Imprisoned with a Wife (On the Psychology of Being F***ed) - Chapter 8
When someone lives under the same roof as you for an entire week, but never speaks or interacts with you, acting as if you’re transparent, how do you feel?
Yan Jingyao felt that Ji Lan must have “had Pei Jinxi’s piggy bun stuffed into her brain—making her sick.”
She had lived alone for a long time. Aside from Shen Jin and Pei Jinxi, she never let anyone stay over, not even Xu Wei.
Accustomed to being alone, having someone suddenly move in, with whom she had no intimate relationship, made her extremely uncomfortable.
Ji Lan, however, was composed, adopting an attitude of making the best of it. She existed quietly, didn’t talk excessively or flirt, went to work and came home without delay, and didn’t even bat an eyelid when she saw Yan Jingyao naked after showering.
What a Liu Xiahui! The atmosphere in the house suddenly became like a Zen meditation room in a monastery—peaceful upon entry, ascetic.
Yan Jingyao was practically going insane.
This morning, Ji Lan left for class. Yan Jingyao hid on the balcony, persistently calling her mom until she finally picked up.
“Cough, I’m in a meeting.”
For an entire week, whenever she picked up, she was “in a meeting.” That old fox was always adept at passing the buck. Yan Jingyao was speechless. “Dear Yan Rui comrade, your meeting has lasted a week.”
“Busy.”
“Avoiding it won’t solve the problem.”
“…What do you want?”
“Ji Lan.”
Then there was tactical silence again. Yan Jingyao was speechless once more. After a long while, she heard her mom squeeze out a few words. “Her mother was my high school classmate.”
“And?”
“I made a promise to her, uh, that I had to help her once.”
“So you sold me out?”
“What do you mean ‘sold out’?” Yan Rui suddenly became tough. “If you’re so capable, don’t use the Yan surname! If you’re so capable, get her out yourself!”
“…”
Her mom even sounded wronged. Yan Jingyao finally understood: apparently, her mom couldn’t deal with her mom, so she could only sell her.
What the heck was a “surprise”?
Fine. “So, does Ji Lan like guys or girls?”
“Did I tell you to fall in love?”
“…”
“Ji Wanyan, I’m calling you. If you’re so great, you talk to her yourself.”
“…”
The call ended. Yan Rui sent her the number. Yan Jingyao grumbled about her mom being utterly unreliable while dialing.
“Hello, may I ask who’s calling?”
“Auntie Ji, I’m Yan Rui’s daughter, Yan…”
“Sorry! The subscriber you dialed cannot be connected for the moment, please redial later.” (In English)
“Um, Auntie Ji, I…”
“Elles recouvrent la mousse, les pierres et les sentiers.” (They cover the moss, the stones and the paths – French)
“…”
“Ihr naht euch wieder, schwankende Gestalten, Die früh sich einst dem trüben Blick gezeigt.” (You come again, wavering shapes, Who early once appeared before my troubled gaze – German, from Goethe’s Faust)
What the heck?!
Yan Jingyao started doubting her ears. She looked at her phone again; the call had already ended.
“…”
Alright, she finally understood why her mom couldn’t deal with her mom. Who could possibly deal with that?
Frustrated, she ruffled her hair. Yan Jingyao felt that she could only approach Ji Lan directly and decided to have a good talk with her when she got back tonight.
She was busy from the moment she left until eight or nine at night. When she returned, as soon as she opened the door, Ji Lan arrived right behind her.
No key, no problem. She was uncannily good at timing. Yan Jingyao couldn’t help but admire her. “How do you do it?”
“I was at the coffee shop downstairs, by the window. I saw your car.”
A bright red Ferrari, as conspicuous as could be. Ji Lan walked past Yan Jingyao into the living room, calmly sat at the dining table, and continued fiddling with her unfinished manuscript.
Yan Jingyao rolled her eyes a million times inwardly. She changed her shoes, made herself a soothing rose tea, and sat opposite Ji Lan.
“Professor Ji,” she said, cutting straight to the chase. “I think it’s necessary for us to talk.”
“Talk about what?”
“Why do you insist on me being your research subject?”
“Because you’re a very observable sample.”
“But I don’t want to.”
“Then what would make you want to?”
“…”
To some extent, Ji Lan was truly stubborn, researching a decided matter to the end. This was very much like a professor. Yan Jingyao felt they had nothing to say to each other.
“Alright, honestly, I don’t like living with people,” she decided to be blunt. “I want you to move out.”
“You haven’t said what would make you agree to me.”
“I don’t want to agree,” Yan Jingyao interlocked her fingers, placing them gently on the table, a standard negotiation posture. “Moreover, I believe your so-called observation is invalid.”
