Amnesia Trap (GL) - Chapter 69

d was feasible. However, it definitely required a plan; she couldn’t just walk up and start pouring wine down Ji Qingfan’s throat. That would be far too obvious; it had to feel natural.

As a result of this planning, things were pushed back to mid-July. It wasn’t intentional procrastination, but rather an issue with a project—at the critical moment when everything was finalized and ready for operation, someone committed a violation and was taken into custody.

This wasn’t some peripheral character; quite a few materials had passed through this person’s hands, so everything suddenly had to be re-reviewed. It wouldn’t go as far as an investigation into the company, but the re-review process completely derailed the schedule, not to mention that the disciplinary committee might stall the project.

A lot of effort went into meeting with those in charge of the case and organizing dinner parties, but fortunately, it was resolved. The project was able to continue running smoothly.

With the dust settled, the tension that had been pulled taut for half a month could finally relax.

When they stepped off the plane, the distant sky was painted with the magnificent colors of the sunset. Taking in the scene, Sheng Zhi had a sudden flash of inspiration. She glanced at Ji Qingfan and said with feigned nonchalance, “This matter is finally resolved. Let’s have some wine tonight to celebrate.”

The evening breeze, having shed its daytime heat, brushed through their hair. Ji Qingfan curved her lips and reached out to tuck a stray strand of Sheng Zhi’s hair behind her ear. “Jiao Jiao wants to drink?”

Hearing her ask back instead of agreeing immediately, Sheng Zhi felt her heart tighten slightly, but she maintained an air of complete ease and indifference on her face. “If you don’t want to, then forget it.”

At this, the curve of Ji Qingfan’s lips seemed to become even more pronounced. “Let’s drink. It just so happens I have a game I want to play with Jiao Jiao; we can play while we drink.”

…A game?

Sheng Zhi blinked, her rosy lips parting slightly in curiosity. “What game?”

Hearing her ask, Ji Qingfan didn’t try to be secretive or act mysterious; she simply said, “Ludo.”

—Oh, it’s just Ludo.

Upon hearing the answer, more than half of Sheng Zhi’s curiosity vanished. Regardless, as long as Ji Qingfan agreed to drink with her, it was fine. The game didn’t matter; she had to get her drunk tonight and get her answer.

The main lights in the room were off, leaving only an ambient light. Low, soft music flowed through the air, melting into the atmosphere.

“Does the light have to be this dim?” Sheng Zhi toyed with the ambient lamp. Why did it feel indescribably subtle?

On the soft, clean carpet, Ji Qingfan knelt before her, tilting her head slightly with a soft, melodic laugh. “As long as the screen is bright, it’s fine. Besides, the surroundings aren’t so dark that you can’t see anything.”

Sheng Zhi withdrew her hand. That was true. Though it was dim, it wasn’t so dark that everything was obscured; at most, the tones had become hazy and soft.

As she spoke, Ji Qingfan turned on the screen. “I originally wanted to just play, but since Jiao Jiao mentioned drinking, adding some wine is a nice touch… Every square has a task. We roll the dice to move. If you can’t do the task, you drink a full glass; if you can do it, you drink half a glass. How about it?”

“Half a glass is too little,” Sheng Zhi thought of her mission to get Ji Qingfan drunk. She paused for a second, looking at the winding, colorful route on the screen, and raised the stakes. “If you do it, you drink one glass. If you can’t, you drink two.”

“Mhm, whatever Jiao Jiao says.” Ji Qingfan’s voice still carried a hint of a smile.

Sheng Zhi hadn’t played something like Ludo since she was a child. Her memory of it was faint. Her general impression was that it wasn’t challenging or exciting.

However, that thought was instantly annihilated the moment the first task square was flipped over.

Sheng Zhi stared blankly at the screen, nearly biting her tongue as she spoke: “Is this how Ludo is played…?”

The order of the dice was Sheng Zhi first, then Ji Qingfan. Sheng Zhi rolled a three and moved forward three squares. The screen clearly displayed her task: Have the partner use their lips to leave a mark anywhere on your body.

This did not look like a proper task by any means.

Ji Qingfan’s expression didn’t change, though her shoulder strap slipped slightly as she leaned in. “Why does Jiao Jiao look so shocked? Adults should naturally play the kind of Ludo adults play.”

“It’s just one task,” Sheng Zhi recovered, pouring a glass of wine with an air of indifference and downing it. One glass was nothing to her. “Hurry up and bite.”

Ji Qingfan just looked at her, making no further move. “Bite where?”

Sheng Zhi desperately wanted Ji Qingfan to drink a glass too, so she set the glass down and pressed her toward her exposed shoulder and neck. “Hurry up.”

