Beautiful Woman, You Have Another Express Delivery! (GL) - Chapter 7
Liu Shuhan was still sitting under a large pillar at the movie theater entrance, her long skirt rumpled from being pressed, and her high heels carelessly scattered nearby. She leaned sideways against the marble pillar, dozing off, her head resting on the cold, hard stone. The hair she had neatly combed before leaving the house was starting to look messy. Her head drooped lower and lower, almost burying itself in her chest. Her hair was pulled back, exposing a segment of her snow-white, slender back neck, inviting imagination.
At this point, the hour hand on the wall clock had passed 2, and the area outside the movie theater was almost deserted. Even the popcorn vendor was starting to pack up and close for the night.
The temperature was quite low late at night. Liu Shuhan, with her eyes closed, shivered instinctively and hugged her arms, curling up even tighter.
Liu Shuhan had thought about leaving countless times, but she was stubbornly challenging herself, seeing exactly how long she could wait.
This was the sight that greeted Cheng Qiuyi when she arrived. Liu Shuhan was pitifully huddled on the ground, like the little match girl. Cheng Qiuyi felt a fine, dense pain as if her heart were being pricked by needles. She took long strides, quickly covering the distance, and pulled the person into her arms. Liu Shuhan’s skin was cold, and the touch brought another wave of self-reproach to Cheng Qiuyi.
What a fool, a pitiable fool.
“Beauty, are you her friend?” The popcorn vendor finished packing, locked up the storefront, and chatted with Cheng Qiuyi as he passed by. “You really should have called if you couldn’t make it. This little girl waited here alone from afternoon until midnight. Tsk, tsk, tsk, it broke my heart just watching.”
“When did she arrive?” Cheng Qiuyi asked the attendant, but her entire attention was on Liu Shuhan. She gently smoothed Liu Shuhan’s messy hair at her temples and said softly, “Shuhan? Dead Wood? Wake up, let’s go home.”
Liu Shuhan rubbed her eyes and woke up. The first thing she saw was Cheng Qiuyi’s face right in front of her. Still half-asleep, she vaguely thought she was dreaming. She wrapped her arms around Cheng Qiuyi’s neck and kissed her cheek fiercely. “Qiuyi! You finally came!”
The attendant standing nearby stifled a laugh behind their hand, shook their head, and walked away.
Liu Shuhan then realized she wasn’t dreaming. She quickly let go, her face alternating between green and red. “I’m, I’m sorry… I was dreaming…”
“Oh?” Cheng Qiuyi reached out to touch the side of her face that had been kissed, curling the corner of her mouth. “The ancient piece of rotten wood has finally had an awakening today? What exactly did you dream about? It’s one thing to dream about me, but you had to catch me and kiss me?”
I didn’t just dream about kissing you, I dreamed about doing all sorts of things to you. Liu Shuhan dared not say this. She pretended not to hear Cheng Qiuyi’s words, looking left and right, avoiding Cheng Qiuyi’s gaze.
The makeup around her eyes had smudged, leaving dark circles around them. Cheng Qiuyi found it both amusing and heart-wrenching. “Silly girl, why were you waiting here like a fool? What if I hadn’t come?”
“Well, you came, didn’t you…” Liu Shuhan realized she was still embracing Cheng Qiuyi and awkwardly broke free. She stood up, patted the skirt that was covered in dirt from the ground, and feigned casualness. “It’s fine as long as you came. We can’t watch the movie today. I have to work tomorrow, and the buses aren’t running now. You have to be responsible for taking me home! No refusing!”
Cheng Qiuyi looked down and noticed Liu Shuhan’s bloody and bruised heels.
She knelt down by Liu Shuhan’s feet and gently stroked Liu Shuhan’s slender ankle. This person, who was so afraid of pain, had injured her feet this badly and didn’t even frown.
Liu Shuhan withdrew her foot as if electrocuted and awkwardly pulled Cheng Qiuyi up from the ground. “What are you doing? Get up quickly! The floor is so dirty, and you’re sitting on it. Do you really think you’re a three-year-old?”
“Shuhan, let me carry you home?” Cheng Qiuyi took Liu Shuhan’s wrist with her backhand.
Liu Shuhan was startled. Cheng Qiuyi usually didn’t call her by her full name, preferring to use “Dead Wood” or “Stupid Dead Wood.” Being called by her name suddenly felt so formal, it was strange.
Liu Shuhan secretly glanced around like a thief. Although there was no one around, being carried in broad daylight—well, even at this hour—felt a bit embarrassing.
“Can you carry me? Don’t let me fool you with my thin appearance; there’s meat in these bones.”
Cheng Qiuyi scoffed. “Why don’t you try it and find out? Don’t worry, I won’t drop you.” Cheng Qiuyi squatted down in front of Liu Shuhan, patted her back, and said, “Get on.”
Liu Shuhan cautiously placed her two arms over Cheng Qiuyi’s shoulders, then draped her entire upper body onto her back.
Cheng Qiuyi held Liu Shuhan with both hands, stood up, assessed the weight of the person on her back, easily picked up the pair of high heels scattered on the ground, and started walking out.
“I thought you, this piece of wood, would be heavier. You’re quite light.”
“That’s right,” Liu Shuhan said sweetly, resting her head on Cheng Qiuyi’s shoulder.
Cheng Qiuyi’s back was very lean, with a thin layer of muscle over her shoulder blades. Liu Shuhan even felt she could hear her heartbeat through the thin material of her back. Yet, her back was incredibly strong. With Liu Shuhan nestled on her back, she felt a sense of security she had never felt before.
