Chapter 54

“Forget it, let’s skip the reading. How about we tell stories instead?”

Perhaps unable to bear Meng Bai’s scorching gaze, Miao Bai tried to steer the conversation elsewhere.

“Fine by me.” Meng Bai inched closer, narrowing the distance between them until Miao Bai could feel the warm breath spilling from her nostrils. “So, what kind of story do you want to hear? I’ll tell it.”

Her voice was soft and low, like the tickle of a feather grazing the tip of her ear. It left Miao Bai feeling utterly restless, her thoughts freezing for a full second before she finally blurted out, “What?”

Unable to process what Meng Bai had just said, her response came out dry and mechanical, her words hollow shells beyond her control.

It took another two seconds for her to gather herself, and then she explained slowly, “I mean, you can tell any story you want.”

“Oh, then I’ll just make one up.” Meng Bai leaned in even closer, resting one hand on Miao Bai as she whispered, “Next summer—”

“Next summer—” Miao Bai echoed.

“Next summer, I want to go have fun with the person I like.”

“Oh, that’s a wish, not a story.” Miao Bai murmured back, a hint of laughter threading through her words. She found Meng Bai’s off-topic response oddly amusing.

Meng Bai replied with an awkward chuckle, “Fine, whatever—story or wish, I just wanted to say it anyway.”

The softness of her voice sent an itch rippling through Miao Bai’s heart.

And just like that, Miao Bai fell right into her trap. “So, what exactly do you want to do? Be more specific.”

“There’s a lot, actually.” Meng Bai stared straight at her, her gaze locking into Miao Bai’s pupils, as if the light around them had warmed. “By then, I’ll have graduated too, and summer break will give us plenty of time. We could travel, go somewhere beyond this small town, eat all the good food. What do you think?”

As she listened, Miao Bai’s lips curved upward. “Didn’t you say you wanted to go with the person you like? How did it turn into ‘we’?”

It was the most blatant case of playing coy while knowing full well.

Meng Bai froze for a moment, her face burning hot, but she didn’t look away. When their eyes met, it felt like fire igniting in her chest.

She thought to herself that Miao Bai was definitely doing this on purpose—that she knew how embarrassing it would be to spell it out.

But she wouldn’t back down.

So she answered bluntly, “I like you. Didn’t I tell you yesterday? Did you forget, or are you just pretending not to know?”

Forget? Of course not.

Pretending? Probably.

So Meng Bai turned the tables, pinning the coyness on Miao Bai.

The unexpected directness caught Miao Bai off guard this time. She realized Meng Bai really did have the guts to say it outright.

“Let’s sleep.” Unable to respond, she cut the topic short.

But Meng Bai wouldn’t let her off that easily. “Hey, what are you dodging? Are you shy or something?”

Miao Bai deflected, “No, you’re the one who likes me, not the other way around. Why would I be shy?”

“But I’ve noticed you always dodge this topic.” Meng Bai leaned in close to her ear. “Or do you just find me annoying?”

“It’s not annoyance, and I’m not shy.” Miao Bai raised her hand and flicked it lightly. The light snapped off in an instant.

Darkness blanketed the room, and the atmosphere fell into sudden silence. Meng Bai realized she actually preferred the night like this—free and unrestrained, her inner wildness stirring to life.

Neither spoke. In the darkness, she could make out the faint outline of Miao Bai’s cheek.

She thought about how her lips were probably no more than five centimeters from Miao Bai’s ear. Just a tiny bit closer, and she could brush a soft kiss against it.

A kiss.

The desire swirled in Meng Bai’s mind like a runaway truck careening down a slope, brakes failing as it barreled forward.

Her body moved faster than her thoughts. Even as she debated whether such a dangerous impulse was feasible, she had already leaned in.

Maybe three or four centimeters.

When her lips touched the cool tip of Miao Bai’s ear, Miao Bai shuddered visibly. The sudden intimacy startled her, and she instinctively shifted away, putting some distance between them.

But that fleeting touch, less than a tenth of a second, left Meng Bai’s heart racing with longing.

She closed her eyes, pursing her lips as if savoring the memory.

Miao Bai’s ear was cool and so soft.

“Don’t move around.” Miao Bai’s breath came in uneven gasps, though her words remained icy. “No more stories. No more wishes. Time to sleep.”

Meng Bai took the out. “Okay, then I’ll sleep.”

The night stretched on endlessly, sleep far from their minds. Each lost in her own thoughts, they maintained a heavy silence.

Meng Bai knew she’d overstepped with her earlier boldness.

Still, her mind wandered to stranger questions. Like, didn’t Miao Bai hate sleeping? If she didn’t like sleep, then what was she thinking about right now?

Meanwhile, Miao Bai was tangled in a web of complicated emotions.

