Contractual Cohabitation GL - Chapter 16

When Ye Luochen decided to make this call, she actually felt a little uncertain.

With her personality, she rarely took the initiative, especially since Jing Xiaonan’s behavior suggested she was probably busy when not contacting her. Ye Luochen had sent two text messages within a few hours that night, but they were like a stone sinking into the ocean, receiving no response. Originally, she didn’t intend to bother with it anymore, thinking Jing Xiaonan would reply later, but after showering and lying in bed for a while, Ye Luochen found that she not only had difficulty falling asleep but also that the screen of her phone, placed not far away, hadn’t lit up.

Driven by this small impulse and concern, Ye Luochen dialed her number. She just hadn’t expected the female voice that answered not to be Jing Xiaonan’s, nor a voice she recognized.

“Hello?” The tone was flat, not like someone consciously answering the phone for another, and if one listened carefully, a hint of coldness could be discerned.

Confused, she instinctively checked the dialed number, then asked with some concern: “Hello, may I please speak to Jing Xiaonan?”

“She’s with me,” after answering the phone, Qin Yan had quietly walked to the kitchen and closed the door to ensure privacy. She still felt a bit guilty about possibly waking Jing Xiaonan and didn’t want to be found out. But at this moment, she deliberately lowered her voice, as if she didn’t want to startle anyone, and replied, “But… she’s already asleep.”

With me… already asleep…

The confusion on Ye Luochen’s face gradually gave way to another complex expression upon understanding the phrase. Her left hand, holding the phone, tightened, the knuckles turning slightly white and blue.

Composing herself, Ye Luochen bit her lower lip and started to let her imagination run wild. Perhaps Jing Xiaonan had been working late in the office until she dozed off, with a colleague who was also working overtime nearby? Or perhaps Jing Xiaonan was ill in the hospital, and her friend was helping to look after her? Or perhaps…

A familiar sound interrupted her train of thought.

Qin Yan was also a little surprised, looking down, and found that William had followed her into the kitchen at some point, and was now meowing by her leg. It wasn’t particularly loud, but in the vast silence of the night, the excellent quality of the phone clearly transmitted the sound to Ye Luochen’s ear on the other end.

Qin Yan and William couldn’t see the person on the other end of the line. A long-haired woman was stunned upon hearing the sound, then slowly closed her eyes. Ha… she was overthinking it. Jing Xiaonan wasn’t working overtime, wasn’t sick with exhaustion, she was just home.

Qin Yan, not hearing a voice from the other end, asked, “Do you need something? Shall I pass on a message when Xiao Nan wakes up tomorrow?”

Ye Luochen didn’t immediately react, finally speaking after a moment: “No need, I’ll contact her tomorrow. Goodbye.”

The sound of the hung-up phone filled the air. Qin Yan stood still for a while, pondering the calm and cold tone in Ye Luochen’s voice before she hung up, a tone completely devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

Although the torment of the hangover kept Jing Xiaonan in a state of stupor for over eight hours, she still woke up in the morning due to the powerful force of her internal clock. Closing her eyes, she let her gradually clearing brain replay some hazy memories from before and after falling asleep. Opening her eyes, she was indeed greeted by the familiar environment of her living room.

Propping herself up and sitting on the sofa, this movement startled Qin Yan, who was leaning on the single sofa nearby. An anti-hangover pill and a glass of water quickly appeared before Jing Xiaonan.

Swallowing the pill, she stood up and assessed herself. Her head was still a little dizzy, but everything else was normal. Rubbing her temples, Jing Xiaonan realized that Qin Yan was still wearing the same dress from last night’s dinner. The rare look of exhaustion in her attentive eyes moved Jing Xiaonan slightly.

“Xiao Yan, don’t come to the company today. I’ll take you home to rest in a bit.”

“No need.” She refused immediately without thinking. “Just take me back to change clothes, and then I’ll go to the company.”

Frowning slightly with displeasure, Jing Xiaonan nonetheless nodded and said no more. William, curled up in a corner of the sofa, also woke up. He was picked up by his owner, carried to the kitchen, and given a can of cat food, which completely captured his attention.

Straightening up after looking at this cat-who-is-a-pig-in-a-cat’s-body, Jing Xiaonan suddenly remembered something, and quickly clutched the right pocket of her trousers. Feeling the phone inside, she sighed in relief, pulled it out, and unlocked it.

Ye Luochen had actually taken the initiative to send two messages last night. Jing Xiaonan smiled and frowned, both pleased and worried.

‘Are you free these two days? I want to talk to you about that proposal.’ 7:19 PM last night.

‘Are you very busy tonight?’ 1:51 AM last night.

She hesitated, wanting to call, but Qin Yan was in the living room, and her current state wasn’t great. Jing Xiaonan clicked to reply, contemplated for a moment, and responded:

“Has Luochen woken up? Would it be convenient to talk later?”

Without waiting for a reply, she simply switched the phone from silent to vibrate and put it back in her trouser pocket. Jing Xiaonan walked out of the kitchen, asked Qin Yan to wait for her as she passed the living room, then washed up and changed into clean clothes.

The single apartment Qin Yan rented was much closer to the company. After turning off the engine and pulling the handbrake, Jing Xiaonan briefly considered it and followed her out of the car, accompanying Qin Yan upstairs.

