It took the two of them a full hour to finish dinner.
Afterward, Lewis and Zhang Qiu leaned against each other on the sofa.
"You actually missed dinner. You must be exhausted today, right?" Zhang Qiu gently patted Lewis's arm and asked softly.
"Yeah. Writing and working on books all day really is a little tiring."
Lewis sighed.
"Is that so?"
Zhang Qiu looked at the boy beside her with affection. She knew very well that behind the exhaustion he spoke of was an undertaking of extraordinary significance.
If he could complete his work and spread it throughout the wizarding world, it would be nothing short of groundbreaking.
Yet as Lewis's girlfriend, Zhang Qiu could hardly help him academically—even after taking the Permanent Intelligence Potion.
"Since that's the case, let me help you relax."
Zhang Qiu took Lewis's hand and motioned for him to follow her.
Lewis had no idea what she wanted to do, but he let her lead him, following behind her graceful figure as they slowly climbed the stairs.
Zhang Qiu brought Lewis to her room.
After receiving the Mark of Intellect, each of the girls had been given her own suite in the tower.
They were responsible for decorating their own rooms. Lewis merely provided some funding and helped with Transfiguration when necessary.
When Lewis opened the door, he saw an elegant room filled with traditional Chinese furnishings.
Wooden screens decorated with carved beams and painted rafters divided the room into a study in the front and a bedroom in the back.
An antique redwood desk, tranquil landscape paintings, exquisite tea sets, porcelain, antiques, and shelves filled with books created an atmosphere of warmth and harmony, with the scent of ink permeating the air.
A small incense burner sat on the antique display shelf in the study. A delicate fragrance drifted from it, and wisps of white smoke slowly floated through the room.
Although this was technically Lewis's first time entering the room, he found it strangely familiar.
After all, quite a few of the furnishings had been personally transformed by him.
"I've always wanted a room like this. Thank you for making my dream come true, Lewis."
As Zhang Qiu showed him around, her voice was filled with gratitude.
She led Lewis behind the screen.
There were two beds in the bedroom.
One was a Ming-style canopy bed with a moon-shaped doorway, covered in cloud-patterned carvings. It looked elegant and luxurious, and Lewis had transformed it based on the style of canopy beds displayed in the Palace Museum.
This was where she slept.
The other was a delicate chaise longue, suitable for both sitting and lying down, generally used for resting.
The blanket on it had already been spread out, clearly prepared for someone to lie down.
"You can take off your clothes now," Zhang Qiu said at just the right moment.
"Take… take off my clothes?"
Lewis glanced at the chaise longue, then at the girl beside him. His thoughts began to wander.
He really hadn't been prepared for this.
Still, he honestly took off his shirt.
Seeing the clearly defined muscles on Lewis's body, Zhang Qiu's pretty face flushed slightly.
This was the first time she had ever seen a man's body from such a close distance.
So handsome.
That was her immediate thought.
Lewis hesitated as he grabbed the waistband of his trousers.
"Do I take these off too?"
"First—um, first just leave it like that! Hurry and lie down."
Zhang Qiu suppressed her embarrassment and urged him on.
"Lie down?"
Lewis froze.
Had he misunderstood something?
Still, he didn't want to disappoint her kindness, so he obediently lay down on the chaise longue.
Suddenly, his vision went dark as a pleasant fragrance enveloped his head.
With the heightened senses granted by his high perception, Lewis could clearly distinguish the various scents lingering around her—agarwood, mugwort, sandalwood, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, mint, and several other herbs.
They were the fragrances from the sachet Zhang Qiu had been wearing since last year.
And beneath those scents was another alluring fragrance that was difficult to describe.
Ah.
Lewis suddenly realized.
It was Zhang Qiu's own scent.
Just then, Lewis's entire body tensed.
He felt a soft hand gently stroking his back.
Was this a massage?
But at first, she was simply moving her hand back and forth across his back, eventually stopping at his latissimus and giving it a light squeeze.
Compared with a massage…
This seemed more like she was simply taking advantage of him.
Well, she was his girlfriend, after all.
Was he being teased?
Zhang Qiu soon realized what she was doing.
The sensation on Lewis's back changed.
Something cool and smooth slowly traveled down along his spine.
He couldn't help letting out a soft hum.
This sensation…
The cool feeling of droplets slowly sliding along the curves of his body?
Was it some kind of peppermint essential oil?
He could feel Zhang Qiu's fingers slowly and playfully moving toward the edge of his collar.
The cool, smooth sensation of the essential oil, combined with her moderate pressure, quickly relaxed Lewis's entire neck.
"This massage technique is something I specifically learned from my mother during the Christmas holiday. She taught me so that I could help relieve your fatigue."
Zhang Qiu explained softly.
Zhang Qiu's mother really was quite talented.
Lewis remembered that, besides Chinese cuisine, Zhang Qiu's red scarf had also been something she had learned to make from her mother.
So she had learned this from her mother as well.
He wondered what Zhang Qiu's mother would think if she knew why her daughter had been so eager to learn all these things.
In any case, Zhang Qiu's technique really was quite professional.
Her hands gently kneaded his neck, her soft fingers circling around it before gradually moving upward toward his scalp and temples.
Her pressure increased slightly, but the stronger stimulation actually helped Lewis gradually relax after his exhausting day.
Slowly, her fingers moved downward again, passing over the back of his neck and then moving along his back, making one gentle pass after another.
