After the Breakup, the Crazy Movie Queen Clings to Me Every Day (GL) - Chapter 10

“I like it very much.” Tan You said casually, and out of the corner of his eye he saw the upward curve of Lan Jingli’s lips…

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“I like it very much.” Tan You’s voice was nonchalant, but from the corner of her eye, she saw the irrepressible curve of Lan Jingli’s smile.

Lan Jingli slowly relaxed the fingers that had been tightly gripping her sleeve. She realized her fingers were stiff from clenching so hard.

“Really? Sister, you don’t have to force yourself. I won’t be mad if you don’t like it.”

“I do like it,” Tan You said, her gaze gentle, without a hint of the sharp, controlling nature that she usually displayed.

It was two in the afternoon. Lan Jingli was about to leave out of habit. She and Tan You always met at night, and the daylight made her feel even more nervous.

“Then I’ll head back now.”

“Back where?”

Lan Jingli answered truthfully. “Back to school.”

“You spent three hours to come here and are just going to leave after dropping off a gift?”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“Aren’t you tired?” Tan You’s voice was softly reproachful. “Do you have something to do at school this afternoon?”

“Not really.”

Her hair, as dark as a waterfall, swayed as the woman stood up and moved closer to Lan Jingli. Her voice was clear and seductive. “Li-li, be a good girl and go wait for me in the bedroom. I’ll be there soon.”

Lan Jingli realized Tan You was expecting a guest and felt flustered. She quickly nodded. “Okay. I won’t bother you.”

Watching Lan Jingli’s retreating back, Tan You’s gaze lingered on the delicate, three-dimensional specimen, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Lan Jingli walked toward Tan You’s bedroom, a route she was familiar with. She greeted Aunt Wan politely as she passed her on the stairs.

In Aunt Wan’s eyes, Tan You had kept Lan Jingli as a mistress for almost three months, and this was the first time she had been allowed into the bedroom during the daytime.

It seemed to indicate a deepening of their relationship. But what was going on with Wei Xueyin?

Wei Xueyin had been following Tan You around with great enthusiasm and consideration these past few days, all for the sake of marriage.

To be fair, while the Wei family wasn’t on the same level as a top-tier family like the Tan’s, they were still a decent match.

Lan Jingli entered the bedroom. In the cool, subtle fragrance of Tan You that filled the room, she forced herself to calm down and started reading the drama script the company had selected for her.

Suddenly, a heavy rain began to pour outside the window, mist hanging in the air between the raindrops. She stood up quickly, wanting to run down and bring Tan You inside.

But the woman had already come in, surrounded by servants.

The bedroom door closed, leaving only Tan You and Lan Jingli. The woman began to take off her soaked black dress piece by piece, like peeling back a withered flower petal. Her skin was smooth and fair.

Lan Jingli stared, her hands and feet unsure of where to go. “Sister, you… you got wet. I… should I boil some ginger tea?”

Tan You couldn’t help but laugh at her incoherent words. Her cool, chaste face, dotted with raindrops, was pale, her lips red as bl00d, giving her a stunningly beautiful and otherworldly look.

“Yes. I’d love some of your ginger tea.”

In that moment, Lan Jingli’s memories surged forward, uncontrollably, awakened by Tan You’s casual, beautiful presence.

It had been raining that day, too. Tan You had held a plant science painting and an umbrella, her elegant demeanor and graceful air giving off a cold distance.

The damp air had ruffled the ends of the woman’s hair as she told her, word for word, “You must look to the horizon.”

That day, she had also made the woman a bowl of ginger tea, with a little milk added.

For those six months, they had walked, meditated, and talked in the small mountain village. She had always held the umbrella for Tan You, come rain or shine.

After her shower, Tan You wore a silk robe loosely, drinking the ginger tea Lan Jingli had made. The black, gold-trimmed collar was half-open, captivating Lan Jingli’s attention.

“Li-li, get ready to move tomorrow.”

“Move?”

“Your company dorm,” Tan You said with a frown. Her pale, jade-like face showed a bit of confusion, as in her eyes, it hardly counted as a house. “Move out. Aunt Wan will take you to a new place. It’s very close to your school, and you can drive to the company.”

It took a few seconds for Lan Jingli to process that Tan You had prepared a house and a car for her.

“But, Sister, I don’t need you to give me all this. I’m fine where I am.”

Tan You smiled faintly without answering. “The security at that house is very good. It’s quiet and safe, perfect for you. Your teammates can come over, too.”

She had asked Aunt Wan to investigate the neighbors. They were all respectable and well-mannered.

The screen of her tablet showed a full view of the house: paintings on the wall, a crystal chandelier, beautiful handmade carpets, and a yard filled with various flowers and plants that grew wildly and beautifully in the meadow.

Lan Jingli could just make out some of the same plants as in the mountain villa: the elegant columbine, the un-bloomed star-shaped snow rabbit. The overall color scheme was a low-saturation blue-violet, as peaceful as a fairy tale.

