Chapter 583
Extra: One Touch
[I've changed the cover image; the character is Yixia, created by a friend in the group. I really like it, so I thought I'd write a side story about Yixia. A clearer picture is in the comments section. Thanks to Master Bai, who's always making fun of me.]
"Yixia...can I touch you?"
"Ok?"
The girl looked up, the wind brushing past her ears and through the strands of hair.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the sycamore leaves, gilding the stray hairs on her forehead with a pale golden edge. The intermittent croaking of frogs came from the distant pond, while the cicadas in the trees chirped in varying heights, their sounds intertwining yet remaining separate, like a long and even breath on a summer afternoon.
She tilted her head slightly, the movement very light, like the fine ripples on the water when a dragonfly lands on a lotus leaf, but there was no confusion or curiosity in her eyes, instead, she seemed quite interested.
She took the iced cola from Han Zhou, but didn't rush to insert the straw or answer whether it was okay. She just observed him with a half-smile.
"Where to touch?"
Han Zhou hesitated for a moment, as if unsure how to begin: "How about... you try to guess using your mind-reading ability?"
As he spoke, he sat down next to Mo Yixia.
Although it was late summer, the weather was still very hot. Even though Mo Yixia insisted on coming out to see the rural scenery, she didn't want to suffer under the sun. While he was buying cola, she took shelter under the sycamore tree to cool off.
There was only one stone stool under the tree, not too big or too small, just enough for two people to sit on. The two people sat very close together, and the air was filled with the scent of sun-baked grass mixed with the faint fragrance of laundry detergent from the girl's school uniform.
"How about it?"
In the dappled sunlight filtering through the swaying leaves, a girl wearing a mask and a baseball cap suddenly asked a question.
"What do you mean, how about it?"
"This is a spot I carefully selected."
"The view is indeed excellent," Han Zhou exclaimed sincerely.
Looking down from under the trees, you can see layers of wheat rippling in the wind, golden waves stretching all the way to the foot of the distant mountains. A few clumps of unnamed wildflowers dot the edge of the fields, shimmering softly in the sunlight.
Not far away, a stream meanders by, its surface shimmering with tiny silver lights. Reeds sway in the wind along the bank, and the stream reflects the shattered sky. Looking up, the sky is a pale blue, bleached by the sun, with a few wisps of clouds hanging lazily, motionless.
Under another shady tree, several children were quietly sketching under the guidance of a young teacher.
Summer vacation isn't over yet, and being taken out to sketch in this weather is probably some kind of extra tutoring. It's hard to say whether it's a blessing or a curse, but judging from the expressions on the children's faces, they seem to be enjoying it.
"That's strange..."
Mo Yixia turned her head and looked over. The beauty mark at the corner of her eye was illuminated by a cluster of light, making it look as bright as if it could speak.
But the words that came out of her mouth were not as captivating as her face: "You've been eating fish for so many days, but your brain doesn't seem to have developed at all—is it because you've passed puberty?"
As she spoke, she tilted her head innocently and poked Han Zhou's face with the brim of her baseball cap.
Han Zhou's lips twitched, and he said irritably, "Before you attack my intelligence, don't forget how much risk I took to bring you out today."
Today is the last few days before the end of summer vacation. The community suddenly lost power. Although the power could be restored at any time, he still brought Mo Yixia here after she kept nagging him.
If Jiang Baiqian couldn't see the two of them on the monitor once the call came in, his tutor salary would be gone.
However, it wasn't really a matter of pleading or begging. This guy just pitifully said, "I've heard that freedom dwells in the fields," and he was already prepared to lose his salary—after all, once the summer vacation ended and he left, this guy probably wouldn't have much freedom left.
"Not to mention that you didn't even understand what I meant by 'carefully selected'..."
The girl ignored her, only sighing, and said in a helpless yet matter-of-fact tone, "But when you said 'the view is good,' shouldn't you have been looking at me?"
Han Zhou was taken aback, then looked at the other person suspiciously: "Can't I see you anytime I want?"
"That's a good answer."
Mo Yixia raised her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, then tilted her head again, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "But is it really possible anytime?"
"As long as you don't mind, it's fine."
To avoid the other person making all sorts of strange assumptions, Han Zhou decisively ended the topic and asked instead, "By the way, what's wrong with you today? Why are you tilting your head so often? Did you have a stiff neck last night?"
