Indulgence - Chapter 36
Chapter 36
In the bathroom, steam filled the air.
Yao Ran lay in the bathtub with her head slightly tilted back, resting with her eyes closed. Crystal-clear water droplets clung to her fair, slender neck, and the hot water made her whole body burn.
Her thoughts began to drift.
Do I really care about Jiang Nian that much? Even Ruan Xin could see it.
She thought for a moment. Her loss of control in front of Jiang Nian that night had surprised even herself. It wouldn't be wrong to call it jealousy...
Yao Ran opened her eyes and took a deep breath. She suddenly felt she was being quite unreasonable. Since she wanted to sever ties, why was she sulking in front of Jiang Nian?
She had thought that by rejecting Jiang Nian's advances and calming down to clear her head, she could end the entanglement between them. But the moment she saw Jiang Nian being intimate with someone else, she couldn't control certain emotions deep down, unable to find peace.
She just cared. There was no way to ignore it.
After soaking for about half an hour, Yao Ran stepped out of the bathtub and wrapped a nearby towel around herself. She was already exhausted, and the bath made her feel even more drowsy.
Back in the bedroom, Yao Ran picked up her phone to take a look, and her gaze froze—Jiang Nian had sent her a WeChat message tonight.
【Jiang Nian】Si Mao's leg is all better. He's bouncing around now.
Below it was a video message, which Yao Ran tapped open.
In the video, Si Mao was running and jumping around the room. She recognized it as Jiang Nian's place from the familiar sofa. After Jiang Nian called out "Si Mao," the dog immediately dashed towards the screen. Suddenly, the little guy's face filled the frame as he started to cling and nuzzle her hand, looking adorably simple and sweet.
Yao Ran watched the video twice and couldn't help but smile. They say pets resemble their owners; sure enough, the puppy she raised was clingy too.
As she was lost in thought, the note on the screen changed to "The other person is typing..."
A moment later.
【Jiang Nian】Did you apply the ointment?
【Jiang Nian】Remember to apply it, or it'll hurt a lot tomorrow.
The reminder made Yao Ran notice the soreness in her arm. She found the tube of ointment in her bag and zoned out. She and Jiang Nian weren't exactly close, yet she could easily imagine Jiang Nian applying the ointment for her—
Her heart suddenly skipped a few beats.
Yao Ran snapped back to reality, squeezed out some ointment, and briefly massaged it into the sore muscle. It would definitely still be sore tomorrow.
After applying the ointment, Yao Ran thought for a long time before picking up her phone again and replying.
Jiang Nian had been waiting in bed for over half an hour without a reply. Just as she was about to type "Goodnight" to end the conversation, a new message popped up in the chat.
【Yao Ran】Mm, thanks.
Jiang Nian smiled the moment she saw it. After sulking for so long, she's finally willing to talk to me?
...
The studio grew busier by the day, and Jiang Nian's appointments were fully booked. She walked Si Mao to the studio in the morning and walked him back home at night, with little opportunity to sneak a moment of leisure.
On this day, Jiang Nian worked until dark again. She put Si Mao on his leash, and the two of them, person and dog, headed back through the familiar alley.
A couple walking their dog approached from the opposite direction. They looked like they were in the honeymoon phase, acting all lovey-dovey and strolling leisurely with their fingers intertwined.
Jiang Nian felt a pang of envy. She took out her phone, filmed a video of Si Mao trotting ahead, and sent it to the big brooder.
Ever since getting Yao Ran's reply last time, she had started sending Yao Ran updates about Si Mao from time to time. She didn't mind being the one to initiate. If you like someone, you should of course actively pursue them. There was nothing awkward about being proactive with someone who made your heart flutter.
Jiang Nian was full of passion. She believed in trying her best first, regardless of the outcome. She feared regrets more than failure. Be carefree, do what you want to do in the moment. She didn't hesitate or hold back, and that applied to when she liked someone, too.
The dim yellow streetlights stretched their shadows long and slanted.
After sending the message, Jiang Nian walked and thought. If they hadn't gone straight to a hotel and slept together the night they met, she probably would have approached Yao Ran slowly like this. But on second thought, if it hadn't been for that night, Yao Ran probably wouldn't have given her a chance to get close at all.
When Yao Ran received Jiang Nian's WeChat message, she was still working overtime at the office. When she got tired and took a break, she would check her messages.
【Jiang Nian】Getting off work with Si Mao.
【Jiang Nian】[Video]
Yao Ran opened the video. It was the dog again.
Si Mao's butt wiggled as he walked. Yao Ran silently watched the video several times, then glanced at the message Jiang Nian had sent. A faint smile appeared on her face, as if it had struck an odd funny bone.
Their communication now was "very proper," like ordinary friends occasionally exchanging a few trivial pleasantries.
On Wednesday, the studio was a little less busy.
Jiang Nian received a promotional poster for a bar from Ruan Xin. It was for an event at Moments on Saturday night, some kind of masquerade theme.
Ruan Xin loved a lively atmosphere and often came up with spontaneous events. To attract more customers, Moments held several themed events a month. Venues with themed events were usually more bustling, and they also drew in many more guests looking for a romantic encounter.
This event announcement was probably a mass message from Ruan Xin. Jiang Nian just glanced at it and didn't reply. She wasn't in the mood to get involved in such festivities right now.