She spoke with urgency, but Ji Qingfan’s movements remained leisurely. She nuzzled and pressed against her with a moist softness, light as a feather. “It seems I bit too lightly; there’s no mark.”

Sheng Zhi grabbed a handful of Ji Qingfan’s hair, feeling that the woman was doing this on purpose. Judging by what happened last time, it was impossible that Ji Qingfan didn’t know how.

If she had known it would be played like this, she really should have let Ji Qingfan go first. She lowered her voice: “Then do it harder.”

“I can’t… I’m so bad at biting…” Ji Qingfan’s tone was full of sighs, sounding as sincere as if it were true.

The first task dragged on for a long time with zero progress. Sheng Zhi was so frustrated by her acting that she wanted to laugh—the kind of laugh born from extreme irritation. She simply stopped rushing her.

Playing this game on purpose, aren’t you?

Regardless, once this task was finished, it would be Ji Qingfan’s turn to roll. If all the tasks were like this, then whatever task Ji Qingfan rolled was bound to be just as “improper.”

The first task was finally completed after much dragging out. Sheng Zhi rubbed the skin that had been sucked and toyed with for a long time, tilted her chin up, and even gave a sweet smile. “Finished biting? Then it’s your turn.”

“—Roll.” Her crimson lips opened and closed to spit out the word. She pointed her finger at the screen from a distance, signaling her to roll the dice.

The moment Ji Qingfan began her roll, Sheng Zhi poured the wine. The die landed on a two, and the piece moved two squares forward.

“Just one glass is enough, Jiao Jiao.” Hearing Ji Qingfan say this, Sheng Zhi stopped pouring. She glanced at the screen and handed the glass to her.

Ji Qingfan didn’t drink particularly fast, but compared to the dragging pace of the task earlier, she was clearly more efficient, as if she were eager to finish and start the next round.

The task for the second square was: Kiss for two minutes.

Relatively standard. But Sheng Zhi was in the mood for an “eye for an eye,” so she intentionally made the task far from gentle. Fortunately, the plush long-haired carpet was soft enough that even if someone lost their strength and was pinned down, it wasn’t uncomfortable.

“Can we keep playing?”

The light in the room, with only the ambient lamp on, was too hazy. Sheng Zhi touched the moist, spring-like color at the corner of Ji Qingfan’s eyes, feeling that she might have been too petty—biting back twice as hard just because she had been bitten a bit longer.

“Jiao Jiao, hug me.” Ji Qingfan reached out to hook her arm around her, her voice so soft it could almost turn to water.

“No hugging. The task didn’t say to hug.” Sheng Zhi gathered her long hair, which had become messy during the encounter, and watched her as she silently and dejectedly climbed back up to sit properly.

In the third round, it was Sheng Zhi’s turn to roll. She was already at the fourth square; this time she rolled a three and moved to the seventh. The color of the square was slightly deeper than the previous ones.

The task for the seventh square appeared on the screen: [Use your lips and tongue to remove the partner’s underwear. Time limit: 10s]

When she saw the task clearly, Ji Qingfan saw it too.

“I’m not wearing any here…” Ji Qingfan brushed aside the hem of her nightgown, tracing a line. “But I am here.”

“I don’t need you to tell me, I know.” Sheng Zhi’s lashes fluttered as she looked away.

The fabric was too minimal and thin. Coupled with the fact that she couldn’t use her hands, biting too hard or too loose made it difficult to apply force. She clumsily wasted several seconds at the start, and with only one second left, she had only reached the ankle.

In the end, while it was removed, it exceeded the time limit.

So close.

Sheng Zhi released the lace she had been biting, downed two glasses of wine, and said, “Continue.” Her interest in the game had risen along with the swallowed alcohol.

Ji Qingfan rolled a 6. The task was: Apply cream to your body. No matter how the partner eats the cream, you cannot make a sound.

There was no cream on hand, but there was wine. The cool liquid fell onto the skin, bringing a faint, indescribable sensation.

“It tastes good, doesn’t it?” Sheng Zhi remarked, the sound of moisture making it seem as if she were truly drinking wine. But no wine needs to be tasted by lingering on the tip of the tongue like that.

Ji Qingfan couldn’t hold back her voice. With the corners of her eyes red, she was also penalized two glasses of wine in this round.

…

The further they went, the harder the tasks in the squares became. Wine bottles and glasses were piled to the side. Sheng Zhi had suggested drinking to get Ji Qingfan drunk, but in the end, she had gotten quite wasted herself because of these games.

With her cheeks flushed a drunken crimson, she blinked, her pupils like syrup covered in morning dew, as she grumbled: “Ji Qingfan, you’re too perverted… so perverted…” After a few more accusations, she pouted aggrievedly: “What should I do? You’re too perverted, I can’t out-pervert you.”

