Although the sensations caused by the accelerated flow of spiritual energy intensified again, Professor Wei experienced no further involuntary reactions as intense as her initial deep moan—perhaps only an occasional murmur or a bite of her own lip, things she considered far easier to overlook.
Consequently, she maintained her composure until Liu Fengying finished the treatment, thus missing the chance to find out whether her student had been serious when she threatened to bite her.
"Even though we're done, it's best if you wait at least five minutes or so before trying to walk…" Liu Fengying said, stretching her slightly fatigued fingers, which still held the residual warmth from the skin of Professor Wei's leg.
"That's fine. I'm in no hurry to go anywhere…" Professor Wei nodded approvingly, going on to explain to Liu Fengying that because she utterly disliked the atmosphere in the faculty cafeteria, she usually brought her lunch from home and preferred to eat alone in her office.
Professor Wei had not shared these details to prove to Liu Fengying that she could manage on her own just to make her leave; it was quite obvious that Liu Fengying was determined to stay with her until she was sure she was alright. Furthermore, since she did not yet know for certain if the massage had actually helped her walk, she had to consider the possibility that she might need someone to fetch her painkillers. And rather than asking for help from others, whom she found downright irritating, it was much better to let herself be pampered by someone whose attention she actually enjoyed, wasn't it?
So, to prevent things from becoming awkward as they just stared at each other, she figured they needed something to talk about.
She also felt an inner urge to let Liu Fengying get to know her better, so it was a perfect way to kill two birds with one stone.
Still, how much could Professor Wei possibly say about her lunch break? No more than two or three sentences. So, in the end, she found herself right back in the situation she had been trying to avoid.
Professor Wei truly had no idea what topic to bring up next. The only things she could think of revolved around Liu Fengying's life as a student, but given how their relationship had evolved, it felt far too strange to act like a teacher around her now.
As for trying to tease Liu Fengying again, now that she had calmed down, she had lost her nerve. Perhaps if Liu Fengying had provoked her, she would have readily allowed herself to be drawn into a game of cat and mouse, but she was incapable of being the one to initiate a new round of flirting.
However, Professor Wei did not have to dwell on such thoughts for long, as Liu Fengying immediately came up with a proposal:
"Since we have nothing to do, how about I give your other leg a massage too?"
Liu Fengying's words caught Professor Wei completely off guard, but what surprised her even more was that her very first instinct upon hearing them was to agree.
'On second thought, maybe it's not that strange; after all, the massage she just gave me made me feel fantastic...' Professor Wei told herself, realizing with a sudden start how easily Liu Fengying had managed to bring her to the point of showing signs of dependency.
She could not explain exactly why that massage had been capable of giving her such a profound, indescribable sense of relief. Was Liu Fengying's technique really that great? Was it the fact that she was attracted to Liu Fengying, and therefore more sensitive to her touch? Or perhaps it was a combination of both. However, Professor Wei was fairly certain that no one else would ever be able to achieve a similar effect.
Yet, this realization also came with an unsettling question: was Liu Fengying capable of making other women feel this good too? If the answer were yes, Professor Wei was convinced that Liu Fengying would have no trouble winning over any young woman she took a liking to; even the straightest girls would probably be tempted to be with her just to have unlimited access to her massages.
Of course, now was not the time to sit and analyze these things; she had to come up with an answer to Liu Fengying's proposal.
Truthfully, she was a bit irritated by the fact that Liu Fengying had not even bothered to find a pretext to convince her to accept; she could have argued, for instance, that massaging the other leg was a preventive measure, just in case there were underlying issues there as well. That way, by pretending to be convinced by a medical argument, it would have been much easier for her to accept.
However, Liu Fengying did not seem to want their closeness to develop under the shadow of excuses; if she was to accept her proposal, she had to openly admit she was doing it solely for the sake of pleasure. The problem was that this went far beyond the boundaries she had imposed on herself regarding her interactions with Liu Fengying until the latter graduated.
Was Professor Wei at a dead end? Well, not quite; when someone truly wants to get somewhere, even if the main road is blocked, they are capable of quickly finding detours.
'Still, in terms of physical contact, it's not like there would be any real difference between the two massage sessions...' she told herself, a thought that was already heavily leaning her toward accepting.
She also wondered why all physical contact between her and Liu Fengying had to be justified. As long as nothing of a sexual nature happened between them, her conscience would remain clear.
'Yes, among friends, not just massages, but even hugs are quite common. And right now, if we were to ignore our roles as teacher and student for a moment, couldn't our relationship be classified as a friendship? Therefore, what would be the harm in her helping me relax by giving me a massage?'
Once this "unbeatable" logical argument formed in Professor Wei's mind, every last trace of hesitation vanished.
"Well, since you really are good at it, it would be a pity to refuse…" Professor Wei finally replied to Liu Fengying, trying to sound as relaxed and natural as possible; only her own reaction had the power to turn the upcoming massage into either a major event or a routine one.
"Then you can proceed just like you did with the other one…" Liu Fengying said, gesturing for her to place the leg that was about to be massaged into her lap.
For her part, Liu Fengying tried not to seem overly enthusiastic so as not to put pressure on Professor Wei. Even though the professor had proven to be less rigid than she had initially thought, Liu Fengying suspected she must have struggled quite a bit before taking such a big step toward her; after all, such massages, done exclusively for relaxation, can only take place between two very close people.
It was not as if Liu Fengying wanted to push things any further than that; honestly, the mere fact that Professor Wei had accepted her proposal meant she had achieved her main goal—which was to get Professor Wei to develop a sense of familiarity with physical interactions between them. As for the fact that she truly enjoyed massaging the professor, well, that was just a bonus. However, she was fairly certain this was no secret to Professor Wei, so it wasn't as if she were taking advantage of her.
Furthermore, by stimulating the acupuncture points on both legs, she would bring about a considerable improvement in Professor Wei's overall health. And who knew, perhaps this treatment would lead to an even smoother flow of spiritual energy throughout her body, which carried all sorts of beneficial effects, ranging from increased physical stamina to enhanced cognitive abilities.
However, since Professor Wei was no longer completely clueless about how these leg massages went, the way things proceeded from there was not identical to the first time.
"Should I take my stocking off first?" Professor Wei asked, pausing just before lifting her leg to place it at Liu Fengying's disposal.
Technically, Liu Fengying had no reason to stop Professor Wei from taking off her own stocking. But remembering how exciting it had been to peel the stocking away from the skin of the other leg with her own hands, she couldn't help but begin to feel a pang of regret.
"…Or can I help you with it again?" Liu Fengying asked hesitantly, deciding to push her luck.
Seeing Liu Fengying's puppy-dog eyes, how could Professor Wei not realize which option the girl wanted her to choose? As for her motives, they were just as obvious; even if Liu Fengying had used the removal of the first stocking to tease her, she had done so with a gaze full of genuine fascination. In other words, Liu Fengying had been no less stimulated by the gesture than she herself had been.
Was taking off a stocking a decent gesture? Honestly, after the way Liu Fengying had done it, Professor Wei found it quite hard to label it as such. Still, in a literal sense, it couldn't really be considered a sexual act, could it? Since she hadn't classified it that way the first time, Professor Wei wondered why she would do so now.
'Besides, there are no witnesses...' Professor Wei told herself; as long as she deemed it a decent gesture, even if Liu Fengying were to use her teeth to pull the stocking down, it would still be labeled as such, because there was no one else there to contradict her.
Thus, with a generous attitude similar to the one she had shown regarding the removal of the first stocking, Professor Wei finally answered in the affirmative to Liu Fengying's suggestion.