The Art of Misunderstanding

After sitting on the balcony for a while, her mind gradually cleared.

Her blood sugar levels stabilized, and her keen intellect, sharp as ice and snow, once again took command.

Though last night had its slight missteps, the objective of ‘knowing oneself and knowing the enemy’ had been thoroughly achieved.

The methods, tropes, and plot points within the story might not stick clearly in one’s mind after merely reading them once or twice.

However, experiencing them firsthand cemented them into vivid memory.

To align perfectly with the narrative, she had insisted last night that Luo Xuan fetch a glass of water, which she then promptly gulped down.

Only after letting it settle for a moment did she permit Luo Xuan to ‘commence operations’.

It was a scene meticulously recreated from the story.

Precisely because of that glass of water, the ‘little tiger’ (TL Note: A playful term for female genitalia, often used euphemistically in web novels) had cried with exceptional intensity afterward.

Bai Jingjing felt a pang of self-reproach.

Should Luo Xuan catch a cold because of it, she knew she would truly blame herself for that single glass of water from last night.

“Alright, I’ve finished my thoughts,” the girl declared, rising to her feet and lightly patting her thigh.

“Time to practice some drawing.”

Patting her thigh was an old habit, but now, performing the action felt… how to describe it?

The sensation had elevated to a supreme level.

****

Hearing winter’s departure, I awoke in some year, some month.

Luo Xuan had slept so profoundly that upon waking, she found herself disoriented, unsure of the date or even the month.

Retrieving her phone, she scrutinized the screen.

Ah, right, she remembered now: today marked Bai Jingjing’s third day in her home, or the fifth day if counting their previous encounter.

Last night had truly been quite a commotion, leaving Luo Xuan feeling utterly numb from the ordeal.

It wasn’t for any other reason; she knew that many people enjoyed a bit of ‘foreplay’ before the main event.

Yet, Luo Xuan had never anticipated that Bai Jingjing’s ‘foreplay’ would literally be… a performance.

It had a plot!

Feeling a touch of weariness, she decided against getting up and opted to fiddle with her phone instead.

The moment she unlocked the screen, she was met with a ‘loli riding her face’ (TL Note: A slang term referring to an overwhelming or aggressive close-up interaction, often in a playful or teasing context, but here literally referring to a message from a loli character).

[Lemon: Luo Xuan, why are you sleeping in so late this morning? Didn’t you say you were going to bed early last night? Did you go off and do ‘lewd’ things (TL Note: A euphemism for sexual activities) with Xia Chu’s girlfriend?!]

Luo Xuan’s ‘jade hands’ (TL Note: A poetic term for beautiful hands, often used for women) trembled slightly, her guilt becoming overwhelming.

[Eylla: What nonsense are you spouting? Don’t slander people’s innocence.]

That damned loli was completely unrestrained, blurting out whatever came to mind, and by sheer coincidence, she had actually hit the mark.

Fortunately, the other party had only spoken on a whim and swiftly changed the subject.

[Lemon: That girlfriend you found for her, she’s from your group, right? Are you very familiar with her?]

[Eylla: Nonsense, how could I not be familiar?]

‘If I weren’t familiar, would I introduce her to my best friend as a girlfriend?’

‘They’re practically inseparable.’

[Lemon: In that case, once Xia Chu is done with her, introduce her to me for a ‘rental’ too, so I can experience it.]

Luo Xuan’s delicate brows arched.

[Eylla: How old are you? What kind of chaotic thoughts are you having? Focus on your studies. Besides, others also need tutoring and to study; do you think everyone is as idle as you?]

[Lemon: Hmph, what right do you have to scold me? Aren’t you the same? After graduation, you didn’t even look for a job, just spent every day playing around and wasting time.]

[Eylla: You—]

Luo Xuan gnashed her teeth in frustration, yet found herself utterly unable to retort.

This detestable ‘lewd loli’ (TL Note: A playful, often teasing term for a young girl who makes suggestive comments or is perceived as ‘lewd’) spoke words that pierced straight to the heart.

‘She had absolutely no emotional intelligence!’

After lying there for a while longer, Luo Xuan eventually rolled over and got out of bed.

Bai Jingjing, who had just set down a sheet of drawing paper, noticed her emergence and considerately asked, “Luo-jie (TL Note: A respectful term for an older sister or female friend), are you hungry? What would you like to eat?”

“I… I am a bit hungry. Anything simple will do,” Luo Xuan replied.

“Just make sure it’s quick.”

The human body was truly marvelous; once the ‘little tiger’ (TL Note: A playful term for female genitalia, often used euphemistically in web novels) was sated, the person themselves would feel ravenously hungry.

