The small smoking balcony now held three people.
Lin Yunsheng walked through the breeze, caught Zhao Man’s wrist, and took the cigarette, letting it rest in her hand for a few seconds.
“What are you two talking about?” she asked. Her voice, laced with alcohol, sounded somewhat languid.
“Talking about you,” Zhao Man replied with a grin, unbothered by having her cigarette snatched away.
Lin Yunsheng glanced at her sister, moved slightly to the side, and pinched the cigarette out before tossing it into the trash can.
“Why did you leave me in there all by myself?” she said, looking at neither of them.
She seemed a bit drunk, Chen Jinyue thought. Her sister didn't usually speak like this; with that slight, teasing lilt at the end of her words, who would dare not follow her lead?
“Oh, come on, we saw you were busy. We’re going back in now.”
Zhao Man took Lin Yunsheng’s arm and led the way. Chen Jinyue followed behind, having taken off the coat and folded it over her arm. Lin Yunsheng really did seem quite intoxicated; her steps were unsteady, and she leaned gently against Zhao Man.
Amidst their stride, Lin Yunsheng lowered her head and glanced back at her younger sister with an unreadable expression.
When the three returned to the table, Lin Yunsheng was quickly pulled away by others again. Chen Jinyue had long since lost her appetite and sat quietly in her seat, watching.
Sitting almost as quietly as her was Jiang Haitao.
Chen Jinyue spared him a few glances. Jiang Haitao just sat there chatting with the colleagues to his left and right, making no move to approach Lin Yunsheng.
Her intuition told her that no one knew about the two of them—or perhaps Lin Yunsheng really was still considering him? She had no answer.
Truth be told, these two had less "CP chemistry" than her sister and Zhao Man. Though regardless of the pairing, Chen Jinyue liked none of it.
As she was thinking, Zhao Man stood up and placed her hand on Chen Jinyue’s head again. This time, she propped her five fingers up, applying a bit of pressure to make Chen Jinyue turn and meet her eyes.
“I have to head out.”
Chen Jinyue stood up with her.
“I’m leaving your sister in your hands. She’s drunk.”
“Okay.”
Zhao Man left her seat to say her goodbyes, mentioning she was heading out and giving Lin Yunsheng a hug before she left.
Before long, people began to leave one after another. On a Friday night, those who wanted to keep the party going naturally stuck together, while those heading home were happy to be on their way.
Lin Yunsheng returned to her seat, so drunk that she was drawing out her vowels. Chen Jinyue hurriedly moved her chair closer, stepping forward to steady her for fear she might fall. Jiang Haitao watched from the side but didn't come over.
“Shall we go home, Sister?” Chen Jinyue asked, leaning close to her ear and taking her hand.
“Okay...” Lin Yunsheng replied, then tilted her head and let it fall onto her sister’s shoulder.
Chen Jinyue took out her phone to find a designated driver. She wasn't proficient with the app, so it took a moment to book one. During that time, Lin Yunsheng kept staring at the phone screen, giggling occasionally and trying to grab the phone to do it herself.
“Don’t be naughty...” Chen Jinyue stopped her again.
The driver arrived quickly. When she received the call, Chen Jinyue helped her sister up to say goodbye to the nearby colleagues. Jiang Haitao tried to step in to help walk them to the car, but Chen Jinyue declined, saying she could manage on her own.
In her heart, she prayed Lin Yunsheng would behave and not make her look foolish in front of Jiang Haitao.
She turned back to grab her bag and led Lin Yunsheng to the parking lot.
Once in the car, Lin Yunsheng spent the entire ride leaning into Chen Jinyue’s arms.
Her eyes, softened by alcohol, were like pools of spring water, drawing Chen Jinyue in to ripple within them. The center armrest in the back seat, which had been folded down since the day she returned to the country, was finally folded back up.
The boundaries vanished along with it.
Holding her sister in a cabin filled entirely with Lin Yunsheng’s scent, Chen Jinyue inexplicably thought of that sunrise taxi ride at four or five in the morning, the one playing old songs.
She leaned down, brushing her face against the other’s breath. Lin Yunsheng reached up and hooked her arms around Chen Jinyue’s neck, letting out a satisfied, cat-like sigh.
