Chapter 56: Attracting the cold air from the snow, a chance encounter with the sweetness of lychee and roses...
“My birthday has already passed, it was early December,” Yi Sheng said casually.
"..."
Bai Ye was filled with mixed feelings. One moment she felt annoyed that she couldn't celebrate Yi Sheng's birthday with him, and the next she felt speechless. It wasn't Yi Sheng's birthday, so what was she supposed to wish for...?
Now she's in a dilemma, what should she do?
"The internet clearly says..."
"I don't know how it spread online," Yi Sheng said innocently.
"Oh," Bai Yeke said sullenly.
Bai Ye had promised not to get angry, but now she couldn't immediately contradict herself.
Yi Sheng pulled her closer, chuckled softly, and asked, "Then your promise to me still stands, right?"
"...I never said I was leaving."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yi Sheng kissed her ear.
Bai Yeke felt her whole body getting hot. "I'll sleep in the old room."
"Tsk." Yi Sheng chuckled.
"I'm so tired, I'm going to take a shower first." Bai Yeke broke free from Yi Sheng and slipped away as if trying to escape.
She entered the bedroom with practiced ease, opened the wardrobe, and found that her original clothes had long been gone, replaced by new, clean ones. Bai Ye picked up a piece at random and saw that it was her size. A slight smile played on her lips as she casually took the whole set of loungewear into the bathroom.
The hot water from the overhead shower poured down, from head to toe, and I felt completely warmed up.
As Bai Yeke rubbed her hair, she thought about how she had said she would sleep in this room, so nothing should happen tonight, right?
I felt much more relaxed, but also a little regretful.
As Bai Yeke applied the foam to her body, she thought that she had already mentally prepared herself at the restaurant and had accepted what was going to happen tonight on the way back. Didn't Yi Sheng think about that?
Hot water rinsed my body again, washing away the foam. The bathroom was filled with a warm, humid fragrance, a blend of rose and lychee, so sweet it made my head spin.
Bai Yeke was blow-drying her long hair in front of the bathroom cabinet. Her appearance gradually appeared in the mirror, with a fair and delicate face, and her cheeks and ears were very red.
It must be because the water is too hot!
Bai Ye took a deep breath, put down the hairdryer, and climbed back into her bedroom bed.
She leaned against the headboard, the blanket covering her chest, then slipping loosely down a bit. She was still somewhat dazed, feeling both lost and anxious.
Until there was a knock on the door.
Bai Yeke's heart raced, and she didn't even realize it. A slight smile appeared on her lips. "What's wrong?"
Yi Sheng's voice came from outside the door, "I've come to keep you company."
"..." What do you mean, "accompany her"?!
She had clearly agreed to accompany Yi Sheng, but this person was turning around and blaming her. Why did she need to accompany him?
Bai Yeke's mind raced, but her words came out weakly, "...Come in."
The doorknob moved down, the door opened, and their eyes met. Yi Sheng had already taken a shower and changed into a set of silver-gray loungewear.
Bai Yeke suddenly felt that letting someone in from this position was ambiguous.
A smile appeared in Yi Sheng's eyes. He closed the door naturally, walked closer, pulled back the covers, and sat down next to her.
Bai Yeke: "..."
Although this seems to be the proper procedure, how come Yi Sheng can be so natural about it?
Bai Yeke was silent for a moment, then took Yi Sheng's hand under the covers.
This action was like flipping a switch.
Yi Sheng gripped her hand, turned to the side, cupped her face with his other hand, and kissed her.
Bai Yeke's heart started racing again, but this kiss was different from what she had expected. It was delicate and gentle, so gentle that Bai Yeke's heartbeat slowly returned to normal.
Is this woman really abstinent?
When she asked me to spend the night with her at the dinner table, was that all she meant?
Bai Ye was momentarily confused. Could it be that the rumors about Yi Sheng being "Extinction Master" were true? Was Yi Sheng's greatest desire just kissing?
Or... did Yi Sheng not have those feelings for her?
A jumble of random thoughts flashed through Bai Yeke's mind.
She unconsciously glared at Yi Sheng.
Yi Sheng: "?"
And they're still playing innocent for her!
Bai Yeke suddenly became sullen; was he trying to hook her up?
Let her fish if she wants; she won't lose anything anyway.
Bai Ye leaned in and returned the kiss with a slightly fierce look.
She was still holding Yi Sheng's hand, nibbling at Yi Sheng's lips, and actively invading Yi Sheng's mouth.
