Beyond Reach - Chapter 3 - He's Sick.

The interaction between the two did not escape the ever-listening ears of Xue Jing, who was broadcasting everything live in the gossip-filled chat group.

[No way, is he really that hard to chase? Even the department beauty isn’t good enough?]

[That’s interesting, who’s sitting close? Can you get his WeChat for me?]

The message was from Zhu Wei, who was sitting diagonally behind and eagerly waving over.

Xue Jing replied: [Suisui is sitting close, she can ask for you.]

After sending the message, she nudged Shi Sui’s elbow.

“Me?” Shi Sui pointed at herself.

“Yes, Zhu Wei wants you to help.”

“I…” Shi Sui, not good at refusing others, pondered for a while before shaking her head.

Yan Tingli valued his privacy highly.

If she really asked, he would definitely be upset.

And when he got upset, he would take it out on her.

Seeing Shi Sui’s troubled expression, Xue Jing didn’t mind: “No worries, I’ll ask later.”

Shi Sui apologized with a soft hum.

The bell for class rang, and she opened her book but couldn’t focus on a single word.

It wasn’t that she deliberately acted unfamiliar with Yan Tingli in front of her roommate.

It was that to this day, she still didn’t know how to define her relationship with Yan Tingli.

The most they did together was that sort of thing.

At the Yan Family home when the adults were away; in the apartment, in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

She thought he would be as gentle and refined as he appeared.

But that was only at first, when he still pretended a bit.

The real Yan Tingli was overwhelmingly dominant, harsh, always doing things that made her blush to the point of tears.

Lately, it had been getting worse. He was like an impenetrable net, and when they were alone, the air was thick with the sticky and dense heat of desire.

Their relationship had started inexplicably.

After a high school reunion, at the Yan Family home, in Yan Tingli’s room.

Mr. Yan and Mrs. Yan were not there, all spurred on by alcohol.

That night they didn’t even finish because they had no protection.

But he had bitten her all over.

Shi Sui hadn’t even thought there would be a next time.

Until the next day when Yan Tingli stopped her on the stairs: “I bought some condoms.”

Shi Sui stood there, unsure how to react.

Yan Tingli waited a few seconds and said bluntly:

“I want to make love to you, do you want to?”

Shi Sui’s face turned explosively red.

She stuttered out, “I’ll think about it,” and fled in haste.

But that evening, they ended up kissing at the stairwell on the third floor.

Everything proceeded as if it were meant to be.

At that time, Yan Tingli was the top student who seemed clear and bright in Shi Sui’s eyes, and she couldn’t resist his natural sexual allure.

Shi Sui was well aware of the gap between them.

Yan Tingli came from a distinguished family, the pride of Mr. Yan and Mrs. Yan.

Her family was ordinary, and even though her father and Uncle Yan were old college friends, there was a natural divide between her family and the Yan Family.

They tacitly acted unfamiliar. This hidden relationship would end in time-at least that’s what Shi Sui thought.

She had considered initiating a breakup, especially as Yan Tingli’s nasty temperament became more apparent.

But any slight emotion she felt was keenly detected by Yan Tingli.

He always had ways to keep her from voicing it.

Now her surroundings were also gradually being woven by Yan Tingli into a tight, invisible net, tightening little by little.

Just like this “unexpected” elective course.

Shi Sui was completely out of it during the class.

When the professor began randomly calling on students to answer questions, it took hearing her name twice before she snapped back to reality.

The question was about the content from the last class, but Shi Sui hadn’t paid much attention then either. She hemmed and hawed, unable to come up with an answer.

She glanced at her roommate for help, only to meet two pairs of equally bewildered, clear eyes.

“…”

The sound of flipping pages came from beside her, and a male student’s distinct knuckles subtly tapped against the paper.

Yan Tingli wasn’t paying attention-he was even reading articles on his tablet, multitasking.

Shi Sui looked down, avoiding further eye contact.

Yan Tingli snapped his book shut with a clap, not sparing her another glance.

Shi Sui made a moderate blunder and was scolded for a few moments before sheepishly sitting down.

