Chapter 19: One Bed, Six Legs

Liu Hongyan walked straight to the side of my bed and lowered her voice, "Can't sleep?"

I shook my head and moved over to make room for her to sit.

"I can't sleep either," Hongyan said. "I feel like this night is so long."

I smiled. At this time, the city would be ablaze with lights, while for us, apart from the night wind blowing by, the world was a chaotic darkness.

"I'm thinking, how should we go about our work this time?" Hongyan said, full of worry. "I came to Gude Village three years ago, and coming back three years later, it's still the same; nothing has changed at all."

I said, "What else could change?"

"One thing has changed," Hongyan said. "That Old Sun from this afternoon—he only had four daughters before, and now he has six. Also, Xiao Chun'er has grown up; three years ago, she still had a runny nose." She covered her mouth and laughed.

"Sister Hongyan, you're not allowed to talk bad about me behind my back." Xiao Chun'er stood by the door curtain, smiling.

"Come in, why are you standing there? Don't disturb your mother's rest," Hongyan said, chiding her. "I didn't say anything bad; it's just the truth."

From outside came the sound of the blind mother turning over. Xiao Chun'er stuck out her tongue and walked in on tiptoe.

"Cold, isn't it?" I said. "Put on some more clothes."

"It is a bit cold," Hongyan said, shrinking her neck and wrapping her arms around her shoulders.

"How about I go start a fire?" I wanted to get up to find firewood; there was a fire pit in the corner of the room, and it would be easy to start a fire.

"No need," Hongyan said. "Starting a fire in the middle of the night, how inconvenient."

"How about Sister Hongyan puts her feet into the quilt? That will be very warm," Xiao Chun'er said with a giggle. "Anyway, I'm going to."

Without waiting for my permission, she stretched her feet straight into the quilt and leaned against my legs.

Liu Hongyan's face turned red. She fidgeted and said, "Isn't that inappropriate?"

"What's inappropriate about it?" Xiao Chun'er pouted. "We're freezing to death; who can worry about that?" After saying this, she grabbed Hongyan's shoulders and helped her put her legs into the quilt too.

Inside the quilt, two pairs of legs sandwiched me from left and right. I immediately felt uncomfortable. I didn't dare to move, so I had to maintain a stiff posture, stubbornly resisting the boundless temptation from the women.

"Wu Qian was your girlfriend in the past, right?" Hongyan asked me.

I shook my head and said, "No!"

"Hehehe, you're lying to me!" Hongyan said sadly. "She told me everything."

"It's really not true," I argued. "She's already married; how could she be my girlfriend?"

"I know that. But before she was married, she was, right?" Hongyan looked at me with hazy eyes and said, "Wu Qian must still love you. Women, once they fall in love with a man, are willing to humble themselves to the level of dust."

Such a sophisticated remark took me by surprise. Just as I was about to speak, Hongyan added, "It's not my saying; Eileen Chang said it."

After saying this, she giggled.

I reached out and tickled the sole of her foot. She was startled and pulled her feet back.

Xiao Chun'er shouted mindlessly, "What are you two doing, moving around like that?"

Hongyan's face turned red instantly. I decided to go all the way and reached out to pull Xiao Chun'er's legs over. She struggled a bit but let me hold her, her face also turning crimson. She said, "You should just hold Sister Hongyan."

"Your Sister Hongyan is already taken; I can't," I said, my hand moving up along her leg, feeling only a smooth, tranquil surface.

Hongyan said petulantly, "Am I a tiger? Can I eat you? Is there anything you don't dare to do?" She stretched her leg over me, pressing exactly onto my "root of life." "I'll let you hold me, let's see if the sky falls down."

Two women, one on the left and one on the right, both wearing thin undergarments, both with faces like flowers, their full bodies as clear as a mountain stream and as deep as the night, made me lose my mind and fall into a trance.

Four legs pressed against me; I felt a bit heavy, but I had no intention of moving away. Two pairs of young women's legs were a living, breathing temptation. My "brother" down below quietly raised its head, flaunting its defiance. Hongyan probably sensed something; she quietly tried to move her leg away, a shyness unique to young married women appearing on her face. Xiao Chun'er's legs were restless, kicking against me. She probably sensed something too. I flicked the sole of her foot, and her face turned even more vibrant.

Her small undergarment wrapped around her small chest, which was struggling to show itself. Mountain girls develop earlier than city girls; her figure already showed the maturity of a young woman, blooming like a mountain flower waiting to open.

The true feelings of mountain women are revealed without a hint of hypocrisy. They are bold, forthright, and release their delicate, girlish forms without any concealment. ===== CHAPTER 20 =====