The mountain winds are particularly strong here at night. She sat by the window for about ten minutes, and her hair was almost dry. She scrolled through some news on her phone, and time passed slowly.
Qiu Jie messaged her asking if she wanted to come over for a late-night snack, but she didn't have the habit of eating late-night snacks. Besides, she was already quite full from dinner, so she replied on WeChat that she wouldn't be coming.
He casually opened Chai Qianning's chat window; about two hours had passed since she sent him the message that she was going to take a shower. And there was still no movement by the door.
Did you take a little too long to take this bath?
Sheng Muxi didn't know why she wanted to study the other person's shower time.
But if he doesn't come tonight... she feels like she'll only feel a sense of relief, followed by an emptiness. At least for now, a mix of complex emotions is temporarily filling her heart.
Just as she was thinking about some random things, she heard someone knocking on the door.
She went to open the door and saw Chai Qianning standing at the door with her long hair down, holding a book in her hands.
The other person had washed their hair; the half-dry hair carried a strong, pleasant scent of shampoo that wafted into Sheng Muxi's nose.
She lowered her gaze to the book in Chai Qianning's hand: "What is this?"
As Chai Qianning walked into the room, she said, "To teach you how to grow strawberries, let's start with the theory."
Sheng Muxi walked over and caught a glimpse of the words on the book cover: Strawberry Cultivation Basics and Precautions.
".."
What's going on? This is different from what she expected again.
Chai Qianning really wanted to teach her how to grow strawberries!
But she had a gut feeling that what Chai Qianning said in the strawberry garden that afternoon didn't mean that, but she had no proof.
Seeing her standing still, Chai Qianning chuckled and said, "Didn't I tell you this afternoon that I'd come to teach you tonight? Why are you still looking so surprised?"
Sheng Muxi smoothed her hair, pulled out a chair and sat down: "No, I just didn't expect you to be here to talk about theory."
"What else should we talk about if not theory?"
"If you're just talking theory, what kind of agritourism destination is that? It's more like you're making me watch you operate it..."
The evening breeze blew in through the window. Chai Qianning had her back to the window, so all her long hair was blown forward. She raised her hand to pull it back, but a few strands still lingered in front of her eyes.
Looking into Chai Qianning's ever-smiling eyes, Sheng Muxi immediately added, "But right now, of course, we're just talking about theory. We can't... do it tonight."
“How could it not be possible to put it into practice?” Chai Qianning pulled her chair forward and sat down in front of her.
As the shadow fell in front of her, and the other person's fingertips touched her collarbone, Sheng Muxi's relaxed body tensed up again.
"Should we plant it here? Or here?" Chai Qianning's fair fingers roamed back and forth across her skin.
Because it was a little itchy, Sheng Muxi's chin was so tense from holding it in.
Right, right, just as she thought!
She knew it! Chai Qianning would never be so serious as to utter the words "planting strawberries"!
Her mood tonight was like a rollercoaster, going up and down. She thought there was a steep slope ahead, but it turned out to be flat; she thought it was flat, but it turned out to be a steep slope.
The pale yellow glass lamps hanging from the ceiling, the wooden floor, and the pastoral murals on the other wall all contributed to the room's exceptional warmth, and at this moment, it was just the two of them.
Sheng Muxi immediately felt alarmed, and four words popped into his mind: dry wood and raging fire.
As Chai Qianning moved closer, the light on Sheng Muxi's face was blocked. At this moment, she could smell the other woman's scent, the fragrance of her shower gel, very clearly.
Sheng Muxi subconsciously grasped her wrist, her red lips slightly parted, and she tilted her head back to look at Chai Qianning, who had already stood up, and said in a very weak tone, "We're not in that kind of relationship."
"Can't we have that kind of relationship?" Chai Qianning smiled.
"What kind of relationship are you talking about?" Sheng Muxi asked, her tongue practically tied in knots.
After all, there are several types of relationships that can be established.
Chai Qianning didn't beat around the bush: "Then I'll... plant it a little shallower, okay?"
He even asked her if it was okay.
How was she supposed to answer that?!
Sheng Muxi's eyelashes trembled, and her throat bobbed several times, but she couldn't make a sound.
"Then I'll take that as a yes."
Chai Qianning gently pulled down her collar with her fingertips, then placed her hands on her shoulders, lowered her head, and covered her lips with hers.
Sheng Muxi was completely stiff at that moment, feeling her heart pounding wildly. She felt as if all she could hear was her own heartbeat, and she knew Chai Qianning must have heard it too.
Letting the other person hear your heartbeat make your cheeks burn even more. The burning sensation intensified, and Sheng Muxi felt as if her entire being was on fire. The mountain breeze blowing in from the window only fanned the flames, making her feel even more intensely hot.
Not long after, Chai Qianning released her, saying that the incision was indeed very shallow; she hadn't even felt a trace of pain. There was only a small red patch on her collarbone.
Sheng Muxi touched that small piece with her finger and secretly bit her lip.
Chai Qianning stared at her for a few seconds, then said regretfully, "Actually, I wanted to go a little further down, but I was afraid you'd say I was being a pervert... Well, no, that's not quite right. I don't think I was being a pervert. After all, I asked you beforehand, and you didn't say anything about going a little further down was wrong, so... how about I do it again? To make up for it?"