Lan Jingli couldn’t help but look down at her own faded clothes. They were completely out of place with the expensive gems, jewelry, and silk.

She wanted to ask Tan You to wait, just a little longer. To wait for her to grow up, so she could hold the umbrella for her.

“Sister, this is too much.”

Tan You sighed softly. “Would you let me have no place to stay when I come to find you?”

Like a kitten held by the scruff of its neck, Lan Jingli was instantly unable to refuse. “But I feel like I can’t give you anything in return.”

“Li-li, please don’t refuse me, okay?” Tan You leaned in, her eyes passing over Lan Jingli’s honey-like pupils and into her clear gaze. Her skin was like the freshest wild fruit on a tree branch. “I only want you. ” Just being a good girl is enough.

Lan Jingli’s gaze was so much like that of a newborn animal—innocent and clear, seeing the first person it sees as more important than itself.

“I won’t refuse you, Sister.”

As usual, the woman did not kiss her on the lips. She went further down, peeling off the bandage. She gazed at the bloody wound with a deep look in her eyes. “How did you get hurt?”

“Uh, I hurt it by accident while practicing my dance,” Lan Jingli said, pausing, not wanting to tell the truth.

Tan You let out a small laugh, as if she could see right through her. She didn’t press for answers or call her out on the lie. She just touched the wound lightly. “Does it hurt?”

The wound tingled. Lan Jingli let out a soft sound, smelling the clean, delicate scent of plants. She felt the woman gently suck on the wound, her soft tongue tracing it, giving her the illusion of being swallowed whole by a demoness who would dig out her heart the next moment.

The faint taste of bl00d spread on her tongue. Tan You sucked deeper, as if this elixir could ease the torment of her desire more than any suppressant.

Lan Jingli couldn’t help but hiss. “Sister.”

The woman’s cold, pale hand covered Lan Jingli’s dark lashes. “Li-li, close your eyes.”

Without hesitation, Lan Jingli obediently closed her eyes and was rewarded with a low, satisfied laugh from Tan You.

“Sister, what are you doing?”

Before she could finish asking, she felt a light kiss on her lips, like a fire getting close to a block of ice. Drip by drip, the ice melted, the water disappearing into the mist. It began a light, steady rain in her heart, flowing through her veins.

Tan You had kissed her voluntarily?

It was their first kiss. Separating and joining, going deep and shallow.

Lan Jingli didn’t know that Tan You would sometimes open her eyes, looking at her with a cool, detached gaze. Her eyes held none of the seductive abandon of her lips and instead seemed even more aloof and unreachable in their superior position.

She thought they would naturally be intimate for a long time, just like last time. But after the kiss ended, Tan You was unexpectedly restrained and reserved. Even with a faint flush in the corners of her eyes, she pulled her silk robe closed with an air of extreme self-control.

“I have work to deal with. Will you stay here with me?”

“Yes.”

Tan You’s dark eyes were as clear as water, with a sharp, perceptive quality. “Why does the ginger tea you make taste so much better than anyone else’s?”

Lan Jingli’s eyes curved into a smile like a crescent moon. “I add a little milk and candied osmanthus, but I didn’t this time.”

“Candied osmanthus?” Tan You rested her chin on her hand, a rare hint of softness in her otherwise cold face. “Then you’ll have to make it for me from now on.”

“Okay.”

The rare afternoon passed slowly as Lan Jingli answered Tan You’s questions while memorizing her script. Several times, she dozed off. Sometimes when she woke up, Tan You was still there. Other times, Tan You was on the balcony, taking work calls.

There must have been foreigners on her team, because she often heard the woman’s measured, steady voice replying in English, her tone naturally aristocratic.

Lan Jingli stayed at the mountain villa until the following night. After making candied osmanthus with golden osmanthus flowers and locust tree honey, she hurried out of the villa, following Tan You’s rule.

She had just reached the first floor when she saw Aunt Wan respectfully guiding a young woman in expensive clothes through the door.

“Is this Youyou’s friend?” Wei Xueyin, wearing a hat and a mask, glanced at Lan Jingli.

Aunt Wan heard the hostility in Wei Xueyin’s voice but followed her principle of not gossiping. “Yes. Please go up. Miss Seven is waiting for you.”

“You look a lot like that flower.”

As Wei Xueyin walked past Lan Jingli, her gaze was open, full of a natural arrogance and disdain as she pointed to a painting on the wall.

Lan Jingli knew the painting was called Ophelia by Millais. In the painting, the dead fiancée floated down a river, gripping various flowers that all had a meaning.

The one Wei Xueyin pointed to was a pansy, symbolizing “love in vain.”

Wei Xueyin went all the way up to the third floor, intending to invite Tan You to dinner. She saw the exquisite, beautiful black cumin specimen on the table and felt a pang in her heart. “Youyou, what a beautiful specimen. Can I have it?”

Tan You was tending to a primrose with one hand, her expression indifferent, like a demon in the mist.

“If you like it, take it.”