He inserted the straw into the Coke cup, lowered his head and took a sip. The icy liquid slid down his throat, dispelling much of the summer heat.
“I had a dream last night. You were in it, and there was a little girl in it too.”
Mo Yixia pulled her mask down a little, turned her body to the side very naturally, lowered her head to get close to the cola in Han Zhou's hand, and took a sip through the straw.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he raised his head, his tone indifferent, making it impossible to tell whether he was serious or not, "The little girl in my dream really liked tilting her head, and I think you seem to like that, so let's give it a try."
Han Zhou was stunned: "What are you doing?"
"Let's drink Coke."
"I know you're drinking Coke, but the question is... why are you drinking my Coke?"
"Oops, I didn't notice."
Mo Yixia gave a rather perfunctory reply, then handed over the cola in her hand, saying, "Could you insert a straw for me?"
Han Zhou was taken aback: "Do I really need to do this for you?"
Mo Yixia gave him a strange look: "Shouldn't you... insert that action...?"
"Forget it!"
Han Zhou quickly interrupted her, handed her the cola in his hand, and then took the cola from her hand, saying, "Why don't you just drink mine?"
"But wouldn't that be considered an indirect kiss?" the girl said, feigning distress.
You even know this is an indirect kiss...
Han Zhou felt helpless. After thinking for a moment, he handed the Coke, which he had just inserted a straw into, back to Han Zhou: "Then you can drink this..."
Before she could finish speaking, the girl turned to the side again.
This time she leaned even closer, her hair almost brushing against his arm. She lowered her head, put the straw in her mouth, and slowly took a sip before raising her head with satisfaction and adjusting the brim of her hat.
“That’s fair,” she said.
Han Zhou was stunned, as if he were a wooden chicken.
After a long pause, he put down his cola and asked with some concern, "Did you take the wrong medicine today?"
In the past, although Mo Yixia would "tease" him, it was mostly just verbal teasing. It was rare for her to take actual action like this.
"Take another sip and I'll tell you," Mo Yixia said calmly.
Han Zhou pondered for a moment: "Could it be related to the dream you mentioned?"
Mo Yixia remained silent.
"Or is it related to you going back to school soon?"
Mo Yixia remained silent.
Left with no other choice, Han Zhou picked up the cola, took a small sip, and seeing that Mo Yixia still didn't react, he took a big sip.
Seeing this, Mo Yixia finally spoke, but not to answer; instead, she asked a question:
"How does it taste?" Han Zhou hesitated for a moment: "It's quite sweet..."
"Besides sweetness?"
"It's all sweetness..."
Mo Yixia pursed her lips, lowered the brim of her hat, took a small sip of cola, and then replied, "It has nothing to do with anything, I just wanted you to have something sweet."
Han Zhou chuckled twice but didn't say anything.
The wind, carrying a scorching heat, blew in from afar, pushing the wheat fields below the hillside into undulating golden waves.
Mo Yixia raised her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear and turned to look at her: "Your expression tells me that you don't seem to be satisfied with indirect kissing, and you also want me to feed you with my mouth."
"Don't misunderstand me. What I was thinking was that instead of subtly praising the sweetness of one's saliva, it would be better to... no, you can even tell that?"
Han Zhou was startled. Had they even read his thought process?
However, it's not all bad news...
He quickly calmed himself down, looked at Mo Yixia expectantly, his breathing quickening slightly, and tentatively asked, "Yixia, since you understand me so well, you must have already figured out which part of you I want to touch, right?"
A dozen minutes earlier, just as he was heading to the town at the foot of the hill to buy a Coke, a temporary task suddenly appeared in his status bar—
[Temporary mission triggered: With the target Mo Yixia's permission, stroke the top of her head for ten seconds. Completing the mission will earn you fifty points.]
To be honest, this task wasn't particularly difficult, but the problem was that, given Mo Yixia's keen sense of smell, if she couldn't provide a reasonable explanation, it would definitely arouse the other party's suspicion.
Mo Yixia didn't answer, but picked up her cup and took a small sip of cola, a thoughtful look on her face. Then she reached out to take off her school uniform jacket: "I didn't expect that you would be unable to hide your beastly nature so soon after returning to the wild."
What on earth is this guy thinking...?
Seeing the girl intentionally or unintentionally covering her chest, Han Zhou's lips twitched, and he said with a dark face, "I never said I wanted to touch your chest..."
Did I say that?