She cast a sidelong glance at Yan Tingli.

He didn’t react, his demeanor cold.

It seemed he was upset again, and Shi Sui pursed her lips.

The bell signaling the end of class rang.

Shi Sui caught Xue Jing’s eye, scooting over to make space. Xue Jing hurried in front of Yan Tingli, shaking her phone: “Classmate, my friend wants to meet you. Could we exchange contact information?”

Su Han, who hadn’t left yet, looked at Xue Jing as if mocking her presumption.

Yan Tingli packed away his tablet and looked up. His pupils were a light, distant amber, adding to his aloofness: “Which friend?” His gaze shifted to Shi Sui, who was shrinking into herself, “Her?”

Ah?

The named Shi Sui looked up.

“Uh, no,” Xue Jing pointed in another direction, “over there, that girl, her name is Zhu Wei…”

Somehow, talking to Yan Tingli made her feel a chill, her voice growing softer.

“Why don’t you come over and ask?”

Xue Jing: …Ah?

Following Yan Tingli’s gaze, she realized he was referring to Shi Sui.

“You’re the closest, why didn’t you come over to ask?” Yan Tingli asked casually.

Shi Sui stood frozen, not understanding his sudden outburst.

“She’s usually quite introverted, shy around boys,” Xue Jing quickly interjected, “so, how about giving her your contact?”

Yan Tingli’s lips twitched faintly, then he remained silent.

Shi Sui turned away.

A few seconds later.

Yan Tingli recited a series of numbers to Xue Jing: “Tell your friend to add this.”

“Holy moly, I still can’t believe Wei just added Yan Tingli so easily?!” On the way back, Xue Jing was still incredulous.

In their group chat, Zhu Wei was messaging: [Ahhh, it really worked!]

Xue Jing: “Damn, had I known, I would’ve asked for myself!”

Walking beside her, Shi Sui’s phone screen, pressed into darkness by her hand, displayed a message from Yan Tingli.

It was just a location, two hundred meters outside the school gate.

Shi Sui exhaled slowly, hesitating to say: “About that, I-”

Lin Anran guessed, “Heading home again?”

Shi Sui nodded.

Xue Jing sighed, “I’ve never seen anyone as obedient as you, going back every week without fail.”

“Yeah. You don’t seem too eager to go back. Why not just stay? You’re all grown up; your parents shouldn’t mind.”

Shi Sui murmured, “…Next time, maybe. I already promised this time.”

After saying goodbye to her roommate, Shi Sui walked alone towards the school gate.

Shi Sui unlocked her phone.

Yan Tingli’s profile picture was at the top of her WeChat interface. Every time she tried to move it down, he would put it back up again. After a while, she just gave up.

Yan Tingli’s car was parked at the intersection ahead. He wasn’t one for flashy displays; his material desires were minimal, and he drove a nondescript black sedan.

Shi Sui opened the car door and got in.

Yan Tingli didn’t look at her, his gaze fixed on his phone screen.

She glanced over; it was the WeChat chat interface.

For quite a while, Yan Tingli didn’t start the car, his fingers tapping away as he replied to messages.

Shi Sui fastened her seatbelt and stared at her toes for a moment. “Do you have to chat now?”

“In a hurry?”

Shi Sui instantly regretted speaking.

She didn’t answer, so he put down his phone. “In a hurry to get back for something?”

But before she could react, Yan Tingli had already shifted gears, and the car sped off, startling Shi Sui. “Yan Tingli!”

She rarely got angry, but Yan Tingli always managed to break her composure.

He was unpredictable, his moods shifting like the weather. His behavior was infuriating!

Just then, his phone rang.

“Hold it to my ear.”

Shi Sui glared at him for a few seconds before picking up the phone. The screen showed the caller was Professor Su.

Yan Tingli had joined the school’s top project team this year, under the guidance of his advisor, Su Ye.

Shi Sui silently held the phone to his ear.

She was used to this routine.

Whenever Yan Tingli was doing something else, he was always impatient about answering calls.

