Needs a kiss from sister to feel better.
Shen Su originally thought that since she wasn’t genuinely attracted to women and her fascination with them wasn’t that strong, she could just settle for a chaste night’s sleep if necessary.
But as she reached the door of Qin Yu’s room, before even stepping inside, she could feel the faint, refreshing coolness seeping through the cracks.
Crisp and invigorating.
It was ice!
The inn in this small town naturally wasn’t large, so there was only one premium room, reserved for Qin Yu.
But Shen Su never expected the perks of a premium room to be this good, it even had ice blocks for cooling in the summer.
Her own room didn’t have any.
The thought of Qin Yu’s room being even cooler, where she wouldn’t need to open windows or fan herself to sleep, made Shen Su’s feet refuse to move any further.
Qin Yu had just finished bathing and was wrapping the binding cloth around her chest when she heard a knock at her door.
“Who is it?” Qin Yu paused, the inner garment in her hand, her gaze sharp with vigilance.
“Your sweetheart~”
A voice sweeter than lychees dipped in sugar.
Qin Yu, “…”
The tension in Qin Yu’s spine eased as goosebumps rose on her skin.
This was her first time encountering a woman like “Su Qingqing” utterly unique.
Knowing who it was, Qin Yu couldn’t be bothered to put on her outer robe. She simply fastened her inner garment and strode over to open the door.
Qin Yu pulled the door open and looked up at Shen Su.
Shen Su was still wearing the same pristine summer dress, but she had already bathed, her body carrying the delicate fragrance of roses, utterly intoxicating.
Seeing Qin Yu appear like this, Shen Su froze for a moment, her gaze drifting downward from her neck before murmuring, “At least throw on your outer robe. People come and go here, what if someone sees?”
A flicker of emotion passed through Qin Yu’s eyes.
Shen Su was actually trying to help her maintain her disguise as a man, even worrying that someone might notice the contours of her chest if she didn’t wear her outer robe.
Before that strange feeling in her heart could fully take root, she saw Shen Su’s gaze fixate on her chest, pause, and then add, “Then again, even if someone saw, it wouldn’t matter. It’s not like there’s anything to see anyway.”
Qin Yu immediately moved to slam the door in her face.
Who said women had to be busty! What if she was naturally flat?! If she weren’t, she wouldn’t have been able to pass as a man for over a decade without anyone suspecting!
Shen Su, nimble as a cat, slipped through the gap in the door before Qin Yu could shut it. “Don’t be mad,” she cooed.
She wrapped her arms around Qin Yu’s slender yet soft waist, pressing herself flush against her, leaving no space between them.
Shen Su scattered light kisses along Qin Yu’s jaw, soothing the suddenly bristly “big dog,” her voice sweet and teasing as she coaxed, “You can touch mine instead, okay?”
“Sister~”
Qin Yu shot her a sidelong glance. “As if I care?”
Even as she said this, her hand remained firmly on Shen Su’s waist.
Shen Su rolled her eyes inwardly Miss Qin’s hands were far more honest than her mouth.
“Why do you smell so good?” Qin Yu lowered her head, inhaling the scent of Shen Su’s hair, neck, and chest.
“The innkeeper sent over flower petals, so I took a floral bath.” Shen Su shamelessly sprawled across Qin Yu’s bed, feeling that even the bedding was softer than hers.
She lay spread-eagled, legs dangling off the edge, tilting her head slightly to gaze at Qin Yu with curved eyes. “I smell even better elsewhere.”
Her implication was unmistakable.
Shen Su found it utterly bizarre, she had no real interest in women, yet every time she faced Qin Yu, she felt like she could make an exception.
Qin Yu walked to the bedside and lightly nudged Shen Su’s foot with her own, frowning slightly. “You haven’t changed out of your outer clothes. Don’t lie on the bed like that.”
“I don’t have any clothes to change into,” Shen Su replied, her voice feigning grievance, but her actions were anything but compliant.
Not only did she not retract her foot, she pushed it further forward, sliding her toes between Qin Yu’s calves and rubbing her ankle against the inside of Qin Yu’s knee through the fabric of her inner pants.
Shen Su had noticed that Qin Yu, having played the role of a man for so long, sometimes behaved in a very masculine way, stiff and unyielding, unlike the softness typical of women.
But then again, Shen Su thought, who was to say how a woman should be?
Rebels like her and unconventional figures like Qin Yu were just two among the myriad types of women in the world. There was nothing strange about that.
Shen Su tangled both her feet around one of Qin Yu’s legs, pulling her slowly toward the bed like reeling in a fishing net.
Qin Yu let herself fall onto the bed, bracing her hands against the mattress as she hovered over Shen Su. After a brief hesitation, she said, “Dinner will be ready soon.”
“Well, that’s still a little while away, isn’t it?” Shen Su wrapped her arms around Qin Yu’s shoulders and pressed herself closer.
But just as their clothes were halfway off, Shen Su began to feel itchy.
Her neck itched, her shoulders itched her whole body prickled with a strange, tingling numbness.
At first, she could ignore it, but the discomfort grew worse by the minute. Until Qin Yu, frowning deeply, said in a serious tone, “Su Qingqing, why are you turning red?”
Like a river shrimp tossed into boiling water and fished back out thoroughly cooked.
Shen Su was just as bewildered. She scratched her arm, then reached back to scratch her shoulder. “It’s so itchy like something bit me.”
No wonder she had felt that odd numbness even before entering the room.
Qin Yu threw on her outer robe, loosely tying it at the waist, and called out to the inn attendant, “Fetch a physician.”
Closing the door, she turned back to find Shen Su’s eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Unable to reach the itch on her back, Shen Su had twisted herself into knots on the bed. She looked up at Qin Yu, whimpering softly, “Jiejie, help me.”
