Compatibility - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

On a rare day off requiring no overtime, according to Song Nanyin's usual plan, she would have been at home indulging in a long, lovely beauty sleep, then going to her regular club for a spa, with a full-body massage and skin care thrown in.

However, her current "physical condition" had silently created far too many restrictions. The hot spring was definitely out of the question, since it required wearing a swimsuit, which was far too dangerous. As for physical therapy massage and the like, she couldn't even think about it.

Not to mention that a massage required taking off her clothes; even if she could keep them on, wearing such a thick skirt would look far too strange.

And so, under all these restrictions, Song Nanyin stayed cooped up at home for two whole days, a rare thing for her. During that time, she did almost nothing except search the internet for information about intersex people.

She vaguely felt that her current situation was different from what was traditionally meant by "intersex." After all, those people were either born that way, or they had extra organs inside their bodies that could be surgically removed once discovered.

Song Nanyin was very certain that she was a genuine woman. She had undergone countless physical examinations, big and small, and had just been checked a month ago. Both physically and psychologically, she was purely female. That was precisely why she was even more certain that her body had changed overnight. She had woken up one morning to find a new part inexplicably grown on her.

This kind of thing sounded too far-fetched to tell people. Whether anyone would believe it was one thing, but she might end up being studied, or even wind up on some trashy news segment. And then wouldn't everyone know?

At that terrifying thought, Song Nanyin shuddered. She ate a simple breakfast, grabbed her bag, and drove to the office. A brand-new week was beginning; it couldn't be as unlucky as last week, right?

Song Nanyin was thinking this to herself as she got out of the car and stepped into the elevator. It was exactly the time when colleagues were arriving for work one after another. Just as the elevator doors were about to close completely, someone outside pressed the button to open them.

Song Nanyin kept her head down, fiddling with her phone, not intending to look at who came in. As that grass-smoke scent drifted over, Song Nanyin knew without looking that she had run into that annoying woman again...

"Team Leader Song, what a coincidence. We ran into each other again." Liu Zhaoran said with a smile, and it was the truth. No matter how bored she was, she had no desire to come here specifically to bump into Song Nanyin.

Traffic was jammed today, making her arrive twenty minutes later than her usual time at the office, and she just happened to run into Song Nanyin, who would normally arrive right at the last minute.

"Oh." Compared to Liu Zhaoran's enthusiasm, Song Nanyin's response was still lukewarm. Seeing that she didn't want to engage, Liu Zhaoran smiled and opened a new topic instead.

"Did the clothes you bought the other day fit well, Team Leader Song?" Liu Zhaoran said softly. Although her voice wasn't loud, in the shared elevator, the other colleagues could still hear it.

A few female colleagues looked over curiously, seemingly surprised that the two of them had gone shopping together. In the eyes of the whole company, Song Nanyin had never concealed her rejection and dislike of Liu Zhaoran.

Sometimes colleagues wondered how someone with Liu Zhaoran's personality had managed to offend Song Nanyin. Later, when they learned that Zhang Kai liked Liu Zhaoran, that doubt was answered.

The diamond bachelor she had her eye on had been snatched away by another person. As romantic rivals, it would be strange if Song Nanyin actually liked Liu Zhaoran.

"What nonsense are you talking about? When did I ever go shopping with you?" Hearing this, Song Nanyin seemed to choke for a moment and glared at her. Liu Zhaoran didn't argue either; she just quietly took out her phone.

"Team Leader Song, you can scan my code and give me the money for the clothes from that day." Liu Zhaoran's movements were very natural, and her tone was gentle as well.

How could Song Nanyin not see that this woman was using this matter to cement the fact that they had gone shopping together? She did owe the money, and she had agreed to pay it back on Monday. Refusing now would seem like she didn't want to repay it.

Feeling as if the surrounding colleagues were all looking this way, Song Nanyin's ears, hidden beneath her blonde hair, burned red with anger, so red that a single needle prick would have drawn blood. In the end, Song Nanyin still took out her phone and repaid Liu Zhaoran her share of the lingerie money.

When the elevator doors opened, Song Nanyin didn't give Liu Zhaoran a single glance. She snorted coldly and stormed out. Watching her long golden hair fall across her back, Liu Zhaoran touched her cheek and let out a light laugh.

