I'm Interested In Your Friend - Chapter 58

58

The night slipped away bit by bit.

White light once again graced the earth.

On the soft, spacious bed, two fair, youthful bodies lay entwined, foreheads pressed together.

Yu Lili was the first to open her eyes.

Her vision, blurry at first, gradually sharpened.

The serene, beautiful face of Tan Suran appeared before her—delicate features, a slender neck.

Above the covers, a sliver of her shoulder peeked out, smooth and luminous, as if glowing.

Scattered across it were eye-catching red marks, ambiguous and alluring, silently recounting the intensity of the previous night.

Yu Lili’s heart itched with temptation.

She leaned in stealthily, found the right spot, and planted a soft kiss.

As she pulled away, Tan Suran’s eyelashes fluttered faintly, as if she were about to wake.

Yu Lili quickly retreated, clasped her hands together, and shut her eyes tightly, pretending to still be asleep.

The person before her seemed to have awakened.

A faint rustling sound came from the pillow as warmth drew nearer.

Tan Suran was lazily inching closer.

Yu Lili’s heart thumped.

Was she… about to steal a kiss too?

Yu Lili clenched her eyes shut, not daring to move a muscle.

But after waiting for a while, the expected kiss never came.

She cautiously cracked open one eye.

Her gaze slowly focused, meeting Tan Suran’s deep, affectionate eyes—dark pupils brimming with amusement and mischief.

Yu Lili’s eyes darted around.

Covering her mouth, she feigned a yawn and said sleepily, “Morning.”

“Morning,” Tan Suran replied.

Noticing her lingering gaze, Yu Lili asked, “What are you looking at?”

“At the little one who stole a kiss from me.”

“Stole a kiss?”

Yu Lili’s expression froze. “You were pretending to sleep?” she realized, widening her eyes.

Tan Suran smirked but didn’t deny it.

Under the covers, Yu Lili, feeling toyed with, stretched out a leg and lightly kicked Tan Suran in retaliation, muttering under her breath, “You’re such a troublemaker.”

“What was that?” Tan Suran asked.

Yu Lili took the opportunity to step on her foot twice with her own. “I said you’re wonderful.”

“Did it feel good?” Tan Suran chuckled, rolling over and trapping Yu Lili’s leg between hers.

The covers slipped slightly with her movement, revealing a glimpse of blindingly fair skin—barely concealed.

Yu Lili didn’t notice, too focused on reclaiming her leg. “It felt great. Let me step on you a couple more times, and it’ll feel even better.”

“Not that.”

“I meant… last night,” Tan Suran murmured, her voice dripping with allure.

“Hmm…” Their eyes locked, and Yu Lili felt an itchiness crawl through her heart, like ants skittering under her skin.

She inched closer, wrapping her arms around Tan Suran’s neck, deliberately drawing out her words. “Whether it felt good or not… I’m not sure…”

Then, suddenly, her voice dropped to a breathy whisper as she nibbled lightly on Tan Suran’s earlobe. “But I had a blast. Did you?”

Tan Suran’s throat bobbed.

Feeling the warm breath against her ear, her eyes narrowed slightly, issuing a sultry invitation.

“Then… want to do it again?”

A hot breeze stirred.

The curtains fluttered gently, folding into different shapes, softly brushing against the pale, jade-like bedpost.

Dark and chestnut hair tangled together like seaweed, spreading out, then undulating like jellyfish in the ocean’s waves.

Light flickered between brightness and shadow.

Sweat beaded and dripped, only to be swiftly enveloped and devoured.

The soft hum of the wind whispered through the quiet space, spilling over like an overflowing cup.

……

……

The buzzing alarm from the bedside table shattered the tranquility.

A slender, fair arm reached out from under the covers and silenced it.

“I don’t want to go to work,” Tan Suran murmured, burying herself deeper into Yu Lili’s embrace.

Yu Lili was surprised.

She had always assumed Tan Suran was the type to halt mid-romp if a work call came in, immediately rushing off to a meeting.

But thankfully, Yu Lili was on temporary leave.

Otherwise, with Tan Suran beside her, she wouldn’t want to go to work either.

Though she wasn’t sure if this was a case of “opposites canceling out” or “bad company corrupting good character.”

“Get up, or you’ll be late,” Yu Lili urged, then caught herself. “Wait, you’re the boss. No one’s docking your pay for being late. No one can tell you what to do.”

Tan Suran’s lips trailed along Yu Lili’s collarbone, planting ticklish kisses.

