Qi Buyan seemed to just realize what he had done and straightened up.
A kiss signifies a very intimate relationship between two people.
So what does it mean to kiss someone’s body?
Although he rarely paid attention to such things, at this moment, he could infer that kissing the body represented a desire to become more intimate. He wanted to become closer to He Sui’an.
Why?
Qi Buyan did not reject the feeling of wanting to be close to He Sui’an. On the contrary, he liked it very much. He wanted to touch, caress, and kiss her, a desire he had never experienced while living on the lonely mountain before.
Unable to figure out why he wanted to become closer to her, Qi Buyan didn’t care. He just needed to know what he wanted to do.
He always did what he wanted.
The room was silent for a moment, the candle burning soundlessly. Half of his face was hidden in the shadows.
Qi Buyan gazed at the space behind her.
He Sui’an had prepared herself mentally and turned to look at Qi Buyan. The boy, illuminated by the light, had red lips and white teeth, and he was looking down at her.
She wanted to speak, but her tongue seemed to twist. She also wanted to avoid talking about what had just happened. Having done nothing, her eyes flickered, and she simply said, “I’m sleepy again, I’ll go to sleep first.”
Qi Buyan’s fingers were still playing with He Sui’an’s long hair. “He Sui’an.”
He called her name unexpectedly.
He Sui’an felt nervous.
She had pretended not to know what had happened, so why was he holding on?
“What’s wrong?” She was a bit unsure how to face this situation, her fingertips trembling slightly, and the back of her neck seemed to retain a damp sensation. “I really am sleepy again.”
Qi Buyan’s index finger moved along He Sui’an’s hair, slowly touching the back of her neck. “I kissed you here, didn’t you feel it?”
Why ask her this question?
He Sui’an hastily pulled the quilt over her head.
“Ah? No… didn’t feel it.” She lied, immersed in darkness.
He whispered, “Really didn’t feel it?”
He Sui’an: “Really.”
Qi Buyan lay down beside her, his breath falling into her hair. “But I felt it, He Sui’an. I really like being close to you.”
He Sui’an’s thoughts were in disarray, her heart pounding like a drum. She didn’t dare to keep her back to him anymore, so she simply turned around and burrowed into his arms, clumsily hugging him to restrain him.
She heard a light laugh above her head, which fell into her ears.
He still liked it when she took the initiative to get close to him.
He Sui’an buried her head further in, pretending to fall asleep instantly. Her hands, holding Qi Buyan’s waist tightly, were trembling from nervousness, as if trying to embed him into her body.
He was hurt by her grip but said nothing.
Qi Buyan liked the pain He Sui’an gave him, finding a strange pleasure in it.
—
The sun rose, and the boat sailed steadily on the water.
The morning sunlight couldn’t reach the small window of the cabin, making it still very dark inside. Without lighting a candle, it was as dim as nighttime.
He Sui’an was still lying in Qi Buyan’s arms, their hair tangled together. She was sleeping soundly until she had a dream of being surrounded by bugs and snakes, causing her to kick in the air and wake up.
For someone who feared bugs and snakes to the extreme, having such a dream was horrifying.
Scared to death.
She slowly loosened her grip on Qi Buyan’s waist and rubbed her eyes.
And her foot.
He Sui’an had also put her foot on Qi Buyan, sleeping in a very ungraceful position. If it were her, she wouldn’t like someone putting their hands and feet on her while sleeping, finding it very uncomfortable.
Didn’t Qi Buyan feel uncomfortable?
He said he was used to sharing a bed with her. He Sui’an didn’t know how he got used to it.
She often worried if his hands and feet would go numb from her resting on them. He Sui’an got out of bed carefully, recalling everything that happened last night, and couldn’t help but look back at him.
Qi Buyan surely didn’t know what his actions meant. He Sui’an grabbed the outer garment placed by the bed, put it on, and tied it properly.
She touched her head.
It was a mess.
Her long hair was tangled with the ribbons, knotted. He Sui’an sat on the low stool in the room, carefully untangling the ribbons from her hair. Sometimes, she pulled her hair, causing her to wince in pain.
She couldn’t be so lazy in the future. She had to untie the ribbons before sleeping because if she slept with them on for too long, they would get tangled, and she would still have to spend time untangling them and retying her hair in the morning.
There was no mirror in the room, so He Sui’an fumbled to untie the ribbons.
After untying them, she had to tie them back.
So troublesome.
He Sui’an squeezed her sore wrist, took out a sandalwood comb, and began to smooth her hair. She tried to gather her long hair to put it up, but it kept slipping down.
Qi Buyan had woken up without her noticing and walked over.
She heard him and turned to look.
His clothes were a bit disheveled, the collar half open, revealing a section of his moonlit collarbone. His hair, however, wasn’t messy at all, hanging smoothly down to his waist, making his waist look even narrower.
He Sui’an glanced at him twice more. Qi Buyan was the most beautiful person she had ever seen. Just woken up, his features had a softer touch, as if he had walked out of a painting.
He spread his fingers and gathered her long black hair. “Let me help you.”
He Sui’an said, “…Okay.”
She nervously fiddled with her fingers.