Liu Shuhan thought that if Cheng Qiuyi could carry her like this forever, being stood up wasn’t a big deal after all.
Only a few cars sped past on the empty road. Cheng Qiuyi slowly walked forward with Liu Shuhan on her back, as if this road would never end.
“Shuhan.” Just as Liu Shuhan was swaying and about to fall asleep, Cheng Qiuyi suddenly said, “I’m sorry.”
Liu Shuhan shook her head. “You must have been delayed by something. It’s okay.”
“Do your feet still hurt?”
Liu Shuhan chuckled. “They stopped hurting a long time ago. With a great beauty like you carrying me, even if my feet were broken, it would be worth it.”
“Don’t say such inauspicious things.”
Liu Shuhan smiled again.
After walking for a while, Liu Shuhan realized something was off. “Where are you going? This isn’t my house.”
“To my house. Your slum has nothing. Let’s make do at my place for the night, and don’t go to work tomorrow. Rest well for a day.”
“But…”
“No arguments.”
Liu Shuhan conceded, pouting and saying softly, “Fine.”
The two of them walked so slowly that they didn’t arrive home until nearly 4 a.m. Cheng Qiuyi sent Liu Shuhan to take a bath, while she took out the rarely-used first aid kit to examine it carefully.
Liu Shuhan came out after her bath, wearing the nightgown Cheng Qiuyi had prepared for her. Cheng Qiuyi pressed her down onto the sofa to lie on her stomach. She sat on a small stool beside her and used a cotton swab dipped in antiseptic to gently dab her wounds one by one.
When Liu Shuhan saw Cheng Qiuyi applying the medicine, she was initially apprehensive. The memory of the hydrogen peroxide at the hospital was too deep, and Liu Shuhan dreaded the thought of it. But this time, Cheng Qiuyi’s movements were surprisingly gentle. Liu Shuhan didn’t feel any pain at all. The cotton swab passing over her ankle only left a slight, tingly sensation that traveled along Liu Shuhan’s nerves all the way to her spine, causing her to shiver and instinctively try to pull her foot back.
“Don’t move,” Cheng Qiuyi said, holding Liu Shuhan’s calf.
“It tickles…”
“Itchiness or pain, you choose one.”
Liu Shuhan obediently closed her mouth.
Liu Shuhan liked to wear long pants all year round. Her legs were snow-white and delicate. Cheng Qiuyi’s hand was grasping her soft calf, and for a moment, her mind started to wander.
Cheng Qiuyi’s hand moved subtly upward, passing over Liu Shuhan’s knee pit, and reached her smooth thigh. Then she bent down, and her lips touched Liu Shuhan’s inner thigh.
Liu Shuhan realized what Cheng Qiuyi was doing and froze, becoming a true block of wood.
What was going on? Although Cheng Qiuyi usually liked to flirt with her, this joke had gone too far, hadn’t it?
The spot Cheng Qiuyi’s lips touched felt as hot as if it had been burned. Liu Shuhan deliberately cleared her throat and stammered, “Qiu-Qiuyi… are you done… are you done yet… it’s getting late…”
Cheng Qiuyi straightened up, organized the first aid kit as if nothing had happened, and said to Liu Shuhan, “Done.”
Liu Shuhan didn’t dare look at her. She scrambled to climb up. “Then I’ll go to sleep first. You should rest early too.” She started walking toward the guest room.
“Shuhan.” Cheng Qiuyi called out to her.
Liu Shuhan’s face was burning hot. She didn’t dare turn around, stopping in place and saying, “W-What is it?”
Cheng Qiuyi walked over, wrapped her arms around Liu Shuhan’s waist from behind, and whispered close to her ear, “Be with me.”
She deliberately kept her voice low, and the warm breath passed through Liu Shuhan’s eardrum. Liu Shuhan’s nasal cavity was filled with Cheng Qiuyi’s pleasant fragrance. She felt as if she were floating in the clouds, her legs turning to mush.
Cheng Qiuyi said she wanted to be with her. It wasn’t a hallucination, nor a dream. The person hugging her waist was Cheng Qiuyi.
Liu Shuhan nearly said yes. The word “Okay” circled her tongue several times but couldn’t escape.
Finally, Liu Shuhan gently pulled away Cheng Qiuyi’s hands from her waist and fled back to the room.
She threw herself onto the bed, wishing she could slap herself hard a few times.
Why are you such a coward! Why are you such a coward! Is one single “Okay” that hard to say? Why did you chicken out at the crucial moment?
Liu Shuhan actually knew why she chickened out. She was afraid that Cheng Qiuyi was just curious, just a sudden whim to try something new with a woman.
Liu Shuhan was very certain that Cheng Qiuyi wasn’t gay, at least not exclusively attracted to women like she was. Cheng Qiuyi had several boyfriends in high school. Although none of the relationships lasted, it proved that Cheng Qiuyi could accept men.
Besides, the path of a same-s3x relationship was too difficult. Cheng Qiuyi was such an outstanding person; Liu Shuhan didn’t want her to be criticized by others. Liu Shuhan hoped she could live openly and honorably, not hidden away like herself.
What kind of situation is this? Liu Shuhan buried her head in the pillow, feeling miserable. After such an embarrassing incident, she was afraid she and Cheng Qiuyi might not even be able to remain friends.