Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Ping An, to be honest, I don’t know what I should do now anymore,” Jing Beiyuan said with despair, sighed and put his head on the table. He insisted on meeting with his friend at a University cafe between the lectures.

“You worked so hard to get an internship invitation in Nanjiang Press. It's the most promising place out of the proposed ones and it's extremely difficult to get there. It will be a big step forward and will open many doors to you in the future," Ping An noticed.

“You tell me this as if I don’t already know that. But you know, Zishu... I can't leave her alone now,” Beiyuan sourly murmured. 

As a final year student in the Department of Media & Journalism, he needed a good internship. Beiyuan didn't want to live on the neck of his adoptive parents although he was from a wealthy family. Because of that he truly needed an internship in a large publication house with the prospect of further employment. But there was one weighty "but", and her name was Zhou Zishu. She was his best childhood friend, practically a sister, and she was also a roomie for the past few years. Zishu didn't share Beiyuan's love for journalism and chose the Computer Science Department for herself instead. After the death of her younger brother Jiuxiao six months ago, Zishu was completely broken. She abandoned her studies and closed herself off. Beiyuan miraculously managed to persuade Zishu to take an academic leave, and then persuade the dean's office too. Talent for persuasion was in his blood.

"So find someone to live with her," suggested Ping An.

"Ha-ha, you say that as if you don't know her at all!" Beiyuan looked up and shook his head slightly. "Do you want to be a volunteer?"

"No way!" Ping An said quickly.

"As I thought. I told you there's zero chance to find someone. So I will have to give up my internship application in Nanjiang and look for something nearby,” Beiyuan said with a sad smile on his face. It was hopeless, he knew that. He touched the already cooled glass of coffee and ran along the edge of it with his fingers.

Ping An peered at something behind Beiyuan's back, got up and said hastily, "Oh wait. Give me ten minutes, I'll ask someone!"

Beiyuan hummed, took a sip of his coffee and started to think about other internship's options. Ping An returned pretty soon and smiled broadly, “I heard that Wen Kexing girl from the parallel group is looking for a room."

"Wen Kexing?" asked Beiyuan and tried to remember her.

"Well... Is it worth a try, isn't it? Come with me," Ping An offered and pulled along.

When Beiyuan turned around, he met his gaze with a frowning girl, and finally he realized about whom Ping An was telling him. The girl chuckled and appraisingly glanced at him while she continued melancholy twirled her phone in her hands.

Beiyuan knew about Wen Kexing. It was hard not to know about her, but they didn't really communicate. A couple of times they crossed paths at seminars. Beiyuan was amazed by Kexing back then because of her unusual view on some things and on life in general, as well as her ability to defend her opinion. In addition to that he wasn't blind and noticed how attractive Kexing was. She was fully aware of her beauty and specially made an aura of cold detachment around herself, which saved her from the crowd of admirers and of unwanted attention. Kexing's appearance and character gave rise to different rumors about her. Someone said that Kexing was changing her partners like her gloves, while others said that she was like the ice queen and sending everyone away with one gaze. Beiyuan quickly realized that Kexing was one of that kind of person with whom it is better to be friends and never cross the road. He even joked in his head that somewhere he had already seen this.

Kexing reacted skeptically to the offer at first and politely declined when she heard of the apartment complex name. She didn't have enough money to rent a flat in Four Seasons and pride didn't allow her to admit that. But Beiyuan insisted and attached all his charm to his beg. He invited her to stay at his place for free, but on one condition - to look after his friend. Intuition told her that the situation was quite strange and it would be better to refuse, but her fingertips began to tingle in anticipation of a new adventure. Kexing didn't have much choice, so she reluctantly agreed. That deal was beneficial to both of them.

Beiyuan bloomed in joy and immediately invited her to look at the room and meet her future roommate.

Kexing knew almost nothing about Zishu, so she listened carefully to the bits of information that Beiyuan shared with her along the way.

He said, "Her name is Zhou Zishu. She has a quite bad temper and stupid sense of humor, but in fact she has a truly kind soul. Don't trust the illusion that she will show to you. It’s not an easy time for A-Shu now."

Beiyuan was hesitated a little as he pondered his next words, "The last six months have been quite difficult for her. She needs a friend by her side or at least a roomie who can accompany her sometimes."

Kexing glanced at him and asked, "Why are you leaving her now?"

