the group in the Shu family led by her grandfather. How interesting; she never thought the cliché plot of wealthy parents striking down a romance would happen to her.

Shu Qiong sneered inwardly and emphasized, “That’s fake. Repeat after me: Ru—mor—”

“Ru—mor—” Yan Xiangyu struggled to process the word, her eyes lighting up slightly as she urgently sought confirmation. “You promise?”

Seeing the other woman trying to squeeze closer to her again, and with the wall behind her leaving no room for retreat, Shu Qiong helplessly gave up the struggle. “I promise. My family, friends, and lovers will only be chosen by me.”

Yan Xiangyu’s upturned lips didn’t lower for a long time. “Mhm, you said it. I’ll remember.”

For a moment, Shu Qiong really wanted to record a video of Yan Xiangyu’s rare obedient moment, but considering their suggestive posture, she regretfully abandoned the idea. She struggled again, and the arm Yan Xiangyu had around her waist immediately tightened, accompanied by a dissatisfied hum.

Shu Qiong hurriedly shouted, “My leg is numb!”

Her current posture was extremely bizarre—her upper body was lying on its side on the inner part of the bed, while her knees were pressed against Yan Xiangyu, and her calves were dangling off the bed. It was quite distorted.

Yan Xiangyu’s expression softened slightly. She scooped Shu Qiong’s legs onto the bed, wrapping herself around the other woman like a giant koala. Her limbs were firmly latched onto Shu Qiong—the straight, stiff “little branch”—using action to prove her determination and clinginess.

Shu Qiong didn’t know where to put her hands or feet, her neck stiff like a helpless fish pulled onto the shore.

Yan Xiangyu, however, was very satisfied. She closed her eyes in a practiced manner. “Didn’t we say we were sleeping? Sleep, I’ll be with you.”

With that, her breathing became steady, and she performed a perfect “falling asleep in seconds” act right then and there.

“…”

Shu Qiong’s expression shattered. What was with that doting tone? You’re the one who’s drunk and passed out, who is staying with whom!

Helplessly forced to stay, Shu Qiong remained stiff for a long time, full of hesitation about whether to wake Yan Xiangyu and leave. After agonizing for a while, she somehow fell asleep too. Her remaining logic shouted for her to leave, but her body had its own ideas; it slowly softened, actually finding the narrow little bed surprisingly comfortable.

Alcohol and beauty lead people astray… Shu Qiong mocked herself in her hazy consciousness before her eyelids closed completely.

When she woke up again, she could hear the announcement of the starship preparing to land. They would reach the docking point in half an hour.

The noisy sound also woke Yan Xiangyu. The starship was bumpy during the descent, and she instinctively hugged the person in her arms tighter. She opened her eyes with a slight frown, only to freeze instantly once she saw the scene before her.

“Awake?” Shu Qiong crossed her arms. One look at that expression and she knew the alcohol had worn off. “Do you remember what you did?”

Yan Xiangyu didn’t know whether to praise or curse her drunken boldness. Her arms and legs hugging Shu Qiong didn’t know whether to retract or stay. After a long while, she squeezed out a sentence: “I will take responsibility for you.”

“…Dream on.” Shu Qiong paused and tested the waters. “I didn’t expect you to become so talkative when you’re drunk.”

Yan Xiangyu’s face shifted between red and white, filled with anxiety. “What did I say?”

“You really don’t remember a thing?” Shu Qiong knitted her brows, broke free from her embrace, propped herself up with her arms, and looked down at Yan Xiangyu.

Yan Xiangyu asked cautiously, “In what regard?”

Shu Qiong got off the bed with a wooden face and walked away without looking back. “Think for yourself.”

Left alone, Yan Xiangyu lay on her back staring at the ceiling, feeling like she had missed a lot. She silently vowed never to drink again for the rest of her life.

Alcohol leads people astray.

Shu Qiong couldn’t quite describe what she was feeling, but it was just… very awkward. Yan Xiangyu was fine—using the alcohol as an excuse to hug, nuzzle, and speak from the heart—coaxing herself into a good mood while leaving Shu Qiong particularly bothered and itchy at heart. The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. She was losing out!

Halfway out, Shu Qiong turned back.

Knock, knock.

Yan Xiangyu was out of bed by now, slowly buttoning her shirt which had been messed up from the nuzzling. Hearing the knock, she went to open the door and froze upon seeing who it was.

With an expressionless face, Shu Qiong pushed her back inside. Her courage surged as she slammed the door shut with one hand and pinned Yan Xiangyu against the wall.

Yan Xiangyu’s expression was uncertain. she looked down at Shu Qiong’s arms pressed against her—which looked aggressive but carried little force—waiting for what was next.

Shu Qiong leaned in and kissed her, propping herself up by Yan Xiangyu’s shoulder. The posture was fierce; their lips met. Their noses collided unexpectedly, and Yan Xiangyu even cooperatively tilted her face.

