Snow-Kissed Rose (GL) Chapter 51

Song Yingshi felt that Huai Xu was treating her like a fool.

Putting down her nail clippers, Song Yingshi walked over to the camera and unplugged it. Then, she turned off all the lights in the room and urged, "Come out already. What are you afraid of? I've already unplugged the camera for you."

...

Inside the bathroom, Huai Xu raised her eyebrows in surprise. She honestly didn't expect such a response from Song Yingshi.

After pondering for a moment, Huai Xu placed her hand on the door handle and opened a small gap in the door.

Immediately, light flowed from the bathroom into the dark bedroom. However, due to the weak light and closed curtains, only a small area outside the bathroom was illuminated, while the rest of the room remained shrouded in darkness.

Huai Xu finally knew why Song Yingshi dared to have her leave the bathroom.

Huai Xu couldn't see where Song Yingshi was, but she could hear when the other party said smugly, "You can find your way in the dark, right? We've lived here for quite some time now, after all."

Huai Xu chuckled and said, "What if I trip and fall?"

"Figure it out yourself. If you can't get up, stay on the floor," Song Yingshi retorted coldly. "In any case, nobody's going to help you."

Subsequently, Huai Xu turned off the light in the bathroom and fumbled toward her bed in the dark.

There was nothing in the room to block her way, so Huai Xu made it to her bed and found her clothes without trouble. She even had the leisure to spare some attention for her roommate, asking, "Are you going to sleep like that?"

Song Yingshi rolled her eyes at the obvious question. She had just returned from dance practice and running. Although her sweat had dried, there was no way she could go to sleep without showering.

"I'm waiting for you to put on your clothes," Song Yingshi replied.

A faint sound came from the darkness. Guessing Huai Xu was wearing her nightwear, Song Yingshi feigned concern, asking, "Can you tell the front from the back? Don't put it on backward."

"How about you help me, then?" Huai Xu asked.

"I'm cultivating your ability to take care of yourself, so take it seriously," Song Yingshi retorted.

"Huai Xu didn't respond. Tilting her head, Song Yingshi asked, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"I was just thinking..." Huai Xu paused. The next time she spoke again, she sounded closer to Song Yingshi, "I should have learned from you tonight."

After Huai Xu finished speaking, the lights in the room came on.

Huai Xu had turned on the lights.

Caught off-guard, Song Yingshi squinted and blinked several times.

After acclimatizing to the light, Song Yingshi's gaze fell on Huai Xu.

Huai Xu had already walked away from the light switch. She was wearing a button shirt, which Song Yingshi had seen her occasionally wear to sleep.

The hem of the shirt barely covered Huai Xu's thighs, leaving the rest exposed.

Song Yingshi had never thought of this before, but looking at it now, she felt something inexplicable.

After showering, Song Yingshi would always meticulously dry herself before putting on clothes, especially her nightwear. However, Huai Xu was different; she only did a cursory wipe before putting on her nightwear.

The shirt was soft and thin, to begin with. After being soaked in residual moisture, the white fabric clung to Huai Xu's skin and turned translucent like a cicada's wings.

Just imagining the sticky feeling from wearing wet clothes made Song Yingshi uncomfortable. However, Huai Xu seemed accustomed to it as she casually bent forward and continued drying her body with a towel.

Huai Xu was much more meticulous at drying herself this time, soaking up every remaining drop of water on her skin. Against the backdrop of her fair skin, even the supposedly white towel appeared dull.

Song Yingshi sat facing Huai Xu. Hence, when Huai Xu leaned forward, the collar of her shirt opened in her direction—

Round and plump, they pulsated with Huai Xu's movements.

Song Yingshi averted her gaze as naturally as possible. Then, she suddenly recalled the time they had washed together in the bathroom, Huai Xu had changed into this same shirt after getting out. She even helped Huai Xu button up the shirt at the time.

...This was undoubtedly a mischievous shirt, just like its owner.

Song Yingshi stopped thinking about this matter and went to take a shower.

They had to record the second public performance's team division tomorrow, so they had to sleep early tonight.

Fortunately, Huai Xu didn't have any more antics for tonight, the bedroom ushering in a period of peace. When Song Yingshi left the bathroom, Huai Xu was already in bed reading her lyric book.

When in the bedroom, Huai Xu would spend most of her time studying and writing things in her lyric book. This habit persisted even before bed. During these periods, Song Yingshi would keep her movements light to avoid becoming a nuisance.

Glancing at the wall clock, Song Yingshi noted that it was half past ten now. While applying face cream, she gently reminded Huai Xu, "We should go to bed in another half an hour."

After writing a few more words, Huai Xu capped her pen and set her lyric book aside, saying, "I'm done. You can turn off the lights anytime you want."

Song Yingshi hummed a reply, finished her skincare routine, and turned off the lights. However, once in bed, she found herself unable to sleep.

Lying on the bed, Song Yingshi stared at the ceiling and suddenly said, "Asleep yet?"

