Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The first rays of morning sunlight filtered through the window bars, casting delicate patches of light onto the windowsill and creating a warm glow that fell gently on Yuan An's fair back. Under the soft illumination, her smooth skin appeared even more delicate. Yuan An sat quietly, taking several deep breaths to dispel the comfortable drowsiness that enveloped her. She raised her arms and stretched lazily, her graceful figure leaving a beautiful silhouette against the mottled wooden wall.
Huihui was still asleep, her pillow pushed to one side, curled up like a cat in the warm blankets. As if sensing the movement nearby, she turned over and buried her face deeper into the quilt, her disheveled hair brushing against her cheek and cascading down her neck, resting softly on her chest.
Yuan An smiled lightly as she tucked the blanket around her friend. Glancing around, she picked up a simple linen long skirt from the wooden chair by the bed. After a moment of contemplation, she smiled again and slipped it on. In her memories, she rarely wore skirts, especially not in this era dominated by zombies. However, today felt different; outside this room was warm sunshine and salty sea breezes—only companions around, no danger.
Opening the door, fresh air rushed in, mingling with the warm sea breeze that gently stirred her long hair and lifted the hem of her skirt. The sunlight sparkled around her, making her look like a wildflower blooming silently.
"Good morning!"
A sturdy young man in his teens walked past the low bushes in front of the wooden house, pushing a two-wheeled cart. Sweat glistened on his forehead as he grinned widely, revealing a set of bright white teeth.
"Good morning." Yuan An blinked as if waking from a dream, momentarily stunned before returning his greeting with a gentle smile. She removed the hair tie from her wrist to gather her long hair and stepped barefoot out of the house onto the cool sand, taking a deep breath of air infused with mist that felt refreshing from within.
The young man stood still for a moment, gazing at Yuan An as she breathed in deeply. His eyes were somewhat dazed; young women in their prime were always beautiful. The way her hair danced and how her skirt swayed revealed glimpses of her fair skin, stirring something in his heart. After staring for a while longer, he reluctantly pulled his gaze away and cleared his throat to mask his embarrassment. "Breakfast isn't ready yet; your friends are still asleep. You can rest a bit longer."
Yuan An felt a wave of relaxation wash over her as she lightly kicked at the fine sand with her toes. "I'm not going back to sleep; I want to walk around early like this. What are you all doing?" She was curious as she spoke to him; she noticed people pushing carts along the flat dirt road beyond the bushes heading toward the coast where they had landed.
"It's Brother Jin's plan; we're having a beach party today and need to get things ready," he replied with a chuckle, scratching his head. There were girls on the island, but after spending time with familiar faces, it always lost its novelty.
Yuan An smiled at this and recalled Swordmaster's drunken antics from last night. She had thought it was just drunken rambling but realized he was quite serious about it.
"But you don't need to worry about us; just take your time resting. Brother Jin's friends are our friends too." The young man felt he needed to leave; standing here before this girl made it hard for him to move. He thought to himself how strange it was that despite being surrounded by zombies outside the island, these people who had seemed so disheveled last night could now wear such enchanting smiles.
Lost in thought, his gaze inadvertently lingered on Yuan An's chest for a moment; the linen skirt did little to conceal her graceful figure, and he found it hard to resist her vibrant allure.
"Ahem! I should get going now. If you need anything, just call for me; I'm Liang Song," he said as he pulled his gaze away, feeling his face flush slightly. A few years ago, when he first spoke to the school beauty, he had felt just as nervous as he did now—except then it was only because he was being chased by zombies.
"Dong Yuhan," Yuan An replied with a smile as she gently shook his hand.
The morning breeze swept through the mango grove by the sea, carrying with it a faint sweet scent; Red Thorn Grove swayed gently in the wind. When they arrived on the island by boat, most of them had been in bikinis; she had thrown away most of her clothes while Fang Fei seemed to have prepared only linen skirts for them—she wondered where they had raided those warehouses.
"Yes! The weather is wonderful," Yuan An exclaimed cheerfully as she cupped her hands into a trumpet shape and turned to run down the stairs.
Luo Yu rubbed her eyes, her long hair tousled by the wind, flowing freely as she wore a long skirt that swayed gently. She looked like a sleeping beauty who had yet to awaken.
