CH 68

15-18 minutes 24.05.2023

It still cost over forty yuan for Yu Zhou, when she finally arrived at Zhujiang Villa.

Just like last time, she completed the visitor registration but was stopped in the lobby of Building C.

The security guard was still very respectful, but politely told her that he had no visitor information for her and couldn’t swipe the card for her. He instructed Yu Zhou to go to the left of the lobby and press the visual electronic doorbell.

Yu Zhou went to the electronic doorbell and pressed for the 12th floor, but no one responded.

But she knew Su Chang was home. She didn’t know why, but she had a feeling that Su Chang was home.

So she asked, “Is there any other way? If a visitor is coming, how do the residents usually notify you?”

The security guard said, “There’s an internal phone.”

“Could you give her a call? I have an emergency, I’m really in a hurry,” Yu Zhou said.

Seeing her anxious look, the security guard went behind the counter and dialed the number for the 12th floor. Yu Zhou could hear the “beeping” sound, afterwards the security guard put down the phone, “No one answered.”

“Try again,” Yu Zhou leaned over the counter, craning her neck to see, wishing she could dial herself.

“That’s not allowed, we have a rule that we can’t disturb the residents multiple times, she must not be in.”

“She is in, she really is. Can you check the surveillance to see if she has come in or out these past three days? I’m her friend, we can’t find her, and we’re worried something might’ve happened to her. Or, can you take me to the basement to see if her car is there, then I’ll know if she’s home,” Yu Zhou spoke faster.

How frustrating, rich people’s houses, couldn’t she just go up like Auntie Xue and knock on the door?

Fu Wenchang, come out![1]

So the security guard gave her another glance, then dialed the number again. After three or four rings, it was answered, the voice on the other end sounded lazily like someone who had just woken up, “Hello?”

The sound insulation on the landline was very poor, so Yu Zhou could hear clearly if she put her ear close.

She said, “Su Chang, open the door for me.”

Leaning on the counter, her body jumping up and down, wanting to leap over the counter to talk.

The voice on the other end hesitated a bit, “Zhouzhou?”

She hadn’t been called “Zhouzhou” in a long time, but unfortunately, the voice had reached the ears of a tall and burly security guard.

Yu Zhou felt a bit embarrassed and said, “Yes, it’s me, open the door.”

“Could you please swipe the card for her, thank you,” Su Chang said softly.

“Alright,” the security guard hung up the phone.

Then he cleared his throat while looking at Yu Zhou with a complex expression.

What’s wrong? She didn’t do anything strange, did she? Yu Zhou entered the elevator, puzzled.

The entryway was still a small garden, this time Su Chang was standing at the door, bending over to hand her slippers.

She was wearing a dark blue silk pajama and her long hair was soft and smooth. Her face was delicate and obviously washed, but her complexion was not good, pale, and her lips were very light.

“What’s wrong with you?” Yu Zhou quickly changed her shoes and saw Su Chang leaning against the door.

Su Chang turned and walked in, taking a small breath, “Why are you here?”

“Director Peng said you didn’t record, I was worried about you, so I came to check. Why didn’t you answer my call?” Yu Zhou followed behind.

“My phone was in the living room, I just woke up.” She sat down on the sofa as her voice was a bit weak.

“You…just slept?” Yu Zhou looked at her sideways, “Your face doesn’t look right.”

“Stomachache.” Su Chang said these two words lightly, weakly with a hint of coquetry, but not obvious. With both hands propping on both sides of the sofa, she looked down at her slippers.

“What?” Yu Zhou leaned over to look at her stomach, “Where does it ache? What kind of pain? Stomach cramps or bloating? Is it severe? Have you taken medicine? Why didn’t you go to the hospital?”

After asking all these questions, she looked up and saw Su Chang quietly looking at her, not answering her questions but asking her, “Are you back?”

Her eyes flickered, vague and unclear.

“Um, yes,” Yu Zhou was a little flustered by her gaze, she withdrew as her hands gripped the edge of the sofa, blinking, “I came back yesterday.”

“Qing City, was it fun?”

“Um… It was okay.”

“Weren’t you going there for work?” Su Chang looked at her steadily, her voice a bit hoarse, like whispering.

Yu Zhou heard a slight tremor in Su Chang’s trailing voice, not sure if it was because of the pain.

She sighed, “It’s a long story, but we encountered a particularly disgusting organizer who harassed Xiang Wan, so we withdrew. I changed hotels and wanted to take her out to relax, so we played for a day.”

Su Chang was stunned, her gaze withdrawing from Yu Zhou, then she moistened her lips and asked, “What did you say to the organizer?”

