Chapter 43: Pt.2
After inhaling quietly, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "When was your first kiss?"
"Wow, I like this question! You're awesome, Sis!" Xu Xiangxiang reached out for a high-five.
While the two Xu sisters high-fived each other, Murong Shi faintly smiled and answered without much thought, "In kindergarten when I was around five or six."
Xu Chuanchuan's expression stiffened.
Ignoring Xu Chuanchuan's reaction, Murong Shi frankly pointed at Fang Qin, who sat on Xu Chuanchuan's other side, and added, "My partner was her."
Fang Qin faked a cough when she got named. Then, she reluctantly admitted, "She's right."
Xu Xiangxiang appeared seemingly dissatisfied by this answer. Pouting, she said, "How can a kiss between two girls count? Big Sis Shishi, you're cheating."
"How can it not be counted? It's you two who didn't clarify the question," Murong Shi said calmly.
After pursing her lips for a moment, Xu Xiangxiang said, "Alright, fine. You pass this question. Let's continue, continue."
Using the sound of the rolling dice as camouflage, Xu Chuanchuan leaned into Fang Qin's right ear and asked, "Was she the one who kissed you first at that time?"
Shocked, Fang Qin asked, "How did you know?"
"I...guessed it."
Fang Qing gave Xu Chuanchuan a thumbs up.
Smiling, Xu Chuanchuan looked to Murong Shi, who sat on her left, and thought to herself, Pervert. You don't even spare little children.
Wait, no… Murong Shi should have been a little child at the time as well…
Suddenly, Xu Chuanchuan felt her right sleeve getting tugged. Then, she heard Fang Qin's voice saying, "Actually, Murong cheated on this question. At the time, we only had one piece of candy between the two of us. I lied to her, saying we would split it in half, but I ended up putting the whole piece into my mouth instead. Out of anger, she lunged at me to bite me and ended up biting my lips."
When Xu Chuanchuan heard the whole story, she couldn't help but shudder. She never thought that Murong Shi would already be so violent at such a young age. Then, she subconsciously touched her lips.
Then, Fang Qin continued, "You should ask her from a different approach. If you do that, I bet she wouldn't dare answer."
Curious, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "How should I ask her?"
Leaning closer into Xu Chuanchuan's ear, Fang Qing said, "Ask her when she had a French kiss. She definitely won't be able to answer you."
"W-Why?"
Revealing an evil smirk, Fang Qin said, "Because she still has her first French kiss! How could she bear the shame of revealing that?"
Stunned, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "But didn't she have a boy—"
"Are you two badmouthing me?"
Murong Shi suddenly interjected, putting a halt to the conversation between Xu Chuanchuan and Fang Qin.
Meanwhile, the game continued.
Xu Chuanchuan's luck was neither good nor bad. After several rounds, she never won or lost any. Murong Shi, on the other hand, won a hand. Then, she pointed at Fang Qin, who rolled the smallest number for the round, and said, "You, go find a handsome man and publicly confess your love for him. Make sure that all of us can hear it."
In response, Fang Qin said, "No, I'll drink."
However, Murong Shi snatched the glass out of Fang Qin's hand and said, "You've drunk enough already."
Standing up, Fang Qin said, "Girls, you like that handsome singer, right? Wait for me. Big Sister will get his WeChat for you."
"Okay! Okay! All hail Big Sis Fang Qin!" Qingqing cheered.
Including Xu Xiangxiang, the four love-struck girls held their phones in hand as they waited for Fang Qin's return. However, even after waiting for some time, Fang Qin did not return.
Then, Xu Xiangxiang pointed at two figures standing at a corner and said, "Why is Big Sis Fang Qin flirting with a girl?"
Murong Shi followed Xu Xiangxiang's finger. Noticing the delicate situation, she stood up and said, "I'll go get her."
When Murong Shi got closer, she found that the atmosphere surrounding the table Fang Qin sat at was strange. Fang Qin wasn't flirting with a girl at all. Instead, her eyes had turned red and moist as she held a drunk girl in her arms.
Who else could cause Fang Qin to lose control of herself?
Murong Shi almost immediately recognized the woman in Fang Qin's arms to be her friend's ex-girlfriend, and she couldn't help but frown at this sight.
Murong Shi found this night to be quite strange. Initially, Fang Qin had asked her out for a drive because she was bored staying at home. When they were passing by this pub, Fang Qin suddenly said, "This is the place where I first met her."