A wonderful Monday, beginning with teasing that silly Little Lion.

Wherever there are people, rumors are bound to spring up. That saying gave Song Nanyin a lesson over an entire morning. During the lunch break, she opened the company forum to see what had been happening, only to find that her name and Liu Zhaoran's were prominently displayed in a new thread, and it wasn't low on popularity, with over 200 replies.

Song Nanyin clicked in and skimmed through it. The content roughly said that she and Liu Zhaoran had actually gone shopping together, and then paid money back by scanning codes in the elevator.

Anonymous Colleague 34: Looking at this, it seems the two of them don't have as bad a relationship as rumored. Women who can go shopping together should be considered pretty good friends, right?

That sentence floated into Song Nanyin's view, and she couldn't help rolling her eyes, thinking, who has a good relationship with her? They're clearly enemies. Song Nanyin thought this as she continued reading. After that person's words, the direction of the thread changed subtly.

Some so-called "informed" people began to talk about the grudges between her and Liu Zhaoran, and the fuse was, naturally, Zhang Kai. They said she had been dead set on winning Zhang Kai, only one final kick away from scoring, when the parachuted-in Liu Zhaoran swooped in and snatched him away.

Although in a certain sense it did seem to be true, the later comments saying she was jealous of Liu Zhaoran, pretending to maintain a good relationship on the surface while actually wanting to sabotage the relationship between Liu Zhaoran and Zhang Kai, were something Song Nanyin absolutely refused to accept.

What did they mean, she was jealous of Liu Zhaoran? Jealous of that Black-Hearted Lotus?

Song Nanyin grew annoyed reading it and directly turned off the computer, sitting in her office and fuming. She had long since lost any feelings for Zhang Kai. If Liu Zhaoran wanted to like that bastard, she could go right ahead. Song Nanyin didn't care at all.

But why did those people say she was jealous of Liu Zhaoran? Even if that woman had decent temperament and a figure that was above average, in Song Nanyin's heart, Liu Zhaoran wasn't as good as her in either looks or figure. She was just good at acting and putting on a show. It drove her crazy.

The more Song Nanyin thought, the angrier she got, and even the lunch that had just been delivered didn't smell as appetizing anymore. She typed quickly on the keyboard, writing the latest proposal. Just then, her assistant Fangfang pushed the door open.

The young woman had been assigned to Song Nanyin as an assistant after her internship, and she could be considered the person in the whole company who was most familiar with Song Nanyin and had the best relationship with her. In fact, Fangfang felt that Song Nanyin was actually easy to get along with, not the bad-tempered person with conduct problems that the outside world described.

"Team Leader, I just received the notice. Tonight is Director Liu's celebration banquet. Unless there are special reasons, the whole company is asked to attend." Fangfang walked in and said softly. She looked up and saw Song Nanyin's cold face, and knew her team leader was angry again.

"I'm not going." Song Nanyin spoke her mind directly. What kind of crappy celebration banquet was this? Wasn't it just that she hadn't been able to continue following up on the work because she was sick, and Liu Zhaoran had taken it over?

To put it plainly, the partnership happened because the other company valued WCRR's financial strength and capability. Even if it hadn't been Liu Zhaoran, anyone else could have completed this deal.

But Zhang Kai had to go and hand the opportunity she had fought for to Liu Zhaoran. Wasn't that exactly like her planting a tree, only for Liu Zhaoran to end up enjoying the shade?

Song Nanyin had actually always had a knot in her heart about this. When Zhang Kai had come to apologize, she had accepted it on the surface, but she still felt uncomfortable. It was just that there was no way to dig deeper, since after all, her body had let her down at the time, insisting on running a fever and collapsing at that very moment.

At these thoughts, Song Nanyin's expression grew even more unpleasant, so much so that even Fangfang could see she was on the verge of losing it.

"Team Leader, the main thing is that this notice was issued by General Manager Zhang. Plus, it's Director Liu's celebration banquet. If you don't go, someone will definitely use you as material. If some bad rumors come out of it, it won't be to your advantage."

Fangfang spoke with earnest concern, believing that Song Nanyin certainly understood the stakes. Listening to Fangfang, Song Nanyin furrowed her brows in frustration. Precisely because she understood, even though she said she wouldn't go out of anger, in reality she still had to bow to reality.