Beiyuan sighed, “You know yourself that internship in Nanjiang is a one-in-a-million chance. A-Shu understands this too and insists on not refusing the opportunity because of her."

When Beiyuan led Kexing into their living room, she expected anything except what she saw in front of her. Zishu lay on her side facing the back of the sofa and played on her phone. Her hair was tangled and tied in a messy bun. Zishu was wearing only an old stretched light grey t-shirt over her naked body with such a wide neckline that it can easily bare one shoulder, and underwear one of the edges of which crawled into the hollow and opened a more revealing view of the round buttock.

"Zishu, we have guests, I wrote to you about her," Beiyuan said and went into the room and finally paid attention to the view in front of him. "Zhou Zishu! Cover your shameless ass now!” Beiyuan covered his face with his hand and started to think about how to cover this disaster. "Your appearance inflicts moral trauma on me," hissed Beiyuan.

"Yeah, yeah," grumbled Zishu and scratched her buttock.

“You frighten your new roomie with your appearance. Have at least a bit of respect for her,” Beiyuan said wearily.

"Yeah," muttered Zishu and straightened her panties.

Kexing silently watched the unfolding show with some delight. "Oh, this will be interesting!" rushed through her mind.

"Get DRESSED, for heaven's sake! By the way, I bought you some cool pajamas last month!" continued to insist Beiyuan.

Zishu and Kexing said at the same time, "No!"

Zishu finally paid attention to Kexing. She turned around, glanced at her with appraise and raised an eyebrow.

"I meant that everything is fine. It doesn’t bother me at all. My name is Wen Kexing, by the way. I'm pleased to meet you” Kexing added, winked and smiled slightly.

Beiyuan glanced between the girls. “I think I created a monster,” he closed his eyes with his hand and sighed heavily.

“We will be best friends easily,” Kexing said softly and smiled again.

"I don't think so. Get lost. Both of you," Zishu waved her hand and looked back at her phone. Beiyuan rolled his eyes and addressed Kexing, "I have a flight tomorrow morning, so here are the keys. If something goes wrong or you'll have any questions, don't be shy to write to me about it. I have already given you my number," Beiyuan handed his keys to Kexing, leaned a little closer to her and whispered "thank you".

***

The next morning Kexing gathered her things and decided that the best way to become friends with her new roommate was to share with her a delicious breakfast. Kexing held a bag of fresh bakery and two cups of aroma coffee and tried to open the door lock with one hand. When she opened the door, she didn't expect to see sleepy Zhou Zishu at all. She was dressed like yesterday, only her hair was even messier. Zishu stood in front of Kexing and held a kitchen knife in her hands.

"Hey? What a warm welcome from my grumpy wife. Bao*, I'm loyal to you," Kexing joked and laughed nervously. Zishu raised her eyebrow in surprise.

"Can you help me, please?" Kexing looked a little hope at Zishu and belatedly thought that it probably was a stupid decision to joke around right on the doorstep.

Zishu glared at her expectantly, but didn't budge.

"I bought you breakfast," Kexing raised the package and slightly shook it in her hand, "Can I come in?"

Zishu chuckled, put the knife on the shelf, reached out and took the bag and coffee. She smoothly turned around and went into the living room. Kexing slightly smiled and hurried to enter.

"Well, at least I was not kicked out right away. Can this be considered as a success?" rushed through her mind.

Zishu walked into the living room and plopped down on the sofa just right where Kexing had seen her for the first time yesterday. Zishu put the coffee on the table and looked into the bag of pastries. Kexing closed the door, left her suitcase in the hallway and followed Zishu.

"May I?" Kexing asked and pointed to a seat on the sofa.

Zishu chuckled, "You already called me your wife and now you ask permission to sit next to me? What if I say no?"

“Aiya! You are so beautiful, but so cold,” Kexing purred and ignored the second question. She sat down on the sofa, reached out for a cup of coffee and said, "I don’t know what coffee you prefer, so I took it to my taste."

Zishu glanced skeptically at Kexing and said, “I don’t remember saying yes."

“Bao, let's start over. This delicious baozi* and warm coffee are waiting for you,” Kexing continued and noted that Zishu was clearly interested in their little game. “By the way, I don’t want to brag, but I make excellent coffee, I will definitely make it for you next time,” she winked.

