Are You Allergic To Romance? - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Have You Done It?

“What?” Jing Yuan was amused by Xie Mianzhi’s words. She thought her own thought process was different from normal humans, but she hadn’t expected Xie Mianzhi to be even more surprising. “You must be joking.”

“Does it matter? The point is you smiled, and you have little dimples!” Xie Mianzhi reached out a finger and pointed at Jing Yuan’s cheek.

The thin-skinned Miss Jing immediately straightened her face and turned around.

She consistently met Miss Xie Mianzhi’s teasing with a tolerant attitude.

Sigh, why is that?

Right, Miss Xie hurt her finger. She’ll need to be careful when washing up later.

Jing Yuan walked over to the dining room, her face wearing a troubled look, and opened the cupboard, seemingly looking for something.

Xie Mianzhi saw the little Jing Yuan go silent again and followed behind her. She knew that the little savior’s lack of response didn’t mean anger; she wasn’t as cold and tough as she appeared—she had a pretty good temper.

“Alright, you won’t let me mention your smile, so shouldn’t you at least let me in on a secret?” Xie Mianzhi asked while picking up a lollipop from the table, unwrapping it, and putting it in her mouth.

Since Jing Yuan wasn’t interested in her status as a wealthy young lady, she was very interested in the identity of the little Jing Yuan.

Jing Yuan found what she was looking for, then stood up. When handing a pair of disposable gloves to Xie Mianzhi, she saw Xie Mianzhi staring at her expectantly for an answer. She could only reply: “I’m just… an ordinary person.”

“Graduated from university?” Xie Mianzhi took the item handed to her without looking.

Jing Yuan nodded.

“Then… have you done it?” Xie Mianzhi rested one hand on the table, continuing to ask in a light, airy tone.

Jing Yuan abruptly looked up at Xie Mianzhi.

Xie Mianzhi took in the sight of her startled expression. So, the little Jing Yuan wasn’t completely clueless after all.

She pursed her lips, then decisively pointed at the dessert on the dining table, speaking ambiguously: “I mean, have you ever made a formal dinner? Other than instant noodles. Oh, right, my assistant took the liberty of using your kitchen to make me dinner today. These are the desserts I arranged for her to bring. They’re for you to try.”

Jing Yuan listened to the casual words that followed, as if the first sentence had never been asked. She could only quietly stare at the other party.

She wasn’t sure if Miss Xie’s question, ‘have you done it,’ meant what she thought it did.

Although she hadn’t been in a relationship, she wasn’t entirely ignorant.

A few seconds later, Jing Yuan shifted her gaze to the dining table. It was an exquisitely packaged cherry jam dessert.

“Thank you,” Jing Yuan suppressed the sudden, intense heartbeat caused by the question and calmly motioned to the other party: “But you should go wash up. To prevent your hand from getting wet, you can wear that.”

Xie Mianzhi looked at the item handed to her: a disposable glove?

Okay, this person really is thoughtful.

She admitted her question just now was a bit abrupt. Fortunately, she managed to clumsily cover it up. However, Jing Yuan’s stunned little expression was truly pure and innocent, like a fresh spring—very easy to bully.

“Okay, thank you for the glove. As a return gift, I hope you’ll eat this dessert. I specially saved it for you. I’m going to take a shower now.” Xie Mianzhi finished, then, grasping the glove, quickly darted into the washroom.

She practically fled.

Jing Yuan looked at the squirrel-like figure of the other party and could only sigh alone.

There was a bad premonition. Her throat was starting to feel inexplicably uncomfortable again.

She tugged at her collar, unwrapped the dessert box. The vibrant cherry jam was spread over the white cake base, resembling dripping fresh bl00d.

Suddenly, her eyes showed the vertical pupils of a wild beast. To not disappoint Xie Mianzhi’s kindness, she used the spoon to scoop a mouthful into her mouth.

So sweet.

The indescribable sweetness made it difficult for her to swallow, a hundred times sweeter than the grape cup-cake she loved as a child.

After rapidly eating a few spoonfuls of the exquisite cherry jam dessert, she felt even worse.

Sure enough, sweets make people spiritually agitated.

Jing Yuan

The sudden call made Jing Yuan, who was frantically drinking ice water in the dining room, stand on edge. She immediately put down the cup, blinking her eyes to try and return to normal. She was afraid Xie Mianzhi would notice her abnormality.

