With the shirt acting as a barrier, Gu Qingtong’s lips pressed gently against the thin fabric. After all, it was just an experiment, far less intense than in her dreams, just a bit mischievous, soft, and light. Gu Qingtong released her lips and teeth but didn’t get up. She still held onto Yan Chi’s neck, looking up at her expression, as if waiting to capture her reaction. Yan Chi’s motion of putting down Gu Qingtong came to an abrupt halt, and her shoulders seemed to tremble involuntarily for a moment. However, even with these changes in her posture, Yan Chi’s expression was not as uncontrolled as it was back then, just a slight frown, and her eyes half-squinted.
A moment later, Yan Chi relaxed but then cast her eyes downward, silently looking at Gu Qingtong, who still hadn’t realized what she had done. Yan Chi’s light-colored eyes seemed to gradually be tainted by the dark shadows inside the car, turning her calm gaze into something dark and inscrutable.
This wasn’t the first time Yan Chi had been bitten on the shoulder by Gu Qingtong, to be precise, she had experienced it in the feverish dreams. Almost every time, it left her overwhelmed, causing her to fall from her lofty heights.
Even after waking up for a long time, she remembered the burning sensation on her shoulder and how the unwilling yet repeatedly delighted tears of the woman continued to burn in her heart.
At this moment, Gu Qingtong was clearly just testing the waters. The bite felt as gentle as a cat’s claw lightly scratching, not causing any pain. Furthermore, the suddenness of the bite was unlike the deep immersion into desire that happened in the dream.
However, even so, Yan Chi struggled to restrain herself, and her body and expression underwent subtle changes. When Yan Chi looked into Gu Qingtong’s eyes, there was an inexplicable depth to her gaze. She didn’t know when, under her patient coaxing, Gu Qingtong had become this bold, and her habits were becoming more and more similar to those in the dream.
If the “step” earlier was guided by Yan Chi, this bite on her shoulder had never made Gu Qingtong feel so satisfied. How did she know?
With these thoughts in mind, Yan Chi leaned in closer. Just a moment ago, Gu Qingtong had keenly observed Yan Chi’s expression.
She watched in wide-eyed surprise as Yan Chi not only didn’t lose her composure but was also stirred with curiosity and an unusually dangerous aura. Everything was beyond Gu Qingtong’s expectations. Suddenly, she felt a bit panicked, realizing that her mischievous act earlier was like playing with fire.
“Tongtong, why did you bite my shoulder?” Yan Chi asked as she leaned over Gu Qingtong, her hands braced on the backrest, trapping her in the confined space she had created. She stared into her eyes and deliberately masked her dominance with an appearance of calmness. If it weren’t for this action, it would have seemed like she had casually asked a question.
Gu Qingtong felt herself sinking into the seat as if experiencing weightlessness, and the sensation made her more aware and flustered. Yan Chi’s aura, which was distinctively hers, enveloped her, stimulating her senses in waves.
She had nowhere to hide, so she nervously looked at Yan Chi, saying in a half-true, half-false manner: “I…I thought about biting you when I was on stage doing the task.” After all, she couldn’t tell the truth that she had learned all this from the so-called “original story” dream!
Caught between exposing the original story’s plot and falsely claiming that she was lusting after Yan Chi, Gu Qingtong reluctantly chose the latter.
Right now, she just felt that the previous dream had completely confused her!
It was only now that Yan Chi remembered the inexplicable moisture on her collar due to the lip marks. But was it really as Gu Qingtong claimed?
Yan Chi knew her personality best. Despite being timid and talkative, she wouldn’t entertain such thoughts unless she actively provoked them herself.
What made Gu Qingtong, with her usual personality, suddenly interested in her own shoulder? Yan Chi was genuinely curious.
So Yan Chi continued to watch Gu Qingtong quietly and got a little closer. The hair that had been parted to one side now hung delicately on the soft skin of her neck, intermingling with her own hair.
“Now that you’ve tasted it, how do you feel?”
How does she feel? What kind of sensation could she expect from biting through fabric?
