Chapter 44: Kiss?
Seeing the joyful expression on her face and those sparkling eyes, Ri Guang suddenly felt his heart tremble strongly.
Shuran also seemed to realize that the distance between them had suddenly become too close. Her face flushed red as well, completely forgetting that what Ri Guang was reading was not something proper.
"I... I am sorry, I..."
"It is fine." Ri Guang was not a teenager who had just reached puberty, nor was he someone without experience in love.
Sensing Shuran’s affection toward him, he decided to take the initiative.
Ri Guang smiled and said, "I like novels very much. I have also read and written many novels before, but my family ran into trouble. My entire family died, and everything I had was burned away."
Shuran was startled when she heard that. A bitter feeling rose in her heart. She gently patted the back of his hand, her gentle voice sounding soft and warm.
"Young master, do not be sad. Everyone has a path they must walk."
"That path may be filled with thorns and may make us afraid to move forward. But the road is still ahead of us, and we simply keep walking. This world is not only filled with suffering, it also has joy and many interesting things."
"If... if..." Shuran suddenly blushed. Her lotus-like hand, delicate and soft, covered her rose-petal lips as she stammered, "If the young master does not mind, I could be your friend and share those joyful things with you..."
Ri Guang glanced at her and smiled. "Thank you, Young Lady Cao. Someone as kind as you must have many friends to share these interests with, right?"
As he spoke, he raised the scroll in front of Shuran.
Her face immediately turned red as she stammered, "No... that is not it. I... I do not have friends. I just... feel..."
"Oh? You do not have friends? So that means... I am the first person to see this embarrassing side of you?" Ri Guang continued, his voice carrying a teasing tone.
"Young master, please... please do not say that. This... this..." Shuran was usually eloquent and skilled with words. She could handle any situation calmly.
But now, for some reason, when facing this man, she felt extremely embarrassed and flustered. Her mind gradually went blank, and she did not know how to respond.
"It is fine." Ri Guang said with a smile. "I understand. Sometimes we all have certain hobbies that we cannot let others know about."
He also knew when to stop. After all, this was their first meeting, so he should not be too hasty.
Besides, her affection had already risen to Tier 2 and would continue to increase. Because of that, he did not believe she would dislike him or refuse to see him again.
Shuran took a deep breath. Knowing she could not hide it anymore, she said dejectedly, "Young master, you must think I am a dirty and lustful woman, right?"
"No." Ri Guang shook his head. "Everyone has sexual desires. It is only a matter of more or less. After all, the task of every living creature in this world is simply to live, produce offspring, and continue the cycle of life."
Shuran smiled and shook her head. She did not expect something so crude to become such a sacred and noble duty when spoken from Ri Guang’s mouth.
She smiled and said, "Young master, if you do not mind, then... could you teach me a little?"
Ri Guang nodded. Then, using the experience from more than ten years of reading web novels in his previous life, he guided her on how to describe these sensations in a better way.
After all, he had experienced such things before, so he understood those feelings of pleasure very well.
Shuran listened in fascination. But the more she listened, the redder her face became. Her body gradually began to feel itchy and restless.
Especially in her most private place, a small amount of fluid continued to flow out. Her silk underwear, which had barely dried, became wet again.
Shuran’s breathing gradually grew faster, but she did not want Ri Guang to stop. Her ears continued to listen as he talked about the pleasures of the body.
His words were somewhat direct, even crude at times, describing many strange things that sent Shuran’s imagination soaring into the clouds.
The moonlight flowed like white silk, covering Shuran’s exquisite face with a faint glow. Her already blushing face became even more charming beneath the soft light.
She took a deep breath, pressed her lips together, and said softly, "Young master, you... you seem to understand these things very well."
"That is right. After all, I currently have two cultivation partners, and in the future I will have even more cultivation partners. Young Lady Cao, have you never been in love?"
When Shuran heard that Ri Guang had two cultivation partners, her heart suddenly ached. It felt as if she had just drunk a cup of vinegar mixed with wine. That sour and burning sensation stirred her mind.
Her eyelashes lowered slightly, like an abandoned puppy, both pitiful and making people want to hold her and comfort her.
Cao Shuran said softly, "I... I have never been in love, and I have never found someone suitable for me."
"Ah." Ri Guang pretended to be surprised and said softly, "So that means... I am really the only one who knows about this hobby of yours?"
