A Paper Contract GL - Chapter 35

“Oh? Who is it?” Chen Nan said while smoking a cigarette.

“I don’t know,” Jiang Yuetong shook her head. “The principal didn’t say. He said that speaking out would affect the unity among teachers, and I think he’s right.” Jiang Yuetong lowered her voice. There were only a few people in the office; no one should be able to hear her talking.

Chen Nan, hearing this, unhappily spat out, “He’s full of it! Only a fool like you would believe the principal saying that. Do you know what kind of behavior this is? Slander! Do you know that there’s a crime for that in the criminal law? You could be sentenced! Why should your school decide to handle it this way? Besides, how did the school handle it? Just criticism and education? That’s useless.” Chen Nan wouldn’t allow the person she loved to suffer even a little injustice, saying in a flurry, like a string of firecrackers.

“Oh, come on, Chen Nan, why are we being so serious about it? Let it go, maybe she was just impulsive,” Jiang Yuetong advised.

“Even if it’s an impulse, one must pay the price for their actions.” As Chen Nan said this, she suddenly thought of herself. Was she now being forcibly assaulted because of an impulse, a mistake, back then? The thought of being sexually coerced by Shi Ya just now made her feel incredibly uncomfortable, like ants crawling all over her body.

“Chen Nan…” Jiang Yuetong pleaded, “Let it go, okay? I’m not dwelling on it, why should you?”

Chen Nan sighed, “You are always so kind.” After speaking, she walked to the refrigerator in the bedroom, took out a bottle of Coke, twisted off the cap, and drank heartily. She felt a slightly spicy, icy sensation in her throat and stomach.

Hanging up the phone, Chen Nan checked the time. It was not yet eight o’clock. However, it was already dark, and it looked like it might rain. The weather was very muggy. Even with the air conditioner on, Chen Nan felt stuffy inside. She hastily put on a pair of Nike shorts and a vest, grabbed her phone and keys, and left the bedroom.

Shi Ya had put her pajamas back on and was sitting alone in the downstairs dining room, drinking red wine, seemingly drowning her sorrows. Chen Nan didn’t say a word, walking toward the door with a cold face.

Shi Ya’s voice came from behind: “It’s so late, where are you going? To look for that woman again?”

Chen Nan only left one sentence, “I’m not going to look for anyone, I just want to go out for a walk.” After that, she left.

The sky had completely darkened, and the streetlights lit up in orange one by one. But Chen Nan’s hands on the steering wheel were cold. She rolled up the wide-open car window. She felt very cold, she didn’t know if it was because of the speed of the car.

As she drove, she unconsciously drove to Jiang Yuetong’s apartment complex. Chen Nan parked the car at the entrance, lit a cigarette, and stared ahead without focus, her mind a jumble of thoughts. She hadn’t intended to call Jiang Yuetong out, but just as Chen Nan was smoking, someone tapped on her window. Chen Nan looked up and saw it was Jiang Yuetong. It turned out Jiang Yuetong hadn’t eaten enough dinner and wanted to go out to buy something from the night market to eat.

“Why are you here?” Jiang Yuetong looked at Chen Nan strangely, noticing that Chen Nan’s expression was a little off, both gloomy and quiet, as if she had heavy worries.

Chen Nan immediately changed her expression. She didn’t want Jiang Yuetong to feel sad or worried because of her. She would handle her situation with Shi Ya herself; Jiang Yuetong didn’t need to worry too. Chen Nan smiled slightly, “I felt bored staying at home, so I drove out for a spin, but for some strange reason, I ended up here. I don’t know what’s going on, maybe your magnetic field is too strong and it involuntarily sucks me here.”

Jiang Yuetong smiled at her and said, “Nonsense! You must be here for something, right? Tell me, who are you waiting for? Does that person live in the same complex as me? What a coincidence. I’m going to stand here and wait to see who you are waiting for.”

Chen Nan squinted with a smile and opened the passenger door, “Sit inside and wait, and I’ll let you see who I’m waiting for.”

Jiang Yuetong sat inside as told. After a long time passed, she rubbed her stomach, “I’m so hungry. I’ve been waiting for half an hour, and no one has shown up.” Jiang Yuetong turned to look at Chen Nan and said, “You are very strange, staying up late and sitting idle at the entrance of my complex, without even calling me. Oh…” Jiang Yuetong clapped her head, saying, “You must have done something to let me down, and now you don’t dare to tell me, right?”

Chen Nan slightly frowned, twitched the corner of her mouth, and said, “You actually hit the nail on the head. I really did something to let you down. I slept with someone else… Do you believe me?” Chen Nan finished with a smile on her lips.

“Really?” Jiang Yuetong’s eyes widened momentarily, then she smiled and shook her head, “Don’t lie to me. How long have we been apart? Just a few hours. I don’t believe you had the time for that. You are so vulgar, only saying these naughty things to annoy me.”

Chen Nan smiled faintly, holding Jiang Yuetong’s hand in her palm, feeling the warmth coming from Jiang Yuetong’s palm. Looking at her clean and pure smile, Chen Nan’s mood slowly brightened.

“Didn’t you say you came out to buy something to eat? What do you want to eat? I’ll buy it for you.” Chen Nan started the car.

Jiang Yuetong thought for a moment, “I haven’t decided. I want something sweet. How about some cake?”

Chen Nan nodded, “Okay,” then she looked around, “I don’t see any cake shops around here. Can you give me directions?”