She had anticipated Yan Chi’s reaction, but there was no sign of it, despite thinking about it for so many days!
Mumbling softly, she said: “Through the shirt, I couldn’t taste anything…”
As she spoke, she carefully raised her eyes to see Yan Chi’s expression at this moment, trying to gauge whether she could let her off the hook.
“Then you can try it again, right on the shoulder,” Yan Chi clearly had no intention of letting Gu Qingtong off the hook, and she was pressing her step by step.
Gu Qingtong was now in a difficult spot. If she refused, it would obviously contradict the excuse she had just come up with. She knew that even if she had to grit her teeth, she had to bite that spot today.
“Your shirt…” Gu Qingtong slid from her shoulder to those eyes, which were now so close, and asked in a soft voice.
Yan Chi’s gaze wandered for a moment but then she leaned in closer, and with a swift movement, she pulled the car door shut.
The sound of the door closing seemed to cut off the last possibility of outside interference, and the narrow space inside the car became increasingly filled with an ambiguous atmosphere.
Without continuing the movements from before, Yan Chi sat down calmly beside Gu Qingtong. She lightly tapped her own leg with a pointed finger and said, “Climb up, take it off yourself.”
The space in the backseat was very cramped, and Yan Chi didn’t position herself directly facing Gu Qingtong, which would have been inconvenient. Clearly, Yan Chi was inviting Gu Qingtong to sit on her lap, just like that night after drinking.
After hesitating for a while and feeling increasingly embarrassed, Gu Qingtong finally shuffled around and climbed onto Yan Chi’s lap, almost knocking her head in the process, but Yan Chi’s hand helped to block it.
“Is this posture really not suitable for inside a car?” Yan Chi looked at Gu Qingtong with a hint of a smile, deliberately teasing her.
Gu Qingtong almost felt like she was making a fool of herself. Why did she have to be so clumsy…..even in moments like this?!
After adjusting her sitting position, Gu Qingtong felt both embarrassed and shy. She didn’t want to look at Yan Chi anymore. She quickly reached for the buttons on Yan Chi’s shirt.
Her delicate and rosy hand diligently unfastened the buttons, pulling down the slightly open collar even further. She didn’t fully unbutton it, just enough to loosen it so that she could push it down from one side of Yan Chi’s shoulder.
Yan Chi’s fair and slender shoulder was revealed before Gu Qingtong’s eyes, the shirt just hanging on her collarbone, partially covering it.
“I… I’m really going to bite now…” Gu Qingtong, with a flushed face, could almost hear her own heartbeat. She leaned over and pressed her lips onto Yan Chi’s shoulder.
With no fabric in between, her lips finally touched Yan Chi’s warm and smooth skin for the first time.
The soft touch was so tempting that Gu Qingtong couldn’t help but gently caress it with her lips for a moment. She teased a little before finally biting down.
Different from the tingling sensation in her memory, the petal-like lips wrapped around her shoulder for the first time, carrying a gentle warmth.
In a place Gu Qingtong couldn’t see, Yan Chi’s neck suddenly tensed. Her chin lifted, and she closed her eyes, savoring the sensation.
“You…” Gu Qingtong heard her make an unrestrained sound, murmuring with a hint of astonishment as she nestled her face against Yan Chi’s shoulder.
In that instant, Yan Chi’s hand slid up Gu Qingtong’s slender waist and lifted the hem of her skirt with the other.
❖❖❖❖❖
“Bro, why hasn’t Yan Chi’s car left yet? Could they have spotted us?”
The two paparazzi who had been staking out Yan Chi and Gu Qingtong in the parking lot were still in their car. They had managed to snap photos of the two in a princess carry, and they were waiting for Yan Chi to start her car, hoping to catch her taking Gu Qingtong to a hotel as further evidence. However, even after they had finished sorting through their photos, there was no sign of the Bentley moving. It was as if the two inside the car had never gotten in.
“This can’t be…it shouldn’t be like this,” the more experienced one muttered to himself. He then signaled his junior to start their car. “Quick, follow them!”
