Dramatically like a theatrical actress on stage, Bai Qian made the universal hand gesture for him to come to her. On bent knees in the lush green grass, she carefully held both Mo Yuan’s boots for him to step into with a gentle smile, that made her adorable dimples visible.
He paused. His hesitation was noticeable and thoroughly apparent, when Bai Qian boldly declared, “Friend, I already saw your FAT GOBLIN TOES! Behave and just step into them nicely instead of keeping a woman waiting, because even my father doesn’t get this special service. My friend… Mo Yuan, it’s an honor so keep that in mind.”
After fondly helping Mo Yuan with his shoes, Bai Qian polished the tips of his black boots shiny with the sleeve of her goddess gown. Wordlessly she stood, unceremoniously held up his heavy outer robe for him to slip into, and came around the front casually as if she’d dressed him for years.
While Mo Yuan silently stared in awe and wonderment, Bai Qian with great care pulled the sides across to overlap each other, used her small hands to press out the creases, and carefully tied the bulky garment to his left with a perfectly neat bow. He was speechless and said nothing because he couldn’t recall the last time a woman touched him so intimately.
There wasn’t anything lewd or sexual about her friendly behavior but for him, there was an undeniable nuance of stirring to feel her small hands stroking over on top of his clothes. Bai Qian’s subtle touches and bodily contact made the blood rush through his veins. The sounds similar to those of roaring rapids echoed in his ears as a result of the physical interaction.
Nevertheless strangely, why did it feel so natural and routine to have her touch him so personally? Shouldn’t he have flinched or jumped away to have a young unwed woman caress him openly? But surprisingly it was an exquisitely heating sensation, entirely welcome and something Mo Yuan wished would never end. The aftereffects, the afterglow of her feather light stroke made his body felt warm and tingling for hours afterward.
In comfortable silence, they were walking back up the mountain when Bai Qian abruptly paused by one of the many waterfalls and removed her shoes again. She held her dress up and pushed just her small feet, one after the other into the fast flowing water. Nonchalantly with a tiny smile, she explained she still had fruit between her toes and slipped on her shoes then ran back to Mo Yuan.
The sliding friction of her moistened feet inside Bai Qian’s shoes made a damp squeaking sound, like wet flatulence with every step she took.
Bai Qian immediately made the X symbol with her crossed arms and shouted defensively, “That wasn’t flatulence! That was my shoes! I swear! I didn’t fart! Friend, you believe me don’t you!?”
For every single footstep, her footwear caused an absurdly loud noise. They moved and a noisy squeak resulted promptly. Mo Yuan delayed, glanced down at her questioningly while Bai Qian glanced up at him tensely with a big toothy grin.
It was challenging, if not, almost impossible because he wanted to laugh but instead, he teased her further and Mo Yuan inquired without expression, “Are you sure that sound came from your shoes?”
“I swear! I might have grown up with four brothers but I’m not that crass! I wouldn’t pass gas in front of you for at least another 500 years of friendship! Listen, I’ll do it again!” Bai Qian passionately asserted and began to purposely walk around to demonstrate it was her shoes, as evidence to debunk Mo Yuan’s suspicions.
A subtle minor tilt of his head towards Bai Qian was his silent reply in recognition, that it was indeed her shoes but still, Mo Yuan gave her side-eyes as if he wasn’t 100% convinced. She tried to walk faster in hopes the sound would go away but instead, it sounded like a group of quacking ducks due to her hastened pace.
They continued their leisurely ascend, but Mo Yuan had to stop in route because he was laughing at her again and tears came to his eyes. Privately he found himself wondered if it was possible to be excessively humored by another person.
The strange noises of her shoes were hilarious but so was her big teeth exposing grin, giant round eyes, and flustered reddening cheeks. It was the greatest oxymoron. The woman who spoke freely about oral pleasure without a hint of color blushed wildly thinking Mo Yuan believed she’d passed wind.
“Friend, your stomach must be bothering you today. Here, I’ll give you a piggyback ride up the rest of the way.” Mo Yuan spoke straight faced unable to stop himself from teasing her, because it was a guilty pleasure for him, and he knew it couldn’t be comfortable walking uphill wearing wet shoes.
Mortified Bai Qian gasped and nervously stammered, “I… I told you it’s my shoes!”
