Contractual Cohabitation GL - Chapter 32
Jing Xiaonan climbed the stairs one deliberate step at a time, her heavy footsteps reflecting her heavy heart. Her father, Jing Bokun, had always been strict, but he had never punished her to reflect for an entire night since she was a child. This time, she must have truly broken his heart.
As she moved out of her father’s line of sight, Jing Xiaonan lowered her brows and closed her eyes, letting out a long sigh before slowly walking to the study door.
Inside the study, Yao Shushu and Ye Luochen were seated on a leather chair and a lounge chair, respectively, engaged in a rather harmonious conversation. This was not only because both women were reserved and gentle but also because Ye Luochen had spent the past month looking through Yao Shushu’s prized book collection, making their conversation quite engaging. Setting aside the relationship between Jing Xiaonan and Ye Luochen, which was difficult for her to accept immediately, Yao Shushu genuinely liked the girl in front of her.
Standing at the doorway, Jing Xiaonan did not enter, listening to her mother and Luochen converse. The unexpected rapport between the two lessened the vague heartache she felt, and a beautiful, faint smile actually appeared on her lips. Ye Luochen had her side to her and didn’t notice, but Yao Shushu saw her daughter standing at the doorway, and her expression quickly turned to concern. She stood up and quietly asked:
“What did he say?”
Ye Luochen turned her head in the direction of her gaze, her concern for Jing Xiaonan being even greater than her mother’s. Jing Xiaonan smiled reassuringly at the two, saying with forced lightness:
“I’m afraid I have to ask both of you to move. I’m going to take over this study to reflect, as ordered by my father.”
“Reflect?” Ye Luochen asked first: “Do you have to face the wall?”
“He’s being punished to kneel,” Yao Shushu answered, her voice laced with helplessness and reluctance.
“Kneel?” Ye Luochen turned to Jing Xiaonan, her crescent eyes widening, a thread of heartache surging beneath them: “For how long?”
“Perhaps, for the whole night.”
Jing Xiaonan’s calm reaction highlighted Ye Luochen’s urgency.
“No! That will ruin her knees!” Ye Luochen turned around. The person who always disliked physical contact raised both hands and held Yao Shushu’s arms, which resembled jade lotus roots, looking at her as if she were her savior: “Auntie, can you talk to Uncle Jing? Jing Xiaonan has been very tired from work lately, and her body is already exhausted. Even if she has to reflect, could he at least shorten the time, please?”
Before Yao Shushu could speak, Jing Xiaonan on the side already negated her request: “Luochen, it’s alright. I happen to have a lot of things I want to sort out. It’s fine to reflect for a little longer. I’ll get a cushion to put under me later. It’s not much different from sitting cross-legged.”
What a fool!
Ye Luochen’s face was full of worry. She lightly bit her lower lip, turning her head away from Jing Xiaonan, focusing only on Yao Shushu with a look of entreaty, her hands grasping her arms as if clutching a life raft.
Yao Shushu looked at Ye Luochen, then glanced at her daughter. Although Jing Xiaonan was her own flesh and bl00d, the scene before her made it seem as if this girl cared more than she did. Although she was gentle and virtuous, she was still a woman. At this moment, she grasped the subtle feeling of being a mother competing with another woman to love her child.
But Jing’s mother was, after all, a reasonable woman, and Jing Xiaonan was her beloved daughter for twenty years. Without a second thought, she immediately nodded, soothingly patted Ye Luochen’s soft hand, and smiled kindly:
“Jing Xiaonan’s father is a man of his word, and he might still be angry right now. Pleading for her now would only add fuel to the fire. I’ll slowly talk him around later tonight after he cools down. Alright?”
This… Ye Luochen looked at the hard wooden floor of the study, feeling a pain and anguish she had never experienced before. But there truly was no other way. She could only nod and accompany Yao Shushu to find a soft, thick cushion in the house.
Jing Xiaonan did not come for dinner, and the other three people in the house couldn’t manage to eat a single bite either.
Outside the window, the sky was already dark. Ye Luochen sat in the living room, a little absent-minded. Her fair, jade-like hand stroked William, who had cleared most of his dinner. This carefree fellow was the only one in the entire Jing residence happily licking his paws.
Earlier, Ye Luochen had suggested that even if she stayed overnight at the Jing residence, she couldn’t occupy the master bedroom, proposing to move to the guest room. Jing Xiaonan’s parents, one stern and one gentle, one adamantly and one kindly refused. Jing Bokun, either tired from the journey or preoccupied with something, went back to his room early to rest. Now, only a dim lamp kept Ye Luochen company in the living room.