Shuran pressed her lips together and nodded lightly.
He continued, "Then that means... you have never been in love, and you have never kissed anyone either?"
Shuran seemed stimulated by his words. Her hands gripped her black dress so tightly that it wrinkled. She tried to remain calm and said, "I have never even held a man’s hand. How could I possibly... kiss someone?"
"Hm..." Ri Guang pretended to stroke his chin, thinking with difficulty. "Then you will never know what love is, what kind of feelings it brings. You will not even be able to describe the emotions you want to portray in this kind of novel."
As he spoke, he waved the scroll in front of Shuran.
Her face turned red. Then she did not know where that sudden courage came from.
Shuran slowly raised her head. Her face was like a pink lotus blooming in the night, making Ri Guang feel captivated.
She took a deep breath, her full chest rising and falling with each breath.
"Young master, after all, you are the only one who knows about this hobby of mine. I take this hobby very seriously, but... I have no experience with those things. So... so... could you... help me?"
Ri Guang was slightly stunned. Before he could say anything, Shuran continued speaking.
"No! Please do not misunderstand. I... I only mean that... we both love literature."
"In order to write good passages, I need to immerse myself in the story. Only by experiencing those kinds of feelings and emotions can I truly understand what I need to write."
"So... this... this is... an exchange of literary experience. Yes, that is right, an exchange of experience, improving together..."
After saying that, Shuran felt so embarrassed that she truly wanted to run away from this place, yet she still looked at Ri Guang with a hint of expectation.
Her eyes were shimmering and moist, as if if his answer did not match what she hoped for, she would immediately burst into tears.
Ri Guang seemed mesmerized by those pearl-like eyes. He rubbed his chin and put on an extremely serious expression, pretending to carefully consider her words.
"You are right," he said. "I also like literature very much, especially novels. It is just that my entire family was killed before, and afterward I had to wander everywhere. I could not continue with this hobby."
"Today, meeting someone who shares the same interest as me can be considered fate guiding me to meet you."
"Fate?" Shuran murmured softly. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she remembered the prophecy that the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion had sent to her.
’Could it really be him?’ Shuran thought to herself.
Ri Guang continued, "Young Lady Cao, go ahead and say it. I am willing to help you."
At this moment, Shuran seemed to have become a bit braver. Her gaze glanced at the scroll, then shifted to Ri Guang’s lips. Her heart felt as if it were burning.
She moved her lips several times as if she wanted to speak but stopped herself. Then she gripped her dress tightly and asked softly, "Can we... hold hands for a moment?"
"Of course." Ri Guang gently took her hand. Their fingers intertwined as he lifted their joined hands before them.
Their gazes did not focus on their clasped hands but instead looked into each other’s eyes.
Shuran was so nervous that the red flush on her face spread like evening clouds, extending from her cheeks across her entire face and even dyeing both of her ears crimson.
"So this is... the feeling of holding hands?" Shuran said softly.
Ri Guang nodded, then shook his head. "Not exactly. In truth, holding hands can carry many different emotions depending on the perspective."
"Parents holding their child’s hand, friends holding hands, lovers holding hands... each perspective brings a different feeling."
"When parents hold their child’s hand, it is to guide the child they are leading. Friends hold hands perhaps out of joy or friendship. Lovers hold hands so they will not be separated, and so they can... kiss."
"Kiss?!" Shuran was startled. Her body trembled slightly, yet a sense of anticipation rose in her heart.
"Yes." Ri Guang said, his tone firm as if he were discussing some kind of social topic.
"Different feelings will influence your writing when you describe them. If you want to write a romance novel, then you must stand from the perspective of lovers. That... I am afraid I cannot help you with."
"Heh? Why?" Shuran asked in surprise, her eyes filled with confusion as she looked at Ri Guang.
Ri Guang sighed before saying, "After all, you and I are not lovers. Holding hands like this probably will not help you find the emotions you want to write about."
"Perhaps... you should find someone you like, hold that person’s hand, kiss that person. That way you will be able to understand those feelings most accurately."
Shuran felt her heart beating even faster when Ri Guang mentioned the word "kiss." Her eyes fixed on his lips without moving away.
She turned her head to the side, seemingly lost in thought, yet she still did not release his hand.
Ri Guang thought she had become too embarrassed and wanted to stop.
Suddenly, Shuran spoke.
"If... if... I mean... what if we were lovers?"