The door to the treehouse was open. He Sui’an had rushed in so quickly that she hadn’t closed it. The sunlight seemed to be shattered, scattering all around and clearly distinguishing the light at the entrance and the corners.
They were now in the dark corner.
As if they were hiding something.
Qi Buyan was suddenly and forcefully covered by He Sui’an, the silver ornaments on her body jingling. Her palm pressed against his slightly parted lips, feeling his distinct, slightly warm breath.
The book was still in Qi Buyan’s hand.
The pages were still open, revealing a picture of intimate scenes between a man and a woman.
He Sui’an caught a glimpse of their actions out of the corner of her eye, blushing and finding it difficult to speak. She wanted to take the book away, but Qi Buyan avoided her. He Sui’an stood there in a daze, staring at him.
He hadn’t gotten an answer yet and still had questions about the content of the book. Until his doubts were resolved, he wouldn’t let He Sui’an take the book away.
She realized what she was doing and sheepishly lowered her hand, no longer covering him.
Qi Buyan had the freedom to read whatever book he wanted.
She couldn’t take away his freedom.
Besides, he was already curious about the book. If He Sui’an kept trying to stop him, it would only backfire. It was better to let things take their course. Qi Buyan was in his teens now and would eventually learn these things.
However, the thought of explaining the content of the book to Qi Buyan was too embarrassing for He Sui’an.
She couldn’t get over that mental hurdle.
Ignoring what kind of book Qi Buyan was holding, he now looked like a student seeking guidance from a teacher in an unfamiliar field, with He Sui’an playing the role of the teacher.
In fact, He Sui’an was quite inexperienced herself. She only had theoretical knowledge and no practical experience, so when Qi Buyan asked her if this would make her feel comfortable, she didn’t know.
As for the latter part, whether it would make them closer.
She didn’t need practice to know the answer.
It would.
He Sui’an’s gaze fell on Qi Buyan’s face, trying not to look at the impactful image in the book. “I don’t know,” she answered, referring to whether it would make her feel comfortable.
Qi Buyan nodded.
He pointed to the words beside the picture, first pointing to “make the woman feel comfortable,” then to “facilitate intimacy between both parties.” “Which one are you saying you don’t know about?” he asked.
After a brief pause, Qi Buyan asked again, “Or do you mean you don’t know about both?”
She pursed her lips.
He Sui’an said honestly, “I don’t know about the first part.” The book said that, but it might be exaggerated. The part about facilitating intimacy between both parties, however, was not exaggerated.
His fair fingertips moved to the word “intimacy.” “So this part is true?”
She replied vaguely, “Probably.”
Qi Buyan looked again.
He Sui’an felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. The hem and sash of her dress were wrinkled from her grip, and a long ribbon from her hair fell onto her shoulder, curving down to her slightly fleshy hand.
The wind blew through the large gap in the treehouse door, brushing against He Sui’an’s sash and unbound long hair. The ends of her hair swept over Qi Buyan, who was sitting next to her, touching the hand holding the book.
Qi Buyan unconsciously twirled a strand of her hair before letting it go.
He Sui’an’s hair was blown open by the wind again.
The treehouse was silent.
Despite just drinking a bowl of water, He Sui’an felt dry-mouthed again, mainly because the image in the book she was looking at with Qi Buyan was too shocking. She hadn’t calmed down yet.
Seeing this kind of book secretly by herself was completely different from looking at it with someone else.
The first page of the book was already so explicit that He Sui’an could guess how straightforward the following content would be without even turning the pages.
He Sui’an didn’t consider this matter to be shameful or something that couldn’t be mentioned.
But she wasn’t prepared to discuss this with Qi Buyan, who had just left the secluded Tianshui Village in Miaojiang for the first time and knew nothing about these matters. It made her somewhat uneasy.
Qi Buyan didn’t turn the pages for a while; his gaze remained on those words.
He Sui’an quickly glanced at it.
It was still the same page.
