Chapter 46: Chapter 34.2

“I… I forgot about this part…”

Qin Youran felt so embarrassed right now that she wished she could explode and disappear from this place immediately. She couldn’t believe that she had forgotten to prepare a present for Jun Zishu’s birthday.

What should I do?! How can I forget about something so important?!

Qin Youran panicked. She had been in a hurry to leave home this morning, so the need to prepare a birthday present had slipped her mind.

Meanwhile, when Jun Zishu saw Qin Youran’s flustered appearance, she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for Qin Youran.

Qin Xiaoman also couldn’t help but be a little frustrated with her niece’s forgetfulness. Immediately, she took a look at Jun Zishu’s reaction, seeing if her daughter was saddened by this situation or not. Then, after seeing that Jun Zishu remained unfazed, Qin Xiaoman breathed out a sigh of relief and smiled, saying, “It’s fine even if you forgot. You can prepare something and make it up to Yaoyao tomorrow. Let’s have some cake for now.”

“Haven’t you bought me a present already?” Jun Zishu said, referring to the clothes Qin Youran bought for her this afternoon.

“How can that be considered a birthday present? I was the one who asked you to go shopping for clothes with me.”

“You bought them for me, so they’re considered a present,” Jun Zishu emphasized.

Qin Youran knew that Jun Zishu was giving her an excuse to salvage her name, so she couldn’t help but turn away in embarrassment. Then, she said, “I’ll get you a better present tomorrow.”

“Let’s leave that for tomorrow, then.”

As everyone enjoyed the birthday cake, Qin Youran forced herself to stay cheerful while hiding the frustration she felt toward herself. It was Jun Zishu’s birthday today, after all. She couldn’t possibly wear a gloomy expression on this important occasion.

Meanwhile, after He Bailing finished her cake, she stood up and said she would be going home.

“It’s getting late now, so you might as well stay for the night. We have many guest rooms here. We can even prepare a change of clothes for you, so you don’t need to return in such a hurry,” Jun Qi suggested.

“It’s okay, Uncle. I have work tomorrow, and my workplace is quite far from here. So, it’s best if I head back home tonight,” He Bailing said, politely refusing Jun Qi’s offer. Then, she picked up her backpack and the paper bag holding the clothes she bought today.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Alright, then. What a hardworking child you are. I’ll have the driver send you home. It’s not safe for a girl to travel alone this late at night.”

“Okay. Thank you very much, Uncle,” He Bailing said to Jun Qi. Then, she waved at Jun Zishu and said, “I’m leaving now. See you next time.”

On her way out, He Bailing winked at Jun Zishu, giving off a cute and playful appearance. Although she still hadn’t gotten rid of the burden in her heart completely, it was no longer overwhelming her life. Possibly in the near future, she might be able to truly liberate herself from her worries and live a fulfilling life instead of forcing herself to match Jun Zishu’s pace.

“I’ll have the servants tidy up here,” Qin Xiaoman said. “We’ll be heading upstairs now, so just knock on our door if you two need anything.”

“Okay, Mommy. Goodnight,” Jun Zishu said.

“Goodnight, Auntie,” Qin Youran said.

After the servants tidied up the kitchen and living room, Jun Zishu and Qin Youran sat in the living room watching TV.

At some point, Qin Youran took a look at the time and abruptly stood up. It was just 10 PM right now, so there were still two hours until the day ended. This meant that she still had two more hours to prepare a birthday present for Jun Zishu.

Although Qin Youran found it troublesome to go out this late at night, she decided that she would give Jun Zishu a birthday present today, no matter what. Only then would her gift look sincere.

“You don’t need to go out. It’s late already. Moreover, I won’t necessarily like the present you’ll get me,” Jun Zishu said when she saw Qin Youran heading for the door.

“Tsk. How would you know that you won’t like my present? Who’s to say it won’t surprise you?”

“Can you buy me the book I want the most?”

“What book?”

“It’s a foreign author’s work that has never been published. Only the manuscript is in circulation, but the manuscript vanished from the public eye some time ago. The author has also passed away. Although I’ve searched the internet for it, I only managed to find bits and pieces of the content. Can you get the full manuscript for me?” Jun Zishu calmly asked as she stood in Qin Youran’s way.

Qin Youran’s head drooped in disappointment, and she weakly punched at the nearby wall.

“I don’t need any birthday presents. I am already happy that you came to celebrate with me,” Jun Zishu further said in an attempt to soothe Qin Youran.

However, Jun Zishu’s words were ineffective as Qin Youran still wore a reluctant look on her face.

“No, I’m going out. I’ll be back by midnight,” Qin Youran said after thinking it over.

However, Jun Zishu grabbed onto Qin Youran’s arm, preventing her from leaving.

In response, Qin Youran retracted her arm with force, causing Jun Zishu to stumble and fall into her embrace. Then, using this momentum, Qin Youran swapped places with Jun Zishu and pressed Jun Zishu against the wall.

“Don’t you understand that I’m trying to prepare a present for you? Why are you refusing a gift when offered one? Are you dumb? It’s your birthday today, so why do you want to drag it till tomorrow?”

