"Achoo!"
Xiao Tian's nose tingled, and he sneezed twice in quick succession.
Xuan Yi looked up at him. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. My nose just itches. Maybe someone is thinking of me. I'm so handsome, after all, it's easy for people to think of me." Xiao Tian smiled and pinched his nose.
"Braggart. Your skin is as thick as a city wall!" Xuan Yi rolled her beautiful eyes at him.
Seeing her expression, Xiao Tian's fingers moved lightly against her waist. Her qipao was open on both sides, so he could touch her delicate, smooth skin directly. Her skin was so tender that his hand slid downward "unconsciously."
When his hand reached her hip, Xuan Yi's cheeks flushed crimson at once. Her almond eyes widened, and she pressed down on his hand. "Keep your hands to yourself. How will I face them when they come out?"
"You said my skin was thick. I'm only helping you prove it." Xiao Tian deliberately leaned closer, and his warm breath brushed her ear. "So, does that mean it's all right if they aren't here?"
Feeling the warmth of his breath, Xuan Yi shivered as if she had been struck by an electric current. "No... no."
"Then when?" Xiao Tian pressed.
Panic flickered in her eyes, and something else besides. She had not felt anything like this since she was a child. Was her heart even faintly looking forward to it?
She shook her head quickly. "Anyway, it's just not possible now. Later... later."
Xiao Tian heard her but had no intention of giving up. If she had truly refused, she would have been firm, even a little angry. But she plainly was not. Now was the time to press on, not to retreat. If he withdrew now, he would not be able to warm things up again, and he would waste a heaven-sent chance. Did he have to wait for the girl to say yes outright? If he did not take that step forward, someone else would.
He looked at Xuan Yi, as shy as an eighteen-year-old girl, and suddenly lowered his head and took her small earlobe into his mouth, his tongue sweeping lightly over it a few times.
The warm touch made Xuan Yi go stiff from head to foot, unable to move as if lightning had struck her. Her breathing quickened at once, her cheeks flushed, and even her neck turned a faint pink.
"You...!" Her voice trembled, and she could not even form words.
Seeing this, Xiao Tian chuckled and bit her earlobe gently. Xuan Yi trembled all over and went limp as if all her strength had drained away.
He wrapped an arm around her and steadily drew her boneless, yielding body into his embrace, settling her on his lap. His hand rested over her heart, his fingertips clearly sensing how fast it raced.
Xuan Yi felt him measuring her heartbeat and wanted to push him away and stand, but her body could not summon any strength. It felt as if her muscles and bones had been drawn out, and in the end all she could do was let him hold and embrace her.
Xiao Tian lowered his head, his nose brushing the side of her neck, his warm breath on her flushed skin, a mischievous smile on his lips. "What are you hiding from? You said no a moment ago, so is it all right here?"
His fingers moved slightly as he listened to her heart beating wildly.
"Shut up..." Xuan Yi's voice was as faint as a mosquito's, and her earlobes were so red they looked ready to bleed. She felt the warmth of his palm and was too shy even to open her eyes. Without realizing it, she clutched his lapels until her knuckles whitened.
Xiao Tian saw that she had only told him to shut up and had not stopped his hand, and took it as proof that he could go further. He lifted one of her feet and turned her so that she faced him instead of sitting sideways, held close against him. Then he looked at the shy Xuan Yi, lowered his head a little, and suddenly kissed her rosy lips.
She instinctively wanted to escape, but her body betrayed her will. She tilted her head back slightly to answer his advance. His thumb caressed the back of her neck and deepened the kiss.
After a long while, Xiao Tian finally released her, reluctantly. Their noses touched, their breathing still ragged. Xuan Yi's cheeks were flushed and her eyes unfocused, as if her mind had drifted somewhere else.
Seeing her like that, he let his hand, still on her waist, slip through the gap of her qipao and rest over her heart again. Xuan Yi snapped back to reality at once, but she did not stop him. She rested her strengthless head on his shoulder and breathed in the distinct scent of him.
This time he could feel her heartbeat even more clearly, faster still. He could even see his hand rising and falling with the violent throbbing of her heart.
"I never expected your heart to beat so strongly," Xiao Tian said to her with a charming, wicked smile.
"Shut up. That's enough. Don't push your luck." Xuan Yi took his hand away, glared at him, and then bit his shoulder.
Xiao Tian put on a pained face, and thought to himself, *Is this a girl's active skill? Biting at the slightest provocation.*
After biting for dozens of seconds, Xuan Yi had vented her frustration at being bullied. She looked at the damp mark her mouth had left on his clothes. "Stop pretending. I know how much force I used. The skin on your shoulder is nearly as thick as your face."
"Impossible. It definitely broke the skin. If you don't believe me, come back into the cabin with me, and I'll take off my clothes and show you."
"Get lost! Do you think I'm some naive, sweet girl?" Xuan Yi gave him a look of disdain. She knew full well what he was up to. If she really went in with him, she might not come out whole.
As she spoke, she frowned slightly and shifted uncomfortably a few times. Then she noticed something about herself and froze. She stood up at once, kicked Xiao Tian in the shin, and turned and walked quickly into the cabin.
Xiao Ling and Xiao Meng, absorbed in dividing up their spoils inside, saw Xuan Yi approach. Xiao Meng looked up at her. "Mother Xuan Yi, why did you come in? Did you come to help us divide?"
"But Mother Xuan Yi, why is your face so red? Are you unwell?" Xiao Ling asked curiously, looking at her rosy cheeks.
"It's nothing. It was just too hot outside, so I came in." Memories of what had just happened rose unbidden in Xuan Yi's mind. She secretly glanced down at herself, and her pupils widened slightly, alarm flickering in her heart. She shook her head quickly to drive the thoughts away, then crouched down to look at the two little girls and the pile of things before them. "Aren't all these things the same? How can you two still argue?"