Panicked, distressed, anxious, with an expression like that of a first-time thief who had been caught in the act and wanted to cry and also seemingly trying desperately to think of what she should say to explain her actions, Little Xiang Ning’s brain froze. She was unable to do anything else but simply look pitifully at Xu Tingsheng.

  Xu Tingsheng looked at her, smiling as he said calmly but with certainty, “It’s alright. Sometimes, I also spill water on the bed when lying down and drinking. This actually happens to many other people too.”


  Little Xiang Ning was taken aback for a moment before she nodded, saying softly, “Right, that’s it. I wanted to drink water just now……but then, I accidentally spilt it.”


  Nodding along with her, Xu Tingsheng then seemed to suddenly realise, “Oh no, your bed’s all wet. What to do?”


  “Yeah, this is really……what to do……it’s all my fault for being so careless when drinking the water.”


  Little Xiang Ning frantically hid the empty electric kettle behind her as even she knew that no one drank water straight from the kettle. She stammered as she agreed with Xu Tingsheng’s words, those last few words of hers virtually being inaudible.

  Xu Tingsheng simulated a ‘frowning in deep thought’ look as best he could, seemingly realising after a while, “Oh well, at least we still have another bed.”


  Xu Tingsheng shifted to the side and freed up half of his bed before he patted the mattress and looked at Little Xiang Ning.

  Seeing how the corners of Xu Tingsheng’s mouth were curled up in amusement, Little Xiang Ning’s face reddened at once. Looking down at the floor, she sneakily put the electric kettle down before responding as she tugged at her clothes, “Yeah.”


  Then, she stood there in a helpless daze, not knowing what she should be doing.

  They say that experience comes with age. Uncle still grasped the initiative at the end of the day.

  Xu Tingsheng smiled at Little Xiang Ning, then reached out and turned off the entire row of lights at the head of the bed.

  The breathing of two people was audible amidst the darkness.

  Finally, the bed quivered slightly……

  Along with it, a delicate, slender figure leaned into Xu Tingsheng’s embrace.

  There she lay, hand on his shirt, forehead against his chest, her little face buried in his embrace……her warm breaths tickled……

  “You aren’t allowed to laugh at me over this in the future, okay?” Came a voice that was soft as a mosquito’s.

  “Okay,” Came the warm reply.

  “You can’t tell anybody.”


  “Okay.”


  “If we have a baby in the future, we also can’t tell him or her, okay?”


  “Okay.”


  She leaned further in, rewarding Uncle who had helped her to cover up her embarrassment with a gentle kiss. This was the fourth time. Perhaps she had actually meant to kiss his face like before, but unable to see in the darkness, she ended up kissing him on the lips instead.

  Instant bliss flooded in at that moment as Xu Tingsheng was just unable to stop himself from kissing those soft, tender lips back.

  While she had clearly been able to secure a full retreat those past three times, why was it that this time……Little Xiang Ning was taken aback, but she did not escape as her hands which were gripping Xu Tingsheng’s clothes tightened abruptly, gripping onto his flesh.

  Still, what did that bit of pain matter?

  This youthful freshness, carrying a bit of unripeness, a tinge of hardship……it was the happiness of youth……

  Little Xiang Ning was virtually sprawled out across Xu Tingsheng right now, having frozen right there as her lips were pressed tightly together with her teeth clenched. Besides her lips that were trembling slightly, she was totally stiffened up, not responding or shrinking back, just tightening her grip more and more.

  The gusting wind lifted up a corner of the curtains, light filtering in from the streetlamps.

  Xu Tingsheng saw those sparkling, dark eyes fixated on him, the meaning within difficult to tell. Shouldn’t one’s eyes be closed when kissing? Feeling both guilty and vexed, Uncle went back to lying down.

  “So, that was a kiss?” Little Xiang Ning asked somewhat interestedly after composing herself.

  Xu Tingsheng shook his head, answering, “Kissing, no clenched teeth. People use tongues.”


  “Is that so?” Little Xiang Ning stuck out her tongue as long as she could, cheerily pulling a ghastly face and even making a ‘scary’ noise before she chuckled, feeling greatly amused.

  Truly, a generational gap existed! A defeated Xu Tingsheng could only sigh helplessly.