Mo Yixia folded her school uniform and placed it on her lap, giving him a strange look. "I was just too hot, so I took off my jacket."
At this point, as if suddenly realizing something, she let out a rather exaggerated "Oh!" and covered her mouth with her hand, saying incredulously, "So you wanted to touch my breasts?"
Han Zhou: "..."
He was about to retort, but then a brilliant idea struck him—
If you take the initiative to ask to touch Mo Yixia's head, it will definitely arouse her suspicion. But if you first propose a condition that she cannot accept, and then gradually lower your demands, wouldn't you be able to achieve your goal without arousing any suspicion?
Although Mo Yixia usually tells dirty jokes, she's only good at talking. When it comes to physical intimacy, she would never accept it.
After hesitating for a moment, Han Zhou took a deep breath and recalled Lin Anyu's lewd appearance from his memory. He found it too disgusting, so he gave up the idea of imitating him and said expressionlessly, "You're right, I do want to touch your breasts."
"Okay."
Mo Yixia immediately dropped her shy demeanor and readily agreed.
“But you only get one chance,” she said.
This was exactly what Han Zhou had expected—she was just putting on a brave face. When he actually tried to touch her later, she would definitely back down. Then he could ask her to touch his leg, but she would still refuse. Then he could ask to touch her head...
“…Then I’m coming.”
To be honest, he really wanted to see what Mo Yixia looked like when she was truly shy, so he slightly curled his fingers and slowly raised his hand.
"bring it on."
Mo Yixia showed no shyness or evasion whatsoever. Instead, she slightly puffed out her chest and looked at him with a half-smile.
"I've really come..."
To increase the pressure on Mo Yixia, Han Zhou kept his grip on her hand and slowly pushed it forward, and further forward...
No matter how he pushed forward, Mo Yixia showed no sign of backing down. Instead, as if she found him too dawdling, she leaned forward on her own.
If Han Zhou hadn't withdrawn his hand in time, they would have already collided.
Why did you pull your hand back?
Mo Yixia remained leaning forward, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "Is it because you only get one chance? Aren't you satisfied with just touching me through my clothes?"
Han Zhou: "..."
He knew his thoughts had been completely seen through; this guy was clearly toying with him on purpose. So he stopped hiding it and said stiffly, "I want to touch your hair..."
Damn, I almost sang it out loud.
Mo Yixia clicked her tongue, then sighed softly: "This is your only chance. Are you sure you just want to use it to touch my hair?"
"...To be precise, it's the hair on the top of my head," Han Zhou said somewhat awkwardly.
I should have just said it directly, instead of doing this whole thing...
Mo Yixia didn't speak, but the disdain in her eyes spoke for her.
After a while, the girl took off her baseball cap, her long hair fluttering in the wind, but she quickly put it back on: "I've changed my mind. I'll let you touch my head, but in exchange, I want to touch yours too."
She turned her head, her gaze slowly moving downwards.
Han Zhou's lips twitched slightly: "When you say that... could you please stop staring at my crotch?"
I just said I wanted to touch her hair, right? How did this guy figure out that I really wanted to touch her head?
"I'm not in a hurry."
Mo Yixia rolled her eyes at him, a rare occurrence, and her expression in that instant was quite charming. "I also want to pat your head."
"Why?" Han Zhou asked, puzzled.
"Then why did you want to touch my head?" Mo Yixia asked back.
Han Zhou fell silent.
Mo Yixia stopped talking and simply picked up her cola, taking small sips.
The sunlight poured down more generously, gilding the entire field with a layer of shimmering gold leaf. The silhouettes of the sycamore leaves fell on the two of them, crumbled by the wind, and then quietly gathered again.
Just then, a series of footsteps sounded behind me.
The two turned around at the sound and saw the children who had been sketching earlier running over. They were all covered in sweat, but their faces were full of excitement. One of the girls had chubby cheeks and bright eyes. She looked at Mo Yixia as if she were holding a treasure, and held her drawing board high in front of the two of them.
"Sister, you are so beautiful, I couldn't resist drawing you... I... I want to give this painting to you..."
She spoke with a hint of nervousness, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Mo Yixia looked down and saw that the girl's painting skills were quite good. Although it was far from her real appearance, it did resemble her somewhat. So she nodded slightly and accepted the painting quite readily.
"Thank you... but could I have a pen?"
The girl's eyes lit up.
"Of course!" (End of Chapter)