Should she be grateful that Qi Buyan hadn’t turned the pages, or embarrassed that they had to continue staring at this image? A fine sweat appeared on He Sui’an’s forehead, and she raised her sleeve to wipe it away.
Qi Buyan raised his eyes and said something surprising, “Do you want to try it with me?”
He Sui’an was stunned.
“Using the intimate way described on this page… Since we both don’t know, if we try it together, you can find out if it’s comfortable. If it can make us closer, don’t you want to try?”
Was he silent earlier because he was thinking about this? He Sui’an’s heart skipped a beat.
She stammered, “You, I, we, I.”
Qi Buyan pressed his fingertip on the corner of the book, patiently waiting for her to finish speaking.
He Sui’an’s eyelids twitched, her earlobes flushed a deep red, and her fingers turned pink from her own grasp. She looked as if she were about to burst into flames: “Do you know what it means to do this?”
“Doesn’t it mean we become closer?”
His expression didn’t change as he answered.
“That’s why I want to try, very much so. He Sui’an, would you be willing?” Qi Buyan asked, seemingly unaware of how shocking his words were, looking at her with a harmless expression.
His face was fair and clean, yet strikingly beautiful in a way only mythical beings could be.
He Sui’an found herself unable to refuse while looking at Qi Buyan’s face. Or perhaps, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to refuse. Maybe she also wanted to try something new.
After all, she and Qi Buyan were the same age and had their own curiosities about these things.
Without involving feelings.
Simply trying new things with someone who looked beautiful was irresistible. He Sui’an believed that at eighteen, she was entirely capable of making decisions about such matters.
But he was entirely inexperienced.
He Sui’an felt that agreeing to Qi Buyan was like splashing ink on a blank canvas, a strange feeling. She just wanted to stay in her comfort zone, kissing and hugging him.
Perhaps He Sui’an took too long to consider, as Qi Buyan leaned closer to her, his features enlarging before her eyes. Their breaths intertwined, mingling indistinguishably.
The distance closed significantly.
He Sui’an blinked rapidly.
Qi Buyan tucked the long ribbon from her hair that had fallen in front of her behind her head and softly asked, “Why aren’t you answering me?”
Because her mind was in chaos.
He Sui’an’s breathing was disrupted by Qi Buyan’s faint warm scent. Her head instinctively tilted back to smell it less, trying to stay clear-headed and make a decision.
Qi Buyan raised his hand, his palm cradling the back of He Sui’an’s head as she leaned back. If she moved back any further, she would hit the tree wall. She forgot they were in a corner, leaning against the tree wall, still moving back.
So He Sui’an’s head pressed into Qi Buyan’s palm against the tree wall.
The butterfly silver chain on his wrist jingled.
He Sui’an wanted to turn her head.
Halfway through, she abruptly stopped. The butterfly silver chain had seven bells, and one seemed to have caught her hair. He Sui’an was afraid that moving forcefully would tear Qi Buyan’s butterfly chain.
Even though the chain wasn’t that fragile, knowing that a chain could be life-threatening made anyone cautious.
The jingling sound continued, with each movement of the bell creating a lingering melody.
It was melodious, seemingly able to tug at one’s heartstrings.
The butterfly silver chain was still caught in the hair at the back of He Sui’an’s head, where she couldn’t see it.
He Sui’an didn’t dare to fumble with the butterfly chain blindly, hoping instead that Qi Buyan would help her. However, Qi Buyan didn’t seem to mind.
He didn’t immediately try to untangle the butterfly silver chain, letting it remain intertwined with her hair.
His eyes reflected her face, with a slight emotion flickering in them.
Seeing that he wasn’t moving, He Sui’an carefully reached behind her head to try to untangle it.
She tried once but couldn’t do it.
He Sui’an gave up and asked Qi Buyan if he had a dagger or even a sharp piece of silk that she could use to cut her hair, so as not to tug on his butterfly silver chain.