Jing Yuan, could you do me a small favor?

The voice was faint, coming from the washroom.

Fortunately, Xie Mianzhi was only calling out to her from inside the washroom and didn’t come out.

Jing Yuan sighed in relief, walked to the door, and said: “Yes.”

Um… I forgot to bring my pajamas. Could you go get them for me from the guest room? They’re in the black handbag on the bed.

“Okay.”

Jing Yuan agreed and went upstairs to Xie Mianzhi’s room. She saw the black handbag. From the corner of the clothing peeking out, it seemed to be a wine-red nightgown. This must have been brought by her assistant today.

She took the handbag and walked to the washroom door.

The closer she got to the door, the clearer the sound of the running water became.

At this moment, Xie Mianzhi was showering.

The pattering of water was loud enough for Jing Yuan to hear clearly, even through the door.

A strong feeling of hunger gradually swept over her entire body.

Her golden eyes became deeper. She couldn’t help but reach out and grip the metal doorknob. Even though it was locked, she could easily push the door open.

The markings hidden under her eye sockets began to spread over her face. They aggressively climbed onto her body, and even the life-forms that symbolized hunger began to seep out from her fingertips, clinging to the metal doorknob, attempting to help their master twist open this useless switch.

The emotion of encroaching darkness was like a massive, thick fog furiously permeating the entire house.

So hungry… want to go in… want to go in…

The black substances, vividly alive, screamed the deepest, truest thoughts of their master.

Jing Yuan took a deep breath, leaned her head against the cold door panel for a while, and finally, just as she was about to turn the knob, she forced her hand to let go.

…

About forty minutes later,

When Xie Mianzhi finished, she found that Jing Yuan had placed her red nightgown on the chair outside the door. She had intentionally left the door unlocked, meaning the other party could have brought it in, but Jing Yuan hadn’t entered.

But thinking about it, given her shy nature, she probably felt too embarrassed to come in.

But they’re both girls, what’s there to be embarrassed about? Was she afraid I’d eat her?

Xie Mianzhi muttered to herself while wiping her hair. She looked at herself in the mirror. This wine-red nightgown was a new design she saw at the Fei Qin Fashion Exhibition this year. She hadn’t worn it until now. Looking at it, it was alright, but the straps were a bit too long, making it an extremely low-cut style.

To not look too revealing, Xie Mianzhi had to put on the outer robe when she left to cover up.

When she came out, she found the living room was empty, and so was the dining room.

Xie Mianzhi shuffled to the dining table and smiled contentedly when she saw the empty dessert plate in the box.

Not bad, she ate it all.

She looked around, saw the study upstairs was also locked, and didn’t look like anyone was in there. Where did that girl go?

Just then, a cold draft hit her face. Xie Mianzhi shivered. After all, she had just showered, and the sudden temperature change made her instinctively tighten her robe.

The door to the foyer was slightly ajar.

Could she be outside catching a cold at this late hour?

Suspiciously, Xie Mianzhi walked to the foyer, pulled the door open slightly, and peered outside.

It was still raining outside.

All she could hear was the rustling sound of small raindrops falling.

Under the faint yellow light of the courtyard lamp, she saw Jing Yuan sitting under the eaves of the courtyard, quietly stroking Little Golden Bean.

This tranquil and serene scene was like a clear ink wash painting, bringing a sense of calm to the viewer.

Jing Yuan’s presence always gave her a feeling of ‘only I am in the darkness’ solitude.

It was very strange.

“You’re here.”

Unexpectedly, Xie Mianzhi’s gentle voice sounded above her head. The rising inflection at the end was highly recognizable.

Jing Yuan turned her head and saw Miss Xie, whose hair was still half-wet.

“The hairdryer is in—”

“It’s in the second row of the cabinet, I know.” Xie Mianzhi smiled, directly answering before she finished. Then she gathered her long hair and said: “I’ll dry it later. I came out to check on you first.”

“Check on me?”

“Yeah, after all, I’m not very familiar with this place. I just finished showering and found the house empty. I still felt a bit… you know.”

Xie Mianzhi pouted, avoiding the word ‘scared’ to not appear timid.

Jing Yuan understood. She nodded, watching Xie Mianzhi stand in the draft with bare legs. The other party was wearing the wine-red nightgown from the handbag.

