"Here," Yaoyao handed me the demon-hair key, tilting her chin. "I was released by you, so you should be the one to take off my mask."
I took the key, and with a touch of apprehension, I moved behind Yaoyao. Holding the eagle feather, I inserted the "key" into the lock behind her ear. It fit perfectly, snug and seamless, all the way in, steady and secure. Following modern lock-picking habits, I tried turning it clockwise, but it wouldn't budge. It seemed the ancients preferred counter-clockwise rotation.
Indeed, it turned. After the eagle feather rotated ninety degrees, a crisp "click" sounded from the lock. The mask instantly split in two, sliding down along Yaoyao's cheeks and falling to the ground. One half landed on the carpet, while the other half, precisely, landed on my big toe, which was clad in a slipper!
The pain was so intense that I instinctively raised my hand, arched my back, and clutched my right foot, hopping on one leg and wailing.
After a few cries, I looked down. My toenail was blackened, testament to the weight of this golden mask.
Yaoyao and the elder snake demon giggled. By the time I recovered and looked up at them, the pain in my foot instantly vanished.
It wasn't that it truly didn't hurt, but rather that the pain had been transferred. My attention had shifted entirely from my foot to Yaoyao's face before me!
Just then, the morning sun shone through the window onto Yaoyao's face. It turned out her face was completely different with or without the mask (perhaps it had been deformed by the tight-fitting mask). The new oval face, revealed after removing the mask, was delicate and refined. Her pupils were clear and deep, her willow-like eyebrows curved like the moon, her complexion was pale pink and translucent white, and her lips were slightly parted, like two rose petals kissed by morning dew, on the verge of blooming.
What was most beautiful, however, was Yaoyao's small, perfectly straight nose. Her nostrils were like jade cicadas, her bridge like a knife's edge, and the tip tilted slightly upward – a perfect curve and sharpness, as if it were the final touch on Nuwa's most proud creation among the clay figures. A divine touch, pinching the tip of her nose and lifting it gently, like a goat releasing a sheep's fart – both ticklish and chic.
Alright, my literary skills aren't great, and I'm rambling a bit, but her appearance isn't really important. What matters is that, without the mask, Yaoyao had finally, not just resembled, but been identical to the Yaoyao from my dreams!
"Yaoyao! You! You're finally back!" I exclaimed, as if seeing a long-lost lover. I excitedly stepped forward, grabbed her shoulders, and without regard for the snake demon nearby, pressed myself down!
Yaoyao didn't dodge. Instead, she responded enthusiastically. Two small snakes intertwined in the water. The elder snake demon, knowing when to be discreet, pulled the curtains shut and quietly departed.
This was the feeling from my dreams.
At half-past eight in the morning, Yaoyao lay lazily on my chest, pinching my ear and asking, "Chengfeng, does this count as..."
"Count as what?" I asked. She trailed off, her words unfinished. "Humming and hawing," it felt good, but listening was uncomfortable.
"Count as..." Yaoyao actually blushed. "Count as consummating the marriage?"
"Didn't we already do that?" I chuckled. Consummating the marriage usually refers to the wedding night.
Yaoyao brought her face closer, looking down at me from above. "Like this, you looking at me, you looking at me, then it counts!"
That was true. Unlike other girls who liked to close their eyes, she kept hers open the entire time, experiencing everything that happened not just with her body and heart, but also with her sight.
"Then let it count..." I said.
"Since we consummated the marriage, what should you call me from now on?" Yaoyao snuggled closer to me, her long eyelashes fluttering as she asked.
I thought for a moment and mused, "Wife is definitely wrong; that's a modern term. Wife is too formal. Girlfriend? Too northeastern. Old woman? Too outdated... How about, I call you 'little darling'?"
Yaoyao blinked. "What on earth! Isn't 'little darling' what you call underwear?"
I don't know where she learned that. I certainly never taught her such a concept.
"Just kidding," I said, flicking her nose. After doing so, I immediately regretted it, afraid I might smudge her skin, which was so tender and translucent. "I actually still like calling you Yaoyao, but I'm not sure why you refer to yourself as Yaoyao?"