She had just told him to take off only his outer jacket, hadn’t she?

“Ready to go wash up?” The man extended his arms toward her.

Yan Yunning’s throat tightened. She kept her gaze fixed as steadily as she could on his face, shuffled over to the side of the bed, and half-supported Xuan Yanyu as he stood. It suddenly occurred to her that there were no pajamas — no change of clothes for him at all. It was so late that she couldn’t very well go disturb her brothers.

Her own bath towel wouldn’t be much use to Xuan Yanyu either. She certainly couldn’t ask him to…

Xuan Yanyu looked at Yan Yunning strangely. “Ningning, why aren’t you moving?”

“Moving, moving, moving.” Yan Yunning supported Xuan Yanyu as they walked into the bathroom.

When they reached the bathtub, the man stopped. He leaned against Yan Yunning from behind, and in a hazy, intoxicated voice said, “Together.”

Feeling the burning warmth radiating from his body against her back, Yan Yunning stood stiff and motionless, her voice trembling. “That’s not what you said a moment ago.”

The man pressed docilely against her back, his arms looping around her waist, his eyes glazed and unfocused. “I forgot.”

Yan Yunning: “……”

In the end, not wanting to keep dragging it out, Yan Yunning gave in and climbed into the bathtub with him.

“Let’s just rest here for the night, shall we?”

Yan Yunning: “……”

Who sleeps in a bathtub?

The man furrowed his brow. “Ningning, I’m uncomfortable.”

Yan Yunning assumed he was about to be sick and her head swam.

Xuan Yanyu said in a muffled mutter, “What do I do? Ningning, help me think of something.”

“What?” Seeing that he showed no signs of being sick, Yan Yunning let out the breath she had been holding.

Xuan Yanyu took Yan Yunning’s hand and slowly guided it downward.

Yan Yunning let out a startled sound, the tips of her ears burning scarlet, and could not manage a single word for a long time.

One hour later.

The man lounged lazily against the bathtub, looking thoroughly content. Yan Yunning shook out her aching arm, her voice drained of energy. “Can we go rest now?”

Xuan Yanyu, still barely more sober than before, shook his head. “I haven’t washed my face or brushed my teeth yet.”

Yan Yunning exhaled. It was nearly dawn anyway — might as well just wash up in the morning.

“Help me wash my face.” The man suddenly leaned in close to Yan Yunning and kissed her slightly parted lips. “That’s your reward.”

Yan Yunning: “……”

There was no helping it. Faced with Xuan Yanyu’s pitiful, misty-eyed gaze, Yan Yunning resigned herself once more and wrapped a bath towel around him properly.

She changed into her own pajamas, took out a disposable toothbrush, squeezed toothpaste onto it, and handed it to him. “Brush your teeth yourself.”

The man looked at her and murmured quietly, “No reward?”

Yan Yunning moved her lips but had no idea what to say. He was brushing his own teeth — what reward could he possibly be asking for?

After a moment, Xuan Yanyu continued to look at her with that same stubborn gaze. Yan Yunning gave in helplessly, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the side of his face. “There. Satisfied?”

The man slowly furrowed his brow. “Your tone was off.”

Yan Yunning balled up her fist, then curved her lips into a lovely smile. “Satisfied?”

Xuan Yanyu’s brow furrowed even deeper. “You don’t mean it.”

“……” Yan Yunning drew in a long, deep breath.

He wasn’t being difficult, he wasn’t getting sick — he was purely tormenting her.

“Your tone was off, so I’m not brushing.” He dropped the toothbrush into the cup.

“Fine, then don’t brush. Go rest.”

Xuan Yanyu tilted his head and stared at the toothbrush in the cup. He gave a faint shake of his head. “I haven’t brushed my teeth. I can’t go rest.”

Yan Yunning: “……!!!”

“You still haven’t washed my face.” The man said, perfectly serious.

“I’m done waiting on you.” Yan Yunning threw the towel at him, stomped out of the bathroom in a huff, and flopped down on the bed.

Xuan Yanyu pulled the towel off his face, then padded silently after Yan Yunning. He didn’t climb into bed — instead, he crouched pitifully at the bedside.

