She found a legal blogger online who said that if you got secretly photographed, don’t panic—immediately buy a temporary tattoo and stick it on. That way, if the photos got leaked, you could claim you had a real tattoo and countersue.
Later, Luo Qingmeng just assumed Qiu Shuxue had washed it off to protect her.
Qiu Shuxue’s voice dropped low as she said, “I’m a little mad now. You couldn’t even tell my tattoo apart. Does that mean you don’t care about me? I remember every detail of Sis’s body perfectly—the mole on your lower back, how sensitive you get every time I bite you there.”
Luo Qingmeng wanted to say she also caressed the birthmark on her leg, but afraid the conversation would veer off again, she deliberately sidestepped and said it was too hot and she wanted to leave. But Qiu Shuxue clamped her legs tight, pulling her into her embrace. Luo Qingmeng stumbled forward, pressing against her body, and could only continue her curious questioning: “You used a temporary tattoo back then, right? What was it of?”
Qiu Shuxue didn’t speak, falling silent as she simply lifted her hand to twirl Luo Qingmeng’s hair strands. Luo Qingmeng couldn’t guess what she was thinking.
Qiu Shuxue moved slowly and said, “Not telling you. Who told you not to look?”
Luo Qingmeng furrowed her brow.
Qiu Shuxue tilted her head. “I told you to look back then, but you didn’t. Now…”
Luo Qingmeng leaned down and kissed her lips placatingly. Qiu Shuxue said, “That won’t work.”
Luo Qingmeng still wanted to know. She tilted her head back and asked, “Was it my name?”
Qiu Shuxue didn’t make it clear. Luo Qingmeng really wanted to know, so she took the initiative to placate her again. Qiu Shuxue blinked her eyes, hinting for her to look at her collar.
It left Luo Qingmeng’s heart itching unbearably.
She thought she was so naughty.
Luo Qingmeng had no choice but to indulge her, but Qiu Shuxue pretended not to understand her intent. Even after being fully satisfied, she still wouldn’t tell her. Qiu Shuxue merely said, “I’ve done so many naughty things… Which one?”
Luo Qingmeng got mad too.
The two of them wrestled on the sofa, tumbling all the way to the floor.
Dawn broke, and it was Saturday.
Luo Qingmeng got up to pack for the camping trip, then grabbed her naughty Snow Baby.
In the morning, Xiao Ninghe took the subway over. The three of them took just one car. Xiao Ninghe was initially a bit embarrassed, and Luo Qingmeng was even more so. She went up to help carry her things to the trunk, speaking to her softly: “Thank you for coming to guide us.”
“No, no, I’ll have to trouble you two later.”
They were heading out of province to camp. This area leaned toward sea views and wasn’t as fun as the neighboring spots. Qiu Shuxue drove, and they occasionally chatted in the car to liven up the mood.
Once they reached the mountain, Xiao Ninghe helped pitch the tents.
Xiao Ninghe said she had a bit of experience and had come a few times. She’d thought to lend a hand, but watching the two of them care for each other and work together to set up the tents, she stood to the side feeling an indescribable mix of envy and heartache.
Luo Qingmeng walked over and spoke to her gently: “We’ve both looked up tons of guides. She wanted to give it a try too, so we practiced setting it up at home. She’s pretty good at it now. I’ll make fish soup later—any foods you can’t eat?”
Qiu Shuxue brushed the fine dust off her fingers and chimed in, “Ninghe, you have to drink it gratefully.”
Xiao Ninghe grit her teeth sourly and said, “I thank the heavens and the earth, thank the bright moon shining over the land, for making Luo Qingmeng fall for you.”
Luo Qingmeng’s cheeks heated up, making her look very shy as she said, “It’s not like that. She’s great, and the reason everyone thinks I’ve become such a good person is because I met Shuxue.”
They’d been together so long, and she mostly called her by name or “Snow Baby.” Calling her “Shuxue” still felt a little off; her lips and tongue would soften, pronouncing those two words with such tenderness and warmth.
