I Won't Do It Again

It started with a dream. Xie Shuyu dreamed that she and Wen Wan almost kissed. Even in the dream, she was very polite. Just before their lips touched, she turned her face slightly and said, "Wait a moment. I'm going to brush my teeth." The electric toothbrush ran for two full minutes, and then the dream ended. Xie Shuyu tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep again, the image of those glossy pink lips lingering in her mind. Xie Shuyu and Wen Wan had known each other for twenty years. They used to tell each other everything as children, as close as siblings, but as adults they each got busy, and rarely saw one another. Xie Shuyu travels to Wen Wan's city, and they meet at an elegant Western restaurant. She gets straight to the point and says she needs a favor. The woman's long hair falls smoothly over her shoulders. She wears no makeup, and her lips are soft, full, and pink. Xie Shuyu doesn't dare look directly at her, and struggles to get the words out: "I dreamed about you the other day." Wen Wan nods, and Xie Shuyu continues: "I dreamed we kissed, but we didn't actually get to." Wen Wan: "And?" Xie Shuyu: "Could you let me kiss you?" She picks at the tablecloth. "You know I don't have any other friends. We've known each other for twenty years... You wouldn't refuse to help me, would you?" After that, things got out of hand. A spark turned into a wildfire, and everything burned to ashes. They'd argued and given each other the silent treatment from time to time over the past twenty-odd years, but neither of them had imagined they'd be so perfectly compatible in this regard. Clutching the corner of the blanket, Xie Shuyu swears, "I promise this will never happen again. We're still good friends. Let's just pretend it never happened, okay?" Wen Wan gets up, wrapped in a robe, and softly murmurs, "Mm." Then it happens again, and again, until their friendship's little boat capsizes into bed. Coming Soon: Is It Really That Hard to Resist a Straight Woman? Synopsis: Shen Xinyue has been through two failed relationships and is tired of love. She quits her job and returns to her hometown. She plans to fix up the old house, open an inn, and spend the rest of her life in peace. On her first day home, a pipe bursts in the yard. Her grandmother gestures toward the neighbor. "Go find Master Jiang." When Master Jiang arrives, she offers Shen Xinyue a cigarette. Shen Xinyue declines, and Master Jiang casually tosses it into the trash. "I don't smoke either. Cao from the masonry crew gave it to me." Jiang Youying really does look like the kind of woman who smokes. She wears a blue-and-white checked cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled to her elbows, her long hair casually tied up at the back of her head, a loose strand falling over her forehead to partly hide her cool, clear eyes. She runs a hardware store and a building-supplies business, and can fix anything around the house. Jiang Youying is capable and composed, yet still gentle, and sometimes quite funny. Too bad she's straight. It's not really a shame, though. Shen Xinyue reminds herself not to fall for a woman again. Jiang Youying has also made a point of saying she's "very proper and never gets involved with anyone." * The turning point is alcohol. Alcohol really does cause trouble, but it also lets Shen Xinyue see the softer side of this strong woman. Jiang Youying can get nervous, beg for mercy, and cry. Even those hands, so capable of handling everything in daily life, can have moments when they don't know what to do, as she clings to Shen Xinyue like a drowning person grabbing the only lifeline, her fingers tangling in Shen Xinyue's long hair. The next day, Jiang Youying's middle-school-age daughter knocks on the bedroom door and fires off three questions that cut straight to the heart: "Who are you? Why are you in my mom's room? What's your relationship?" Shen Xinyue flees in a panic and immediately calls her best friend for advice. Her friend says, exasperated, "Why are straight women so irresistible? Please, get a grip!" After calming down, Shen Xinyue thinks it over. "Actually, she really is, well... pretty irresistible." * Feeling that things hadn't started properly, Shen Xinyue carefully prepares a confession ceremony. But the other woman turns cold and denies everything, leaving the table full of flowers and cake behind as she walks away without a backward glance, saying, "We're not right for each other." Getting slept with and dumped by a straight woman is my fate. I know it, Shen Xinyue laughs. "It's fine." I'm used to it. Shen Xinyue really is an easygoing person. She can still be friends with her exes after a breakup. When her new inn opens, she invites her friends over. A pair of red lips draws near her ear and asks this fine horse, "Want to take a bite of the old flame?" "Excuse me, coming through." Master Jiang cuts in with a wrench in hand. "I'm here to inspect the pipes." #Master Jiang has been widowed for years #Aged 30+ #Small-town story Theme: Treat others sincerely. This benefits not only them, but yourself even more.