Hua Shu expected Liu Fengying to get worried after upsetting her and to try to make amends quickly. Of course, she had no intention of letting her off so easily; only after being showered with compliments might she consider accepting her apology. But since Liu Fengying simply looked at her with a provocative smile and no trace of remorse, Hua Shu grew increasingly furious.
'Now that I think about it, she's starting to make a habit of teasing me...', Hua Shu noted, recalling their interactions before math class, especially the ambiguous way Liu Fengying had behaved while brushing her hair. Maybe back then she'd been too distracted by her own emotions to consider what was going on in Liu Fengying's mind. But now, it was clear: Liu Fengying had thoroughly enjoyed herself at her expense.
'No, things can't go on like this...', Hua Shu couldn't accept this new dynamic in their relationship. Maybe they had grown closer that morning, but to her, it felt like Liu Fengying wasn't taking her seriously at all.
"Liu Fengying, I'm going to fight you!!", Hua Shu leapt from her seat, determined to reclaim her position in front of Liu Fengying. Since her mind was too agitated to form a proper verbal rebuttal, the only option left was to use force.
But although her start was explosive, when she looked down at Liu Fengying, Hua Shu found herself at an impasse: how was she supposed to fight her? She didn't want to hurt Liu Fengying, but only to show her how fierce she could be when irritated, so that she would think twice before messing with her again, but that didn't leave her with many attack options.
Should she pull on Liu Fengying's cheeks? Remembering that Liu Fengying had just treated her scar, Hua Shu feared that such a move might be too risky. Besides, it felt like sacrilege to treat such a beautiful face so roughly.
Tickle her sides? Hua Shu thought it might be a good idea at first, but after her eyes wandered to Liu Fengying's torso, whose shapes were barely concealed by her loose clothing, she lost her nerve. What if her hand accidentally landed somewhere inappropriate? If that happened, Liu Fengying might think she was a pervert.
"ShuShu, why are you making a scene? You and I both know you don't have the heart to hit me…", Liu Fengying interrupted her thoughts, looking at her as if she were a child throwing a tantrum.
'There she goes again. How can she use such a pleasant voice to say such infuriating things? My poor ears don't even know how to react anymore...', Hua Shu's rage was once again stoked by Liu Fengying's words.
"Well, you're in for a surprise…", Hua Shu said, directing her gaze to Liu Fengying's ears. Why should only her ears suffer? She figured it was only fair to repay Liu Fengying's psychological assault on her ears with a physical one.
Now that she had chosen her target, Hua Shu didn't waste any time and reached toward Liu Fengying's ears.
'If you like acting like a fox, maybe you should have a pair of ears to match, hehe...', Hua Shu could already picture what Liu Fengying would look like with her ears tugged.
But just a split second before her fantasy could become reality, Liu Fengying, who until then hadn't moved a muscle, suddenly reacted with the speed and precision of a snake striking its prey.
Startled, Hua Shu shut her eyes and hadn't even registered what Liu Fengying had done. When she opened them, she found herself already on Liu Fengying's lap, her arms pinned tightly to her sides by Liu Fengying's right arm and her back pressed against her chest.
"Looks like our little kitten has grown claws. Tell me, what exactly were you planning to do?", Liu Fengying asked calmly, yet with a coldness that sent chills down Hua Shu's spine. It seemed she had fallen not into the claws of a playful fox but into the jaws of a wolf ready to bite at any moment.
"Er, I just wanted to fix a few stray hairs…", Hua Shu's earlier bravado had completely vanished. But who could blame her? Most girls her age believed ice queens only existed in fiction. And even in fiction, the protagonist is helpless against such characters, so what could she do, without the protection of plot armor?
"Oh, so you wanted to return the favor? Then what was all that about declaring war and charging at me so aggressively? For a second, I thought you wanted to rip my ears off...", Liu Fengying moved Hua Shu's hair aside with her free hand, fully exposing her left ear.
Tracing its outline with her finger, it was clear she had no intention of letting Hua Shu go easily.
"I just… just wanted to tease you back, hehe…", Hua Shu tried hard to ignore Liu Fengying's actions. But unbeknownst to her, all her efforts to appear calm were in vain, as her ear had already turned a deep shade of crimson.
Liu Fengying wasn't as calm as she appeared either. Maybe at first she just wanted to scare Hua Shu for fun, but with each passing second in that pose, Hua Shu's ear grew increasingly tempting.
'It's so soft and warm. Like a freshly baked cookie...', Liu Fengying thought, mesmerized by the way the white trails left by her fingertip on Hua Shu's ear were quickly overtaken by blush. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was tempted to take a bite.
Neither seemed to have any control over what was happening as their intense emotions completely suppressed their rational thoughts. But before one of them could say or do something strange, they were brought back to reality by someone neither of them had noticed approaching.
"Sister… what are you doing?", Liu Zihan asked, unable to think of anything less awkward to say in that moment.
Or perhaps she truly didn't know what to make of the scene before her.
Although Liu Zihan had considered the possibility earlier, after watching their interactions an hour ago, that Liu Fengying might have suddenly taken an interest in Hua Shu, the sight before her still felt surreal. Even if that were true, how could things have escalated this quickly? They'd only sat through a math class together, not gone on a date.
But whatever the reason Liu Fengying was holding Hua Shu in her arms, the longer Liu Zihan watched them, the more irritated she became. She had spent the entire class period worrying about Liu Fengying's health, and the moment the bell rang, she had rushed to her class to convince her to get a full medical checkup. And what did she find? Her sister cradling a girl in her arms, clearly having a good time.
'Calm down, Liu Zihan! Don't forget why you came! Maybe her behavior is due to the head injury. Yes, that must be it. Just look at that vacant stare...', Liu Zihan realized her thoughts were going off track. If her suspicions were true, the best approach was to interact with Liu Fengying as calmly as possible.
Often, how someone perceives reality is shaped by their preconceived notions, but that wasn't the case here. Although Liu Zihan was analyzing Liu Fengying under the assumption she was mentally unwell, that didn't mean her observations were wrong. At that moment, Liu Fengying did have a vacant look in her eyes.
'Well, that's a good question. What the hell am I doing?', Liu Fengying asked herself. She realized that, somewhere along the way, her actions had stopped being playful teasing and had started coming from a place of desire.
Fortunately, she hadn't done anything too outrageous, like biting Hua Shu's earlobe. And, she reasoned, since they were both girls, most onlookers probably wouldn't take it seriously—just two girls horsing around.
'Turns out there are some perks to being a gay girl. If a boy did this to a girl, everyone would lose their minds. Anyway, I should probably hold back more when dealing with attractive girls in the future. My soul might be old in this world, but my body is still that of a nearly 18-year-old girl, so it's no surprise that the excitement of close contact with someone I find attractive was more than I could handle. And since I'm not planning to enter a serious relationship anytime soon, this kind of flirtatious behavior will only bring me trouble. If the feedback I get is positive but I continue to act ambiguously, wouldn't that make me a scumbag?
And even if I were considering a relationship, it certainly wouldn't be with someone close. I've already learned the hard way that the saying "A smart rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow." is true..', Liu Fengying continued sorting out her thoughts, but didn't let go of Hua Shu.
If she did, wouldn't that make it obvious to everyone that she felt guilty? It was better to play dumb, to act as if she didn't even realize how ambiguous the situation was.