Green Plum IslandCh33 - A Kiss

After dinner, I settle myself against the window and keep my eyes on Yan Kongshan’s house.

Maybe the logical thing to do is feel nervous or act with restraint, but the truth is I’m so filled with anticipation that sweat pools in my palms. By the time ten p.m. comes along, I’m nearly asleep. At that moment, the neighbouring door finally opens. DybHUa

Hanging off Yan Kongshan’s hand is that glass wind chime; he places it on a hook beneath the eaves of the house, then stares at it for a moment, not letting go. He seems to be hesitating, as if he isn’t sure whether or not hanging it back up is the right thing to do.

My hands clench into fists and I want to cry out, I see it, you can’t take it back!, but at last, he withdraws his hand and turns back into the house.

Read more BL at chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com

With my anxious heart settled back into its place, I fly down the stairs. Grandpa is watching television in the living room. He doesn’t notice me on account of the fact that there’s a gruesome battle taking place and his eyes are glued to the screen.

I doubt he’d hear me if I moved loudly, but regardless, I creep on my tiptoes like a burglar until I reach the door. I tug it open as quietly as I can, then sneak out. o7I0RK

I push open the gate to Yan Kongshan’s yard and walk up to the eaves. Like him, I stare at the wind chime for a long, long time, until finally, I pull it cautiously off the hook. I don’t care what thoughts went through his mind as he hung it up; if he considers himself a mature adult, he can’t go back on his word.

I press the doorbell and wait, resting my hands behind my back. Winds whirl about the midsummer night’s air restlessly in a frenzied sort of way, as if they’re staggering their way home in a drunken stupor after a night out having hotpot and drinking liquor, complaining about their boss as they amble along.

My hair is long dry from my shower; the wind ruffles it forward until it finally settles along my cheeks, slightly obscuring my eyes. It’s been a while since I’ve cut it — it suddenly occurs to me to have it cut before school military training starts.

The door opens as I’m pondering this. Yan Kongshan appears at the doorway and looks me square in the face without speaking. The span of an afternoon has lulled his mood index value back to its usual white colour, although it registers at 68, which isn’t all that high.

cHtR3w

I imagine there are few people who can rest at ease beneath the intensity with which he watches me. I lower my eyes, bringing the wind chime behind my back before him. He takes it from me and, like an usher at the cinema who’s just taken a ticket for a film, steps aside to let me into the theatre.

I walk in and sit myself conscientiously onto the sofa. Yan Kongshan tosses the wind chime casually somewhere inside the foyer, then goes to the kitchen.

“What do you want to drink?”

I have half a mind to tell him to hurry up and get to the purpose of this evening, afraid that whatever absurdity has overtaken his brain will dissipate and then he’ll regret his decision. But then I think, the atmosphere won’t be right and it’ll make me seem lewd. DMKddj

My interest in him definitely began with coveting his body, but that’s not the extent of my attraction to him.

“Sprite is fine.”

Yan Kongshan is back a few moments later, Sprite in hand. He flicks the tab on the lid of the can open with a thumb before setting it on the coffee table in front of me.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Lf’r jikjsr rb ufcaifwjcis ilxf atja. 0pJL5A

P obgmf wsrfio ab rlq j alcs yla yla bo atf Vqglaf — rlwqis ublcu atgbeut atf wbalbcr — jcv atfc qea la vbkc jujlc. Ktf wfaji wjxfr j riluta miecx jr la tlar atf kbbvfc mbooff ajyif; lo atlr kfgf j kjg, la kbeiv yf atf bqfclcu rtba. C rkffa jcv ajcus joafgajraf ilcufgr bc ws ilqr.

I gaze up at Yan Kongshan, head raised, both of us mute. He lets out a long sigh and sits down beside me, his mood value dropping another two points.

“Yu Mian, have you thought this through?”

I feel as if I should be the one asking him this question, considering he looks like he’s about to be forced into prostitution. CXsF1K

“Yes, I have.” I give a slight nod. “Let’s do this.”

After a brief moment’s hesitation, he places both of his hands on either side of my shoulders and starts leaning in. As his breaths come nearer and nearer to me, I’m so nervous I even forget to blink. I simply sit there stiffly, back straight as a ruler, waiting for the arrival of my first kiss.

Read more BL at chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com

But then suddenly, he stops and moves away again, cursing quietly in frustration. “What am I even doing…?” He loosens his grasp on my shoulders and leans further back.

Any man would lose his rationality in such a situation, right? So close… I waited for so long, for something I’d anticipated since the day I set eyes on him. Even if it’s just one simple kiss, it can serve as proper closure for this midsummer dream of mine. gEMVdx

“You’re doing something that makes me happy.” I grab onto the lapels of his shirt, flash him a smile, and before he even realises what’s going on, I’ve planted my lips on him.

His lips are cold, tasting vaguely of mint. His hands immediately tighten on my shoulders once again, this time grabbing me so forcefully that I feel a pang.

I don’t actually know how to kiss and I’m not bold enough to stick my tongue in his mouth, so really, our lips simply touch without any additional action.

How long, technically speaking, is a kiss supposed to last? There doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer. zGFHvU

I decide after a few seconds that it’s long enough; it was pleasantly memorable for a first kiss. And so my fingers go relax and I straighten up, readying myself to lean back.

