Li Fei was completely dumbfounded, staring at him blankly, unable to utter a single word.
He pulled her limp arms up and hooked them around his neck, then lowered his body and kissed her again. It seemed he had grown fond of this intimate caress, no longer kissing as urgently and clumsily as before. This time, he explored tentatively, capturing her lips, licking and sucking, alternating between light and heavy pressure, occasionally nibbling.
Li Fei felt as if the world was spinning. A moan, almost trembling, escaped her. She felt she might melt from this suffocating embrace and lingering kiss. A deep, unfamiliar pleasure poured out from the depths of her body, making her dizzy. She couldn’t breathe, her heart nearly leaping out of her throat.
His hand tangled in her hair, fingertips caressing the skin at the nape of her neck, gradually and involuntarily moving lower. Li Fei felt herself trembling. Suddenly, she became afraid. Her scattered thoughts slowly returned, along with extreme shock. She began to struggle violently, both hands pushing against him desperately.
Lei Xiuyuan pinned down her hands and lifted himself to gaze at her. His voice sounded as if it were filled with sand: “Do you still want to know what I experienced in the illusion? Do you want to continue?”
Li Fei suddenly understood what he meant about taking off clothes in the illusion. Every word he had said was true. She felt her neck turning red, and she stammered incoherently, “Wait! You… you just said… said what? Whose person? I don’t think… I quite understand…”
Had she misheard? He had always been hers? Was this a sudden confession?
Lei Xiuyuan’s expression remained gloomy. He curled his lip, smiling mockingly: “Playing dumb?”
Li Fei first looked at him in bewilderment, then, seeing the mockery on his face, she seemed to wake up. Her wild heartbeat gradually calmed, and she said softly, “I’m not playing dumb. You’re the one who’s playing dumb.”
Anger grew in Lei Xiuyuan’s eyes. He chuckled coldly: “You think too highly of me. You’re the one in control of everything, hot and cold, near and far.”
She too began to feel angry, her gaze clear as she looked directly at him: “The one who’s hot and cold, near and far, is you.”
Who was it that always avoided at crucial moments? Who made her anxious, tossing and turning, her heart unable to settle? Was he doing it on purpose? Did he find it amusing to see her emotions fluctuate?
His expression was dark and indiscernible. He stared at her for a long time: “I can risk my life for you. What can you do for me? Let someone bite your arm? Or sudden indifference?”
Li Fei was suddenly at a loss for words. She was full of resentment but didn’t know how to express it. He had bled and fought for her, pushing himself to his limits. What had she done for him? Did her constant unease and restlessness count? Did being emotionally exhausted for him count? Did having eyes only for him count?
She knew these were all her issues—her vulnerability and dependence. She had been too focused on Lei Xiuyuan, her heart filled with thoughts of him. She longed for equal reciprocation, but Lei Xiuyuan always maintained a lofty, detached demeanor, always half-jokingly avoiding the issue at crucial moments. All she could do was try her best not to focus on him, not to let him occupy her entire world.
Li Fei felt a wave of confusion and pain. She sighed deeply: “Indeed, I can’t do anything for you… Let me up.”
Lei Xiuyuan gazed at the tears in her eyes. The entanglement and gloom in his eyes gradually turned into an indescribable vulnerability, even seeming like a plea.
He buried his head in the crook of her neck, his hot breath exhaling on her collar as if sighing.
“Li Fei, I’m not as capable as you think,” his voice was almost hoarse. “I don’t understand…”
Li Fei was stunned again. Don’t understand? She had imagined he might coldly reproach her, or be forced to confess, or even just let things fade away. But he said he didn’t understand. He didn’t understand why she suddenly became cold. How could he not understand?
Suddenly, it dawned on her like a dream.
Li Fei moved slightly, looking down at him as if trying to peer into the depths of his heart. All their past interactions, from their first meeting until now, flashed through her mind. What kind of person was he? The him she hadn’t fully understood yet—vulnerable, easily hurt, proud, aloof. Were those masks of omniscience and invulnerability just a front he put up? He was only a year older than her.
“Hand…” she murmured. Her hands, pinned above her head by him, were uncomfortable.
Lei Xiuyuan sighed deeply again and slowly released her hands. He also sat up. Suddenly, her two hands “clapped” onto his face, turning his head towards her. Lei Xiuyuan looked into her eyes with some bewilderment.
Li Fei stared at his face for a long time—his gloomy expression, dark eyes, and the hint of vulnerability hidden deep within, visible only if one looked very carefully.
The sea breeze blew gently, and the sky gradually darkened. All around was silent, neither of them speaking. After an unknown length of time, Li Fei suddenly burst out laughing with a “puff” sound. Lei Xiuyuan grabbed her chin: “You’re laughing?”
She also felt that her sudden laughter was quite inappropriate and hurriedly pushed his hand away. Her stomach suddenly let out a loud growl. She felt embarrassed immediately. Having not eaten all day, her stomach was truly starving and had made such a loud noise.
“…Let’s eat,” Lei Xiuyuan said quietly, releasing her and helping her sit up.
