Heart Flutter

Chapter 32

“What was on the card?”

“Yeah, what penalty did you draw? Hurry and read it out for everyone.”

“Could it be some super risky dare…”

“…”

In an instant, everyone began guessing and urging her to reveal it. All eyes fell on Tang Yan.

At that moment, Tang Yan cast a timid glance at Ji Yuqing beside her. Their gazes met, and Ji Yuqing seemed to sense—or at least suspect—what the dare might be. Perhaps it was something embarrassing.

“Kiss the person next to you,” Tang Yan read softly, then flipped the card to show everyone. Once they saw the dare, the guys and girls alike burst into laughter, stifling their giggles behind their hands, all waiting eagerly for the drama to unfold.

The boy on Tang Yan’s other side nearly choked from laughing, half-sure that he would be the lucky target.

Someone asked, “So which person do you choose to kiss?”

Under the intense gaze of everyone present—and seeing the shy expression on the boy to her left—Tang Yan lifted her finger and pointed to the person on her right: Aunt Ji.

A trace of relief flickered through Ji Yuqing’s mind; after all, it was better for Yan Yan to kiss her rather than a complete stranger she had just met. Though, really, it was not much of a sacrifice on her part.

“Aunt Ji, is that okay?” Tang Yan asked tentatively. She had to be certain she had permission.

Pressing her lips together, Ji Yuqing responded with apparent composure, “Go ahead, Yan Yan. A bet’s a bet.”

Tang Yan let out a small sound of acknowledgment and swallowed hard.

“Do it, do it, do it!” everyone chanted, clapping and eagerly waiting for a show. Two of the girls, ever the gossipers, even raised their phones to record the moment. Tang Yan caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of her eye.

Ji Yuqing sat up straight and breathed steadily, maintaining a calm expression. Her face seemed almost frozen in the collected poise one would expect from a glossy magazine photo.

Under the excited cheers and raucous urging, Tang Yan’s face turned crimson. She had never kissed anyone in her life—not even on the cheek. Slowly, she leaned closer, inch by inch, until she got near enough for Aunt Ji to hear her swallow nervously.

A second later, a pair of soft, warm lips pressed against Ji Yuqing’s cheek. They lingered for only a heartbeat before darting away at lightning speed.

Yet from that instant on, Ji Yuqing’s long-dormant heart thumped faster and faster, catching her completely off guard.

Tang Yan sat back with a face as red as an apple, shrinking into her seat and putting a bit of distance between herself and Aunt Ji, bowing her head so she would not have to look at anyone.

She could hardly believe what had just happened. She had actually kissed Aunt Ji. She had really gone and kissed Aunt Ji. She had kissed Aunt Ji!

Her breath quickened, and her mouth felt parched.

“All right, all right, let’s keep playing! Next round, everyone!” someone called out.

Although Aunt Ji and Tang Yan had drawn the penalty in back-to-back rounds at the start, they got lucky for the rest of the game. The flower never again landed in their hands. Still, after that kiss, neither of them could fully concentrate on what followed.

Outside, the torrential rain showed no sign of letting up. If anything, it grew heavier. The sound of the downpour blended with the guests’ laughter inside. Meanwhile, the guesthouse kitchen staff prepared a sumptuous lunch buffet. When it was ready, Ji Yuqing led Tang Yan to get something to eat. They had been playing for a good while and needed to refuel.

Since that kiss, Tang Yan had barely been able to look Aunt Ji in the eye. No matter who spoke first, Tang Yan’s gaze drifted away almost immediately—like now, with the two of them sitting across from each other at lunch, Tang Yan kept her head bowed and focused on her food.

“Do you plan to take a nap later?” Aunt Ji asked suddenly.

“Huh?” Tang Yan looked up in surprise, only to avert her eyes again.

Smiling, Aunt Ji repeated, “After lunch, are you going to rest?”

Tang Yan shook her head. “I… I don’t usually nap…”

“In that case, I’ll go upstairs for some rest. You can do what you like. Just don’t wander off too far, though with the rain coming down like this, I doubt you’d leave the guesthouse.”

“I won’t leave. I’ll just stay here,” Tang Yan said.

“All right.” Aunt Ji gave her a mild smile.

Even the way she ate looked refined, as if she could make the simplest meal seem luxurious. Tang Yan admired her aunt all the more. She felt there could hardly be another woman like Ji Yuqing in the entire world.

When she finished eating, Ji Yuqing headed upstairs alone. She had a habit of taking midday naps, and even in her office she kept a small folding bed for a quick rest. If she skipped her nap, she tended to grow drowsy early in the evening and lacked energy throughout the afternoon—perhaps a sign that her age was gradually creeping up on her, leaving her more prone to fatigue.

