Time Travel: I'm a Flower Thief

Jinghua Bookstore.

Late at night, Ouyang Qing, carrying a glass of newly brewed plum wine, pushed open the door to Ning Yangzi's room.

Ning Yangzi was removing her hairpins in front of the mirror when she caught a glimpse of the newcomer in the bronze mirror. Her fingers paused slightly: "It's so late, Miss Ouyang, aren't you resting yet?"

"Call me Qing'er." Ouyang Qing closed the door behind her, placed the wine cup beside the dressing table, and naturally took the jade comb from Ning Yangzi's hand. "I'll comb your hair, sister."

The comb teeth pierced into her cascading black hair, one stroke after another.

The only sounds in the room were the rustling of hair against each other and their breathing becoming clearer.

"Your hair is so beautiful."

Ouyang Qing leaned down, her nose almost touching Ning Yangzi's earlobe, her warm breath brushing against the side of her neck:

"What kind of fragrance is it? I've never smelled anything so special before... like flowers blooming in the snow, cool and refreshing, yet alluring."

Ning Yangzi's back stiffened slightly. In the bronze mirror, Ouyang Qing's half-closed eyes and the soft, triumphant smile on her lips were reflected.

The comb stopped working at some point.

Ouyang Qing's fingers slid down her hair, her fingertips lightly stroking the smooth skin on the back of Ning Yangzi's neck.

Ning Yangzi suddenly grabbed her wrist, her voice tense: "Qing'er, do you know what you're doing?"

"I know!" Ouyang Qing rested her chin on her shoulder and looked into her eyes through the mirror:

"That day I kissed my sister, and you said it was because of 'a flick of the finger and intoxication.' What about today?"

She withdrew her hand and gently touched Ning Yangzi's lips with her fingertips.

"Today I am perfectly sober, yet I want to touch this place even more than when I was drunk that day."

The air suddenly became ambiguous.

Ning Yangzi suddenly turned around, trapping Ouyang Qing between herself and the dressing table.

Their noses were only an inch apart, and their breaths were completely intertwined.

"Ouyang Qing!" she called out, using her full name.

"I'm a江湖人 (jianghu person), and I have more troubles on my shoulders than you've ever eaten rice."

"Your father owns a bookstore, and you're practically a young lady from a respectable family. What kind of reputation would people have if word got out about you and me?"

"I don't care about my reputation!" Ouyang Qing met her gaze and quietly put her arm around her waist.

"All I care about right now... is my sister breathing so rapidly because of me, or because of all that trouble?"

Ning Yangzi swallowed hard: "You really... don't know what's good for you."

"It's not the first time, why is my sister always so serious?"

"But I don't like women!"

"Sister, you're lying..."

As the last word fell, Ouyang Qing suddenly lowered her head and kissed Ning Yangzi.

The kiss was distinctly aggressive, lingering and caressing, prying open her teeth to savor the sweetness of the plum wine and her unique feminine fragrance.

The bronze mirror on the dressing table reflected overlapping figures in a blurry way.

Her clothes had come loose at some point, and Ning Yangzi's dress straps had slipped down halfway, revealing her fair and rounded shoulders.

Ouyang Qing's fingers were still there, her thumb slowly caressing that inch of skin.

"Sister, your skin is so smooth, I love it..."

"You...you really are a little devil."

"Sister, don't push me, your hands are so cold!"

"And now?"

Ouyang Qing couldn't speak, she just buried her face in the crook of her neck and let out a soft hum.

......

The candle was still half-burnt when the room returned to calm.

Ouyang Qing lowered her eyes and slowly and deliberately fastened her slightly disheveled clothes. Her hair was loose, and her cheeks still had a faint blush. Her breathing was still slightly uneven.

Ning Yangzi sat upright in front of the mirror, raising her hand to gently comb her slightly messy long hair. The tips of her ears were tinged with light pink, and her face looked a little tired.

Neither of them mentioned their earlier madness, but their disheveled clothes said it all.

Ouyang Qing raised her eyes, a faint smile on her face, her tone straightforward and frank: "Sister, now you should admit that you have feelings for me, right?"

Ning Yangzi paused slightly while combing her hair, then spat out, "Yes, I've fallen for you, you little devil."

After saying that, she cursed inwardly.

How could this happen?

who am I?

One of the Four Beauties of Heaven and Earth, Nan Mei Ning Yangzi!

Countless heroes and chivalrous figures have fallen at my feet, but now...

How did I end up falling for that girl Ouyang Qing?

Ouyang Qing couldn't help but giggle, and slowly walked behind Ning Yangzi, gently wrapping her arms around her chest.

"Does my sister have feelings for me now?"

"Stop being so presumptuous. Take your hand off me. Go touch your own. You have plenty of them!"

"Of course I have that, but it's different!"

"Aren't they all meat? What's the difference?"

"Sister, how could you even think of that? Do you feel anything when you touch your right hand with your left?"

That's right!

Ning Yangzi was dumbfounded; she hadn't expected her to actually be able to make things up.

"You little brat, you look so gentle and weak, but I never imagined you were so wild and so daring."

"Who told you to play that 'Sweeting Bone' tune for me before? You provoked me first!"

Ning Yangzi gazed at their intertwined reflections in the bronze mirror and sighed deeply, "I really... owed you something in my past life."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a soft rustling sound came from the shadows of the roof beam.

A small, fluffy sparrow silently landed on the corner of the dressing table, tilting its head to observe the two of them, and began to chirp.

It was that fragrant sparrow.

Its name seems to be telling the owner: A customer has arrived!

Ning Yangzi frowned sharply, thinking to herself, "Could it be that Xie Xiaoyi... has come to the capital?"

Ouyang Qing loosened her grip slightly, following Ning Yangzi's gaze to the restless little sparrow:

"Sister, is there something strange about this sparrow?"

She didn't answer immediately, but simply raised her hand and gently brushed it away. The little sparrow flew over, nuzzled her finger, and chirped even more urgently.

Ning Yangzi's face darkened slightly, and she muttered curses towards the window:

"Xie Xiaoyi, you bastard, you came here but chose to spy on me?"

Before the words were finished, a lazy, slightly mocking laugh drifted in from outside the window:

"Sister Ning, you've wronged me. Anyone who stumbles upon such a beautiful and enchanting scene wouldn't have the heart to interrupt it."

Ning Yangzi was overjoyed: "As expected! It's him!"

Ouyang Qing was even more startled. She looked up at the window, her voice trembling, "Xie Mo, is that you back? Why didn't you come in to see us?"

The next moment, the window paper was fluttered by the wind, and a figure flew through the window and landed in the room.

What the three did next remains unknown.

All that is known is that Xie Xiaoyi felt a bit sick when he left.

—It could be lumbar muscle strain or a herniated disc.

He also deliberately warned the two of them, "The capital may be in turmoil these days, so don't go out to avoid getting caught up in it!"

Having said that, his figure flashed and disappeared into the morning mist.