Deng Jiayi · Chat

The morning light filtered through the half-closed beige window screens, casting fine, warm golden spots on the sheets of the homestay's double room. The residual warmth of the night still lingered between the two of them. Jia Xinlei woke up first—the moment her fingertips twitched slightly, a distinct burning sensation came from the faint pink mark on the side of her neck. The warmth of their lips touching last night, and the temperature of Deng Jiayi's palm covering her waist, instantly flooded her thoughts like a tide. Her whole body was as stiff as a piece of frozen jade, and even her breathing was extremely light. She buried her head in the pillow, not daring to even turn a thought, for fear of disturbing the person beside her. She wrapped the blanket tightly around herself, revealing only a slender section of her neck. The tips of her ears were already burning red, and even her eyelashes were trembling slightly. Deng Jiayi beside her had actually been awake for a long time. She didn't move, just lay quietly on her side, her gaze falling on Jia Xinlei's shoulder exposed outside the blanket. Her long, thick eyelashes were gently lowered, like hiding butterfly wings that dared not be exposed. She deliberately didn't look at that branding mark that belonged to her, her sight only falling on her own fingertips—which were still stained with the faint scent of cherry blossom shower gel that Jia Xinlei had unconsciously rubbed onto her last night, as faint as the wind, but tangling her thoughts so much that she couldn't calm down. The air was filled with a sweet fragrance and the warm tones of the sun. The two were extremely close, so close that they could hear each other's heartbeats, yet it was as if a thin veil separated them, and neither dared to pierce this tranquility first. After an unknown amount of time, Deng Jiayi spoke first. Her voice had the hoarseness of just waking up, suppressing a deliberately restrained tenderness, and fell extremely lightly by Jia Xinlei's ear, like a feather brushing across the tip of her heart: "Awake?" Jia Xinlei's whole body shuddered violently, as if scalded, and she shrank her neck sharply, but still didn't dare to look back. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's, carrying a crying-like panic, and even her lips were trembling: "W-we..." As soon as she finished speaking, the person beside her gently rolled over. The next second, a slightly cool hand with faint pink knuckles slowly landed on the back of Jia Xinlei's neck—not touching that branding mark, but just loosely, extremely lightly covering it, like comforting a frightened kitten, the action pious and restrained. Deng Jiayi's breathing was close at hand, the warm breath brushing across her reddened earlobes, carrying a long-hidden deep affection, yet wrapped in a bit of helpless tenderness: "What are you hiding from? Last night... you weren't like this." Her fingertips gently rubbed the soft flesh at the back of Jia Xinlei's neck. The action was extremely light, but it instantly threw Jia Xinlei's heartbeat out of rhythm. Even the fingers gripping the edge of the blanket turned white. Her whole person felt like she was soaked in warm water, flustered and hot, unable to even say a complete sentence.