Inside the Bentley, Gu Qingtong had fallen fast asleep in the back seat. Her legs were positioned somewhat awkwardly, and the traces of tears on her face had yet to fade.
It seemed like she had fallen asleep at some point in time. She was deeply unconscious, but Yan Chi, who was driving, remained awake. It didn’t take her long to notice that there was a car following closely behind her.
This wasn’t the first time she had encountered paparazzi, so she was always a bit more alert to these situations. It was clear that the paparazzi had been tailing her all the way from Mousha’s parking lot. In other words, they might have taken incriminating photos of her and Gu Qingtong while she was carrying her.
When Yan Chi thought about this outcome, her expression remained calm. There was no visible displeasure; she was skilled at handling such unexpected situations, thanks in part to Hua Yan’s PR expertise. Besides, Gu Qingtong’s injured foot was an advantage.
The moment Yan Chi understood the situation, she had already formulated several contingency plans in her mind. There was truly no cause for concern.
The only thing to be concerned about was whether the paparazzi were sent by someone with malicious intent, and if so, who that person might be. With these thoughts in mind, Yan Chi’s expression turned cold. She deviated from the route back to her apartment, took a detour, and got onto the City A’s highway.
After circling around briefly, she managed to shake off the pursuing car. Only then did Yan Chi return to her apartment with Gu Qingtong. This incident was remarkably similar to the one where they had been drunk before, except this time Gu Qingtong had not consumed alcohol and had awakened as soon as Yan had lifted her.
The cool breeze ruffled the hem of her skirt, and Gu Qingong suddenly stiffened, recalling what had happened earlier. What had started as a simple bite on the shoulder had escalated within the confined space of the car. Not only had it stained her own clothing but had also splattered onto Yan Chi’s outfit. Realizing this, Gu Qingtong’s gaze drifted downwards, and she indeed saw the suspicious dark stains on Yan Chi’s shirt and trousers…..
She couldn’t be clearer about what those were, and the embarrassment overwhelmed her to the point where she couldn’t lift her head.
“How many times has it been, and you’re still blushing like this?” Yan Chi observed her reaction and expression with a teasing tone and a clear amusement in her eyes.
Thinking back to how Gu Qingtong had clung to her neck, trembling and on the verge of collapse, Yan Chi’s voice dropped even lower: “Dare to tempt me next time?”
Gu Qingtong had no words to defend herself. She knew that everything that had just transpired was Yan Chi’s way of systematically dismantling her excuses, one by one.
Taking advantage of the fact that there were clothes in between them, she decided to vent her frustration by biting into Yan’s shoulder once again.
Yan Chi’s home didn’t quite match her expectations. Gu Qingtong had imagined a sleek, urban, monochrome apartment. However, the entire place was awash in shades of beige, with warm-toned lighting that felt exceptionally inviting on this winter night.
“Hmm?”
Although Gu Qingtong had been drunk the last time, she still faintly remembered that this place wasn’t like this before. The entire room used to be adorned in cold, gray tones, just like its owner, distant and aloof. As soon as you entered, there was a massive floor-to-ceiling window that offered a panoramic view of the entire city of A.
Maybe she had remembered it wrong? After a moment, Gu Qingtong withdrew her gaze and insisted on taking a bath, making a fuss about it.
Yan Chi naturally understood why she was in such a hurry. She placed Gu Qingtong on the sofa and fetched a bathrobe and some clothes that fit her.
When Gu Qingtong saw these clothes that were her size, she widened her eyes: “How…how come your place has so many clothes that fit me?”
“Is it strange to have your wife’s clothes at home?” Yan Chi’s lips curled into a slight smile.
As Gu Qingtong contemplated their relationship, she fell into a momentary silence.
Sure enough, the feeling of being married only came with the experience of living together. Gu Qingtong wondered how long Yan Chi had silently prepared all of this.
“Are you moving in? If you find this place too small, I have a few villas on hand,” Yan Chi said, looking into Gu Qingtong’s eyes with intensity. The last time she had brought up living together was when they had just met. However, she had raised the idea at that time, only to be interrupted by their involvement in a variety show. Today was the first time it had been mentioned again.
