And then!
The storm hit full force!
“Little Bai’er! Prepare yourself!! Right here—I’m tickling!”
“Mmph…?!”
The earlier movements had been almost still.
But in that instant, without warning, Zihan’s hands shot downward, targeting Ye Zhibai’s armpits with a frenzy of motion!
Her fingers curled into claws, scratching madly, squeezing and releasing in waves. Zihan pulled out every tickling technique she could think of, holding nothing back!
“How’s that, Little Bai’er? Feel like laughing yet?”
“Mmph…? Pfft…?”
“What! Even now you’re staying calm? Fine, then—I’m cranking it up!” As the aggressor, Zihan couldn’t believe her eyes.
She hadn’t expected Little Bai’er to react like this!
Her tickling assault was fierce enough, and sure enough, a choked laugh bubbled up from Little Bai’er’s throat. Yet when Zihan glanced at her face, it remained an icy mask, aloof to the world.
This isn’t right! No one can hold out against tickling without laughing!
Er… but isn’t Little Bai’er twisting around like a pretzel already?
Maybe her ticklish spots just aren’t there.
Or perhaps… gazing down at that exquisite body beneath her had sparked some improper thoughts?
Slowly, Zihan shifted her entire body onto the bed, propping herself up on all fours to straddle Ye Zhibai while leaving space between them.
“Little Bai’er… I’m continuing, okay?”
“Wait… I need a second to breathe. Hoo…”
“Tickling’s all about momentum! If that building laughter fades, it’ll all be wasted… I’ll—I’ll try harder!”
Try harder at what?!
Before Ye Zhibai could catch her breath, Zihan launched her next attack.
From the armpits downward, her increasingly skilled fingers danced lightly over the slender waist, the soft belly, the lower abdomen. At the foot of the bed, she even twisted around, gently slipping off Ye Zhibai’s rabbit slippers. Cupping those delicate, crystalline little feet, she went straight for the soles with a merciless barrage!
“?!”
“Little Bai’er, just surrender already! A laugh’s good for you. Darn it… do I need both soles at once?!”
Like a flailing fish… she couldn’t thrash anymore.
Ye Zhibai tried to roll over, to stop it, but the tingling that shot from her soles through her entire body made her arched waist collapse back onto the mattress.
—If it’s too much, just tell me, and I’ll stop right away.
Easier said than done.
The problem was, she couldn’t even speak!
Ye Zhibai writhed helplessly. She wanted to talk, but every time she gathered the words, they dissolved into ragged breaths. By the time she steadied herself, she had to swallow them back down.
To suppress that strange sensation, she kept gulping to ease it.
What she didn’t realize was that the one torturing her with this tickle hell was swallowing even more frantically.
Zihan cradled the little foot in her hands. Each time her fingers raked across that perfect sole, the ten toes curled up like mimosa leaves, then splayed out again—like shy flower buds dodging a downpour.
But Little Bai’er… your ticklish spot’s on the sole, not the toes. No matter how you wiggle them, you can’t escape a single bit of this assault, can you?
This odd urge to keep attacking had Zihan a little drunk on it.
Facing away, she pinned both little feet in place, oblivious to the strange excitement creeping into her voice.
“L-Little Bai’er? Bet you’re dying to laugh now… right?”
“Ha… ha?”
What are you even saying?
Ye Zhibai had no idea.
Was she really this ticklish?
Her mind was starting to blur.
She felt like her body no longer obeyed her—every cell was firing wildly.
And gradually, as her thoughts emptied…
She finally recognized what she’d been fighting so hard to suppress.
It was coming from below her belly… that inexplicable swelling sensation.
No way…?
Ye Zhibai knew this feeling all too well.
She got it whenever Yun’er came over at night, or when she brought out the divine artifact.
But this time, the way it was building felt so weird!
Before, Ye Zhibai had always dismissed those doujinshi scenes where tickling led to climax as pure fantasy—unrealistic nonsense.
Now? She believed it.
Because she was feeling it for real!
This time, Ye Zhibai’s face truly flushed, and panic set in.
Her cheeks burned bright red. Even without an expression, she felt terrified.
She didn’t want to face that overwhelming sensation alone, like this.
Yun’er wasn’t here. Neither was Guang Yu… She didn’t want the emptiness that would follow.
Mustering all her strength, she slapped Zihan’s back.
—That was the best Ye Zhibai could manage right now.
A slap like a dragonfly skimming water.
A slap that shook her to the core.
For the ever-rational Zihan, that gentle reminder was enough to snap her back.
She halted her movements in surprise.
Turned slowly, even more astonished.
And saw a sight that nearly stole her breath—utterly breathtaking in its beauty.
Little Bai’er hadn’t laughed.
Her face was flushed crimson.
A single tear glistened at the corner of her eye.
Not from crying.
Just a natural overflow from the body’s discomfort.
It hit Zihan like a sledgehammer to the chest.
Slowly, she lowered Little Bai’er’s feet.
Sat up straight, her crimson eyes brimming with disbelief and turmoil.
What was I… just doing?
What were you doing?
You know better than anyone.
“Zihan, here’s to a smooth college life ahead. We’ll be apart soon, so come over often during this time.”
“Your mom still loves you—she just shows it in all the wrong ways. And you’re still loving her too, right?”
“Yeah, forehead to forehead is pretty reassuring. I don’t mind… just stop crying.”
“Here, a sunflower for you.”
“Head to Capital University on your own, and give it your all. We’ll have chances to meet again someday.”