That evening, the celebration banquet was booked at the most luxurious seven-star hotel in Jiahai City. Zhang Kai was certainly throwing money around, going so far as to rent out an entire banquet hall.

As the absolute star of the evening, Liu Zhaoran was actually not very interested, showing little enthusiasm for such a dull banquet. In her view, this kind of celebration banquet was nothing more than a celebration in name, setting up a place where people with various interests could openly chat and make connections.

To avoid those people, Liu Zhaoran took a relatively quiet spot with a glass of champagne. She scanned the entire banquet hall, but still hadn't seen the one who interested her.

As early as when the notice was issued, she had guessed that Song Nanyin might not come, but put the probability of her coming at 60 percent. She believed that although Song Nanyin was foolish, she wouldn't be so foolish as to display her dissatisfaction with Liu Zhaoran so openly.

There were still five minutes before the banquet officially started. That rebellious, foolish woman, she wasn't going to time her arrival to the last second as well, was she? Liu Zhaoran swirled her drink and sneered inwardly. However, once the five minutes had passed, it proved that her guess was correct.

At exactly eight o'clock, Song Nanyin entered through the side door of the banquet hall. Seeing her arrive exactly as she had guessed, Liu Zhaoran couldn't help curling up the corners of her lips. It wasn't that she had any special knack for reading the other woman's mind; it was just that some people were so foolish, every action and move so easy to figure out.

Seeing Song Nanyin go straight to the planning staff after coming in, Liu Zhaoran continued leaning against the table, sizing her up. In her memory, at past celebration banquets, whether or not she was the main character, Song Nanyin would dress up flamboyantly, like the one strikingly colorful butterfly among a swarm of moths, wishing everyone would notice her presence.

But recently, including at this very moment, this woman's style of dress had clearly changed quite a lot. From the previous tight, hot bodycon skirts, she had gradually switched to loose, long dresses. This change was very strange, and it made Liu Zhaoran wonder: had Song Nanyin been so rattled by failing to win Zhang Kai that she had changed her ways?

And on top of that, she seemed to have become especially fond of avoiding her.

Unusual behavior, peculiar dress, so many strange things combined together made Liu Zhaoran's intuition tell her that something must have happened to Song Nanyin, and it was probably something not small.

A wicked streak stirred in her heart, making Liu Zhaoran very curious about what exactly had happened to Song Nanyin. If it was something that made her very uncomfortable, then Liu Zhaoran would probably find it very amusing, wouldn't she?

Watching Song Nanyin head to the restroom after chatting with a few people, Liu Zhaoran followed her in.

"What a boring celebration banquet. I wonder when it will finally end." No sooner had she entered than Liu Zhaoran heard Song Nanyin's voice from inside a stall. Her tone was somewhat whiny and very impatient, clearly the way you'd complain to a very close friend.

Liu Zhaoran didn't make a sound, just stood in front of the mirror touching up her makeup, listening as Song Nanyin told whoever was on the other end of the phone about what they would eat and do for fun when the other person came back, and how they would also go for spa treatments and swimming together. After about ten minutes, Song Nanyin finally hung up and came out of the stall.

She had just pushed the door open when she saw Liu Zhaoran in front of the mirror. At that instant, Liu Zhaoran clearly saw the smile on Song Nanyin's face fade away, like an eggplant that had suddenly wilted, her features almost twisting together.

"Why are you here?" Song Nanyin blurted out, her tone clearly saying she couldn't wait to get away. Hearing her ask this, Liu Zhaoran smiled without turning around, looking at her through the mirror.

"Sorry, my makeup is a bit smudged. I came in to touch it up, and I didn't expect to run into Team Leader Song again." Liu Zhaoran's tone was light. Song Nanyin listened and muttered something under her breath. Liu Zhaoran didn't catch it, but it certainly wasn't anything nice.

Song Nanyin also went to the mirror to touch up her makeup, trying hard to ignore the walking jinx beside her. She cursed Liu Zhaoran for being so annoying in her heart, yet she couldn't help stealing a look at the woman's outfit today through the mirror.

How should she put it? Liu Zhaoran was dressed quite nicely today, truly fitting her status as the star of the banquet. If before, this woman had carried herself like a goddess, now she seemed to have evolved, becoming a true goddess incarnate.

