An Ling and Li Yang sat together on the rooftop eating lunch.
She looked up at Li Yang from time to time.
Her eating motions were very mechanical, and she put none of her attention on the taste of the food.
Although Li Yang was still the same as before, wolfing down the food while praising the taste of An Ling’s cooking.
But An Ling was still hung up on what had happened this morning.
She was afraid Li Yang was angry, yet she didn’t dare open her mouth to ask.
She would take two bites of rice, then look up at Li Yang.
When she saw that Li Yang was about to raise his head, she would immediately bury her head again to eat.
Going back and forth like this, Li Yang finally noticed her little movements and couldn’t help speaking.
“An Ling?”
“Mm.”
An Ling still didn’t raise her head and answered while burying it.
“What’s wrong with you? You’ve been peeking at me this whole time.”
Li Yang put down his chopsticks and looked at her seriously.
Had she been found out?
An Ling’s ears drooped again, and her tail nervously curled up under the chair.
“I wasn’t… wasn’t peeking at you.”
An Ling’s voice was as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz.
Her ears were pressed low, and she wished she could shrink her whole body into the lunch box.
“I was just… just thinking about something.”
“What kind of thing requires peeking at me to think about?”
Li Yang looked at her like this and couldn’t help sighing.
“Do you have something you want to say to me?”
An Ling stirred the food in the lunch box with her chopsticks.
She really did have something she wanted to say.
Words of apology, words of explanation, or whatever else.
As long as it could break the awkward situation from this morning, it would be fine.
“I…”
She raised her head, glanced at Li Yang once, then quickly looked away.
“About this morning… I’m sorry…”
Li Yang froze for a moment, then realized what she was talking about.
He also wanted to hear what An Ling was going to say now.
“Continue. I’m listening.”
“I…”
An Ling put down her chopsticks.
Her hands twisted together under the table, and her tail curled into a ball under the chair.
“I didn’t mean this morning that you were unreliable… I shouldn’t have run away. I didn’t do it on purpose… I’m sorry. Don’t be angry anymore.”
Alright.
Li Yang had thought she was going to reveal the truth to him.
It turned out she was afraid he was angry and had come to apologize.
Saying he wasn’t even a little angry would be a lie, but most of it was still because An Ling didn’t trust him, which left him a bit disappointed.
Sigh… Li Yang sighed in his heart. First calm An Ling’s emotions.
“About that.”
He picked up his chopsticks, put a meatball into his mouth, and chewed slowly. “I’m not angry.”
“Really?” An Ling still didn’t dare raise her head.
“Really.” Li Yang said. “I was just thinking about other things and didn’t have time to call you.”
An Ling finally raised her head and stared at him for a few seconds, as if judging whether he was lying.
“It’s good that you’re not angry.”
An Ling said quietly. An Ling, who had never seen Li Yang get angry in front of her, was truly afraid that once she made him angry, what if he got angry and no longer wanted her.
“You thought I was angry?” Li Yang looked at her.
“Mm.” An Ling nodded.
“The way you were this morning, not talking to me after class, and when I called you you didn’t hear either…”
“I was thinking about something at the time and didn’t notice. Sorry, An Ling.”
Li Yang said. “And it’s not like I wasn’t talking to you. Didn’t I come find you to eat?”
An Ling’s ears twitched. Although they were still lying flat on her head, her tail had relaxed and started swaying lightly again.
“Alright. Don’t be scared anymore.” Li Yang reached out and forcibly stood her ears up. “This looks a bit better.”
“Wait…”
Sensing Li Yang’s movement, An Ling was startled, but she didn’t dare make any extra movements.
She had only just managed to keep Li Yang from being angry at her.
“Didn’t you say not to touch my ears? It’s itchy.”
An Ling said quietly, a trace of grievance in her voice.
She didn’t dare slap Li Yang’s hand away the way she had before, because she was still afraid of him getting angry.
“It feels really comfortable to touch. Let me touch them a bit.”
Li Yang’s hand didn’t pull back.
His fingertips gently stroked the soft fur on her ears.
Soft and comfortable beyond reason.
Like the finest silk.
He could feel An Ling’s ears trembling lightly in his palm, pressing backward like a startled little animal, yet not truly pulling away.
“Itchy…”
An Ling shrank her neck. Her face was already completely red.
But Li Yang seemed a little addicted to this comfortable feel.
He even shifted his gaze toward An Ling’s tail, which had gone stiff from tension.
“How about letting me touch your tail?” Li Yang said without thinking.
“Huh?”
An Ling jumped as if she had been electrocuted and hurriedly pulled her tail into her arms.
“The tail… the tail isn’t something that can be touched casually…”
“I touched it when we were little, didn’t I? What’s different about it?”
“Different is different… I…”
An Ling didn’t know how to explain either.
Back then she had still been little and hadn’t known what a tail represented.
Moreover, back then she had still been a boy.
“Didn’t you say you were apologizing to me? You’re not even willing to let me touch your tail?”
There was a trace of teasing in Li Yang’s tone, but his eyes were unusually serious.
An Ling hugged her tail, her whole body curling into a ball. Her face was as red as a boiled shrimp.
She bit her lip, her heart struggling violently.
Touching the ears was already too much. If he touched the tail as well…
But Li Yang didn’t know anything, and she had just apologized. If she refused again, would he really get angry at her?
An Ling took a deep breath and slowly loosened the hands hugging her tail.
“Just… just once.”
She lowered her head, her voice so quiet it was almost inaudible. “Not for too long…”
Li Yang froze for a moment. He had only said it casually and hadn’t expected An Ling to actually agree.
“Then I’m touching it?” He walked over beside An Ling and reached out his hand.
“Mm.” An Ling closed her eyes. Her ears were pressed low, and her whole body was taut like a fully drawn bow.
Li Yang’s hand landed on her tail.
Fluffy, soft and cottony, much warmer than he had imagined.
The gray fur was smooth and soft. When his fingers sank in, he could feel the warm body temperature and the slight trembling underneath.
An Ling’s tail quivered lightly in his palm.
“So soft. Nice and warm.” Li Yang commented while stroking.
An Ling didn’t speak.
She bit her lip and tried her best not to make a sound.
Her face was already so red it looked like it might drip blood.
It was such a strange feeling.
Only now, with Li Yang touching her tail, did she understand why a beastkin’s tail couldn’t be casually touched by others.
A tingling, numbing sensation spread from the tip of her tail throughout her entire body.
The restless heat in her lower abdomen started up again. That strange feeling had returned.
No no no!
She felt she was about to be unable to think. If this continued, she really would make a fool of herself.
“E-enough… enough, right?” Her voice was trembling, and there was a watery light in her eyes.
Li Yang pulled his hand back. The soft sensation still lingered on his fingertips.
“Mm. Enough.”
Li Yang looked at An Ling’s completely flushed face.
Does touching a tail make someone this itchy? he couldn’t help thinking in his heart.