Little Purple

"Wait… what?! What do you mean?"

"Are you trying to act innocent, Master?" Hu Zi smirked. "Do you think I did not notice?"

"Oh boy…" Shou's face was red. He wanted to dig a hole for himself right then and there. "So you managed to use the wind to sense our presence?"

"Of course."

"Darn…" Shou had really thought that he could bring the secret to his grave. He raised his head and looked at Hu Zi, realizing something when he saw her unclosed eyes. "Xiao Zi… I am sorry."

"Sorry for peeping at us?"

"Yes."

"..." Hu Zi was filled with multiple emotions. She actually felt a bit shy and ashamed because of the accident. "You better be. We are young maidens, and you dared to peep at us." Hu Zi said in a clear tone, "Master Shou is a loli."

"..."

"A loli…"

"No, I am not."

"Yes, you are."

"I am not…"

"You are…"

"..." Shou raised an eyebrow and decided to come down to Hu Zi's place. He placed his feet on the surface of the water and let wind glide him toward Hu Zi. "I am not."

"Master, you should realize the reality." Hu Zi tried to push Shou over the edge.

"I am not a loli..." Shou, having some leaves from earlier in his hand, held his hand above Hu Zi's head and let the beautiful autumn leaves fall. "Because the girl I am interested in is not a little girl anymore."

"...Eh?" Hu Zi looked up to meet his gaze, her eyes wide. The moment her concentration was broken, the wind beneath her feet stopped whirring and disappated. "Oh no."

SPLASH!

Hu Zi fell into the water. "Cough cough."

Shou seemed to have not realized what he himself said back then so he was still a bit dazed. "Xiao Zi!"

Shou pulled Hu Zi out of the water and carried her to the pavilion. When they usually trained, he would not dry her right away because she needed to allow her body to adapt to the cold. But now, as soon as he placed her down, he used his power to dry up her purple clothes. He made sure to dissipate his winds before she was completely dry, leaving some dampness, because the wind storm he created could hurt her body. The autumn wind caused Hu Zi to shiver.

Shou brought Hu Zi inside and gave her a set of new clothes.

But then, "It is not enough."

Shou could not find anyone around them so he went and heated the bath on his own. "Wait here, I will heat up the bath and prepare a warm tea for you," Shou said hastily while looking down at his feet. He placed Hu Zi gently on the couch then used his wind to help him move. His movements were swift and fast, leaving Hu Zi's head spinning.

Actually, Hu Zi was very used to a little cold like this, and she knew that Shou was aware as well. She wondered why Shou was making a fuss but she did not feel like asking. She ducked her head, too busy trying to hide the blush on her snow white cheeks. She looked down to her almost dried up figure, her eyes unseeing. She wrapped her arms around herself, then said, "I am not so little anymore?"

Suddenly, someone barged into the room in a hurry. "Third Sister, Third Sister!" she shouted. As she stepped into the room, her long orange dress was worn neatly, Hu Zi's eyes widened out of shock. She smelled a very nice scent that she never smelled on this Second Sister of hers.

"What perfume are you wearing, Second Sister?" Hu Zi asked. She had been so focused on what happened with Shou that she did not detect Hu Cheng Se coming. "Wait, why are you even wearing a perfume?"

"Well that is, umm…" Hu Cheng Se frowned. She did not know where to start. "Eldest Sister picked out the best dress for me. She also tried to doll me up while she was at it."

"Huh?" Hu Zi tilted her head. Her Second Sister rarely dressed up like this; something must be up. "Did something big happen at school?"

"Yeah, that!" Hu Cheng Se accidently exclaimed. "My Third Sister...My dear, lovely Third Sister. Please help this pitiful Second Sister of yours."

It was a pity for Hu Zi because she could not see Hu Cheng Se's face which was covered in makeup. She looked like a queen, an unworldly being. Her honey like skin was brimming, and her lips were dainty red. Her beautiful frown indicated her frustration over the blow to her class reputation this morning.

"Did Qing Bo get you again, Second Sister?" Hu Zi raised an eyebrow. She sensed that Shou went to the backroom.

"..." Hu Cheng Se made a pug face when Qing Bo's name was mentioned. "Yeah, he got me again."

"What did he make you do now?"

"Sigh…" Hu Cheng Se also took a seat on the couch and started to tell Hu Zi the full story. "Our school will have a festival in the near future and all of the students in our class need to participate."

Hu Zi had heard of this before. Back when Hu Zi attended her school, there was no such thing as a school festival, but during the spring of one year ago, Qing Bo, as one of the class representative, suggested the school hold at least one festival a year for all of the student to participate in. With that, their school started to hold a festival in winter. Last year's theme was cooking so it was easy for Hu Cheng Se to get the first place. But this year was…

"This year's theme is dancing, and I suck as hell…" Hu Cheng Se said. "Everyone in the school knows my dancing is like a duck trying to lay its egg. I won last year, so people were probably expecting me to win again. I bet that Qing Bo was the one who suggested this one. He must have wanted to make me feel miserable in front of the parents and people who will attend the festival."

"Qing Bo?" Hu Zi tilted her head, "I don't think so…"

"Third Sister, you don't think that Qing Young Master was the one who suggested this idea?"

"Yeah, I don't think it is him."

"Why?"

"As far as we know, Qing Guang is not very good at that kind of stuff." Hu Zi recalled the things she heard in the past about Qing Guang from Hu Ye. "There is no way that Qing Bo would corner you at the expense of his own sister."

"Oh, now that I think about it…" Hu Cheng Se also recalled the dancing class they had last year. "So… Who was the one who suggested this idea?"

"Hmm… I wonder." Hu Zi opened her eyelids wide and tried to think. "Ah, it must be…"