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This whole situation was not Sha Hualing’s fault per se. But she had to admit to herself that she still had a minor, but crucial, role in how all of this played out.
It all started when Liu Mingyan spent the night, like she usually would after many hours of activities involving a squeaky bed, red silk ropes, loud moans and shaky, so very shaky, legs. It was good, like usual. It was not rare that Liu Mingyan, like the nerd she was, wanted to try something out that she read or wanted to write, usually to see if it was even humanly possible in some sort of devious curiosity. And Sha Hualing, ever the opportunist, was quick to agree every time. Like so many nights before, Sha Hualing had been so weak that she leaned on the wall on the way to the bathroom, almost tripping over the clothes haphazardly covering the floor. It was then, in a rare moment of precaution, she had grabbed the clothes closest to the bathroom door and threw them in the laundry basket so she wouldn’t trip on her way back. Usually she would just leave them for the housekeeper, and old lady that worked with them for years, to pick up. It’s not like they have anything to hide really. The housekeeper already knew what they were up to in there, and Sha Hualing knew she knew. The staff all really be knowing things and Sha Hualing was shameless enough not to care.
She didn’t notice that something else followed along the dress, disappearing deep into the the wooden basket.
Sha Hualing’s room was spacious and luxurious: tall arched windows that almost reached the high-set ceiling, framed by heavy burgundy curtains, a wide bed with linens in pure silk and an ancient-looking chandelier that screamed of nepotism and old money. The morning after, while the early morning light hit the dark walls, Liu Mingyan had woken up before her girlfriend, the latter who was still deeply burrowed in fluffy pillows and blankets while the only thing visible was a disarray of shiny black hair. It was usually like that. Mornings weren't really her thing.
“I can’t find my veil,” A shadow is cast over Sha Hualing as her girlfriend leaned over her. Warm breath softly tickled her face. “Do you know where it is baobei?” Trying to wake up and answer a question from a gorgeous looking woman, the sunlight framing her face like a gloria making her appear ethereal and close to holy, was nearly impossible. Her mouth opened and closed like a broken fish before she reluctantly turned back into the pillows, closing her eyes and cursing everyone around her and their ancestors who didn’t warn her how embarrassing it is to like someone.
Liu Mingyan saw her confused expression and tried again, a hint of a smile playing over her lips as she leaned in closer. “Ling-er, the lavender one. Do you know where it is?”
A memory of something similar disappearing into the laundry basket along with a red dress, (that was probably beyond saving) flashed across Sha Hualing’s mind.
“Hm, check the laundry,” she muttered into the pillow, still not attempting to move to face her beautiful doom. “Might have gotten a bit stained though,” she teased.
Her girlfriend returned a few seconds later.
“It’s empty meimei, the housekeeper must have been here already.”
Sha Hualing sighed. She hated morning people, especially those who were even more morning-peopley than her girlfriend, who got a pass on just about everything Sha Hualing usually disliked. Morning people often acted like waking up early made them superior, as if they weren’t losers for having to go to bed at like 21 o'clock. At least the housekeeper no longer attempted to wake her up after almost losing her job (and eyes) to a tired grumpy Sha Hualing with freshly made acrylic nails.
“You want a face-mask or something,” she muttered, stretching like a cat as her eyes slowly adjusted to the offending sunlight.
Liu Mingyan looked at her girlfriend, still deeply burrowed in her bed, and something mischievous flashed across her eyes. She shook her head slowly.
“No, today I will go without my veil.”
Suddenly Sha Hualing was wide awake.
Ever since the day Sha Hualing had accidentally seen Liu Mingyan without her usual veil or facemask, she hadn't been able to get that face out of her head. It was in the back of her mind, like a horny phantom picture constantly egging on her subconscious to fantasise unholy things every time she let her thoughts wander. It was close to humiliating to not be in control of her mind, if it wasn’t so addicting.
That serene face, features so perfected it was like the heavens themselves had assembled just to carve them from the finest of jade. Unreal, like a pleasant dream you miss but can’t fully retell. So beautiful you could almost hear the jealous cries of goddesses, cursing the day she was born but never being able to fully cause her harm because they would, like everyone else, give in to awe and admiration.
Sha Hualing wasn’t like everyone else. Like the princess she was raised to be, she was used to getting everything she wished for and she didn’t want Liu Mingyan’s beauty alone, she wanted to have her. All of her. The long lashes, rosy lips, silky hair, the smooth unblemished skin begging to be scratched by Sha Hualing’s sharp red nails, her smile, her laugh. All of it. That second she got exposed to Liu Mingyan’s uncovered beauty, the previous interest in Luo Binghe was long forgotten, tossed away like a broken toy.
