The bed that originally allowed for two full turns suddenly seemed somewhat crowded with an extra person. Even just moving an arm could touch the other person.

Ruan Mian had originally been somewhat sleepy, but after countless accidental touches of Chen Yi’s arm, she completely lost all drowsiness.

A few minutes ago—

After she said those words, the living room suddenly fell into a subtle silence. Chen Yi’s straightforward and profound gaze seemed to carry warmth with it.

Ruan Mian’s eyes flickered. In her rush to explain, she almost bit her tongue. “I’m not, I just—”

Before she could finish, Chen Yi interrupted: “Okay, you go back to sleep first. I’ll come keep you company right away.”

“…?”

Ruan Mian was dazed for several seconds before she fully pieced together the characters in his sentence and understood their meaning.

I’ll come keep you company right away?

Hm?

Was that what she meant?

She! Didn’t! Mean! That!!

Ruan Mian pressed her lips together. Unable to come up with words of rebuttal for the moment, she could only look at him several times with some hesitation.

Chen Yi, however, seemed completely unbothered by anything wrong with what he’d said. He lowered his head and bent down to pick up the blanket that had fallen on the floor. When he straightened up and saw her still standing there, he raised his eyebrows slightly. Just as he was about to say something, Ruan Mian suddenly snapped back to attention and quickly walked back to the room.

He smiled and put down the blanket in his hand, then followed her in.

……

Right now, neither of them seemed to have any drowsiness. Chen Yi had good sleeping posture—after lying down, he maintained the same position the whole time.

On the contrary, the person sleeping beside him kept tossing and turning. Within a few movements, she had pulled most of the blanket from his side over to hers, completely unaware of it.

Just before the blanket was about to be completely pulled away, Chen Yi suddenly reached out and gathered her into his arms. His chin rested against her head as he said in a low voice: “Can’t sleep?”

Ruan Mian had never expected this move from him. For a moment, she froze there, unable to speak. Her entire body from top to bottom could feel his body temperature. Her ears began to burn.

After waiting a long time without getting an answer, Chen Yi raised his hand to pinch her face. “Why aren’t you talking?”

“I’m not.” Ruan Mian was grateful to have her back against his chest. She buried her face into the pillow and said in a muffled voice: “I’m not used to the bed.”

Chen Yi lowered his arm and naturally grasped her wrist, his fingertip staying there and rubbing. Though she was thin with a small frame, no matter where he pinched, it was soft and yielding, feeling especially good to touch. He couldn’t help but keep playing with it.

There wasn’t a bit of light in the room, which made other sounds seem clearer—the rise and fall of breathing, the friction of fabric, even each other’s every heartbeat.

The two used the same body wash, so the scent surrounding them was the same. Chen Yi intermittently squeezed her wrist, occasionally moving down to squeeze her fingers.

In this tender atmosphere, Ruan Mian gradually relaxed. Her fingertips occasionally poked at his palm. Due to her work, all ten of her fingernails were trimmed round and clean. When she poked, there was only the soft touch of her fingertips.

Chen Yi caught her mischievous fingers. “When do you want to tell your parents about us?”

“I’ve been wanting to tell them.” Ruan Mian turned over to face him. In the dim light, even though they were so close, they couldn’t quite see each other clearly. “But I keep not finding the right opportunity to say it.”

Their relationship had been hidden from both sets of elders from the start, so if they came clean, it might surprise their parents with the speed at which they got together, causing them to doubt this relationship. What’s more, there was still the obstacle of Fang Ruqing.

She suddenly thought of a brilliant idea. “How about you tell first? Once my dad comes to ask me, then I’ll tell him.”

Chen Yi laughed and released her wrist, calmly agreeing: “Alright.”

As he spoke, he was about to turn back to get his phone. Ruan Mian hadn’t expected him to be in such a rush. She hurriedly raised her hand to stop him, muttering: “It’s so late. Why don’t you tell him tomorrow instead?”

“How about this—I’ll go home for dinner tomorrow evening. Want to come with me?” Chen Yi said: “It would also count as making our relationship public.”

“…”

Ruan Mian stopped talking. Chen Yi wasn’t in a hurry either. After waiting quietly for a while, he said again: “Don’t want to go?”

“It’s not that.” She sighed. “I’m nervous.”

Chen Yi squeezed the back of her neck. “Then let’s not go.”

“Really?”

“…” He laughed out loud. Not wanting to force her too much, he said: “Let’s wait until next time. I haven’t mentioned it to them in advance anyway.”

“Oh, then you have to tell me in advance next time too.” Ruan Mian thought for a moment. “Half a year in advance would be good.”

Chen Yi made a couple of sounds and hooked her fingers again to play with them. As if asking casually: “Which friend’s birthday did you celebrate last time?”

“He Zechuan—the one who came to find me in Lorraine before.” Ruan Mian said: “He was my classmate during my repeat year. Later when I went to university, we… mmph.”

Her unfinished words were cut off by Chen Yi with a kiss. His hand stayed at the back of her neck, kneading with just the right pressure. His scalding lips and tongue carried an undeniable force, prying open her teeth, biting bit by bit, bringing a slight stinging sensation.

Ruan Mian whimpered and tried to shrink back, but he hooked her back and kissed her even deeper, their breathing entangled.

After an unknown amount of time, his kisses changed direction, moving down bit by bit, stopping at that stretch of fair neck.

Ruan Mian lost control and clutched at his clothes. As if unable to restrain herself, she called out his name: “Chen Yi…”

This was like an alarm bell.

Chen Yi suddenly snapped out of his daze, lowered his head and buried it in her shoulder, slowly steadying his breathing. His other hand smoothed out the clothes that had gotten rumpled at some point.