Yan Yunning: “……”

Next time anyone let Xuan Yanyu get this drunk, she was genuinely going to fight them.

Unable to resist that pair of foggy, mist-filled eyes peering at her from the edge of the bed, Yan Yunning threw back the thin blanket and got up. “Come on, come on, come on. Let’s go wash your face and brush your teeth.”

Xuan Yanyu crouched there without moving.

Yan Yunning went over and took his hand, half-dragging him back into the bathroom. She had him sit properly on the chair, then took the towel out of his hands, dampened it, and carefully wiped his face clean bit by bit.

“Ningning.” Xuan Yanyu placed his large palm against Yan Yunning’s lower abdomen, the corners of his lips curling up faintly. “Do you think our baby will learn to say ‘Mama’ or ‘Baba’ first?”

Yan Yunning’s mouth twitched. “Isn’t it possible that whichever word you teach the baby first is the one they’ll say first?”

“That puts me in a bit of a spot.”

Yan Yunning: “……”

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind.” Yan Yunning set the towel down and handed him the toothbrush.

Xuan Yanyu suddenly reached out and pulled her into a tight embrace, letting out a low laugh. “Then I won’t mind either.”

Yan Yunning: “……”

“Sleepy.” The man pressed his cheek against Yan Yunning’s clothes, his eyes drifting half-shut.

Yan Yunning raised an eyebrow. “Don’t want to brush your teeth anymore?”

Xuan Yanyu gave a firm nod. “I do.”

“Then hurry up and brush. Leave it much longer and it’ll be dawn.”

The man looked up at her. Yan Yunning leaned down and kissed him lightly on the forehead. “Good boy. Go brush.”

The corners of Xuan Yanyu’s mouth lifted, and he gave a compliant nod.

“Here, take this and go brush.” Yan Yunning placed the toothbrush and the cup in Xuan Yanyu’s hands.

The man pressed his lips together lightly. “I want to change into pajamas. The bath towel is uncomfortable.”

Yan Yunning tilted one eye upward. “Alright. You go brush your teeth first; I’ll go find you something.”

“Okay.”

Seeing Xuan Yanyu finally brushing his teeth like a good boy, Yan Yunning turned and went back to the bedroom, opened the wardrobe, and rummaged through until she picked out a pink bunny-print nightgown that, on her, would be oversized.

It had an elastic waistband — it should at least be an improvement on the bath towel.

Five minutes later, Xuan Yanyu walked out of the bathroom and dropped the bath towel in one swift motion. Yan Yunning looked away, cleared her throat, and tossed the pajamas in her hand to him. “Put these on.”

The man looked at the pajamas Yan Yunning had thrown into his hands with distaste. “I don’t like these.”

“Then pick something yourself.” Yan Yunning pointed at the wardrobe.

Xuan Yanyu nodded. “Okay.”

Yan Yunning rubbed at her reddened cheeks, scurried over to the bed, kicked off her slippers, yanked the thin blanket over herself, and pulled it right up over her head.

“Ningning.” Xuan Yanyu said in a disappointed voice. “I don’t think any of these suit me. I want my obsidian black silk-velvet pajamas — much more comfortable.”

“……” Yan Yunning yanked the blanket off her face with a sudden jerk, and her gaze accidentally landed somewhere it shouldn’t. She looked away immediately, her voice catching. “Can you make do for one night? It’ll practically be morning anyway. Have Ye Jian bring some over later.”

“I can’t make do. I’d also be fine with my navy blue ice-silk pajamas.”

Yan Yunning: “……”

First it was the color, now it was the fabric.

Xuan Yanyu tilted his head slightly, his long lashes blinking once. “Ningning, have you seen my phone?”

Yan Yunning saw straight through him in an instant. “You want to have Ye Jian bring you pajamas?”

The man nodded. “Mm.”

Yan Yunning stared at him. “It’s four in the morning — you want someone to bring you pajamas?”

Xuan Yanyu looked at her in genuine bewilderment. “Is that not allowed?”

“Of course it’s not allowed. He’d have every right to complain.” Yan Yunning beckoned to him. “Weren’t you just sleepy? Come over here and rest.”