Heart Flutter

Chapter 145

Ji Yuqing stood in front of Tang Yan, dragging her suitcase behind her with a smile on her face. When she saw the stunned look on Tang Yan’s face, she casually lifted her boarding pass—it couldn’t be more obvious.

Tang Yan raised a hand to cover her mouth, eyes wide in disbelief. She’d kept this from her for so long? She’d even already bought the ticket?

Yuqing walked over, checking in her luggage as she spoke in a seemingly offhand tone, “I don’t think we’ve ever traveled abroad together, have we?”

Tang Yan couldn’t contain her excitement. She nodded eagerly, then asked quickly, “How long are you staying this time?”

“Hmm… how about we come back together?” Yuqing said while filling out the baggage tag.

“That’s perfect!” Tang Yan nodded hard.

This whole morning felt like a dream. All the things she’d been worrying about hadn’t happened after all. Not only were they not going to be separated, they’d get to spend all that time abroad together… Just imagining the two of them glued to each other every day in the U.S. made her giddy.

“Alright, stop spacing out. Let’s head to the departure lounge,” Yuqing reminded her.

Tang Yan hurried to catch up, and while Yuqing wasn’t looking, she grabbed her hand and held it tightly.

“We’re at the airport, you know,” Yuqing said without changing expression. “There are a lot of people here.”

Tang Yan smiled, full of confidence. “I’m not scared. They don’t even know what our relationship is. And even if they did—I still wouldn’t be scared.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Once they were abroad, it’d be more accepting of LGBTQ couples. Tang Yan could be openly affectionate with her Aunt Ji on the street. Just the thought of it thrilled her.

With forty-five minutes left before departure, Yuqing decided they’d sit and wait in the lounge.

They each got a drink. Tang Yan pulled out her ticket and asked, “Aunt Ji, what seat did you get?”

“Business class,” Yuqing replied without a second thought.

“That’s great! We’re in the same cabin.” Tang Yan was excited—then admiring. “How did you know I’d be in business class too?”

“Hmm… just a hunch.” Yuqing sipped her coffee, eyes full of charm. “Your company’s that big, no way they’d stick you in economy.”

It made sense, but Tang Yan was still impressed. Yuqing was amazing.

Two well-dressed young men entered the lounge, around thirty, clearly the professional type. Suits, ties, briefcases. They spotted Tang Yan chatting nearby and walked over.

“Hey, Tang Yan—so this is where you are.”

Tang Yan looked up. They were her seniors from the company, also in the tech department. She didn’t share a workspace with them since she was new, but they’d met a few times. This time, they were all headed to San Francisco for further training.

“Hi, seniors,” she greeted them with a smile and a wave.

Yuqing nodded politely.

“And this is…?” The two men were visibly taken aback by the elegant woman next to her, quickly adjusting their posture.

Tang Yan wasn’t the least bit shy. She introduced boldly, “My girlfriend. Girlfriend.”

Her male coworkers: stunned.

What just happened? That was a lot of information to drop at once.

Their expressions said it all.

Yuqing gave a shy smile. “Thank you for looking after Yan Yan at work.”

“Oh, not at all.” One of them waved his hand awkwardly.

The other blushed and said, “Tang Yan’s really talented. Our boss thinks highly of her. We seniors could learn a lot from her.”

“You’re flattering me! I should be learning from you,” Tang Yan said quickly.

“Um, we’ll go sit over there and not interrupt you guys.” The two beat a fast retreat, leaving Yuqing laughing quietly.

“What?” Tang Yan said. “Am I not supposed to tell people you’re my girlfriend? I’m never introducing you as ‘Aunt Ji’ again.”

“They might’ve been a little scared,” Yuqing said, still smiling.

“I don’t care. I don’t like the way other men look at you. I get jealous. I turn into a whole jar of vinegar.”

“Alright, little vinegar jar,” Yuqing said, checking her watch. “Twenty minutes until boarding. You should get ready. The flight to San Francisco’s long. You want to use the restroom?”

“I don’t, but I’ll go with you anyway.” Tang Yan raised her hand like a student.

“Let’s go then.” Yuqing picked up her bag and stood. Tang Yan immediately linked arms with her.

