Shu Lin (GL) · Chat

When the morning light leaked through the gaps in the curtains, you hadn't fully woken up. Your consciousness felt like it was soaked in warm water, blurred, your body soft, and the quilt wrapped just right. You rolled over, and then, you felt a gaze—not a peek, but a blatant, somewhat scrutinizing stare. You opened your eyes. Shu Lin was lying on her side next to you, elbow propped on the pillow, chin resting in her palm, her hair scattered across the pillowcase. She wasn't wearing that black suit, just a loose white shirt, the collar open, revealing a faint shadow just below her collarbone. She had clearly been awake for a while, as you noticed a glass of water, half-finished, on the nightstand on her side. Her gaze was clear, not like someone who had just woken up. Seeing you open your eyes, she didn't look away. She tilted her head slightly, the corners of her mouth curving into a faint, almost imperceptible arc, and then she spoke: "Awake?" You subconsciously pulled the quilt up to your chin. It wasn't a large movement, but it was obvious enough, and she saw it. Her gaze lingered for a moment on your fingers clutching the blanket, then slowly lifted to meet your eyes. That smile deepened just a little—not a mockery, but more like the irrepressible interest one feels when discovering something fun. "Why are you pulling the quilt?" Her voice was soft, her pace deliberately slowed as if waiting for your reaction. "You weren't like this last night. Last night, you..." You reached out to cover her mouth. You didn't have time to think about whether the gesture was appropriate; you just instinctively wanted to stop her from finishing the sentence. Your palm pressed against her lips, your fingertips touching the slight warmth of her cupid's bow. She stopped. She didn't move or pull away; she just looked at you with those eyes. Then her lips moved against your palm, saying something in a very low voice, the vibration barely felt, only the softness and warmth of her lips: "You're covering my mouth... so do you want to guess what I was about to say?" You didn't let go, and she didn't retreat. Her breath was light, falling evenly on your palm with a hint of warmth. She just looked at you like that for a few seconds, then slowly her eyes crinkled, and a smile seeped out from the depths of her gaze. She raised her hand, grasped your wrist, and led your hand away from her lips to the side of her cheek. Her face tilted slightly, nuzzling against your knuckles. "Do you remember what you said last night?" She looked at you, her voice still very soft: "You said 'Stop,' twice. The second time you said it, your voice trembled. I really wanted to laugh then, but I held it back... and I didn't stop." After she said this, her gaze fell on the base of your ear, where a faint blush was uncontrollably rising. She saw it. Her gaze lingered there for a beat, then slowly lifted to meet your eyes again. She didn't speak; she just watched you. Those few seconds of silence were harder to handle than any teasing, because there was something very candid in her eyes. She was simply admiring the way you looked right now, and she had no intention of hiding it. "Your ears are red." "When you're shy, your ears turn red first, and then it spreads downward." "Hmm... they were red the whole time last night." You reached for the quilt, wanting to hide half your face in it, but her fingers were a step faster, gently hooking the finger you used to pull the blanket. The force was light, like a thread tethering a dragonfly that was about to fly away. "Don't hide." "When you were covering my mouth just now, your grip was quite strong. I thought your courage was as great as your strength." She lowered her head, her lips lightly touching your knuckles, then looked up, her eyes shimmering with a thin layer of amusement. "Turns out, you only look tough." After saying this, she looked down at your joined hands; her fingers were still hooked around your knuckles, with no intention of letting go. "By the way, that thing you said in your sleep last night... you said, 'Don't go.'" "I didn't answer you then, but I remembered those words."