Chapter 55: The Things Lovers Should Do!

The release of the original soundtrack for “The Year We Graduated” stirred a wave of excitement from all sides. Although Garen had received word from Li Ronghao, he hadn’t turned on his computer to check—it simply wasn’t the time.

He simply couldn’t spare the attention.

At that moment, he was locked in a standoff with Chen Yingying. One lay sprawled on the bed refusing to budge; the other stood at the bedside, arms crossed, her face full of reproach.

Naturally, it was Garen playing the stubborn one. Watching Chen Yingying emerge from the shower, he refused to leave, insisting that he absolutely had to stay and sleep in this room tonight.

“I’m not going anywhere!” Garen yawned, feigning fatigue. “My back aches from sleeping on the sofa. I can’t take it anymore!”

“So what now?” Chen Yingying pouted. “Are you expecting me to sleep on the sofa instead?”

She had just finished bathing, clad only in an oversized men’s shirt. Her long, slender, fair legs were all the more striking, making it impossible to ignore the temptation. How could one let such an opportunity slip away?

So Garen pretended to relent. “Why don’t you just sleep in the bed too...?”

Chen Yingying’s cheeks flushed. She bit her lip and said, “Um... why don’t you sleep in another room? Your friends aren’t here anyway!”

“No way!” Garen waved his hand dismissively. “It’s their room. I can’t just sleep there without their permission.”

“You could call them and ask, couldn’t you?”

“It’d be rude to bother them so late at night, don’t you think?”

“Well, you could just do it first and explain tomorrow!”

“That won’t work either! No one’s slept in those beds for days. If the sheets aren’t washed, I just can’t sleep there.”

Chen Yingying grew exasperated. “No to this, no to that! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting. I’m telling you—tonight, it’s out of the question!”

“What’s out of the question?” Garen feigned innocence. “I haven’t got anything on my mind, really.”

Her face grew even redder. She stood at the bedside, casting Garen a sidelong glance. After a long silence, she blurted, “You’re not allowed to get handsy!”

“Eh?”

Garen immediately caught her meaning and broke into a broad grin. “Fine, no problem! You know how well-behaved I am.”

“Pfft!” Chen Yingying grabbed a summer quilt and bundled herself tightly before reluctantly settling at the edge of the bed, keeping a wary distance from Garen.

Seeing her so cautious, Garen couldn’t help but cough lightly. “Well, it’s already midnight. Why don’t we try to sleep?”

“Mm.” Chen Yingying bit her lip and nodded, pretending not to look at him.

A sly smile crept across Garen’s mind. He got up, walked to the door and switched off the light, plunging the room into darkness.

Returning to the bed, he seized the chance to edge closer to Chen Yingying. As he pulled at the covers, he brushed against her, half on purpose, testing her reaction.

Minute by minute, instead of calming down, his desire only intensified.

“Um, Yingying? Are you asleep?” Garen ventured timidly.

“No,” she whispered back.

“I can’t sleep either. How about we chat for a bit?”

He spoke, shifting even closer to her.

“What should we talk about?” she asked.

“Let’s talk about something cheerful!” Garen moved again, this time closing the distance entirely, pressing right up next to her.

“What are you doing?” Chen Yingying protested. “You’re about to push me off the bed!”

“Oh! Sorry, sorry!”

Garen quickly apologized and, taking advantage of the moment, tugged her toward the center of the bed.

She hesitated, but ended up moving with him. Garen’s heart leapt, and he promptly slipped an arm around her, pulling her into his embrace.

In the darkness, facing each other, both caught the glimmer of moonlight from the window, sneaking a glance at one another—each finding the other already looking back.

Neither spoke. They both knew what might come next, but neither knew how to take that step.

Garen wrestled with himself for a long while before finally steeling his resolve. He leaned in and kissed her lips. To his surprise, Chen Yingying raised her head to meet him, their lips pressing together seamlessly.

With experience behind him, Garen moved with practiced ease. As they kissed, his hand slipped under her quilt, inching closer.

Chen Yingying resisted at first, but her tightly wrapped quilt soon became useless protection.

Delighted, Garen’s hand slid beneath her shirt to grasp her slender waist, exploring eagerly, his little finger teasing at the edge of her underwear.

Chen Yingying, already dizzy with passion, suddenly found herself returning to her senses with his bold touch. She pretended to gently push him away. “Don’t. Kissing is all you get!”

“Alright,” Garen agreed, but his hands didn’t stop. At this point, his every move was no longer subject to reason.

Seeing he wouldn’t behave, Chen Yingying tried to protest again, but before she could, Garen yanked away the quilt, pulled her tightly into his arms, and let his hands roam from her waist down along her hips and thighs.

