"Not you too." Taiyuan rolled her eyes. "Slling my hair will not make you fat, no matter how much ihua convinces you of this."
ihua took her mouth off the cup of Juan tea she was sipping. "I am telling you, one whiff of her and you gain a whole pound." She shuddered and hid behind Zhilan.
"Worry less about my hair and more about the fact that you are sipping a smoked chocolate lovers Juan tea which has the calories you think my hair does." Taiyuan told her.
ihua aggressively took a sip of the tea and this made them all laugh.
i i mounted her horse anwhile.
Her friends did the sa, each picking a horse owned by the Jun’s.
Taiyuan explained the reason why her hair slled sugary. "Out of the desire to put this subject to bed, I would like to share the fact that I am simply using a new shampoo which simply slls like sugar. Since I cannot have as much real sugar as I want, I have decided to sll like it."
The horses walked out in a single file, not in a rush to break into a run.
Zhilan had her thighs already gripping the body of her horse. She was not much of a rider and she only got on horses when it was necessary. Like now, it was necessary to keep up with her friends and not miss out on anything they were discussing. "Taiyuan’s favorite scent is candy. Haven’t you all noticed that this scent is in her powders, perfus and lotions. We should not be surprised that she is bathing in it now."
i i’s nose twitched as she caught another whiff of Taiyuan’s scent. They might as well have been riding in a candy factory.
"People get sugar waxes and sugar scrubs for their whole bodies but you all want to draw the line at sugar shampoo!!" Taiyuan scoffed. "It is ridiculous."
"Those are washed off with water and yours is more permanent. You are a bug magnet." i i told her.
A butterfly was circling Taiyuan’s head and it settled on her shoulder, like it was trying to prove i i’s point.
"See." i i pointed out. Her hands tightened around Thunder Muyang’s reigns. "If I see one bee today Taiyuan, I am throwing you in the nearest pond or water fountain."
She urged Thunder Muyang to start running and left her friends in the dust.
The ladies did not increase their speed like her, they kept their horses at a slow jog. Zhilan had no interest in racing, ihua had no interest in sweating and Taiyuan had no interest in ruining her hair which was styled perfectly.
****
Later that afternoon, the ladies arrived at the Heaven Spa, a wellness retreat for royals which was in the extended royal tower, taking up two whole floors. It was visited by only royals and foreign dignitaries they invited once in a while.
Not even nobles were welco to it.
That of course, did not an that a few special nobles had not been inside.
The ladies were already impressed from the very beginning. The elevator ride had been relaxing with soft ambient music, calming mist, soft light and cool air.
On their way to the Empress Mother’s special private suit, they were eyeballed by so royals that did not think the won belonged there. But they did not care.
i i exchanged greetings and smiles with others but only the friendly ones, not the snobby ones.
They were ushered into the private suite by two beautiful won dressed in short white flowing dresses. They had glowing healthy perfect skin, like they had been dipped in milk and scented oils for hours daily.
They had their pick of the best and most experience masseuse, human and robot. The robots were sleek, humanoid in appearance and programd to deliver maximum body adjustnt and tension relief. They didn’t talk and secrets could be shared freely around them.
It was the major reason why they were used in this spa.
"I choose robot." ihua said. "I have had my fair share of humans and I want robots now. This will either be the best experience or the most terrifying one."
She changed out of her clothes and laid down on the bed which looked like an oval spaceship. The bot she chose began a rhythmic massage that made her shut her eyes in fifteen seconds and fall asleep.
"I cannot believe that she is asleep." i i whispered. She sighed and settled in a big chair which felt like a hug from a large soft living creature. It emitted vibrations that relaxed her back and neck while a young woman started working on her feet.
There was no way she would trust a bot to give her a pedicure. One ss up in the code and it would not slice nails but toes!
Taiyuan started with a manicure, choosing the services of a human too.
Zhilan settled for a massage as well but she chose a human over a robot. Her horoscope for the day said that she had to step away from technology and take pleasure in nature.
"Do you know that Siping proposed to ihua?" she asked.
i i blinked her eyes open slowly. "They are getting married, isn’t that obvious?"
Taiyuan smiled at the masseuse whose fingers were working miracles on her scalp. Even though she did not look at i i she replied, "No, this was a different kind of proposal. He hired your husband....sorry, boyfriend Jingzhe for help. They created holograms of Siping and ihua’s mories. When she dropped him off at his university in the morning, the holograms played on the side of the building. Balloons were floating in the air and their favorite song was playing. He got down on his knees and proposed to her with a big ass diamond ring."
"His students were holding up "say yes" signs." Zhilan jumped in. "They chanted the words over and over. His mother was there, bawling her eyes out."
"I guess she said yes." i i said dryly.
They all laughed because it was obvious she had said yes. The big ass diamond ring had been on ihua’s finger since morning.
i i was more surprised that Jingzhe had not ntioned all of this to her. It was not his surprise to reveal so he kept the secret for his friend.
Zhilan snorted. "They have not been together for ninety days and he made holograms of their mories together. I find it funny and sweet. It reminds of high school love."
They started to laugh and stopped because ihua started snoring loudly.
"I need to record this." Taiyuan started searching for her phone. "As her best friend, I owe it to her to keep such fun mories alive."
"This would be better if we had a whoopee cushion and pretended that she farted." i i giggled.
Zhilan rolled her eyes. "Guys, stop it, we are not six years old anymore."
She raised her head, looked at her friends and they all giggled. It could not have been more clear that they intended to do exactly that.
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