Jiang Nian had barely rested while playing on her phone when another client arrived. It was a simple single-color piece, not too tiring.
Coincidentally, Qiu Lan's new camera had arrived in the afternoon, and she was eager to shoot a new set of promotional photos for the studio.
Jiang Nian was still upstairs working on a tattoo. When she saw Qiu Lan come in with the camera, she quickly understood and continued to focus on her work. Qiu Lan would find the right angles to photograph her.
"Ah, I can't take it. You look so alluring today." Qiu Lan said, looking at the profile in her viewfinder. Even with a mask on, it couldn't hide her beauty.
Jiang Nian chuckled. How nice it would be if those words came from Director Yao's mouth.
"Once this set of photos is released, the traffic will probably explode again," Qiu Lan said as she shot. She and Jiang Nian were old partners; taking photos was second nature to them. Plus, Jiang Nian had good features and a great figure, so she wasn't picky about angles, making the shoot effortless.
Jiang Nian remembered and said, "Let's take a few pictures of Si Mao later, too."
Qiu Lan agreed. "Sure, we can include Si Mao in the promotional photos to attract some dog lovers."
After finishing the work photos of Jiang Nian, Qiu Lan went to shoot other things.
An hour later, Jiang Nian finished the tattoo she was working on and went downstairs to find Qiu Lan photographing Si Mao, chasing him all over the studio. "Si Mao, you have to work for the free canned food you ate! Good boys aren't lazy. We don't keep idle dogs in our studio..."
Jiang Nian watched from the side, amused, as she rubbed her arms, shoulders, and neck to relax.
Si Mao wasn't very cooperative and darted straight to Jiang Nian's feet, as if he'd found his protector.
So Jiang Nian simply picked Si Mao up for Qiu Lan to photograph.
After Si Mao's injury healed, Jiang Nian took him for a bath. He was now a clean and handsome little dog, showing no signs of having been a stray.
"Why don't you just hold him? I'll take a few pictures of you two together." Qiu Lan was busy capturing the shot. "This little rascal doesn't listen to me at all. I fed him all those treats for nothing."
Si Mao was lively and mischievous, but exceptionally well-behaved in front of Jiang Nian. He loved to act cute, and after being picked up, he would nuzzle his nose against her.
Qiu Lan was very efficient. She had the photos processed before the end of the day and sent a copy to Jiang Nian.
Jiang Nian would post these photos on her Moments feed. She didn't have a separate work account; she occasionally mentioned the studio on her personal account, but didn't advertise much. Qiu Lan was mainly in charge of promotion.
After returning home that night and posting to her Moments, Jiang Nian tapped on the familiar profile picture again. She usually messaged Yao Ran at night, figuring Yao Ran would be too busy during the day to check her phone.
Late at night, Yao Ran was sitting in the back of a car on her way home. The whistling night wind blew against her, and she was slightly tipsy, having had some wine at a reception earlier.
When her WeChat notification sounded, Yao Ran had a vague intuition about who it was from. She picked up her phone, and as expected, she was right. Someone was probably reporting on Si Mao's condition again.
It was a voice message.
When she received voice messages, Yao Ran usually converted them to text to read. But this time, she paused. Her finger, poised to long-press, stopped, and she tapped play instead.
A familiar voice came through:
"Are you off work yet?"
The speaker's tone was very soft. Listening to it close to her ear, it was like someone whispering right beside her.
Yao Ran's eyes flickered unnaturally. Feeling too lazy to type, she casually replied with a voice message of her own: "Mm, just got off."
Jiang Nian tapped the voice message and held it to her ear. The gentle, languid voice came through, and she pressed her lips together, scolding herself for being so pathetic. Just hearing that voice through a speaker was enough to make her heart pound and melt.
They hadn't seen each other for quite a while since their encounter at the archery range. She didn't know if Yao Ran had "calmed down" yet.
Jiang Nian was tempted to make a voice call but suppressed the urge. She was afraid that if she came on too strong, the other woman would start avoiding her again.
A few minutes later, Yao Ran checked her phone again. No new messages.
As the car moved forward, Yao Ran felt a bit stuffy. She wanted to let her hair down and unbutton the top two buttons of her shirt, but remembering her assistant was in the front, she suppressed the urge as usual and maintained her tense composure.
In truth, she hadn't felt her life was so tense before... until she met Jiang Nian.
Yao Ran narrowed her eyes, only then realizing that she was the one who couldn't calm down, not that Jiang Nian's shamelessness was provoking her. The frequency with which Jiang Nian popped into her head seemed a bit too high. She had initially thought she only thought of the other woman when she was in a bad mood, because she lacked companionship. But the truth was, regardless of her mood, she found herself thinking about her from time to time.
The phone in her hand vibrated.
Yao Ran opened the message again. The moment she opened the photo Jiang Nian had sent, her gaze locked.
【Jiang Nian】Hasn't Si Mao gotten cuter?
Yao Ran glanced at the photo. She saw Jiang Nian holding Si Mao, her head turned to the side, looking down at the puppy with a sweet, radiant smile. Her gaze fixed on the profile in the photo, and without a sound, her heartbeat and breathing quickened noticeably...
The assistant driving in the front asked, "Director Yao, are you not feeling well?"
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