The library was very quiet. It was grad exam prep season, so crowded that a lot of people were standing.
Dong Yin took down the book she had just used to knock on her own head and pushed it toward her.
“Read.”
She had grabbed the book at random just to hit Dong Yin with it. Now that it was sitting in front of Xie Mingjun, she had no desire to actually look at it.
Dong Yin, on the other hand, seemed to really like it. She picked up a book for herself and started reading in earnest. As always, she somehow fished a pen and a palm-sized notebook out of her backpack and began taking notes.
She wrote more and more seriously, practically forgetting everything and everyone around her. The patch of light on the table seemed to freeze. The barely visible dust motes floated in the slanting sunbeam streaming in from the window, as if someone had hit pause and fixed the whole scene in place.
After idling for a bit, Xie Mingjun knocked on her desk.
“Got a pen?”
Dong Yin lifted her head. After blinking for a few seconds, she dug a pen out of her bag and handed it over.
“Do you want a notebook too? I can give you half of mine.”
She sounded tentative, clearly in a good mood. The next second, the pen rapped lightly against her head. Holding the end of the pen, Xie Mingjun frowned.
“You think this is fun?”
“Huh?”
Dong Yin was slightly stunned. Afraid of disturbing others, she lowered her head and wrote in the notebook for Xie Mingjun to see:
“Think about it. It’s just you and me here reading. Don’t you think that’s really nice?”
Xie Mingjun tapped her on the head again, looking distinctly displeased.
Most of the people in the library had serious expressions and faintly furrowed brows. Only the two of them were tucked away in a corner, playing by tapping each other’s heads with a pen.
Dong Yin kept writing, then pushed the notebook over to Xie Mingjun. Her handwriting was neat, each character lined up perfectly within the squares.
“Do you want to go look at something else?”
“Hm?”
Dong Yin slung her bag over her shoulder and led her toward the back of the library. The last row was all shelves. She gently pushed her forward.
Off balance, Xie Mingjun’s back bumped into the bookshelf. She had just opened her mouth to say something when Dong Yin shushed her, a finger pressed to her lips.
“Don’t talk.”
Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.
Dong Yin tipped her head up and slowly leaned closer to her, brushing a tiny kiss against her chin. Just the lightest touch, her lips grazing along the line of her jaw.
Right. They couldn’t talk here.
Somehow, they had never kissed anywhere bright. It was as if they did it on purpose, always seeking out these dark little pockets, sealed off from everyone else.
Kissing her, touching her.
Dong Yin’s smile was radiant, and she was well-behaved on the surface, but she loved the dark. She looked so pure and innocent, only stealing chaste little kisses at the corners of her lips.
When her lips left, she straightened up.
“Xie Mingjun… is this fun?”
The shadow of the shelves and the sunlight stretched into a diagonal line. Just a few steps would have taken them from one to the other, no transition at all—and yet somehow, they were already kissing. Innocence and quiet lust were cleanly split in two.
Their breathing grew heavy.
“Not fun? Then I’ll kiss you again.”
Again, she carefully avoided her mouth, kissing the right corner of her lips. It was like she had picked out the angle in advance, deliberately brushing along the edge of her mouth.
It tickled.
After a while, Dong Yin leaned in and kissed the left corner of her lips. As she leaned across, her warm breath slid over her mouth.
Kissing both corners at once, she made Xie Mingjun instinctively lean back. But there was a bookshelf behind her; she couldn’t push too hard in case the books fell, so she could only brace her palms lightly against it.
“I’m sorry I didn’t go over yesterday,” Dong Yin whispered. “Please don’t be mad at me, okay?”
Xie Mingjun reached out, grabbed Dong Yin’s shoulders, and shoved her back against the wall. The movement was too big and knocked a book loose. It thudded to the floor by her foot. A student browsing in front of the shelves heard the noise and glanced over.
Even then, Xie Mingjun didn’t let go. Her fingers landed on Dong Yin’s lips and rubbed, unbothered by the possibility of being seen, nerves of steel.
Her touch was rough, rubbing Dong Yin’s lips red, looking at her like she hated her.
“Dong Yin, how are you such a slut?”
“…I…”
“Another couple here to get their kicks. Can’t they just study properly?”
The student picking out books muttered in front of the shelves. Dong Yin’s face flushed scarlet. Guilt and embarrassment crashed over her at once. She didn’t know whether to respond to the person out front or to answer Xie Mingjun.
“I’ve always been slutty.”
Shameless words—but in reality she was clutching the strap of her backpack, looking like she was about to burst into flames.
Dong Yin licked her lips, voice pressed very low.
“Do you… want to play with something even more exciting?”
As soon as Xie Mingjun let go, she bent down, scooped up the fallen book, put it back on the shelf in a rush, then grabbed Xie Mingjun and bolted. While they were running, she even turned her head to look at her. The way Xie Mingjun’s brows lifted said she was very interested in this “exciting” thing.
They ran and ran, really fast.
They cut through a wooded path, only stopping after more than ten minutes.
“We’re here,” Dong Yin panted.
Xie Mingjun tilted her head back and looked up. Big characters loomed overhead: East No. 5 Cafeteria.
Right next to the library.
Dong Yin tugged her inside, but Xie Mingjun didn’t move.
“Dong Yin… this is what you meant by ‘exciting’?”
“…Yeah.”
Dong Yin smiled.
“Classes aren’t out yet, so we can eat early. Once the crowd comes, you can’t eat in peace. The food’s pretty good here.”
“Dong Yin, are you…”
Xie Mingjun ground her teeth as she looked at Dong Yin.
“Forget it. You probably are.”
Dong Yin walked around behind her and pushed her into the cafeteria.