Li Fei rewashed the scattered fruits and gave him two. They sat face to face, silently eating the fruits. As Li Fei ate, she lowered her head and thought for a long time. Suddenly, she said softly, “Xiuyuan, I wasn’t angry earlier, nor was I hot and cold. I was just worried… I was afraid… um…”
Halfway through, she didn’t know how to continue. She was still shy, embarrassed to openly express her feelings. Her face turned red again. After struggling for a while, she suddenly sighed deeply: “Let me think it through. I’ll tell you next time.”
She quickly finished eating the fruit and rushed to the stream to wash her hands. Lei Xiuyuan followed her, once again grabbing her sleeve, and looked down at her intently: “I want to hear it now.”
Li Fei felt her face burning hot. She shook her head repeatedly: “Next time, next time.”
Lei Xiuyuan touched her cheek, which was burning hot. He suddenly found it amusing and covered her face with his hand, half-jokingly: “We could boil eggs on this.”
Li Fei also found it funny. Seeing that it had gotten dark, she said softly, “Let’s go back. We’ve been gone too long; Gelin and the others will be worried.”
He shook his head. The ribbon tying his hair had come loose again, probably from rolling around on the ground earlier. Li Fei’s face turned red once more. Her hair was also still loose since she had untied it. She suddenly raised her hand, summoning the courage to gently tuck his long hair behind his ear: “Your hair tie has come loose again.”
Lei Xiuyuan casually pulled off his hair tie and tied it around her wrist. Seeing the bloodstains on her sleeve and her white wrist swollen, he realized he had bitten quite hard. He cast a healing web over her wrist, but for some reason, he withdrew it almost immediately. He said softly, “Don’t heal it.”
Li Fei frowned. She didn’t realize her voice carried a hint of coquettishness as she said, “You bit so hard, and now you won’t let me heal it. It hurts.”
Lei Xiuyuan held her hand and brought it to his lips, gently kissing from her wrist to her palm, then from her palm to her fingertips, finally giving a small bite on her fingertip.
Both tingling and itching, Li Fei laughed and quickly tried to pull her hand back. Lei Xiuyuan gently pulled her into his embrace. At first, she was a bit stiff and uncomfortable, but soon she nestled softly against his chest. The stream gurgled, and the night wind sang softly. They listened to each other’s heartbeats, neither speaking.
His hand caressed her face, gently tracing her eyebrows, moving down to the tip of her nose, and finally lightly touching her soft lips. He leaned down, and his lips pressed against hers once more. Unlike the urgent, venting kisses from before, this was a gentle, watery kiss. He traced the contours of her beautiful lips bit by bit like a dragonfly skimming the water.
“You can’t bully me like this in the future,” he lowered his head, burying it heavily in the crook of her neck, his voice muffled. “I’m a fragile man.” As he finished speaking, he laughed first, his face still hidden in her neck.
Li Fei found it both amusing and endearing. Her heart suddenly softened. Where had that aloof, proud, and detached grown-up Lei Xiuyuan gone? He was now acting coquettishly, just like when he was younger. Seeing his hair loose, she took out her wooden comb and slowly combed his long hair. His hair was as soft as a cat’s fur, and he was like a big cat, both lovable and frustrating.
Her long hair also swayed in the wind. Lei Xiuyuan grabbed a strand and rubbed it between his fingers. Her hair was still as soft and smooth as when she was young, and her scent was the same too. He remembered that leisurely afternoon in Qingqiu years ago, when she slept quietly beside him, the sound of tree leaves rustling softly, her breathing gentle, making one relax from the bottom of their heart.
When they flew back to the sheltered hollow on their clouds, they saw that a fire had already been built. Ji Tongzhou was still sleeping to one side, while Ye Ye and the others were busy eating fish. Seeing the two of them return covered in dust from head to toe, everyone knowingly pretended not to notice.
Ye Ye suppressed a laugh and said, “It’s good we didn’t go looking for you. Xiuyuan, can we talk about serious matters now? Is your mind clear?”
At these words, everyone burst into laughter. Lei Xiuyuan remained silent, but his ears turned red.
Bai Li Gelin linked arms with Li Fei, grinning mischievously at her. She whispered in her ear, “Have you made up?”
Li Fei smiled and nodded: “He… is sometimes clever, and sometimes frighteningly stupid.”
Bai Li Gelin tried hard not to laugh. Her sister had said the same about Ye Ye. Men seemed to become quite foolish around the women they loved. She really couldn’t imagine how these two usually quick-witted fellows, Ye Ye and Lei Xiuyuan, could be so stupid.
After the jokes, Ye Ye finally changed the subject: “Ji Tongzhou still hasn’t woken up. I’m just worried that when he does wake up, he’ll still be in that volatile state. We still have many days of the trial left, and if he’s like this, he’s bound to cause trouble. We should prepare for daily battles, unlike what happened earlier today.”
If Ji Tongzhou was determined to fight, Li Fei couldn’t restrain him alone. She was an important support, and if she was put in danger, they wouldn’t be able to fight effectively.
Just as Ye Ye was about to continue, he suddenly felt an intense fluctuation of spiritual energy behind him. Everyone was somewhat surprised. They saw a gentle breeze seemingly stirring where Ji Tongzhou was sleeping, his hair and clothes swaying slowly. The fragrant grass beneath him suddenly grew several inches taller, blooming several pure white small flowers.
Everyone was utterly astonished. This… seemed to be a sign of breaking through a bottleneck. Had Ji Tongzhou broken through the third bottleneck in his sleep?