But Shu Qiong ended the kiss quickly, stepping back without hesitation and dropping a final line: “You can’t be the one taking advantage of me every time, right?”

With that, the door slammed shut. Shu Qiong felt instantly refreshed and walked away leisurely.

“…”

Yan Xiangyu remained non-committal regarding those last words. She lowered her eyelashes, her thumb brushing against her lower lip, and couldn’t help but let out a low laugh.

Why did it feel like she was still the one taking advantage of Shu Qiong this time?

The planet where the training camp was located was a dedicated training world for the Alliance military. There were very few residential cities; various bases occupied most of the planet’s surface. Before the starship had even fully landed, the communication signal on their wristbands was cut off. Here, only military communicators could transmit messages externally. Fortunately, internal signals remained active, meaning they could—and could only—contact personnel on the same planet.

As they neared the docking port, the Military University group gathered in the starship’s main hall. When Yan Xiangyu emerged, Chu Yimeng was explaining points to note after arriving at the base. Seeing Yan Xiangyu walking over while putting on her jacket, she repeated the key points again.

Jin Yan smelled the faint scent of alcohol on Yan Xiangyu and smiled mischievously. “You got drunk too?”

Yan Xiangyu’s gaze lingered on Shu Qiong, her mood appearing quite good. She gave an “Mm.”

Qin Liang had somehow already become close with Jin Yan. Seeing the situation, she teased, “Junior Yan’s ‘drunk-style’ is actually pretty good. She just sleeps obediently in her room and is fine when she wakes up. Not like our Young Lady here, who got drunk and ran to the main hall to hug my leg and cry.”

Shu Qiong immediately looked at Jin Yan and laughed heartily at the missed opportunity. “Did she start riding her ‘air motorcycle’ again?”

Qin Liang: “Yes, yes, and her form was very professional!”

Jin Yan was humiliated and angry: “Stop laughing!”

The three of them laughed until they started childishly hitting each other. Chu Yimeng’s head throbbed from the noise. Finally, the starship landed, and she walked out first.

The base had sent a floating bus for transport. The Military University group and other unknown military students were all crammed into the vehicle like a can of sardines, rattling along the way. The bus sped along for over half an hour before finally reaching the training base. Not a single other car was seen on the road; the most mind-boggling thing was that the floating buses here had absolutely no speed limit.

Many people got off the bus with pale faces, gagging. Shu Qiong didn’t have such a severe reaction, but she wasn’t feeling great either; her face under her mask looked wilted.

He Xuchou explained to her teammates, “It’s said the drivers here were all fighter pilots before they retired.”

Shu Qiong smiled bitterly. “Is this also part of the training?” She was thoroughly impressed by this initial display of power.

The group fell silent. …Why wouldn’t it count?

The group followed the map to find the dormitory building. The dorms here couldn’t compare to Military University; they were four-person rooms with bunk beds. There were no private bathrooms; each building had one large communal bathhouse. There was no extra color inside the rooms. Each bed had a name attached, with uniform bedding and training clothes folded on top.

Everyone looked closely and found that even boots were provided. Glancing back at their own large backpacks, they couldn’t help but condemn Chang Xichun once more.

The first night at the base passed peacefully. The only issue was that both Shu Qiong and Yan Xiangyu slept on the top bunks, and the two beds were extremely close, essentially head-to-head. Shu Qiong suspected she could touch Yan Xiangyu’s hair just by lifting her hand.

After the lights went out, the room fell into darkness. He Xuchou’s sleep quality was excellent; Shu Qiong soon heard the sound of her steady breathing from the bottom bunk. Jin Yan wasn’t asleep yet; she was below Yan Xiangyu, her wristband glowing as she probably read pre-downloaded comics or novels.

Neither Shu Qiong nor Yan Xiangyu spoke, but they could both feel the rustling of each other’s small movements. Her wristband vibrated. Shu Qiong read the message and looked up in surprise, seeing half of Yan Xiangyu’s face reflected in the dim light.

Yan Xiangyu: Can’t sleep?

Shu Qiong: Neither can you.

Yan Xiangyu: I’m thinking about someone’s forced kiss during the day. What are you thinking about?

Shu Qiong pursed her lips and replied curtly, “Thinking about nothing. Sleeping now.”

Turning off her wristband, the world fell back into darkness. After an unknown amount of time, she fell into a deep sleep, but her dreams were a messy jumble of jumping plots. First, Yan Xiangyu asked if she wanted to visit her hometown. Then Jin Yan suddenly appeared on an air motorcycle saying she could give them a ride. Finally, it inexplicably jumped to the scene where she forcefully kissed Yan Xiangyu.

In the dream, Yan Xiangyu gave a wicked smile and dropped a line: “This is your kissing technique? I didn’t feel a thing.”

Shu Qiong’s leg kicked out, and she woke up fuming.