Qi Buyan didn’t really know how to put up a girl’s hair, but he did know how to braid. So, he braided a single plait that hung over her shoulder, using several silk ribbons to tie it.
With him behind her, He Sui’an couldn’t see Qi Buyan’s expression, but she could feel his nimble fingers weaving through her hair.
It felt very comfortable.
A little ticklish too.
But this position, with her back to Qi Buyan, reminded her of last night.
He Sui’an immediately shook her head to dispel the thought.
She forgot that her hair was still in Qi Buyan’s hands, and shaking her head tugged it.
He gently pressed his palm against the back of her head, his pinky hooking a lotus-colored ribbon and wrapping it around the braid. “What are you thinking about?”
He Sui’an: “…”
Feeling guilty, she replied, “Nothing.”
There was no way He Sui’an would bring up what happened last night on her own, and she didn’t want to think about it either.
After finishing the braid, Qi Buyan took a delicate silver ornament from his waist and tied it to the end of He Sui’an’s braid, making a tinkling sound.
“Done.”
He released her long braid.
He Sui’an looked down at the beautiful braid hanging in front of her, gently touching the butterfly silver ornament at the end with her fingertips, liking it quite a bit. She looked up at Qi Buyan. “It’s very pretty.”
His brows were touched with a smile, seemingly enjoying dressing up the person he cared for. Hearing her say it was pretty, his pleasure increased.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
She replied honestly, “I like it.”
Qi Buyan’s fingertips glided over He Sui’an’s long braid. “I like it too.” He seemed to like everything that belonged to He Sui’an.
It was a bit magical.
They didn’t stay in the narrow cabin for long and went outside.
It seemed other passengers also felt the cabin was too stuffy and came out for some fresh air. The deck was crowded with people, and from their clothing, it was easy to distinguish between the boat workers and the regular passengers.
Some boat workers were selling food on the boat, priced a few coins higher than on the shore. Passengers who wanted hot food still bought it, and it was in high demand.
He Sui’an leaned on the railing, feeling bored.
She had no appetite.
Qi Buyan gazed at the water, the butterfly bracelet on his wrist jingling in the morning breeze.
He Sui’an spotted the man who had been “drunk and disorderly” last night. Today, he seemed much more normal, although his face was still pale. He stood beside his wife.
His wife was tall and graceful, with a purple veil and long dress fluttering slightly in the wind, briefly revealing a beautiful face before the veil covered it again. She was also gazing at the water.
Their servants had bought food.
“Madam.”
“Yes.” The woman in purple nodded, took some food, and first offered it to the man. He initially didn’t take it, nor did he look at her, his gaze unfocused in mid-air.
Then, she called softly, “Husband, won’t you eat?”
The man accepted it.
The woman in purple then gently instructed the servants to distribute the rest of the food, treating them well. Their food was the same as hers.
The servants also showed great respect for the woman in purple, calling her “Madam” with every word.
Perhaps He Sui’an had been watching her for too long, for the woman in purple noticed and looked over, meeting He Sui’an’s gaze before calmly looking away and speaking to her husband.
A gust of wind blew.
The woman’s veil was lifted again.
Though only half her face was visible, it was enough to see her elegant brows and delicate features, like a fairy adorned with dewdrops and pearls.
In terms of appearance alone, the gaunt man was less attractive than the woman. He Sui’an vaguely heard some people gossiping about them.
“That man is very lucky. I just saw his wife’s face, and wow, she’s stunning. If I had such a wife, I’d be willing to lose ten years of my life.”
The ones gossiping were two men.
Another man sneered, “You?”
“What’s wrong with me? I look no worse than that man.” The young man who said he would be willing to lose ten years of his life snorted, unconvinced.
His friend laughed but said nothing.
Enviously, he looked at the sickly man being carefully supported by the woman in purple and spat on the ground. “But he looks like a short-lived ghost. That beautiful lady will belong to someone else sooner or later.”
He Sui’an didn’t listen any further.
She thought they were just sour grapes, cursing others out of jealousy.
Suddenly, He Sui’an’s gaze focused on a girl and a man standing in front of a boat worker selling food. That was Jiang Xuewan!
“Miss Jiang!” she called out happily.
Qi Buyan turned to look at He Sui’an, also seeing the two people she had spotted.
It was indeed Jiang Xuewan, and Jiang Songwei was there too. Jiang Xuewan was contentedly eating a sesame cake. Hearing someone call out “Miss Jiang,” she didn’t react.
Jiang Songwei cautiously pulled Jiang Xuewan behind him, looking toward the source of the voice. Recognizing He Sui’an’s face, he relaxed and tugged Jiang Xuewan’s wrist. “Xuewan.”
“Third Uncle?”
There were crumbs from the sesame cake at the corner of Jiang Xuewan’s mouth.
Jiang Songwei skillfully wiped them off for her and gestured for Jiang Xuewan to look at He Sui’an. “Look.”
“Look at what?” Jiang Xuewan asked blankly, following his direction. Seeing He Sui’an, she dropped the sesame cake and smiled like a child, walking toward her. “It’s her!”
Jiang Songwei picked up the discarded sesame cake and quickly followed.
“Miss He, Miss He.”
Jiang Xuewan was the first to grab He Sui’an’s hand.