".."
How could this person say such things so easily!
Sheng Muxi looked away, suddenly feeling very unwilling, but she said she couldn't argue with the other person, so she gritted her teeth and called out to her, "Come here."
"Huh? What?" Chai Qianning seemed surprised by the other party's question.
"Come a little closer," Sheng Muxi said.
Chai Qianning smiled and leaned closer. Before she could speak, Sheng Muxi grabbed her collar and buried his face in her neck.
The soft, warm touch gradually turned into a stinging sensation.
Sheng Muxi seemed to be taking revenge on herself, so she bit quite hard.
Despite her best efforts to restrain herself, Chai Qianning couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.
Seeing the dark mark on Chai Qianning's collarbone, Sheng Muxi suddenly felt much lighter, as if all the pent-up frustration in her heart had been released.
But recalling Chai Qianning's pained cry just now, and seeing that skin so red it looked like it was bleeding, he felt that he might have overdone it.
After all, Chai Qianning didn't hurt her.
She licked her lips, about to say something to salvage the atmosphere, but Chai Qianning spoke first, seemingly unaffected by her overreaction.
On the contrary, the other person's expression was very pleasant: "Teacher Sheng." Chai Qianning pointed to the patch of skin: "If it doesn't go away within a month, you'll have to take responsibility for me."
Sheng Muxi didn't want to lose to her in a verbal exchange: "You went first."
"I was just teaching you, but who knew you would surpass me?"
".."
——
There is a large swimming pool at the foot of Yuding Mountain, with both indoor and outdoor facilities.
The outdoor swimming pool isn't too sunny because it's surrounded by trees, making it quite cool on the contrary.
With the hot weather, swimming is a popular choice for many people. Even children who can't swim will put on a swimming ring and go swimming.
Sheng Muxi was pulled to swim by Shi Manwen and Qiu Jie. When they got to the changing room, Sheng Muxi remembered that the mark on her collarbone had not completely faded yet. If she wore a swimsuit, it would definitely be visible to others.
Therefore, she made the excuse that she was menstruating and it was inconvenient for her to go into the water.
So she sat on the shore, drinking juice, quite content.
Shi Manwen took off her swimming goggles, leaned over the edge of the pool, and said to Sheng Muxi, "If I remember correctly, your period comes later than mine. I haven't even gotten mine yet, and you've already started?"
Sheng Muxi calmly replied, "Yes, it's ahead of schedule."
"You're doing this a bit too early. Remember to pay attention to your sleep schedule."
“Yes, what a pity. It’s the middle of summer and you can’t swim. It must be so uncomfortable for you to watch us play in the water. You should have told us you were coming earlier, then we wouldn’t have dragged you over.” Qiu Jie followed her to the shore and talked to her.
"How would I know? It came so many days early. You guys go have fun, don't worry about me." Sheng Muxi sent them away.
The trees blocked out much of the sunlight. Sheng Muxi lay on the chair, gazing at the distant blue sky with her eyes half-closed, looking very relaxed.
A person passed by behind her. At first, Sheng Muxi didn't notice until the person's finger touched the armrest next to her chair.
Sheng Muxi lifted her eyes and met Chai Qianning's smiling eyes: "What a coincidence, Teacher Sheng, you're on your period too."
".."
Chai Qianning held a glass of juice in her hand, the orange liquid rippling slightly in the transparent glass. She hadn't changed out of her swimsuit and was still wearing her own clothes.
It is clear that the other party did not intend to go swimming.
I don't know if it's because of that mark, or because I've actually started my period.
After all, that mark was much deeper than her own, and given the other person's pale skin, it would probably be easily noticeable and quite glaring.
She glanced at him for a few seconds, thankful that she had managed to stay somewhat rational and hadn't gone too far. The other person was wearing a short-sleeved, round-neck top with a small neckline, so it completely covered her.
“Yeah, you’re on your period today too? That’s quite a coincidence,” Sheng Muxi replied.
She didn't know if the other person was really on their period, but she couldn't let anything unusual show up first.
Unexpectedly, Chai Qianning reached out and touched the inside of her juice glass, then quickly withdrew her hand: "Oh dear, Teacher Sheng, you're on your period, why are you drinking something cold!"
Sheng Muxi stared at the juice in her hand: "Isn't yours cold?"
"No, mine is at room temperature. You can touch it if you don't believe me."
Chai Qianning offered the cup, and Sheng Muxi touched the cup with her finger; it was indeed at room temperature.
Perhaps because she had been holding cold drinks for a long time, she suddenly felt a bit hot when she held a room-temperature drink.
Good heavens, what a miscalculation!
Sheng Muxi thought to herself that she couldn't lose to her in words, so even if she was flustered inside, she had to remain calm on the surface.
She picked up the juice and slowly took a small sip, then said to Chai Qianning, "I'm healthy, so it's fine for me to drink something cold, but you can't."
Chai Qianning: "?"
Sheng Muxi continued, "How can you drink room temperature water? You should drink more hot water."
".."
Chai Qianning sighed helplessly, then chuckled, "You're so hypocritical."
——