Imprisoned with a Wife (On the Psychology of Being F***ed) - Chapter 7
Refusal is a right, but some people make it impossible to refuse.
Yan Jingyao didn’t use a forceful tone, but the confidence in her eyes, the slight upward tilt of her eyebrows, and the imperceptible smile on her lips all hinted at her “compulsion.”
“I’ll compensate you. Principal Yan introduced you as very professional. You’re Ren Jingxi’s student, aren’t you? I also know Professor Ren.”
A brief sentence mentioned two influential people. Ji Lan remained silent, looking at her face and thinking for a while. “But I’ll be taking responsibility for this, won’t I?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. Our firm will issue a statement. Psychological assessment isn’t definitive evidence for judging good or evil; it’s just that we currently need such an assessment.”
Ultimately, it wasn’t the assessment they wanted, but the evaluation from a professional like her. Ji Lan could certainly understand the underlying meaning.
But there was an opportunity. “Can I name my compensation?”
“Of course,” Yan Jingyao didn’t think too much, it was just money or connections. The corner of her lips curved, with a hint of deeper meaning. “What does Professor Ji want?”
Ji Lan looked away, answering neither shallowly nor profoundly: “I’ll think about it, but now I have to go to my next class.”
“Okay,” Yan Jingyao finally let go of her. “I’ll wait for your news.”
Leaving her phone number, Ji Lan went up the stairs to the other side for her class. Yan Jingyao stayed rooted for a moment, then turned and walked towards the exit.
Her feet hurt, her legs ached; she had to carry her high heels in her hand.
This Professor Ji certainly had a temper. Yan Jingyao stopped, bent down to rub her calves. She was quite a mess.
It was during class, so the corridor was empty of students. She walked a few more steps on the cold tiles when a tall, thin girl suddenly turned out of the stairwell.
“Student~” Yan Jingyao called out happily. “Can you help me? I’m your senior.”
The girl looked a bit bewildered, hesitated for a moment, then came forward and gently supported Yan Jingyao’s arm.
Yan Jingyao was generous, immediately putting her arm around the young girl’s shoulder, half-leaning on her. “Thank you. Which department are you from?”
“Law department.”
“Oh, you’re my junior directly then. What’s your name?”
“Lu… Lu Xiaoci.”
“Such a cute name. What year are you?”
“Second year…”
“Oh~”
It wasn’t far from the teaching building, but there was a bit of a distance to the parking area. Yan Jingyao couldn’t walk barefoot, so Lu Xiaoci took her there on her electric scooter.
“Thank you,” Lawyer Yan didn’t forget to exude her charming charisma, pulling out a business card and handing it to the cute junior. “Keep this. When you graduate, if you want to be a lawyer, you can apply here.”
Lu Xiaoci nodded obediently. She had round, dark eyes, as pure as a fawn’s, and a little shy. Yan Jingyao smiled, bent down, and got into the car. “Bye-bye.”
••••
Ji Lan later did visit the law firm, bringing a psychological assessment scoring sheet. Jiang Ying personally received her and had the forms copied and distributed, compiling and announcing the results.
Yan Jingyao was busy moving and didn’t go. Pei Jinxi had found her a vacant, renovated loft. She went to the furniture market, picked out a few essentials, and simply moved in with her bag.
Meanwhile, there were many personnel matters to smooth over. After the public opinion about the firm settled down, she hadn’t seen Ji Lan again. More than a month passed without her realizing, and she thought this woman, whom she had met by chance, was now just a fleeting memory.
This morning, she had just gotten out of bed, scratching her messy hair, and went to the bathroom to wash up. Foam was still in her mouth when she suddenly heard a knock at the door.
Who could it be?
It was barely nine o’clock. It must be Ah Jin or Pei Jinxi, Yan Jingyao thought, taking her time before opening the door.
Little did she know, it was Ji Lan.
“Ji, Professor Ji… Ji Lan?”
Too surprised, she didn’t know how to address her, finally calling her by her name. “Why are you here?”
She was even more curious how she knew her home address.
“Hello,” Ji Lan was as aloof as ever, with little expression. “May I come in before we talk?”
Fine, she could only let her in. Her home was very minimalist, nothing much to entertain with, so she casually pulled out a chair by the dining table. “Have a seat. Would you like some mineral water?”
“Thank you, I’m not thirsty.”
Yan Jingyao still went into the kitchen. Ji Lan sat down, placed her laptop on the table, crossed her hands, and looked up, scrutinizing Yan Jingyao.
Around thirty years old, height estimated around 174 cm, slender build, good proportions, no flaws in her appearance. Hair color blackish-gray, wavy, about fifteen centimeters past her shoulders.
Like an instrument, she recorded observable and estimated data in just a few seconds. Ji Lan averted her gaze the moment Yan Jingyao turned, seemingly casually scanning her apartment.
The furniture was simple, neatly arranged. Looking at the centerline placement of the spice jars on her counter, she might have a slight obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“Do you have something to discuss?”
