Chapter 7: Kissing to the point where their knuckles cracked...
Zhou Ke controlled her alcohol intake; one glass of special cocktail, with a rich yogurt aroma, probably contained no alcohol.
Back home, she could still vividly recall her brother mixing drinks at the bar, the milky white yogurt colliding with the light blue thick liquor, their flavors blending together.
At that moment, as Lin Yu looked at the cup of Mount Fuji that Zhou Ke handed her, some memories that had been deliberately hidden deep within her, weathered by the passage of time, were stirred up again.
She recalled that kiss from three years ago, a kiss mingled with the beer flavor of wheat rice cakes and a faint scent of green berries, in the stuffy, cramped room, beneath her brother's taut body, and within her trembling soul.
She made an unforgivable mistake in a desperate gamble.
She recalled that moment countless times, yet tried countless times to forget it.
It was an absurd night, the first time she recklessly revealed her girlish feelings, and from then on, it became the starting point for her never daring to look her brother in the eye again.
In September, universities across the country begin preparations to welcome new students.
Two nights before leaving for school, Lin Yu was dragged along by Jia Yi and several classmates to a roadside stall to drink and eat barbecue, commemorating their upcoming new journeys as they went their separate ways.
The barbecue restaurant is run by a relative of my classmate. They've eaten here countless times over the three years of high school. The barbecue tastes great, and most importantly, the ingredients are very clean. The person grilling the skewers is my classmate himself, an 'old master chef' with eight years of experience and superb skills.
Seven or eight people sat around a table, surrounded by the aroma of cumin and smoke in the air.
In summer, with barbecues, a gentle breeze, and good friends, beer is an essential part of the fun.
My friend got up and carried a case of beer from the barbecue restaurant to the table. While eating skewers, he kept saying that how could you eat barbecue without beer?
With a click, the bottle opener pried open the cap. The alcohol reacted with the air and quickly produced a lot of bubbles, which spilled down the bottle. The group quickly picked up glasses and poured the alcohol into them.
A layer of fine white bubbles floated on the surface of the clear yellow liquid.
The whole case of twelve bottles was opened in one go, and Jiayi also took a bottle. After two drinks, she was still very energetic.
The aroma of mutton bursts in your mouth, the lively atmosphere of a summer night swirls overhead, and in the distance, a motorbike-wild motorcycle darts past, leaving behind a dull hum.
Filled with anticipation for entering university and the thought of parting with her best friends as she was about to travel far away, Jiayi's feelings were particularly complicated that day, a mixture of anticipation and reluctance.
She rested her head on Lin Yu's arm, and tearfully complained, "I guess the next time I see you will be during winter break. Why am I so useless? We agreed to go to Jiangcheng together, but now one of us is staying in the city and the other is heading 500 kilometers away."
Lin Yu comforted her, "It's okay. I'll go back to Tongcheng when I have time. You can come to Jiangcheng to play when you have time. I can even be your guide."
Jiayi remained sullen. She picked up a wine glass from the table and made a toasting gesture towards Lin Yu: "I haven't been to Jiangcheng yet."
Lin Yu looked at the untouched beer in front of her, picked up her glass and clinked it with Jia Yi's, "Then I'll wait for you to come over."
After a few drinks, Jiayi nodded emphatically, "Then it's settled."
And so, at the end of summer, a group of people enjoyed barbecue and drinks, and talked about their future university life.
"To hell with my senior year of high school, I'm finally free. Once I go to college, nobody will care about me anymore."
"Well said. When I get to college, I want to fall in love and go to the beach to watch the sunrise."
"A toast to our departing high school years."
......
The smiles around my ears gradually blurred, the figures overlapped, and the tree branches split in two.
The warm summer night breeze, carrying the aroma of barbecue, swirled around her. Lin Yu felt her consciousness boiling in her blood along with the alcohol. The voices of her friends seemed to come from near and far. She couldn't count how much she had drunk, only remembering that every time she raised her glass, tiny bubbles would appear before her eyes, eventually turning into a burning sting in her throat.
Jiayi turned her head and saw Lin Yu propping her head up, staring blankly with drunken eyes, her face flushed. She raised her hand and patted Lin Yu's burning cheeks, exclaiming, "My God, why is your face so red!"
Hearing Jiayi say that, Lin Yu blinked, but found that she couldn't focus her gaze. She raised her hand to touch her cheek, which was frighteningly hot to the touch, and her eyes and brows were flushed. She heard her own sticky voice, like she was holding a mouthful of honey that wouldn't melt: "I...I'm fine!"
Jiayi gasped, thought for a moment, and then quickly rummaged through her bag for her phone. "No, you've had too much to drink. I'd better call your brother and have him come pick you up."
elder brother.
