“Alright… honestly, I really am quite foolish. I managed to mix myself up with a single sentence.”
Gu Yu stole a glance at Luo Ming, looking like a child admitting to a mistake.
He didn’t know if Luo Ming had noticed his slip of the tongue; in truth, he had accidentally let slip the feelings he kept buried deep in his heart. He was terrified—if Luo Ming knew he liked her, would she still be this close to him?
Sometimes Gu Yu wondered if Luo Ming might like him back. If he confessed, would the chances of success actually be quite high?
But after careful consideration, he would always give up. “She likes me” is one of the three great delusions of life, and Gu Yu couldn’t afford to make that mistake. He habitually expected the worst; moreover, high school romances mostly ended in nothing. The more beautiful the beginning, the more painful the end.
Besides, what “shining points” did he have to attract Luo Ming? Just because she was the girl closest to him?
“You are a bit silly. You’ll have to be careful in the future so a bad woman doesn’t kidnap you.”
“I don’t think I have the qualifications to be kidnapped. I’m penniless—what are they going to do, grab me to harvest a kidney?”
“How could that be? You’re quite handsome, Gu Yu. Someone might be pining for you.”
“Even so, they wouldn’t actually kidnap me. There’s a better chance of someone reselling my organs.”
Gu Yu stared at the screen, treating Luo Ming’s words entirely as a joke.
Luo Ming turned her head to stare at his profile, a meaningful smile playing on her lips. She knew the boy had noticed her gaze and was pretending to be indifferent while watching TV.
A thought suddenly surged in her mind: she wondered what would happen if she just pinned Gu Yu down right here. Her strength probably wouldn’t be enough to control him, but would Gu Yu resist? Would he be angry?
Luo Ming envisioned the scene. A well-behaved boy like Gu Yu would likely be at a loss, asking her questions in a daze. If she continued to follow her own path and savor this delicacy, would he push her away?
The further she followed this thought, the more Luo Ming felt herself losing control. The idea of a panicked Gu Yu was incredibly enticing. They were both at an ignorant and green age; those irrepressible touches sparked Luo Ming’s shyness, yet they were as delicious as sweet cream. Did they hold the same temptation in Gu Yu’s eyes?
The only certainty was that the quiet and beautiful Luo Ming of the present would be shattered in the boy’s eyes. He might not like her anymore. A single slip could lead to everlasting regret, and her reason suppressed the rising tide of emotion.
“Gu Yu, I remember you usually have a habit of taking naps?” Luo Ming said softly.
“But you’re still here. I can’t just ignore a guest and go to sleep alone.”
“Don’t worry so much about me. Why don’t you just sleep here?”
“Here?”
“Yeah.” Luo Ming patted the empty space between them. “Your sofa is quite soft, and there’s plenty of room.”
Gu Yu scratched his head, sounding hesitant. “That doesn’t seem right…”
“Why are you so stiff in your own home?” Luo Ming covered her mouth and giggled, then patted her legs which were pressed together. “I can lend these to you as a pillow.”
Her legs, encased in casual trousers, were long and slender with a perfect shape—the kind of legs very suited for stockings, though it was a bit early for her.
Gu Yu wavered. His upbringing told him this was too frivolous toward Luo Ming, but another voice tempted him to accept.
Luo Ming saw him standing there dazed and hesitant, so she simply reached out, pulled Gu Yu down to lie down, and rested his head on her lap. “Just try it. Gu Yu, are you actually shy?”
“I… yeah. I’ve never used a girl’s…”
“Then I’m your first.” The smile on Luo Ming’s face grew wider. The warm touch against her legs gave her immense satisfaction, and her girlish shyness dissolved into nothing.
“Actually, this is my first time letting a boy rest on my lap too. It’s quite embarrassing, but since it’s you, I wanted to try.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You’re special.”
Luo Ming spoke plainly, as if there were no deep meaning behind the words. Falling into Gu Yu’s ears, however, they couldn’t help but make his imagination run wild. He kept his eyes fixed on the TV screen as the soft sensation pressed against the side of his head, carrying a faint fragrance.
A cool hand suddenly began to stroke Gu Yu’s hair, moving through the fine strands. Gentle words whispered close to his ear, “Can you fall asleep? Do you want me to coax you?”
“I’m not your son, you don’t have to do that.”
He heard two soft chuckles, and then long strands of hair fell onto his face. Luo Ming was leaning down, staring at his profile from a very close distance. “It’s not just something you do for children. Gu Yu, you can consider this… your privilege.”
“My privilege? Then why give me such power?”
“Didn’t I say? You’re special.”
“Special” again. Gu Yu told himself that this was enough between him and Luo Ming, but the girl’s seemingly careless words felt like they were prodding him to reveal his love, making him unable to stop fantasizing that Luo Ming liked him too.
“Gu Yu, what kind of girls do you like?” Luo Ming asked suddenly, her tone still very light, like casual small talk.
“I… I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”
“Then let me guess. Hmm… someone beautiful?”
“She doesn’t have to be very beautiful. I don’t have such high standards.”
“Then am I enough?”
Gu Yu glanced at Luo Ming. She was smiling brightly, always so pure and beautiful—especially when she laughed, like a lily with morning dew. She was breathtakingly beautiful, to the point where Gu Yu began to wonder again if there was a deeper meaning to the question.
“You’ve already far exceeded ‘high standards’.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Luo Ming tilted her head up, not letting Gu Yu see the flush on her face. She felt quite ridiculous; she had harbored such filthy and greedy thoughts, yet she could still blush over a compliment. It was like faking innocence, and it made her feel sick.
The conversation stopped there. Luo Ming enjoyed the sensation on her lap, gradually hearing the sound of steady breathing. She looked down and saw Gu Yu had closed his eyes, seemingly asleep.
She softly called the boy’s name twice but received no response. Such a vulnerable and steady sleeping face feverishly drove her inner desires. Saliva began to secrete between her teeth. She desperately suppressed the urge of “gluttony,” leaning in slowly, bit by bit, to taste this delicacy.
That warm, lean cheek finally met her lips. A torrential flood seemed to pour over her from above, soaking her through and catalyzing the sour, soft addiction in her lower body.
“If you like me, just say it clearly. Gu Yu, I like you too—I love you. Why… are you afraid to tell me? Do you know how much I suffer, holding back from devouring you?”
She pressed her palm against the youth’s collarbone, extending it upward along his narrow neck to touch his face, doing everything she could to feel his presence and create more physical contact.
You are mine, Gu Yu. I can endure and wait for the day I can rightfully possess you exclusively. But until then, you cannot fall into someone else’s hands… you cannot…
Luo Ming turned off the TV. That clichéd idol drama made her want to vomit. Her love for the boy would never be that shallow. It was an engraved, soul-deep love—loving everything about him, from his heart… to his flesh.