“I said, he disrespected us, so we didn’t participate.”

Su Chang frowned weakly as she asked softly, “Before you said that, did you record the harassment as evidence?”

“No.”

Su Chang shook her head, “Then you should have told the liaison that a certain person had just harassed Xiang Wan in a certain way, you’re not sure if this person is from the organizer, and you would like their help to clarify, you should say that Xiang Wan was very upset and you were worried it would affect the recording tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“You left room for negotiation in your words. Usually, at this time, the organizer will apologize to ensure the recording goes smoothly.”

“And then?”

“Then you propose that since you can’t change partners, Xiang Wan is very hurt and unfortunately can’t participate, so you have to withdraw.”

“What’s the difference between this and my withdrawal?”

Su Chang took a light breath while holding her stomach before she whispered, “There is a process of communication, it shows that you have tried, the organizer will not be too angry, and secondly, you did not have video evidence. If you want to have a falling out, the chat records of the organizer’s apology is the best proof of Xiang Wan being harassed.”

Wow, that was informative.

Yu Zhou pondered carefully and asked her, “How do you know?”

Su Chang smiled gently, “Because I’ve encountered such things more than once.”

But… she had never told Yu Zhou about this before.

“When I encountered it, I hadn’t met you yet. After that, it didn’t happen again.” Su Chang seemed to know what she was thinking and added softly.

After they got together, seeing that she was not interested in this circle, she never mentioned many things from the past.

“Oh.” Yu Zhou bowed her head, looking at the coffee table.

After about thirty seconds of silence, she turned her head and asked, “Are you okay? You can’t record right now, can you? Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”

“No need, I’m almost better, I should be able to record normally the day after tomorrow.” Su Chang said.

“Um… what did you eat today? Are you hungry?” Yu Zhou leaned over to look at the dining room.

It seemed like there were a few open lunch boxes.

“I ordered takeout, I had porridge.” Su Chang rasped, her voice sounding hoarse.

“Okay, then you…” Stay in touch by phone, I’ll go first, I won’t bother you.

But Su Chang interrupted her, “So, your hug was just for comfort, right?”

“Huh?” Yu Zhou didn’t react.

“The one with Xiang Wan.”

Yu Zhou thought for a couple of seconds before replying, “Yes, when she came down from the stage, I hugged her, it was really infuriating, you didn’t see those words.”

“You…” She suddenly stopped, wondering why Su Chang asked this question.

But Su Chang didn’t continue, she just said, “My waist hurts a bit, I want to go rest.”

“Oh, okay, then you rest, I won’t bother you, I…”

“Can you bother me for a bit?”

“Huh?”

Su Chang held her stomach, her breathing was disordered for a second before she said, “Never mind.”

“Um…” Yu Zhou saw that Su Chang seemed uncomfortable, so she stood up, “Shall I help you in?”

She didn’t understand how stomach pain could lead to needing support, but seeing Su Chang so uncomfortable, she couldn’t bear not to do something.

Su Chang looked up at Yu Zhou and then extended her hand to her.

It was cool, soft, and well-defined. Yu Zhou held it, helping her up.

She assisted her to the innermost bedroom, which was in a dark, minimalist style. There was a large bed with a gray cover at a glance and the room was filled with the scent of the incense Su Chang usually used.

The smell made her feel dazed, as if she was back in the times when she and Su Chang would fall asleep and wake up together.

The two reached the bed before Su Chang sat down, she picked up the remote control and turned off the ceiling light.

The curtains were tightly drawn as the room was suddenly plunged into darkness, making Yu Zhou feel at a loss.

With a soft “click”, Su Chang’s hand withdrew from the bedside table and the table lamp came on.

The soft, dim, amber halo was just enough to illuminate their opposite breaths, one standing and one sitting.

Under the bedside lamp, Su Chang was a mortal with all her emotions and desires returning, soft and gentle, but with a hint of aggression.

Her right hand was still holding Yu Zhou’s, she lifted it slightly, squeezed the palm, then squeezed the fingertips.

Yu Zhou’s heart pounded.

But Su Chang didn’t do anything, she let go of her hand before saying, “I’ll sleep for a while, can you sit next to me for a while?”

“Why, why?”

“I don’t want to see you leave again.” Su Chang’s voice choked.

“I…”

Yu Zhou’s heart suddenly felt squeezed. She had rarely seen Su Chang this vulnerable, even a little helpless.

As if she had been looking for something for a long time but couldn’t find it, she could only sit quietly on the side, telling herself that it would appear in a moment.

