On a starry night, Ji Xinghuo followed Ren Mian out of the villa gates.
Ren Mian put on a conical hat and scarf, concealing her face. She took Ji Xinghuo to the back of a bus, but they got off after only a few stops.
"Xinghuo, go rent two mounts."
"Okay."
Ji Xinghuo entered a horse shop not far ahead. He had intended to rent two Horned Horses, but then he spotted a tall Great Tamed Wind Deer in the stable. Its antlers branched like two upright tree limbs, and its back could carry two riders, so he changed his mind.
Soon, he led the Great Tamed Wind Deer, nearly as tall as himself, out of the horse shop.
"Ren-jie, it was the only one left in the shop," Ji Xinghuo said with a smile. Like a gentleman, he placed his hand beneath the saddle, ready to help her mount.
"Then we'll ride it." Ren Mian saw through his little scheme at once but did not expose him.
She stepped on Ji Xinghuo's hand and climbed into the front seat.
Ji Xinghuo happily jumped up behind her. A distinctive, faint peach blossom fragrance drifted into his nose. Even though he deliberately kept a fist's distance from her, it still counted as intimate contact.
The Great Tamed Wind Deer broke into a run, light and swift.
A few crystalline strands of hair drifted out from beneath the conical hat, swaying before Ji Xinghuo's eyes and making him restless. The Great Tamed Wind Deer ran faster and faster, and the swaying on its back grew more pronounced. Ji Xinghuo gathered his courage and put a hand around her waist. "Ren-jie, it's shaking too much. Can you slow down?"
Ren Mian's body trembled slightly as she rode the Great Tamed Wind Deer. She