Murong Shi did not make a sound as she suddenly increased the throttle.
However, Fang Qin reluctantly stared at the bar before saying, "Have a drink with me in there."
It wasn't easy to get a heartbroken person to walk out of their gloom. Murong Shi felt that Fang Qin was cocooning herself, but when she saw her friend's sorrowful appearance, she couldn't bring herself to reject the other party's request.
Murong Shi never expected to meet Xu Chuanchuan in the pub, much less for Fang Qin to meet up with her ex-girlfriend. So, Murong Shi wasn't sure what would be going through her friend's mind right now.
"Do you need my help?" Murong Shi asked.
Looking down at the crying girl in her arms, Fang Qin sighed and said, "No. I'll send her back myself. You continue enjoying yourself."
Murong Shi couldn't feel at ease as she watched the two backs of the two staggering women, so she helped Fang Qin carry her drunken ex-girlfriend out of the pub and even hailed a taxi for them.
"I'm going," Fang Qin said as she waved at Murong Shi.
Although Murong Shi wanted to say something, she ended up holding back.
Afterward, Murong Shi returned to the pub alone and explained Fang Qin's departure to the five people at the table, "She met her friend. Her friend is drunk, so she decided to send her friend back first."
Xu Xiangxiang grew very frustrated when she received such a result after waiting for such a long time.
Meanwhile, Xu Chuanchuan saw that it was getting late and remembered that she still had work tomorrow. So, she said, "Let's head home as well."
Although Murong Shi had a car, her car couldn't fit so many people.
In the end, Xu Chuanchuan hailed two taxis for Xu Xiangxiang's group and saw them off. Then, she lowered her head and said to Murong Shi, "I'll be returning home as well."
"I'll drop you off."
Xu Chuanchuan was surprised. After taking a look at Murong Shi, she quickly lowered her head again and said, "We don't seem to be heading the same way."
Murong Shi pondered for a moment at Xu Chuanchuan's words. Then, she said, "I'll drop you off at that intersection ahead. There are many pubs and drunks here; it'll be dangerous for you to try to get a cab here all by yourself."
Xu Chuanchuan eventually gave in to Murong Shi's reasoning.
There were only the two of them in the car, and both of them tacitly kept their mouths shut.
The road at night was clear of traffic, but Murong Shi drove the car very slowly. The car moved so slowly that Xu Chuanchuan began to feel anxious. If she hadn't been drinking, she would've very much wanted to snatch the steering wheel from Murong Shi.
"Alright, you can get off here."
Xu Chuanchuan came back to her senses, only to find that Murong Shi had parked the car at an intersection surrounded by stores. Then, she slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. There's an empty cab coming up behind. Be careful when getting off."
Xu Chuanchuan also noticed the taxi approaching from behind. If she got out of the car now, she would be able to stop it in time. However, she hesitated.
After hesitating for a moment, Xu Chuanchuan retracted her feet. Then, relying on the alcohol in her blood, she carefully voiced out her doubts, "Just now, when we were playing the game, Fang Qin said you cheated. She says that kiss can only be counted as a bite; it wasn't a kiss at all."
Murong Shi had been keeping her eyes in front throughout the entire drive. When she heard Xu Chuanchuan's words, she turned sideways and looked at the person beside her with interest. "So what? The game is already over."
Xu Chuanchuan grew so nervous that her lips turned white. Then, clenching her fists, she said, "She also said that…you have never kissed anyone else after that…"
Murong Shi briefly blinked in surprise but did not follow up with Xu Chuanchuan's words.
"What I'm curious about is…you had a boyfriend before, so why…"
However, Xu Chuanchuan couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. Just by staring at her with an indifferent expression, Murong Shi had caused her to lose all of her courage.
"What are you trying to say?" Murong Shi asked in a gentle voice. Yet, her expression remained indifferent when she spoke.
Xu Chuanchuan knew that she only had this one chance to ask this question. After shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again and asked, "So, that night…was your first kiss?"
Murong Shi tilted her head, causing her long and dense hair to pour down her shoulder and giving her the image of a charming wild cat. Murong Shi originally already possessed beautiful facial features. However, in this dark environment, she became even more breathtakingly beautiful.
Xu Chuanchuan felt her heartbeat suddenly accelerating. However, when she heard Murong Shi's following words, she couldn't help but want to bite the other party.
Putting on a faintly contemptuous smile, Murong Shi said, "Whether it is or not, what does it have to do with you?"
