Adopting Myself from the Young Heiress - Chapter 7

The rainy season had arrived.

Summer vacation had also begun for university students.

After finishing her last exam, An Chixu finally relaxed after a month of intense studying.

She had been using the study materials Yan Ciwei had given her, staying in a house near Yan Ciwei’s university.

They were in the same major and the same class, inseparable day and night. An Chixu no longer needed anyone else.

“Weiwei, when are we leaving?” An Chixu pressed against Yan Ciwei’s back, her hands sneaking around to encircle Yan Ciwei’s waist.

The summer heat brought sweat, making the thin fabric between them cling and pull with damp stickiness.

Yan Ciwei had promised to take her on a trip after the exams.

Having never left her hometown before, An Chixu had come to the university city alone for the first time. Now, she was about to travel with the person she loved.

“I booked a hotel for the 5th, so we can leave on the morning of the 4th,” Yan Ciwei said, lifting her hand to hook her fingers around An Chixu’s. She kissed An Chixu’s neatly manicured nails, eliciting a soft, trembling laugh.

“Are we really going to drive ourselves?” An Chixu had gotten her driver’s license under Yan Ciwei’s supervision, but she was still inexperienced and could only take over when Yan Ciwei was tired.

“Driving ourselves will be fun! We’ll experience the journey differently,” Yan Ciwei insisted firmly.

“Alright. You decide,” An Chixu said, ever obedient. She allowed her lover to guide her forward without resistance.

As expected, Yan Ciwei pulled her into a warm embrace. An Chixu instinctively wrapped her arms around Yan Ciwei’s neck, inhaling the geranium scent behind her ear. The sense of security enveloped her, as if Yan Ciwei had hypnotized her.

“I don’t want you to get too tired,” Yan Ciwei murmured. Moments later, An Chixu collapsed against her, and Yan Ciwei carried her to the nearby sofa.

“How could I be tired? You’re here,” An Chixu replied. Yan Ciwei kissed the corner of her eye before gently pushing her down onto the floor beside her.

They had shared an entire autumn and winter, and now they had walked through spring and summer together.

An Chixu had completely surrendered herself to Yan Ciwei.

Her body, her heart, even her student ID, account passwords, and national ID card…

Every night, when An Chixu served Yan Ciwei and brought her pleasure, she felt a profound sense of fulfillment. It was as if this was her sole purpose in life.

As long as she loved Yan Ciwei, she could possess the entire world.

Yan Ciwei would care for her, handle all her affairs, and even indulge her, allowing her to engage in intimate acts in the ways she preferred.

Sometimes, An Chixu would tease her:

“You’re like my mom, Yan Ciwei.”

A real mother who truly loved and cared for her, unlike those two back home…

And An Chixu was like a spoiled child, so pampered she was practically losing her hands and feet, needing Yan Ciwei to guide her every step.

An Chixu brushed aside Yan Ciwei’s hair, revealing the geranium-scented balm she had playfully smeared on the ends during their morning romp.

She pecked kisses like a bird, tracing Yan Ciwei’s ear, neck, and collarbone.

Gently unbuttoning her shirt.

“Here?” In this one matter alone, Yan Ciwei granted An Chixu absolute freedom.

An Chixu could unleash herself completely upon Yan Ciwei’s body. Yan Ciwei loved her so deeply that she would never refuse even the most outrageous request.

“Is that not allowed, Sister?” An Chixu had honed her skills in this area alone.

She had learned so much. Each time she clumsily called out “Sister” and attempted to seduce Yan Ciwei, she always received a response.

Yan Ciwei’s throat tightened slightly as she glanced out the window.

It was the rainy season, and the world outside was shrouded in a misty downpour.

The relentless rain had turned the floor-to-ceiling windows into sheets of white fog, water streaks blurring the view.

The light hung low. They hadn’t turned on the lights, yet even at midday, the room felt dim.

They lay on the living room carpet—not particularly clean, nor particularly private.

An Chixu’s restless hands kneaded Yan Ciwei’s flesh, sending shivers of pleasure through her.

Yan Ciwei withdrew her gaze, relaxed her breathing, and softened her skin.

If her Tuantuan wanted this, then she would give it to her.

Yan Ciwei closed her eyes as An Chixu’s kiss landed, its warmth melting away the chill of the rainy season.

Early morning on the fourth.

Having made all the arrangements, Yan Ciwei gently carried the still-drowsy An Chixu downstairs and into the car.

They drove past bustling cityscapes, through crowded streets, and across a long bridge.

Their journey took them far from the city, to a place with clear lakes and endless rain.

By dusk on the fourth, they had parked in an open space, the only two souls beneath the vast sky.

A sudden downpour swept in with the twilight. The summer storm battered the tiny couple, its fierce winds and heavy rain stinging their skin.

Yet they clung to each other, stubbornly refusing to retreat to the car.

