Behind the Mask - Chapter 7
Chapter 7: The Loft
Ye'er.
At this, Chu Ye met Bai Ning's gaze and grew still.
Only her brother and sister ever called her by her pet name.
Whenever she was unhappy, her siblings would call out, "Ye'er, Ye'er." But when Bai Ning called her that, it felt completely different.
Her voice was light and soft, melodious, with the gentle and pleasant cadence unique to the women of Jingzhou. The look in her eyes was as soft as water. As Chu Ye looked at her, all her worries seemed to fade away.
"May I call you that?"
Chu Ye blinked and replied just as softly, "You may."
"Let's go back. I'll teach you to play the zither."
"Mm." Chu Ye's heart leaped with joy.
After walking a short distance, Chu Ye reached out, took hold of the umbrella handle, and then took the paper umbrella from Bai Ning's hand to hold it for her.
Bai Ning turned to look at her and said helplessly, "I'm not that frail."
Chu Ye paid no mind. "Let me."
Fine snow fell all around as they shared a single paper umbrella, walking along a small stone path covered in snow, leaving a long trail of footprints behind them.
Chu Ye held the umbrella, silent the whole way, lost in thought.
Was she just trying to coax me just now? She doesn't need to be so good to me. It seems like... she cares about me...
Chu Ye's mind raced with thoughts. She occasionally glanced at Bai Ning's skirt from the corner of her lowered eyes. Then, thinking of how Bai Ning had just called her name, a strange sweetness bloomed within her, and she couldn't help but feel secretly happy.
"Miss."
They had just returned to the courtyard when they saw Nuan Hua hurrying over to greet them. "Miss, you're finally back. The mistress has come."
"I know. I'll go see her now." Bai Ning nodded, then turned to Chu Ye. "You go to the study first. It's cold outside."
Just as Chu Ye had guessed, Bai Ning, fearing she would be taken away, had run to Lord Bai and told him the truth. Naturally, the matter of sneaking out of the manor could not be concealed.
"Sneaking out of the manor... The Miss is sure to be punished now." Nuan Hua's face was filled with worry. The servants would naturally not escape blame either, but her greatest concern was for Bai Ning. "If the master and mistress decide to punish her, how will her body be able to take it?"
"Punished?" Chu Ye grew tense.
"According to the family rules, it's a whipping." Nuan Hua frowned. "We can only hope the mistress will be lenient."
Hearing this, Chu Ye wanted to go find Bai Ning. Bai Ning's body would surely not be able to withstand it.
"Ah, Miss Chu!" Nuan Hua quickly pulled her back. "Don't go. You'll only make things more complicated. The master and mistress know the Miss is frail; they probably won't be too harsh."
Chu Ye was anxious but helpless. She hated this feeling of not being in control.
Chu Ye waited outside for over an hour, but there was no sign of Bai Ning. She paced back and forth on the spot, her heart filled with anxiety.
"Miss Chu, don't wait any longer," Nuan Hua told her. "The Miss has been taken away. She has to go to the loft in the west wing to face the wall for a few days."
"Is she hurt?"
"I'm not too sure either." Nuan Hua shook her head.
Chu Ye asked for the specific location.
Nuan Hua kept her lips sealed, refusing to say. She was afraid the Miss would not be able to reflect in peace and would be punished again.
The Bai Manor was vast, with numerous buildings, and she couldn't go just anywhere she pleased. After night fell, Chu Ye quietly slipped out to investigate.
Stealth and tracking were her strengths. By following two maids delivering a meal, she finally found the loft where Bai Ning was confined.
But the door was locked, so she could only climb in through a second-floor window.
Inside, the candlelight flickered.
Bai Ning faintly heard the sound of a window being pushed open. The brush in her hand paused. Before she had time to worry, she saw clearly that the visitor was Chu Ye.
"Don't be afraid, it's me." Chu Ye lowered her voice, afraid of being heard by those outside.
Bai Ning's previously dim eyes brightened. She rose and walked toward Chu Ye. "How did you find me?"
"Of course it was no trouble for me."
Bai Ning smiled, then listened for any sounds outside. When she heard nothing, she relaxed.
"Did they punish you?" Chu Ye pressed. "Are you hurt?"
"No."
