Chapter Fifty-Four: Shadowing (Part One)

“What’s the matter? You want to stay here?” Liu Yunfei asked Henry.

“Not really, it’s easier for me to stay at a hotel. Do you have any girls here? Or is it all old ladies? Haha,” Henry replied lewdly.

“Then why don’t you go to the hotel with that person?” Liu Yunfei asked, a bit curious.

“My grandfather asked me to deliver something to you, and it’s been a hard journey,” Henry said, as though keeping a secret, then stopped speaking.

Liu Yunfei turned away. “Annoying, I have things to do.”

Liu Yunfei truly was feeling annoyed. He let the negotiations be handled by the parties themselves—they’d already met and seemed to get along, at least both wanted to cooperate. Besides, Liu Yunfei was merely the go-between; he didn’t intend to profit from it, so he wasn’t bothered by the business. What really troubled him was whether or not he should follow them that afternoon.

“Wait, I was just joking. I’ll leave soon. My grandfather, inspired by you, has been researching Tai Chi and our family’s traditional Circle Fist. He’s created a set of moves especially suited for you,” Henry, who’d planned to squeeze a tip out of Liu Yunfei, hurriedly spilled everything when he saw the task his grandfather entrusted him with might not be completed.

“Oh? Thank Grandfather Gao for me, truly.” Liu Yunfei hadn’t expected such a gift; he felt deeply moved that the old eccentric had kept him in his thoughts, taking the time to devise a special set of moves for him. Realizing he’d been a bit harsh with Henry earlier, Liu Yunfei quickly patted Henry’s shoulder. “Sorry, my mood’s been bad these past couple of days.”

Henry then demonstrated the hybrid martial art to Liu Yunfei. Liu Yunfei learned anything quickly; this set was just a few dozen movements, and, being an imitation-style technique, didn’t demand strict precision. Its breakdown and adaptation could be understood individually. Henry admired Liu Yunfei even more—Henry was the most gifted of the third generation at Aurora Castle, and it had taken him two days with his grandfather to learn just the moves. Yet Liu Yunfei mastered it after watching once.

Liu Yunfei practiced it again and again. “Excellent, excellent!” He was so delighted he could barely express it, practicing the moves as he spoke. The set felt as if custom-made for him; it wasn’t exactly Tai Chi, though there were similarities—some movements fast, others slow, sudden bursts and lulls. The slow parts resembled Tai Chi and were mainly defensive, but without warning, the pace could accelerate, launching attacks that left opponents bewildered. The moves were unconstrained, easily adjusted or modified as needed—gentle as wind, swift as lightning, flowing seamlessly, truly breathtaking.

Seeing Liu Yunfei had learned it, Henry prepared to leave.

“Hold on, Henry!” Liu Yunfei suddenly recalled Henry’s mention of his hard journey. “Is there anything you need? If I can help, I’ll do my utmost.”

“Heh,” Henry was about to answer but felt embarrassed. Liu Yunfei patted him, encouraging him. “You know, the castle’s finances are managed very strictly. When I handled the accounts, it was fine, but now my grandfather manages them personally. I don’t even have money for tips.”

“Oh, no worries.” So it turned out that Gao Renhou was managing the finances now and Henry was broke, unable to afford any indulgences. Liu Yunfei was generous; he could’ve used the card the old prince gave him, issued under Awashide’s name, but that felt meaningless. He checked his jade slip and found two hundred thousand dollars in cash, so he took it all out. The money was packed in two black bank transfer bags. Henry hadn’t expected to receive so much; he thanked Liu Yunfei profusely, nearly bowing to him, and left with the bags.

Liu Yunfei saw it was still early and practiced the moves a few more times.

At last, in the afternoon, he waited for Yu Qing and little Lam to head to their piano lesson. As usual, Liu Yunfei escorted them to the car, reminded them to drive carefully, and watched Yu Qing drive off with Lam, leaving Knight’s Castle. Yu Qing disliked being accompanied everywhere by a large entourage, so Liu Yunfei arranged a pale yellow BMW 720 convertible for her.

