Chapter 89: The Rain Was So Heavy

Must it come off? Li Bixian asked shyly.

If this had been before, when Xiao Fan was still blind, she would not have needed him to say a word; she would already have stripped herself bare of her own accord.

She might even have coaxed his hands to wander over her...

Yet for some reason, ever since Zeng Xiao Fan’s eyes had healed, Li Bixian felt a faint pressure in his presence.

It was the feeling of wanting to draw near, yet unconsciously holding herself back.

She could not even make sense of it herself. In short, whenever she saw those star-bright eyes of his, she would grow nervous and flustered without meaning to...

Zeng Xiao Fan gave a slight shrug and said indifferently, “Was I not clear enough?”

“If you want to catch a chill and fall seriously ill, then don’t take it off.”

“All right...” Li Bixian pouted. “Then I’ll take it off...”

“Promise me that no matter what happens, you absolutely must not turn around and look!”

“Fine already!” Zeng Xiao Fan said with a helpless smile. “Just pretend I’m as I was before. Pretend I’m still blind.”

With a soft laugh, Li Bixian began undoing the buttons of her clothes.

As each button came open, her voluptuous, bewitching figure was gradually revealed.

Still worried that Zeng Xiao Fan might sneak a look, she faced him while undressing.

But Zeng Xiao Fan truly kept his word; he continued to lower his head and tend to the fire with great concentration, showing no sign of turning around.

Only then did Li Bixian breathe a sigh of relief. Though, in truth, she did not mind if he looked.

She even vaguely hoped that he would.

But if he really did, she would still feel terribly awkward...

So embarrassing.

Now that she was certain he would not turn around, she finally reached behind herself and unfastened the metal clasp at her back.

The oversized purple undergarment came away in a single motion. The instant it left her body, Li Bixian’s face flushed so red it seemed ready to drip blood.

She hastily reached out to support herself, though fortunately Zeng Xiao Fan still had not turned around.

“I-I’ve taken it off... You absolutely cannot look back, understand?”

“Got it...”

“Sister Xian, since when did you become so talkative...”

“Now that it’s off, hurry and hang your clothes up to dry by the fire.”

“Give them to me. I’ll help you dry them.”

“No! No need—”

“I’ll do it myself—”

Li Bixian jumped again and said, embarrassed, “How can you just handle a girl’s clothes so casually?”

“Honestly...”

Saying that, she bent down and propped up her blouse and inner layer with a branch.

After arranging the clothes on her upper body, she hesitated for a moment, then finally loosened her waistband.

Slowly, she slipped off her trousers...

But taking off her pants was simply too mortifying. Too ashamed to do it facing Zeng Xiao Fan, she turned her back to him.

Halfway through, she suddenly remembered something and frowned slightly.

“Oh right... Xiao Fan, you’re soaked through too!”

“You should take your clothes off as well so they can dry by the fire~”

Zeng Xiao Fan smiled faintly. “Sister Xian, just worry about yourself.”

“My body is far sturdier than yours.”

“The yang energy and fire in me are strong enough that my own body heat will dry wet clothes.”

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

What he said was true enough. Having cultivated the Great Path Art of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Fiends, his constitution could withstand far more than a little rain.

Even if he fell straight into an ice hole, he could stay there safely for three to five days without any issue.

Li Bixian, however, did not know this. She only thought he was being shy, and immediately frowned.

“Nonsense~”

“Didn’t you just tell me clearly?”

“If you don’t take off your clothes, the cold will force its way inside~”

“Come on, hurry up and take your clothes off too, and dry them properly!” Li Bixian said sternly.

“No... Sister Xian, I’m really different from you...”

Zeng Xiao Fan still wanted to explain, but Li Bixian suddenly grew anxious and, without thinking, snatched up the undergarment and hurled it at him.

“What’s so different about you? Your body is still a body!”

“My body is a body too. Everyone’s body matters. What, are you embarrassed?”

“I’ve already taken mine off, and you’re still embarrassed?”

As she spoke, the garment landed squarely on Zeng Xiao Fan’s head.

Only then did Li Bixian realize she had thrown the wrong thing. At once, she gave an embarrassed cry.

Zeng Xiao Fan flinched when struck, then reached up and took it off to see what it was, only to discover it was her intimate garment.

Oh!

Instantly, his entire body gave a sharp jolt.

Seeing his reaction, Li Bixian grew even more ashamed and stamped her feet.

“讨厌! Stop looking...”

Zeng Xiao Fan swallowed hard.

“Sis... Sister Xian, is your foundation layer’s size... really that big?”

“Ah!” Li Bixian cried out again in mortification, instinctively pressing her legs together before quickly turning her back once more.

Zeng Xiao Fan also realized the situation had become rather awkward. He could only give a silly smile and place the garment on the dry branches beside the fire.

“Cough... hanging it here by the fire works just as well...”

“Th-then I’ll take mine off too and keep you company by the fire~”

With no way to explain himself, Zeng Xiao Fan could only bend down in resignation and pull off his trousers as well.

The two of them stood with their backs to each other, and Li Bixian was removing her final layer too. Their movements were almost perfectly synchronized.

Both bent forward at nearly the same time, hips raised, yet with their backs turned, neither could see the other.

Just then, Li Bixian’s foot suddenly slipped, and her body began to lose its balance.

But her trousers had already slipped to her ankles and were not yet fully off, so she could not keep steady at all. Her whole body could only stumble backward involuntarily...

“A-ah...”

“I’m going to fall...” Li Bixian cried softly, hopping back in panic.

Suddenly, her whole body gave a violent shudder!

She froze as if struck by lightning!

Her face flushed instantly, so red it seemed ready to drip blood.

Zeng Xiao Fan’s reaction was almost exactly the same...

It turned out that, as she stumbled backward, the two of them had accidentally collided!

“Ah~”

“Mmm!”

Li Bixian’s delicate cry and Zeng Xiao Fan’s muffled grunt rang out almost at the same time. They were both stunned.

“Don’t!”

“Don’t turn around!!!” At this critical moment, Li Bixian could only manage to shout that one sentence.

Zeng Xiao Fan, who had been about to turn and look, immediately froze at her words.

For a while, the two of them fell silent. In that moment, silence spoke louder than words...

After that brief contact, they separated, yet the strange sensation left both of them flushed scarlet.

The rain outside continued to pour down in sheets, while inside the cramped, broken little tile-roofed hut, the fire glowed red and warmth filled the air...

A subtle sweetness seemed to envelop them completely. Li Bixian suddenly let a shy smile touch the corners of her lips.

For one brief instant, she wished the rain would keep falling forever and never stop...

And how could Zeng Xiao Fan not feel the same?

“This rain is really coming down hard...”

He had only just begun to remark on it when he suddenly felt warmth against his back.

It was Li Bixian, taking the initiative to lean against him from behind.

And so the two of them ended up standing back to back...