Qin Yu paused for a moment before motioning for her to turn around.
After washing her hands and rolling up her sleeves, Qin Yu slid her fingers beneath the collar of Shen Su’s clothes and began scratching where she directed.
Reluctant, but unwilling to leave her to suffer alone.
Shen Su wanted to laugh but held it in.
Qin Yu’s cool fingertips traced over her back, her neatly trimmed nails lightly grazing Shen Su’s skin. The itch subsided, but in its place rose another sensation, one Shen Su didn’t dare dwell on.
“I think I’m having an allergic reaction,” Shen Su said, sitting cross-legged on the bed as she looked up at Qin Yu behind her.
She spoke so earnestly, with such a serious expression, that Qin Yu couldn’t help but match her solemnity as she gazed down at her.
Shen Su blinked up at her and declared, “I’m allergic to you.”
Qin Yu: “…”
She had actually believed, for a moment, that Shen Su might say something sensible.
Shen Su continued with conviction, “On this entire journey, you’re the only one I’ve been close to. If I’m allergic to anything, it has to be you.”
Half a quarter-hour later, the elderly physician withdrew his hand from Shen Su’s pulse and turned to Qin Yu. “The young lady is allergic to pollen. That’s why she developed red patches and itchy skin.”
Shopkeeper Zhou, standing nearby, clapped a hand to his forehead in remorse. “My fault, my fault! I took it upon myself to have petals prepared for the room. I never imagined the young lady would be allergic to such a thing.”
After all, what woman didn’t like flowers?
Shen Su sat on the bed, smiling as she reassured Shopkeeper Zhou, “This isn’t your fault. I didn’t even know I was allergic to pollen myself.”
The old Shen family courtyard had flowers too, but Shen Su never paid them any attention, so she had no idea she couldn’t tolerate them.
Moreover, the petals she used in her bath today were of many varieties, making it impossible to tell now whether she was allergic to roses or something else.
In any case, she’d just have to stay away from flowers and pollen from now on.
“The symptoms don’t seem severe, just some itching,” the physician said. “I’ll prescribe some medicine. Once it’s brewed and taken, the rash should fade within half an hour at most. No need to worry.”
Shopkeeper Zhou went with the physician to prepare the medicine and see him out.
Yunzhi, who had been keeping watch by the bed, glanced at Shen Su and, seeing her nod, followed the physician out as well, casually closing the door behind her.
The room was now left with only Shen Su and Qin Yu.
With the outsiders gone, Shen Su flopped onto the bed without a care for appearances, whining pitifully, “I think I’m on death’s door. Only a kiss from my dear sister can save me now.”
Qin Yu, sitting at the table, ignored her. “Aren’t you allergic to me?”
For a moment, Qin Yu had even wondered if it was because women shouldn’t be intimate with other women that Shen Su had this reaction.
“Even if I die, I want to die on you,” Shen Su murmured, still itching as she rolled around on the bed.
Qin Yu frowned at her. “Stop scratching. You’ll break the skin, and it’ll hurt even more.”
Shen Su’s skin was delicate every scratch left a red mark, especially since she had no restraint when it came to herself. The aftermath looked worse than the allergic reaction itself.
Seeing that Shen Su wouldn’t listen, Qin Yu stood and walked to the bedside, gripping her wrists and pinning them above her head. “Stop scratching.”
Shen Su instinctively struggled slightly, but when she couldn’t break free, she curled her legs and body, looking up at Qin Yu.
The corners of her eyes were red, tears glistening as she gazed at Qin Yu with pitiful grievance. “Qin Yu, I feel awful. It’s so itchy.”
Qin Yu’s breath hitched, her heart clenching as if squeezed by an invisible hand. Her tone softened as she comforted her gently, “It’ll pass soon.”
As if to distract Shen Su, Qin Yu tilted her head and leaned down, pressing a kiss to the tear-stained corner of her eye, then trailing down along her cheek.
Her tender kisses landed on Shen Su’s neck, then her chest.
Shen Su felt the itching ease considerably, only belatedly realizing that Qin Yu had already released her wrists at some point.
In a dazed voice, she murmured, “Hmm, it doesn’t itch as much now.”
“Saliva can relieve itching,” Qin Yu said seriously, studying her. “Still itchy?”
Shen Su lay on the bed, her hand resting on Qin Yu’s thigh, blinking slowly. “Itchy.”
She leaned in closer, her touch growing bolder. “Every time you touch me, I feel itchy.”
Qin Yu expressionlessly pulled Shen Su’s hand away and set it aside. “Behave. Wait for your medicine.”
Shen Su hadn’t actually meant anything by it she was just teasing Qin Yu.
Feeling tired, she obediently lay back, her hand resting on Qin Yu’s thigh, her forehead pressed against the side of Qin Yu’s leg, her long hair spilling softly behind her.
When she was docile like this, she didn’t resemble a fox but rather a well-behaved little kitten.
Qin Yu looked down at her, noting how the thin summer robe had wrinkled from Shen Su’s rolling around. Softly, she said, “In the evening, I’ll take you out to buy some new clothes.”
Shen Su looked up at Qin Yu in confusion. “Hmm?”
Qin Yu met her gaze, frowned slightly, and averted her eyes unnaturally. “It’s necessary for the act, to make it seem like I dote on you.”
Stubborn. Miss Qin’s specialty was being stubborn.
Shen Su chuckled and said in a playful, exaggerated tone, “This humble servant thanks the ‘young master’ for your kindness. Such great benevolence can only be repaid by offering myself tonight~”
Qin Yu, “…”
Drama queen.