“How do you know it’s invalid?”
“Observation isn’t the silent treatment.”
“Oh,” Ji Lan suddenly smiled, a slight curve at the corner of her lips. Her facial expression remained cold, but it was beautiful enough. “If I ask you questions, will you answer truthfully?”
Like a high mountain flower slowly unfurling a few petals, it momentarily captivated Yan Jingyao’s eyes. She noticed that Ji Lan’s smile was very subtle, merely a slight upward pull at the corners of her lips.
Her autumn eyes were clear and cold. She looked at Yan Jingyao, then suddenly leaned back in her chair, a deep smile in her eyes. “What does Professor Ji want to ask?”
“Favorite movie?”
“The Devil’s Advocate.”
“Favorite color?”
“Light blue.”
“Favorite animal?”
“Cougar.”
“Favorite food?”
“Noodles.”
“Last one, what’s your sexual orientation?”
Ji Lan looked on with interest. Yan Jingyao smiled, picked up her cup, and took a sip of rose tea. “Professor Ji, these questions don’t seem like a psychological test.”
“The best tests often begin with mutual understanding.”
“Is that so,” Yan Jingyao said meaningfully. “Then can I take that to mean, Professor Ji, that you’re trying to seduce me right now?”
Ji Lan didn’t speak, her expression still cool and aloof. Yan Jingyao stood up, moved to her side, leaned over, supporting herself on the table edge.
“You’re doing research on love psychology, so why ask about sexual orientation?”
“I didn’t specify it was research on heterosexual love psychology.”
“But heterosexual is normal, right?”
“Regardless of gender or non-gender, as long as it’s love, the underlying psychology should be the same.”
“It seems Professor Ji knows a lot?” She stared directly at her, their gazes colliding, sparks flying. “Don’t change the subject. You must move out.”
“Yan Jingyao,” Ji Lan also stared at her. “What’s your sexual orientation?”
Neither answered the other. They remained in silent confrontation. Yan Jingyao’s gaze involuntarily focused on Ji Lan’s lips again.
They really were like Monica Bellucci’s, making one want to kiss them, yet her aloofness made one dare not easily profane them.
A self-deprecating chuckle deep down. It seemed her hormones and libido were quite rampant lately.
Straightening up, Yan Jingyao ended the staring contest, her eyes somewhat playful. “Alright, I’m hungry. I’m going downstairs to grab something to eat.”
She left with a flourish. Ji Lan watched her go, then finally let out the breath she’d been holding—she had actually been a little nervous just now.
She had never been in a relationship and didn’t know how to handle intimate connections. However, her relationship with Yan Jingyao wasn’t intimate.
It was said that physical relationships were the easiest connections to establish. She closed the document. Her desktop wallpaper was a child’s drawing.
That child’s drawing she could never forget.
Her phone suddenly vibrated. It was Ji Wanyan.
“Mom?”
“How long do you plan to stay at her place?”
“…I don’t know.”
Ji Wanyan sighed, deeply aware of her daughter’s persistence. Ji Lan, holding onto a sliver of hope, asked again: “Mom, can you really not help me ask? Isn’t Auntie Yan your good friend?”
“It’s precisely because she’s a good friend that I can’t ask,” she wasn’t foolish, and refused unequivocally. “I regret telling you now. Yan Rui would definitely kill me if she knew.”
Like a kindergarten child, Ji Lan was speechless, thinking about her mom’s age. “Is it that exaggerated?”
“She’s a tenth-dan judo black belt, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu master! The kind who, back then, hid in a crowd and head-shotted a hostage-taker with one shot!”
Her tone suddenly became agitated. Ji Lan was startled. Ji Wanyan didn’t have the heart to say that she was the hostage. At the time, her mind went blank, her legs were so weak, and the moment the shot rang out, the criminal died, and she fainted.
Afterward, she had no memory of how she was rescued. Anyway, she couldn’t bring up Yan Rui’s past trauma, not even for her daughter.
“I will absolutely not ask Yan Rui. If you insist on knowing, then you’ll have to try to get it out of Yan Jingyao yourself.”
“…”
Hanging up the phone, Ji Lan frowned deeply, staring at the innocent child’s drawing in front of her, lost in long thought.
Indeed, Yan Jingyao was the only way.
She clenched her fist tightly. She had finally made up her mind. She had to, and could only, do this.
The door suddenly opened. Yan Jingyao walked in. Seeing Ji Lan in the living room, she frowned unhappily. “Why haven’t you left yet?”
Ji Lan looked at her, then suddenly walked over and placed her hands on Yan Jingyao’s shoulders.
“Yan Jingyao, let’s go to bed.”