Stunned by this sudden question, Gu Qingtong stammered: “Ah…uh?!” Why had the topic of living together come up out of the blue?! Gu Qingtong clearly lacked the awareness of being Yan Chi’s legal wife. After a moment of thought, she suddenly exclaimed as if she had just realized something important: “I’ve been resisting living together with you, and look what’s happened to me. If we really live together, what will become of me?!” She remembered that since the incident that broke her abstinence after getting drunk, every time she encountered Yan Chi at an event, it was like igniting a wildfire. She finally realized what was going on!
Facing what she now perceived as a formidable adversary, Gu Qingtong shook her head vigorously and said: “I won’t be fooled by you again, no way!”
With that, she hopped on one foot toward the pile of clean clothes and made her way to the bathroom, putting some distance between herself and Yan Chi. Yan Chi watched Gu Qingtong’s retreating figure, her emotions a bit hard to decipher. Not only in this house but in almost every residence, whether frequently or infrequently used, she had already stocked Gu Qingtong’s daily necessities and clothing, all handpicked by Gu Qingtong herself. Even this apartment, where she had brought her most often, had its entire decor changed after Gu Qingtong drunkenly commented, “This place is so cold.” Would there ever be a day when she considered this her home?
Yan Chi asked herself silently.
❖❖❖❖❖
She wasn’t sure if it was because of her earlier words, but Yan Chi didn’t seem to tease her anymore after returning. Gu Qingtong felt quite relaxed after her shower. Taking advantage of Yan Chi’s bathing time, she lay on the couch and took out her phone. She noticed that there was still about half an hour left until the next episode of the variety show aired. She had to patiently wait.
Feeling a bit bored, she opened WeChat and saw a friend request. “Huh?” Gu Qingtong was surprised to see that it was a friend request from her fellow fan, Bingtang Xueli. She was shocked and almost jumped off the couch. Is this not the fan who had encountered her repeatedly in the past? Why did she want to add her as a friend? Had she already figured out her identity behind the fan account!?
In an instant, numerous speculations flooded Gu Qingtong’s mind. First, she checked her own Moments to confirm that her profile was set to “visible for three days” and didn’t contain any personal information. Only then did she accept the friend request.
Gu Qingtong was so cautious that she didn’t even dare to send a message first, afraid that the other person might recognize her true identity.
Fortunately, Lizi was online and quickly sent a message: [Sister TT! I’m sorry for suddenly bothering you. I have a question. Do you know someone named Gu Qingtong?]
Gu Qingtong’s heart leaped to her throat. Has she been discovered? Was this a test?
However, before she could respond, Lizi’s next message arrived: [To be honest, I’ve recently become a fan of an actress named Gu Qingtong. I wonder if sister TT has ever followed her. I just found out today that you and her have attended many of the same events. I wanted to ask if you have any beautiful pictures of her. Hehehe.]
After learning about the charity film festival’s opening ceremony coincidence, Lizi did some research and found that both of them had participated in the same events quite a few times. However, she didn’t think in the same direction as Xiao Jun and simply considered it a coincidence.
Seeing this, Gu Qingtong finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied: [I have indeed seen her before, but because I’m quite busy, I’ve only taken photos of Teacher Yan. I hope you understand.]
She had many private photos that she couldn’t share with others!
Although Lizi was a bit disappointed, she could tell from her tone that she wasn’t rejecting Gu Qingtong. She couldn’t help but pour out her heart: [Thank you, sister TT! I don’t have anyone to share this with. Today, I attended Teacher Yan’s offline event, and I was saved by the beautiful and kind-hearted Tong Mei. I fell for her instantly and still haven’t recovered…]
Gu Qingting finally realized that Lizi had become her fan.
[She probably just enjoys helping out when she can, and you might have been saved in the heat of the moment] Gu Qingtong replied, not wanting to encourage Lizi to climb over the wall to get closer to Yan Chi or herself. She then added from a bystander’s perspective: [Is Teacher Yan so amazing that you’d go to such lengths?]
