In the Tenth Year

"Shui Qing x Lin Qi"

"A aloof, affection-starved younger woman × a voluptuous, alluring, self-destructive older woman"

"A sanctimonious teacher × a painter bent on ruining herself"

[Note: 1. Fake stepmother romance, melodrama, small-town setting.

2. All female characters, six-year age gap, same-sex marriage is legal.

3. Not sexually inexperienced (no men, former girlfriends) + kinky tastes. The characters have serious flaws, so don't read if that's not your thing.]

"1"

There is a woman in Shui Qing's life. She is selfish, yet pushes Shui Qing toward her future. She is free and noble, yet willing to stay in a small city for several months for her sake. She is coldhearted and aloof, yet has thought of Shui Qing for many years. So when they meet again, she recognizes her at once.

She is as beautiful as ever, as composed as ever, and as always, she makes Shui Qing feel that she is the one being hysterical, the one who looks like a madwoman.

"2"

When Shui Qing was eighteen, her mother died. The timing worked out; it didn't interfere with her college entrance exams. It only left her and her stepmother to "depend on each other."

So Shui Qing took all the money she had and ran away.

She fled from the south all the way to the northwest, finally settling in a small city called Chuncheng.

In Chuncheng, she met a woman, a dazzling beauty with long, curly brown hair and smeared lipstick, sweet and metallic on the tongue.

Shui Qing wanted to fall into depravity, and the woman gave her endless pleasure, leading her downward.

The woman wanted money, so Shui Qing gave her money. It was no use to Shui Qing sitting in her hands anyway; she might as well give it to someone who truly needed it.

They agreed to spend the whole summer together, then part ways without a second thought.

They should have parted ways, but the woman left without a word first, leaving Shui Qing all alone.

"3"

At twenty-eight, Shui Qing was teaching in Chuncheng.

Her stepmother finally found her, bringing along her new family, including someone who, by their family relationship, was also Shui Qing's mother.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar woman, Shui Qing murmured her name:

Lin Qi.

Shui Qing smiled. "So does that make you my step-stepmother, or..."

In the middle of the night, she buried her face against the woman's shoulder blade, watching her shrink her shoulders with a shiver. In a husky voice, she said, "...or my lover?"

"4"

"Whatever she can give you, I can give you too."

"Whatever she can't give you, I can give you that too."

"Why choose her instead of me?"

"If you choose me, I'll give it to you."

Ten years had passed, but her hands had lost none of their skill. She teased the woman until she bit down on Shui Qing's shoulder, her voice trembling. "I choose... you..."

Shui Qing smiled. "Say it again, sis. Who do you choose?"

Theme: Searching for the meaning of life.