This was the second time this had happened to them. Last time, a small silver ornament at the end of Qi Buyan’s hair had caught in her hair, and Qi Buyan had decisively cut his own hair with a dagger.
This time, it was Qi Buyan’s butterfly silver chain that had caught in her hair.
So He Sui’an wanted to follow his example.
Qi Buyan didn’t give her a dagger or a piece of silk. Seeing her determination, he raised his other hand to untangle it.
His fingers were nimble, and within moments, he had separated He Sui’an’s hair from the butterfly silver chain.
He Sui’an immediately checked the butterfly silver chain.
She confirmed it was intact.
She remembered that Qi Shu had lost his life because the butterfly silver chain had broken.
Seeing He Sui’an almost leaning over his wrist to check the butterfly chain, Qi Buyan didn’t pull back. He let her examine it thoroughly. He asked, “Do you like my butterfly silver chain?”
He Sui’an hesitated, “Yes.” She liked beautiful and delicate things, but she was meticulously checking the chain because she was worried about it breaking, especially breaking on her.
She couldn’t accept causing someone’s death, especially Qi Buyan’s.
After hearing her answer, Qi Buyan looked down at his butterfly silver chain for a moment, the chain lightly swaying on his wrist, its silver glinting softly.
He occasionally liked to think quietly.
He Sui’an didn’t disturb his thoughts, trying instead to quietly reach out and close the book, mainly because she didn’t want to keep staring at that picture.
Just as He Sui’an was about to touch the book, Qi Buyan grasped her hand.
He followed her hand with his eyes.
Qi Buyan misunderstood her intention: “Do you want to see the next page?”
In all honesty, He Sui’an had no such desire at that moment and immediately shook her head like a rattle drum: “No, I don’t.”
He hummed in response, seemingly not understanding why she denied it so eagerly and reacted so strongly. His motion to turn the page halted: “By the way, you haven’t answered me yet.”
Qi Buyan had a good memory.
He wouldn’t forget the questions he had asked just because of other matters.
She wished she could burrow into the ground like a mouse and escape, not wanting to face his gaze. She buried her head into Qi Buyan’s chest, her forehead pressing against his chest, resembling a small animal that liked to nuzzle with its head.
Qi Buyan glanced at the sky outside and suddenly remembered he had something to do: “You can answer me tonight. I have to leave Hongye Village for a while today, and I might be back very late.”
He Sui’an moved away from him.
She was puzzled: “You have to go out?”
He put the book away and stood up: “Yes, I need to go out for a while.”
“Do you need me to go with you?” Usually, Qi Buyan would take He Sui’an with him when he went to handle matters, so she asked this question today.
Qi Buyan walked towards the tree door.
“No need, you stay in Hongye Village.”
“And by very late, do you mean?” she asked, watching Qi Buyan climb down the ladder.
“I’ll be back by midnight.”
He Sui’an left the corner and leaned out of the tree door, looking down at Qi Buyan. The slender figure of the young man stood out conspicuously at the base of the treehouse. Not long after he descended, he headed towards the village entrance.
The red snake stayed behind, coiled under the treehouse, occasionally eating a passing insect, looking like a vivid, enchanting flower blooming beside the tree, colorful and striking, yet intimidating.
He Sui’an’s head poked out from the lush green tree, her hair ribbons fluttering in the wind.
The sunny weather turned cloudy, and it began to rain heavily.
The leaves rustled.
The large raindrops soaked He Sui’an’s hair ribbons, so she pulled her head back in, but her hand remained outside to feel the rain. It wasn’t long before her entire hand was wet. The rain was too heavy.
Qi Buyan didn’t have an umbrella, so he would surely get soaked. He Sui’an didn’t know where he went, so she couldn’t bring him an umbrella. She could only pray that the rain would stop soon.
She sat at the tree door, hugging her knees and watching.
The book Qi Buyan had looked at the first page of was still in its original place.
Since Qi Buyan knew of its existence and had seen it, there was no need for He Sui’an to hide the book again; otherwise, it would be self-deception.