That “something else” could be driving, reading, or even dealing with her.

At those times, he didn’t want to answer the phone, but she felt anxious, reaching for his phone only to be met with a firm rebuke, and his command: “Hold it to my ear.”

“Teacher Su.”

Shi Sui’s thoughts were interrupted by Yan Tingli’s voice, and she used her hair to hide her reddening ears.

“You’re too kind.” He turned the steering wheel, his expression calm. “I happened to choose this course too.”

Whatever was said, it involved Su Han, and Shi Sui’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.

Yan Tingli said, “Yes, today isn’t convenient.”

“Tomorrow then.”

“Did my father arrange this with you?”

“Mm, he hasn’t mentioned it to me yet.”

After exchanging a few more words, Yan Tingli signaled for her to hang up. His brow furrowed, a hint of coldness in his demeanor.

Shi Sui had caught bits and pieces of the conversation. Su Han was Professor Su’s daughter, and Mrs. Su doted on her, preparing some of her favorite foods for Professor Su to bring to her. But Professor Su was busy, so he asked Yan Tingli to deliver them.

As for the relationship between Su Ye and Mr. Yan, or what plans Yan Tingli had for Saturday, Shi Sui was clueless.

She returned the phone to its place without asking further questions.

Yan Tingli’s apartment was in a high-end neighborhood two blocks away.

A riverview duplex, every inch a treasure. Shi Sui hadn’t been here in nearly a month. As she opened the door, a chill of emptiness greeted her.

Shi Sui suspected that Yan Tingli hadn’t been here either; otherwise, why would the snacks she had half-unwrapped last time still be on the sofa?

The door shut behind her.

As dusk fell, a dim light filled the room. Just as Shi Sui steadied herself, Yan Tingli began to kiss her.

He was so tall, always having to stoop, bending his neck.

She dodged, he chased.

Sucking, swallowing, desperate for more.

Tears welled up in Shi Sui’s eyes, her cries unsteady.

Yan Tingli paused, and in that moment, Shi Sui pushed him and instinctively ran.

It wasn’t clear why she ran; perhaps it was just instinct.

But this action clearly displeased Yan Tingli.

His mood was already sour today, something Shi Sui only realized as she straddled his lap.

Especially when he pressed her down mercilessly, eliciting a whimper, she realized it was a punishment.

Yan Tingli’s frown relaxed in that instant.

His long fingers traced lightly from her furrowed brow to her clenched lips. “Feels good?”

She bit her lip, silent.

Yan Tingli’s expression turned cold, his thumb pressing against her lip. “This part is so firm.”

“Why is every other part so soft?”

Shi Sui’s cheeks were like a boiling kettle, flushed red. Tears started to fall again.

She dared not be defiant, for fear of being penetrated further. Embarrassing noises, both verbal and physical, ensued.

Hatefully, she was still excited, and so was Yan Tingli.

The difference was that Yan Tingli was more lucid, his dark eyes capturing her from head to toe.

But he was clearly enjoying himself.

His Adam’s apple bobbed, his chest heaved with soft, hoarse breaths, a departure from his usual composed demeanor, almost losing control.

Shi Sui always felt that Yan Tingli had maintained this relationship for two years because he really enjoyed being with her.

Deep down, she thought, aside from the twisted reality, he was quite effective.

Until Yan Tingli’s phone, left on the sofa, lit up, showing a message from Zhu Wei.

Yan Tingli unlocked the screen and tossed the phone in front of her.

Shi Sui saw the brief chat history, an introduction sent by Zhu Wei.

Zhu Wei, always bold, would take the initiative with someone she liked.

This was just the first message, and it seemed that in the car, Yan Tingli wasn’t chatting with her.

“How should I reply?”

Shi Sui murmured, “I don’t know.”

Her mind was a mess, indifferent and uncaring.

Yan Tingli watched her quietly, suddenly his gaze turning cold with a hint of frost.

He spoke slowly, “You don’t know?”

“You don’t know who left the couch wet or who was twisting on top of me?”

“Tell her, Suisui.”