This statement seemed to hit a nerve, and Lizi fell silent.
[Don’t overthink it, whether you like Teacher Yan or Gu Qingtong, the variety show is about to start. Let’s watch it together!]
After some persuasion, Lizi finally relented. Gu Qingtong was relieved that Lizi had only seen her photos from the event and hadn’t connected the dots to realize they were the same person.
However, after this scare, Gu Qingtong began to seriously consider how to deal with her alter ego. As the commonalities between herself and “TT” were being unearthed, it was only a matter of time before people figured it out…..
The best solution would be to delete all traces of Yan Chi from the “TT” account, so no evidence would remain.
However, Gu Qingtong couldn’t bring herself to do it. Whether it was the film reviews she had been writing for the past five years, her dedication to checking in at Yan Chi’s events, or the photos she had taken of her over the past year, these were all the most cherished aspects of Gu Qingtong’s heart. She couldn’t bear to part with them.
Throughout it all, the “TT” account held a significance to her that went beyond just being a fan page where people praised her as an elder sister.
Instead, when she didn’t even understand what “liking someone” meant, Yan Chi had already become her “ideal human being.” After thinking it over, Gu Qingtong could only stick to this one method. She sighed and habitually opened the U Station to check if the variety show had been released.
Clearly, it was time, but “Love Game” hadn’t been updated yet. Gu Qingtong intended to refresh the page, but somehow ended up on the auto-recommended videos below. Little did she know that the video playing was actually a fan-made compilation of herself and Yan Chi – their ‘CP edit’! This was set in Yan Chi’s apartment, and Gu Qingtong reflexively wanted to exit. However, when her gaze froze on the video’s title, she hesitated for a moment.
The title read, “[Silent Gaze] Stockholm Syndrome Lovers, Enter with Caution.” There’s…a car?! Gu Qingtong’s curiosity got the better of her, even though she knew she shouldn’t continue. Her hand refused to cooperate, and she couldn’t exit. Her eyes remained fixed on the edited video.
In this compilation, clips were taken from their respective works. Gu Qingtong recognized a scene from a school drama she had acted in. The setting was that Yan Chi played a cold, highly intelligent crime novelist, while Gu Qingtong portrayed an apparently innocent and slightly crazy girl. Every time the girl committed a misdeed, the novelist discovered it.
Amidst a series of “righteous” trials, hidden beneath was the novelist’s secret intention of treating the girl as prey. Accompanied by a classic dark-themed song, the plot advanced little by little until the truth was revealed, with the novelist ultimately consuming the girl.
While it was a video about a car, Gu Qingtong had already seen various edits of Yan Chi’s material in various personal fan edits countless times. Interwoven with clips of Gu Qingtong in the video made the two of them seem even more compatible, creating a unique atmosphere. Gu Qingtong blushed and her heart raced as she watched.
Because it was related to herself, she felt embarrassed but couldn’t resist the urge to watch. So she placed her phone on her lap, covered her eyes with both hands, and peeked through the gap.
The comments were also filled with excitement. “Tongtong, what are you watching?”
Suddenly, a voice appeared near Gu Qingtong’s ear, and it seemed to startle her. She couldn’t even put her hands down in time and replied reflexively: “I-I’m watching a variety show.”
“Is this a variety show?” Yan Chi’s gaze fell on the phone screen, where the “car” was still playing. She read the title meaningfully, “Silent Gaze, Stockholm Syndrome Lovers, Enter with Caution?”
She finally understood where her little friend’s strange and random thoughts came from.
Yan Chi’s voice was naturally cold and noble, perfectly replicating the tone of her character in the video as if the character from the video was whispering in Gu Qingtong’s ear.
Gu Qingtong felt like crying but had no tears. She explained: “I just refreshed it, and it automatically jumped to this. I thought it was still part of the variety show. If you don’t believe me, I can refresh it again!”
Saying that, she attempted to refresh the video again. However, the app seemed to be against her; as soon as she refreshed it, the latest episode of “Love Game” immediately appeared, leaving her speechless.
Those darn program producers!!