The girl's kiss was slightly awkward; her licking and biting were deliberately mixed with emotion, but it didn't make you feel violated. Instead, it felt like being scratched by the paws of a kitten or puppy.
Provocation and desire.
The woman placed her palm on the back of her head, her long fingers running through her hair, the varying pressure seemingly massaging her scalp, and the passive response between her lips and teeth gradually turned into an active one.
They didn't separate until their breaths overlapped and they could no longer take a deep breath.
The moment her rationality returned, Bai Ye's eyes crinkled slightly as she wanted to laugh, but she also felt a little embarrassed.
After a while, Yi Sheng scratched her palm.
Bai Yeke's expression had returned to calm. She turned her head to look at Yi Sheng, feigning indifference, and asked, "?"
Yi Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, gently kneading her fingertips, returning to his initial gentle state, "Tell me about it."
"Huh?" Bai Ye was puzzled.
"What are you thinking about that's making you feel down at the dinner table?" Yi Sheng said with a smile. "Anyway, it's not my birthday today, so there's no need to worry about spoiling my mood."
"oh."
Bai Ye sighed. She had thoroughly enjoyed the kiss and felt a sense of satisfaction, like after a sumptuous meal. She became less bothered when talking about her downcast thoughts, saying, "It's just about the competition."
The competition enters the round of 16 to 8 this week. This is the first time "Dream Home" has been held, and the competition system is not yet mature. After this week, there will only be two matches left: the semi-finals of 8 to 2 and the finals.
Yi Sheng was completely confused, "Your ranking..."
"It's settled at third place." Bai Yeke pursed her lips. "Actually, it's pretty good, much better than I expected."
But it always feels like something's missing.
Yi Sheng's thumb, index finger, and middle finger roamed between Bai Yeke's fingers, sliding from the fingertips to the palm. "Hmm, your boss didn't tell you that."
"say what?"
"According to the backend data, you are already number one."
"Huh?" Bai Ye was a little taken aback.
However, judging from the online poll, she's in third place.
The company fabricated the information... but why?
“Your vote count is fine,” Yi Sheng explained. “As for the top two, Santian hired some people to vote for them.”
That makes sense.
As a first-time competition, "Dream Home" shouldn't have such a large scale, and its target audience should primarily be customers who are preparing for home renovations.
It's perfectly reasonable for Santen to inflate its vote count and create hype to attract traffic.
After figuring it out, Bai Yeke felt a bit emotional.
Even if she has talent, popularity, and luck by riding on Yi Sheng's coattails, she's still just a pawn on the chessboard.
No matter how much ambition you have or how hard you try, nothing can compare to a small decision made by the company's operations.
Surrounded by a soft, warm bed and with her beloved so close, Bai Yeke felt a sudden sense of powerlessness.
She felt useless and couldn't understand why Yi Sheng favored her so much.
The body temperature that had risen after their intimacy subsided, and Bai Ye felt her fingertips were cold. She curled her fingers and tucked them into Yi Sheng's palm, instinctively moving closer to him to warm them.
"Miss Yi," Bai Yeke called softly.
"Um?"
"What do you like about me?" Bai Ye asked the question that had been lingering in her heart for a long time.
Their relationship is neither too close nor too distant; they are mutually attracted, they are together, they kiss, just like many couples who are just starting out. There are still many things that can be adjusted for how things will go in the future.
Taking advantage of youth or just a sudden whim, they decided to have some fun.
We walked a part of the road together, each getting what we needed.
...
It will be all right.
Bai Yeke never thought they would be together for long from the beginning; she was just instinctively drawn to Yi Sheng. She couldn't resist him, and it seemed there was no need for her to miss out.
Therefore, understanding Yi Sheng's feelings for her will help her position herself.
Just as Yi Sheng had just pointed out her role in this competition.
Yi Sheng countered, "What do you think?"
The woman's voice was usually cool, but now she spoke softly and slowly, which made her sound gentle.
Bai Ye might probe, "Looks?"
That's all she has to offer, something that makes her somewhat comparable to Yi Sheng.
Yi Sheng's smile was faint, and he did not reply.
So Bai Yeke herself denied it, saying that with Yi Sheng's face, how could he possibly be attracted to anyone else...?
Yi Sheng spoke slowly again, "Part of it."
Yi Sheng was caught off guard by the fleeting glimpse of the portrait at the store entrance, but once inside, she couldn't take her eyes off it, even though it was hanging in the far corner.