She felt a sudden fear of being violated; her mouth was silenced, her hands unable to push him away, her legs trembling uncontrollably and refusing to obey.

Garen stifled a laugh, his hands kneading her hips again and again.

What springiness!

Though only nineteen, Chen Yingying’s development was remarkable. Her usual school uniform hid her figure, but now, he realized just how extraordinary she was.

It was all thanks to years of Peking Opera training from a young age, with a regimen as rigorous as any dancer or martial artist, shaping her into the beauty she was now.

Chen Yingying could feel Garen’s arousal pressing against her stomach.

But she dared not move.

Retreat? There were his hands behind her.

Stay? The discomfort was almost unbearable.

Her face grew hotter and hotter, her breath coming faster and faster...

Garen’s shirt was gone before he knew it; the buttons on Chen Yingying’s shirt slipped open.

She wore nothing underneath. Garen, face to face with her adorable breasts, first caressed them with his hands, then with his lips, enraptured by the freshness and unable to let go.

“Don’t...” Chen Yingying tried to shield herself, but Garen’s hands and head were unmovable.

She never let anyone touch her there, except when bathing. Now, under such an onslaught, how could she endure? Yet amid her inability to bear it, a thread of pleasure crept in, making her reluctant for Garen to stop.

What’s happening to me?

Am I a bad girl?

Chen Yingying asked herself. She didn’t think she was, but reason and desire pulled her in opposite directions, leaving her unsure of her true feelings.

Garen was utterly intoxicated, primal urges overwhelming him. When the body wants, the mind can hardly resist.

Without realizing it, Garen’s hand slipped into her panties.

The faintest touch, and Chen Yingying’s legs clamped shut.

Her mind snapped awake. “Wait, stop!”

“What’s wrong?” Garen looked up from her chest, confused.

“It just... can’t.”

“I only want to touch...”

“That’s not allowed!” she insisted, unwavering. “Anywhere else is fine, just not there!”

“Why not? We’re a couple, right? Shouldn’t couples do these things?”

Chen Yingying gritted her teeth and lied. “My period just started!”

“Ah?” Garen froze, completely thrown off.

The feeling was like plunging into a frozen lake.

Reluctantly, he pulled his hand away but didn’t release her, instead holding her in his arms. “I... I didn’t know...”

Suddenly, he remembered something and chuckled. “Yingying, do you recall last time you told me your period started? I risked my life going to the supermarket to buy you pads!”

“Yes, I remember,” she replied softly. She’d never forgotten. When she first arrived in Beijing, Garen was the only person she could rely on. Her period came and the pain kept her up all night. Garen braved the cold wind to the supermarket, not caring about the embarrassment, and bought her a hot water bottle and sanitary pads. Every time she thought of it, her heart warmed.

“Then you should remember the date, right?”

“Uh...” Chen Yingying faltered. “What date was it?”

“You may have forgotten, but I remember clearly. It was February 14th—Valentine’s Day!” Garen grinned. “I paid attention in biology, and I’ve watched experts on TV. Today is only the fourth, so you shouldn’t be due for another ten days or so, right?”

Her lie exposed, Chen Yingying blushed so hard she broke out in a sweat. After struggling with herself for a long time, she finally bit her lip and said, “Fine, but only if you have a condom.”

“I don’t,” Garen replied. “Wouldn’t it be better for our first time to be real, no barriers?”

“What’s good about that?” Chen Yingying’s voice rose. “Don’t you know the fourteen days before your period are your most fertile? If you don’t use protection, do you want me to get pregnant? I’m only nineteen—would you want me to take the pill?”

Her rapid-fire questions left Garen dumbstruck.

He really didn’t know any of that.

Still, he hesitated. “Is that how it works?”

“You didn’t know? Look it up online,” Chen Yingying teased.

Feeling embarrassed, Garen refrained from checking. After all, Chen Yingying would know better than he did. “Well, I didn’t know. So maybe... we should just leave it?”

“Fine! Let’s sleep, then.” Chen Yingying pushed him away, but then, as if rewarding him, said, “Considering all you’ve done for me, tonight I’ll just sleep here.”

With that, she took off her shirt, leaving only her panties.

“But you have to hold me. No funny business!”

If the moonlight had shone in, Garen would have seen her triumphant smile.

But all he could do was sigh in frustration. To have everything so close and yet be forbidden—that was pure torment.

“Alright, fine,” he muttered, spreading his arms and lying flat on his back.

Chen Yingying nestled into the crook of his arm, her soft breasts teasing him, tempting him. She even taunted, “If you really can’t bear it, you can handle it yourself... I’m not helping you.”

“You’re impossible!” Garen growled, flipping over and launching another fierce assault on her tender breasts...