The light in the courtyard gradually dimmed. When Jiang Huai came to his senses, the moon had already hung in the sky, and the heavens had turned a dark blue.
Xu Qing had already returned to her seat opposite Jiang Huai. Her slender legs beneath the qipao were slightly closed, and her delicate waist was always held so straight, as if she were a well-bred young lady maintaining a gentle and composed demeanor regardless of the situation.
“How about I give you a massage too?”
A sense of inexplicable guilt lingered in Jiang Huai’s heart. Even if he told himself a hundred times that it wasn’t his problem if he refused Xu Qing, he still felt inexplicably awkward and couldn’t explain why.
“Hmm, let me think…” Xu Qing seemed to seriously consider Jiang Huai’s suggestion. After a few seconds, she looked at him innocently, “Where do you want to massage?”
“That question makes it sound like I’m trying to take advantage of you…”
“Eh…” Xu Qing tilted her head. “But in your book, whenever the male protagonist wants to massage the female character’s body, the female character’s body always becomes strange…”
“That’s exaggerated for dramatic effect, it’s not real.”
“Then… how about your shoulders?” Xu Qing looked up at him innocently.
Jiang Huai walked behind Xu Qing. As soon as his hands touched her shoulders, Xu Qing instinctively hunched her neck until Jiang Huai said, “Relax.”
“Your hands are so hot,” she whispered.
“It’s cold on this snowy day, so my blood circulation has accelerated.”
Jiang Huai’s fingertips exerted a slight pressure, gently massaging the acupoints on her shoulders and neck. Xu Qing let out a soft gasp. After a moment, she realized her gaffe and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Then, no matter how Jiang Huai rubbed, she just pursed her lips and made no more strange sounds.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, giving her a lazy and obedient appearance, like a kitten being petted. The girl’s skin was warm and smooth. Jiang Huai only massaged her shoulders and neck before sitting back down opposite her.
The light in the courtyard was slightly dim. Xu Qing lit the firefly stones by the tree and took out several thick books from her storage ring. Then, she looked up at Jiang Huai, “Do you have time? I have a question I’d like to ask you.”
“A question?”
“Yes, if you have time.”
“I do have time…”
He had handled Wanwan and Qingyu completely the past few days. Wanwan and Qingyu were sleeping together tonight, so he had nothing else to do and plenty of time.
He didn’t always spend every night with Wen Wanwan or Luo Qingyu. Sometimes he would lie alone in bed, staring at the ceiling, quietly thinking about many things until he felt sleepy.
“I want to ask, what were you thinking when you wrote this scene?”
Xu Qing opened one of the books on the table and pointed to a section. Jiang Huai’s eyelids twitched instantly, and he instinctively wanted to escape. But Xu Qing rested her chin on her hand, her eyes full of anticipation as she looked at him.
“This, this…”
The scene Xu Qing pointed to was about the “training” of a little fox, from A Mumu’s early works. His early works mostly featured the male protagonist gradually “conquering” various female characters’ bodies and minds in a very evil and despicable way. Most of the time, it was both physical and mental. Occasionally, there were a few purely romantic scenes, but now Xu Qing had specifically picked out a section to interrogate him, and his fingers couldn’t stop trembling.
“Why, why are you suddenly asking this?”
“I read this when I was fifteen or sixteen, but I was confused and didn’t understand. What does it mean to turn a little fox with one tail into a little fox with two tails?”
“This, this… it’s to use a secret technique to create another tail for her.”
“Oh… Then what does this ‘ice grapes’ mean here?”
“This, this…”
“And what about here? Does anyone really feel comfortable being tied up and tickled?”
“This… it depends on the person, right?”
“Oh, and here, ‘Condensing Moon Fairy’ felt so weak that she couldn’t lift any strength after her sole was played with… Eww, does that really happen?”
“M-maybe some people would…”
“And here, it says ‘Condensing Moon Fairy’ was kissed until her eyes glazed over, and petals scattered… Does it really happen like that when kissing?” Xu Qing blinked innocently at Jiang Huai. Jiang Huai was already sweating profusely, his voice stuttering, unable to speak.
“Eh? Why aren’t you talking?”
Jiang Huai turned to look at Xu Qing, closed the book page in her hand, and then said with a serious expression, “Books are fiction, some things shouldn’t be taken seriously.”
“I know, I’m just curious and asking.”
“It’s better not to ask. If you know, you’ll learn bad things.”
“But I’m not a child,” Xu Qing looked at his eyes innocently, “I’m only a month younger than you.”
“Anyway… it’s better not to be too curious about some things,” Jiang Huai said with difficulty. After a few more seconds, when he looked at Xu Qing again, he heard her suppressed giggle. Xu Qing was laughing so hard that her soft chest trembled slightly.
Jiang Huai’s eyes immediately became incredibly resentful.
Xu Qing had a gentle and pure temperament, but she wasn’t a little fool. She was clearly teasing him. Jiang Xiaohu, who was furious, slammed the table. “Is it funny?”
Xu Qing took a great deal of effort to suppress her laughter and cautiously looked at Jiang Huai, “It’s rare to see you so embarrassed.”
Then she laughed cheerfully again. Jiang Huai stared at her for a few seconds before she finally stopped laughing and looked at Jiang Huai innocently, blinking her eyes. “Are you angry?”
Jiang Huai put on a serious face. “Yes, you insulted me, so I’m angry.”