Chu Ye had sharp eyes and spotted the mark on Bai Ning's wrist at a glance. She rashly pulled Bai Ning's hand over and gently pushed up her sleeve, revealing a section of her arm.
It was the mark of a whip. Against her slender, snow-white forearm, the bruise was particularly jarring.
Chu Ye stared at it, a strange ache in her heart. She had seen many major injuries, and this one was clearly not severe. She asked Bai Ning in a low voice, "Does it hurt?"
Bai Ning smiled and shook her head calmly.
"Where else are you hurt?"
"Nowhere else. I only took this one lash."
Chu Ye didn't believe her. "Really?"
Bai Ning: "Really."
Chu Ye's gaze swept over her, still suspicious. She must be saying that because she's afraid I'll worry. She exclaimed anxiously, "Don't lie to me."
Bai Ning watched her. She was always so composed; even when the men from the Liu Manor came to take her away, she had remained unmoved. But tonight, she was frantic.
"What will it take for you to believe me?" Bai Ning found her expression amusing and added softly, "Surely you don't want to see my body?"
"..." Chu Ye was at a loss for words.
"I only received this one lash, but I do have to face the wall and reflect for several days."
Chu Ye looked down at the wound on Bai Ning's wrist again and murmured self-reproachfully, "I shouldn't have taken you out that night."
"I was the one who asked you to take me out," Bai Ning corrected her.
"No, I could have stopped you... It's just that I also wanted to go out and relieve my boredom."
Bai Ning smiled again. She had never met such a straightforward person. "But I had a lot of fun that day."
"Hm?"
Bai Ning said earnestly, "Being with you, I'm very happy."
Chu Ye seemed a little slow on the uptake. The usual cold mask on her face softened considerably.
Bai Ning thought for a moment. "If you're worried about me, you can stay here and face the wall with me for a few days. How about it?"
"I'll stay with you for as many days as it takes."
These few days were supposedly for facing the wall and reflecting, but they were actually quite leisurely and carefree. Although they couldn't leave the loft, no one disturbed them, and they didn't have to follow the manor's tedious and cumbersome rules.
Bai Ning found a dusty old zither in a corner of the room. The tone was a bit off, but it was still playable.
Chu Ye had thought Bai Ning's offer to teach her the zither was just a casual remark. She never expected Bai Ning to actually start teaching her so patiently.
Chu Ye was not slow; she quickly learned to read music. But when it came to actually plucking the strings, her fingertips refused to obey. For a while, she was all thumbs, and the notes jumped out one by one, completely off-key.
But Bai Ning never showed any impatience, only teaching her with even more patience.
It had been a long time since Chu Ye had felt so at ease. It was as happy as being back in Xizhou. Sometimes, when she secretly caught sight of Bai Ning's smile, she even felt happier than she had been in Xizhou.
"I'll play it once. You watch."
Chu Ye was so focused on watching her slightly parted red lips that she didn't register a word she said.
When Bai Ning played the zither, the way she lowered her face, her eyes and brows holding a smile, was beautiful. How many people, Chu Ye wondered, would lose their hearts to a woman like this?
Bai Ning deliberately played very slowly. When she finished a short passage and was about to ask Chu Ye if she had learned it, she found the person beside her staring at her face.
"You're not looking at the zither. Why are you staring at me?" Bai Ning stared back at her, asking in a hushed voice.
Afraid of being discovered by outsiders, they spoke in very soft voices. At such a close, almost face-to-face distance, there was no need to speak loudly.
Chu Ye couldn't answer. She lowered her head as if she'd been caught doing something wrong, her heart pounding. She feigned composure and went back to practicing the zither.
Bai Ning listened quietly as she played. If she weren't always so distracted, she would improve even faster.
The days in the loft passed quickly.
Chu Ye was so happy she almost forgot about the outside world. Bai Ning taught her the zither, and she taught Bai Ning to make paper cuttings for windows—all sorts of charmingly naive little animals. She told Bai Ning that during the Spring Festival, every household in Xizhou would put these up.
Bai Ning asked if she was bored and wanted to go back.
She said no. For the first time, she told someone that she didn't want to go back to Xizhou.
At night, they slept in each other's arms as usual. The loft wasn't warm enough, so Bai Ning would subconsciously press closer to her while sleeping, giving Chu Ye another reason to hold her.