“What do you want to eat, Xie Mingjun?”
Xie Mingjun rarely ate in the cafeteria. She’d gone a few times at the start of the semester, but later she got busy and didn’t feel like squeezing in with everyone else.
She didn’t answer. Dong Yin said:
“Then I’ll decide for you.”
This cafeteria was larger than the others, with more variety. Dong Yin held a tray, and whatever she took for herself, she also took for Xie Mingjun. Then she paid for both meals together.
She was in an especially good mood, walking ahead of Xie Mingjun.
“You don’t have to be nervous. Seniors don’t come here much, and there’s no way we’ll just randomly run into—”
Before she could finish, she spotted a familiar face nearby. One of Zou Yuxi’s buddies. Big mouth, loved stirring up trouble. He was the one who had previously asked her what was going on between her and Zou Yuxi.
His eyes were like radar. He spotted Dong Yin instantly. Maybe he didn’t register that she was wearing new clothes, but he kept jabbing the guy next to him with his elbow.
“What a rare sight. That’s Dong Yin next to Xie Mingjun, right? Shit, the two of them are sitting together.”
It was a tiny thing, but the way he said it, you’d think it was some once-in-a-millennium breaking news.
There were still empty seats on the third floor. Dong Yin could have gone up to avoid them, but she didn’t. She picked a very obvious table instead, tugged on the sleeve of Xie Mingjun’s shirt.
“Don’t sit somewhere else.”
One of Xie Mingjun’s brows arched.
“Sit next to me, okay?”
Dong Yin looked at her, gaze even more intense than it’d been in the library.
Xie Mingjun sat across from her instead, not beside her. She just poked at her rice with her chopsticks, appetite nowhere to be seen. Dong Yin kept sneaking glances at her face—one glance, one bite, like she could eat more just by looking at her.
The people staring while they ate eventually left. Only Dong Yin was still there, even finishing her soup.
When they walked out of the cafeteria, Dong Yin asked:
“Are you happy today?”
Holding her chopsticks, Xie Mingjun asked back:
“Are you happy?”
Dong Yin’s expression said everything. She didn’t even need to answer.
“It’s always fun when I’m with you.”
Fun?
Xie Mingjun stopped and looked at her.
“Dong Yin, when you said ‘fun’ before… you meant… playing with me?”
“No! Of course not, I just wanted to make you happy.”
Dong Yin rushed to explain, flustered.
Head bowed slightly, Xie Mingjun stared into her eyes. That only made Dong Yin panic more. Xie Mingjun was too smart. She’d actually seen right through her. Dong Yin really did want to play with her…
But instead of scolding her, Xie Mingjun let out a soft laugh. It was impossible to tell what she meant by it—happy, or mocking. Then they walked through the shaded path under the trees.
Dong Yin tipped her head back, watching her.
She was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, one side tucked into her jeans. Simple, ordinary clothes—but on her, it was a different kind of style.
“Do you know what a date is?” Xie Mingjun suddenly asked.
Dong Yin wasn’t really sure. She hurried to walk in step with her, looking sideways at her profile.
“Could you teach me?”
Dong Yin really wanted her to. That way, tomorrow and the day after, they could still be together.
Her thoughts were easy to read. Without looking back, Xie Mingjun said:
“You’re sure? You’ll learn whatever I teach you?”
“Mm, mm, mm.”
Dong Yin nodded vigorously.
Xie Mingjun walked ahead. Dong Yin hurried to follow. Her stride was fast; they went from the cafeteria straight back toward the library.
On the way, Dong Yin got nervous. Was Xie Mingjun going to drag her back into the library to make out? She went every day and knew a few corners where no one ever went.
But no. Instead, Xie Mingjun led her toward the main school gate.
She turned back.
“What are you sighing for? It’s not too late to back out.”
Sighing?
Had she sighed? Dong Yin hadn’t even noticed.
Xie Mingjun had come by sports car—a dazzling red convertible. She pulled open the door. There was a lighter sitting on the center console.
Come to think of it, it had been a while since Dong Yin had seen her use that lighter. Long enough that she’d nearly forgotten how bad Xie Mingjun used to be. How reckless.
Sitting down, one hand on the steering wheel, Xie Mingjun put on her sunglasses.
“Get in.”
Dong Yin hovered outside the car, not quite daring to sit. So Xie Mingjun leaned over, shoved the door wider, and hauled her in with one pull.
It was the first time Dong Yin had ever sat in a luxury car. Her heart thudded with nerves. She tried her best to act like she’d seen it all before, but her hands were so careful, movements light and restrained, afraid she’d dirty anything.
Xie Mingjun grabbed the seatbelt and yanked it across her, snapping it into place like she was tying her up.
“Close the door.”
She hadn’t said where they were going. Moving slowly, Dong Yin groped around until she found the handle and obediently shut the door.
She wanted to take the lighter away, to keep her from smoking. Now she seemed bad again, different from how she’d been that time she was sick. As she reached for it, she noticed a book stuffed into the compartment below. The cover was a bit crumpled. The title read: *Sex and Love, and Women*.
A foreign book. Probably the original text. There were many ways to translate that title, but the most straightforward would be: Sex, Love, and Women.
The lighter was wedged right between “Sex” and “Love,” like it was ready to set something on fire.
What was Xie Mingjun… planning?
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll sell you off?” she asked suddenly.
“Huh? Of course not. Where are we going?”
Dong Yin snatched her eyes back, forcing a calm smile.
“To a hotel.”
Unhurried, Xie Mingjun said:
“You thought I was joking with you? Dong Yin, you’ve been teasing me all day. I’m honestly… at the end of my patience with you.”
Then she started the car, cutting off any chance to retreat, and drove straight out of campus.