These two words, like a lit match, silently slid into Lin Yu's burning stomach, making her feel as hot as if she were on fire. She subconsciously resisted, but Jia Yi had already picked up her phone and dialed a number.
The barbecue stall was not far from Lin Yu's home. Night had fallen, and because the distance was short and it was late, no driver was willing to take the order, so he had to call someone to pick him up.
...
After an unknown amount of time, a tall, slender figure appeared under the streetlight in front of her. Lin Yu looked up, and a streetlight stood beside the two of them, its light casting a hazy, fragmented glow behind Zhou Ke. His features were shrouded in shadow, except for his eyes, which shone brightly like a lighthouse on a dark sea.
Lin Yu stared at him for a few seconds, her amber pupils glistening with moisture from the alcohol. Her fine eyelashes blinked very lightly, and then she murmured softly through her damp lips, "Brother."
Because he had come in such a hurry, his chest was still rising and falling slightly under his dark T-shirt. Zhou Ke stood in front of her, his face stern, looking down at her.
My younger sister was wearing a green gradient sundress, the color getting lighter and lighter from top to bottom, reminiscent of green apple juice. Thin straps rested on her shoulders, revealing two deep dimples in her collarbone. Her waist-length hair was draped over her shoulders, her cheeks were rosy, and her amber eyes were moist and bright.
Zhou Ke looked down at her and asked softly, "Can you still walk?"
Lin Yu squatted by the roadside, looking at Zhou Ke with hazy eyes. Her lips were half-pursed, and she squinted, looking incredibly obedient. Her voice was as sweet as honey. She shook her head and said, "No, brother, carry me."
After she finished speaking, she stretched out her arms.
Zhou Ke sighed and resignedly squatted down in front of her.
Lin Yu staggered and clung to his back, her two slender arms encircling her brother's neck, her chin resting on his broad shoulders. With each breath, she could smell the faint scent of laundry detergent on his clothes. Her full breasts pressed against his back, and she could clearly feel the taut muscle lines beneath the fabric.
"Brother, it's been so long since you've carried me like this." Lin Yu pressed her face against his shoulder, her voice muffled.
Zhou Ke paused for a moment and said, "You've grown up. I can't keep carrying you on my back every day like I did when you were little."
Growing up, what an evil word.
As you get older, you have to distance yourself from certain things. Even if it's not taught in textbooks, people around you will gossip behind your back. For both men and women, the price of growing up is having to avoid suspicion.
The night breeze brushed against Lin Yu's burning cheeks, and the road home suddenly seemed very short, so short that before she could even react, Zhou Ke had already placed her on the sofa.
Zhou Ke stared at her face, looking into her absent-minded eyes, and gently reminded her, "Let go."
"Oh." Regaining her composure, Lin Yu reluctantly released her arms from around her brother's neck.
Fearing that Lin Yu might feel uncomfortable, Zhou Ke straightened up and said, "Sit here, I'll go make you a cup of honey water."
After saying that, Zhou Ke turned to leave, but Lin Yu suddenly grabbed his wrist.
In that instant, Lin Yu saw Zhou Ke's pupils gazing at her gently in the darkness, just as always. His palm pressed against Zhou Ke's bony wrist, his fingertips landing precisely on the side of his wrist. Lin Yu could even clearly feel the frequency of his wrist's pulse.
One or two blows felt like they struck her heart.
Zhou Ke looked at his sister's hand, which was being held by her, and at her flushed cheeks and moist, bright eyes in the dim light. He took a step forward, squatted down in front of the sofa, looked her in the eye, and asked her with concern, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Lin Yu stared at him blankly without saying a word.
Alcohol, moonlight, and emotions that had been suppressed for too long were surging in her blood, breaching the dam of reason. She didn't know where she got the courage, but with her free hand, she grabbed her brother's collar, forcing him to bend down, and then, without regard for anything else, she moved closer.
The world seemed to freeze when her lips touched that softness.
The night was warm and the cicadas chirped outside the window. Taking advantage of her drunkenness, she kissed her brother's lips.
Zhou Ke's lips are beautiful, thin with shallow lines, a natural light pink, and soft like a piece of candy with filling.
The moment the kiss landed, the air fell silent. The surroundings were completely still, so quiet that she could even hear her own heart pounding faster. She could clearly feel Zhou Ke's stiffness and shock in that instant, like a statue frozen in time.
At this moment, it was as if an invisible barrier was surrounding the two of them. The distant sounds, the chirping of cicadas, the sound of the wind, and even the rights and wrongs were all shut out of the barrier. All that could be heard was the brother's suddenly heavy breathing and the two uneasy hearts pounding wildly, their heart rates soaring rapidly, almost breaking the limit.
The mere act of attaching them together had already set a bad precedent.
Morality and desire battled in her mind, but her body couldn't help but act. Lin Yu trembled as she stuck out her tongue and gently traced the shape of her brother's lips, kissing them like adding a piece of candy.