She liked it when Bai Ning held her, and she liked holding Bai Ning.
After a few days, Chu Ye could play some simple tunes quite presentably. If Bai Ning praised her, she would be secretly delighted for most of the day.
The snow in Jingzhou had stopped, and the weather was warming up. The sun made a rare appearance.
At dusk, the golden afterglow fell upon the paper-paned windows, soft and warm.
Chu Ye was practicing a new piece Bai Ning had taught her when she felt someone lean against her shoulder. She stopped abruptly and turned her head to see that Bai Ning had fallen asleep against her. She probably hadn't rested well last night.
Chu Ye wanted to wake Bai Ning, but when she looked closely at her face, she stopped. She didn't resume playing the zither, simply letting Bai Ning lean on her obediently.
Warm light filtered in from the window. Chu Ye glanced at Bai Ning again, feeling that this was a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Worried she would catch a chill sleeping like this, Chu Ye touched the back of Bai Ning's hand. As expected, it was cool to the touch.
"Second Miss." Chu Ye tried to wake her.
Bai Ning didn't stir.
Seeing how soundly she was sleeping, Chu Ye couldn't bear to wake her. So she turned, draped Bai Ning's arm over her own neck, and tried to lift her.
Bai Ning was frail and slender, so it wasn't difficult for Chu Ye to carry her in her arms.
Reaching the bedside, Chu Ye bent down and gently placed Bai Ning on the bed. She still hadn't woken up, her eyes remaining closed. Just how tired was she?
Chu Ye was about to release her hold on Bai Ning when Bai Ning's arm, which had been hooked around her neck, slowly slid down and familiarly wrapped around her waist.
With Bai Ning's arm around her, Chu Ye was pulled down against her body.
The two of them ended up like that, one on top of the other, holding each other on the bed.
From this angle, she could see the other's face in great detail. Chu Ye carefully studied her eyes, her nose, and her lips.
Their interactions these past few days were just like those of a married couple.
After staring at Bai Ning's thin lips for a long time, Chu Ye guiltily averted her gaze. She could have pulled away immediately, but instead, she took advantage of Bai Ning's sleep to gaze at her face, feeling both despicable and greedy.
She didn't want to admit that in the month and more she had spent by Bai Ning's side, her wild thoughts about her hadn't diminished in the slightest.
Chu Ye lay on top of Bai Ning, feeling the soft breaths from beneath her. She couldn't resist reaching out a fingertip, wanting to touch her, but she immediately retracted it the moment it brushed against a strand of hair.
Yet she coveted this warmth. She just wanted to hold her like this, to smell the fragrance on her body, unwilling to let go.
Just then, Bai Ning opened her eyes. Her gaze held the languor of someone who had just woken up. Lying on her back, she silently studied the person before her.
It was as if Bai Ning was used to being held by her.
Chu Ye, however, forgot how to breathe. She tried to explain herself.
Bai Ning spoke first, asking in a husky voice, "Why are you always staring at me?" Her voice also carried the sleepiness of just having woken up.
"I like watching you play the zither." Chu Ye tried her best to sound natural, but it was impossible. Right now, they were holding each other by the waist, chest to chest, speaking so intimately—how could it be natural?
Bai Ning continued to whisper to her, "But you stare at me even when I'm not playing the zither."
The face beneath Chu Ye's mask instantly burned hot.
Bai Ning raised her hand.
Chu Ye felt a slight coolness on the back of her ear; Bai Ning was gently rubbing it. But the coolness did nothing to relieve the burning heat, instead making her blush even more fiercely. Suddenly, with a loosening motion, her mask was untied.
Bai Ning slowly removed Chu Ye's mask, taking in her entire face.
Chu Ye's heart was in turmoil.
Bai Ning stared intently at the now-uncovered beautiful face and asked with extreme gentleness, "From now on, don't wear a mask in front of me, alright?"
Although her heart was a mess, upon hearing Bai Ning's words, Chu Ye answered obediently, "Mm."
The corners of Bai Ning's lips lifted.
It was a faint, perfect smile. Chu Ye gazed at her cheeks, slightly flushed from sleep, and felt her heart pound erratically—
Their eyes met.
She wanted to lower her face just a little more, to lean in and kiss her slightly parted lips.
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