The color hadn’t completely faded from her cheeks. She turned her face away, her gaze drifting toward the kitchen first.
Xie Qingyi’s fingertips were still gripping the edge of the sofa, the white marks at her knuckles especially obvious.
Through the frosted glass door, she could see Chi Yingyu moving around, and the occasional soft clatter of dishes came through.
Only after confirming that the other woman couldn’t hear what was happening over here did she lean in closer to Jiang Lai again, her shoulder nearly touching Jiang Lai’s, her voice even lower than before, as if afraid of startling something.
“Jiang Lai, you and… and Chi Yingyu, what exactly is your relationship?”
After asking, she held her breath, eyes sparkling as she stared at the side of Jiang Lai’s face, even her fingertips quietly tensing.
“Aren’t you supposed to like Shen Ruxue? What’s your relationship with her then?”
Even though they’d only had very simple contact just now, just looking at the way the two of them got along, they seemed especially close.
Especially when she’d walked in the door earlier—the way Chi Yingyu naturally took Jiang Lai’s suitcase, and that familiar “I’ll go reheat the food” remark, both carried a tacit understanding that outsiders couldn’t break into.
But then she remembered Shen Ruxue, and all these relationships in front of her made her feel a bit muddled. For some reason, she found herself sticking her nose into other people’s business.
Jiang Lai was amused by the way she was cautiously asking about her relationships, and she understood what the other woman was thinking. Her fingertip gently touched Xie Qingyi’s arm wrapped in the blanket, her tone still gentle.
“Why are you suddenly asking about this?”
She paused, and only after seeing that the tips of Xie Qingyi’s ears were standing straight and tense did she continue:
“Ying Yu is the most important presence in my life. If I were to put it in terms you could understand, she is my lover, and she’s like family to me.”
“Your lover?”
Xie Qingyi repeated, her tone somewhat disbelieving, her brows lightly furrowing.
“Then… what about Shen Ruxue? I thought… you two were…”
She didn’t finish that sentence, but lowered her head in embarrassment, her fingers picking at the edge of the blanket.
Jiang Lai had never once mentioned her relationship with Shen Ruxue, but now she was openly admitting to a lover relationship with someone else.
This kind of confusing matter made her feel a little bewildered, and she felt a bit embarrassed too.
After all, casually speculating about other people’s relationships seemed a bit impolite, but the doubt in her heart was like a little bug, scratching at her and making her truly uncomfortable.
When Jiang Lai heard the name “Shen Ruxue,” her gaze softened, the smile at the corners of her mouth fading a little, replaced by a trace of indescribable gentleness.
Though she couldn’t fully explain it to Xie Qingyi in a short time, some things were better said openly.
“Xiaoxue is someone very important to me. I like her a lot too, I love her—the way you love someone.”
Jiang Lai looked at Xie Qingyi, and seeing that after she’d spoken her true feelings aloud, the other woman was stunned on the spot, as if she couldn’t process this enormous amount of information, this absurd fact, and couldn’t come back to her senses for a long time.
This made Jiang Lai reach out and ruffle her hair.
“I know saying it like this makes me sound like a two-timer, but what’s between us isn’t something that can be explained in a few words. I don’t expect you to understand, but the reason I can say it to you so bluntly now is also because I hope you can keep a secret. Can you?”
“Is it because you trust me a lot?”
Xie Qingyi quickly looked up, her voice dropping as she explained the reason she’d been asking all these questions.
“It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone else. And the reason I was asking all this just now was only because I was still thinking about whether you sleeping with Chi Yingyu would be… would be inconvenient? After all, you like girls, so I thought…”
But if that was the case, then it didn’t matter.
Xie Qingyi had originally been thinking about other things, but now that she knew this truth, her entire attention was drawn away by this matter.
Even though the problem was still pretty big, it was no longer something she could manage.
So Jiang Lai was a bit of a romantic after all. A two-timer? But looking at the person in front of her, Xie Qingyi didn’t feel any aversion at all. In fact, she even felt that perhaps it was precisely because Jiang Lai was like this—a person with deep feelings—that she was willing to help her and comfort her.
Jiang Lai watched Xie Qingyi, who still hadn’t recovered, straightened the blanket over her, then stood up from the sofa and went to the kitchen to help Chi Yingyu.
She hadn’t needed to admit her relationships with the two women to Xie Qingyi at all. Even if she’d hidden it and covered it up, Chi Yingyu would have cooperated perfectly and never exposed her behind her back.
But she didn’t want to do that anymore.
Jiang Lai wasn’t a dull person. She could feel that Xie Qingyi actually had some inappropriate feelings toward her.
If it was before, it had only been a vague feeling, but now she could be certain of it.
By laying out the current state of this relationship, she was mostly letting Xie Qingyi retreat before it was too late, letting her know that Jiang Lai wasn’t a good person, and then stay away from her.
That was better for everyone. If she hadn’t had such feelings in the first place, then that was best. This way was good for everyone.
Jiang Lai walked into the kitchen. Seeing Chi Yingyu standing there, fiddling with the dishes to stall for time, she boldly wrapped her arms around her from behind, just like she always did.
“What’s wrong? The food’s been reheated for a while now, why haven’t you brought it out?”
Chi Yingyu felt the warmth and softness behind her, and at the sound of Jiang Lai’s voice, the grievance in her tone couldn’t be hidden.
“If I’d brought the food out earlier, would you two have been able to whisper for that long?”
She slowly turned around, the corners of her eyes still carrying a trace of red that she hadn’t quite hidden. She looked down at Jiang Lai’s hands around her waist, her finger lightly poking at that wrist.
“Just now in the living room, I saw you ruffling her hair through the glass. You used to do that only for the people closest to you, but now even someone you’ve barely met a few times gets that treatment.”
Jiang Lai listened to her sour words and couldn’t help but laugh. She pulled the woman tighter into her arms, resting her chin on the crown of her head and nuzzling.
“Did the vinegar jar tip over again? I only talked with her for a bit. She was feeling upset, so I was just comforting her.”
“You don’t need to get that close just to comfort someone, do you?”
Chi Yingyu huffed, but she didn’t push Jiang Lai away. Instead, she curled deeper into her arms, her voice softening.
“I waited for you to come back from your business trip, and I wanted to have a good talk with you, but suddenly there’s an extra person in the house, and it’s hard to even get a moment alone with you.”
She reached up and poked Jiang Lai’s chest.
“And also, what did you say to her just now? The way she looked at you changed. Don’t tell me you said something sweet to her again?”
Jiang Lai caught her mischievous hand, her fingertip gently squeezing her palm, her tone soft.
“I didn’t say much. I just told her about our relationship, and about my relationship with Xiaoxue. She’s just a little shocked.”
Chi Yingyu froze for a moment, looking up at Jiang Lai, a little in disbelief.
“Why did you tell her that? I can understand why you made this decision, but other people won’t. They have no idea what our family has been through. Jiang Jiang…”
“It’s fine. Nothing is more important than you two.”
Jiang Lai interrupted her, her eyes serious.
“Besides, I don’t want to hide it anymore. My relationship with you and Xiaoxue might be unusual, but I don’t want to put on a show in front of others.”
Chi Yingyu looked at the seriousness in her eyes, and the sourness in her heart gradually dissipated, leaving only soft warmth and love.