Chapter 114 - Little Secret

Ten minutes into this lovely relaxing bath everyone else was like salted fish enjoying the full benefits gifted by mother nature. As their bodies were immersed in the hot spring their muscles relaxed untangling all the knots that had accumulated over time.

Everyone's muscles seemed to have understood the assignment all but one. While the rest of the group was behaving like a cooked lobster, Rui Fei looked constipated. It seemed the longer he soaked the more tangled his knots would be. This anomaly couldn't be blamed on the hot spring but his own body that couldn't bear being this near to the half-naked Ji Yao.

Not only were his muscles stiff but his body was also a few degrees hotter than the hot spring. At this point, it was hard to tell whether his flushed face was from the hot spring or from shyness. He knew he was sweating but because he was in the water one couldn't tell.

The couple of times he took a side glance at the person right beside him his heartbeat would quicken and an inexplicable heat would spread from his face down to his nether regions.

Lucky for him there was a way to get rid of his excitement without touching anything and that was the appearance of Xiaoyu. She was like an abstinence pill with legs. To Rui Fei, she was the best contraceptive method.

He already felt like covering Ji Yao up with a robe in front of Rui Li's harmless little stares. But compared to Xiaoyu, Rui Li was like a harmless kitten with a little curiosity. This meant that Rui Fei had a dark thunderous cloud looming over his head damping his spirit.

"Who invited her here?' asked Rui Fei without even bothering to conceal his rudeness. Xiaoyu would have been offended if she didn't know Rui Fei's feelings towards her.

She understood how he felt. I mean who would like to see the person they like pursue someone else, right? This sort of justification provided an excusable explanation so she wasn't at all upset.

Everyone felt the tension in the air which grew thicker and thicker by the second. Xiaoyu was dressed in an elegant peach dress which celebrated her graceful soft body making the general populous drool. Coupled with her enchanting eyes and emerald hair she was the type of woman that could end brotherly relationships and bring down nations.

She slipped her feet out of her shoes revealing a lovely pair of ankles that could destabilize the bank balance of anyone with a foot fetish. Xiaoyu slowly walked over to the hot spring and dipped a toe before going in.

"I overheard these two talk about it and I didn't think they would mind if I joined," she explained gathering her hair in her hands as she moved towards Ji Yao's direction, "Who would have thought I would see Yao-ge here?"

Ji Yao who had somehow been roped into the conversation didn't open his eyes appearing to be asleep. Xiaoyu saw this lustful scene and couldn't help but feel a little bashful.

Once when Ji Yao had a fever she had snuck in while Ji Wen went out for a second. She had found a basin and towel on the bedside so she wrung the towel intending to cool down his burning skin. As though practising to be the perfect wife she diligently wiped his face and neck but when she pulled down the quilt she saw that his top half was naked.

At the time she was so startled that she dropped the towel in her hand and ran out with a face as red as cherries. Though she didn't stay as long enough as it takes to say the word sexy the image was carved in her mind that she would often retrieve the memory and fantasize.

Seeing his chest again she couldn't help but sneakily take a peek to please her eyes. Since they had the same objective Rui Fei could easily read her mind. Because he knew the sort of filthy thoughts running in Xiaoyu's mind hence he didn't conceal his dissatisfaction.

When he caught Xiaoyu staring he glowered at her frightening this Jiejie. But of course, it was only a momentary fright. She wasn't terrified anymore when she realised he was eating vinegar because she was looking at someone else. She covertly took a glimpse at Rui Fei's chest and as expected it wasn't as enticing as Ji Yao's.

Her heart was in the right place but because she had misinterpreted the situation it didn't do anything to dispel the tension. It was Rui Li who made an attempt at that but even then it didn't help ease Rui Fei's taut expression.

She took out some floating candles shaped like lotus flowers which she had robbed out of one of these fancy bedrooms. Well, one might say she was stealing but this was also her great grandmother's palace so... yep.

Let's just say this is part of her inheritance. "Wan-ge, help me light them," she said tapping Rui Yewan who was half asleep. Rui Yewan lazily opened his eyes and the two of them lit the beautiful candles before letting them float all over the spring. It soon started looking like the entire surface of the water was covered in fairy lights. If they had done this during nightfall it would have looked even better. 

This lovely scene did nothing for Rui Fei. What actually calmed him down was when he felt a hand reach out for his underwater. Taken aback he looked at Ji Yao as their fingers entwined together beneath the surface of the water but the man didn't open his eyes. The turbulence wreaking havoc in his heart was brought to an abrupt end with their fingers locked together.

Because it was underwater a place he couldn't clearly see the stimuli from holding hands was especially amplified. When he closed his eyes he could feel the change in water temperature and pressure as well as the movement of water against his skin but these feelings weren't as intense as the one from their clasped hands.

Caught between excitement for holding Ji Yao's hand and fear of getting caught Rui Fei felt a frisson of delight throughout his body. The best way to explain this feeling would be like the thrilling shiver one gets when one sees a roller coaster ride. Since it was their little secret, Rui Fei tried his best to conceal his excited expression which was incredibly difficult.

The two people looked like a pair of preschoolers isolated on the playground with a little secret between them that no one else should knew about. And because of this shared secret, they wouldn't let anyone into their little circle.

Now one might be wondering why Ji Yao held Rui Fei's hand.. That's because he didn't like the way Rui Fei was looking at Xiaoyu.