Her disordered breathing mingled with her nostrils, and her brother's stiffness and blankness worsened with her sweet kiss.
Her hands trembled as she braced herself on his knees. On the surface, she was a drunkard, but only she knew that at this moment she was sober, watching herself sink into depravity and make mistakes.
Lin Yu tried her best to control the trembling of her body, so that she could act as convincingly as possible. Moist saliva appeared between her lips, and she stuck out her tongue to lick it.
The moment their tongues touched, Lin Yu heard a loud, intense drumming sound in her ears, pounding incessantly and growing stronger, with a force that threatened to burst through her chest. The sound made her head feel heavy and her ears ring; the alcohol was probably taking effect. She began to feel inexplicably dizzy, and many past fragments flashed through her mind, from the first time she met Zhou Ke as a child to later, when he held her in the snowy night, repeatedly telling her that his brother was there for her.
She closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling uncontrollably with the turmoil in her heart. She began to feel like a sinner. Since she became conscious, her parents, elders, teachers, and everyone around her had been teaching her to be a good person, but Lin Yu felt at one moment that she was drifting further and further away from this path.
At least a good younger sister should not have such desires for her older brother.
She shouldn't have kissed her brother's lips while drunk.
The crisp scent of soapberry overwhelmed her, clouding her judgment. She parted her lips slightly, her teeth brushing against his soft lips, lingering there for a moment, until finally, almost unconsciously, she gently bit him.
Almost instantly, he felt his brother's body tense up even more.
After kissing for an unknown amount of time, when the two finally separated, Lin Yu lowered her head, not daring to look into Zhou Ke's eyes. Her lips were numb, and her heart was pounding painfully. The moonlight still shone quietly on the floor, as if nothing had happened, but many things had changed dramatically in that instant.
Zhou Ke looked down at her, his clear, dark eyes filled with complex emotions.
The atmosphere was deathly silent; no one spoke.
After the kiss, Lin Yu collapsed, exhausted.
...
It was not an ordinary evening.
The cramped room was filled with two broken yet surging hearts.
Separated by only a wall, this broken kiss eroded all their sleepiness for the night. Lin Yu lay on her side in bed, her almost painful expression reflected in the clear window. She looked at the lush old locust tree outside the window, and tears suddenly streamed down her face.
She recalled Émile Zola's words in "For One Night of Love": "If people love each other in sin, they should love each other to the point that their bones crack."
However, at this moment, she heard the sound of her heart breaking into pieces.
The next day, Lin Yu woke up with a splitting headache. Sunlight streamed into the room through the gaps in the curtains. The moment she opened her eyes, fragments of memories flooded her mind like a tide. She sat up abruptly and carefully left the room, but to her surprise, her fears were unfounded; the living room was quiet.
Zhou Ke was not at home.
When they met again, neither of them mentioned the kiss from the previous night, as if they both tacitly agreed that it was just an impulsive act under the influence of alcohol.
Impulsiveness means ought to be wrong and incorrect.
Their rare tacit understanding is to keep quiet about it.
On the third day, Lin Yu dragged her luggage to the station early in the morning. Her luggage had been packed the night before. She didn't bring much, just a brand new suitcase and some clothes.
Zhou Ke saw her off at the station and watched her enter. Her figure gradually changed from a clear outline to a miniature the size of a coin in his field of vision.
Lin Yu pushed her suitcase and suddenly turned around, looking through the throng of people at her brother standing outside the turnstile. He stood there, like a pine tree, gazing at her with a deep and distant look.
His lowered brows were clouded with an indescribable tension. Being forced to kiss by his sister while she was not in a conscious state was an unprecedented challenge for Zhou Ke. How should he deal with this taboo act? Should he rebuke her and scold her for doing such a thing, or pretend that nothing had happened and tolerate her actions?
He tolerated the younger sister he had raised.
Zhou Ke looked at his sister, who was still turning her head in the crowd. He appeared calm, but his heart was churning like waves. He began to wonder if his sister had developed feelings for him that she shouldn't have.
Or was it just an accident caused by being drunk?
Unexplainable emotions can only lead to unpredictable consequences.
The train is about to depart, and the platform announcement begins broadcasting the check-in information.
Lin Yu pushed her suitcase into the car.
Inside the carriage, train attendants were walking back and forth, passengers carrying large and small bags were weaving through the aisles, and children were breaking free from their parents' control and running around recklessly in the carriage.
The scenery outside the window flashed by quickly; distant mountains and nearby wild grasses came into view as if in fleeting shadows.
The train passed through a vast, uninhabited wilderness. Before entering the tunnel, the train's engine could be heard emitting a deep rumble.
Lin Yu closed her eyes, realizing that she was leaving the city where she had lived for eighteen years for a short time today.
She also left her brother.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