"..."
Ever since Murong Shi had forcibly kissed her, Xu Chuanchuan found that her brain was becoming increasingly useless. How stupid could she be? Couldn't she have just left? Why did she have to ask all this nonsense?
Lowering her eyes, Xu Chuanchuan swallowed the saliva that had pooled in her mouth and said, "Thank you for sending me. Goodbye."
When Xu Chuanchuan opened the door, she immediately felt hot air rushing her face. However, she wanted nothing more than to leave the car as soon as possible, so she powered through the discomfort she felt.
Yet, just as Xu Chuanchuan was about to move one foot out of the car, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist.
When Xu Chuanchuan looked at the hand that was grabbing her wrist, she turned to look at Murong Shi in disbelief and asked, "W-What is the meaning of this?"
Murong Shi did not put a lot of strength into her hand, yet Xu Chuanchuan found herself pinned down and unable to move. Maybe it was because of the air conditioning causing her body to seek to remain in the cool environment instinctively…
Murong Shi's slender eyes shone with a delicate light, making her look exactly the same as she did on that night.
Xu Chuanchuan was momentarily dumbfounded. However, she quickly snapped out of her daze and retracted her hand when she felt Murong Shi lightly caressed her bare skin.
The next moment, Murong Shi quietly said, "You've never been in a relationship before, right?"
"..." Xu Chuanchuan was so embarrassed that she lowered her head even further. Then, she said, "Whether I've been in a relationship or not is none of your business."
Xu Chuanchuan thought Murong Shi would get angry. Either that or she would ridicule her with words again. However, she never thought Murong Shi would suddenly laugh. Moreover, it was even a joyful laugh.
Confused, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "Why are you laughing?"
In response, Murong Shi raised her hand and extended her index finger to lift Xu Chuanchuan's chin.
Xu Chuanchuan was so surprised that she slapped Murong Shi's hand away and shrank back her body. Then, she looked at Murong Shi warily and asked, "W-W-What are you doing?!"
Smiling, Murong Shi stared at Xu Chuanchuan so intently that it felt as if her eyes were overflowing with love. Then, she said, "Xu Chuanchuan, be my girlfriend."
Xu Chuanchuan's head buzzed, and she couldn't help but stare at Murong Shi with widened eyes. "What did you say?"
Suddenly, Murong Shi started running her fingers through Xu Chuanchuan's hair, causing the latter to feel itchy. However, Xu Chuanchuan was so shocked that she forgot to even resist.
"I used to think that you were dull and boring, but after our recent interactions, I found that you were quite the interesting person," Murong Shi said.
"So?" Xu Chuanchuan tensed up her body.
"So, we can try dating."
Xu Chuanchuan was thunderstruck. Then, looking at Murong Shi as if she were looking at a ghost, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "Are you messing with me?"
However, Murong Shi calmly replied, "Why would I mess with you?"
"You... Don't you like men?"
"Who told you I liked men?"
Surprised, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "If you don't like men... Why would you have a boyfriend?"
"Who stipulated that a woman can't like women just because they've had a boyfriend before?" Murong Shi said, her expression remaining unchanged.
"..." Xu Chuanchuan was rendered speechless.
Murong Shi liked women? This was probably the most absurd thing Xu Chuanchuan had ever heard throughout her life.
However, now wasn't the time to care about such things. Whether Murong Shi was messing with her or not, Xu Chuanchuan was determined to make the other party understand a fact.
Sitting upright, Xu Chuanchuan said righteously, "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in women."
However, Murong Shi immediately shot back by asking, "Why did you stick out your tongue if you weren't interested?"
Xu Chuanchuan's face instantly turned beet red upon hearing these words. Then, stammering, "I-I wanted to push out your tongue!"
"Oh? How did it feel, then?" Murong Shi asked, a playful smile appearing on her face.
Xu Chuanchuan admitted that Murong Shi was very beautiful. And when an attractive person smiled, an average person would have difficulty resisting it. Yet, why did she find Murong Shi's current smile to be so strange?
Sensing goosebumps rising all over her body, Xu Chuanchuan said, "I didn't feel anything."
"Did you not like it?" Murong Shi asked, narrowing her eyes.
Gritting her teeth, Xu Chuanchuan firmly said, "I didn't like it one little bit."
Feeling a little disappointed, Murong Shi released Xu Chuanchuan's hair. Then, she sneered and said, "What a dishonest woman."