It just so happened that it was for business, so she decided on that girl.
Subsequently, it wasn't entirely her doing; it was a series of coincidences, or perhaps it was fate—that made her want to hold onto this girl time and time again.
Bai Yeke was surprised. Was there really such a superficial reason as appearance?
"And what about the other part?"
I like a certain feeling about you.
"How does it feel?" Bai Ye was eager to get to the bottom of things. She could vaguely sense Yi Sheng's feelings for her and couldn't help but want to know more, but she was also a little guilty. "...Does it feel like I'm useless?"
Leaving aside Yi Sheng, even Xiao Yang, who's always by her side, is a stark contrast to her...
Yi Sheng was amused by the second half of her sentence, "You're not useless at all. With your family background and abilities, anyone else could just lie down and relax."
“You haven’t told me about your family situation in detail. I only know that your family is well-off, although your father favors boys over girls, um… you can’t compete with your brother.” A long time ago, Bai Yeke had talked about these things with Yi Sheng, but when the two got closer, Bai Yeke had just run away from home, so they didn’t mention those old things again.
“That’s my stepfather. I didn’t try to take anything from that brother…” Bai Yeke said softly.
She was just feeling down and sad back then, because she didn't have a father to protect her and pave the way for her, but it wasn't anyone's fault.
Later, after she got to work and became self-reliant, her mindset gradually broadened.
“Is that so…” Yi Sheng pondered.
"So, although your family didn't give you much support or respect your soul, they did provide for your basic needs and arranged blind dates for you, sometimes even with families that were quite well-off."
"If it were someone else, they would naturally enjoy all of this, marry into a good family, and have a respectable job as a designer. What's wrong with that?"
"Working your way up from the bottom as a designer, you might see a chance to make it big through survivorship bias, but the chances are slim and the cost-effectiveness is far less than a comfortable life."
As Bai Ye listened, her emotions swirled. What Yi Sheng said was probably true, but the thought of such a life suffocated her and made her instinctively resist it.
She used to wonder if she was too willful and wanted too much, as a stepdaughter living under someone else's roof.
Yi Sheng then changed the subject, “But you didn’t go to lie down. You seem so introverted, and you don’t throw tantrums at home. You’re like a nice guy, even more… cowardly than those who are addicted to pleasure?” Yi Sheng carefully chose her words.
At that time, she was always seen as sullen, introverted, and even dull by her stepfather and other relatives, and she avoided many things.
Because Baiye couldn't find a better way; her upbringing had left her without the ability to navigate various situations with ease.
She was trying to escape those realities while simultaneously trying to break free from the encirclement.
Those days left her feeling stifled, sad, and utterly powerless...
Bai Ye felt her eyes starting to sting, but thankfully, she could still hold it in, since it was all in the past.
Yi Sheng gave her a light kiss on the eyelid, "Your cowardice is a sacrifice, a compromise, a form of protection—protecting yourself and your mother. It can't be called cowardice; it's more of a strength."
The warm, tender touch was fleeting, yet like the butterfly effect, Bai Ye could feel those bitter emotions uncontrollably falling with her tears, only to be wiped away by Yi Sheng with his thumb.
The woman's words, though spoken with such calm and rationality, somehow made one unable to resist revealing all their emotions.
"On the other hand, you have really been trying to break free, and you haven't lost yourself like others. This struggle..." Yi Sheng paused, "is what attracts me and others even more."
Bai Ye turned to the side and buried herself in Yi Sheng's chest, wiping her tears all over the woman's collar and collarbone. In a daze, years of grievances and resentment were completely soothed. The sun suddenly broke through the dark clouds in the gloomy sky, revealing bright light.
"What attracts people..." Bai Ye's hand, which wasn't being held, weakly tugged at Yi Sheng's clothes. She insisted that Yi Sheng specify, "Who?"
"Heh." Yi Sheng laughed out loud, "I... I'm attracted to you."
One kiss after another, some light, some heavy, fell, the cold air from the snow meeting the sweet scent of lychee and rose, creating a wonderful fragrance that filled the room, intoxicatingly sweet.
Yi Sheng demonstrated through his actions just how attracted he was to her.
In her daze, Bai Yeke thought that Yi Sheng was not as abstinent as the rumored Abbess Miejue; in fact, he was the opposite.
Furthermore, her mental preparation at the restaurant clearly paid off; in fact, practice makes perfect, even though theory can be more effective...
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