Sha Hualing was not shy by any means, and when she got over her initial shock of being attracted to that quiet, seemingly boring, friend of a friend, it didn’t take long for them to end up in bed together. Not that she complained, but there were some miscalculations made from her side. Liu Mingyan was more dominant and dirty-minded than she could have ever imagined, and she had imagined a lot of things. She was also more interesting and funnier than neither classmates nor strangers would ever know. This made Sha Hualing feel like a kid who had found a treasure, suddenly having the urge to guard it like a vicious cave-dwelling dragon against the rest of the world, burning anyone daring to come even remotely close. They didn’t deserve it anyways. And it was her’s.
It was already too late to go back when she begrudgingly realised she had fallen in love.
Liu Mingyan wasn’t really out yet. Not that she really had to considering how her interest in her peers as anything else but inspiration for her writing, was minimal. Sha Hualing on the other hand came out the same day she realised she liked girls and then proceeded to threaten her parents that she would disown them if they didn’t accept her. They relented, with little to no protest.
This did, however, stop Sha Hualing from screaming that they were having “hot kinky lesbian sex every night” everytime a man approached them or that she would like to see how well they would take Liu Mingyan’s favourite strap-on, which was a monster even for Sha Hualing’s shrewd standards and usually made her sore for days. Instead she was left to come up with colourful threats and insults to whoever had the balls to come within striking distance.
Sha Hauling didn’t have any lectures that day, still, she did eventually rise from the comfort of fluffy blankets and pillows so they could eat breakfast together at the congee-place down the street. But after seeing the looks her girlfriend got the second they left the apartment, a quick decision was formed in her head. She absolutely didn’t trust those looks. There was no other option. Sha Hualing just had to guard her throughout the day if Liu Mingyan now was so adamant to not cover her face. Like a supportive girlfriend. Truly.
It wasn’t like people never made a pass on Liu Mingyan, but with the veil and the reading glasses she usually wore, the attention usually fell on Sha Hualing’s looks, who was somewhat protected from simps by her nasty reputation. It was manageable.
This, however, was far from manageable.
“Can I have your number?”
Some uninteresting guy with too much undeserved audacity approached them the second they arrived outside the auditorium. This was already guy number 12 this morning despite the fact that they even took a DiDi directly to the university’s front gates.
“Not with that face you won't,” answered an annoyed Sha Hualing before Liu Mingyan had the chance to even open her mouth.
Sha Hualing wasn’t used to getting ignored like that, since she was usually the hottest girl in every context. So seeing the pursuer's confused face realising she was there as well after hearing her sharp rude voice was a new experience. His face twisted in recognition. Like many times before, her fame preceded her.
Apparently there was a rumour she hired an assassin on someone who annoyed her, which technically was true, but it had not been to kill them. Just some “light” scaring. It worked, and it may or may have not happened a few times after that with other disturbances in her life, but it wasn’t like anyone was mortally wounded. Anyways, she benefited from people believing in the opposite.
“I wasn't talking to you xue mei.” The guy looked flustered, but was somehow still there. Brave. So he had chosen death.
“I’m talking FOR her,” she said and turned to her amused girlfriend with wide, faux-innocent eyes. “Right, jiejie?” Liu Mingyan nodded, looking both amused and intrigued. “But I’m actually talking for all women when I say that you look like you would bring your mum for a first date.” She assessed him slowly, looking him up and down with a mean, predatory grin. “Did she dress you today… Xue zhang1?”
This finally made him walk away while muttering something along the lines of “Bitch” under his breath. Nothing she would deny.
Sha Hualing wasn’t even taking this particular class. And she did trust her girlfriend. What she did not trust, however, was Liu Mingyan’s classmates and whether they could behave or not while she wasn’t in her presence. Therefore she followed her girlfriend into the spacious auditorium and strategically dragged her to the back. As expected, a few necks turned, but when the professor started his lecture the students were forced to concentrate on the fast-paced powerpoint-presentation Sha Hualing found extremely boring. At some point she threw a pen at some guy who wouldn’t stop glancing back, but aside from that, the lecture went without a hitch.
The lunch became a nightmare of approaching mediocre men who seemingly spawned out of nowhere. Sha Hualing felt almost undignified having to waste her precious voice on them.
