That evening, Jian Xi finished her shower feeling a bit thirsty. Coincidentally there was no more water left in her room, so she went downstairs to find something to drink.
He Qingchen also happened to finish up in his study and walked out at the same time, running into each other head on.
It was summer, and the weather was hot. Jian Xi had just gotten out of the shower and was wearing a silk strap nightgown. Her hair was still wet with drops of water trickling down into her dress.
He Qingchen's eyes unconsciously flashed a hint of awkwardness as he thought to himself that the young girl really had grown up.
Jian Xi was happily surprised to see him finish work so early today when usually he would still be in his study after she went to bed. She cheerfully bounced over to him and smiled, "Brother, you finished work?"
As she drew nearer, the scent of her bath gel, which he had bought for her, wafted into He Qingchen's nose - osmanthus.
He reflexively responded "Mm," and said "There wasn't too much work today, so I finished quickly."
Jian Xi's eyes lit up as she asked, "So brother, you don't have anything else to do now?"
He Qingchen didn't look at her. He took the cup from her hand, turned around, and walked with longer strides than usual towards the living room downstairs.
After getting water, he handed it to her and stood with his arms crossed, watching her and asked "What mischief do you want to get up to now?"
After drinking a few sips, she put the cup down, smiled, and pleaded, "Hehe, sister number five recommended a horror movie to me. Will you watch it with me?"
He Qingchen raised his eyebrows. "You, are you sure?"
Jian Xi nodded her little head eagerly like a chick pecking at rice, eyes full of anticipation.
He Qingchen chuckled lowly. "Alright."
Hearing him agree, Jian Xi cheered. Then she headed towards the stairs.
He Qingchen went to her bedroom first to get her hair dryer before going up to the home theater on the third floor.
When he arrived at the home theater, Jian Xi had already found the movie. He pressed pause, dried her wet hair to about 80% dry first, then sat down on the sofa and started the movie.
The movie was about a group of college students hiking up a mountain. Halfway up, they discovered an abandoned mansion and out of curiosity, some wanted to go inside and explore since it was still daytime and there was nothing to be afraid of.
So far nothing scary had happened in the plot yet, and Jian Xi was watching with great interest. He Qingchen was feeding her milk, strawberries and cherries by her side.
Right when He Qingchen reached out to feed Jian Xi another cherry, the atmosphere in the movie suddenly became eerie and tense. She unconsciously became nervous too and forgot to pay attention. She directly took his finger into her mouth.
He Qingchen's heartbeat skipped. His body suddenly tensed up. Jian Xi's attention was focused on the movie, so she unconsciously sucked on his finger lightly!
Even though it was just a quick suck, the feeling on his finger was amplified. He Qingchen's gaze darkened slightly. He retrieved his finger and rubbed it a few times subtly, seeming to want to relieve the tingling sensation.
But before he could recover, Jian Xi suddenly shrieked and curled into his embrace, burying her little face into his chest.
"Oh gosh that female ghost is so scary!" She said, muffled against his chest.
He Qingchen let her be, having expected this would happen. Who would have thought the genius little Taoist master of metaphysics would actually be afraid of watching horror films!
She wasn't actually scared of real ghosts at all, yet she was afraid of the ghosts in horror movies - he was the only one who knew this secret.
And the more of a scaredy cat she was, the more she liked to watch them.
That was why earlier when Jian Xi had suggested they watch a horror movie, He Qingchen laughed softly and asked her, "You sure?"
"Is she gone? Did she leave?" Jian Xi asked him.
"Yes, she's gone," he answered.
Hearing He Qingchen say the female ghost had left, she finally emerged from his embrace. But the instant she looked towards the screen, that ghost with blood streaks running from her eyes and mouth grinning hideously was right there, crouched and smiling!
"Ah!" This time she completely threw herself onto He Qingchen!
He Qingchen laughed smugly a couple times, the vibrations reverberating through his chest, his expression very delighted. Afraid she would fall off, he adjusted her position and had her sit directly on his lap.
Sitting on He Qingchen's lap, Jian Xi straightened up, her little face puffed indignantly. She admonished, "Brother, how could you!"
He Qingchen poked her cheek with his finger, and said teasingly, "It just goes to show how big of a scaredy cat you are."
She narrowed her eyes at him and threatened in a deliberately pretentious tone, "What did you just say?"
"Timid little chick?" He Qingchen was clearly provoking her on purpose.
Jian Xi raised an eyebrow, the corner of her lips quirked up. She didn't bother refuting him.
The next second, she reached her little hand directly towards his waist and started viciously tickling him!
When Jian Xi extended her hand, He Qingchen already knew what she was going to do. This was his little secret that only Jian Xi knew - he had an extremely ticklish spot at his waist that was unbearable if touched.
What Jian Xi didn't know though was that the ticklish spot on his waist had stopped feeling ticklish when he was about fourteen or fifteen. Perhaps it was due to his nerves maturing completely, so he didn't really feel anything there anymore. But each time Jian Xi tickles him there, he still pretends and acts tickled because he doesn't want her to find out that the weakness she had finally discovered is suddenly gone, otherwise she would definitely be very disappointed!
So it was the same this time too. He played along, laughing and 'begging for mercy'.
Jian Xi sat on He Qingchen's lap, and the two horsing around together once more. In the midst of their rambunctiousness, their positions shifted bit by bit.
At first he was still 'laughing', but He Qingchen's expression soon froze and the laughter became quieter and quieter.
Jian Xi was feeling very smug and didn't notice anything off. She just kept attacking that one spot on his waist.
She felt her clothes were obstructing her output so she directly slid her little hands under He Qingchen's shirt and attacked again!
He Qingchen's expression became even more unsightly. Because now he truly felt 'tickled'!
He abruptly grabbed Jian Xi's naughty little hands. His eyes flashed with complicated emotions - this feeling seemed strange.
Jian Xi was completely oblivious. She looked at him triumphantly with the posture of a victor and arrogantly declared, "Admit defeat!"
"Mm, I admit defeat." He Qingchen felt thirsty suddenly, his throat a little hoarse. He lifted her from his lap and drank several mouthfuls of water from the glass on the table.
"Hmph, that'll teach you to laugh at me again. I won't go easy on you next time!" Jian Xi said. Then she shifted her focus back onto the movie without glancing at He Qingchen again.
Feeling like one glass wasn't enough to quench his thirst, He Qingchen's Adam's apple bobbed twice as he drank. He lowered his head with a somewhat absent look in his eyes as he gazed at the top of Jian Xi's head.
His physical reaction just now was extremely clear to him. He couldn't ignore it even if he tried. Right now he needed to calm down and sort out his own feelings properly!
