"Whew—" Dubian Che took a deep breath and intertwined his fingers with hers tightly.

Afterwards, Dubian Che probably wouldn't be able to see Mayi Asuka riding a horse.

Mayi Asuka leaned forward and hugged Dubian Che's neck tightly again.

Dubian Che let her lie in his arms, gently stroking her warm body.

After resting for a while, he patted her smooth back: "It's very late."

Mayi Asuka shook her head, her hair brushing against Dubian Che's cheek, tickling just a little, while warmth filled his heart.

After resting a while again, Dubian Che said, "It's really very late."

Mayi Asuka's soft lips bit on Dubian Che's ear.

"Don't want to leave?" Dubian Che's hand started from her shoulder and traced the curve of her back down to her hips, then back up from her shoulder to her hips again.

Mayi Asuka released her lip bite but still said nothing, shaking her head once more.

The two remained silent, waiting quietly for a while, until Dubian Che finally sat up.

"Senior, we really should head back." He said to Mayi Asuka, who was lying on her back on the bedding.

Mayi Asuka turned over, lying on her stomach on the blanket.

"Che." She called out as she looked back.

"..."

Dubian Che stood behind her.

◇

Xiaoquan Aonai returned to her room, leaned against the door, and held her throbbing heart.

After a while, she moved to the bedroom and found that the bed had already been made.

She then remembered that at the He Style Inn, the maids would prepare the bedding in advance.

With nothing to do for a moment, she sat in the tearoom for a while, pouring herself a cup of tea.

Thanks to the knowledge from Miyazaki Mieko, if she moved quickly, she just needed to drink tea for ten minutes, and Mayi Asuka would return.

She took a sip of tea, glanced at her phone, and found time passing very slowly.

Frustrated, she placed the phone out of reach and gazed at the autumn scenery outside, quietly sipping her tea as she waited.

Though supposed to be quiet, her mind was churning.

What Miyazaki Mieko said, what she occasionally saw on TV, with Dubian Che and Mayi Asuka as the main leads, all kinds of scenes played out in rotation in her head.

Once she came to her senses, she found that she'd finished her tea. She hurriedly grabbed her phone to check the time, realizing eleven minutes had passed.

Mayi Asuka still hadn't come back.

'Don't worry, Aonai.'

'Miyazaki Mieko said usually between 10 to 20 minutes.'

Xiaoquan Aonai poured another cup of tea, and after a short sip, couldn't help but grab her phone, idly flipping through the daytime photos as she waited.

Before she knew it, it was past midnight, and Mayi Asuka still hadn't returned.

'Is she sleeping over there?' she couldn't help but think.

She had already waited for an hour, and sitting like this wasn't a solution, so she simply lay down in the bed.

The words of Miyazaki Mieko and Akiko repeatedly surfaced in her mind.

"No man wouldn't want a woman's body."

"If you've decided to be with him, you must hold on tightly to him!"

"Don't let Jiutiao and Mayi take him away."

She tossed and turned, feeling uncomfortable no matter how she changed her position.

She had long memorized these words.

From initially wanting just to hold hands and embrace Dubian Che, it had progressed to kissing and touching over clothes.

But she had never thought of taking it further.

Dubian Che often tricked her, took the chance to kiss her, and occasionally did mischievous things that disregarded her dignity as a teacher. But as long as she truly didn't want it, he would absolutely not press the issue.

'Is it because they exist, that he can hold back from doing anything to me?'

Xiaoquan Aonai inexplicably started to get angry.

Then she suddenly thought: 'Isn't this a good thing? I didn't want to do it anyway.'

—But she wanted him to do something for her.

Xiaoquan Aonai opened her eyes, as if emerging from the blankets, taking a deep breath.

She had decided.

At one o'clock, Mayi Asuka returned.

Xiaoquan Aonai pretended to be casual, observing her expression and the way she walked.

Once Mayi Asuka lay down, she asked: "Shall I turn off the light?"

"Mm." Mayi Asuka lay quietly in the cover.

With a "click", the room fell into darkness, except for a faint glow from the bedside paper lamp.

"Mayi."

"...Mm."

"Tomorrow... I want to spend time with Dubian."

Mayi Asuka turned her face, looking at Xiaoquan Aonai's back, and asked: "...Together?"

"No... wait!" Xiaoquan Aonai sat up frightened and turned to look at her, "I mean... I mean, tomorrow, I want to be like you were today..."

"Oh." Mayi Asuka turned her head back, staring at the wooden ceiling.

"Is it okay?" Xiaoquan Aonai asked again, uneasily, "Just me."

"Okay." After a pause, Mayi Asuka said, "I'll wait for you to return."

"You don't have to... it's okay if you don't wait."

"Are you going to sleep with Che?" Mayi Asuka turned to look at her again.

"No, my meaning... never mind." Xiaoquan Aonai lay back down, pulling the blanket tightly up to her neck.

Mayi Asuka looked at her in confusion and asked: "Tomorrow, are you still going?"

"...Yes."

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