Innocence

The sudden sound of a key turning in the lock scared Gu Tuantuan half to death. Her heart thumped loudly and erratically in her throat. At a loss for what to do, she froze in place. Currently, she was sitting half-naked on Jiang Ye’s lap. Her chest and lower abdomen were exposed and splattered with thick, goopy, white stuff. If her mom were to push open the door and see this… The consequences would be unimaginable.

Jiang Ye was also taken by surprise, but he managed to stay calm. Even under such circumstances, he still felt a twinge of loss and disappointment. Patting her bum, he said, “Let me up.”

The girl managed to stand unsteadily. Her hands pulled restlessly on the material of her nightdress.

Clack. The front door opened. Noticing the pair of unfamiliar men’s shoes by the entrance, Mama Gu asked in a loud voice, “Tuantuan, who's here?”

Fortunately, the door to Gu Tuantuan’s bedroom was half-closed, so her mom couldn’t see the scene beyond.

Jiang Ye grabbed two wet wipes from her desk. He quickly cleaned himself off and pulled up his shorts. Pushing the package of wet wipes towards her, he whispered, “Don’t worry. I’ll go out first and keep her occupied.” He walked out of the room and gently closed the door behind him.

“Auntie, how are you?” Gu Tuantuan heard Jiang Ye say in his good-boy voice.

“Ah! Jiang Ye! You’re here so early! I just came back from shopping—I haven’t had time to prepare anything yet. Are you hungry?”

“It’s okay Auntie. I missed your cooking, I've been thinking about it all day, so before I knew it, my feet had already brought me here. Tuantuan is so lucky.”

The crisis seemed to be averted, for now. The two people outside were chatting merrily. A wave of relief washed over Gu Tuantuan. Her heart dropped from her throat, and she shook herself out of her frozen stupor. Hurriedly, she pulled a bunch of wipes from the package. She must have used over a dozen of them. The gunk was gone, but somehow, the smell—his smell—still lingered.

Bits and pieces of their conversation drifted through the door. She heard her mom’s laughter ringing through the house. Gu Tuantuan pursed her lips and muttered, “Horse fart expert,”1 under her breath.

“Tuantuan, what are you doing?! There’s a guest here, why haven’t you come out yet?” Mama Gu yelled from the living room.

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” Gu Tuantuan quickly straightened her nightdress and checked her appearance in the mirror. Only after she was 100% sure that there was nothing out of place, did she walk out of her bedroom.

Mama Gu turned to look at Gu Tuantuan. Her brows drew up into a formidable frown.

Gu Tuantuan’s heart skipped a beat. Did she suspect something?

With bated breath, Gu Tuantuan took a small step back as her mom approached. What if she smelled him on her?

Mama Gu didn’t notice anything amiss in Gu Tuantuan’s behavior. She looked the girl up and down disapprovingly. In a harsh whisper, she scolded, “Why are you still in your sleepwear? We have a guest! Don’t be a slob, hurry up and get changed!”

Although she had just been scolded, Gu Tuantuan felt the knot in her heart relax somewhat. She turned on her heels and skipped back to her room.

Truth to be told, she had been worried for nothing. Not in a million years would her mom have ever imagined that her precious daughter was doing something improper with a boy while she was out buying groceries.

After changing her clothes, Gu Tuantuan came out to help Mama Gu wash and prepare the vegetables. Jiang Ye also tried to help, but he had never stepped foot inside the kitchen before. He was clumsy and in the way. The more he tried to help, the more of a mess he made. Gu Tuantuan snickered and gleefully ridiculed his uselessness, but Jiang Ye took it all in stride. He didn’t get angry or frustrated, which only provoked Gu Tuantuan even more.

Papa Gu returned home just in time for dinner. Throughout the meal, Papa Gu asked after Jiang Ye’s parents and their current situation. Jiang Ye answered honestly. Where was the conniving brat from earlier? The more she thought about what had happened, the angrier she got. She was always on the receiving end of his bullying! The pent-up rage boiled up from within. Under the table, Gu Tuantuan lifted her foot up and stomped down as hard as she could on Jiang Ye’s foot.

Jiang Ye sucked in a breath. His chopsticks shook, and he nearly dropped the piece of braised pork.

“What’s wrong?” Mama Gu asked.

“Nothing,” Jiang Ye shook his head and glanced at Gu Tuantuan through the corner of his eye. Her nervous, wide eyes were both funny and maddening. If she was afraid that he’d tell on her then she shouldn’t have stomped on his foot in the first place. He stretched his sore foot under the table and moved it away from her line of fire. “It’s nothing. My foot just cramped that’s all.”

That night in the bathroom…

Gu Tuantuan stood under the shower. The suds washed away under the spray of the hot water revealing clean, pinked skin.

The jet of water hit her sensitive breasts…

The girl was suddenly reminded of the boy’s large hands massaging them.

His hands had been so rough, so powerful…

They were able to engulf all of her breasts and sear every inch of her skin.

Gu Tuantuan stood under the shower for a long time. Hesitantly, she reached up to touch herself. Her small palm made contact first. 

Her eyes shuttered half-closed; her long lashes trembled like a butterfly’s wing. Her fingers closed around the soft, supple flesh, and she squeezed.

“Mm?”

Her eyes fluttered open. The arousal from before was gone, to be replaced by confusion and bewilderment.

Why didn’t it feel as good as when he did it?

1 Horse fart = bootlicker/brown-noser/suck-up/sweet-talker… you get the point. Technically it’s “horse butt expert” (屁 can be used for both butt and fart). The phrase for bootlicking in Chinese is "slapping the horse’s rump"… but I like the sound of “horse fart expert” more, so deal with it.