Although the sensation remained cool, Lewis gradually felt his body growing warmer.
He could no longer tell whether the moisture came from sweat or the essential oil.
The blanket beneath him had already become somewhat damp, while Zhang Qiu's hands seemed to grow slower as well.
Lewis suddenly felt something pressing against his back.
He understood Zhang Qiu's hint.
The massage was over.
Now it was time for some exercise.
The exercise moved from the chaise longue to the canopy bed.
Lewis turned over and began doing bench presses, intending to continue the activity they had been unable to finish at the dinner table.
Compared with the chaise longue, this place was much more spacious and tall.
Lewis easily used Transfigure Wood to transform it into a dumbbell rack.
Zhang Qiu wanted to exercise together with him.
Unfortunately, she was too delicate and physically weak. After only a little exercise, she scraped herself and even stained the dumbbell rack with blood.
Lewis therefore had no choice but to continue exercising alone.
As he continued, Lewis fully appreciated just how refined his Transfiguration had become, and how sturdy the dumbbell rack he had created with Transfigure Wood was.
If his technique had been even slightly worse, the rack would have been shaking and creaking from the movement.
About an hour later, just as Lewis finished his second round of push-ups and was preparing to begin his third round of squats, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching.
"Zhang Qiu, someone's coming!"
The two hurriedly got up and helped each other straighten their disheveled clothes.
They hastily tidied themselves up, but for some reason, one of Lewis's socks had disappeared.
Perhaps it had been thrown somewhere.
But there was no time to search for it.
A knock sounded from outside the door.
"Knock, knock."
Zhang Qiu immediately steadied her breathing and pretended to sound completely normal.
"Come in."
Just before the doorknob turned, the two quickly ran to the desk and sat upright in two wooden armchairs, pretending to be completely serious.
A faint layer of moisture still lingered in the air.
It had witnessed everything that had happened moments ago, but naturally could not speak.
"Oh? Lewis, you're in this room? And this is… Zhang Qiu?"
It was Tonks.
She blinked as she looked at the two sitting side by side.
"Yes. This is my senior from Ravenclaw, Zhang Qiu. We were studying Chinese literature."
Lewis raised the copy of Baopuzi in his hand and spoke with an utterly serious expression.
"Hello, Zhang Qiu. I'm Lewis's older sister, Nymphadora Tonks. Sorry, I didn't know this was your room. It's nice to meet you."
Tonks introduced herself in a friendly manner.
Zhang Qiu felt her cheeks burning.
"Nice to meet you too, Tonks. I've heard him mention you before."
"Then I won't disturb you two."
Tonks smiled lightly.
"We're finished too. We were just about to leave the school."
Lewis quickly followed up.
Tonks said nothing.
Her eyes deliberately—or perhaps unintentionally—glanced toward the disheveled bedding and the moisture on the floor before slowly sweeping over the two of them.
Then she turned and left.
The door closed softly behind her.
Lewis and Zhang Qiu looked at each other.
"Do you think she noticed?"
Zhang Qiu bit her lip nervously.
"She probably didn't."
Lewis comforted her.
The two quickly gathered their belongings and left with slightly hurried expressions.
They didn't see Tonks again until they reached the living room.
"Looks like she's already gone."
Lewis quietly exhaled and gently put an arm around Zhang Qiu's waist.
Zhang Qiu smiled and rolled her eyes at him.
"Yes, Lewis. Zhang Qiu. We meet again."
Tonks appeared at the top of the second-floor staircase, holding a freshly copied first volume of The Book of Ten Thousand Laws.
"Good night."
Tonks smiled as she walked downstairs.
"Ah, we're heading back to Hogwarts now. Good night, Tonks."
Lewis immediately withdrew his smile and pretended to be calm.
Just as Lewis and Zhang Qiu were about to cast Mansion Spell, Tonks suddenly said:
"Lewis. Next time you're studying Chinese literature, remember that your sock belongs on the outside doorknob, not on your female senior's foot."
Lewis's casting hand immediately froze.
He hurriedly opened the portal and left without looking back.
From the other side of the portal, Tonks's voice sounded faintly melancholic.
"Lewis has really grown up."
After leaving the tower, Lewis appeared directly inside the Ravenclaw common room.
Zhang Qiu was already gone.
That was normal.
Mansion Spell worked that way. Wherever you entered from, you would naturally return to the same place.
Lewis guessed that Zhang Qiu had probably used the spell in her own room.
Thinking about what Tonks had said, Lewis couldn't help laughing at himself.
He had actually lived to see the day when she would tease him like that.
Lewis tried using the Mark of Intellect to contact Zhang Qiu.
Although he could sense that she was nearby, he received no response.
Looks like she was still embarrassed.
Lewis therefore woke his owl and sent her to deliver a message.
After a while, the owl returned with Zhang Qiu's reply.
It was one of Lewis's socks, freshly cleaned.
The sock Zhang Qiu had accidentally ended up wearing.
That night, Lewis tossed and turned in bed.
The events from Zhang Qiu's room kept replaying in his mind over and over, with the details that had been omitted from the story filling his imagination.
He had to make another trip to the washroom before finally calming down and falling asleep.
The days that followed passed peacefully with their studies.
Yet whenever the two met, their intertwined gazes always carried an unmistakable tenderness that neither of them could hide.
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