“You sleep, I’ll sit here and play with my phone for a while.” Yu Zhou said.

As expected, Su Chang lay down, lying on her side facing her and closed her eyes.

Su Chang always slept very quietly, there wasn’t much difference between sleeping and being awake. Yu Zhou scrolled through her phone for a while, seeing that twenty minutes had passed, she assumed Su Chang was asleep so she thought to get up and go to the bathroom.

As soon as she moved, her wrist was grabbed, Su Chang opened her eyes as she looked at her.

“I’m just going…”

She didn’t finish her sentence because her hand was pulled; Su Chang brought her into her arms and kissed her.

Soft lips, very thin, with a familiar taste, very much like the first time they kissed.

But it was different too, the first time Su Chang was very gentle, this time she was a little eager.

She had been waiting too long, really too long, so long that she couldn’t wait any longer.

She brought Yu Zhou onto the bed, wrapped her arms around Yu Zhou’s neck and began to kiss her from the corner of her mouth, using the teasing method that had quickly ignited Yu Zhou’s desire in the past.

Yu Zhou’s heart seemed broken, one moment it was pounding, the next it stopped, one moment it was thumping loudly, disturbing her, the next it was so quiet there was no sound at all. She was breathing rapidly, instinctively tilting her head, starting to respond to Su Chang.

Have you ever had every organ in your body struggle? Your brain tells you no, your lips tell you yes, the clear reflection in your eyes tells you no, the familiar scent at the tip of your nose tells you yes, reason tells you no, but the irrational part, all of it tells you yes.

Yu Zhou was defeated, her defenses collapsing.

Su Chang gently lay her down, then leaned over to kiss her, her fingers lingering on her spine and shoulders.

They were too familiar with each other’s bodies, she knew every sensitive spot of Yu Zhou’s too well, igniting them was effortless, easily hooking out the deep-seated desires from the marrow.

Especially when it was already so eager.

Yu Zhou’s breathing began to lag, Su Chang patiently guided her, then reached under the hem of her clothes, touching the softness in front.

The act of kissing is a science, if the caress during a kiss only stays on the back, then it may be a simple kiss, if the hand reluctantly comes to the front chest, it means… the other party wants to make love.

Yu Zhou’s eyes were very moist, even wetting her eyelashes, she slowly opened them with her hand gently pressing on Su Chang’s shoulder.

It was a gesture of refusal.

She was breathing slightly, still carrying Su Chang’s scent. She asked her in a very soft voice, “Do you want it?”

Su Chang didn’t answer, her chin lifted as she wanted to kiss her again.

It goes without saying.

Yu Zhou was anxious, but she still resisted her as her mind was not functioning well, piecing together bits and pieces of thoughts, she said, “If you want, it’s okay, but, we still have a collaboration, I’m worried, it will affect.”

Su Chang frowned, her eyes slightly narrowed, looking at her in disbelief.

Then she pursed her lips, pursed them tightly and swallowed again and again as her breath restrained at her collarbone.

She let go of Yu Zhou and lay back on the bed with her hand covering her eyes, her throat still swallowing intermittently.

Yu Zhou looked at her, a little uneasy.

What she originally wanted to say was that they hadn’t talked openly yet, she hoped that without affecting their collaboration, they could discuss their relationship after the recording was finished.

During this time, she also had some things she wanted to say to Su Chang, including parts she hadn’t understood before. She also felt that the current not close yet not far feeling with Su Chang was quite something. If Su Chang really wanted to salvage their relationship, then she was also willing to talk. But if they were to have an unclear sex now, it might be difficult for them to talk openly later.

But as soon as the words came out, Yu Zhou realized she was so jumbled that it could be misunderstood, as if she was saying, we can have sex, but let’s not make it awkward when we meet.

Ah, this…

Just as she was about to speak, Su Chang said, “Can you get me a glass of water? I’m a little bit in pain.”

“Ah, okay.” Yu Zhou got up from the bed and went to the living room to get water.

As she filled a glass of water, Yu Zhou stared at the wall in a daze.

It took her a while to come back from the living room. Su Chang was already sitting up; she leaned against the head of the bed, still very weak. There was nothing unusual about her face, not even her hair was messed up, very much like the sick beauty she had seen in the hospital.

She handed over the warm water, and as Su Chang reached out to take it, she saw faint water stains on the back of Su Chang’s hand in the light of the bedside lamp.

Yu Zhou’s heart gave a thump before she looked up at her. Su Chang’s expression was normal as she lowered her head to take a sip of water and said, “Thank you, I feel much better.”