Ling Yue, leaning against the sofa cushion, took a sip of blood, then looked at Feng Ling, who had just come out of the bathroom, and said, “Come here, Xiao Fengling, let’s settle the remaining game time for today.”
“How much time is left?” Feng Ling raised an eyebrow.
“Not much, half an hour, but that’s enough to finish the rest.”
After Feng Ling sat down next to her, Ling Yue grabbed her right hand, placed it in her own palm, then pried open her fingers and lowered her head to look at the nine red marks on her palm left from gripping the sofa cushion earlier.
“Xiao Fengling, you know when you grab something, your nails always curl inward? That kind of grip tends to hurt the flesh of your palm. Next time, tilt your fingers outward, and it won’t happen.”
With that, Ling Yue gently drew a line beside the red marks on Feng Ling’s palm.
Her sharp nail traced from the lifeline on her palm all the way to the base of her wrist, with just enough force to break the skin, causing a thin trail of blood beads to emerge.
Then she lowered her head and used the tip of her tongue to take away those blood beads one by one.
Feng Ling watched Ling Yue’s hair sway back and forth in her palm, and her tongue touched her hand again.
The tingling mixed with the stinging made her fingers curl reflexively.
When she reached the middle of her forearm, Ling Yue drew another thin line on the inside of her wrist, extending from the wrist crease, and continued, “From now on, when we play games that involve a little blood, we can use fingernails often. No need for disinfection—just scratch and use.”
“Is that how you use the phrase ‘just scratch and use’? Besides, does that word even exist in this world?”
Feng Ling muttered in complaint.
“Use it however I want. Anyway, you won’t get mad at me over this. You’ve been getting angry much less often lately.”
Ling Yue smiled and pressed her index finger on the nearly faded red line on Feng Ling’s arm, making her feel the slowly fading sting again.
Then she released her finger, lowered her head again, and bit the spot she had just pressed.
…This made Feng Ling lurch forward, her forehead bumping against Ling Yue’s shoulder.
The skin there was already thin, and it was close to the wrist and fingers.
When bitten, a mix of pain and numbness spread along the ulnar nerve of her forearm, shooting straight up to her shoulder.
She opened her mouth to say something, but the tip of her tongue first touched the button on Ling Yue’s shirt.
“Ahh… Sister Ling Yue… don’t suck so hard when you bite the inside of my forearm… That tendon makes my middle finger twitch along with it…”
But in the end, she still managed to say it.
Then Ling Yue let go of her mouth, licked off the blood on her lips, and looked down at the fresh tooth mark on Feng Ling’s forearm.
“It twitches quite nicely~”
She said, then flicked the cushion Feng Ling was holding with her left hand.
The edge of the cushion had already been completely deformed by Feng Ling’s grip.
“I… I didn’t mean to.”
Seeing this, Feng Ling quickly apologized.
“It’s fine.”
Ling Yue pried open the hand gripping the cushion, then lightly drew a line with her nail on the back of her hand near the base of the fingers.
This spot was more sensitive than the arm.
When she cut into it, Feng Ling’s arm jerked sharply.
Then Ling Yue straightened out her fingers one by one and rubbed the back of Feng Ling’s hand against her own cheek.
And Feng Ling’s cheek was also smeared with a very thin red line from the blood that hadn’t fully dried on her own hand.
She quickly pulled her hand back and rubbed it twice on the sofa cushion.
After rubbing, she felt like something was off about that action.
Meanwhile, Ling Yue was looking at her with a very pleased expression.
“Ah? Tonight we’ll add a new item in the bathroom.”
“It’s not some kind of trick where you tie me to the edge of the bathtub and hang me upside down again, is it?”
Feng Ling swallowed, asking cautiously.
“How could I do something that excessive? It’s just letting you wash my hair while I soak in the bath. Just washing my hair.”
With that, Ling Yue tugged Feng Ling somewhat forcefully and headed toward the bathroom.
Ling Yue had already filled the bathwater in advance, and on the shelf next the tub was a new bottle of shampoo that had never been seen before.
It shouldn’t be some kind of overpowered product, right…
Feng Ling thought about this as she took off her sleeping dress and stepped into the tub.
Then she felt that the water temperature was slightly higher than usual.
A layer of light red liquid floated on the surface, emitting a sweet fragrance similar to Ling Yue’s scent but not exactly the same.
Ling Yue stepped in after her, sat down behind her, and let her hair fall loose over her shoulders.