Miss Xie, like this, was the only vibrantly colored flower in the night, looking somewhat out of place in her black courtyard.

Vibrant, brilliant, unlike her.

Jing Yuan realized she had been staring blankly at Xie Mianzhi and quickly asked: “Do you want to sit here?”

Then she stood up, moved the small stool to the side, and gestured for Xie Mianzhi to sit inside.

“It’s fine, I won’t sit. I’ll just stand,” Xie Mianzhi waved her hand. She didn’t want to occupy Jing Yuan’s small territory.

“It’s drafty over there,” Jing Yuan explained, signaling Xie Mianzhi not to refuse.

Being sincerely cared for by the homeowner, Xie Mianzhi had no choice but to sit down obediently. Seeing Jing Yuan stand beside her like a large black tree stump, she quickly tugged at Jing Yuan’s hem.

“I want you to sit too. Sit next to me.”

Jing Yuan lowered her head to meet Miss Xie’s sincere gaze. To be honest, she came out to catch the cold air to calm her mind. The biting night wind was her quick ‘sanity’ medication, and the ‘culprit’ that triggered her hunger was precisely Miss Xie.

She wasn’t sure if it was because of this sensitive age or for other reasons, but her sense of instability always seemed to be subtly provoked by the woman beside her.

However, this woman will probably leave tomorrow.

The rain might stop tomorrow.

Jing Yuan thought of this and felt no joy. Theoretically, she should be relieved. The temporary guest was finally leaving, and no one would disturb her life anymore.

Nor would she have to deliberately conceal her condition.

“Sit down. You standing behind me makes me feel a lot of pressure.” Seeing the homeowner still unmoving, Xie Mianzhi had no choice but to drag another small stool closer, placing it next to her, and signaling Jing Yuan to sit down.

In the end, Jing Yuan couldn’t refuse and sat down.

They sat like this, gathered around Little Golden Bean. Other people gather around a campfire; they were gathered around a duck.

Xie Mianzhi reached out and stroked Little Golden Bean’s rich feathers. It felt very comfortable.

“It must be good fortune to be your pet,” Xie Mianzhi chuckled, then gently tugged at Little Golden Bean’s downy feathers. This little guy is sleeping so soundly. It hasn’t woken up at all.

Jing Yuan just stared straight at Xie Mianzhi. When the other party turned her head, she immediately averted her gaze, her stealthy watching going unnoticed. “Why do you ask that?”

“Because you keep Golden Bean and Yuan Bao so fat. You’re a pretty good owner,” Xie Mianzhi was honest; she had never seen such beautiful ducks. “I bet if you actually sold them, you wouldn’t be able to part with them.”

Good fortune?

Jing Yuan looked at Golden Bean, who was still in shock, lost in thought.

Xie Mianzhi saw that Jing Yuan didn’t respond and simply took it as an admission.

So she poked Golden Bean again, finding that the little duck was still motionless, its neck drooping. Even when she prodded it, it didn’t stir. This sight didn’t look like sleeping, but like—

“Golden Bean is… dead?” Xie Mianzhi immediately withdrew her hand, screaming in horror. “I only touched it a few times. It shouldn’t be like this.”

“It was just scared unconscious.” Jing Yuan carefully repositioned the limp Golden Bean and covered it with a small blanket to show her guilt. The reason was simple: when she came out full of killing intent to catch the cold air and calm down, Golden Bean happened to pass by and was so frightened by a single glance that it passed out.

Golden Bean gets scared unconscious multiple times almost every month.

Animals are relatively sensitive to bloodline suppression.

“Was it a weasel?” Xie Mianzhi immediately asked back. She had heard that in places like this wilderness, there were always those hateful weasels stealing chickens and ducks.

“What?”

“Was it a weasel that scared Little Golden Bean?” Xie Mianzhi asked again, completely failing to notice Jing Yuan’s face changing expression repeatedly.

To be compared to… She knew that because of her residence, no clueless creature would appear within several kilometers of here.

Jing Yuan could only look helplessly at the sky. It was still raining.

“It’s raining. I didn’t see clearly. I was scared too…” Jing Yuan explained with difficulty.

Xie Mianzhi, hearing this, immediately patted Jing Yuan’s shoulder comfortingly: “It’s alright, it’s alright. I’m here. You don’t have to be afraid. If that wretched thing ever shows up again, I’ll definitely kick it to death for you.”