Yan Jingyao placed the mineral water on the table, pulled out a chair, and sat opposite her, leaning slightly, her elbow resting on the back of the chair, comfortable and relaxed.
Dominant, open, strong desire for control, Ji Lan thought. Indeed, she was the woman who had flirted casually before and drove carelessly.
A small knot of annoyance formed in her heart again. She didn’t like her, not at all, but she had to hypnotize herself that everything was for the truth.
“Are you observing me?”
Yan Jingyao suddenly said, a subtle, almost imperceptible arch in her eyebrow, her eyes slightly teasing. “Professor Ji is truly a master of psychology.”
A bit impatient with her, strong observational skills, highly guarded. Ji Lan made her judgment, subtly moving her gaze away, hiding her contempt and dislike for her completely.
“I’m here to discuss something with you.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you say I could name my compensation? I did the psychological assessment without charging any fees.”
“Mm, and then?”
“So I’ve come for my compensation.”
She opened her laptop, turned it towards Yan Jingyao. “I’m working on a new research project, and I hope you can be one of my samples.”
The Word document read: “Research on Love Psychology,” followed by several connected tables.
“You want me to be a sample?”
Yan Jingyao was a bit speechless, her eyes saying “I believe you’re lying.” “Are you kidding me? Why choose me?”
“You seem to have rich experience in relationships.”
Such a smooth talker, Yan Jingyao muttered to herself. She suddenly saw an incoming call on her phone, so she stood up. “Excuse me, I have something to deal with first.”
Ji Lan expressed understanding. Yan Jingyao went upstairs, closed the door to her study, and answered the phone. “Hello, Mom?”
“Jingyao, uh, Mom has a friend. Her child…”
“Is it Ji Lan?”
“Eh? Mm…”
Now she knew how the other person found her. Yan Jingyao thought, it’s truly her mom causing trouble, and rubbed her forehead. “Mom, why is she at my place? And she says she wants me to be a research subject for her paper?”
“Cough, well, uh, Jingyao, she’ll be staying with you for a while, just for a bit.”
“Huh?”
What?! Yan Jingyao was annoyed, unable to believe her ears. “No, why is she staying here?”
“Her mother and I were high school classmates,” Yan Rui actually sounded guilty. “Anyway, it’s just for a few days.”
“What do you mean ‘just for a few days’… Hello? Hello?”
She actually hung up. Yan Jingyao was furious. This definitely smelled fishy!
She went downstairs, too lazy to argue with Ji Lan. “You can’t stay here, and I’m not being your research subject.”
Ji Lan was calm. “Did your mother call you?”
“…”
“She’s the one who said I could stay here.”
As if she had predicted that Yan Jingyao wouldn’t let her stay, so she went straight to her mom. Yan Jingyao looked at Ji Lan and found herself hitting a wall, unable to vent her anger.
She really had her number.
Someone being inconveniently present at home. She quickly started calculating, her eyes glancing at Ji Lan’s laptop. An idea sparked.
She walked over, and lightly hooked Ji Lan’s chin. “Alright, Professor Ji, but your research on love probably has to start from this.”
After saying that, without waiting for Ji Lan to react, Yan Jingyao leaned down and kissed her. Her lips pressed against Ji Lan’s, sucking lightly.
It ended quickly. Ji Lan’s heart pounded erratically for a few seconds—her first kiss, her first kiss with a woman was taken.
The atmosphere suddenly became delicate. A lingering scent on her lips, Yan Jingyao surprisingly felt a little reluctant for the sensation to end. She raised her thumb to caress Ji Lan’s lips, staring at her.
The touch of her thumb was soft and delicate, warm. “Professor Ji, has anyone ever told you that your lips look a lot like Monica Bellucci’s?”
She had more lipstick on than in class. Her lips were exquisitely shaped, small and full, the perfect proportion of upper to lower lip. Coupled with her facial features, they exuded a cool, elegant beauty.
Yan Jingyao hadn’t looked closely last time, but now, upon closer inspection, she found her lips very attractive. “Your lips are truly beautiful. You have good bone structure.”
Beauty in bones, not just skin. Ji Lan’s features were very three-dimensional, but not the overly sharp or prominent kind found in Western faces. Instead, they were soft.
Her eyebrows were slender and dark, her eyes clear. Yan Jingyao felt that her eye and brow spacing were also just right, which contributed to her beauty.
It was a pity that she seemed not to like smiling. It was the same in class: rigid, cold, and aloof. Beautiful, yes, but too distant.
A different word for it would be a “high mountain flower”?
“Are you done looking?”
Ji Lan also looked at Yan Jingyao, then suddenly said, “I’ve heard that people with thin lips are eloquent. Lawyer Yan is not bad-looking, has a ‘peach blossom face’ [a face indicating popularity in romance], so you should be very good at making lovers happy?”
The implication was that she was now definitively a research subject.