Xuan Xi leaned against the edge of the bathtub, her wine glass tilting slightly in her hand. She did not know how much she had drunk. Perhaps it was the third glass, or maybe the fifth. Either way, she only stopped once the liquid in the bottle had nearly run dry.
Correspondingly, Xuan Xi’s cheeks had taken on a clear flush, and even her neck was tinged with a faint rosiness, glowing with a delicate sheen under the moisture in the air. She could feel her eyelids growing heavier than usual. Her gaze landed on the flower petals floating on the water’s surface, and she stared at them for quite a while.
“This wine… it’s really good!” After she said that, she even let out a tipsy hiccup, but her voice was unexpectedly soft. It was just that the gaps between each word had been stretched out, as if she needed a long moment to think before she could say what she wanted to say.
After speaking, she lowered her head to glance at the mostly empty glass again, brought the rim to her lips, and slowly drank down the last sip. When she swallowed, a very faint whimper rose from her throat, like a kitten that had just tasted delicious milk.
When she set the glass down, her fingers did not grip it steadily, and the rim knocked against the edge of the bathtub with a sharp clink.
SigrdrÃfa turned her head and glanced at her, her gaze passing over Xuan Xi’s flushed cheeks and the eyes slightly narrowed from comfort. “You’ve had too much to drink, Xuan Xi,” she said.
“No, there’s no way I could be drunk!” Xuan Xi said. She placed the empty glass on the rim of the bathtub, and after confirming it would not slide off, she pulled her hand back and used her fingertips to toy with the petals floating on the water’s surface, like a child pushing apart a few that had clustered together one by one, then gathering a few others that had scattered apart, playing with them endlessly.
SigrdrÃfa simply leaned against the bathtub, the tips of her silver-white hair drifting on the water’s surface, occasionally brushing against the currents Xuan Xi made while stirring the petals. She watched indulgently as Xuan Xi fiddled with the petals, neither stopping her nor joining in.
She reached out toward the wine bottle on the tray, intending to finish off the last bit of wine. But the moment her fingertip touched the bottle, Xuan Xi’s hand rose from the water and caught her, the grip very light. Her fingers threaded through Sig’s and clasped her palm. Xuan Xi exhaled, and the warm breath laced with alcohol dispersed into the steam, slowly spreading and thinning until it was swallowed by the heat of the bathroom.
She turned her head to look at Sig, her lips parting slightly. “Sig, you’re so sneaky! I want to drink too!” After saying that, Xuan Xi used her other hand to grab the wine bottle. She did not pour the wine into the stemmed glass, but instead brought it directly to her mouth. She was going to drink it all in one go?!
Sig had just wanted to stop her when something strange suddenly happened on Xuan Xi’s end — perhaps because the alcohol had gone to her head, or for some other reason, Xuan Xi did not grip the bottle steadily, and it slipped from between her fingers. She did not even react in time. The liquid in the bottle lingered briefly in the air, then fell, spilling onto her fair collarbone.
The wine continued to flow downward along her collarbone, tracing a striking streak over her smooth skin, looking utterly alluring under the bathroom lights. A few droplets passed over her chest and disappeared between the two peaks below, leaving behind only a pale pink river-like trail.
Xuan Xi looked down at the pale pink wine trail on her chest and blinked. “?” It was as if she still did not know what had happened, much less what was waiting for her next.
SigrdrÃfa did not reach for a towel to clean Xuan Xi’s body, because she had decided to properly “punish” Xuan Xi. With a beauty and a feast right before her, how could she not partake?
She fished the wine bottle out from the center of the bathtub and set it outside, then turned on her side and drew a little closer to Xuan Xi. Her face was only a few centimeters from Xuan Xi’s body, close enough to feel the heat radiating from her skin and the sweet fragrance volatilizing together with the wine. She reached out and gently pressed her hand just above Xuan Xi’s collarbone, touching the edge of the wine stain, then lowered her head and pressed her lips to it.
Her warm tongue slid downward from the upper edge of the collarbone, following the path the wine had traveled, bit by bit rolling the remaining liquid into her mouth. She licked very slowly — from the collarbone to the chest, then further down to the hollow soaked through with wine. Her tongue paused at the hollow, made a small circle, and only then withdrew, carrying away the last trace of wine as well. Her lips lingered in a kiss on Xuan Xi’s body for a moment before she slowly raised her head, as if savoring something.
Xuan Xi sat motionless in the bathtub. She could feel Sig’s lips against her skin — warm and soft — and wherever her tongue passed, it left a moist trail behind. Her breathing had grown heavier than before, her chest rising and falling slightly, accompanied by faint pants. Her mind had short-circuited completely. She could not think of a single movement to make. All that remained before her was SigrdrÃfa as a person, and that bit of moist luster at the corner of her lips.
SigrdrÃfa raised her head and glanced at Xuan Xi. Seeing that she showed not the slightest intention of resisting, she decided to continue her advance and lowered her head again. Her lips moved up to Xuan Xi’s neck and pressed a gentle kiss there, leaving her own exclusive mark on Xuan Xi’s neck. Her breath swept across Xuan Xi’s skin, imbuing Xuan Xi’s body with her scent.
Only when tears were nearly shimmering in Xuan Xi’s eyes did she end her “bullying” of Xuan Xi. She reached for the towel on the rim of the bathtub, drained the water, and began drying the remaining moisture from Xuan Xi’s body. The towel started from her shoulders and slowly wiped downward along her arms, the sides of her waist, and her thighs. After finishing each spot, she would gently run her fingertip along the skin she had wiped, confirming that every place had been cleaned thoroughly.
Her movements were very light, but when she reached the inner side of Xuan Xi’s thigh, she paused. Her fingertip traced along the inner texture for a while, and only stopped when Xuan Xi called for her to stop. She folded the towel neatly and placed it on the edge of the tub, then supported the back of Xuan Xi’s neck and her thighs and lifted her out of the bathtub in a princess carry. Xuan Xi slumped softly against her, her dark blue-black long hair wet and splayed across Sig’s shoulder.
She was placed on the bed by Sig; the blanket and pillow still carried a faint scent of aromatherapy, mixed with the fragrance of roses brought out from the bathtub. It smelled comfortable and reassuring. She simply lay there, watching blurrily as Sig walked to the window to draw the curtains, the last trace of light outside being blocked out.
Xuan Xi’s arm reached out from the edge of the blanket, then fell heavily back down. She spoke, her voice thick with drunkenness and drowsiness, “Sig… I…” She also opened her mouth wanting to say something more, but the sound turned around in her throat and was swallowed back down,leaving only a vague, soft noise. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, as if something weighty were pressing down, refusing to let her open her eyes.
SigrdrÃfa stood by the bed watching her, watching her breathing gradually steady from the post-drinking unevenness.
She reached out and gently flicked Xuan Xi’s nose. Only after confirming that Xuan Xi had fallen soundly asleep did she withdraw her hand, and at the same time pulled the blanket up a little higher, covering Xuan Xi’s shoulder.
“Goodnight, my little princess.” Her voice was very soft, not wanting to wake Xuan Xi. Turning on her side, she lay down beside Xuan Xi. She could feel her own breathing synchronizing with Xuan Xi’s, even and gentle, as if an invisible red thread had linked the frequencies of the two together.
The night outside the window had grown very deep. No more fireworks rose, and the stars reappeared, spreading a fine layer of light across the canopy of the sky.
She could feel a tranquility she had not experienced in a long time. No need to calculate the next step, no need to guard against anything, no need to think about what came after tomorrow. She only needed to be here, sleeping together with the person she liked, letting the darkness wrap everything within it.