I’m the one who panicked.
Only then did Zihan realize she’d let her emotions and desires hijack her mind.
She’d finally glimpsed the moon after so long. Even in the dead of night, she knew this playful time with Little Bai’er was fleeting, like a dream at dawn’s edge.
College would start, the dream would end, and she’d wake to solitude.
She couldn’t bear for the dream to shatter too soon, for dawn to break too fast, for the moon to vanish in haste.
She kept saying she wanted to see Little Bai’er’s smile.
But really, wasn’t it her own impatience? Fear that if she didn’t see it now, she might never have another chance.
In the end, I’m so selfish.
Defiling the moonlight in my heart for such base desires.
Lin Zihan… you’re no better than a beast.
“Zihan…? Hoo?”
“Little Bai’er! Are you okay?!”
“I’m… fine?” Ye Zhibai clutched her head as she sat up. “Almost lost it there, but I held on… I mean, I nearly laughed!”
“Little Bai’er…! Even now, you say that?! First… let’s get this off you. It’s tied way too tight!”
“Oh, it’s not that bad. Soft material, quality guaranteed.”
In a few quick motions, Zihan untied the red ropes for Ye Zhibai, her own reddened eyes welling with hot tears.
Who wasn’t?
Ye Zhibai, sitting face-to-face with her, still had that teardrop lingering at her eye.
The two friends gazed at each other.
In the end, it was Ye Zhibai who reached out first, gently wiping Zihan’s tears away with the back of her hand.
“It’s okay. Don’t cry.”
“L-Little Bai’er?”
“I don’t know why you got so carried away just now. But I feel like something’s bothering you… some resentment? Is it because of me? Sorry… this is my first time making friends, so I might be lacking in all sorts of ways…”
“Wah!”
Oh?
Suddenly, she was pulled into a hug.
Zihan clutched her Angel tightly in her arms.
She blinked away the tears from her eyes as quickly as she could, inwardly cursing herself for what had just happened.
Even at a time like this, Little Bai’er was still giving her a way to save face. What right did she have to feel dissatisfied? What grounds did she have to complain?
Ye Zhibai felt the warmth of the girl in her arms—the one who seemed so strong on the surface but was actually fragile to the core—and an inexplicable flicker of relief stirred within her.
Phew… just as she’d suspected.
The way she’d tickled her so mercilessly earlier, without letting up until one of them dropped, had to mean she’d upset her somehow!
Sure enough, that’s friendship for you. No matter the bumps and arguments along the way, once you vent that pent-up resentment, things go right back to normal!
Look, she’d endured Zihan’s scratching for ages, practically on the verge of disaster. She had no idea what had gone wrong with their friendship, but it had to be sorted now, right?
Far from just sorted…
Lin Zihan only hugged her tighter.
Tighter still, until she never wanted to let go.
She shifted into a duck-squat, rubbing her forehead against Ye Zhibai’s shoulder in a spoiled little nuzzle while murmuring apologies for her earlier lack of reason.
“Little Bai’er, I’m sorry… I know I was wrong.”
“Is that so?”
Ye Zhibai had no clue what Zihan thought she’d done wrong, but she’d take it as an apology for her beastly behavior a moment ago.
“Yeah… I was dead wrong. I get it now. So many things can’t be rushed. Panicking doesn’t help anyway.”
“True enough. Even everybody online knows it. Isn’t that the popular saying? ‘Don’t rush—rushing does no good.'”
“Pfft… You don’t have to try so hard to make me laugh. Little Bai’er, you’re too gentle… I’m starting to envy Zhiyun more and more. Envy her to death, even. You know?”
…
Ye Zhibai had no idea what that meant!
Why not elaborate?
Zihan finally loosened her embrace a little, gazing straight into Ye Zhibai’s eyes. Her smile was more resolute than before.
“I’ve figured it out, at least. If you really want to achieve something, it doesn’t happen overnight. Take making you smile, for example. That’s something I’m happy to invest more patience in.”
“Didn’t I say as much from the start…?”
“Haha, you’re right! I should’ve listened to you right away! Sigh, but too bad—I committed that colossal blunder. Now I have to reflect deeply on it. A mistake that huge… it deserves a heavenly god to smite me with Heavenly Punishment! Knock me out cold so I can reflect properly! That’s the punishment I deserve!”
“No way something like that could…”
“Meow!!!!”
“Ah!!!”
“?!!”
Guang Yu Meow?!!
Thump!
Lin Zihan crumpled to the ground.
The stubborn-headed Guang Yu Meow had leaped up out of nowhere and slammed a headbutt right into her forehead.
She wasn’t getting back up anytime soon.
Guang Yu Meow landed steadily on its feet.
A true cat never looks back.
It raised a paw to stroke its whiskers, then lifted the paw again in an utterly suave gesture.
And it left behind words for the ages.
“This Meow, on a rampage.”
“Guang Yu?! What was that for?”
“No need to thank us.” Guang Yu Meow glanced back and raised a single paw—that was its demand for a bottle of wasabi as payment. “We heard your mental cry for help earlier. You wanted us to come save you, right? Heh heh, so? Wasn’t our headbutt earth-shaking? Utterly unstoppable!”
“Badass.”
Fine, it was superior. Utterly invincible.
She had cried out for its help.
But it had been sleeping like the dead back then!
The whole issue was already resolved.
And now its headbutt finally arrived.
This deity had lag, didn’t it?!