Yan Kongshan is so nice to kiss, he tastes like an ice-cold mint. I can’t resist myself — right before our lips part, I give his Cupid’s bow a lick. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse a faint yellow over Yan Kongshan’s head, but before I can confirm what I see, I’m suddenly pulled by my shoulders and a split second later, a more potent minty essence overwhelms me.

Compared to my simplistic, innocent kiss, Yan Kongshan kisses like he’s carnivorous, devouring me. His tongue pushes forcefully past the parting of my lips and sweeps across the cavern of my mouth as if he wants to eats me starting from my tongue. He strips me of my breath, my strength; my sight begins to fog up. I grasp wildly onto his clothing like someone adrift in water clinging onto a lifesaver.

So this is a kiss? c9pLNK

It feels nice, yet at the same time, terrifying.

Especially when, after he nips my tongue and I pull it back, he entangles his tongue with mine, coaxing it back out, and nips it again. I try instinctively to break free, but a hand presses at the back of my neck, keeping me still, not allowing me to move an inch.

Ah, so this is his style in bed?

He caresses the back of my neck, stroking the space where my bones meet each other. Not forcefully, yet firmly. cAqn9Z

The neck is the weak spot of most living creatures; when lions, cheetahs, and other predators hunt for prey, they always clamp down heavily onto the necks of their prey until they stop breathing. Therefore, biologically speaking, predators are all sensitive to any contact made with their necks.

I shudder instinctively as my eyesight gets more fuzzy. My writhing slowly weakens, as if I’m a sheep that has been caught by the jugular and has given up all prospects of fleeing.

How this kiss actually ends is a mystery to me. By the time I come back to my senses, I’m lying flat on the sofa with Yan Kongshan staring down at me from above, his breathing rough. He’s brushing my mussed up hair back behind my ears.

“Are you okay?” he asks, straightening up. His voice is several registers deeper than it usually is. He strokes my earlobe with his fingers. Rato80

I breathe in large gulps of air consecutively in a completely dazed state. It takes me a long time to figure out what he’s saying.

“Ah, I’m good.” Except for some reason, completely weakened.

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

Less than half a second passes when suddenly, I focus on the spot over Yan Kongshan’s head. My vision hasn’t completely cleared, but there’s nothing there. No colours, no numbers.

This has never happened, not once in eight years. I blink a few times. Same thing. vRN1dY

“Over your head…”

“My head?” Yan Kongshan looks up at the ceiling, then asks in a confused tone, “What is it?”

“There’s nothing there…” My mind is a mess, but in my attempt to try and articulate my thoughts, I start rambling, vomiting words all over the place like someone who’s high. “Can-Can I come to your house every day again? Same time, same place, until I start college. And also, can I go back to the bookstore? I don’t want books and I don’t need money; for compensation, I’ll take… I’ll take what you just did. But can you not kiss for so long? I won’t be able to breathe and I’ll run out of oxygen.”

Is lack of oxygen the reason the mood index is gone? Is my brain even okay? 6EGvBC

I quickly become preoccupied with the health of my brain, my worries essentially dominating over the startling sensation Yan Kongshan’s kiss gave me.

Before he can respond, I stand up and head towards the door. “I-I’m gonna leave for now.”

As I pass through the porch, my brain has very evidently already begun shutting down. But still, that doesn’t stop me from grabbing the wind chime with one smooth move and taking off.

When I open the door back to my house, Grandpa is still watching his drama. As events in the show unfolds, his mood index flashes red, then green, red, then green. KgaEdT

I stand there staring at him blankly, wind chime in hand. His mood index is still there, so why did Yan Kongshan’s disappear? Because we kissed? Or because we exchanged saliva? Or because he kissed me until I ran clear out of oxygen?

“I’m so pissed, how dare they betray the revolution? That traitor!” Grandpa slaps his thigh, the noise bringing me back down to Earth.

I bend over hurriedly at the waist and creep back up the stairs the same way I snuck out.

When I’m back in my own room, I lock the door and toss the wind chime onto the table, then go to turn on the fan on the floor. Afterwards, I plop down onto the mat and get lost in thought. Flipping over to a new position and sprawling across the mat like a salted fish, I stuff my face into a pillow. Heat starts spreading from my face to my neck and my ears. RPDzo0

Amazing…

I actually kissed Yan Kongshan, actually got pressed against the sofa and kissed by him until I ran out of breath, thinking I was going to die.

Plus the kiss tasted like a cold lime soda!

My legs start kicking back and forth like a propeller; I muffle my piercing screech and maniacal laughing with the pillow. 1OaoPS

And then it strikes me that I left without saying anything. My legs stop flailing and fall to the ground, and I flip over to stare up at the ceiling, thinking, Yan Kongshan won’t consider me merciless, will he?

In truth, all I had wanted was “one” kiss; I don’t even know how I managed to ramble all those things to him afterwards, to have the audacity to request a kiss every single day.

Read more BL at chrysanthemumgarden (dot) com

And I even stole his wind chime…

My face starts heating up again, but this time, it’s out of shame. I sigh inwardly, shutting my eyes. MaHwdp

Perhaps in my subconscious, I just don’t want this to end.