She wore a haute couture white evening gown with a deep V-neck, revealing her fair, delicate chest. Her cleavage was half concealed and half exposed, neither too conservative nor lacking a touch of subtle sexiness.

She had done an elaborate updo, braiding a few strands of hair on each side of her head into braided ropes, then winding them into a floral knot at the back. She stood tall and graceful, her presence striking. The platinum necklace at her collarbone and the jade bangle at her wrist added a measure of elegance and nobility.

Hmph. White Lotus.

Song Nanyin sneered coldly in her heart, yet inexplicably felt that Liu Zhaoran had become even more fragrant. Because the space was narrow, she could clearly smell the subtle fragrance radiating from this person. It was like a fishhook, piercing through her defenses, drawing her to want to take a closer sniff at her.

Of course, Song Nanyin wouldn't allow this thought of hers to be put into action, so she shifted imperceptibly to the other side, but the effect was almost negligible. The restroom was not large, so the space was small and the air circulated slowly.

In this kind of environment, Liu Zhaoran's every move, including her scent, all came over to her, even more intensely than before.

For a moment, Song Nanyin's consciousness grew hazy, and she even walked forward without realizing it, wanting to get close to the back of Liu Zhaoran's neck to smell her scent. Desire ran rampant, and she even wanted to take a bite.

It was impossible for Liu Zhaoran to perceive all of Song Nanyin's thoughts, but she could clearly feel the other woman closing in. Precisely because the space was so small, every movement between the two, down to the smallest degree, could be detected by the other.

The lipstick gently kissed her lips, staining every line of them with its color. Liu Zhaoran watched Song Nanyin's expression turn dazed one moment and absent the next, the tip of her nose twitching lightly, like a puppy sniffing at something. Liu Zhaoran found Song Nanyin's silly look rather amusing at this moment, so she kept observing her through the mirror's reflection.

"So fragrant..." Song Nanyin murmured in a low voice, whispering words only she could hear. Her body became scorching hot, and her heart pounded violently in her chest. She approached in a daze, her high heels moving along the floor, making a somewhat grating sound.

She didn't know what was wrong with her. It was as if she could clearly see the blood vessels and sinews beneath the other woman's skin, and her gaze could only fix on the other's nape, that place where the scent was extremely intense. She wanted to lick it... and if she could take a bite, that would be even better.

Song Nanyin moved closer and closer, even tilting her head to the side, already prepared to lick the delicacy before her. At that moment, the white neck that was right in front of her suddenly shifted away. Song Nanyin was briefly stunned, then heard Liu Zhaoran call her.

"Team Leader Song, are you all right?" Liu Zhaoran turned her head. The sweet orange scent in the air was overwhelmingly rich, all of it emanating from Song Nanyin. A flicker of confusion and surprise flashed through Liu Zhaoran's eyes, quickly concealed by her.

Her voice snapped Song Nanyin back to her senses, and only then did she remember what she had just been doing. She had actually wanted to smell Liu Zhaoran's scent? And... she had wanted to lick her, and bite her? This fact was a bit hard for Song Nanyin to accept, especially since Liu Zhaoran was at this very moment turning around, looking at her with confusion. Song Nanyin felt utterly mortified and only wanted to leave.

To avoid the awkwardness, Song Nanyin hurriedly headed out. However, her high heels were a bit slippery, and with her walking so fast, she unexpectedly pitched forward.

How could Liu Zhaoran have imagined that a grown woman like Song Nanyin could still trip while walking? Caught off guard, she was directly knocked to the ground. Fortunately, a bag underneath cushioned the fall, so she wasn't hurt.

Her bent knee knocked between Song Nanyin's legs. This should have been an extremely suggestive action, but Liu Zhaoran noticed something unusual about the other woman's private area. That feeling... was extremely subtle.

Song Nanyin's face turned ashen, feeling only that the part between her legs hurt terribly. Her eyes reddened from the pain, and she nearly shed tears. But compared to her own pain, she was even more afraid that Liu Zhaoran would discover her secret.

Ignoring the pain, Song Nanyin immediately got up, shot Liu Zhaoran a vicious glare, and ran away. Watching her hurriedly fleeing figure, Liu Zhaoran thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

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