“Then I’ll go make some noodles,” Bai Jingjing offered.

‘Noodles were indeed a relatively quick meal to prepare.’

After finishing what amounted to a combined breakfast and lunch, the two girls reclined together on the sofa for a brief rest.

“Bai Jingjing,” Luo Xuan began, a sudden insight striking her as she recalled her earlier conversation with the ‘lewd loli’ (TL Note: A playful, often teasing term for a young girl who makes suggestive comments or is perceived as ‘lewd’).

“What do you want to do in the future?”

Bai Jingjing paused, slightly taken aback, before answering, “Just what I’m doing now.”

‘What? What she’s doing now?’

Luo Xuan’s heart gave a sudden lurch, and an image involuntarily flashed through her mind: Bai Jingjing, drifting from one girl’s bed to another, becoming a professional-level ‘temporary girlfriend,’ her reputation soaring within the circles, with every girl blushing prettily whenever her name was mentioned…

“I think what I’m doing now is wonderful; it makes me very happy,” Bai Jingjing continued.

“If I could further refine my skills, that would be even better, which is why I want to enroll in school to continue my cultivation (TL Note: Here, ‘修行’ (xiūxíng) refers to diligent practice or study to improve one’s craft or abilities, rather than spiritual cultivation).”

‘No, you need to learn *that* in school? How could your art university possibly… Wait, huh?’

Luo Xuan seemed to grasp something, and cautiously probed, “Bai Jingjing, when you say ‘what you’re doing now,’ do you mean painting?”

“Yes,” Bai Jingjing replied, blinking her eyes with an innocent purity.

“What else would I mean?”

“…Nothing, I was just speaking casually.”

Nevertheless, the girl’s blinking eyes had regained their pure innocence, offering Luo Xuan a measure of reassurance.

“Oh, right, Luo-jie (TL Note: A respectful term for an older sister or female friend), I have some things I need to pick up from my place in the suburbs,” Bai Jingjing recalled, thinking of her laptop and drawing tablet.

“Tomorrow, after we finish at the hospital, could you let me go over and retrieve them?”

‘Though she had resolved to replace them, she hadn’t earned enough money yet, so she would have to make do for now.’

“Alright, I’ll drive you.”

Having said that, Luo Xuan suddenly remembered something else.

“By the way, Bai Jingjing, you want to go to the Central Hospital tomorrow. Are you planning to look for someone?”

Bai Jingjing instinctively nodded, then her eyes glazed over for a moment before she shook her head again.

“I… I’m not entirely sure.”

‘Theoretically, she wished to see the people she knew—the kind doctor-sisters and nurse-sisters who had taken such good care of her for the past few years.’

‘Yet, she didn’t know if they still remembered her, or if their memories concerning her had been altered.’

‘If even their recollections had been modified by some mysterious power, what would they have become?’

However, her response utterly stumped Luo Xuan.

“…Not entirely sure?”

Bai Jingjing remained silent, truly at a loss for how to answer.

“Alright, then we have a problem,” Luo Xuan murmured.

“What reason will we use to go to the hospital?”

‘We can’t exactly say we think the scenery here is nice and we just dropped by for a look, can we?’

“Mm.”

Bai Jingjing couldn’t even manage a coherent sound.

“Never mind, we’ll figure it out tomorrow when we get there,” Luo Xuan stated.

“There’s always a reason if you want to get in.”

‘Indeed.’

After spending a day that was uneventful yet pleasantly leisurely at home, both girls slept soundly that night.

Their sleeping postures were remarkably docile, and nothing else transpired between them.

On one hand, last night’s events, with both the ‘plot’ and the ‘little tiger’ (TL Note: A playful term for female genitalia, often used euphemistically in web novels) fighting, had left them somewhat exhausted.

On the other hand, Lemon the loli’s words were still vivid in her mind, making Luo Xuan feel a touch of guilt.

‘In short, a truce for tonight—rest!’

The next day, Wednesday, both girls awoke quite early, having gone to bed at a reasonable hour, and rose from their beds one after the other.

Luo Xuan, rising a few minutes later, felt her hand brush against an item of lingerie tucked within the blankets.

It was Bai Jingjing’s, still warm from her body and carrying the faint scent of coconut milk.

“Bai Jingjing,” she quickly said, carefully placing it back where she found it, “your underwear fell off.”

“No, I changed into a different one,” Bai Jingjing’s earnest voice called from outside the door.

“We’re going to the hospital today, so I can’t wear anything so ‘lewd’ (TL Note: A euphemism for suggestive or revealing clothing)… I mean, I need to dress more seriously.”

“…”

‘So you *do* know!’