Bian Jin's lips just graze Shen Ni's fingertip, and then she moves away and focuses on being fed cheesecake as if nothing's happened. Shen Ni glances at the faint pink mark Bian Jin's lips have left, then just as assiduously carried on feeding her cheesecake as if nothing's happened. Once she's done, she reminds Bian Jin to eat the rest of the lunch while it's still warm, and starts to leave. Bian Jin offers to walk her out, and she accepts. Meng Chu, collecting all the tong sui bowls, thinks how she didn't expect that iceberg jiejie to be so clingy with her wife.
At the entrance, Bian Jin thanks Shen Ni for going out of her way. Shen Ni, valiantly trying to repress the memory of the flushed tips of Bian Jin's ears from the lunch incident, tells her not to worry about it. They're married now, she adds, so they share a joint reputation (I'm translating v loosely here). Bian Jin then clarifies the situation regarding the whip, and how she wasn't, in fact, asking Shen Ni to buy it for her, but just to notify her that she's planning on spending what is now their joint money. Shen Ni thinks about how her shijie is so tractable and mild even to her, a wife-in-name-only, and wonders what Bian Jin would be like if she really falls in love. Shen Ni tells Bian Jin to keep the five hundred taels — after all, 'what's mine is also yours'.
When Bian Jin returns to the archive, Cheng Zhe comes over specially to tell Bian Jin she can take the next day off. It's part of his all too transparent ploy to placate Shen Ni. Bian Jin says there's no need, as she still has a lot of outstanding tasks. Cheng Zhe praises her work and work ethic to all their colleagues, as Bian Jin ignores him and starts packing up.
When she arrives home, Bian Jin thanks Auntie Wan for making lunch, and is told that Shen Ni herself did the cooking. Bian Jin can't quite believe this, and recalls how, when Shen Ni was much younger, her culinary skills was so conspicuously lacking that she if she set out to roast a sweet potato, it would turn into coal. During festivals, she would hang around the pot or wok where the cooking was happening and wait for Bian Jin to feed her.
Bian Jin takes a bath, and changes into an outfit made of comfortable silky fabric — part of a set Shen Ni crafted for them both, for their wedding. Bian Jin feels that the colours are a little too bright for her, but still puts it on. As she's dressing, she discovers a very small port (as in, the type you plug digital equipment into) on her pelvis, which wasn't there before, and she realises Shen Ni must have installed it there during the initial round of repairs. She then gets slightly blushy thinking about how Shen Ni has, in the process of doing repairs, examined in detail every single part of her body, even the parts she herself doesn't really think about.
Bian Jin puts on her cloak, and realises that it's the same style as the one Shen Ni wore to the archive earlier, with the same pattern of embroidery; only the colours are different. Anyone seeing them in their matching cloaks would know that they're a couple.
Shen Ni, once again, is absent from the dinner table, and when Bian Jin asks Auntie Wan where she is, Auntie Wan explains that Shen Ni is in her workshop, where no one is ever allowed to disturb her, even to bring her food. Auntie Wan adds that, when Shen Ni was repairing Bian Jin's body the first time round, she spent five whole days holed up in her workshop, and only ate three meals in all that time. Bian Jin has Feelings about this.
Then Auntie Wan asks mysteriously whether the 'items' in the 'box of delights' need replenishing. Bian Jin takes a while to realise that she's asking about the sex toys, and becomes deeply awkward about the whole thing. Seeing this, Auntie Wan asks if it's because she and Shen Ni haven't consummated their marriage. Bian Jin is forced to lie that they have, and tells Auntie Wan she doesn't need to add or change anything in the box. Auntie Wan counters that it's better to be ready with new toys in case the mood takes them, and asks Bian Jin whether she wants to put an order in for some new toys that are about to arrive at Qiqiao Hall (which I'm going to assume is Chang'an's premier purveyor of sex toys until told otherwise), which have been designed for use by two women together. Bian Jin basically mutters an 'okay' and then flees outside to cool down in the snow.
In her workshop, Shen Ni is at what is basically her computer (we get a reference to a big digital screen, a hologram projection, and a keyboard) ending a conversation with someone on the dark web. She too is trying to track down Bian Jin's bone whip. We learn that the bone whip is one of their sect's relics, which Bian Jin had inherited from their shizun (presumably as senior disciple) and used for ten years. There's a reference to Bian Jin (I think?) having used half of her worldly possessions to 'forge' (I assume upgrade?) this rare weapon. Shen Ni sends a message to her eyes-and-ears, asking them to look into the bone whip's last known location, and specifically to investigate whether it had ever turned up in Xuanzhou.
Shen Ni heads back to the bedroom that now belongs to her and Bian Jin, and opens the door to find Bian Jin in the middle of changing into her nightclothes. She sees a flash of shoulder as Bian Jin hurriedly pulls her nightgown around her. Shen Ni swiftly turns around and apologises. As Bian Jin climbs into bed, she puts her hands over the tips of her ears, thinking that Shen Ni probably hasn't discovered that they've turned as red as the wedding canopy over the bed.
