Once You Kiss Me, You Have to Take Responsibility

After they got home, the two of them kept messaging each other. Usually, they would think for ages and still not know what to talk about; even when they had something to ask, they’d worry it might seem boring if they sent it. But tonight, it was as if they had endless things to say. Even the smallest, most trivial matters suddenly mattered, and they eagerly shared them with each other.

It was not until after midnight that they realized how fast time had passed, and they reluctantly said goodnight.

When Jiang Lan got home, the events of the day had left her looking tired. She poured herself a cup of coffee; she had already pushed back work to go see Yan Yue, so now she could only make up for it by spending more time on it at night.

At the sound of movement, Jiang Ruoxin came padding down the stairs in her slippers. The moment she saw Jiang Lan, her eyes lit up with excitement.

“Jie!” She rushed over and hugged Jiang Lan, rubbing against her in a clingy way.

“It’s only been half a day. Why are you acting like it’s been half a year?” Jiang Lan said with a laugh, ruffling her hair.

“With Third Uncle not here, I get bored being alone. I feel much better with you around.” After following them abroad from Qingyi Village, she had not been able to communicate in English at all back then, and even going out was a problem.

Jiang Lan took good care of her and treated her like her own younger sister. In Jiang Ruoxin’s eyes, Jiang Lan was not just an older sister, but also her teacher. She admired and respected her.

“Have you showered?” Jiang Lan asked.

“Yeah. Smell me; I smell amazing.” Jiang Ruoxin held out her hand.

Jiang Lan patted it indulgently and headed toward her room. “Alright. I still have some work to deal with, so go practice the piano for a bit or watch some TV first.”

Jiang Ruoxin nodded. She changed channels idly, and unexpectedly saw Qin Qingyan again. She still remembered the first time she saw her on an ad; she had been shocked and delighted, because at the very least, it proved Qin Qingyan was doing well right now.

When she returned to the country this time, her first priority was to find her. Over the years, she had made many friends both at home and abroad, but Qin Qingyan always held a special place in her heart. She wanted so badly to see her; if that day ever came, they would definitely be able to talk for days and nights, sharing everything that had happened in their lives over the years.

Near midnight, Jiang Lan finally finished her work. She went to take a shower first, and when she returned to her room, she found Jiang Ruoxin lying on her bed with a bright smile, clearly waiting for her. Jiang Lan smiled helplessly and walked over.

“Jie, I can’t sleep.” Jiang Ruoxin lay on her lap and played with her slender fingers. “At this time before, it would still be daylight.”

“Now that you’re back in the country, you need to learn to adjust to the schedule here,” Jiang Lan said.

Her phone lit up with a message from Zou Yun. She glanced at it; it was a photo, with text underneath from Zou Yun: Yan Yue’s girlfriend.

She opened the photo and saw a prominent, unmistakably striking female star; one leg was crossed over the other, and she was looking at the camera with a mocking expression, the upward curve of her lips carrying a hint of rebelliousness. The lower left corner was labeled as stills from White Whale.

Then Zou Yun sent several more Baidu images of Qin Qingyan. It had to be said, she really was beautiful. So Yan Yue liked this type?

“Jie, what are you looking at?” Jiang Ruoxin asked curiously, glancing up.

“An actor.”

“An actor?” Jiang Ruoxin sat up and leaned closer. “Jie, you chase celebrities too? Let me see who it is—Qin… Qingyan!”

Qin Qingyan?!

Jiang Lan was startled. While she had been abroad, she had heard Jiang Ruoxin mention this name more than once, saying she was her close friend from childhood. She hadn’t expected the world to be so small; it turned out that she was actually Yan Yue’s girlfriend.

“Jie, she’s the good friend I always told you about. Pretty, right? This time I came back to the country, my top priority was to find her and chat with her for days and nights,” Jiang Ruoxin said with great enthusiasm.

Jiang Lan’s eyes flickered slightly. “Ruoxin, do you really want to see her?”

“Of course. I haven’t seen her in four or five years; I miss her, naturally.”

So the next day, Jiang Lan got hold of the information and drove Jiang Ruoxin to the filming set where Qin Qingyan was shooting. Aside from wanting to see Yan Yue’s girlfriend, she had her own selfish hope too; maybe Yan Yue would be there as well?

After so many years, the one who was careful and hesitant had changed from Yan Yue to her.

When they reached the film crew, Jiang Ruoxin looked around excitedly, hoping to find that familiar figure. Jiang Lan searched too.

But neither of them found her. Just as Jiang Ruoxin was losing heart and turned to look at Jiang Lan, she caught sight of Qin Qingyan walking up behind her in the corner of her eye. She immediately waved and called out excitedly, “Qingyan!”

Qin Qingyan and Yan Yue both looked over in surprise; they had not expected Jiang Ruoxin to appear here, and the scene felt almost theatrical. Soon, Yan Yue noticed the person standing with her back to them. She froze slightly; she had followed that figure countless times before, and it was more familiar to her than anyone else.

Jiang Lan. Yan Yue silently repeated her name in her heart.

Jiang Lan seemed to sense something as well and turned around at the same time. When she saw the hands the two of them were holding, a trace of disappointment flashed across her face. She adjusted quickly, though, and greeted them with a smile.

It was her? Qin Qingyan recognized Jiang Lan. She instinctively looked toward Yan Yue and caught a brief moment of dazedness on Yan Yue’s face. She tightened her grip on Yan Yue’s hand, and Yan Yue gave her a reassuring smile.

“Qingyan, I…” Jiang Ruoxin was a little excited. Looking at her childhood playmate, who had changed so much, she suddenly didn’t know what to say.

Then she pulled Qin Qingyan aside, saying she wanted to talk about their lives separately and catch up on sisterly matters alone.

