“Not — not yet —”
“Why is it taking so long?”
“The buttons won’t fasten…”
Silence fell outside the curtain for a second.
“I’m coming in to help you.”
A hand skillfully pulled the curtain back just enough to create a gap, and she squeezed inside.
The fitting room was tiny.
Standing face-to-face, our shoulders brushed against each other, and our knees nearly touched.
She reached back and pulled the curtain shut, the hook letting out a sharp click.
She glanced down.
My swimsuit was still stuck at my waist, the straps were a tangled mess around my arms, and the clasps at the back were dangling haphazardly by my side.
“Turn around.”
Her voice carried a hint of a smile, but it was a bit raspy, like a traveler in the desert who hadn’t had water in a long time.
I obediently turned around.
When her fingers touched my back, I shivered.
Her fingertips were a bit cool as they slowly slid down from my shoulder blades to find that metal clasp.
Her breath hit the back of my neck — warm and rhythmic.
“Don’t move.”
The clasp was fastened.
Her fingers slid up along my spine, straightening the twisted fabric.
Her fingertips pressed against my skin, moving upward one vertebra at a time, as if she were counting my bones.
She pulled the straps up from my arms, wound them behind my shoulders, crossed them, and then brought them back around.
Her fingers passed under my armpits to pull the fabric over my chest higher, her tips brushing against my ribs.
I held my breath, not daring to move.
She pulled the fabric that was stuck at my waist down bit by bit, her fingers sliding slowly along the side of my waist.
Her palms were hot while her fingertips were cool, the alternating sensations sending waves of electricity from my spine straight to my brain.
“There, all done.”
Her voice came from behind me.
She was so close that I could feel her lips almost touching the skin on my shoulder.
I looked down.
The mirror was right in front of me.
The black fabric clung to my body, the neckline dipping into a shallow V-shape that extended from my collarbone down to my chest.
The back was mostly bare, save for a few thin straps that crossed over each other, exposing a large area of skin.
The straps wound from the shoulders to the back, crossed, and then came forward to finish at the waist.
The skirt was very short, barely covering the tops of my thighs.
I raised my hand, wanting to cover my chest, but she grabbed my wrist from behind.
“Don’t hide.”
Her hand slid from my wrist to my arm, then from my arm to my shoulder, her fingertips slowly tracing the lines of the straps.
Her finger pads brushed over my collarbone, paused for a moment, and then moved lower, stopping at the edge of the neckline.
Her fingers stayed there for one second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Then, she tightened her arms and pulled me backward.
My back pressed against her chest.
I could feel her heartbeat through two layers of fabric — thud, thud, thud, thud — fast and chaotic, just like mine.
Her chin rested on my shoulder as she turned her head, her nose brushing against my earlobe.
Her breath hit the back of my ear, so hot that I shrunk my neck away.
“Han Han, you look so beautiful.”
Her voice was muffled against my ear, raspy and laced with a soft sigh.
In the mirror, the two of us were pressed together.
Her face was buried in the crook of my neck, her eyes half-open as she stared at me through the reflection.
Strands of her hair were draped over my shoulders.
Being watched by her like that made my entire body flush with heat, burning from the tips of my ears all the way down to my toes.
Her hand slid down from my shoulder, trailing along my arm.
Her fingertips brushed the inside of my elbow, then my wrist, before finally interlacing with my fingers.
Our fingers entwined, palm to the back of my hand.
Her hand was slightly larger than mine, completely enveloping it.
“We’re buying this one,” she said.
“It’s too —”
“I wasn’t asking for your opinion.”
Her lips brushed lightly against my earlobe.
My knees felt a bit weak, and I leaned back against her.
She held me up.
She tightened her arms, pinning me even closer.
In the mirror, there wasn’t a single gap between us.
Her chest was against my back, her chin on my shoulder, and our fingers were locked together.
My face was bright red, and her ears had turned red too.
Her lips moved from my earlobe to my cheek.
Slowly, she rubbed against me, one brush at a time.
The tip of her nose slid across my cheekbone and stopped right next to the corner of my mouth.
“Turn around,” she said.
I did as I was told and turned to face her.
The fitting room was so small that my knees hit her legs when I turned.
She didn’t move away, and neither did I.
We stood face-to-face, our noses almost touching.
Her eyes were bright, her pupils reflecting my crimson face.
Her fingers slid from my shoulder to the back of my head, her fingertips sinking into my hair to gently cradle it.
Her other hand was still around my waist, her fingers tightening until the fabric of the swimsuit wrinkled.
She leaned down.
Her lips pressed against mine.
It wasn’t like before — not a light, fleeting brush.
This was a firm press, soft and tasting of the sweetness of orange candy.