They sleep, and Bian Jin has an interesting plot-relevant nightmare. As she teeters at the edge of a shallow sleep, and is about to sink into the abyss of full dreaming, an arm suddenly reaches up from her consciousness, and a woman's voice says again and again, 'My darling, my precious, how could you leave just like that? The demonseed and I both miss you very much. Every version of you loves me, you let me drink your blood, eat your flesh. How could this be just a dream? Promise me, even if it means being punished by a thousand blades, you'll leave me your right hand, won't you?' In the half-dream, Bian Jin struggles, but the arm transforms into countless arms. All of these hands wrap themselves around her throat and start dragging her into the abyss.
Shen Ni opens her eyes at the sound of Bian Jin's laboured breathing, and hurries to Bian Jin's bedside to see her looking distinctly unwell, and at risk of overloading. She tries to shake Bian Jin awake, but Bian Jin catches hold of her wrist and says, 'Don't touch me.' Shen Ni knows that she must be having a nightmare. Shen Ni allows Bian Jin to go on gripping her wrist, and soothes her over and over. Seeming to sense something, Bian Jin calls out her childhood nickname, 'A-Yao?' Shen Ni replies with, 'It's me, shijie. I'm right here.' Bian Jin's grip slackens slightly, her breathing slows, and her temperature goes down, reducing the risk of overload.
However, Bian Jin is still clutching Shen Ni's hand, clearly unwilling for Shen Ni to go. Shen Ni finally lies down and puts her arms around Bian Jin from behind. She sees that Bian Jin is biting her own lip, which is already bleeding, and reaches out to try and coax her into relaxing her mouth. But then Bian Jin bites down on Shen Ni's hand instead, and sort of gnaws away at it in a way that still draws blood from her own lips. Shen Ni, determined to stop Bian Jin from injuring her poor own poor lips further, gently slips a finger into her mouth and parts her teeth.
Still lost in her nightmare, Bian Jin senses that someone with a very familiar scent is embracing her from behind. It's something that's never happened to her before, and the sense of security makes the tension slowly leave her body. She doesn't know why she thinks it might be Shen Ni who's holding her. The calls from the abyss grow fainter as she retreats to safe ground. She realises that in her mouth is something soft and sweet-smelling, and whatever it is doesn't try to stop her from tearing at it with her teeth. Gradually, she finds that she can't bear to torment it any further, and starts licking it soothingly instead. Shen Ni holds her tighter, and Bian Jin finally drifts off to sleep.
Tech watch: Anti-slip mat (which the servants set out at the entrance to Shen Ni's home); digital screen and hologram (in Shen Ni's workshop). Named men: 2.5 Reverse Bechdel passes: 0
Chapter 10
At the entrance, Bian Jin thanks Shen Ni for going out of her way. Shen Ni, valiantly trying to repress the memory of the flushed tips of Bian Jin's ears from the lunch incident, tells her not to worry about it. They're married now, she adds, so they share a joint reputation (I'm translating v loosely here). Bian Jin then clarifies the situation regarding the whip, and how she wasn't, in fact, asking Shen Ni to buy it for her, but just to notify her that she's planning on spending what is now their joint money. Shen Ni thinks about how her shijie is so tractable and mild even to her, a wife-in-name-only, and wonders what Bian Jin would be like if she really falls in love. Shen Ni tells Bian Jin to keep the five hundred taels — after all, 'what's mine is also yours'.
When Bian Jin returns to the archive, Cheng Zhe comes over specially to tell Bian Jin she can take the next day off. It's part of his all too transparent ploy to placate Shen Ni. Bian Jin says there's no need, as she still has a lot of outstanding tasks. Cheng Zhe praises her work and work ethic to all their colleagues, as Bian Jin ignores him and starts packing up.
When she arrives home, Bian Jin thanks Auntie Wan for making lunch, and is told that Shen Ni herself did the cooking. Bian Jin can't quite believe this, and recalls how, when Shen Ni was much younger, her culinary skills was so conspicuously lacking that she if she set out to roast a sweet potato, it would turn into coal. During festivals, she would hang around the pot or wok where the cooking was happening and wait for Bian Jin to feed her.
Bian Jin takes a bath, and changes into an outfit made of comfortable silky fabric — part of a set Shen Ni crafted for them both, for their wedding. Bian Jin feels that the colours are a little too bright for her, but still puts it on. As she's dressing, she discovers a very small port (as in, the type you plug digital equipment into) on her pelvis, which wasn't there before, and she realises Shen Ni must have installed it there during the initial round of repairs. She then gets slightly blushy thinking about how Shen Ni has, in the process of doing repairs, examined in detail every single part of her body, even the parts she herself doesn't really think about.
Bian Jin puts on her cloak, and realises that it's the same style as the one Shen Ni wore to the archive earlier, with the same pattern of embroidery; only the colours are different. Anyone seeing them in their matching cloaks would know that they're a couple.