“Are you drunk?” Chen Jinyue’s voice was buried in that warm breath, moist and lingering.
Lin Yunsheng’s lips found her ear, sending her voice softly inside.
“Mhm...”
“No...”
The words were vague and ambiguous, but they made Chen Jinyue’s eardrums thrum and her ears turn a burning red.
After speaking, Lin Yunsheng leaned her head back.
That feeling found Chen Jinyue again—
*“I wish this car would never reach its destination.”*
Just like every journey she took with Lin Yunsheng.
By the time the car pulled smoothly into the parking space, Lin Yunsheng’s eyes had mostly cleared.
Chen Jinyue got out to help the driver retrieve his small electric scooter from the trunk, then returned to the back seat to lead her sister out.
After pressing the up button, the two waited in front of the elevator.
“Are you awake now?” Chen Jinyue asked her.
*Ding—*
The elevator doors opened. Lin Yunsheng didn't answer.
They stepped into the car, and she reached out to press the button for the first floor. Only then did she speak: “Not quite. Will you walk with me for a bit?”
“Okay...” Forget the dead of winter; even if there were a category eight typhoon outside, she wouldn't refuse.
As soon as they stepped out of the building, Lin Yunsheng asked, “Are you cold?”
“I’m fine...” Chen Jinyue pulled her clothes tighter, telling a lie.
Lin Yunsheng tilted her head to look at her and asked, “Zhao Man said you were talking to her about me?”
The "sobering up" was a facade; this question was the real goal.
“She said you were very good friends.”
“Oh? You don’t believe what I said?” Lin Yunsheng chuckled softly.
“Uh... I just, I only just found out she’s gay, so...”
“Do you like her?” Lin Yunsheng rarely interrupted people like this, but today she seemed a bit restless.
This was already the second time she had asked.
Chen Jinyue thought back to the situation a few nights ago and finally understood Lin Yunsheng’s question this time.
She was asking *“Do you like her?”*
But she was thinking, *“What about me?”*
“Don’t you know who I like, Lin Yunsheng?” Chen Jinyue stood still in the wind, her clear eyes looking over.
She didn't like misunderstandings; things had to be made clear today.
“I don’t like her.”
She saw Lin Yunsheng’s eyes soften, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
“I originally thought there was some feeling between you two beyond friendship.”
“I told you it was just—”
“But now,” it was Chen Jinyue’s turn to interrupt Lin Yunsheng.
“Certain things have suddenly clicked in my head.” Chen Jinyue’s voice became serious.
“Lin Yunsheng...”
“Why did you have her pick me up today?”
“Because I was busy,” Lin Yunsheng replied quickly. Having mostly sobered up, she was no longer as soft as before, becoming somewhat distant again.
“I could have taken a taxi.”
She paused for a few seconds before continuing, “That night in North City, why did you tell Zhao Man what I like to eat? Why did you have her eat dinner with me?”
“And why did you say I was interested in Sister Man?”
So many "whys" were thrown out at once, and as she spoke, Chen Jinyue became more certain.
This time, she didn't want to wait for Lin Yunsheng’s answer.
The answer had long been laid bare in the moonlight.
“You thought I liked her?” She was being somewhat aggressive.
Lin Yunsheng gently brushed away the hand clutching her sleeve, hid her hands in her coat pockets, and continued walking forward.
The mid-winter trees had long been stripped of their leaves. In the cloudless night, even the moonlight felt a bit piercing.
Chen Jinyue followed behind, continuing, “Or did you *want* me to like her?”
Hearing this, Lin Yunsheng finally stopped walking. She didn't turn around, leaving Chen Jinyue with only a lonely silhouette.
“You wanted me to like her,” she repeated, her tone becoming certain.
Chen Jinyue walked around to stand in front of her.
“But you were also afraid that I really would.”
“Is that it?” She forced Lin Yunsheng to look at her, her eyes filled with mist.
“So you would tell me that I can 'trouble' you.”
“And you would pull yourself away from a lively dinner to come find us.”
“You’re so contradictory, Lin Yunsheng...” By this point, Chen Jinyue was so frustrated she was on the verge of tears.