“You should rest early, Miss Ye.”
Although the voice was gentle, Ye Luochen was startled because she was too lost in thought. She turned her head and saw Yao Shushu approaching with a glass of steaming milk in each hand. She immediately stood up, taking the glass she offered. Yao Shushu looked at her, smiled, and returned to the guest room with the other glass of milk.
After the slightly thin figure disappeared behind the guest room door, Ye Luochen put down the glass cup in her hand and walked towards the stairs. After taking a few steps, she turned back to pick up the milk and ascended the stairs, walking into the study.
She pushed the door open with one hand. Jing Xiaonan’s upright figure appeared unusually fragile. Her shoulders were clearly broad, and she remained upright even while kneeling, yet in Ye Luochen’s eyes, she only felt a sharp pang of heartache. Her eyes instantly welled up. Ye Luochen walked over, looking down at her for a long time.
Jing Xiaonan heard footsteps behind her. When she turned her head, the person was already beside her. She looked up, flashing a smile at the beautiful, moving face under the dim light.
“It’s you.”
Her lips moved but she didn’t speak. Ye Luochen smoothed the white silk dress, which was conservative in style, and squatted down, handing the milk to Jing Xiaonan. Her expressive crescent eyes looked at her more deeply than ever before, her willow brows slightly furrowed, her cherry lips lightly pursed, with a heart-stirring emotion flowing in her eyes.
She was a little thirsty, but Jing Xiaonan wanted plain water at the moment. However, seeing the expression on the woman’s face, she took the glass and quickly drank it, then smiled, trying hard to conceal the fatigue in her brows.
Actually, kneeling in punishment wasn’t so bad. It only hurt for the first hour or two, then it became sore, then numb, and finally, she didn’t feel much anymore.
But Jing Xiaonan couldn’t tell Ye Luochen such sentimental words. And saying she was fine would be pointless, wouldn’t it? She simply smiled brightly, looking at the silent woman in front of her. If it weren’t for her inconvenient mobility, she really wanted to hug her.
Such delicate and handsome features, curving her lips like this, smiling with curved eyes, usually had a great appeal to girls. But this time, she didn’t achieve the expected result. Seeing her smile, a certain emotion in Ye Luochen’s eyes intensified. Before Jing Xiaonan could clearly discern what that feeling was, Ye Luochen shifted to the same kneeling posture, her slender fingers gently cupping Jing Xiaonan’s cheek, leaning in. Her smooth, tender lips briefly touched the clean forehead not far away, like a dragonfly skimming the water.
She paused, and her lips slowly moved down. Jing Xiaonan only felt a wonderfully soft sensation on the corner of her lips. Ye Luochen’s long, slightly curled eyelashes softly brushed against the tips of her sword-like eyebrows. Ye Luochen kissed her gently, closing her eyes.
A moment later, the room was left only with the solitary figure facing the wall and kneeling. But why was the expression on this person’s face fixed in a stunned state, as if struck by lightning, for so long?
Downstairs in the guest room, Jing Bokun, for once, was not holding his wife, but was facing the bedside table, his eyes closed.
Knowing that her husband was not asleep, Yao Shushu held the glass filled with milk and softly called: “Bokun?”
Opening his eyes and seeing the glass cup close at hand, Jing Bokun shook his head, “You drink it.” I can’t drink.
“Are you still troubled by the matter with Nan Nan?” Her voice was so gentle. Yao Shushu stroked her husband’s forehead and said softly.
After a long silence, the deep male voice rang out. Listening closely, one could hear the profound heartache. “Shushu, tell me, was it because I was too strict with her when she was little, raising her like a boy, that she became like this today? Or did I not do a good job, causing her to lose faith in all men, which is why she… why she…”
“You did nothing wrong,” Yao Shushu comforted him. As a mother, her mind was much more delicate than her husband’s. A few years ago, during her daughter’s first love, she had discovered that her Nan Nan liked the same s3x. She didn’t reveal it at the time, and with no one to share the burden, she endured the intense grief alone for three or four years, finally gradually coming to terms with it. In these years, she had also tried hard to hint at related matters to her husband, hoping to provide some cushioning for when she absolutely had to tell him. But now that Jing Bokun knew the whole truth, it was still inevitable that he would be heartbroken for a while.