“Whatever makes you feel most comfortable, friend. We’ll just say it was your shoes. I guess we’ll find out after you get on my back.” Mo Yuan softly replied sounding unconvinced.
Mo Yuan bent down on one knee to give Bai Qian easy access to climb on his back, and she eagerly jumped on him without delay. She wanted to show him it was her footwear. Inwardly he was marveling at her lack of weight but made noises, grunts, groans of pain and suffering as if his back was going to go out.
In a strained, tense voice, Mo Yuan asked in a whisper, “What did you eat for breakfast? Friend, you’re much, much heavier than I anticipated. I hope your parents have set aside a hefty significant dowry for your wedding, because it might be challenging to find a husband who didn’t mind an ugly, odd and overweight wife.”
Bai Qian snorted aloud offended by his rude comment about her being overweight, and suddenly twisted her petite body violently in a feeble attempt to jump off Mo Yuan’s back. While she struggled in vain to get off his backside, he effortlessly hoisted her up higher on his back with a single lift, and supported her dangling legs with his strong arms. She weighed as much as a child and clung to him with her slender, delicate arms wrapped lightly around his neck.
He didn’t need visual confirmation from her beautiful face to know she was smiling. Mo Yuan could distinctly hear her happiness in her bright chipper tone. She giggled and playfully kicked the sides of his body as if he were a horse ever so lightly. Bai Qian’s pleasure was nothing compared to how giddy he felt around her, and every second felt so entirely precious that he didn’t want them to pass. It was a unique and strange new feeling for him.
There were small seconds in Mo Yuan’s life when he wished time would stop, and this was one of those occurrences. Carry Bai Qian on his back, hearing her soft female voice humming what sounded like a lullaby one would sing to a baby, and feeling her steady heartbeat from her chest pressed up against his backside was a perfect moment.
“Mo Yuan, are you sure you don’t want to meet my cousin? She’s pretty…well, not as attractive as me but worth looking at I think.” Bai Qian proposed and her sweet breath felt warm against his bare neck.
With an audible gasp, Mo Yuan responded in a tone of amazement, “There’s someone uglier than you!?”
Bai Qian completely ignored his sarcastic reply and said with a tone more like a coo of contentment. “Friend, you’d make a wonderful husband and father one day. Your back is so big and warm. I could fall asleep here.”
Affectionately pressing her soft right cheek fully against his broad back and she was faintly humming, when Bai Qian abruptly asked in a sneaky little voice, “Friend, who was that disciple that was on the left of you? The one beside you in the front?”
“Die Feng? My senior disciple?” Mo Yuan answered casually without putting much thought into why she was curious about Die Feng.
She snickered and inquisitively asked, “Die Feng? Who is he?”
Mo Yuan’s understanding profoundly lacked when he replied, “He’s the second son of the West Sea King. Why?”
“Ah, a prince. Prince Die Feng. Is he promised to anyone yet like a prearranged marriage per say?” Bai Qian’s light, feminine voice sounded like a giddy curious schoolgirl.
It was then it finally hit Mo Yuan why she was asking about Die Feng. Die Feng was it?! How interesting!
Mo Yuan flat out lied and quickly said, “Die Feng has a beautiful fiancé and he’s particular. He won’t date a woman as homely as you. Friend, don’t aim for such handsome men. I say this out of genuine concern and friendship.”
“Hm. Too bad. Prince Die Feng’s very handsome. How about if I enchant him?” Bai Qian answered back mischievously.
Mo Yuan tsked his tongue repeatedly in clear disapproval and said sternly, “That’s dishonest! What if Die Feng snaps out of your spell after marriage and runs away after seeing your true appearance?”
Bai Qian pressed her cheek firmly against his back again and faintly murmured, “True enough. Thank you, friend, for looking out for my best interest.” And went back to humming.
There was sweat on his forehead because that was a very close call. Mo Yuan shouldn’t have smirked but he did somewhat proudly. Mission accomplished. He would make sure going forward to keep Die Feng far and very distant away from Bai Qian. So, Die Feng was her type? Mo Yuan would remember to give Die Feng extra tedious tasks to keep him busy. He didn’t realize how near the school they were, until Mo Yuan heard a sharp gasp followed by the sound of something dropping to the ground.
“BROTHER, IS THAT YOU!?” Ye Hua’s bewildered voice of utter shock matched the expression on his face perfectly when he saw Bai Qian on his older brother’s back.
To be continued…..