“You talk too much. Shut up before I change my mind,” Zishu snorted in an irritation. She absolutely didn't remember the name of this girl. Beiyuan reminded her in the morning, but Zishu was still too sleepy and just wanted him to leave as soon as possible.

"What was her name, Wen Kexing or Zhen Kexing? She's funny. Maybe I should give her a chance?" Zishu wondered.

“Oh, I'm sorry, A-Shu,” Kexing apologized, but there wasn't a single bit of regret in her smile. “For you my name is Zhou Xu, Lao Wen,” Zishu teased and finally took a bite of one of the baozi.

“For me? Oh, I feel like the chosen one, A-Xu,” Kexing smiled softly and leaned against the back of the sofa, resting her cheek on her hand. She took a long gaze at Zishu.

"Can you stop staring at me?" Zishu murmured, hiding her shyness and interest behind showing irritation. "And why are you here anyway?"

"You are too attractive, A-Xu. Don't blame me for wanting to admire your beauty," purred Kexing.

"Yeah, yeah. Are you Beiyuan's new girlfriend or what?" Zishu sighed in annoyance. "If you keep flirting with me and break his heart, I will strangle you in your sleep."

"Oh no!" Kexing gasped and assured. "Don't get me wrong, A-Xu. Beiyuan is an undeniably handsome young man, but it seems to me that I have already met my soulmate and she is sitting right in front of me," Kexing winked and softly smiled.

"Well, I see… You are here to babysit me. Beiyuan, I'll kill you.” Zishu rolled her eyes and exhaled in irritation. "Listen to me carefully. There are two rules for you. You don't interfere with my drinking habits and you don't try to know my soul. If you break one of the rules, you will immediately be kicked out of here. You will write to Beiyuan that everything is fine. If he comes back because of you, I'll cut your head off. Do you understand me, Lao Wen?" Zishu leaned slightly towards Kexing and stared with an icy gaze. The threat lied in her deceptively soft smile.

It was too tempting for Kexing. She smiled too, put her hand down and leaned back, sipping her coffee.

Well, the next two months are going to be very interesting.

***

For the first few days they practically didn't contact each other. When Kexing was at home, Zishu was asleep. When she woke up, Kexing was already at University. A couple of times they intersected in the evening, throwing sharp phrases to each other. Kexing shamelessly flirted and complimented Zishu, who diligently ignored or sarcastically turned everything into a joke.

On her day off, Kexing decided to take some time to do yoga and meditate. She needed to get her thoughts in order after such a crazy week. Zishu heard light music and couldn't help herself from the temptation to grumble about turning off the unnecessary noise. In fact, she just wanted Kexing's attention, but she wasn't ready to admit it yet. Zishu grabbed a bag of chips without thinking, walked to the guest room and leaned on the doorway to watch. Kexing obviously noticed Zishu and was flattered by desired attention, but decided to hide her excitement and shyness. "Well, I won't be able to relax next to Zishu. We can play a bit instead," thought Kexing. She leaned forward and flaunted in a seductive pose, showing off her booty on purpose. She purred, "Like to spy, A-Xu?"

“This is still my place, so I can watch what I want,” Zishu smirked and put a handful of chips into her mouth.

"Will you watch me in the shower too?" Kexing winked and turned her body the other direction. Zishu snorted and said while leaving, "Nope, not interested."

“It's a pity,” Kexing mumbled in disappointment, holding back a light smile.

After finishing training Kexing headed for the shower and on the way shouted to Zishu about it. Zishu lay onto the sofa and ignored her.

"A-Xu, I forgot a towel, please bring it to me," shouted Kexing a few minutes later.

Silence was in response.

“A-Xu, are you just can't wait to see me naked? You can only blame yourself for everything that will happen next," she shouted again.

Zishu let out an exasperated breath, headed to the bathroom and grabbed a towel from the shelf on the way.

Zishu entered and heard the sound of water. The curtain wasn't closed tightly and the silhouette of Kexing's back was visible in the mirror reflection. Kexing hadn’t had time to wet her hair, and the mirror hadn’t had time to fog up. Zishu saw that Kexing's hair was gathered in a bun, her beautiful neck and shoulder blades were tempting...

“You are too self-confident, Lao Wen," Zishu remarked sarcastically.

“Anyway you are here now. Would you like to join me?" the voice behind the curtain asked.