“You are so pretty can I ha-...”
“Literally in what universe do guys like you have a chance at speaking with girls like her. Shooo.”
“You are so beautiful, can I have your number?”
Sha Hualing didn’t even look up from her food.
“I have enough money, I am not afraid to use it to put a bounty on your head.”
“Hey!”
“Die!”
At some point Sha Hualing got tired of wasting her breath on those insignificant insects swarming like moths to light that she would just raise her book like a weapon, ready to swing. It worked, somewhat.
During this whole ordeal Liu Mingyan hadn’t said anything, all she had done was observe her girlfriend with a barely-there smile on her lips that Sha Hualing found extremely annoying (and also pretty) but too discreet to start a fight about.
After the meal they had disappeared into the well kept park in the middle of the campus grounds, hidden from the public eyes by low hanging trees and feathery bushes. The mild autumn winds made the leaves rustle every once in a while, the sound softly blending into the student’s distant chatter.
“Maybe I should go without my veil more often. And the glasses. They were mostly for show anyways.”
Sha Hualinga turned around like a whip. Her mood instantly darkened.
“WHY?” she demanded. “You like the attention that much? You want them to flirt with you? You want someone else?” Suddenly she was seething. Furious.
Liu Mingyan touched her face softly and leaned closer to Sha Hualing’s pierced ear. The hand on her waist gently stopped her from backing away. Not that she would, instead she unconsciously leaned into the touch.
“Maybe I prefer it when all eyes are on me…” she whispered. “... because I don’t like it when they flirt with my meimei.” Her lips brushed against her cheek. “Because you belong to me only.”
Liu Mingyan’s confession made Sha Hualing’s lower region tingle. Growing more aroused by the second, she wished that the hand on her waist would go down lower, past her hips and under her dress and get her some much needed relief in the cover of the dense vegetation. A girl can dream. She knew she would have to wait.
“So you enjoyed all of this?” she said, accusingly, but not really angry anymore.
“I liked seeing my baobei so protective, you were such a good girl.”
There was truly something special about being called good by Liu Mingyan, something she never had experienced with anyone else before. The word sparked reactions all over her body, making her feel all warm and safe and disgustingly obedient. It also made her even hornier.
Liu Mingyan straightened up, suddenly looking calculative.
“Let's play a little game Ling-er.”
Sha Hualing was suddenly all ears, intrigued and almost in a dazed state from the intense look in her girlfriends eyes.
“If you get hit on by the next 5 people I win,” Liu Mingyan said. “If not, the victory is yours.”
An idea instantly formed in Sha Hualing’s degenerate head.
“If I win, this Ling-er would like to tie up her jiejie next time,” Sha Hualing said. A cocky grin splitting her face.
Liu Mingyan raised her eyebrow at that, but didn’t oppose, only looking her up and down in a way that made Sha Hualing squirm. After a moment of silence she responded: “If I win, I want you to try that thing I bought a few weeks ago.” A mischievous smile played over those perfect lips. “That thing meimei was too embarrassed to try last time.” Sha Hualing froze, the cocky grin quickly evaporating from her face.
“I was not embarrassed!” she protested, her mouth involuntarily forming a pout that Liu Mingyan was quick to capture in a light kiss, happening so fast Sha Hualing was left stunned. “Fine,” she eventually muttered.
It was not that that thing was scary or anything, if not a bit intimidating, but it was undignifying. Ever for Sha Hualing. But despite that, she never backed down from a challenge.
The moment she agreed, Liu Mingyan instantly pulled up her hoodie and harshly tugged at the strings until it scrunched together so only her nose and eyes were visible. She looked kind of like a pretty version of Humpty dumpty in his golden suit.
“Hey! That’s cheating!” Sha Hualing realised slowly why her girlfriend had been so quick to accept her demands. She already had a plan, that sly bitch.
“I would never cheat at my meimei,” she responded fondly as she pulled up her reading glasses, instantly looking even more ridiculous. “I will always be faithful.”
There was no way for Sha Hualing to do the same, she normally only dressed in tight fitted dresses and skirts and this day was no different. The only time she really wore hoodies was when she stole them from Liu Mingyan and then she usually wouldn’t wear anything underneath in hopes of getting bent over and railed. Which usually worked in her favour. Not that she would conceal herself like that even if she could, she wouldn't stoop that low to win a stupid bet.