Both of them calmed down for a while. After the ambiguous atmosphere from earlier dissipated, Chen Yi got up and went out to drink a glass of water. When he came back, he pulled her into his arms again and said somewhat childishly: “I don’t like hearing you talk about other men.”

Ruan Mian hadn’t yet realized the seriousness of the issue and instinctively retorted: “I’ve known He Zechuan for a long time. We’re just friends—we were before, we are now, and we’ll only ever be that way in the future.”

Her voice hadn’t fully recovered yet and carried some coquettishness, especially alluring.

The romantic thoughts in Chen Yi’s mind began stirring again. He imperceptibly pulled apart the distance between them. “Oh.”

Ruan Mian was completely oblivious and instead rolled back into his arms, changing the subject: “Why didn’t you make a wish tonight?”

“Hm?” Chen Yi moved back again and said lightly: “There’s nothing I want anymore.”

She squeezed closer again. “Nothing at all? Don’t you want things like promotions and wealth?”

“No, people can’t be too greedy.” This time Chen Yi didn’t dodge. He circled her in his arms and said warmly: “After all, I’ve already gotten what I wanted.”

Ruan Mian didn’t react. “What?”

He lowered his head to kiss her ear, his voice pressed very low, the ending carrying a faint smile: “You.”

The next morning, Chen Yi woke up around six o’clock due to his biological clock. It wasn’t the tender scene he had imagined.

—The person who had originally been lying in his arms had somehow rolled to the edge of the bed at some point. Not only that, she had also rolled away most of the blanket, wrapping herself up tightly.

Chen Yi had been frozen awake around four o’clock. He raised his hand to pull back a corner of the blanket, but by morning, only a corner of the blanket was draped over his legs.

He looked with some amusement at the certain someone beside him sleeping completely oblivious to the world. Carefully and gently, he moved her back to the middle of the bed. Only after getting out of bed did he feel somewhat congested, like the prelude to a cold.

Chen Yi was afraid of waking Ruan Mian, so he went to the bathroom outside to wash up. However, unexpectedly, Liang Yiran and Meng Xinglan had gotten up even earlier than him and were sitting in the living room eating breakfast.

Chen Yi walked over. “Why are you up so early? Don’t pregnant women need more sleep?”

“It’s precisely because I’m pregnant that I can’t sleep.” Meng Xinglan had a bit of dark circles under her eyes. “So exhausting—I barely slept all night.”

As she spoke, Liang Yiran peeled another egg and placed it on her plate. “Eat up, then sleep a bit more.”

He looked at Chen Yi. “We bought breakfast for you guys too. Where’s Ruan Mian? Not up yet?”

“Mm, not awake yet.” Chen Yi went into the bathroom. When he came out after washing up, Shen Yu had also come out of the room next door. The four of them sat at the table and ate breakfast together.

After becoming a mother, Meng Xinglan’s thoughts had become much more meticulous. Hearing something off in Chen Yi’s voice, she asked him: “Do you have a cold?”

Chen Yi lowered his head and took a sip of congee. “Probably a bit.”

As if thinking of something, she smiled: “Did Ruan Mian steal the blanket from you?”

He nodded and made an affirming sound.

“I knew it. Last time I slept with her, I spent the entire night wrestling the blanket from her.” Meng Xinglan found it amusing. “I don’t know what kind of habit this is.”

“…”

After the four finished breakfast, Meng Xinglan returned to her room for a nap. The three men cleaned up the garbage and prepared to go out to buy groceries.

Chen Yi remembered something and returned to the bedroom. The person he had moved back to the middle of the bed before getting up had now rolled to the edge again, wrapped in the blanket.

He walked over, squatted by the bed, and called out: “Ruan Mian?”

She didn’t respond to the first call. After calling several more times, there was finally a reaction. Her voice carried endless drowsiness: “…Mm?”

“What do you want to eat for lunch?”

She made another affirming sound.

Chen Yi found it amusing and didn’t disturb her sleep anymore. Before leaving, he still thought about moving her back, but after thinking about it, decided against it.

Let it be.

Later when buying groceries, Chen Yi had Liang Yiran ask Meng Xinglan about Ruan Mian’s preferences. She only mentioned one dish: braised pork ribs.

[Meng Xinglan]: Having this one dish is better than a table full of delicacies.

[Meng Xinglan]: I estimate the taste doesn’t even matter that much. After all, back in school, she could eat the cafeteria’s terrible ribs.

Chen Yi: “…”

After buying groceries and returning, Chen Yi found cold medicine at home and took two pills. Seeing that it was still early, he prepared to go back to the bedroom to sleep a bit more.

Ruan Mian was still sleeping soundly. But because he had raised the air conditioning temperature before leaving, she hadn’t wrapped the blanket too tightly this time. She had just rolled from one side to the side where he had slept last night.

Chen Yi changed into pajamas, lifted a corner of the blanket and lay down. After a while, as if sensing something, she slowly moved into his arms.

He didn’t dare move too much. Combined with feeling somewhat groggy after taking the medicine, he quickly fell asleep.

The room returned to quiet. Outside, the sun rose higher and higher. The thick curtains blocked all the light, and the room remained dark.

The sudden ringing of a phone broke the tranquility.

Ruan Mian was the first to be awakened. She reached out to feel around beside her but didn’t find her phone. Just as she frowned and opened her eyes, Chen Yi had already retrieved the phone from his side and said in a hoarse voice: “Hello.”

There was no sound from the receiver.

Chen Yi took the phone away to look at the caller ID, which showed “Dad.” Before he could react, Ruan Mian had also sat up and leaned over. At this moment, a slow and hesitant voice came through the receiver—

“Mianmian?”

—

**Author’s Note:** Chen Yi: Face the storm 😀

There will be another update later, at the latest before midnight.