fix this chapter and all of the ones before it. I figured out how to add footers :D
Chapter 54
I hugged the throw pillow, huddled against the sofa, and silently recited the doctrines of the Holy Light, my heart as still as water.
Mmm~ As expected, my body doesn’t feel that shameful anymore. Being a boy is such a hassle… Besides, I’m wearing a skirt, which is very precarious.
What’s worse is that Lian Qi keeps staring at me. Trying not to reveal any flaws right under her nose is truly a test for me.
“Are you feeling any better?”
“Mhm, much better now.” I gave her a weak smile. I should be able to move the throw pillow that’s been covering my skirt now, right?
“I’ve really never seen a girl with your kind of constitution. Prone to shame, not to mention it even makes your body feel unwell.”
“This…”
Of course she’s never seen a girl with my constitution, because I’m a boy. I have no idea how to explain this to Lian Qi, so I can only giggle foolishly to brush it off.
“Don’t tell me… your body got excited, did it?”
“E-e-eh??? Excited my foot…! Of course not!”
I blushed, feeling embarrassed. I just hope she doesn’t tease me by saying that refuting it is the same as covering it up.
Lian Qi gave a meaningful smile— “Looking at your reaction, you are covering it up. All this time, your mouth says it’s shameful, but your body is quite honest, isn’t it.”
Uwaah… I knew it. That smile of hers looks like she’s found a new source of fun in me. From now on, she’s not going to deliberately try to make my body excited, is she? Uuu… She doesn’t even know I’m actually a boy. I’m feeling more and more unsafe around her.
“I’m really not…”
I lowered my head, too shy to look at her. The throw pillow I originally planned to move was clutched tightly by me again. At least there’s a pillow separating me and Lian Qi, giving me a tiny bit more of a sense of security, because I’m terrified she’ll discover the secret under my skirt…
If we could just maintain a formal and respectful master-servant relationship, it would be fine. But living like this, with no sense of shame, is… really, really dangerous…!
If Lian Qi finds out I dressed as a girl and deceived her, will she get angry and just stop saving the world? I sometimes have this worry.
I saw her sit down right next to me, making me nervously clamp my legs shut, all while having to pretend to be calm on the surface.
“I’ve heard some people are just born with more sensitive bodies. I didn’t expect you to be that kind of girl.”
Yes, yes, yes, as long as she doesn’t think I’m a boy, anything is fine.
“…Sorry, I’m going to the restroom. Ex-excuse me.”
I stuffed the pillow into her hands and walked calmly toward the restroom. Uwaah… I didn’t even realize until I stood up that my legs are all tingly and numb. Lian Qi seeing me walk to the restroom while holding onto the wall will definitely let her imagination run wild again.
Ahem, the reason I’m going to the restroom is because I’m very concerned about what kind of mark Lian Qi left on my back. After all, the only big mirror in the entire dorm is over the sink in the restroom.
As someone who’s used to looking in the mirror after putting on girls’ clothes, I’m really not accustomed to this.
I looked at myself in the mirror. Waah!? Why is my face so red? I quickly splashed cold water on my face to calm down.
This is the downside of having white skin and hair. The slightest bit of shyness is way too obvious.
After washing my face, I embarrassedly lifted my uniform top in front of the mirror. In the mirror, right below the clasp of my underwear, there was a small-to-medium-sized red mark, like a birthmark.
“She really did leave a mark…” I whispered, not to mention how shameful it felt.
I never would have thought a kiss could actually produce this kind of effect. My knowledge has expanded again.
According to Lian Qi, leaving a mark is staking a claim of sovereignty? I really don’t get her way of thinking… Does it mean that if outsiders see this mark on me, they’ll associate it with me already having someone intimate in my life?
The moment I think about myself, a boy, being “claimed” by someone, having an “exclusive mark left on my body,” and so on, I feel like my male dignity has been humiliated… Uuu, my sense of shame is overflowing again.
Besides, I don’t have Qifeng’s personality. I just feel terribly embarrassed…!
I blushed as I put my top back down. Thankfully, the mark is in a relatively hidden spot…!
I’ve decided to try this on Qifeng another day.
After fixing my clothes, I pretended nothing had happened and returned to the living room.
“What do you want to eat later? You won a resounding victory today, so I want to treat you.” I said to Lian Qi with a smile.
“Salmon.”
So direct. But what on earth is a salmon!??
“How about… you draw a picture of a salmon, okay? I can mobilize the sisters to help you find it based on the drawing?” I asked with a weak smile.
Lian Qi shrugged. “But I don’t know what a salmon looks like when it’s alive. I’ve only ever seen it after it’s been sliced up.”
“Eh? That makes it difficult. How about I take you to the market to have a look?”
“Hmm… But let’s skip it for today. I’ve decided to eat steak. My back is injured, so it’s perfect for ‘using form to supplement form’.”1
“‘Using form to supplement form’…? Ha… So steak is meat from a cow’s back?” I gave a weak laugh.
If Lian Qi wants to eat steak, I just thought of a good place. So, I said to her, “There’s a restaurant with delicious steak. Qifeng and I used to go there often. I’ll take you there now?”
Authors note: Thanks to the reader “你们好” (Hello everyone) for the tip… Uwaa~ The author has taken out their one and only saved chapter. I’ll continue to work hard…! #fix
Footnotes
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以形补形 (yǐ xíng bǔ xíng) is a traditional Chinese dietary concept, similar to “like cures like,” where eating a certain body part is believed to nourish the corresponding part in one’s own body. Since Lian Qi’s back was hurt, she’s joking about eating steak (which she associates with a cow’s back). ↩