"Yeah, I'm already undressing. Can I rub your back?" Zishu teased.

"I would like that. Isn't it difficult for you?" Kexing said shamelessly and with frank amusement.

“Too much honor,” Zishu snorted, tossed the towel down the sink and left.

"Beiyuan, I'll beat your ass..." she hissed through clenched teeth.

***

One day Kexing passed by Zishu, and Zishu followed her with an unblinking gaze. Kexing was wearing ultra-short shorts, if you can call it shorts at all, and a crop top with thin straps over her naked body. Kexing walked over to the refrigerator and took out the ice cream. She opened the package and licked the lid, smacking her lips loudly.

Zishu was outraged by the open view and the question slipped her mouth, "Why the hell do you walk around like this?"

"What's wrong? You walk like that. Don't think I'm judging you. I'm delighted. A-Xu is too beautiful to this world, it would be a sin to complain about such gifts from the heavens," Kexing purred.

"I live here, I can wear whatever I want," Zishu fended off.

"Well, I also live here now. I don't see a problem, A-Xu," Kexing winked and took a spoon out of the table drawer. She put it in the ice cream, and then licked it with pleasure, not holding back a moan. She made huge sad eyes and asked, "Don't my dear A-Xu like me at all?"

While Zishu was lost from impudence, Kexing sat down next to her on the sofa, threw her long legs on the table, continuing to lick and suck on the spoon.

"Disgusting, stop it," Zishu hissed.

Kexing gazed from under her eyelashes and suggested ice cream to Zishu.

"I can share it with you, if you want. Just ask, Bao,” Kexing leaned closer to Zishu.

From this movement the strap of Kexing's top fell off and obscenely exposed her shoulder and part of her boob. Zishu shook her head and glared at the strap in annoyance, "Pull it back"

"Mm?" Kexing glanced at Zishu with confusion.

"The strap. Pull it back," repeated Zishu.

"My hands are sticky, A-Xu. Can you help me?" Kexing begged with her puppy eyes.

Zishu frowned, sighed and before she could even stop herself, her hand was picking up the strap, lightly touching Kexing's skin, and pulling it back onto her shoulder. Kexing shuddered slightly, but gazed at Zishu bewitched. She looks like she wanted to touch the crease between Zishu's eyebrows and smooth it. While Kexing was deep in her thoughts, she didn't notice how she tilted the package down. The melted ice cream dripped onto Kexing's legs. "Shiiiit!" Kexing hissed.

Zishu smiled sincerely for the first time, looked at Kexing and started laughing. Kexing smiled and giggled back.

***

One evening, when Kexing returned home late, she found Zishu sleeping on the sofa. Zishu decided to prank her roommate and pretended to be asleep. Zishu listened to the surrounding sounds with a sinking heart. A sigh was heard, something rustled and the sound of empty bottles rattled. Apparently Kexing decided not to wake her up and just silently clean up the trash. Zishu tensed when she sensed movement very close to her and heard a quiet voice, "How can I take care of you if you drink like the devil?"

Zishu gripped Kexing's hand, opened her eyes and asked, "What do you think are you doing?"

"Aiya, A-Xu! You scared me," Kexing theatrically rolled her eyes and brought her hand to her forehead. "Shame on you. And why are you sleeping here?" she asked.

"Who said I was sleeping?" Zishu asked back.

“Of course you're not. You just blink slowly,” Kexing teased and gently pulled her hand out of the grip. She stood up, left a bag of bottles on the floor and asked seriously, "A-Xu, maybe you should drink less?"

"Lao Wen, maybe you shouldn't tell me what to do? It’s not your concern anyway," hissed Zishu.

“While I live here, it concerns me,” Kexing crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Zishu.

"No, it doesn't. And don't forget about the first rule or I will kick you out of here very quickly,” Zishu snorted and turned to the back of the sofa, showing with all her appearance that the conversation was over. Kexing sighed and silently shook her head. She went to the kitchen, brought a bottle of water and aspirin, tossed it to Zishu on the sofa and left.

***

A couple of days later, Kexing entered the living room, wearing a tight red dress that fits her figure so well. The dress emphasized her thin waist, neat chest and long legs. Zishu stared at Kexing and caught herself on thinking that she wanted to touch alluring collarbones.

"A-Xu, can you help me zip my dress up, please?" Kexing asked, approached Zishu and stood with her back in front of her.