  Little Xiang Ning pushed him, enquiring, “Then, is it like this……”


  The tender tip of her tongue slid lightly across her lips……

  “Is it like this?”


  Xu Tingsheng was unable to hold himself back.

  “Wha……oh……”


  The young girl had no way to pull herself back in time.

  Yet, as Uncle lunged over, her teeth clenched down again.

  It was only a long time later that they were slightly unclenched. Still……that soft tip of her tongue was like a newborn pup coming into contact with a new, unknown world. Every time it touched, flee at once it would……till finally it was caught, and unable to flee no matter what……her little fists pounded on Uncle’s chest……

  Powerlessness ensued.

  Although Uncle made sure to be very gentle and very careful, as the ‘devil’ inside of him grew increasingly ‘unbridled’, he forcibly stopped himself at once, helping Little Xiang Ning to lightly wipe her lips before he awkwardly went back to lying down.

  “What is it? Is there still something wrong?” Little Xiang Ning asked after resuming her normal breathing.

  “No,” Xu Tingsheng thought for a moment before making a crappy excuse, “I need to rest a bit.”


  “Right, I need to catch my breath too.”


  So someone had been nervous to the point of unconsciously forgetting to breath as they had kissed earlier.

  She was still resting against him, her desperately blushing face buried in his shoulder. It was just that both of them were breathing rather heavily, their chests heaving as they lay there……

  After a while, the one whose head was buried asked softly, “Are you done resting yet?”


  Xu Tingsheng replied, “Why?”


  “I still wanna kiss,” The shameless little girl had to force out the words a little but was just as frank as ever.

  “.……”


  “It’s soft, and numb, and I’m clearly feeling so very nervous, but I feel so happy too……”


  So she had enjoyed it, and wanted to get a taste of it again. What a truly enticing request this was. Yet, how would Xu Tingsheng dare to go at it again? Any more false moves and he might really be unable to suppress that ‘devilish’ Xu Tingsheng inside of him any longer.

  “We should sleep now,” Xu Tingsheng said.

  So, Little Xiang Ning had……been flat out rejected……disappointed, bashful, embarrassed, despondent……Xiang Ning got angry as her two rows of teeth bit down on Xu Tingsheng’s shoulder.

  Embarrassed as she was, she bit down rather heavily on that one as the new, tender flesh where his wounds had only recently healed broke, blood leaking from within.

  Pained, Xu Tingsheng groaned.

  Little Xiang Ning touched the blood.

  The two hurriedly scrambled for the lights.

  It was not a big wound, but blood was gushing continually from it……

  Little Xiang Ning burst into tears, repeatedly apologising amidst her panic and unease, incessantly saying sorry as she sobbed as it was simply impossible to calm her down.

  Xu Tingsheng applied pressure to the side of that wound and managed to get the bleeding to stop. Then, he wiped off her tears and pulled her over into his embrace as he comforted her softly……just like that, Xiang Ning cried herself into exhaustion till finally she fell asleep in his arms.

  “In these two lives, just how many years has it been……finally, I can hug you as I fall asleep.”
……

  Xu Tingsheng had thought that Xiang Ning would sleep in till very late. Yet, when he awoke the next morning, there was already a pair of beautiful eyes fixated on him. Little Xiang Ning lay prone across the bed with her hands resting against her cheeks as she just gazed at him……

  “Does it still hurt?”


  Xu Tingsheng shook his head.

  “Can we play for one more day before going home?”


  “.……No.”


  “Oh……well then, let’s not waste this time now.”


  “What do you mean let’s not waste it?”


  Her small hand trembled slightly as it extended over, taking hold of Xu Tingsheng’s hand and guiding it to her back. She reached in below her pyjamas, hand coming to rest on her slender waist. Their eyes met for just an instant, but quickly darted away at once.

  “Weren’t you thinking about it for a very long time……dirty ruffian,” Little Xiang Ning’s expression was one of suffering torture.

  Xu Tingsheng ignored it as all his energy was spent restricting his palm from randomly moving upwards. It was some time later before Little Xiang Ning asked, “Is it good to touch?” What the heck turn of phrase that was.

  “Yes,” Xu Tingsheng affirmed.

  “You, dirty, ruffian……are you going to spend the whole day touching……”


  Xu Tingsheng hurriedly retracted his hand.

  If this described every night, every morning, how good it would be.