Although it wasn’t her first time at Qin Yan’s home, she wasn’t familiar enough with the place. Jing Xiaonan surveyed the living room decor in the dim light. The Australian sun was too intense, and the orientation of Qin Yan’s apartment wasn’t particularly good, as the late afternoon sun would be too glaring. So, Qin Yan usually kept the curtains drawn.

But it was early morning now, and Jing Xiaonan preferred bright spaces. However, since Qin Yan simply walked straight to the connected bedroom and opened the closet, Jing Xiaonan was a guest and couldn’t just run over and draw the curtains without permission.

The home was small, with not much to look at. Jing Xiaonan looked around and her eyes subconsciously fell on the only living thing in the room besides her. She saw Qin Yan pick out clothes suitable for work from the closet and turn around, ready to take off her dress.

Jing Xiaonan was startled, and quickly turned her body away from Qin Yan. The speed of her turn made her already dizzy head even more lightheaded. Qin Yan might feel that since they were both women, there was no need to be discreet, but Jing Xiaonan knew that she herself…

In the hallway, although Qin Yan was side-on and away from Jing Xiaonan, she had been subtly observing her actions. Seeing her gentlemanly turn away, a slight smile appeared on her lips, carrying a hint of seductiveness in the dim environment. She stopped her preparation to undress and spoke softly in a voice just loud enough for Jing Xiaonan to hear: “I can’t reach the zipper. Could you come and help me?”

Jing Xiaonan’s mouth twitched upon hearing this. She walked towards the back-facing Qin Yan at a snail’s pace. The girl had already moved the straight, long hair from the back of her neck to the right side, revealing her snow-white neck.

Having no other choice, Jing Xiaonan raised her hand, lightly gripped the small zipper tab, and found it wouldn’t easily slide down. She had to use her other hand to press down on the upper part of the dress, and only then slowly pulled the zipper down about ten centimeters. Estimating that it was a place Qin Yan could reach herself, she stepped back.

Throughout the entire process, Qin Yan focused on listening for Jing Xiaonan’s reaction behind her, holding her breath with nervousness. She heard that her breathing was indeed slightly uneven, but it never became rapid. Qin Yan lowered her eyes. Perhaps some things could only be taken slowly.

However, after one year of acquaintance and five years of waiting, when would this slow-witted person finally understand?

If this had been in the past, perhaps she wouldn’t have lost patience so early. Perhaps she would have continued to indulge Jing Xiaonan, more or less, as she had for the past few years, allowing her to slowly discover who her destined person was. Even when Jing Xiaonan was dating others in the past, Qin Yan’s attitude had not wavered in the slightest. But now, she was unwilling but forced to admit that, due to the appearance of a certain woman, this long-held certainty and confidence in Jing Xiaonan seemed to have vanished within a day or two. This feeling made her very uneasy, very uneasy.

Ye Luochen.

Just as both of their thoughts drifted to this woman, the phone in Jing Xiaonan’s intimate pocket suddenly vibrated. The phone’s owner stepped back another two or three paces, took out the phone, and saw that it was indeed a text message from her ‘Luoshen’ (Goddess of the Luo River).

A look of joy appeared in her eyes when she saw the incoming message, but this smile slowly faded after she opened it. Perhaps she was being overly sensitive, but Jing Xiaonan felt the tone of Ye Luochen’s text message was so cold.

‘No need to talk on the phone. When are you free recently? Let’s meet to discuss the immigration agreement.’

Although Ye Luochen was always sparing with her words in text messages, the phrasing made Jing Xiaonan, who was carefully examining the meaning between the lines, gradually furrow her brows.

“Xiao Yan, do I have any unavoidable social engagements this evening or tomorrow evening?” Jing Xiaonan asked, looking up.

Qin Yan remained silent, staring deeply into Jing Xiaonan’s eyes. After a moment, she looked away and shook her head.

“Then please keep tonight and tomorrow night free for me. I have some other arrangements. Is that okay?”

Still keeping her eyes closed, Qin Yan nodded: “Okay.”

Jing Xiaonan looked at her obviously exhausted appearance, and her thoughts momentarily shifted to Qin Yan. She took two steps closer and softly called out: “Xiao Yan?”

“Mhm?”

“Don’t go to the company today. Rest for one day, just one day, okay?”

Opening her eyes, but still not looking at the person in front of her, Qin Yan returned to her previous cold and capable demeanor. After a slight consideration, she nodded again: “Okay.”

Receiving the unexpected reply, Jing Xiaonan was startled but then felt relieved. She quickly said goodbye to Qin Yan, and instead of taking the elevator, walked down the stairs step by step, replying to Ye Luochen’s message as she went.

“I’m free tonight. Shall we have dinner together and talk?”

Walking out of Qin Yan’s building, she inadvertently saw a breakfast shop not far ahead just as she was about to get into her car. Jing Xiaonan changed her mind and walked over, ordered two breakfasts. She kept one for herself, gave the other to the clerk, wrote down the address and contact number, and asked him to deliver it to Qin Yan.

At that moment, her phone rang again. Ye Luochen replied:

“Mhm, 6 PM, let’s meet at Gee’s Cafe downtown.”