"Date night, hah?" with specious indifference asked Zishu. She gently touched the zipper, trying to avoid contact with Kexing's skin. They stood so close, that Zishu caught the faint scent of Kexing's perfume. It was something fresh and floral. Zishu wanted to hug Kexing and touch Kexing's shoulder with her lips. Apparently a long absence of sex and an attractive body in front of Zishu were doing their job very well. "Calm down," Zishu pulled herself back and dropped her hands off.

"Thank you, bao," Kexing turned half a turn, tucked her hair lock behind her ear and smiled coquettishly. "Are you jealous?" she asked.

"I'm thinking of changing the locks while you're gone, locking the door and enjoying the long-awaited silence," Zishu returned to her spot and plopped down on the sofa.

“Aiya, you're cruel,” Kexing shook her head. “Maybe if everything goes wrong… Сan you play along with me and pretend to be my evil ex and take me home?"

"Don't dream. I will rather pay your date so that you don't come back. And for the record, am I already the ex? But what about the story of soulmates? Lao Wen, you are breaking my heart,” Zishu grabbed her chest and made a mournful face, while her heart skipped a beat.

"A-Xu! You!" Kexing was lost for a moment, pouted her lips and reproached. "How could you ever think so? This wife is loyal to you.  You are be mean to me, bao"

Kexing came closer and lightly touched Zishu's cheek. "Don't sulk, I'll be back soon. You can't get rid of me so easily,” she smiled warmly, giggled and got a poke in the stomach from Zishu.

When Kexing left, Zishu decided that she needed to get drunk. Panic and slight excitement overwhelmed her with the realization that she was really jealous. She needed to do something about it. Perhaps the right decision would be to hook up with Kexing and break up after or to frighten Kexing away. Zishu can't allow Kexing to ruin her life by staying together. She always believed that she wasn't made for a relationship, and the realization that she started to fall in love with Lao Wen for real terrified her. She urgently needed to get rid of Wen Kexing before it's too late.

Kexing wasn't going on a date as Zishu thought. She only wanted to create an illusion of that to get the attention of her soulmate. When she returned, she found Zishu in the same spot with a bottle of wine in her hand and there were a couple empty ones on the table. Kexing sighed, walked over drunken Zishu and carefully removed the bottle from Zishu's hands. Zishu grumbled indignantly and tried to get the bottle back.

"You can't be left alone at all, isn't it? What will I tell Beiyuan?" Kexing sighed.

“What will I tell Beiyuan?" Zishu mimicked.

“A-Xu, this isn't funny,” Kexing put the bottle on the table, turned around and froze.

Zishu was sitting in front of her. She was so depraved: her cheeks with a slight blush and eyes shining. Zishu's legs were wide apart. "Naughty," thought Kexing. Zishu stared at Kexing with a kind of lustful gaze and said, "Come here, Lao Wen."

Kexing stared back with a touch of annoyance, but took a couple of hesitant steps.

"Closer," Zishu insisted.

Kexing was one step away from Zishu's knees.  Zishu leaned forward, slightly tilted her head to one side, swallowed and asked, "Give me your hand."

Kexing held out her palm uncertainty. Zishu dragged Kexing to herself and forced her to take a step forward. Zishu looked at Kexing's hand, bent her fingers in turn, leaving the index and middle ones. Zishu licked her lips and gently touched Kexing's fingers. Zishu ran her tongue between them and plunged fingers into her mouth. Kexing froze. Goosebumps go all over her body. Zishu sucked on Kexing's fingers and didn't take her gaze from Kexing. When Zishu put Kexing's hand between Zishu's legs, Kexing came to her senses and broke free from captivity.

Zishu grinned and said hoarsely, "Do you want to fuck me, right? So go ahead. What confuses you, dear? Take advantage of me and fuck off, finally," Zishu's eyes sparkled with evil. "You have been fucking me with your eyes for a long time. So come on! Go ahead, Lao Wen."

Zishu pushed her hair back and licked her lips.

Kexing gasped with indignation, pressed her plump lips into a thin line and tried to say something. She was enraged because Zishu was openly having fun. Kexing gave a harsh slap in Zishu's face without hesitation, turned around and left, slamming the front door. Zishu grinned and rubbed her burning cheek. Then she grabbed an open bottle from the table, drank in one gulp what was left in it and sat back. She didn't like the fact that she had to do this, but Kexing has gotten into her heart too much and it was scary as hell. Maybe Kexing will finally disappear from Zishu's life?

