Sheng Li stepped back and picked the scarf from the floor. He again blindfolded Lili and brought her to the center. The anklets that were lying near the pillar caught his attention. He picked the anklets and came near Ying Lili. Bending on his knee, he gently lifted her right foot and placed it on his knee. "Don't remove your anklets ever again," Ying Lili heard him.
He stood up and spun her around. "Lili, I would love to see how you will catch me," Sheng Li stated. He left her hands and stepped a few meters back. Ying Lili extended her hands out and moved ahead.
Sheng Li quietly went behind her and touched her shoulder. "I am here, Lili." Ying Lili turned back, tried catching him. She walked in that direction. This time Sheng Li came to her left, at a safe distance, and kept walking along with her.
Ying Lili halted because everything was quiet. "Why are you not saying anything? How am I going to find you?" Ying Lili complained and pouted. She kept swinging her hands in the air in the hope she would catch him.
"I am here," Sheng Li stated. Hearing his voice, Ying Lili turned to her left and spread her arms out. Sheng Li also started walking towards her. Ying Lili's hands were moving up and down in the air when Sheng Li caught them. He drew her towards him; his hands were around her waist. "Don't play this game with anyone else," Sheng Li stated. Ying Lili had removed the blindfold from her eyes and gazed at him.
"Why? It was not even funny. You were just silent," Ying Lili said.
"You told me not to let you fall. I was afraid that you might fall, so I just remained silent. Moreover, I do not want to see you lose," Sheng Li asserted.
"But I lost! You grasped my hands."
"But you touched my robes first, so I was caught by you," Sheng Li opined. Ying Lili felt she lost against Sheng Li in the argument. She could see in his eyes the fondness for her.
"Where did you get lost?" He snapped his fingers in front of her, bringing her out of those thoughts.
"Nowhere. I am feeling hot in this overcoat. I want to remove it." Sheng Li let her go and helped her in taking off the overcoat. Sheng Li put the overcoat around his arm when Ying Lili went towards the fourth pillar from where the lake filled with lotuses was visible.
Sheng Li walked to her and sat beside her. "Don't bend. You might fall in the water," Sheng Li warned her. "I will call a servant to bring a lotus for you." Ying Lili stopped him from calling out a servant.
"It's not even deep water. Playing in water is fun. Don't you think so?" Ying Lili wanted to pick the lotuses herself while walking in the lake. The water was crystal clear, which brought a smile to her lips.
"But, the base is muddy. You can play in the bathhouse with me. Here the bathhouse is even bigger than the Palace one," Sheng Li stated. Ying Lili's eyes turned bigger, and a hue of red appeared on her cheeks.
"I-I did not say that I want to play with you. Stop being dirty," Ying Lili turned her face away and touched her cheeks that were radiating heat into her palms.
Sheng Li blew air over Ying Lili's ear, making her jump. She tilted her head towards him. "W-what are you doing?" She was stuttering, which encouraged Sheng Li to tease her more.
"There was a fly," Sheng Li moved his hand in the air. "It is gone, I think," he said, keeping a grin on his face. "You were thinking something dirty, right? Just share with me. I will not tell anyone that the innocent Crown Princess has some dirty thoughts in her mind," Sheng Li rested the back of his forefinger on one of her cheeks.
"You are the one who was talking dirty!" Ying Lili yanked at him, and almost stood up when Sheng Li pulled her down, pinning her on the wooden floor. Her hands rested on his chest. "Are you going to do it in the open?" Ying Lili questioned.
Sheng Li amusingly looked at her and burst out in laughter. "You are indeed thinking about making love here! Lili, I did not know that you are this desperate." A wide grin formed on his lips as he stroked her cheek.
Ying Lili covered her face with both of her palms. She turned shy. 'How could I say something like this? He was not even thinking about this.' Ying Lili was embarrassed now. "Turn away. Do not look at me," she told Sheng Li.
"Why?" Sheng Li was befuddled to see her reaction. He caught her palms and put them down. He leaned closer to her and placed his hand over her chest. "Your heart is thumping with the burning desire for me," Sheng Li stated.
Ying Lili shook her head, not ready to accept that. "No, it's not because of that. It's because…because" she paused and flickered her eyes while Sheng Li kept smirking.
"Why did you stop? Complete your words else I would" he moved closer to her ear; his lips brushed against her earlobe as he whispered, "make love to you here." He leaned back to check the reaction of Ying Lili.
"Because we played that g-game, and then you pulled me down, which was shocking for me," in a single breath, Ying Lili completed her words.
Sheng Li laughed at her excuse. Stopping his laughter, he said, "I can see through you, Lili. How could you forget about this?" He kissed her nose tip. "Teasing you is fun. You look adorable at that moment," he tapped his finger on her nose and moved away from her. Ying Lili had calmed down. Sheng Li helped her in sitting and put his arm around her shoulder.
His feet were just above the water. He bent down and picked a lotus from the water. Removing the leaves of the lotus flower, he turned towards Ying Lili and tucked the tiny lotus flower in her bun. "Next time, I have to bring the Royal Painter with me so that he can draw this moment between us," Sheng Li pronounced.