Chapter 81: Complex Feelings
After bringing a chair into the bathroom for Su Yuqing, Chen Mo expertly draped a towel over her shoulders. He picked up a dropper bottle from the vanity, filled it with warm water, and said with a smile, "Alright, my dear customer, I’m about to start your service."
"You’re not going to ask me to buy a membership, are you?" Su Yuqing replied playfully.
"No need for a membership. Let’s just get the license," Chen Mo quipped.
The moment he said that, Su Yuqing’s face instantly flushed red.
’Get a license... what other license could he possibly be talking about?’
While she was blushing, Chen Mo gently squeezed some water onto her head from the dropper bottle, applied a bit of shampoo, and began his expert work.
The sandalwood fragrance of the shampoo filled the bathroom. Chen Mo’s fingertips danced in the warm stream of water, lathering Su Yuqing’s long, black hair until it resembled a blooming black chrysanthemum.
The mirror was fogged with a thin mist, reflecting the tips of the girl’s crimson ears, which flickered in and out of sight amidst the glistening water.
"Is the pressure alright?"
Su Yuqing stared at her nervously twisting fingers and gave a soft hum of assent. But then, his warm fingertips suddenly pressed into the nape of her neck. A sharp ache shot through the spot, making her shoulders jolt in surprise.
"That’s a sore spot, isn’t it?" Chen Mo chuckled, pleased with his little prank.
He stopped teasing Su Yuqing after that. The pressure from his fingertips as they combed through her hair was just right. When the calloused pads of his fingers pressed an acupoint on the crown of her head, Su Yuqing couldn’t help but let out a soft hum, like a kitten.
"Is this spot sore too?" His voice, laced with a smile, came from above her. His foam-covered fingers pressed a little harder.
Su Yuqing let out another soft hum.
Sensing her reaction, Chen Mo’s soapy thumb began to trace circles along her hairline. He said gently, "That was the Baihui acupoint. A strong reaction to pressure there means you have poor circulation in your head, which can lead to headaches and insomnia."
As he spoke, the pressure of his fingertips alternated from light to heavy, moving from her temples to behind her ears, before perfectly kneading the Fengchi acupoints.
Su Yuqing felt a pleasant tingle, like a faint electric current, spreading across the crown of her head. Her eyelashes, dotted with beads of water, trembled.
"When... when did you learn all this?" Su Yuqing’s earlobes were tinged with a faint pink as she tried to make conversation.
"I picked it up from watching the stylists when I used to go with my mom to the beauty salon." Chen Mo dipped his fingertips in some mint balm and dabbed it on her temples. The cool sensation made Su Yuqing pull her neck in. "But, my dear customer, your skin and hair are much better than the ladies at the salon."
"You’re quite the sweet-talker. I’ll have to request you next time," Su Yuqing teased with a smile.
After he was done with her hair and scalp, Chen Mo slightly reclined the adjustable chair Su Yuqing was sitting in. "Next, I’ll be cleaning your ears for you."
Chen Mo took out some cotton swabs and was just about to prepare them.
But Su Yuqing shyly covered her ears with both hands and sat up straight.
"What’s wrong?" Chen Mo gave her a surprised look.
"Let’s not do that," Su Yuqing said, her face flushing. He was the boy she liked most, after all; the thought of exposing even the slightest imperfection to him left her feeling terribly shy and flustered.
Just thinking about what he might find made her too flustered to calm down.
"Be good. Have you forgotten our agreement? Whatever your master says, goes. Now, lie back down," Chen Mo said with a smile, knowing she was just shy.
"I don’t want to..." Su Yuqing still tried to resist.
"I get it. You must think ear cleaning is something reserved for intimate partners. You’re rejecting me. Fine, then." Employing a strategic retreat, Chen Mo put down the cotton swabs.
That immediately sent Su Yuqing into a panic. "I’m not! Fine, clean them."
Only then did she lower her eyes and nod shyly in agreement.
"That’s my good girl," Chen Mo said with a laugh. "I’m telling you, you’d be the one missing out. My ear-cleaning skills are top-notch. Even my mom has to pay for the privilege. I’m offering to do it for you for free, and you still dare to refuse?"
As he spoke, Chen Mo reached out and gave Su Yuqing’s little nose a playful rub.
After Chen Mo had fluffed out the tip of the cotton swab, the elongated fibers had barely neared Su Yuqing’s ear before she instinctively recoiled.
There was something she was too embarrassed to tell Chen Mo.
She had refused to let Chen Mo clean her ears partly because she was indeed shy about him finding something dirty.
On the other hand, the truth was that her ears were extremely sensitive—so sensitive that a simple, warm breath from Chen Mo near her ear was enough to make her whole body go weak.
Therefore, the slightest tickle from the cotton swab on her ear would be magnified in Su Yuqing’s senses.
"Don’t be scared." Chen Mo, thinking she was simply shy and afraid, knelt on one knee on the anti-slip mat. He gently cupped the side of her face with his left hand. ’I’ll speak as softly as I can to ease her fear.’
But his actions had the opposite effect. As he spoke, his breath grazed the shell of her ear, raising the fine hairs there and sending a jolt through her. Su Yuqing subconsciously clamped her legs together and wrung her hands.
The next moment, her jade-like earlobe was gently lifted.
"Relax." The young man’s gentle voice entered her ear. While it did calm her a little, the intense, ticklish sensation in her ear made it difficult for her to truly relax.
The tip of the cotton swab gently pushed aside her tragus, and Su Yuqing bit her lower lip hard.
The twirling of the swab stirred up a peculiar, tingling itch, as if a feather were gently tickling the most sensitive folds of her heart.
"W-Wait a second!" Su Yuqing’s entire body went rigid. Her legs clamped together as she unconsciously grabbed onto Chen Mo’s forearm where his sleeve was rolled up, her nails digging into his tanned skin and leaving pale, crescent-shaped marks.
"Hurts?" His voice was a shade deeper than usual as his gentle gaze fell upon the girl, her eyes squeezed shut and her face flushed crimson.
"No," Su Yuqing managed in a low murmur before she started panting heavily. As she spoke, it was as if all the strength had suddenly drained from her body.
She didn’t dare tell him that the tingling itch in her ear canal had already spread like a wildfire, searing its way down her spine until her tailbone tingled with numbness.
When Chen Mo finally finished with that ear and moved to the other, she was finally able to breathe. After a deep exhale, she went limp and let her head rest against his chest.
Through his cotton shirt, she could clearly hear two hearts pounding wildly in sync.
Chen Mo didn’t find anything dirty in Su Yuqing’s ears; they were exceptionally clean.
Chen Mo tossed the cotton swab and began to give Su Yuqing’s ears a final massage.
Only then did Su Yuqing finally feel a wave of relief wash over her.
The "service" Chen Mo had just provided was, for her, a combination of incredibly complex sensations—it was like a form of torture, yet at the same time, the ultimate indulgence.
It was a pleasure so intense it left her whole body weak and tingling—a feeling that was almost too much to bear.
A feeling that made her dread a repeat performance, yet simultaneously yearn for one.