"Be careful what you wish for," Zishu thought when Kexing didn't come either of the next couple of days. Zishu caught herself thinking that she was terribly missing her. It was too quiet and empty without Kexing. "Well, I got what I wanted. Why is my heart in pain?" spinning through Zishu's head. She has been drinking all these days, trying to drown out the feeling of guilt. She will need to apologize.

Kexing showed up only on the third day with a bottle of expensive wine in her hands.

"Listen, this will not work that way. You and I will still live together for more than a month." Kexing sighed and continued. "Here. I brought wine, so let's play truth or dare and try to understand each other better."

Zishu glanced at Kexing with a strange look, but her heart rejoiced. "If you're sure about it, then start," she said.

Kexing walked over, sat on the sofa and held out the bottle to Zishu.

"A-Xu, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Oh, just from the start? Good. I dare you to open this bottle and bring the glasses. I will not drink like a hobo with you," Kexing smiled.

Zishu slowly headed into the kitchen while Kexing kicked off her shoes and loosened her hair. Zishu thought about how to apologize, but even more she wanted to know why Kexing decided to return and tried to fix Zishu's fuckup. However, Zishu restrained herself and carefully asked, "Lao Wen, why did you agree to live here?"

“First of all, you have to ask the truth or dare, and if I choose the truth, only then will you be able to ask your question, dummy," Kexing said.

“I know that,” Zishu snorted and opened the bottle. "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth. Is the question the same?" Kexing closed her eyes and leaned back on the sofa.

“Yes,” Zishu poured out the wine and held out the glass to Kexing. She smiled tightly and took the glass avoiding touching Zishu's hand.

"I had no other choice. I have nowhere else to go," Kexing said quietly and sipped. "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

"A-Xu, how long have you been friends with Beiyuan?"

"From high school. He is a close friend of mine, sort of a family member..." Zishu stopped. “Just don’t think to tell him that, otherwise he won’t shut up at all.”

"I'll take a note," Kexing hid her smile.

"Truth or Dare?" continued Zishu.

"Truth."

"Why have you nowhere to go?"

Kexing hesitated and Zishu hastily added, "Sorry, you don't have to answer that."

Kexing glanced sideways and took a few sips.

They played for a while, asking silly questions and enjoying the company of each other.

“A-Xu, why was Beiyuan looking for a babysitter for you?”

“He thinks I can do something stupid."

"Can you?"

"Now it's my turn. One question in a row."

A little later Kexing seemed to be pretty drunk, although she managed to drink only a couple of wine glasses. Her eyes were sparkling with alcohol, and her thoughts were a little confused.

"A-Xu, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Kiss Me."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yes."

"O."

Zishu moved closer, took the glass from Kexing's hands and put it on the table right with her own glass. Kexing swallowed and looked at Zishu with all her attention. Zishu moved closer and whispered, “Close your eyes, Lao Wen."

Kexing obeyed, closed her eyes and froze.  Zishu exhaled and touched Kexing's cheek with her fingertips. Kexing flinched.

"Sorry."

"It's okay"

Zishu put her hand down and ran her thumb over Kexing's cheekbone. Then she quickly kissed Kexing on her other cheek and jumped back with a mischievous giggling. Kexing's eyes widened in indignation and she exclaimed "You! You!"

“You didn’t specify which kiss you wanna get,” Zishu spread her hands and smiled slyly, clearly rejoicing at her trick.

Kexing covered her face and shook her head. "You are impossible. I need another drink."

"A-Xu, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What happened half a year ago?"

A painful smile hardened on Zishu's face. For a while, she was silent. She opened another bottle of wine and poured it into Kexing's glass.

“My brother was hit by a car,” Zishu breathed and took a few sips from the bottle.

“I'm so sorry,” Kexing said softly and touched Zishu's shoulder, squeezing lightly. Zishu grinned sadly and shook her head, but didn't drop Kexing's hand. She asked quietly, "Lao, Wen, have you ever lost loved ones?"

Kexing sighed and sipped, “My parents died when I was eight."

"I'm sorry, Lao Wen."

They were silent for a while.

