Chapter 12: Bedtime Whispers

As the letters sped across the television screen, the film officially came to an end.

At that moment, Yang Mo let out a big yawn.

Come to think of it, it really was time for bed now.

Qianling suddenly thought of another question.

Do I need to sleep? Or rather… am I even able to sleep?

Before she could figure it out, Yang Mo pulled her up by the hand.

“Qianling… let’s go to sleep.”

Her voice was heavy with drowsiness.

“If we’re just going to sleep, why are you holding my hand?”

Qianling couldn’t help but wonder if Yang Mo had decided something on her own again.

Yang Mo yawned again, turned her head, and answered, “Of course, it’s to bring you back to the room with me.”

I knew it…

Qianling’s intuition was spot on.

She said, “No need, I’ll just sleep on the sofa.”

“Huh? Qianling, don’t tell me you’re planning to secretly watch TV all night behind my back?”

“No, do you think I’m a little kid!”

Although, to be fair, Qianling had actually considered it.

Yang Mo shook Qianling’s hand gently from side to side. “Then why not just sleep with me…”

“I should be asking you why you just assume I’ll sleep with you. Even if I promised to keep you company, people still need to maintain a certain amount of personal space.”

“Personal space…?”

Yang Mo tilted her head in confusion. Qianling had no choice but to explain: “It’s about keeping some distance, like earlier in the bathroom…”

Thinking back on what happened, Qianling suddenly panicked.

“That is, um… how should I put it, don’t you think we’re a bit too close?!”

Sadly, her thoughts didn’t get across to Yang Mo. Yang Mo just replied, “I’m really sorry about earlier… Qianling, please don’t be mad, okay?”

“That’s not what I meant!”

“Then sleep with me!”

Before they knew it, their conversation circled right back to where it started, and immediately, a second round of back-and-forth began between the two of them.

“No way, I’m sleeping on the sofa.”

“But the sofa’s not comfortable at all.”

“I can deal with it.”

“Remember when I picked you up from the Recycling Center? Even if your lifesaver is making a request, you still won’t agree?”

“Nope, that’s a separate matter.”

All of Yang Mo’s attempts fell flat.

In the end, she could only clutch Qianling’s hand with teary eyes and say, “How could you… Do you really hate me, Qianling?”

“Uh…”

This move actually worked.

Staring at Qianling with such a pitiful, innocent gaze, Yang Mo shook her to the core.

So unfair! Even if she’s faking it, I just can’t bear to keep refusing!

“Alright, fine, I’ll sleep with you.”

She couldn’t help but sigh, then raised a finger to warn Yang Mo about something.

“But I’ll say this up front—I toss and turn in my sleep a lot. You sure you’re okay with that?”

“No problem! Let’s go!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yang Mo impatiently pulled Qianling toward the stairs.

“Wait, I haven’t grabbed my pajamas yet!”

“Oh, right…”

After a bit of back-and-forth, the two finally made it to Yang Mo’s room.

The moment Qianling entered, she noticed there was an extra pillow on the bed compared to last time.

She planned this all along…

Her feelings were complicated.

She couldn’t believe she’d been tricked by Yang Mo so easily, and not just this time—it felt like she’d been led by the nose all day.

Anyway, all she could do now was try to stay calm.

Yang Mo sat on the bed before Qianling and patted the spot next to her when she saw Qianling still standing by the door.

But instead of sitting down, Qianling gave a little hop and sprawled out on the bed without a hint of restraint.

So comfy.

This mattress was softer than the one in the Hospital, and naturally, nothing like the sofa or the broken cabinet.

Qianling was starting to think coming here wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

Yang Mo looked at Qianling, who had stretched out on the bed in the most relaxed pose, and Qianling happened to glance back at Yang Mo. The two smiled at each other at the same time.

Afterward, they pulled up the covers and turned out the lights. It was finally time to sleep.

Qianling lay on her back, staring blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling above, while Yang Mo lay on her side, facing Qianling.

With them lying so close, Qianling felt as if she could smell a unique fragrance from Yang Mo’s hair.

But we’re supposed to use the same shampoo…

It was odd.

Just then, Yang Mo whispered in Qianling’s ear, “Qianling, can I borrow your arm?”

“Do as you like.”

“Qianling, you’re so gentle. I wish my sister could be this nice to me too.”

“You, stop badmouthing your sister every chance you get.”

Hearing that, Yang Mo stifled a giggle.

Qianling actually felt a bit sorry for Yang Xia. Still, the reason she agreed so quickly to Yang Mo’s request was simply that it seemed trivial compared to sleeping together.

So Yang Mo hugged Qianling’s arm just like she would a Teddy Bear.

So this is what she wanted to do.

Qianling couldn’t help but want to laugh wryly.

If she’d picked up a stray animal instead of me, she’d probably hug it like a toy, too.

Thinking of that, she realized there was one thing she’d never asked Yang Mo.

That was—

“By the way, Yang Mo, why did you pick me up in the first place? No one would want big trash like me, right?”

“Qianling isn’t trash at all… Listen carefully, okay?” Yang Mo, who was already half-asleep, perked up and began telling Qianling the story.

“That Recycling Center is on my way home from school. Every time I pass by, I can see piles of junk appliances through the wire fence.”

“But today, when I went there, I saw a doll sitting on top of the junk mountain. That was you, Qianling.”

“I was really curious—why would such a pretty doll get thrown away? But right then, your eyes lit up, and you reached out to me.”

“I thought, Qianling must have been abandoned by her former owner and left all alone in a place like that. She must have felt really, really lonely. So I asked the Uncle and Auntie at the Recycling Center to help me bring you home.”

“I never expected you’d actually wake up after that, so I thought… this must be fate. Being able to meet Qianling… I’m so glad.”

Yang Mo’s words left Qianling silent for a long time.

So it wasn’t Yang Mo who was yearning for me to appear. Maybe it was me, yearning to meet Yang Mo.

Perhaps it was my obsession that let me act in that moment, despite everything.

Now she finally understood why Yang Mo was so insistent on keeping her.

Being able to meet me… really is wonderful…?

“I think so too.”

As soon as she spoke her mind, she realized that only steady breathing came from beside her.

Yang Mo had fallen asleep right after finishing, leaving Qianling alone to murmur in the darkness.

“Goodnight.”

Qianling gently closed her eyes as well.

Tonight, there was no rain, no voices, and no noisy beeping from a monitor—maybe now, she could finally get a good night’s sleep.