Unlike the world of memories, where eternal and oppressive clouds always loomed, in this world, the sunlight arrived on time.
Yet, the man and woman lying on the bed with the curtains drawn had no intention of enjoying this morning sun, still lingering in bed.
Never mind what Jiang Cheng was like.
At least, Jiang Lingwei truly had a restful sleep this time.
When it came to helping her sleep, Jiang Cheng was far more effective than any lullaby or ASMR streamer.
As someone who usually found it hard to sleep with another person nearby, Jiang Lingwei was surprised to discover that sleeping close to Jiang Cheng was even more peaceful than sleeping alone.
The effect of restoring her fatigue was top-notch as well.
Opening her eyes and lying in the crook of the man’s arm, feeling the warmth radiating from him, Jiang Lingwei thought to herself:
(Another good sleep…)
(Is there no such thing as a Jiang Cheng brand pillow… Or is it not about the person, just something like pheromones?)
To be honest, Jiang Cheng didn’t have much of a body scent. If anything, only by getting really close could she faintly catch a whiff of shampoo or something similar.
There was also something else about him Jiang Lingwei couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Anyway, it wasn’t some mystical magic—saying he had a particular scent didn’t really capture it either. It just gave her a sense of peace.
After all, they even had a child now. Jiang Lingwei couldn’t help but wonder if it was because she and Jiang Cheng used to always sleep together.
Maybe their bodies had long since gotten used to each other…
At the very least, it couldn’t have been like this the first time they met.
(Does that mean I’ve been conditioned…? Pah, pah, pah!)
Thinking like that was just too weird.
(Whatever the past was, right now we’re just ordinary friends! We just happened to have gotten a bit closer over two months!)
(Hmm… Maybe I should sneak a few of Chengzi’s shirts into my pillowcase? Maybe it’ll have a similar effect.)
(Wait, what am I even thinking again!)
Ashamed by her own sudden thought, Jiang Lingwei closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself.
But instead, she inhaled even more of Jiang Cheng’s “scent”, making it even harder for her to bear.
(Let me see, what time is it now…?)
Opening her eyes again, she found that, in this position, she was more or less face-to-face with Jiang Cheng.
Only, due to their height difference, she could only reach Jiang Cheng’s neck.
If she didn’t move her head, she’d have to lift it a little to see. Right now, the man’s eyes were closed as he breathed steadily.
(No way to get my phone without waking him… Forget it.)
They were still in exactly the same position as when they fell asleep last night; nothing had changed.
Seeing Jiang Cheng like this, Jiang Lingwei could tell he was truly exhausted.
Last night, her intention had been to show Jiang Cheng the crack in her magic core to see if it had gotten any smaller, and then discuss her plans for the future with him.
Since she’d gone back on her decision to retire early, she had to tell her family.
But who would’ve thought that, upon holding the gemstone, Jiang Cheng would suddenly go blank for a few seconds, then toss the magic core aside and blurt out “I love you” before pulling her into a fierce hug.
Just thinking back to what happened last night made Jiang Lingwei’s heart pound.
When Jiang Cheng hugged her last night, her mind nearly went completely blank—far more overwhelming than what she was feeling now.
Her stubborn mouth was one thing, but the happiness and pink bubbles suddenly bubbling up in her heart couldn’t be faked.
Good grief, being hugged by Jiang Cheng was even more devastating than a confession.
What’s more, this was a combo move: confession + hug. Jiang Lingwei was defeated in an instant.
Just how close were she and Jiang Cheng in the past!
Now that she calmed down and thought about it, could it be that, at that moment, Jiang Cheng had seen an illusion of her dying or something? Otherwise, why would he react so strongly?
Whatever it was, after what happened, Jiang Cheng clearly needed a good rest.
That’s exactly what Jiang Lingwei had let him do last night.
Was Jiang Lingwei curious? Of course she was. For Jiang Cheng to act like that, he must’ve seen something related to her, or heard some voice connected to her.
There was also a tiny possibility that he’d simply lost it.
But based on her experience these past days, Jiang Cheng wasn’t the type to suddenly go crazy.
Most likely, it was still about her.
However, last night, Jiang Cheng was clearly in no state to talk about what had happened, and making him struggle to recall it would’ve been too cruel.