Qin Youran leaned closer into Jun Zishu, her voice taking on a fierce tone. However, after she spoke, she realized that she had acted too rashly and failed to consider things properly.

At this time, Qin Youran hadn’t even figured out what present she should buy for Jun Zishu. If she went outside now, she would only be wandering around aimlessly. Getting Jun Zishu clothes was out of the question since they had just bought a bunch this afternoon. She also couldn’t buy jewelry since Jun Zishu wasn’t interested in such things.

The only thing Jun Zishu liked was probably books, but there shouldn’t be any bookstores doing business at this late hour. And even if there were a bookstore open right now, it wouldn’t necessarily have books that would interest Jun Zishu.

Qin Youran found her blunder truly annoying and embarrassing. Worse yet, her aunt, uncle, and He Bailing were even there to see her mess up.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

“But I mind.”

Qin Youran found herself laughable. She had been doing her best to outdo He Bailing in winning Jun Zishu’s favor today, yet she had forgotten about the most important part of today. It was a truly ironic situation.

“But I…”

Jun Zishu didn’t know what to say, so she pursed her lips and kept her mouth shut.

“I know that you don’t blame me,” Qin Youran said, annoyance filling her mind as she looked at the girl whom she was practically embracing. “Actually, I wish that you’d blame me.”

Qin Youran stretched out her hands and started kneading Jun Zishu’s face, the warm and soft sensation brightening her mood slightly.

“You can buy me a present tomorrow, so stop being angry,” Jun Zishu said.

“Why are you the one comforting me instead? Give me a smile, then. I’ll stop being angry if you give me a smile,” Qin Youran said. She recalled the urges she had just now and realized that now was the best time to fulfill them. She truly wished to pinch and poke Jun Zishu’s dimples.

Meanwhile, after pondering for a while, Jun Zishu gave Qin Youran a reluctant smile.

Upon seeing the dimples she yearned for, Qin Youran immediately held up Jun Zishu’s chin and planted her lips on Jun Zishu’s cheek. Then, she gave the sweet dimple a gentle suck.

Qin Youran’s actions startled Jun Zishu. The smile on Jun Zishu’s face instantly disappeared, and her dimples naturally vanished as well.

Jun Zishu had been worried that her mission target this time was also a lesbian. She kept getting the feeling that Qin Youran was on the brink of getting bent. However, apart from wanting to see her smile, kiss her dimples, and nosedive into her breasts, Qin Youran hadn’t done any other actions thus far.

Even after Jun Zishu stopped smiling, Qin Youran did not remove her lips from Jun Zishu’s face. Instead, her lips remained at the bottom-right corner of Jun Zishu’s lips. They were only millimeters away from touching lips.

They were too close to each other. They were so close that Jun Zishu could feel the heat radiating from Qin Youran’s face and the air coming out of Qin Youran’s nostrils.

Suddenly, a hot and ambiguous atmosphere enveloped the entrance corridor. The dim light shining down on the two made the situation even more ambiguous.

After pondering for a moment, Jun Zishu made up her mind. If Qin Youran still didn’t release her after half a minute, she would push Qin Youran away.

They were still in the first-floor corridor, after all. Although the servants had already returned to their rooms for the night, there was no saying if someone would come downstairs for a drink. If someone happened to see their actions and posture, there would be nothing they could say to free them from their guilt.

Qin Youran’s heart raced at unprecedented speeds, the strange emotions she previously had briefly surfaced again. The last time these emotions appeared was also the first time she kissed Jun Zishu’s dimple.

Qin Youran felt that her breathing should be very quick right now. Yet, she failed to hear her own breathing.

Due to her posture restricting her line of vision, Qin Youran could only see a small part of Jun Zishu’s lips and face right now.

To Qin Youran’s horror, she suddenly had the urge to lift her head and move her lips upward slightly. Then, she would lick and bite down on those small lips in front of her.

Qin Youran panicked upon experiencing this foreign sense of predation.

I need to move away! Qin Youran thought to herself.

However, Qin Youran found that her body had seemingly taken root as it refused to move no matter what.

When Qin Youran felt Jun Zishu’s soft breaths hitting her face, her heartbeat accelerated even further, and her body temperature skyrocketed.

Why am I behaving like this… Hurry… I need to leave…

However, no matter what Qin Youran thought in her mind, she failed to regain control over her body. Meanwhile, the prolonged physical contact caused her to grow dizzy.

Eventually, after expending a ton of effort, Qin Youran managed to regain control of her head and lifted it. Coincidentally, Jun Zishu also finished counting to thirty in her mind and moved her head sideways.

Qin Youran widened her eyes in shock when she sensed something soft and warm brushing past her lips. Simultaneously, fireworks exploded in her mind, and her limbs went soft.

Meanwhile, Jun Zishu carefully pushed Qin Youran away, putting some distance between them. And although the ambiguous atmosphere had disappeared, some of it still lingered around them.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Jun Zishu said as she wiped her lips with her right forefinger, the calmness of her voice making it seem as if she didn’t mind what had just happened whatsoever.

Qin Youran, however, stood still in a daze as she stared at Jun Zishu’s departing back, her fingers subconsciously touching her lips.