Shen Ni, once again, is absent from the dinner table, and when Bian Jin asks Auntie Wan where she is, Auntie Wan explains that Shen Ni is in her workshop, where no one is ever allowed to disturb her, even to bring her food. Auntie Wan adds that, when Shen Ni was repairing Bian Jin's body the first time round, she spent five whole days holed up in her workshop, and only ate three meals in all that time. Bian Jin has Feelings about this.
Then Auntie Wan asks mysteriously whether the 'items' in the 'box of delights' need replenishing. Bian Jin takes a while to realise that she's asking about the sex toys, and becomes deeply awkward about the whole thing. Seeing this, Auntie Wan asks if it's because she and Shen Ni haven't consummated their marriage. Bian Jin is forced to lie that they have, and tells Auntie Wan she doesn't need to add or change anything in the box. Auntie Wan counters that it's better to be ready with new toys in case the mood takes them, and asks Bian Jin whether she wants to put an order in for some new toys that are about to arrive at Qiqiao Hall (which I'm going to assume is Chang'an's premier purveyor of sex toys until told otherwise), which have been designed for use by two women together. Bian Jin basically mutters an 'okay' and then flees outside to cool down in the snow.
In her workshop, Shen Ni is at what is basically her computer (we get a reference to a big digital screen, a hologram projection, and a keyboard) ending a conversation with someone on the dark web. She too is trying to track down Bian Jin's bone whip. We learn that the bone whip is one of their sect's relics, which Bian Jin had inherited from their shizun (presumably as senior disciple) and used for ten years. There's a reference to Bian Jin (I think?) having used half of her worldly possessions to 'forge' (I assume upgrade?) this rare weapon. Shen Ni sends a message to her eyes-and-ears, asking them to look into the bone whip's last known location, and specifically to investigate whether it had ever turned up in Xuanzhou.
Shen Ni heads back to the bedroom that now belongs to her and Bian Jin, and opens the door to find Bian Jin in the middle of changing into her nightclothes. She sees a flash of shoulder as Bian Jin hurriedly pulls her nightgown around her. Shen Ni swiftly turns around and apologises. As Bian Jin climbs into bed, she puts her hands over the tips of her ears, thinking that Shen Ni probably hasn't discovered that they've turned as red as the wedding canopy over the bed.
They sleep, and Bian Jin has an interesting plot-relevant nightmare. As she teeters at the edge of a shallow sleep, and is about to sink into the abyss of full dreaming, an arm suddenly reaches up from her consciousness, and a woman's voice says again and again, 'My darling, my precious, how could you leave just like that? The demonseed and I both miss you very much. Every version of you loves me, you let me drink your blood, eat your flesh. How could this be just a dream? Promise me, even if it means being punished by a thousand blades, you'll leave me your right hand, won't you?' In the half-dream, Bian Jin struggles, but the arm transforms into countless arms. All of these hands wrap themselves around her throat and start dragging her into the abyss.
Shen Ni opens her eyes at the sound of Bian Jin's laboured breathing, and hurries to Bian Jin's bedside to see her looking distinctly unwell, and at risk of overloading. She tries to shake Bian Jin awake, but Bian Jin catches hold of her wrist and says, 'Don't touch me.' Shen Ni knows that she must be having a nightmare. Shen Ni allows Bian Jin to go on gripping her wrist, and soothes her over and over. Seeming to sense something, Bian Jin calls out her childhood nickname, 'A-Yao?' Shen Ni replies with, 'It's me, shijie. I'm right here.' Bian Jin's grip slackens slightly, her breathing slows, and her temperature goes down, reducing the risk of overload.
However, Bian Jin is still clutching Shen Ni's hand, clearly unwilling for Shen Ni to go. Shen Ni finally lies down and puts her arms around Bian Jin from behind. She sees that Bian Jin is biting her own lip, which is already bleeding, and reaches out to try and coax her into relaxing her mouth. But then Bian Jin bites down on Shen Ni's hand instead, and sort of gnaws away at it in a way that still draws blood from her own lips. Shen Ni, determined to stop Bian Jin from injuring her poor own poor lips further, gently slips a finger into her mouth and parts her teeth.
Still lost in her nightmare, Bian Jin senses that someone with a very familiar scent is embracing her from behind. It's something that's never happened to her before, and the sense of security makes the tension slowly leave her body. She doesn't know why she thinks it might be Shen Ni who's holding her. The calls from the abyss grow fainter as she retreats to safe ground. She realises that in her mouth is something soft and sweet-smelling, and whatever it is doesn't try to stop her from tearing at it with her teeth. Gradually, she finds that she can't bear to torment it any further, and starts licking it soothingly instead. Shen Ni holds her tighter, and Bian Jin finally drifts off to sleep.
Tech watch: Anti-slip mat (which the servants set out at the entrance to Shen Ni's home); digital screen and hologram (in Shen Ni's workshop).
Named men: 2.5
Reverse Bechdel passes: 0