“Life can be cruel to us, A-Xu. Sometimes death takes those who don't deserve it. I…” Kexing swallowed, collecting her thoughts, but interrupted herself and got up. "Hm, I think I should go to bed. Don't sit too long, okay?"

Kexing lightly touched Zishu's cheek, and smiled wistfully. Zishu glanced at her attentively, and when Kexing stepped back, Zishu grabbed and squeezed Kexing's hand, and whispered, "Sorry about last time. I crossed the line."

“It's okay, A-Xu,” Kexing ran her thumb over Zishu's warm palm, lightly stroking. "Never mind."

Kexing put the glass down on the table and gently pat Zishu's palm, taking out her own. "Good night, A-Xu," she smiled wryly, lowered her head and went into her room.

Zishu looked at her hand and clenched it into a fist. Then she gazed after Kexing, took a couple of sips and whispered softly, "Good night, Lao Wen."

The night didn't go well. Zishu woke up from a nightmare and went to the kitchen for water.  On the way, she heard a loud groan from the guest room and her concern was raised. Zishu quietly entered Kexing's room and saw that a tough night was not bug only her, Kexing was also tormented by nightmares. She tossed and turned on her bed, squeezed the blanket with her hands so hard that her knuckles turned white. She gritted her teeth, frowned and started crying. Zishu tried to wake her up. Kexing screamed, sat up abruptly and breathed heavily. Tears ran down her cheeks. She grabbed Zishu and hugged her like a lifeline. Zishu was slightly lost for a moment, but carefully put her hand on Kexing's back and on the top of her head, stroked and murmured, "It's okay, I'm here. You are not alone. It's just a dream. Bad dream."

After a couple of minutes, Kexing finally relaxed, rested her head on Zishu's shoulder and whispered, "Sorry, I woke you up."

Kexing pulled away and tried to wipe away her tears, while Zishu held her by her shoulders.

“Technically, I woke you up,” Zishu tried to joke. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Kexing shook her head with no.

"I'll get you some water," Zishu said and tried to get up. Kexing unconsciously twitched and grabbed Zishu's hand, "Don't go!"

Zishu looked down. Kexing pulled back her palm and quietly begged, "Can you stay and lie with me today, please?"

"Okay."

Kexing nodded, lied on her side and whispered, "Just leave the light on."

When Zishu woke up, Kexing wasn't there as expected. The first thought that rushes through Zishu's head, "How real was yesterday?"

Zishu needed coffee. A lot of coffee. But shower first.

Refreshed, Zishu dabbed her hair as she went and noticed that Kexing was in the kitchen already. Zishu followed Kexing's voice and heard her humming loudly.

"Is it my punishment for yesterday?" Zishu muttered.

"A-Xu, good morning!"

"Morning," murmured Zishu and squeezed over to the coffee machine.

Kexing looked intently and before Zishu could say anything, Kexing put a finger on her lips, hissed and shook her head. “We will not discuss last night."

Zishu nodded and carefully touched Kexing's hand, putting it away from her lips. "Don't tell Beiyuan anything about what I did."

Kexing nodded back.

“Excellent,” Zishu brightly smiled, grabbed her coffee and rushed to leave.

"Can you eat something? I made breakfast and…" started Kexing.

"Coffee. My breakfast is coffee.” Zishu interrupted her.

Kexing rubbed the bridge of her nose wearily. “I promised Beiyuan that I would take care of you."

"Caring is a loose concept. Sometimes you are even worse than him."

"Should I take it as a compliment?"

"Hardly."

Later, Zishu tried to comb her hair. The last time when she was taking the comb in her hands was a long time ago, so it wasn't easy for her to do this now.

Kexing watched for a couple of minutes on Zishu's suffering, and couldn't stay away, "Let me help you?"

Zishu silently handed over the comb and spread in the chair, eyes closed. Kexing began to carefully sort out strand by strand with her fingers, putting the comb aside. While Kexing was gently untangled knots, she didn't even notice how she began to massage Zishu's head. She started at the temples, with smooth light movements, her fingers moved to the back of Zishu's head. She gently kneaded from Zishu's head to her neck a couple of times, and switched to her shoulders. Zishu melted by the pleasant touch of Kexing's hands and a soft moan escaped her lips, which brought Kexing out of her magical trance. She cleared her throat, apologized, and began to quickly fix the tousled locks, taking the comb back in her hands.