Her lips pressed against mine, rubbing once, then twice, before coming to a stop.
I closed my eyes.
Her hand slid from the back of my head to the nape of my neck, her fingertips pressing gently.
Her other hand moved from my waist to my back, her palm flat against my bare skin as her finger pads slowly traced my spine upward.
My fingers gripped the fabric of her sleeve until my knuckles turned white.
Her lips parted slightly, catching my lower lip and giving it a soft suck.
My mind went completely blank.
I couldn’t think of anything; I could only feel her lips, her fingers, and her heartbeat.
She pulled back a fraction, her nose still brushing mine.
Our breaths were tangled together, hot and damp.
“Dummy,” she whispered, “you need to breathe.”
Only then did I realize I had been holding my breath for a long time.
I took a gasp of air, only to be blocked by her again.
This time, it was deeper.
As her lips pressed down, she tilted her head slightly, her nose brushing my cheek.
The tip of her tongue lightly touched my lips, like a probe, an invitation.
My fingers slid from her sleeve to the back of her hand, gripping it tight.
Her lips moved from the corner of my mouth to my cheek, from my cheek to my ear, and then from my ear back to my lips.
Each kiss was light, like a feather.
Finally, her lips stopped next to the corner of my mouth and remained still.
“President Han Han!”
Song Tao’s voice exploded from outside.
We both froze instantly.
“Are you finished changing? Li Li wants to try on that light purple one, and it’s in there with you!”
“Not — not yet!” I shouted.
My voice was sharp and raspy, sounding nothing like myself.
Silence followed for a second.
Song Tao’s voice dropped significantly, sounding playful.
“Oh… then take your time. No rush, no rush.”
I heard the sound of her dragging Li Li away.
Li Li whispered, “What’s wrong?” and Song Tao lowered her voice further, saying, “Don’t bother them.”
Li Li let out a soft “Mm,” and the sound of their light footsteps faded into the distance.
The fitting room was so quiet that I could hear our heartbeats.
Xiao Yan was still holding me, her chin resting on my shoulder, unmoving.
Her breathing was still a bit heavy, huffing against my neck in steady intervals.
Her fingers were still on my back, her palm pressed against my skin and her fingertips slightly cool.
I could feel the lines on her palm, every single one imprinted on me.
Her lips were against my ear, her voice very soft.
“We’re buying this one.”
“…Mm.”
“But you can only wear it for me.”
I didn’t say anything.
Her fingers pressed lightly against my lower abdomen.
“Did you hear me?”
“…I heard you.”
She let go of me. We both kept our heads down.
I reached back to undo the clasp, but my fingers were shaking, and the button slipped several times.
She reached out to help, and when her fingertips touched mine, we both flinched.
She went out first.
The curtain was pulled open and then shut; her footsteps moved away.
I leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths before I finally managed to take off the swimsuit.
When I was folding the black swimsuit, my fingers were still trembling.
The fabric was thin and slippery, and no matter how I tried, I couldn’t fold it neatly, so I eventually just stuffed it into the bag.
When I walked out, Song Tao was spinning in front of the mirror with Li Li.
Li Li was wearing a light purple one-piece swimsuit with tiny lily-of-the-valley embroidery on the neckline and a skirt that reached her knees.
She kept her head down, her face flushed, not knowing where to put her hands.
“It looks great!” Song Tao circled around Li Li, the orange slice hairpin on her bun bouncing up and down.
“It looks even better than I imagined! Doesn’t it, Senior Xiao Yan?”
Xiao Yan was leaning against the checkout counter, holding three bags.
She took a look and said, “It looks good.”
Then she added, “Buy it.”
Li Li shook her head and whispered, “It’s too expensive…”
Song Tao had already flipped the price tag over to take a look and then pulled out her phone.
“I’ll pay for you! Consider it an early birthday present!”
“My birthday is still half a year away…”
“Then it’s a very early gift!”
Song Tao had already scanned the code, her movements as fast as someone grabbing a limited-edition item.
Li Li couldn’t stop her in time.
Xiao Yan stood by the counter with the three bags in hand.
When she saw me, her ears turned red.
I turned red too.
We glanced at each other and then both looked away at the same time.
Song Tao looked at me and then at Xiao Yan, covering her mouth as she giggled.
Her bun was leaning even more precariously now, the orange slice hairpin almost falling off.
“What are you laughing at?”
Xiao Yan’s voice was stern, but her ears turned even redder.
“Nothing, nothing.”
Song Tao grabbed Li Li and ran ahead.
After a few steps, she turned back and winked at me.
“President Han Han, your face is so red.”