In the steam, her face looked a little blurry, but her eyes were clear.
That relaxed expression, as if she was about to enjoy something, instead put Feng Ling on high alert.
“Didn’t you say you wanted me to wash your hair? If you sit behind me, how am I supposed to do that? I’m only one meter forty-five; even if I turn around, I won’t reach your shoulders.”
Feng Ling tilted her head and said.
“No need to turn around. Right here… You kneel in front of me, put the shampoo on your hands, and start scrubbing from the ends of my hair upward.”
Ling Yue said, taking the shampoo bottle down from the shelf and handing it to her.
“Mm… all right.”
Having no choice, Feng Ling took the bottle, squeezed some into her palm, rubbed her hands together to spread the foam evenly, then leaned forward, starting from the hair ends dangling in the water, slowly massaging her fingers upward from the tips.
Ling Yue’s hair, soaked in water, was even slicker than usual.
Winding between her fingers, it felt like some very supple black silk.
When she reached the middle section, the foam had built up enough.
She combed her fingers up along the strands.
When she reached the back of the head, Ling Yue suddenly tilted her head back, half leaning on her hand.
“Xiao Fengling’s hands are very light, like a bird combing its feathers with its claws.”
“Do you want me to press harder?” Feng Ling asked softly.
“No, just like this. Go lower, don’t stop at the back of the head. When you bit my neck earlier, you used much more force than you’re using to wash my hair now.”
After saying that, Ling Yue straightened her head again.
Feng Ling continued combing upward.
When she reached the top of the head, the foam had mostly dissipated.
So she squeezed out more shampoo and put her hands back into Ling Yue’s hair.
This time, she gently massaged from the sides.
Ling Yue’s hair had a slight curve near the ears.
When she rubbed there, her fingertips touched her earlobe, which also lightly bounced against the back of her finger.
“Wait, I already washed that spot. Do it again.”
Ling Yue turned her head, letting her left ear face Feng Ling.
Obediently, Feng Ling inserted her fingers back into the hair near the ear, massaging a circle from the ear root along the ear contour, causing foam to pile up behind the ear into a white lump.
A few drops slid onto Ling Yue’s shoulder blade.
Ling Yue shifted slightly in the water, her knee accidentally brushing Feng Ling’s calf, then her foot stepped on Feng Ling’s instep underwater.
“Why are you stepping on my foot!”
Feng Ling instantly complained.
“What’s the big deal with stepping on you? Haven’t you kicked me plenty of times? Every time I get up at night to tuck you in, you kick me.”
Ling Yue said, lightly pinching the root of Feng Ling’s middle toe with her toes and shaking it with very small amplitude.
“That was when I was asleep! Kicking people in sleep is unconscious!”
“Oh, so now you’re awake, and you can decide whether to let me step on you or not, right?”
Ling Yue’s foot pressure moved from the toe base to the instep, her sole slowly sliding along the arch of Feng Ling’s metatarsal bones, like smoothing out a crease.
Ling Yue’s feet were a bit bigger than hers.
After soaking in hot water, the skin of her soles was no longer cold but had become a neutral temperature close to body heat.
“Are you particularly interested in feet today?”
“Mm, because today your feet are very well-behaved. Usually when we bathe together, you’re always kicking around in the water. Today you didn’t move at all and let me step on you… Is it because you were too focused on washing my hair?”
“No, I’m afraid that if I kick back, you’ll push me underwater directly.”
“I won’t push you underwater. See, I keep my word.”
Ling Yue’s toes slid down to her ankle, lightly tracing the outer edge of the ankle bone.
Meanwhile, Feng Ling’s hands were still massaging Ling Yue’s hair, but the rhythm had clearly slowed down.
The sensation on her feet and the sensation in her hands were both delivering information to her.
The two pieces of information collided in her brain, creating a strange sense of dissociation.
Her upper body was doing something very routine, while her lower body was being touched in a very unroutine way.
“Sister Ling Yue, can you please be serious when you’re bathing…”
Feng Ling pulled her hands out of Ling Yue’s hair, intending to squeeze out more shampoo.
But before her little hand reached the bottle, Ling Yue turned sideways, lifted her left leg out of the water, and pressed the sole of her foot against Feng Ling’s collarbone, pushing her back.
Feng Ling leaned back against the edge of the tub, her soles pressing against the non-slip mat at the bottom, the water surface swaying from their movements.
“Hair washing is done… Now let’s start the second item.”