The woman she was accusing merely looked at her with half-closed eyes, her voice slender and soft: “Jiao Jiao, you’re drunk. Do you still want to play with me?” As she spoke, her gaze fell on Sheng Zhi’s moist, crimson lips. She leaned in and licked them, whispering to herself: “Didn’t you say you were going to get me drunk? How did you end up drunk first…”

Catching a certain word in her voice, the beautiful drunkard shook her head firmly and quickly: “I’m not drunk. You’re the one who’s drunk.”

Ji Qingfan met her gaze and deepened the kiss with a drowning intensity, murmuring: “Mhm, I’m drunk.”

Hearing her admit she was drunk, Sheng Zhi was satisfied: “Good that you’re drunk. Good that you’re drunk.”

But having said that, her gaze became hazy. Yes, drunk. And after being drunk? What was it she wanted to do? Why couldn’t she remember? The more she thought, the more confused she became.

Forget it. As long as she’s drunk, it’s fine, right? Never mind, her head was so dizzy, she really wanted to sleep…

When she woke up, everything around her was dark. Sheng Zhi pressed her knuckles to her brow and found a blanket draped over her. She stared blankly at the blanket for a few seconds, her consciousness slowly returning as she recalled the series of events—trying to get Ji Qingfan drunk, only to end up wasted herself.

She bit her knuckle in frustration; what a waste of such a perfect opportunity… she hadn’t seized it.

By the way, where was Ji Qingfan?

Sheng Zhi tossed aside the blanket and felt for her nightgown nearby to put it on. As she turned over, she saw Ji Qingfan sleeping with her head resting by the bedside. Her breathing was light, and her fingertip was still resting on her phone, as if she had been working on something and accidentally fell asleep in the process.

The phone screen wasn’t locked, casting a white, glowing light in the dark room. Sheng Zhi didn’t intend to snoop, but the few lines she inadvertently caught caused her gaze to freeze.

The first thing that entered her sight was two lines marked with today’s date: [07.20 Today I played the ‘Couple’s Ludo’ with Zhi Zhi that I’ve wanted to play for so long. As expected, it was very fun, even more so than I imagined]

After “than,” there should have been more; the cursor was flashing in its input state, but it had ended abruptly there.

But what truly made her stop was the content just above that—

[07.15]

[I counted, and this is the seventh year I’ve liked her. It’s so distressing—when will Zhi Zhi be able to like me back?]

In the poorly lit room, the light reflected from the screen had an illusory quality. It was as if everything around her had been muted; she was completely still.

That line was so brief that in the less than thirty seconds she spent looking at it, she had time to scan it several times. But no matter how many times she read it, the tremor in her heart didn’t fade; instead, it grew more intense.

Like… seventh year…

What is this?

For a moment, her heart beat so hard she felt dizzy. Sheng Zhi glanced once more at Ji Qingfan’s calm face in sleep. She didn’t move the phone rashly, but instead swiped gently from the other side of the screen to browse.

Secretly checking a phone while its owner is asleep… such behavior was truly terrible.

But… but.

How could it be? How was it possible?

Before she could think deeply, those words were already racing into her sight.

[07.09]

[Because she’s by my side, I don’t feel tired even with non-stop work. I love falling asleep in her arms like this; a life where I can see her the moment I open my eyes really feels like a dream. A beautiful dream I never want to wake up from.]

[07.05]

[I can never get enough of kissing her. I want to be stuck to her forever…]

[06.29]

[I like Zhi Zhi so much, I love Zhi Zhi so much. Things have been so sweet lately, I have the illusion that she loves me back. Can I wish for all of this to become real? If wishing works. Please, please, let it become real.]

[06.19]

[Today Zhi Zhi is still faking amnesia. The way she blushes is so cute, I want to kiss her.]

…

A tremor rose in her fingertips, so much that she could barely swipe the screen. She stared blankly at the display, her mind a complete void.

When did Ji Qingfan find out?

Or rather, had she actually known all along?

Images of every intimate action Ji Qingfan had taken lately flooded her mind—enchanting, gentle, calling her Zhi Zhi, calling her Jiao Jiao. Embracing her, kissing her, always looking at her with such deep affection, saying how much she loved her.

Countless emotions surged at this moment. Sheng Zhi’s lashes fluttered, her heart racing wildly. A dense emotion, like a gentle tide, spread through her—tingling and slightly itchy.

So Ji Qingfan had never been doing it for profit… but because she liked her, loved her?

Her held breath became uncontrollably rapid.

Pop, pop—the flower buds hidden in her heart shook their petals open one after another.

Sheng Zhi pressed hard against her cheek. The world fell into a second of absolute silence, followed immediately by her breathing and heartbeat becoming a chaotic, roaring mess.