Returning to the room, she shut the door but did not lock it—there was only one room card in her possession, so if Yan Yan needed to come back while she was asleep, it would have caused complications. She stepped onto the balcony, drew the curtains, removed her makeup, and turned off the lights. Only then did she lie down, though she found it impossible to forget that morning’s kiss. She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

After Aunt Ji went upstairs, Tang Yan lingered alone in the first-floor lounge. She soon realized she had come down without her phone and felt a bit bored. She hung around the same group of older boys and girls from before, but they were busy playing arcade games and dancing on a dance pad, which she neither understood nor wanted to try. She did not have much in common with them, so she sat quietly on the sidelines watching.

When she grew tired of watching, she went to sit by the guesthouse entrance, gazing out at the heavy rain. The droplets fell from the sky like transparent beads, vanishing the instant they hit the ground, merging with the earth. In that tropical climate, large leaves bent lower and lower as they gathered more water. A mist veiled the scenery, most likely steam caused by the rain splashing against the warm ground.

She had no idea how long she sat there in a daze. Drowsiness gradually crept up on her, but remembering that Aunt Ji was sleeping upstairs, she decided not to go up and risk waking her. She stayed downstairs, doing her best to remain quiet.

In an effort to keep herself alert, Tang Yan went back to the lounge and turned on the television. There were plenty of channels, and the network TV also allowed on-demand access to movies, shows, and variety programs. Picking a film from the top of the list, she started watching. At first, she yawned through the opening scenes, but as it went on, she found herself absorbed and ended up watching it by herself for most of the afternoon.

Around five o’clock, Tang Yan finally worked up the courage to go upstairs. She crept up the stairs and saw that the door to their room was ajar. Concerned, she pushed it open without a second thought. “Aunt Ji!”

She froze on the spot. It turned out Aunt Ji had already woken from her nap and was once again reading the book she had been enjoying that morning.

“You’re back. Why do you seem so flustered?” asked Aunt Ji with a smile.

“I saw the door was open and thought…” Tang Yan trailed off, scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

“You were worried a bad guy might have broken in?” teased Aunt Ji. Her amused laugh followed. Stretching her arms, she added, “I really envy your youth. You can skip napping and still have all that energy.”

Tang Yan came inside, closing the door behind her, and picked up her phone. Sure enough, there were several new messages.

Only then did she recall that she had abandoned her phone in the morning. She realized she had left her conversation with her senior hanging and now wondered what to do about it.

As if reading her mind, Aunt Ji calmly turned a page and said, “Your phone rang a lot. There might be something urgent. You’d better check so you don’t miss anything important.”

“All right…” Tang Yan mumbled, sitting down with her phone. She snuck a peek at Aunt Ji’s face. It remained neutral and gave nothing away.

The messages read:

Senior Shen Yuyin: Fine, fine, I won’t blame you anymore. Senior Shen Yuyin: Did you take any pretty photos while you were out? Show them to me. Senior Shen Yuyin: All of a sudden, I have a bad feeling about this. Senior Shen Yuyin: I knew it. You’re silent again. Ugh!

These were followed by a few messages from the afternoon:

Senior Shen Yuyin: Hey, it’s already midday. I’ve been waiting. You don’t take your phone with you when you go out? Senior Shen Yuyin: If you send me an adorable selfie right now, I’ll forgive you instantly. Senior Shen Yuyin: …

It seemed that Senior Shen was indeed pretty anxious, given that Tang Yan had barely touched her phone all day. Tang Yan felt a touch of guilt and awkwardness seeing the string of messages.

The mention of photos gave Tang Yan an idea. Without delay, she darted from the room, forgetting to close the door.

“All right, Aunt Ji, I’m going downstairs again!” she called as she hurried out.

Pausing mid-page, Aunt Ji looked up. She wondered to herself what had gotten into this child that she would dash off in such a rush.

Clutching her phone, Tang Yan sped down to the lounge. Using her memory of that morning, she located the young woman she had played the game with and interrupted apologetically, “Hi, remember me? We were in that game together earlier.”

The girl blinked in surprise before turning around cheerfully. “Of course I remember you. What’s up?”

“Well…” Tang Yan began, hesitating. “Earlier, you had your phone out. I think you took a picture of me when I was doing my dare… right?”

The girl’s expression froze for a moment. Then, looking a bit uneasy, she fished out her phone. “Uh, yeah, I did. If it bothers you, I can delete it in front of you right now.”

“No, no!” Tang Yan waved her hands hastily. “That’s not what I mean. I was wondering… could you send that photo to me?”

Scrolling through her album, the girl tapped on an image. “Is it this one?”

Tang Yan leaned closer. Indeed, it showed her face burning red, eyes squeezed shut, carefully kissing Aunt Ji’s cheek, while Aunt Ji’s eyes had widened slightly—very different from her usual unruffled self.

“Yes, that’s it. Could you please send it to me?”

Noting Tang Yan’s earnest, almost pleading expression, the young woman paused, then broke into a curious smile, as though she had just discovered something intriguing.