"You've already said that."
"I know," Mrs. Jiutiao blinked, "but this matter is very important to me, and indeed you have kept a lover, so I mentioned it twice."
"You know as much as I imagined."
"Definitely." Mrs. Jiutiao smiled triumphantly, "Meiji adores you, I wouldn't dare press her. If she decided to leave home like Lin, I'd cry."
The music changed to the next piece, and Dubian Che stopped dancing and let go of Mrs. Jiutiao.
Before leaving the dance floor, Mrs. Jiutiao said one last thing:
"Mr. Dubian, do you understand the purpose of me dancing with you?"
"No matter what, Meiji must inherit the Jiutiao Family."
Back at the resting place, only Jiutiao Meijie was there by herself, while the Kiyono mother and daughter were dancing—or rather, judging by their expressions, it seemed more like the mother was pacifying her daughter and secretly discussing something. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
As soon as Mrs. Jiutiao arrived at the resting place, she grabbed a glass of red wine and immediately lay down on the long sofa as if exhausted—not elegantly, yet seductively.
Dubian Che sat down next to Jiutiao Meijie.
"What did you two talk about?" she asked.
"Mr. Dubian said he loves me, I said you're too young, no way." Mrs. Jiutiao took a small sip of wine and floated the words out lightly.
Jiutiao Meijie turned to look at Dubian Che.
Dubian Che popped a blueberry into his mouth: "I offered my love voluntarily, no woman can resist—if you're my girlfriend, you should have that confidence."
"Hey, wait a minute." Mrs. Jiutiao stretched out her slender arm, lazily pointing at Dubian Che, "Don't include me in that."
"What exactly did you say?" Jiutiao Meijie asked.
"Can you trust your mother's words? She warned me that I must satisfy you; the rest is negotiable, fearing that I would lead you astray, not to become a bad woman like Kiyono Lin who refuses to inherit the Jiutiao Family."
"I was born to inherit the Jiutiao Family, so how could I give up my responsibility for you?"
"My good Meiji," Mrs. Jiutiao took her daughter's hand, lazily smiling, "Love transcends common sense and rationality, it's madness, and a woman in love is even crazier."
"Even so, I can't imagine anything happening between us that would make me give up the Jiutiao Family." Jiutiao Meijie reached out her other hand, took the wine glass that was almost spilling from her mother's hand, and placed it on the table.
"The more you like someone, the more selfish and capricious you become, forgetting family ties, your own convictions, and responsibilities, seeing only yourself and the other person. I've even seen people who like someone so much they don't care what the other person thinks. Can you blame me for worrying?"
"Don't worry." Dubian Che replied on behalf of Jiutiao Meijie.
Jiutiao Meijie glanced at him, wanting to pull back her hand, but Mrs. Jiutiao kept hold of it.
After a while, the Kiyono mother and daughter came back.
"Is this from drinking too much? Or from getting dizzy dancing?" Mrs. Kiyono teased as she looked at Mrs. Jiutiao, who seemed to be about to fall asleep on the sofa.
"Drunk, so drunk." Mrs. Jiutiao chuckled and extended her hand to her, "Quick, help me to the bedroom, I'm sleeping in your bed tonight."
Mrs. Kiyono reached out and pulled her up.
"We're going to bed first, you young people chat slowly," she said.
"Take a bath together, it's been a long time."
"Will you scrub my back?"
Once the two ladies left, the living room fell silent, with only the vinyl record playing on the turntable, not knowing the dance had ended, still playing beautiful dance music.
Kiyono Lin rubbed her temples, the exquisitely beautiful face showing a hint of weariness.
"Why did a fight suddenly break out?" Dubian Che asked.
"It wasn't sudden," Kiyono Lin dropped her hands, her tone calm, "I anticipated the opposition and criticism from those around us a long time ago. No matter when, I've been ready."
"Ready?" Jiutiao Meijie taunted sarcastically, "Ever since we were little, you never planned to compromise; you never needed to be prepared."
"Ah, Jiutiao, you know me so well. Do you fancy me?" Kiyono Lin said with a smile.
"If you kneel down and lick my feet, considering you're so well-behaved, I might not be opposed to liking you."
Kiyono Lin then turned to Dubian Che, "What do you plan to do?"
"Meiji falls for you, and then what do I plan to do?" Dubian Che, with his fingers laced, grabbed onto the glass featuring a frog amongst lily pads.
Kiyono Lin cast a very cold glance toward Dubian Che and then smiled helplessly:
"Forget it, there's still half a year left. So, Meiji falls for me, what do you plan to do?"
Jiutiao Meijie crossed her legs, the smirk on her face sharp, watching Kiyono Lin without interrupting the jest.
Dubian Che put down the glass, sat up straight, earnest in expression, leaned in and lowered his voice:
"Do you need me to teach you how to lick Meiji's legs?"
Kiyono Lin seemed very surprised, frozen in place.
Jiutiao Meijie laughed, her foot rocking back and forth as she propped up her leg.
PS: Thanks to [Arima Kaname] for being another Alliance Hierarch, the third one.
Will keep writing until twelve, as much as possible, well, at least until the 20th, this update will be completed.