***

For the next week, they lived peacefully like perfectly normal roommates. A couple of times they watched TV together in the evening. Kexing studied hard and disappeared into her room for many hours. Zishu missed her and sometimes even wanted to invite Kexing to work in the living room.

On a day off, Kexing decided to cook soup.  Zishu sat in the kitchen with her and chewed chips. Crumbs remained around her mouth and stained her lips.

"A-Xu, please try. I can't figure out if there is enough spice?" Kexing asked and Zishu walked up to her.

Kexing carefully scooped up some of the soup, blew on a spoon and gently brought the spoon to Zishu's lips. She gazed with excitement at Zishu's reaction.

Zishu got lost from such attention, opened her mouth and tried soup. She said, "Not enough pepper."

“Okay,” Kexing grinned and continued to stare at Zishu, which frankly made her nervous.

"What?"

“A-Xu, you have dirt here,” Kexing gestured to her upper lip.

Zishu repeated after her, but on the wrong side.

"No, right here. Let me help.” Kexing held out her hand, but Zishu snorted and slightly pushed it back. "I can handle it myself," Zishu mumbled.

Kexing chuckled, "Still left."

Zishu exhaled in annoyance and leaned forward a little, "Okay, help me."

Kexing softly touched Zishu's upper lip and brushed off crumbs and spice residues, gently ran her fingertips and warmly glanced. Then she pulled back her hand, cleared her throat and went back to her cooking; "Now it's clean."

“Thank you, Lao Wen,” Zishu said quietly and leaned back against the closet, continuing to watch Kexing. With one hand Zishu unconsciously stroked the place where Kexing's hand touched her, and then she stifled a stupid smile and left the kitchen.

***

Time flies by and there are only a couple of days left before Beiyuan returns. This was frankly upsetting for all of them.

Beiyuan told Zishu very colorfully on the phone that one little toxin here charmed him a bit. To which Zishu thought with a smirk, "Yeah, a bit."

Kexing wasn't at home and Zishu had no choice but to troll Beiyuan and dodged some questions about herself and Kexing.

All would be fine until the moment when Kexing was sent off a couple of candid photos in underwear from the fitting room with the caption "A-Xiang, I'm so nervous. Which one looks better?"

Zishu experienced a whole range of emotions from surprise to indignation, until received another message from Kexing, which frankly upset her. "A-Xu, I'm sorry! Wrong chat! But since you have already watched, what do you think the first or the second one is better?"

Zishu briefly wrote "I don't care" and squeezed her phone.

"Great! Awesome! Is this what I wanted? Well, Kexing deserves someone better than me. In two days, she would disappear from my life anyway," thoughts were spinning in Zishu's head.

She was really jealous, but tried to keep her face calm. Zishu was furious all evening, ignored Kexing and even thought to block her. She opened their chat again and looked at the photos, closed chat. She repeated it several times. When Zishu finally saved the photos and already surrendered to her weakness and placed her hand between her legs, Kexing suddenly appeared on the doorstep. She was holding a bouquet of while flowers in her hands and Zishu wanted to howl in disappointment.

Kexing noticed that something was wrong with her roomie, hesitated and asked cautiously, "A-Xu, are you okay?"

Zishu stared at the bouquet and put on a mask of indifference on her face, "Me? Excellent, best of all. Can I congratulate you already?"

"I don’t know yet. You tell me," Kexing slightly tilted her head, put a bouquet on the table and took Zishu's hands in hers. "A-Xu, I... I like you a lot. I will not tire of repeating this to you every day, if you will let me."

Zishu looked up in disbelief. Kexing sighed and continued, "I don’t know what you think of and how it comes into your head in the first place..."

"Who is A-Xiang?" Zishu interrupted and froze. She really wanted to know and was afraid to hear the answer.

"Ah?"

"Who is A-Xiang? You wrote her name when you sent off the photos,” Zishu said sharply.

"A-Xiang is my younger sister. You shouldn't be jealous. I wanted to choose something special for you today and I needed some advice.  A-Xu, I want you to be only mine and…"

Before Kexing could finish, Zishu unhooked her hands, pulled Kexing closer and kissed her on the lips with passion. Kexing eagerly responded to the kiss, deepening it. When it became difficult to breathe, Zishu pulled back, looked at the blushed Kexing, smiled and softly said, "I want it, Lao Wen. I want it too"