As Yu Qing drove the BMW down the winding mountain road, Liu Yunfei transformed into a large flying insect, heading straight to the middle of the road. When the convertible passed by, he easily landed on the back seat.

“Sister Yu Qing, why am I developing so slowly?” Lam chatted with Yu Qing.

“Are you slow? You’re not old enough yet,” Yu Qing replied absentmindedly.

“Brother Awashide said that the more a girl lets boys touch her chest, the bigger it gets. Does it work if I touch it myself?” Lam seemed eager to learn, asking all sorts of questions.

Liu Yunfei, listening in the back, blushed; he couldn’t recall when he’d told the little girl such nonsense, but clearly she remembered.

“Why did he tell you that?” Yu Qing frowned, then suddenly smiled. “Did he touch you? It’s fine, just tell me. I like honest children.”

Liu Yunfei tensed, watching Yu Qing’s gentle coaxing. Was this how one lured children?

Lam was clever, too. “My mom said a girl’s body shouldn’t be touched by boys. The places touched will grow sores. Did you let him touch you?” She kicked the question back to Yu Qing.

Liu Yunfei thought, that’s harsh—sores? Yet you tried to seduce me the other day.

“Your mom’s being silly, why would it cause sores? But let me tell you, letting boys touch you will make it smaller,” Yu Qing continued to scare the child.

“Oh, that’s why boys don’t have chests. They must hide and touch themselves all the time, so they don’t have any left,” Lam suddenly understood.

Liu Yunfei was speechless. After all these years, he finally learned why men didn’t have prominent chests.

Soon they parked by a modern building. Liu Yunfei followed them to a classroom on the second floor, where two or three dozen students sat, many of them beautiful women. The summer heat made them dress lightly—white, tender arms and thighs everywhere. Liu Yunfei was enjoying the view when Yu Qing greeted a familiar face. Liu Yunfei recognized her too; it was Beitia, Gao Renhou’s plenipotentiary representative.

Beitia, tall and striking, wore only a bra on top and a very short leather skirt below—exceedingly cool. Liu Yunfei hurried over as she spoke, “This is my teacher. I heard he’s running a piano class here, so I dropped by to visit.”

Liu Yunfei noticed Beitia’s purse between her legs—a perfect spot. He flew over, landed on the purse, and looked up at her flawless inner thighs, wondering about their feel. Her pink cotton underwear was taut and high. Liu Yunfei, overtaken by impulse, was about to act when Beitia cried, “Where did this fly come from?” She knocked Liu Yunfei into her purse, then reached in to find the intrusive insect.

Realizing trouble, Liu Yunfei saw a white sanitary pad beside him. Without thinking, he transformed into a folded pad. Beitia rummaged for a while, found nothing, suspected she’d missed, and gave up.

It happened that Beitia’s period had started. Mid-conversation, she felt a sensation and hurried, purse in hand, to the bathroom. In the empty room, she lifted her skirt, pulled down her underwear halfway, tore off the soiled pad, tossed it in the bin, and grabbed a new one—Liu Yunfei, now transformed. She opened it, placed it flat in her underwear, adjusted herself, and returned to the classroom.

Pressed between Beitia’s thighs, Liu Yunfei felt the area was exceptionally smooth—perhaps she was naturally hairless. He inhaled her scent, feeling disgruntled at having become such a thing, yet the intimate contact with her body stirred his desires. He felt a certain part of himself swelling, the pad’s middle bulging, pressing tightly against Beitia.

Back in class, Beitia felt the pad growing tighter, increasingly strange, and was affected by it. The piano teacher entered, exchanging pleasantries, so she clamped her legs and suppressed her reaction.

Liu Yunfei, too, struggled to endure, nearly tempted to revert that part of himself to its original shape and slip into Beitia’s body.