"It's rare to see you sleeping in," Yuan An said with a light laugh as she walked over, naturally linking her arm with Luo Yu's. The two girls exchanged smiles, stretching their stiff necks as they made their way toward the bustling beach.
"I drank too much and was blown by the sea breeze for so long; I shouldn't have been so careless," Luo Yu replied with a wry smile. When she finally woke up, she was drenched in cold sweat. After all, she was used to being alert and had never slept so deeply before. It felt a bit strange to be caught off guard like that.
Yuan An helped her smooth out her long hair and said, "It's nice to sleep peacefully for once; you should relax a bit. Your eyes look a little puffy."
"Really?" Luo Yu blinked in surprise, confused. "I didn't notice."
"Probably from being soaked in seawater the day before. Let's ask Sister Fei later; washing them should help," Yuan An suggested, leaning in to blow gently at Luo Yu's face. Normally, Luo Yu didn't show much expression, but any change on her face was quite noticeable. Being girls themselves, they could easily see the redness and swelling around her eyes. If it were someone else, they might have thought Luo Yu had been crying the day before.
Luo Yu nodded and rubbed the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand as the two girls strolled away, arms linked.
"Has Brother Jiu woken up yet?"
The door of the Stilt House was knocked on, and Jiao Ziqian's slightly drowsy voice came through.
Song Jiu yawned, staring blankly for a moment before responding, "Yeah, just a second." With that, he tossed aside the covers and rolled out of bed, stretching his sore body before searching around for his clothes. He picked up a neatly arranged pile of clothing from a rattan chair.
"Tsk tsk tsk." Song Jiu licked his dry lips, growing increasingly interested in this place called Jin Bo. Last night seemed like a blur of drinking and revelry; he hadn't expected someone to take care of their laundry. He shook out one piece and found it was a dress, which he tossed onto the bed. Then he opened the other two items—a coarse fabric shirt and pants—looking very much like a uniform for seafood restaurant staff. They didn’t fit well and felt a bit constricting when worn.
Song Jiu chuckled at the short sleeves that barely reached his elbows and scratched his head as he walked toward the door, unbolting it before stepping outside.
"What are you doing up so early?" The warm sunlight made it hard to keep his eyes open. Song Jiu shielded his eyes from the sun and saw Jiao Ziqian leaning against the railing of the Stilt House in similar staff attire, puffing on a pipe while sporting numerous red marks on his neck.
Jiao Ziqian coughed lightly, exhaling smoke as he glanced around furtively before pulling Song Jiu over to the stairs. He lowered his voice and asked, " Brother Jiu, do you remember what happened last night?"
"Uh-huh," Song Jiu replied, feeling puzzled as he snatched the pipe from Jiao Ziqian and took a deep drag. He immediately choked on it, tears streaming down his face. He had no idea where Jin Bo had gotten such rough tobacco; it tasted like tree bark.
"I forgot," Jiao Ziqian said with wide eyes, scratching his messy hair as he smacked his lips. "Wow, looks like you really did drink too much."
"What's wrong?" Song Jiu sensed something was off in the tone of the voice, and he couldn't help but feel alert. He frowned, trying to recall the events of last night. All he remembered was drinking, nothing else.
Jiao Ziqian hesitated, glancing at the bewildered Song Jiu and then at the lush mangroves outside. He squinted and said, "You didn't come back alone last night."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Song Jiu was confused and asked, "What happened? Just explain it clearly."
"It's not really a big deal, it's just..." Jiao Ziqian stared intently at Song Jiu for a while, seemingly trying to confirm whether Song Jiu truly had no idea. Seeing Brother Jiu still looking dazed, he sighed helplessly, took a couple of puffs from the smoking pot, and asked, "Were you alone in your room?"
"Uh, just me," Song Jiu started to respond but suddenly froze. He realized what Jiao Ziqian meant, his eyes widened in shock as he stammered, "I didn't notice... I... I..."
Jiao Ziqian smirked, a half-smile on his face, chuckling silently without saying a word.
Song Jiu's expression changed slightly. Ignoring Jiao Ziqian any further, he hurried back to push open the door. On the bed sat a slender figure with her back to him. Two pale arms like lotus roots peeked out from beneath a linen long dress as she lightly tossed her chestnut hair down her back.
Comment 0 Comment Count