Yan Ciwei wanted to capture the sunset and her beloved in this moment. An Chixu stayed by her side, forever following her lead.

In the distance, the mountain range stretched endlessly, dark clouds covering only half the sky.

Their side was shrouded in twilight, while across the lake, golden rays of the setting sun painted the clouds crimson.

An Chixu held up a rain cape, sheltering both of them beneath its folds as they embraced.

“Tuantuan,” her lover’s voice whispered in her ear. The eighteen-year-old turned her head, gazing into her lover’s eyes, where the sunset was reflected.

Her eyelashes flickered like a painter’s brush, tracing the shifting hues of twilight across her irises.

An Chixu rose on tiptoe.

In the sudden downpour of a summer dusk, she carefully kissed her lover’s lips.

The rain intensified.

This delicate night welcomed a delicate rain.

The raindrops clattered against the window like tears, like sobs.

Yan Ciwei tilted her head slightly, gazing at An Chixu’s indifference. The tear An Chixu had wiped away reformed at the corner of her eye.

An Chixu no longer possessed the fiery passion, unwavering trust, and reckless abandon of her eighteen-year-old self.

In her twenty-five-year-old eyes, only a desolate frost remained. Love had long since melted away in the ice and snow.

She wiped away Yan Ciwei’s tear out of habit, out of politeness.

An Chixu’s hand was about to withdraw.

Yan Ciwei fastened her seatbelt with a click, causing An Chixu’s movement to falter for a moment.

Yan Ciwei seized the retreating hand and pressed it back against her cheek.

The palm burned with heat.

Yan Ciwei still retained the passion An Chixu had discarded.

She smiled, like a sunset blooming across the horizon.

All of An Chixu’s memories were etched into her being.

Tears mingled with her smile, each drop larger than the downpour, streaming down her face in an unstoppable torrent.

Don’t think of me.

Even in her weeping, Yan Ciwei maintained her grace and beauty.

She refused to let An Chixu see her unsightly, flushed face.

“Then, Tuantuan…” Yan Ciwei’s voice was so faint, so ethereal, that An Chixu wondered if the scalding heat had conjured a hallucination.

“How do you stop longing?” Yan Ciwei tightened her grip on An Chixu’s hand, preventing her from pulling away.

Burning tears slid into An Chixu’s palm, their warmth intensifying with each drop. The salty heat stung her skin, making her brow twitch.

Longing was just like a sudden downpour—it came unbidden.

An Chixu could only stand drenched and helpless in the rain, as she had countless times before—this time without her lover by her side.

“Come stop me,” Yan Ciwei murmured with a soft laugh, her throat moving slightly, as if reliving a past moment.

“I will always long for you.”

An Chixu stared at the throat she had kissed countless times, at the slight bulge where she had bitten.

In this moment, Yan Ciwei’s upward gaze made her seem to be kneeling before An Chixu.

Then she heard the familiar raindrops, the intimate call.

An Chixu yanked her burning hand away.

“Don’t make me hate you,” she said, turning her face away.

How long had it been? Yet in Yan Ciwei’s presence, she still felt inferior, like a petulant child.

“Then hate me,” Yan Ciwei said, a hint of anticipation in her voice. “If it will make you feel better.”

She secretly longed for An Chixu’s hatred, simply because she loved her so deeply.

Hatred lasts longer than love. They couldn’t bear to become strangers.

As expected, An Chixu glared coldly at Yan Ciwei.

She lowered the car window, and the earthy scent of rain-soaked mud rushed in, followed by a gust of rain that swept into the car.

An Chixu reached out the window and flung the hand that had just touched Yan Ciwei’s face far away, into the downpour.

She wanted the filthy rainwater to wash away Yan Ciwei’s tears, the icy coldness quenching the burning heat.

Staring intently at Yan Ciwei, she performed a resolute act of hatred.

Yan Ciwei slid back into the driver’s seat, wiping away the lingering tears with a bitter smile.

An Chixu’s cold glare was indeed a knife. Every hateful gesture slowly sliced at Yan Ciwei’s heart.

Yet she felt a strange thrill, her bl00d surging with the force of her love.

Hate me, she thought.

Yan Ciwei started the car, waited for An Chixu to retract her hand and close the window, then drove off steadily.

She would love her back.

An Chixu’s residential complex came into view.

Yan Ciwei smoothly turned into the driveway leading to An Chixu’s building, glancing out at the relentless rain with a soft sigh.

She retrieved an umbrella from the car, opened her door, and walked around to the passenger side.

Leaning the red umbrella forward, she shielded An Chixu, her own back already soaked through.

Feeling this wasn’t enough, she stepped out of the car’s shadow entirely, leaving the entire sheltered space beneath the umbrella for An Chixu.

Yan Ciwei reached for the car door.

The door opened on its own.

An Chixu emerged, clutching a waterproof briefcase, her expression still icy, her hatred almost dissipated into nothingness.

