"I've seen that so many times I'm numb to it. Not watching anymore."

"Damn, Bao Wei is fighting Bufan over a rock to eat!"

"Still not watching."

"I beg you, just take a look."

"Begging's useless, I'm not looking no matter what."

His hand kept paddling back and forth in the lake. After several failed attempts at tugging her around, Lin Li thought for a moment, then spoke again: "Monitor, do you know the crow?"

"Even if there's a crow I'm not looking, unless it's right in front of me." Chen Yu Ying still shook her head.

"No, I mean the crow flips tables."

Chen Yu Ying: "?"

Which crow are you even talking about?

The reason Lin Li suddenly brought this up was because, in the very next second, he directly lunged at Chen Yu Ying.

Flip table!

"Ah—"

Chen Yu Ying hadn't expected Lin Li to counterattack by force, much less that he'd move so fast.

With a startled cry she instinctively shrank back, but the boat was small to begin with. Her dodging plus Lin Li's movement made the hull jolt sharply, and the girl, whose balance was already unstable, lost control and pitched forward.

Oops, and crashed right into Lin Li's arms as he came at her.

"Heh heh, got you! Monitor! Prepare to die!"

With one hand Lin Li firmly steadied her arm to keep her from falling, while the fingers of his other hand—cool and damp—had already nimbly slipped into the collar of her sweater, unerringly pressing against the warm skin at the nape of her neck, sliding downward with the motion.

"Cold! Lin Li! Stop! It tickles!"

Flustered, embarrassed, and unable to stop laughing, Chen Yu Ying squirmed in his arms like a kitten with the scruff pinched, trying to escape his fingers.

Lin Li: Aaaaaaaaaa damn life jacket damn life jacket damn life jacket!!!

As if winter clothes weren't enough, you two just had to join the crowd!

While Lin Li was inwardly cursing the life jackets, his fingers inadvertently brushed over a firmer, softer raised edge.

Don't get the wrong idea. His hand was on her back—strictly speaking, not even really her back yet, just the area one finger joint below her nape. That raised bit was the strap of her bra.

As Lin Li's hand slid, it was lightly tugged up and then snapped back, hitting the girl's spine. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The tiny contact was like a faint electric shock, making both of them freeze for a moment.

It was absolutely not intentional, but Lin Li didn't panic. He didn't do anything further that would cross the line; he simply withdrew his hand slowly and wiped the remaining droplets of lake water from his fingers onto Chen Yu Ying's face, in an intimate little gesture.

And Chen Yu Ying, leaning against Lin Li's chest, didn't do anything and didn't say anything.

From the angle he couldn't see, her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes, from the earlier play-fighting and that brief pause, were damp in a way that had nothing to do with tears.

Inside them was filled with shyness, and a trace of tender reliance that even she herself hadn't noticed.

The boat rocked gently. The pale, overcast sunlight filtered through the branches, scattering dappled marks across the water and over the two of them.

The afternoon's noise settled in this tiny pocket of world; the ripples licked softly at the side of the boat, like a low, murmuring whisper.

The hull no longer swayed violently, only slowly tracing circles with the calm breathing of the lake's center.

Lin Li took off his own clothes, and then casually took off Chen Yu Ying's clothes.

This line sounds perverted, doesn't it—but don't get the wrong idea. What Lin Li took off was the life jacket they were wearing on the outside—also, this is a dangerous move. If there aren't any Cultivators on board, it's not recommended to imitate.

After that, Lin Li gently rested his chin on top of Chen Yu Ying's fluffy hair. The girl, in turn, relaxed her body and melted into his arms, her cheek pressed against his shirt, listening to that steady, powerful heartbeat.

Their breaths mingled in the faintly sweet air; the sounds of wind and water faded into a distant, blurry background.

Where their bodies touched was a warm patch, the heat slowly flowing along every limb and bone.

Neither of them spoke again. They just quietly leaned into each other, letting the little boat carry time and the two of them, drifting lightly on Moon Tide Lake, as if time had stopped at this very moment.

"Next time…"

Buried in that familiar embrace, after a long time, Chen Yu Ying's voice sounded, tinged with a barely noticeable tremor. But after those two words, she didn't go on.

Lin Li lowered his eyes. He saw the breeze pass over a few unruly wisps of hair on the girl's forehead and kiss her brow.

No.

Not just the breeze.