So, Jiang Lingwei decisively chose to comfort him first.
She didn’t even care about the magic core being tossed aside for the moment.
It was probably still lying somewhere on the carpet in the room.
Fortunately, the gemstone on the magic core wasn’t a real gem; it wouldn’t break easily, and the carpet was soft enough. Even a regular gemstone necklace wouldn’t get damaged falling on it.
Let it lie there, then.
Don’t ask—her old man taught her this.
The magic core wasn’t important; the magical girl was.
(It’s not like it’ll get lost. Let it stay there—don’t get in the way of me comforting my man.)
(Wait, wait, stop! What am I even thinking!)
Clearing her head of these messy thoughts, Jiang Lingwei looked at Jiang Cheng’s tightly shut eyes and sighed inwardly.
(Looks like it’s something serious.)
In the past, it was always her waking up sprawled on Jiang Cheng’s arm, or lying across his stomach, then seeing the already-awake Jiang Cheng and hurriedly scooting away after tossing out a quick “good morning” or something like that.
As for the guest room? After sleeping—sleep!ing!together! several times with Jiang Cheng, Jiang Lingwei had long tossed that idea aside.
Privately, she really couldn’t give up this feeling of peaceful sleep.
Jiang Cheng never made any improper moves, so as ordinary friends, what was wrong with sleeping together? Even Lord Liu used to sleep foot-to-foot with his sworn brothers back in the day.
But today was truly unprecedented: she’d woken up while Jiang Cheng was still asleep—a sign of how mentally exhausted he was.
Let him sleep a little longer.
Afraid to move too much, Jiang Lingwei tried her best to maintain her previous position under the blanket.
Sometimes, though, it’s fine to stay still while asleep, but as soon as you wake up, even a slight change in position makes it much harder to keep pretending to sleep.
Worse yet, even aside from the effort, the key problem was that her arm was starting to go numb and her posture was awkward.
Shifting a bit, Jiang Lingwei had no choice but to nudge her legs forward—toward Jiang Cheng’s direction.
Mm.
Feeling something at her leg, the man’s breathing grew heavier in his sleep, and his eyebrows knit together a little.
“!”
Holding her breath, Jiang Lingwei froze for a few seconds.
Jiang Cheng didn’t wake up. “Phew…”
Letting out a long breath, she resumed subtly shifting herself into a more comfortable position.
Her legs were easier; she just had to move them closer to Jiang Cheng. The upper body, though, was trickier.
Compared to her transformed self, her upper body now was even more cumbersome, always dragging or bumping into things when she moved.
It made her wish those two things in front could shrink by several times.
At least to something like Aurora’s size—just an ordinary girl’s, so they wouldn’t stand out so much or be this embarrassing.
Since she couldn’t move her upper body much, she could only compensate elsewhere.
So, Jiang Lingwei gradually moved her legs even closer to Jiang Cheng, trying to find a new position.
Bit by bit, she eventually touched something warm.
(Must be his leg.)
She tried to sense it, but it felt kind of odd.
(Wait, something’s off.)
Driven by curiosity, Jiang Lingwei couldn’t help but nudge a little higher.
(This feeling…)
(Hiss…)
(Could it be again?!) Like a racehorse girl startled by a stranger suddenly grabbing her leg from behind, Jiang Lingwei, surprised by Jiang Cheng’s natural morning reaction, reflexively kicked her calf.
“Aiya!”
Poor Jiang Cheng, who was already lying near the edge of the bed, tumbled out of the blanket with a miserable cry and rolled onto the floor, curling his strong body up like a big shrimp, gasping sharply.
“Chengzi!”
Realizing her mistake, Jiang Lingwei shouted his name and hurried to the edge of the bed. She peered down to see Jiang Cheng lying on the floor, clutching his philtrum and sucking in breath after breath.
“Uh…”
Unable to meet those resentful eyes, she looked away guiltily.
“Xiao Wei…”
Jiang Cheng called to her.
“Eep.” Feeling guilty, Jiang Lingwei’s eyes wandered to every corner of the room except Jiang Cheng, and she scratched her cheek:
“Can we call a truce?”
“Right now… Are you kidding me?”
“I was wrong! I’m sorry!”
(Scene change)
Shen He, will this version do? QAQ