Yan Ciwei offered her a smile, the corners of her lips drooping, forced and fragile. The smile was like a bubble, ready to burst at the slightest touch.

An Chixu’s gaze lingered on Yan Ciwei for only an instant.

Before Yan Ciwei could even savor the fleeting sting of pleasure, An Chixu had already bypassed her umbrella.

Shielding herself with the briefcase, she hurried into the building’s entrance.

An Chixu’s figure vanished in an instant.

The red umbrella remained beside the black car, the only splash of color in the pitch-black rainy night.

Weak, drooping.

Yan Ciwei remained motionless, holding the umbrella, not even breathing.

Her eyes stared unblinking, letting raindrops slide into her sockets and spill out, mimicking tears.

A long moment passed.

The red umbrella fell to the ground, its fabric drumming a chaotic melody under the torrential rain.

Yan Ciwei, soaked to the bone, finally blinked.

Her eyes were dry. She had no tears to mourn for herself.

Without turning back, Yan Ciwei slowly picked up the ruined red umbrella, carefully rolled it up, and returned to the car, drenched from the sudden downpour.

The passenger seat still carried the lingering scent of lavender—An Chixu’s newly changed laundry detergent.

Persistent and all-pervading.

Yan Ciwei steadied herself and slowly began to move.

She rolled down all four windows, turned on the hazard lights, and drove the car out of An Chixu’s territory.

Accelerating, then accelerating again.

As the car sped forward, the torrential rain flooded the interior, erasing An Chixu’s last lingering fragrance.

Yan Ciwei could no longer find any trace of An Chixu’s existence.

The cat tree had arrived.

An Chixu had errands to run today. She hurriedly assembled it according to the instructions, still making a mistake once.

That day, caught in the sudden downpour, she had rushed home and lost contact with Yan Ciwei.

She hadn’t seen Yan Ciwei at work or during her commute, and Yan Ciwei didn’t attend meetings either.

An Chixu casually noticed this, but she didn’t dwell on it.

She wasn’t curious about Yan Ciwei’s situation.

Yan Ciwei had wanted her to hate her. An Chixu had complied, only to find no satisfaction in it.

In the very moment she retaliated against Yan Ciwei, she instinctively worried about whether Yan Ciwei would catch a cold from being drenched in the rain.

Yan Ciwei’s health wasn’t robust; being soaked in a torrential downpour without showering promptly would inevitably lead to a fever.

An Chixu’s concern faded quickly.

Love or hate, she was tired of it all.

It would be better if they remained strangers.

“Little Orange, are you settling into my home?” An Chixu asked as she reassembled the cat tree, watching the overly friendly kitten claw and bite at the assembled parts.

It seemed Orange had already settled into her new home without needing to be asked.

In recent days, Orange’s eating, drinking, and bathroom habits had been perfectly normal. At night, she even made a round of An Chixu’s room.

An Chixu had been cramming on cat care basics, no longer asking “Pei Yuxi” silly questions.

Though she hadn’t yet unlocked the privilege of having Orange sleep with her, An Chixu was already content.

“I’m off to work now,” An Chixu said, tightening the last screw on the cat tree. She snapped a photo and sent it to “Pei Yuxi,” then lifted the eager Orange to the highest platform.

Orange padded the plush surface twice, her fluffy squirrel-like tail twitching, and began kneading and purring contentedly at that height.

“You’re truly the cutest little cat. Be good and wait for me at home,” An Chixu said, stroking Orange’s head and scratching her chin.

After a moment’s hesitation, she stood on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to the kitten’s forehead.

It had been a long time since she’d felt the touch of another living creature on her lips.

As An Chixu left, she pressed her numb lips together, thinking she probably wasn’t suited for kissing cats.

She’d never realized kissing could make her lips feel so strange.

An Chixu arrived at the event venue half an hour early.

With Pei Luochen and Zhou Yanxi, the group’s most popular members, absent, the venue was still sparsely populated.

Backstage, only Shen Jibai and another lesser-known junior member were present.

After surveying the crowd, An Chixu sighed inwardly.

If Pei Luochen had been participating, the place would have been packed, and she would have needed to use the staff entrance.

I’ll just have to work harder this month, An Chixu thought as she slipped backstage.

Shen Jibai spotted An Chixu in the crowd and beamed, a rosy blush spreading across her cheeks.

She was about to wave when she noticed An Chixu freeze a short distance away.

An Chixu’s gaze drifted to one side.

After two days, Yan Ciwei had actually come to such a small event.

A fever patch was stuck to her forehead, and an IV drip remained in her hand.

An Chixu paused for only a second, but Yan Ciwei caught that familiar look and turned in her direction.

Their eyes met, and Yan Ciwei’s eyes shone with pure joy.

The sky darkened. Without natural light, the mall grew dim.

It was about to rain.

An Chixu couldn’t suppress the longing that surged through her.