"Cough, cough, I'm dressed now," Yang Feilong said, looking at Lin Yunxi.
"Are you still sick? Why are you coughing like that?" Lin Yunxi turned around and gave Yang Feilong an exasperated look, though she dared not meet his gaze directly.
Yang Feilong sat by the bed, glanced at Lin Yunxi, then at her shoes, silently reminding her.
"You're so old, and you still want me to put on your shoes? Fine, since you're the patient, I'll tell you upfront, don't overthink it. I'm only doing this as a friend," Lin Yunxi blushed, but still lowered her head and began to put on Yang Feilong's shoes.
Seeing this, Yang Feilong was utterly bewildered.
Sister, I was trying to remind you that you've put your shoes on the wrong feet!
Watching Lin Yunxi squatting on the ground, gently putting on his socks and shoes, Yang Feilong felt a pang of nervousness. What if she found out he was actually reminding her about her shoes being on the wrong feet, not offering to put on his socks and shoes for him? Would she beat him to death?
Her small hands touched his feet, bringing a soft, yielding sensation. Her hands were not rough at all, despite practicing martial arts. It seemed she cherished them dearly.
Well, hopefully, she would go easy on him when she decided to hit him later.
"Alright, get off the bed!" Lin Yunxi said, finishing putting on Yang Feilong's shoes and clapping her hands as she stood up.
"You sit on the bed too, I'll put on your shoes," Yang Feilong said after getting off the bed, helping Lin Yunxi to the bedside. He was trying to salvage the situation. This way, even if Lin Yunxi realized her misunderstanding, she might not feel too embarrassed.
"Are you sick? I'm already wearing shoes, and you want to put them on me again," Lin Yunxi said with shy indignation.
"This is called reciprocity," Yang Feilong chuckled lightly, then proceeded to take off Lin Yunxi's shoes.
Lin Yunxi's face turned rosy. She actually quite liked this act of putting shoes on each other, it felt like... a couple.
Just as Yang Feilong helped her take off one shoe and was about to put on the second, Lin Yunxi noticed something. Her blushing face was replaced by annoyance: "Wait!"
"Wait for what?" Yang Feilong asked, looking puzzled, while helping her take off the other shoe.
"Are you sick? You saw my shoes were on the wrong feet and didn't tell me directly, but instead gave me hints?" Lin Yunxi said, a mixture of anger and embarrassment.
It was then she noticed her shoes were indeed on the wrong feet. Usually, wearing shoes on the wrong feet is different from wearing clothes on the wrong side. With shoes, you might notice it yourself. With clothes, sometimes you can't tell without someone else pointing it out. However, Lin Yunxi's mind was flustered, and her shoes weren't drastically different, so she hadn't realized it immediately.
But when she saw Yang Feilong taking off the second shoe, it suddenly dawned on her.
The thought of Yang Feilong trying to tell her her shoes were on the wrong feet, while she excitedly went to put on his socks and shoes for him, made her feel incredibly embarrassed and mortified!
So she got angry!
The kind of angry that's hard to appease!
"I, well, I... I didn't expect you to be so proactive!" Yang Feilong said innocently.
*Bang!*
Seeing Yang Feilong still looking so innocent, Lin Yunxi's anger boiled over. She directly kicked him in the face.
"Ouch, my face is ruined from that kick!" Yang Feilong exclaimed, clutching his face as if struck by a ten-thousand-pound thunderbolt.
Seeing Yang Feilong wailing and carrying on, Lin Yunxi's face flushed with embarrassment. She said with a娇斥 (jiao chi - a playfully scolding tone), "Stop pretending. I didn't even use much force. Come and put on my shoes!"
Alright, at the moment her little foot landed on Yang Feilong's face, Lin Yunxi had held back. The main reason was that she hadn't expected Yang Feilong to dodge and decided to take the kick. She had retracted her strength, so her foot only lightly brushed against Yang Feilong's face.
"It's good that you're not angry anymore," Yang Feilong said with a light chuckle and walked over. He squatted down to put on Lin Yunxi's shoes. He could have dodged earlier, but he could tell Lin Yunxi was frustrated and embarrassed. Moreover, the force of her kick wasn't strong. Letting her vent a little would help alleviate her awkwardness.
In reality, she couldn't bear to kick him, and had even held back her strength. But to ease Lin Yunxi's embarrassment, Yang Feilong played along and put on a little act.
The result of this was as expected. Lin Yunxi had escaped her embarrassment. Otherwise, she wouldn't have asked him to help her put on her shoes.
Yang Feilong, mimicking her previous action, squatted in front of Lin Yunxi and put on her shoes again. Her feet were beautifully shaped, and her feet weren't large. Her socks were also in a cute style. On impulse, Yang Feilong took off her socks.
Lin Yunxi's delicate face blushed: "Are you crazy? I asked you to put on my shoes, why are you taking off my socks?"
She curled her toes and glared at Yang Feilong.
After taking off her socks, Yang Feilong realized he had acted impulsively. He just instinctively wanted to look at and touch her small feet. Through socks, he could only see the general shape of her feet. Of course, he would never admit this. With a straight face, he said, "You put on socks and shoes for me earlier, so naturally, I must reciprocate!"
Lin Yunxi: "..."
This is the kind of reciprocity that will get you killed. You just wanted to touch my feet, didn't you? Don't think I didn't notice. When you took off my socks, your eyes lit up slightly.
Hmph, you pretentious man!
But for some reason, besides shyness, a indescribable sense of secret delight surfaced in her heart.
Then, she saw Yang Feilong take off the socks from her other foot as well.
"Why did you take off this sock too!" Lin Yunxi said, embarrassed and her face becoming even more flushed. One foot wasn't enough for you to touch and look at?
"Obsessive-compulsive disorder. I can't rest if I don't take it off," Yang Feilong said, blinking his eyes.
Lin Yunxi: "..."
Alright, many people have obsessive-compulsive disorder, some mildly, some severely.
She had it herself.
But most people's obsessive-compulsive disorder was relatively mild.
Yang Feilong indeed had OCD. He felt it was too uncoordinated and asymmetrical to have one beautiful little foot bare and the other with a sock. Now that both were off, seeing a pair of fair, lovely little feet with pretty, curled toes, he did feel much more comfortable.
Then he began putting socks on Lin Yunxi, one by one. He had to admit, Lin Yunxi's feet were not only soft to the touch, but also quite comfortable. *Ahem*, he would absolutely not admit that he had deliberately touched them; it was just that during the process of putting on socks, there were unavoidable bumps and brushes.
Lin Yunxi felt her whole body go soft. She had never felt this way when putting on socks before. Watching Yang Feilong gently put on her socks and shoes, she inexplicably felt a sense of warmth. If it could be like this every day, how wonderful would that be!
Alas, he doesn't belong to me.
At least, he doesn't belong to me now. We are still just friends, just friends...