There were only two people in the room, so the recipient of this question was obvious, even without naming names. Moreover, the omission of names added a sense of intimacy.

"No," Huai Xu replied.

"Wanna chat? Just a trivial conversation," Song Yingshi said, her gaze on the ceiling.

"What do you want to talk about?" Huai Xu asked.

Song Yingshi looked toward Huai Xu's side despite being unable to see anything in the dark. After pondering, she asked, "I'm a little curious... When did you learn about your sexual orientation?"

Huai Xu naturally wasn't the first lesbian Song Yingshi had encountered. After all, the entertainment circle was filled with people of various sexual orientations. However, although Song Yingshi maintained a wide social circle, she never pried deeply into such private matters.

Additionally, while Song Yingshi might have read about other lesbians' experiences on the internet, they were not Huai Xu. She'd be ignorant to assume Huai Xu shared the same experiences.

As for why Song Yingshi decided to ask this question, besides her curiosity toward the lesbian circle, she was curious to know how the novel's female protagonist ended up becoming bent.

Huai Xu answered swiftly without much thought, "A long time ago."

"How long is a long time?" Song Yingshi asked.

"During sexual education," Huai Xu answered. (Ages 6~11)

So she was born like this, Song Yingshi nodded thoughtfully.

After asking this first question, more questions poured out of Song Yingshi's mouth like a fountain, "How did you find out?"

"I just knew it," Huai Xu replied.

"There must have been a turning point. Like, suddenly realizing you're not interested in boys and preferring to only play with girls? But you don't look like the type to play with others. Then, did you ever have a crush on someone?" Song Yingshi asked.

Huai Xu sneered in a slightly hoarse voice, "You seem to know a lot."

Song Yingshi: "?" You can look down on me, but you can't look down on the knowledge I learned by myself.

Song Yingshi ignored Huai Xu's ridicule. She was only interested in the answer, so she urged, "Answer me quickly."

"I wasn't interested in boys, nor did I like playing with girls," Huai Xu answered lazily.

Giving Huai Xu a thumbs up, Song Yingshi said, "Gender equality has been achieved in your eyes... Then, how did you find out?"

As Song Yingshi said so, she suddenly realized something--Huai Xu had yet to answer her last question.

Song Yingshi turned over and slept on her side, facing Huai Xu directly. With her hands clutching the edge of her blanket, she asked, "Did you have a crush on someone at the time?"

After Song Yingshi asked this question, Huai Xu stayed silent for a long time.

Song Yingshi didn't rush Huai Xu for an answer, simply staring in Huai Xu's direction in the darkness.

Eventually, Song Yingshi turned over to lay on her back again, smiling as she muttered, "Wow, so you must've started dating very young."

"No," Huai Xu flatly denied.

Glancing over, Song Yingshi asked, "Didn't you have a crush on that other person? Why didn't you start dating?"

After a while, Huai Xu answered, "I remember very clearly that I have never dated anyone. But when you asked me if I ever had a crush on someone, I kept feeling that...there should be such a person."

Song Yingshi suddenly fell silent.

Perhaps even Huai Xu herself didn't realize this, but in her seemingly plain words, Song Yingshi could feel many emotions precipitating.

Distress, pursuit, confusion, and melancholy.

The emotions weren't strong, but Song Yingshi could tell they were there. Maybe it was her occupational disease causing her to be overly sensitive to emotions.

Song Yingshi's mood grew heavy, her mind no longer cheerful. Gloomily, she comforted Huai Xu, "People who have appeared in your life don't simply disappear. You'll remember them eventually."

Huai Xu hummed a reply.

An indescribable feeling filled Song Yingshi as she dazedly stared into the darkness.

It was akin to trying to grab willow fluff. Even though she knew it was there, it was simply too delicate and elusive to be grasped.

Song Yingshi exhaled lightly, trying to expel this feeling from within her.

After this feeling faded, Song Yingshi tapped her fingers against her pillow and asked softly, "Huai Xu, what does it feel like to like a girl?"

In the thick of night, Huai Xu laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" Song Yingshi asked in embarrassment and anger.

Turning onto her side, Huai Xu said in a soothing voice, "This question of yours is very cute."

After a slight pause, Huai Xu continued, "Do you want to know?"

"I'm a little curious," Song Yingshi said modestly.

After a slight pause, Huai Xu answered, "Have you ever liked someone of the opposite sex?"

Song Yingshi shook her head. Then, realizing that Huai Xu couldn't see her, she replied, "No. I know that the emotional aspects of homosexual and heterosexual relationships are similar. What I'm curious about is, where's the charm in girls liking girls, and women liking women?"

Song Yingshi struggled to articulate her question and didn't expect an easy answer.

After a long pause, Song Yingshi heard Huai Xu's low and gentle voice saying, "Its charm has never been in itself but in the woman being liked. To me, it's..."

"It is...?" Song Yingshi echoed.