Xu Qing pouted slightly and looked at him with a wronged expression.
Jiang Huai still kept his stern little face, staring at her without blinking.
After a few more seconds.
Xu Qing’s slender legs under the table moved slightly closer to him. Her white and tender little feet were hidden in her jade-white high heels. The tip of her shoe was slightly raised, and she rubbed it against Jiang Huai’s calf. Her voice had a hint of playful flattery, “Don’t be angry, okay?”
Jiang Huai grabbed her ankle.
Xu Qing’s body tensed abruptly. Her slender waist straightened slightly, and her fair cheeks flushed pink. She seemed to hear her own chaotic heartbeat again… She hadn’t intentionally rubbed against him, but her body seemed to be out of her control. Now that she was firmly held, she couldn’t help but beg, “Let go…”
The prettier the girl, the more powerful her coquettishness. In just a few seconds, Jiang Huai himself couldn’t maintain his stern expression. He just gave her a resentful look and released her leg. Xu Qing giggled and tilted her head slightly, “I knew you weren’t really angry.”
“Hmph, what if I was really angry?”
“Then…” Xu Qing’s fingertips gently twirled the strands of hair by her cheek, her voice revealing a hint of timidity. “Then I’ll find a way… to coax you.”
“Heh, do I look like someone who’s easily coaxed?” Jiang Huai raised his head proudly, only to see Xu Qing nod innocently. “Yes.”
“Actually, I have a terrible temper, and I’m very petty. Once someone makes me angry, I’ll hide it in my heart and not say anything, then quietly distance myself from them until we never see each other again.”
“That’s scary.”
“Yes, that’s how scary I am.”
“Then… can you not get secretly angry with me?” Xu Qing’s long eyelashes fluttered gently, her dark eyes shimmering with a crystalline light.
After Xu Qing finished speaking, within a few breaths, Jiang Huai suddenly felt something moving on his leg. He lowered his head slightly. Xu Qing had taken off her high heels under the table at some point. Her slender and long legs stretched out from under the table, and her fair, tender, and smooth jade feet were now placed on his leg, as obedient as if she were offering them to him for him to play with.
Trying to control me?
“What do you mean by this? Hmph, do you think I’m A Mumu from when he was writing? A Mumu is A Mumu, and Jiang Huai is Jiang Huai. A Mumu liked it, but that doesn’t mean Jiang Huai will necessarily like it.”
Jiang Huai looked up at the sky, not looking at her.
But Xu Qing still looked at him innocently, and even more provocatively, she gently swayed her white and tender foot, tapping it on Jiang Huai’s leg. She looked at Jiang Huai’s cheek innocently, “Do you want to… touch it?”
“Just a touch?”
“Then, then I’ll knead it for you again.”
“Just a knead?”
“Then, then what else do you want?” Xu Qing cupped her face with both hands, her cheeks bulging slightly, staring intently at Jiang Huai. Jiang Huai gently took one of the girl’s delicate jade feet and looked at Xu Qing innocently. “Just a knead isn’t enough.”
The scorching heat from her skin made Xu Qing’s body curl up slightly. Jiang Huai felt the smooth and soft texture of the girl’s jade foot, as if it had no bones, so tender and smooth. At this moment, Xu Qing’s toes, tensed from nervousness, were pried open one by one by Jiang Huai. The crystal-clear, slender jade toes were as soft and delicate as white jade.
“I admire one thing about you, Jiang Huai.”
“Hmm? What?”
“When you do bad things, your eyes look so innocent.” Xu Qing still held her reddened cheeks, her eyes staring at him intently. Jiang Huai did indeed have the appearance of an innocent baby, but both his hands under the table were roughly playing with Xu Qing’s tender white feet. He replied with a serious expression, “This isn’t doing bad things, it’s collecting compensation for you deliberately teasing me with A Mumu earlier.”
“But I just brought up the book A Mumu wrote and asked about it again,” Xu Qing’s eyes still held a hint of grievance. Enraged, Jiang Huai pressed lightly on the sole of her foot again. Xu Qing’s body curled up a bit more. a few drops of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her voice trembled, “It itches…”
“I told you long ago, Jiang Xiaohu is never a gentleman, especially after drinking.”
Xu Qing no longer spoke. She just reached out and gently covered her lips to prevent herself from making any more strange sounds. Gradually, she could no longer hold her waist straight. Her waist became increasingly soft, so her body gradually slumped onto the table, her face buried in her arms. Only her eyes still looked at Jiang Huai timidly. The white and tender little feet under the table had been played with until they were rosy, and the tingling sensation repeatedly stimulated Xu Qing’s body. Her eyes became hazy and alluring, and her lips parted involuntarily. By the time she came to her senses, there was a clear trace of moisture at the corner of her lips.
“N-no…”
“Hmm?”
“You’ve, you’ve been playing for so long… the compensation, the compensation should be enough now…” Xu Qing finally came to her senses and hurriedly withdrew her white and tender feet, trying to sit up straight. But her body was becoming weaker and weaker, so she had to lie on the table, looking at the still serious and innocent-looking Jiang Huai with a wronged expression, and softly calling his name.
“Jiang Huai.”
“Hmm?”
“You’re a bad guy.”
She lowered her eyelashes, not daring to meet Jiang Huai’s eyes. Her slender fingers drew circles on the table.
