Mute Beauty

Chapter 68: Stay with you

Most of the marks on her neck had been covered with concealer, but the bite marks couldn't be hidden, starkly visible on her smooth, pale skin. The depth showed just how intensely Yu Ting had bitten—any deeper, and she might have broken the skin.

Yu Ting lowered her gaze, studying the mark, and leaned down to kiss it. That spot was sensitive, and the woman shivered, instinctively wrapping her arms tighter around Yu Ting's neck, almost as if she were offering herself up to Yu Ting again.

"I'll be gentler next time," Yu Ting promised, kissing the mark softly, but her kisses soon turned possessive, and she seemed ready to bite again.

With her cheeks flushed, Ran Ling lowered her gaze, silently thinking: Who can say if she'll keep her promise once we're in bed?

After a while, Yu Ting released her and, in one smooth motion, grabbed some tissues from the table nearby. She gently lifted Ran Ling's shoulder strap and wiped her tears, looking up at her with an amused smile. "You sure cry a lot," Yu Ting remarked.

It wasn't the first time she'd teased Ran Ling about her tendency to cry.

"Did you cry last night when I was mean to you?" Yu Ting asked, even daring to bring it up.

Ran Ling hadn't cried then; she knew her tears wouldn't make Yu Ting come back to comfort her. But they'd all collected now, spilling out one after another.

Ran Ling gave her a reproachful look and complained that Yu Ting had hurt her feelings and even left bite marks. She admitted she felt terrible and that her heart had ached all night—and it was all Yu Ting's fault.

Ran Ling's face still looked drawn, with dark circles under her eyes and shallow, heavy breaths. She had stayed up all night, heartbroken.

At Yu Ting's sudden departure overseas some time ago, Ran Ling had also fallen ill from heartache...

Thinking back on it, Yu Ting's usual calm demeanor shifted into a deep pang of regret, mingled with a sudden urgency.

How could she make it up to her? How could she soothe the pain Ran Ling held in her heart?

Yu Ting pulled her into a tight embrace, guiding her onto her lap. The way Ran Ling leaned against her shoulder made them look inseparable. Though Ran Ling had every reason to be upset, she never rejected Yu Ting's gestures; she only nestled in closer, with tear-brimmed eyes that stirred up a fierce desire in Yu Ting to protect her.

Yu Ting's hand traced down her back until it rested on her waist. They were close enough that Yu Ting only needed to tilt her head slightly to kiss her.

And she couldn't resist. Yu Ting knew how much Ran Ling liked this closeness, and she whispered to her through gentle kisses, "Don't cry anymore, sweetheart."

"It won't happen again."

"I shouldn't have been so harsh, or ignored your messages. From now on, I'll tell you if I'm upset. Forgive me?"

"Hold onto my neck?" Yu Ting asked.

Ran Ling wrapped her arms around Yu Ting's neck, and the two sank comfortably into the sofa, lost in each other's warmth. Yu Ting murmured words of endearment that seemed to seep into Ran Ling's soul, leaving her weak with the weight of her own emotions.

"Does your heart still hurt? Let me soothe it," Yu Ting said, helping her take a few bites of the Black Forest cake she had left nearby. But Ran Ling, still concerned, offered the cake back to Yu Ting after a couple of bites, remembering she hadn't eaten.

Though Ran Ling had hidden her real reason, she couldn't forget the cake from last night. It had been prepared just for Yu Ting's birthday, but she'd removed it, fearing it would upset her.