Falling Dreams Of Fang Hua

Chapter 10: An Amusing Bath Story

I really didn't know how to express the shocking I was feeling.

I only came to deliver some clothes...

It's absolutely true that I had no intention of peeping.

Still, I was dragged along until I ended up behind the screen. Because the other had used a lot of strength, I didn't even have time to find my bearings before I was leaning over the edge of the wooden tub, a hair's breadth from falling inside.

I wiped my face. Whoa, this bath water was really fragrant. A puff of air rose up to my forehead, turning my neck and the roots of my ears red. Now, this was heat.

My hands danced about as I tried to straighten up. But my sleeves were inside the tub, the light material soaking up the water until they were thoroughly wet. Those heavy, waterlogged sleeves carried the sound of gurgling water as I touched something warm within the tub. It was slippery like a loach, but the tactile sensation was very pleasing. Before I could figure out what it was, he caught me until I was facing him head-on. My face looked red and flustered, but I had turned cold all over.

"Shao'er, what are you doing here so late?" his voice was gentle, refined, and pleasant to hear. There was no sign of anger in the tone.

I blinked a few times before looking away, my gaze resting on the hand around my wrist. His five fingers were long and slender, his speech light and soft, but every move he made was filled with strength and it didn't seem like he was going to let me go.

My silence lasted for a while before I managed to give him a smile

Could I say I came here to steal pills?

Gulp, honesty wasn't the best policy here.

Well, I couldn't exactly say I came to peep on him bathing...

If I said a lie like that, I might as well tell the truth instead. My eyes spun in their sockets as I tried to think of an excuse to get by, but my mind was blank upon gazing at the beautiful scene before me.

All the excellent sights and sounds of spring...in my head, there was a sudden bang, as if I had been mindblown. I guess this was what happened when one's blood 'boiled with righteous indignation.' All we were missing was a catcall whistle.

His expression was one of lazy indolence, one hand resting by the side of his head, measuring me up with half-closed eyes. The Adam's apple by his fingers moved slightly. I started. It wasn't very comfortable to be stooping over the tub like this, especially when the wood pressing against my chest made the pains worse.

I vaguely remembered that during my beggar days...boys going through puberty would grow Adam's apples, and they'd give people strange looks...

Wait a minute.

I had a sudden, abrupt shock.

When Fang Hua picked me up from the temple, my body looked around seven or eight years old. Only five years had passed since then...I couldn't be starting puberty this early, right?

"Why aren't you saying anything, hn?"

His single 'hn' hung in the air, soft and unbroken as if overwhelmed with sorrow...

I was starting to suspect that he'd drank some alcohol again.

With my heart set, I gritted my teeth and said shamelessly, "I couldn't fall asleep, so I decided to wander around. When I heard yifu calling for me I conveniently came inside."

"Nonsense. Next time you try stealing something, remember not to bring a candle. Did you think I was blind to a large circle of light like that?"

Like I'd try to steal again.