After they left, the two male coworkers whispered to each other.

“Dude, was she joking back there?”

“Doesn’t look like it. She was totally warning us to back off her girlfriend. Man, even women are dating women now. Meanwhile, we’re thirty and still single, just coding day and night.”

“If it’s true, I’m seriously jealous.”

Inside the bathroom, Yuqing handed Tang Yan her bag. Tang Yan hugged it to her chest and stood by the mirror, checking her makeup. She wasn’t the least bit impatient. In fact, she felt lucky to be a girl—she could go to the bathroom with her partner.

Yuqing came out just as Tang Yan was fixing her lipstick. Tang Yan hadn’t expected her to be so quick and nearly dropped the lipstick in surprise.

“You’re back already?”

Yuqing gave her a mischievous smile. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing.” Tang Yan put on her best innocent face. No way she was admitting she was fixing her lipstick in front of Aunt Ji.

“What’s that on your lips?” Yuqing asked knowingly.

“Lip—lipstick. I put it on this morning,” Tang Yan stammered.

“Put some on me too.” Yuqing turned to look in the mirror. “I think the coffee wiped it off. Help me fix it.”

“Uh, sure.” Tang Yan raised her lipstick—but before she could apply it, Yuqing leaned in and kissed her, smudging the lipstick evenly across her own lips.

Tang Yan’s face turned bright red.

Yuqing looked at herself in the mirror, grabbed a tissue and did a little touch-up. Perfect. “All done.”

Tang Yan couldn’t take it. Yuqing was way too good at flirting. She grabbed her hand, pulled her into a stall, shut the door, and kissed her hard.

Well, now both their lipsticks were ruined. Definitely needed another round of touch-up.

By the time they came out, boarding had already started.

Tang Yan pulled Yuqing’s hand and started running.

Even though Yuqing told her there was plenty of time, Tang Yan was still afraid they’d miss the flight.

There was something so driven about her—so tenacious. Yuqing hadn’t run like that in ages. It felt like being thrown back to her student days, sprinting in a relay race. She loved how alive Tang Yan made her feel—young, energized.

Of course, they made the flight just fine. There were still plenty of people boarding after them.

When there’s only one person left, the crew will make an announcement and apologize to everyone, letting them know one passenger still hasn’t boarded.

Tang Yan had thought missing the time meant missing the whole flight—like a train. Now she realized that wasn’t true. She didn’t need to panic so much and run herself breathless.

But Yuqing told her the plane only waits a little. If the person doesn’t show up soon, they’ll leave. So it’s still important to be punctual—it’s just good manners.

Tang Yan knew how deeply Yuqing’s sense of time had influenced her. In all her memory, Yuqing had never once been late—she was always the earliest. That might be part of why she’d been so successful in her career.

Holding Yuqing’s hand tightly, Tang Yan sank happily into her comfy seat, ready for a good nap.

After nearly twelve hours, their flight landed at San Francisco International Airport—9 PM Huadu time, 6 AM local.

San Francisco—also called “San Fan Shi” by Chinese speakers.

Tang Yan had slept like a baby on the plane, so jet lag wasn’t an issue. Her first impression of the city was that it was clean, orderly, and with its Mediterranean climate, it felt fresh and different.

At six in the morning, the city was just waking up. There weren’t many cars on the streets yet. They took a car straight to the hotel the company had booked. Tang Yan didn’t know what it would look like.

Yuqing was checking out the hotel details on her phone when Tang Yan peeked and cheekily snatched it from her.

“Nope. You’re not booking another room. I’m sleeping with you tonight.”

Yuqing laughed. “I wasn’t booking anything. I was reading reviews and looking at the environment pics.”

Tang Yan looked embarrassed. “Oh… that’s all?”

“What else did you think I was doing?”

Tang Yan scratched her head, muttering, “I just… it’s rare that we get to be alone together. I don’t want to sleep apart.”

“Hmm… I seem to remember I still owe someone something. Wonder if she still wants it,” Yuqing teased.

“I do! Of course I do. You better not back out,” Tang Yan said, pulling her closer.

This time, she swore—she was going to win.