Xiao Ninghe let out a “Tch” and said, “Sis, when are you making the soup? I’m really hungry.”
Qiu Shuxue brought over a chair for Luo Qingmeng to rest and enjoy the view while she went to lay out the bedding inside the tent.
The mountain air was fresh, and under the tree shade, the sun couldn’t reach, so it was nicely cool. Luo Qingmeng took in the scenery and planned to make the fish soup later. Xiao Ninghe had wanted to chat with Qiu Shuxue, but she kept busy running around to set up the gas stove. Luo Qingmeng fetched the pre-prepped iced fresh fish they’d brought, rinsed it again, then looked up and said to Qiu Shuxue, “Help me wash the pot.”
“Okay.” Qiu Shuxue washed the pot with water and asked if she wanted to prepare anything else.
Xiao Ninghe, sitting nearby, felt even more like a third wheel. After watching for a while, she went over and asked if there was anything she could help with. Luo Qingmeng was about to say to take it easy, but Xiao Ninghe said, “We’re all out here together. I’m not a guest—what can I do?”
Luo Qingmeng said, “Cut a tomato for me, then.”
Xiao Ninghe grabbed a small knife.
The fish soup with tofu and tomatoes was incredibly fresh. Xiao Ninghe held her bowl and sighed again over Luo Qingmeng’s cooking skills. She’d always thought she was so domestic. As she praised Luo Qingmeng, she smiled bashfully.
In the afternoon, the three found a lake and talked about fishing or catching shrimp, but they got nothing. Luo Qingmeng did hook a softshell turtle, but she didn’t dare eat it and released it right back.
The mountain was at a slightly higher elevation, so the nights got chilly. They took out the ingredients and had a barbecue. Qiu Shuxue pulled jackets from her bag and draped one over her shoulders, giving another to Luo Qingmeng. Xiao Ninghe wore her own long sleeves.
Camping in the summer night was all about those starry skies stretching endlessly over the open wilderness.
Later, Qiu Shuxue went to shower.
Luo Qingmeng sat beside Xiao Ninghe, who asked curiously how she and Qiu Shuxue had gotten together, saying it was unbelievable.
Luo Qingmeng fiddled with a twig, gently poking at the wild grass on the ground. The moon hung high on the mountain; no need for bright lights to see the beautiful scenery clearly. She looked up at the white moon in the sky, motionless as if perched on the treetops, and said devoutly, “It’s probably because I met the person from the moon.”
“Hm?”
“Isn’t the moon supposed to be barren and empty? But when I looked up, I felt like I already knew her.”
“I met that person on the moon, and I no longer fear the wilderness.”
“I saw the man on the moon and no longer fear desolation.”
Both Xiao Ninghe and Qiu Shuxue did translation work, so they understood. Luo Qingmeng said her spoken English had been taught by Qiu Shuxue. Xiao Ninghe took a sip of her milk tea, tasting the faint tea flavor inside, and said, “I didn’t have a great impression of you before. It wasn’t dislike, just that at first I didn’t like that…”
Luo Qingmeng glanced toward Qiu Shuxue and pressed a finger to her lips with a soft “Shh,” telling her not to say it. After she and Qiu Shuxue had fully gotten together, she always felt like her past self hadn’t been wild enough, regretting the time wasted waiting.
Xiao Ninghe smiled helplessly and lowered her voice. “No wonder she was so eager to get off work during that time, hitting the malls every day.”
They sat quietly for a bit. Qiu Shuxue finished her shower and called for Luo Qingmeng to go next. She curiously took Luo Qingmeng’s spot and asked Xiao Ninghe, “What did you say?”
“That you two are made for each other.”
That night, the three played cards and admired the night sky. Xiao Ninghe realized these two would never get bored together. Qiu Shuxue was so good at acting spoiled, like a… baby.
It was so weird. Even if she couldn’t understand why Qiu Shuxue called Luo Qingmeng that way—or even “Mommy”—it no longer felt out of place no matter how she looked at it.