Qin Qingyan turned back to look at Yan Yue. Yan Yue smiled at her, then looked over at that person. Although both of them were smiling politely and courteously, Qin Qingyan still felt a heavy knot in her chest.

There wasn’t a very good place nearby, so they all sat on folding stools.

“What happened to your hand?” Yan Yue noticed the Band-Aid on Jiang Lan’s hand and looked up to ask her.

Jiang Lan glanced at it too, then after a moment said, “I cut it while chopping vegetables.” In truth, she had only broken the skin slightly; it was just that Jiang Ruoxin had insisted on putting a Band-Aid on it.

“You’re supposed to be so good with knives, and you still hurt yourself?” Yan Yue teased.

The atmosphere seemed to ease up a little, giving Jiang Lan the illusion of returning to the past.

“Even if you’re highly skilled, you still can’t afford to lose focus,” Jiang Lan said with a smile.

They both smiled at the same time.

After a short silence, Jiang Lan asked seemingly casually, “I saw photos of Qin Qingyan before, and I thought she’d be the cool, distant type. But from the way she was looking at you just now, it seems like she’s really attached to you?”

Yan Yue seemed to think of something and smiled. “Or you could say she indulges me a lot.”

Jiang Lan was still smiling, but a huge wave of sadness rose in her heart, pressing against her chest until she could hardly breathe. Before coming here, she had selfishly thought that it would be best if Qin Qingyan and Yan Yue didn’t get along too well, so that maybe she would still have a sliver of hope.

But they were very good together; good enough to make her jealous.

Jiang Ruoxin asked Qin Qingyan many questions, and Qin Qingyan answered each one with a smile. When Jiang Ruoxin had asked about enough, Qin Qingyan began asking her own questions.

“How did you suddenly end up with an older sister?”

“She’s my Third Uncle’s daughter. My parents didn’t want me, but my Third Uncle always remembered me, so when he was planning to go abroad, he took me with him. Maybe he was afraid I’d be bullied in Qingyi Village,” Jiang Ruoxin said happily. “She’s very good to me, just like my real sister.”

It was clear that Jiang Lan’s family had taken very good care of Jiang Ruoxin, and protected her well. Qin Qingyan was happy for her.

“Your sister is so good-looking. No one’s chasing her?” Qin Qingyan asked, pretending this was the first time she’d heard about her sister.

Jiang Ruoxin thought about it. There really didn’t seem to be any. “No. I remember quite a few admirers confessing their feelings to her, but she rejected them all. Maybe she’s focused on her career right now.”

Whether it was being focused on her career, or keeping someone in her heart and unable to let go, Qin Qingyan already had the answer in her mind.

“Speaking of that, what’s going on between you and that beauty just now?” Jiang Ruoxin’s eyes sparkled as she pressed on curiously.

Qin Qingyan raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”

“You came over holding hands, so you must be pretty close. Don’t tell me she’s also some kind of sister to you?” Jiang Ruoxin guessed boldly.

Qin Qingyan couldn’t help but laugh. “She is, and she isn’t. She’s my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” Jiang Ruoxin leaned back a little and tugged at her collar. “Then when I was little, I slept in the same bed with you twice. I’m so beautiful and lovely; don’t tell me you had any crooked thoughts about me?”

She lived abroad, where many people married the same sex, so she didn’t think it was strange at all. It was just that overseas was overseas; in China, it still wasn’t to the point where people could openly register marriages.

The only thing she could do was feel that things would be difficult for Qin Qingyan.

“Don’t worry. Even if you stripped naked, I wouldn’t be interested,” Qin Qingyan said. Neither of them went deeper into the topic, yet they understood each other all the same. That was enough.

Jiang Ruoxin straightened her chest in defiance and said unhappily to Qin Qingyan, “What do you mean? I’ve got plenty up top too, okay? And what do you mean you wouldn’t be interested even if I stripped naked—compare us, who’s bigger, me or your girl?”

Qin Qingyan looked left and right, then let out a breath of relief. Thankfully, no one was around. How could these words possibly come from the mouth of a pianist?

She glanced at Jiang Ruoxin’s chest and quickly looked away, then unconsciously thought of Yan Yue. Suddenly, she realized she was actually comparing them. Blinking rapidly in embarrassment, her ears grew hot. They should be… about the same, right?

When she went back and saw Yan Yue, she quietly glanced at Yan Yue’s chest and came to a conclusion: indeed, about the same.

Before leaving, Jiang Ruoxin repeatedly reminded Qin Qingyan to take good care of herself. Even after getting into the car, she still poked her head out and waved goodbye.

After the two of them left, Yan Yue had no intention of lingering. She had originally only come to send Qin Qingyan to the film crew; now that she had delivered her, she should head back to the company.

“Isn’t it still early? Can’t you stay a little longer?” Qin Qingyan asked, holding her hand and fiddling with her fingers, reluctant to let go.

Yan Yue checked the time. It really was still early, and even if she went back a bit later, it wouldn’t affect the meeting afterward at all.

After agreeing, the two of them sat together.

“Then ten minutes,” Yan Yue said. Thinking of something, she turned her head to look at Qin Qingyan with an intentionally clueless expression. “You weren’t this clingy with me before.”

Qin Qingyan said nothing, only rolling a small pebble back and forth under her foot.

“Are you afraid I’ll run off with someone else?” Yan Yue asked again.

“No.” Qin Qingyan answered quickly and decisively.

“Really? What if old feelings spark up again? After all, I did like her for more than two years,” Yan Yue continued.

Qin Qingyan pressed down harder with her foot, the breath in her chest caught halfway up and halfway down. “You kissed me. You have to take responsibility for me.”