Lin Yunsheng’s breathing grew ragged as she listened. She tried to bypass her sister, wanting to escape again.
Chen Jinyue reached out and grabbed her, using a strength she couldn't break free from to pull her into an embrace. “Don’t go...”
“Lin Yunsheng, why do you have so little confidence in my love?”
There was another half-sentence she swallowed down. *“Just like six years ago.”*
As soon as she finished speaking, a tear dropped. She didn't hide it at all; she wanted Lin Yunsheng to see her tears.
“Xiao Jin...”
Lin Yunsheng reached up to wipe her tears, but after calling her name, she lost her voice.
The tears fell too fast; no matter how Lin Yunsheng wiped, she couldn't keep up. Chen Jinyue took a step back and used her own sleeve to wipe the mess of tears and snot from her face. Her makeup smeared onto her clothes, making her look both ridiculous and pitiful.
Lin Yunsheng followed her steps and pulled her sister into her arms—just like that night at the bar, holding her in the cold wind, waiting for her to finish crying and calm down.
*“If she hadn't fallen in love with me, Chen Jinyue wouldn't have had so many tears to shed.”*
The wind rose again, scattering Lin Yunsheng’s thoughts.
“Say something... Lin Yunsheng,” Chen Jinyue pleaded in her arms.
“I’m sorry...”
“Lin Yunsheng!” Her tears were about to fall again.
*“Don’t cry.”*
“It won’t happen again, Xiao Jin.”
“Really?” Chen Jinyue’s tears subsided. She pouted as she asked.
“Really.”
“Then give me a kiss.”
Lin Yunsheng acted as if she hadn't heard, reaching out to wipe the tear tracks from her sister’s face.
“Ah—give me a kiss.” she acted spoiled, even hopping twice.
The other woman still didn't move.
So annoying. She wasn't waiting anymore.
Chen Jinyue grabbed the hand still caressing her face, interlacing their fingers and letting them hang at their sides. She wrapped her left arm around Lin Yunsheng’s waist, closed her eyes, and left a kiss on her sister’s cheek.
They stood by the tree, bare branches suspended in the air. The half-moon peeked through the gaps, stealing a glance at them.
Chen Jinyue thought she was actually very easy to coax. Once she had cried and heard Lin Yunsheng say "it won't happen again," she was fine.
Her lips pulled away quickly; she was just about to say she wasn't angry anymore...
Lin Yunsheng’s hands climbed back up her neck, circling around to pull her back. This time, she kissed her sister’s lips firmly.
Her breathing was a total mess. Chen Jinyue was stunned by this unexpected kiss that was no longer just a fleeting taste.
Lin Yunsheng deepened the kiss. As if losing control, she trembled slightly and whispered, “I’m sorry...”
Aside from those three words, she seemed unable to say anything else.
But there was one more sentence—she had said it once before, and she wanted to say it again.
*“I miss you so much. Even with you in my arms right now, it still doesn't feel like enough.”*
But she gave that time to the kiss, kneading that longing into her breath bit by bit.
Chen Jinyue tasted the alcohol in her breath, her fingers stroking her waist, offering up her own damp affection.
“Lin Yunsheng...”
“Lin Yunsheng...”
It wasn't until she felt her breath was spent that she was released. Chen Jinyue panted as she looked at her sister. The other woman was flushed as if she were truly drunk; if not for the lingering waves of emotion in her beautiful eyes that had yet to dissipate into the night, Chen Jinyue would have doubted herself.
“Are you sober now...?”
Lin Yunsheng ignored her entirely, turning around to walk back toward home.
Chen Jinyue laughed and chased after her, jumping onto her back. “Sister...”
“Get down.”
“No.”
“Why did you sneak into my shoes?”
“Ah... do they look good?”
“Cute.”
Lin Yunsheng reached behind her sister’s knees, hoisting her up higher. “Hold on tight.”
“Okay,” Chen Jinyue giggled.
The Martin boots left the ground, swinging with their pace, and even the moon seemed to turn shy.
***
Enjoying the story? Rate this novel:
Moonlight Doesn't Reach | Chapter 27 | Moonlight and Martin Boots | Novela.app | Novela.app