They slept in their separate tents. Luo Qingmeng didn’t really want to get frisky with her; Xiao Ninghe was right next door. What if they couldn’t hold back and made noise? How embarrassing.
Luo Qingmeng turned her back to Qiu Shuxue, letting her hold her, but nothing more. The mat underneath was fairly thin, so she asked worriedly, “Are you comfortable? Can you sleep?”
Qiu Shuxue hummed in affirmation, her fingers resting on Luo Qingmeng’s waist. She patted it lightly twice, then trailed upward in a gentle caress. Her voice was low, like a whispered secret, as she asked, “Sis, was the moon pretty tonight?”
The tent had a transparent skylight. She nodded and said, “It was.”
She turned off her phone. “The stars were pretty too.”
Qiu Shuxue smiled. After a long while, she said, “Took a long time to find this place. Just afraid you wouldn’t get to see the most beautiful night sky.”
Luo Qingmeng smiled.
She liked reading books and yearned for landscapes so breathtaking they resembled illusions from a dream. She handled packing the luggage for their trips, while Qiu Shuxue scouted out the destinations.
“So, did you eat well tonight?”
“Not bad,” Qiu Shuxue said.
You find the night sky for me, and I’ll prepare a feast for you.
Their division of labor wasn’t all that rigid. They simply knew what the other needed and handled it with care, and over time, those tasks naturally became each one’s responsibility.
Someone from behind gently patted her shoulder twice. The sensation felt familiar, yet somehow different. Back then, Luo Qingmeng had been facing a white wall; now, it was the night sky.
“Sister.” Qiu Shuxue called to her, her two fingers dancing lightly on her shoulder.
The fine nerves in Luo Qingmeng’s slender shoulder twitched in response, and for a moment, all her attention was stolen by those fingers. She fell silent for a long while before murmuring, “Mm?”
“Do you like tattoos?”
Luo Qingmeng’s reply came a few beats late once more.
“I got your name tattooed. What would you do?”
Luo Qingmeng asked in turn, “Are you asking about back then or now?”
This time, it was Qiu Shuxue who answered slowly. She said, “Even if I’d had your name tattooed that day, I wouldn’t have let you see it.”
Luo Qingmeng didn’t catch her meaning, but Qiu Shuxue had definitely been trying to seduce her that day. Had she misunderstood? Gotten the wrong impression?
Qiu Shuxue said, “I know you wouldn’t dare look.”
“I…” She didn’t dare.
“I was pretty naughty back then.” Qiu Shuxue’s hand slid across her shoulder, unsure which spot to caress, drifting back and forth.
Luo Qingmeng figured she probably hadn’t dared either, at first. “You’re not naughty. You always struck me as so well-behaved, which is why I gave you all those cartoon stickers.”
Qiu Shuxue tapped her shoulder twice more.
Her movements were unhurried—one pat, then another—as if she had something to say and wanted her to turn around.
Luo Qingmeng guessed that she hadn’t spoken up that day because she’d secretly gone off to get the tattoo behind her back. Now, she was showing it off, meant to leave her aching with desire, utterly hooked. Qiu Shuxue was always pulling stunts like that; Luo Qingmeng knew her all too well. She turned around, her eyes going straight to Qiu Shuxue’s chest.
“Mm?”
Snow-white. Her gaze locked on; there didn’t seem to be a tattoo.
The next second, a pair of breasts whiter than fresh snow slammed right into her face.
“Mm…” She let out a muffled grunt.
Qiu Shuxue tilted her head back slightly and thrust out her chest, smashing directly into her lips. Luo Qingmeng froze, hesitated for a moment, then gently pushed her away. “You… what are you doing?”
Then Qiu Shuxue’s finger brushed her lips as she said, “Oops, sorry—I accidentally shoved my boob right into Sister’s mouth.”
“You…” Luo Qingmeng grunted again, her teeth grazing her lip.
Qiu Shuxue slid her finger into her mouth, pressing downward to touch the soft pink inside, and said, “If you’d turned around that day, I would’ve done exactly this—shoved it into your mouth, then apologized just like this.”