Jiang Yuetong thought for a moment and said, “It should be somewhere relatively far. The few nearby ones don’t taste good. The cream is sickeningly sweet, and the chocolate flavor isn’t authentic.”

Chen Nan teased, “You, you are always so knowledgeable when it comes to eating. It reminds me of two words to describe you.”

“A food lover (Chī huò)?” Jiang Yuetong said.

Chen Nan nodded.

Jiang Yuetong playfully hit Chen Nan’s arm, “You are the food lover!”

The car drove in the direction Jiang Yuetong indicated, but after driving only about a hundred meters, Chen Nan yelled, “No good, no good! My stomach hurts now! Hurry up and tell me where the restroom is around here?”

“Ah? Stomach ache? What’s wrong? Do you need to go to the hospital?” Jiang Yuetong turned to look at Chen Nan. Under the light, Jiang Yuetong noticed that Chen Nan’s face seemed a bit swollen.

“Hospital my foot! I just need to poop, do I have to be so explicit?” Chen Nan said loudly.

“Turn left a hundred meters ahead,” Jiang Yuetong said.

Chen Nan quickly drove the car to the restroom entrance. Chen Nan pulled a few tissues and sprinted inside.

Jiang Yuetong shook her head, “You didn’t come to my place just to use the restroom, did you?”

Waiting and waiting, Jiang Yuetong’s stomach rumbled several times, but Chen Nan still hadn’t come out. Jiang Yuetong couldn’t wait any longer, so she got out of the car and entered the restroom, seeing Chen Nan washing her hands at the sink.

“Why did you take so long?” Jiang Yuetong asked.

Chen Nan shook the water droplets from her hands, “I’ve been constipated for a week, and now it suddenly cleared up, that’s why I squatted for so long.” Chen Nan waved her hand, “Ugh, you didn’t see how big the pile was…”

Jiang Yuetong stamped her foot, “I still want to eat something!”

Chen Nan said seriously, “I want to eat too.”

The two arrived at a large storefront cake shop, ordering a Black Forest, a Viennese Chocolate Almond, a Tiramisu, and a Stollen, plus two large cups of freshly made yogurt.

The two sat by the street under a sun umbrella, feeding each other bite by bite. Soon, Chen Nan forgot the unpleasantness with Shi Ya from the afternoon.

“When can we travel? The National Day holiday is coming up soon, and I have seven days off,” Jiang Yuetong’s feet swayed back and forth, each swing brushing against Chen Nan’s foot.

“You can go wherever you want, even flying to the South Pacific in a private jet is no problem,” Chen Nan smiled softly.

Jiang Yuetong kicked her foot and said, “Stop saying things that are impossible to realize, okay?”

Chen Nan said seriously, “Why is it impossible to realize? As long as you like it, it’s possible. But there’s another option, and this option is definitely very realistic.”

“What?” Jiang Yuetong asked innocently.

“Spending all seven days nestled in my house, playing the game of ‘no clothes’…” Chen Nan finished with a wide smile.

Jiang Yuetong gave her a strong kick.

“Ouch… be gentle,” Chen Nan pulled her leg over and rubbed it.

Jiang Yuetong mischievously licked the cake crumbs from the corner of her mouth, then reached under the table and rubbed Chen Nan’s leg, although she wasn’t sure if that was the exact spot she had kicked. “I’m sorry, does it hurt?”

Chen Nan’s eyes darted, and she said softly, “It hurts a lot.”

Jiang Yuetong suddenly stood up, smiling, “You brought it on yourself for being in pain.” After saying that, she walked toward the car. Chen Nan had already finished her cake, so she quickly followed suit. Then, the two of them drove away.

The car drove into Jiang Yuetong’s apartment complex.

The car had been parked at the building entrance for a long time, but Chen Nan was still holding Jiang Yuetong’s hand, reluctant to let her go.

“I have class tomorrow,” Jiang Yuetong said softly. “First period tomorrow morning.”

“I know, but I won’t let you go,” Chen Nan buried her head stubbornly in Jiang Yuetong’s chest, greedily breathing in the intoxicating scent.

“Are you done now?” Jiang Yuetong was already feeling a little sleepy.

Chen Nan reluctantly opened the driver’s side door, then walked to the passenger side, opened the door, and looked down, saying, “Let me carry you upstairs.”

“No way,” Jiang Yuetong frowned slightly.

“Then I won’t let you go,” Chen Nan said.

Jiang Yuetong had no choice but to nod. Fortunately, it was already almost midnight, and there weren’t many people walking around the complex. Even if there were people, as long as Jiang Yuetong buried her head in Chen Nan’s neck, no one would be able to recognize her. The atmosphere in the complex was very indifferent now. Unless it was a particularly good relationship, people wouldn’t talk when they met, let alone recognize someone in the dark of night.

Chen Nan easily picked Jiang Yuetong up. Perhaps it was because Jiang Yuetong was too light, with a height of 168 cm, she only weighed 45 kilograms.

Jiang Yuetong lived on the first floor, so they reached the door after only a few steps. Chen Nan put Jiang Yuetong down and kissed her passionately again for a while.

Jiang Yuetong gently turned the key to unlock her door. A Miniature Pinscher peeked out from the gap in the door, and Jiang Yuetong let it out. The Pinscher was very small; it seemed like it could be picked up with one hand. If one wasn’t careful in the dark, they might accidentally step on it and kill it. Chen Nan looked at the little thing and bent down with interest to stroke its head.

Jiang Yuetong said, “This is also a member of our family. Its name is Luna.”

“Is it a female dog?” Chen Nan looked up and asked.