With a soft laugh, she said, “My wife can. I’m whipped.”

“Oh.” Yu Lili stroked her hair gently. “Then you better behave, or I’ll get really fierce.”

“How well do I have to behave?”

Yu Lili’s ego swelled. “I’ll write up a list of rules later—thirty-six articles you’ll have to recite backward. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise what?”

“I’ll spank you.” Yu Lili grinned smugly.

“Can we pick a different spot?”

“Where?” Yu Lili blinked.

Tan Suran arched a brow, her fingers gliding down from her collarbone to the swell of her chest. “How about here?”

“……”

Yu Lili averted her gaze.

This had started as a normal conversation.

How had Tan Suran turned it into some kind of… risqué game?

It wasn’t until the assistant called again that Tan Suran reluctantly left the warm bed for the icy confines of her office.

After Tan Suran left, Yu Lili sat on the living room sofa, fiddling with her camera lens.

Her phone on the coffee table buzzed.

Seeing the caller ID, her brows lifted in surprise.

The moment she answered, Jiang Ruofu’s voice spilled out in apology: “Lili, I’m so sorry.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The brand endorsing the cover shoot wants to avoid risks and insists on replacing the photographer. I fought for it many times, but the outcome isn’t great. I still wanted to apologize to you in advance.”

Jiang Ruofu was referring to the recent cover shoot.

The magazine was about to go to print when the scandal involving Yu Mu erupted.

The market was like this—regardless of truth, public opinion ruled, and the safest option was king.

Yu Lili understood. “It’s fine. The fact that you fought for me means a lot.”

Though it was a pity. She’d put a lot of thought into that shoot and was quite fond of the results.

After discussing work, Jiang Ruofu circled back to personal matters. “Lili, congratulations. President Tan is a great person. You’re both very lucky.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Yu Lili said.

“Actually… unlike most people, I wasn’t too shocked when I heard the news. The way Tan Suran looks at you is just too different from how she looks at anyone else. Whether now or… back then.”

“Back then? When?” Yu Lili set the lens down on the sofa.

“When we were in high school. You were still in middle school, right? There was a flag-raising ceremony where you gave a speech, and Tan Suran couldn’t take her eyes off you.”

Yu Lili straightened her back. “Isn’t that normal? I was on stage.”

“No, it wasn’t. She never paid attention to those things. During flag-raising, I stood behind her. Every time, she’d either stare at the sky, the ground, the air, or her vocabulary flashcards. But that was the first—and only—time she kept her eyes glued to the podium the entire time.”

Now that she knew she was “Little F,” it made sense that Tan Suran had paid special attention to her back in high school.

Still, Yu Lili couldn’t help feeling pleased, her lips curling upward.

But in front of an outsider, she played modest. “Maybe she was just zoning out.”

“No. Some classmates were criticizing a rhetorical error in your speech—it’s been too long, I don’t remember the details. Tan Suran recited your words verbatim and dismantled their arguments. ‘Dismantled’ isn’t even the right word—it was a complete obliteration. She tore into them from every angle—grammar, logic—proving you were right. It was so brutal and shocking that it stuck with me.”

Jiang Ruofu paused, then recalled something else. “Because of Yu Mu, you were pretty famous in our class. But I never imagined you and Tan Suran would end up like this. Back then, you were practically her little shadow, always trailing after her, calling her ‘big sister.’ You turned half our class into sister-con enthusiasts.”

There was a hint of nostalgia in Jiang Ruofu’s voice as she reminisced.

Yu Lili’s expression remained neutral. That was how it had been, but after realizing what kind of person Yu Mu was, she’d stopped.

Come to think of it, her crush on Jiang Ruofu back then had also been somewhat entangled with Yu Mu.

Yu Lili had always felt she owed Jiang Ruofu a proper thank-you.

“Sister Ruofu, I’ve never properly thanked you.”

“Why the sudden gratitude?” Jiang Ruofu sounded puzzled.

“Do you remember? Back in high school, one day, you picked up a girl who didn’t want to go home and took her to a faraway villa. That girl… was me.” Finally voicing what she’d held in for so long felt like a weight lifting off her chest.

Back then, she’d mistaken this gratitude for love, foolishly harboring a crush on Jiang Ruofu for ages and even recklessly confessing.

Looking back now…

Thank goodness Jiang Ruofu had turned her down.

“Lili.” Jiang Ruofu’s voice came through the phone. “As much as I’d love to take credit for that kindness, to be that kind of person…”

“You’ve got…”

“The wrong girl…”