Despite that, Sha Hualing would usually have been fine, since her reputation was so atrocious and her parents wealth made people gossip enough about her to spread the rumours. But what she later realised she hadn’t taken into account was the amount of unknowing, but bold, freshmen that started this autumn and therefore was still in the dark. Liu Mingyan must have known that, considering the smug looks she got through that absurd get up.
To Liu Mingyan’s delight, and Sha Hualing’s annoyance, it didn’t take long for her to get approached by some of the bold new students. It didn’t matter how mean or unfriendly she looked, they kept coming and as soon as they struck up a conversation with her, she could hear her girlfriend quietly count behind her. It didn’t take long.
After the last guy left them alone, heartbroken and with tears in his eyes from Sha Hualing’s vicious berating, Liu Mingyan finally loosened the strings on her hood and shook it back to her shoulders. The glasses were still on, like they would sometimes be in bed as well.
“And that is five,” Liu Mingyan noted, eyes filled with something dark Sha Hualing begrudgingly couldn’t wait to explore.
Before their relationship, Sha Hualing had already had quite a few flings. Mostly with men, but she hadn’t lacked in pussy either. Meanwhile Liu Mingyan had surprisingly still been a virgin. Clearly not from lack of eager volunteers, but rather so because she hadn’t been interested in anyone else like that until Sha Hualing violently appeared in her life.
Before their relationship, Sha Hualing had been in charge, both in and out of the bedroom. So was the case in the beginning as well, when Liu Mingyan was still learning and exploring their bodies. Even the inexperience, that usually made Sha Hualing frustrated and annoyed, was endearing and cute to her. The turning point had been the first time Liu Mingyan managed to leave Sha Hualing incoherent after an ungodly amount of stimulation. There was no going back from that apparently and Sha Hualing quickly realised she had created a monster. She couldn't find it in herself to feel regretful.
Before their relationship, Sha Hualing had never been truly in love.
The list of the top most embarrassing things Sha Hualing has done for Liu Mingyan:
- Fallen in love
- Actually watched Liu Mingyan’s favourite Donghua because Sha Hualing got annoyed when her girlfriend was passionately discussing it with a stranger and she didn’t understand anything they said. The worst thing was that she actually enjoyed the show in the end.
- Kneeling. More than once. Willingly.
- Standing in line for hours for merch Liu Mingyan wanted to buy for said donghua because the thought of leaving her alone at that event made her skin crawl.
- Very specific role plays that Sha Hualing would sooner die than admit to doing, but would still do again.
- Learned how to play one of those interactive nerd games for the same reason as 2.
Sha Hualing had never had any issues resisting her lover’s wishes until Liu Mingyan. It didn’t help that she also knew that.. Ever since Liu Mingyan started to become vaguely aware of Sha Hualing’s weakness for her looks, she had used it more and more. Testing, cautiously, like a cat figuring out how much trouble they could get away with. It was hard being firm when Liu Mingyan looked disappointed, when those pretty lips frowned, the soft eyebrows softly knitting together. Sometimes she would even bend over and thus give Sha Hualing a glimpse of her collarbone and chest and the fight was instantly over. The useless gay in her winning over her pride.
“I won, Meimei.” Although Liu Mingyan smiled, something in her eyes made Sha Hualing shudder. “You know what that means?”
Sha Hualing had been so sure the victory was hers that she had fully forgotten about that horrendous monstrosity Liu Mingyan had ordered home one day to add to her growing collection and subsequently wanted to try it on her girlfriend.
“Fine!” She raised her shin, defiant. “But I’m not going to make it easy for you… Jiejie.” The last part she added, almost mockingly.
Liu Mingyan took a step forward and leaned into her, the silky long hair tickling Sha Hualings neck and shin, and despite the fact that the weather was mild, she could feel goosebumps spreading over her arms and back.
“I like it when Ling-er is being difficult,” Liu Mingyan murmured into her girlfriend’s ear, so close her eyelashes fluttered against her skin. “It makes it even better when all you can do is whimper.” She planted a light kiss on her cheekbone and Sha Hualing, who for once was completely speechless, could feel the warmth from the kiss spread all over her face, down her neck and arms until she was visibly blushing. “Meimei is so cute like that.”
“I don’t whimper,” she managed to say after a moment to collect herself, but she knew in her heart that she had already lost this battle.
But then she saw Liu Mingyan’s face: dark eyes almost sparkling in the muted daylight, skin smooth and glowing and those rosy, perfectly sculpted lips, so full of mirth, and she thought that maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t too bad losing that bet.