“Bokun, actually…”
“Actually, it’s not her fault.” Jing Bokun preempted what his wife was about to say, “I know I can’t blame her for this kind of thing.”
“Then you… Nan Nan has been kneeling for over five hours now.”
“Let her kneel for now.”
“Bokun!” The voice was still gentle, but tinged with a hint of displeasure, “Why do you have to use this method? You also said you were too strict with Nan Nan.”
Jing Bokun turned over, avoiding his wife’s words.
“Then I’m going to tell her to get up and rest.” Showing a little displeasure, Yao Shushu stood up, preparing to walk out the door.
“Wait a minute!” Jing Bokun sat up from the large bed, “Shushu.”
With one hand on the doorknob, Yao Shushu looked back at her husband.
Jing Bokun let out a long sigh, gazing up at the ceiling for a long time before finally relenting: “Didn’t you notice that Nan Nan is more deeply invested in that Miss Ye than Miss Ye is in her? That Miss Ye probably hasn’t fully accepted Nan Nan’s feelings yet, and Nan Nan is very hurt.”
“Are you saying?” Retreating to the bedside, Yao Shushu looked at her husband with surprise, “Are you saying you’re doing this to make Miss Ye…”
“That’s one reason. Nan Nan also truly needs to reflect. Forging evidence, hmph!”
Curving the corner of her mouth, Yao Shushu smiled sweetly. Her daughter and husband were almost identical in personality, especially in the fine details, where they were both clever and wise. Hearing her husband’s words now, and thinking of Jing Bokun’s case when his license was suspended years ago, she knew this matter was a wound in her husband’s heart. She gently sat back on the bed and hugged her husband, then suddenly smiled again.
“Who told you that Miss Ye is definitely less deeply invested than Nan Nan? You men will never understand a girl’s heart.”
Late at night, Yao Shushu still felt sorry for her daughter and got up, preparing to tell her to go back and rest.
Jing Bokun lay on his back, not asleep, but no longer spoke to stop her. In the darkness, his eyes were filled with sorrow.
Quietly ascending the stairs, Yao Shushu pushed open the study door. She saw that while Nan Nan’s back was as straight as a soldier’s posture, revealing the stubbornness in her nature, her figure was already slightly swaying. A pang went through her heart. This child was truly exhausted today.
“Mom?” Jing Xiaonan’s hearing was excellent. Her dozing state instantly cleared up because of the newcomer. The first thing she said was:
“How is Dad?”
Yao Shushu smiled faintly, both heartbroken and relieved. She squatted down, helping Jing Xiaonan transition from a kneeling to a sitting position, and comforted her: “Your father just needs some time.”
Jing Xiaonan slowly straightened her legs, trying not to let her facial features contort in pain in front of her mother. She sighed and nodded, unable to think of anything to say for a moment.
“Do you really like Ye Luochen?”
The phrase seemed familiar, but this time it came from her mother’s mouth. Jing Xiaonan did not hesitate any longer and nodded.
“I like her very much.”
“No one but her?” Yao Shushu asked one more question. She didn’t know if her daughter herself knew the answer, but at least she wanted to confirm Jing Xiaonan’s resolve at this moment.
This time, Jing Xiaonan showed an expression of thought. She was thinking, but not about her mother’s question, but about the moments since she met Ye Luochen.
“Mhm!” Her eyes were a little unfocused. Jing Xiaonan’s smile started very brightly, then gradually turned gentle: “No one but her.”
Yao Shushu massaged her legs, applying light pressure. After a while, she stopped. She took a blanket from the lounge chair and told her daughter to lie down for a while before moving to the chair. After giving her instructions, she quietly left the study, closing the door behind her.
The distance from the study to the master bedroom was only a little over ten meters, but Yao Shushu took several minutes to walk it. Finally stopping in front of the master bedroom door, the front of her slippers was illuminated by the faint light coming from the crack under the door. Yao Shushu raised her hand and knocked.
The door was quickly opened from the inside. Ye Luochen, wearing a nightgown, stood in the doorway. A trace of surprise flashed across her face when she saw Yao Shushu.
Yao Shushu looked past the girl in front of her and saw that the bed in the master bedroom was very neat, with the quilt not even spread out. It was clear that the girl had no intention of sleeping. That complex feeling rose in her heart again, but she still smiled and said:
“Miss Ye, I wonder if now is a good time for a chat?”