She couldn’t fathom how Meng Bai had developed these feelings. She didn’t think there was another girl in this town who liked women.

Setting that aside, what exactly had Meng Bai fallen for about her?

What was it?

For once, the all-knowing Miao Bai couldn’t figure it out.

“I can’t sleep.” Meng Bai’s voice finally broke the silence near her ear.

Miao Bai sighed. “I can’t help you with that. Just close your eyes and think of nothing.”

“That won’t work. I tried. How about you help me? Pat me to sleep.”

“Pat you??” Miao Bai had no idea what that meant.

So Meng Bai explained: patting was how her grandma used to lull her to sleep as a child—slow, rhythmic taps on the shoulder or lower back with the palm.

Miao Bai laughed at her. “That’s just a way to soothe kids to sleep. You’re an adult now.”

“But in your eyes, am I still like a kid? That’s what you said yourself.”

No way to argue with that.

Fine, she’d pat her a few times to get her to sleep sooner. Otherwise, who knew what else she’d say next.

Miao Bai placed her hand on Meng Bai’s shoulder and gave a few gentle pats, adding dryly, “You’re too skinny. All bones.”

Meng Bai, being patted, let the words sail past like a breeze. She felt utterly content.

Being patted by Miao Bai was nothing like her grandma’s soothing taps.

Each pat made bubbles fizz in her heart, leaving her whole body limp and soft.

If only she could get even closer.

The longing burned fiercely.

Fiercely enough that Meng Bai lied outright. “Miao Bai, when my grandma used to pat me to sleep, she’d hold me in her arms too…”

Miao Bai’s hand paused for a moment. “Is that so?”

“Why don’t you hold me too? I bet I’d fall asleep in no time.”

Miao Bai harbored no suspicions. She didn’t think she had the kind of allure that would make Meng Bai spin such a blatant lie.

Meng Bai gave her no chance to overthink it. With practiced ease, she scooted to Miao Bai’s side and nestled into her embrace, then guided Miao Bai’s hand to her waist. “Pat me a hundred times, and I guarantee I’ll be out like a light.”

“Is that so?”

“Absolutely.”

Meng Bai closed her eyes, waiting for Miao Bai to lull her to sleep.

It felt like scratching an itch through a boot—pointless if Miao Bai felt nothing for her. All these little maneuvers would be for naught.

But God, she loved being touched by Miao Bai, even if it was just the barest brush of contact.

This raw, unfiltered desire felt foreign and mortifying to Meng Bai, yet it set her heart fluttering uncontrollably.

“One, two, three…” Miao Bai’s voice murmured softly by her ear.

She was counting for real.

So earnestly that it left Meng Bai a touch deflated once more.

Miao Bai really had zero clue, did she?

“Don’t count out loud,” Meng Bai murmured. “It’ll keep me awake.”

“…”

Miao Bai delivered a firm smack to Meng Bai’s side by way of protest. “You sure have a lot of demands.”

For all her words, though, she fell silent on the counting.

Miao Bai’s palm patted gently against Meng Bai’s waist. She realized how soft Meng Bai’s body was—the spot where her hand landed traced the most graceful curve there.

At first, she kept a silent tally in her head.

But as she patted on, she found herself tracing the elegant line of that waist instead.

Her mind drifted, wandering to how slim it seemed. She hadn’t gripped it yet, but wrapping her arms around it would probably feel divine.

Wait—how many pats had it been?

Miao Bai lost track entirely, forgetting how many were left to hit that hundred.

That stray thought about the slenderness had derailed her completely.

Good thing Meng Bai was oblivious; it kept the guilt at bay.

Meng Bai had fidgeted at first, but the rhythm soon soothed her. Her breaths evened out, and it wasn’t long before she drifted off for real.

Once she was sure Meng Bai was asleep, Miao Bai stilled her hand, letting her palm rest naturally on that waist.

A lithe, yielding form. Even through the T-shirt, their warmth bled together where skin met palm.

The room was pin-drop quiet. Pressed so close, Meng Bai’s hair tickled Miao Bai’s nose with every subtle shift. Miao Bai kept her breaths shallow, but each inhale drew in the clean, fresh scent of her shampoo.

Too close.

Intimate enough to know each other’s scent inside out—this was well past any safe distance.

Miao Bai’s heart blazed like bellflowers in fire, a restless surge rising within her.

The rest defied easy words.

Repulsion? Never once with Meng Bai.

Affection?

Miao Bai seldom dwelled on it. “Like” was too fleeting a thing, her old yearning for romance long since withered in the decaying autumns it was fated for.

But now—

Meng Bai struck her as utterly adorable. Holding her close like this while they slept? It felt just right.

Miao Bai sighed inwardly. A little strange, isn’t it?