Li Li was pulled along, but she looked back at me, her shallow dimples appearing as she whispered, “Pink… really suits you.”
I froze for a second.
Xiao Yan froze too.
Then, she stuffed the three bags into my hands.
“Hold these.”
“What about you —”
“I’m tired from just now. My hands are sore.”
She shoved her hands into her pockets and walked ahead.
After two steps, she stopped to wait for me.
When I caught up to her side, she reached out and took my hand. Our palms pressed together, feeling a bit hot.
I didn’t pull away.
Up ahead, Song Tao looked back and winked at Li Li.
Li Li lowered her head with a blush, pretending to look at the shop windows on the side of the road, but the corners of her mouth were turned up.
As evening fell on the street, the streetlights began to flicker on one by one.
The four of us walked toward home carrying our shopping bags, our shadows stretching out long behind us.
Song Tao and Li Li walked in front.
Song Tao was chattering away about a new Girls’ Love novel she was reading.
When she got to the exciting parts, she gestured wildly with her hands, causing her shopping bags to swing back and forth.
Li Li nodded occasionally or whispered a “What happened next?”
Her pace was slow, but she always managed to keep up with Song Tao.
Xiao Yan and I trailed behind.
Her hand was locked with mine, our fingers interlaced, and the little rabbit hair tie on my wrist swayed back and forth.
“I’ve never been to a hot spring before,” I whispered.
She turned to look at me, her eyes shining as her finger lightly tickled my palm.
“It’s okay, I’ll be with you. After the hot spring, we’ll go to the stargazing spot Li Li reserved. The founding president’s notebook said that you can see the Milky Way from there.”
Her fingertips brushed against the little rabbit hair tie on my wrist.
“Stargazing in yukatas will definitely be super romantic.”
She pulled a little rabbit bath bomb out of the shopping bag and pressed it into my hand.
It was soft and smelled of strawberries.
“It’s a freebie. Use it when we’re at the hot springs; it’ll make pink bubbles.”
Song Tao turned around to shout “I want one too!” but Xiao Yan glared at her.
She pouted and shrunk back, pretending to chat with Li Li.
However, her hand secretly reached into Li Li’s shopping bag to feel the price tag of the light purple swimsuit before tucking it back in.
Reaching a fork in the road, Xiao Yan checked her phone.
“The rooms are booked. We can get the keys as soon as we arrive this weekend.”
Song Tao suddenly remembered something and shouted, “Ah! I forgot to say! There’s a meteor shower on the night of the team building!”
She pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket and unfolded it.
On it was her crooked handwriting:
“Founding President’s Notebook, page twenty-three: December 1st, meteor shower peak, excellent observation conditions.”
She held the paper up like a royal decree.
Li Li added softly, “The founding president wrote that the observation conditions on that day are the best. She even drew a trajectory map of the meteor shower.”
She opened her own notebook, which contained a neatly copied section of the notes, accompanied by a star map of the meteor shower with the radiant point marked.
I blinked and looked up at Xiao Yan.
She winked at me.
“Then we definitely have to go.”
Xiao Yan turned to follow Song Tao and Li Li. Song Tao was still chattering about making a wish during the meteor shower.
Li Li asked what she was going to wish for, but Song Tao thought about it and said, “I’m not telling you.”
After walking a few steps, Xiao Yan turned back.
“Don’t forget to bring the rabbit swimsuit this weekend, dummy.”
I nodded.
The little rabbit bath bomb in my hand felt warm.
My phone vibrated. Xiao Yan had sent a photo.
It was a selfie of her trying on a black swimsuit identical to mine, posing in front of a mirror with her hair a bit messy.
In the background, you could see the fitting room curtain and her backpack tossed onto a chair.
The caption read:
“Does it look good?”
I stared at the screen, my face heating up.
My breathing became very rapid.
I zoomed in for two seconds before zooming back out.
Her collarbones were beautiful, and the straps of the swimsuit crossed perfectly over her back.
I replied with a single, “Mm.”
She replied instantly:
“Then back at the room this weekend, I’ll wear it for you.”
I pressed the phone against my chest, my heart racing uncontrollably.
The little rabbit hair tie on my wrist shimmered under the streetlights.
The bag containing the black swimsuit hung from my wrist — heavy and thin, I could feel those few delicate straps even through the paper.
Song Tao shouted from ahead, “President Han Han! Remember to bring orange candy this weekend! I bought a giant bag!”
Li Li added softly, “And bring some heat packs. It gets windy on the stargazing platform at night.”
Xiao Yan’s voice drifted from further away.
“Ignore them. Just making sure you show up is enough.”
The weekend.
The hot springs.
The meteor shower.
And the way her ears turned red when she said, “You can only wear it for me.”
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