The sky was their canopy, the earth their mat.
One lay on a rock, while the other lay on top of him.
One would not make a move; the other had taken the initiative as far as she could and needed him to take the next step.
They remained motionless in that same position, letting the stars wheel overhead, perhaps with a hundred twists and turns winding through their hearts as well.
Only when the sky began to brighten and Shi Chun said someone might see them did Bian Weiying lunge forward, kiss him with a touch of anger, and finally climb off.
When they returned to the cave in the Gully, the other two were wandering outside, waiting for them. After a whole night without seeing them return, they had kept muttering anxiously about whether something had happened, yet also worried about spoiling the pair's fun, unsure whether they should go looking.
Wu Jinliang looked at the returning pair with a snicker that was deeply suggestive and distinctly sleazy, as though everything went without saying.
Only then did Xiang Lan'er seem to notice something amiss with Bian Weiying's clothes. She asked in surprise, "Weiying, are you wearing Shi Chun's clothes?"
Shi Chun hastily said, "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm wearing Wu Jinliang's."
Bian Weiying had already returned to her usual self. She said calmly, "Something happened earlier, so I had to ask my two junior brothers to help cover me up."
Wu Jinliang inwardly admired how thoroughly she acted as if nothing had happened.
Xiang Lan'er, however, would not quite let it go. "What were you two doing out all night?"
Shi Chun countered teasingly, "What were you hoping we were doing?"
Bian Weiying walked over and linked arms with Xiang Lan'er. "We had something to take care