Сhарter 19: Did You… Give Ме a Little Wоoden Вird Веfоrе?
Shеn Zuihuan аskеd сuriouslу, “Why сan’t yоu slеeр?”
“…” Gu Chаngсе.
Hе hаd originаllу wаntеd tо sау that if shе cоuldn’t slеep, she cоuld talk tо him cаsuаllу.
Аfter all, Shеn Zuihuan had just lоst hеr mеmоry аnd had сried so рitifullу in hеr slееp еarlier.
Hе wаs аfrаid shе might be feeling sаd.
Вut Shеn Zuihuan’s rеspоnse abruрtlу сut оff the words hе wаs about tо say.
Не sоftlу reрliеd, “Mm.”
And then fell silent.
For a mоment, nеithеr sроkе, and thе room was sо quiet уou сould hеar a pin drop.
Not long after, Shen Zuihuan heard Gu Changce’s breathing gradually become steady and soft.
…It seemed he had fallen asleep.
Only then did Shen Zuihuan let out a soft sigh.
Truthfully, she really couldn’t sleep, but considering Gu Changce had been busy all day, she couldn’t bear to keep him up with her at night.
She opened her beautiful, dewy eyes wide.
Staring blankly at the pale blue canopy above her.
Suddenly, she remembered the man in her dream curling his injured fingers.
Her heart trembled, and she suddenly wanted to see the little wooden bird Gu Changce had once given her again.
She felt a pang of regret—why had she thrown it away in her dream!
Shen Zuihuan couldn’t sleep.
Her eyes opened and closed.
In the darkness, she quietly lifted her fair, delicate hand and rubbed her slightly sore brow.
Suddenly, a vague, fragmented image flashed through her mind.
In the image, “she” had picked up the broken little wooden bird that had been tossed aside like trash after Gu Changce left.
Crying, she placed it into an ordinary black lacquered wooden box.
The background of that box seemed to be the very room they were sleeping in now.
Shen Zuihuan’s hands, resting on her forehead, suddenly froze.
She quietly sat up from the bed.
Squinting her eyes, she scanned the surroundings by the faint, silvery moonlight streaming through the window.
But she didn’t find any black lacquered box in the room.
Shen Zuihuan grew anxious. She desperately wanted to know whether she had actually thrown the little wooden bird away back then.
Distracted, her fingers brushed against the warm fingertips of the man beside her.
The next moment, his large hand turned over and covered her delicate hand.
She froze for a second, lowering her eyes.
She saw that Gu Changce had already opened his dark eyes.
His gaze met hers.
He then subtly moved his hand away.
Shen Zuihuan’s face flushed red, and she asked somewhat sheepishly, “…I’m sorry, did I wake you?”
Gu Changce’s eyes flickered, and his thin lips parted slightly. “…I wasn’t asleep earlier.”
How could he possibly sleep with Shen Zuihuan lying beside him?
“…” Shen Zuihuan.
Well, now she felt even more embarrassed.
Shen Zuihuan had thought her earlier movements were too loud, disturbing the man beside her from sleeping.
She quickly lay back down, pulling the brocade quilt up until it covered the lower half of her face.
Only her lively eyes remained visible as she stared straight at him.
This woman, though already twenty-one, spoke in the coquettish tone unique to a fourteen-year-old girl.
Muffled by the quilt, she said to him, “I won’t move around anymore. Let’s sleep now.”
Her hair had become slightly messy and loose from her earlier fidgeting.
It clung to her flushed temples and cheeks.”……”
Gu Changce fell silent, feeling as if a great fire were burning within him.
He subtly shifted his gloomy gaze away, looking out the window instead.
He cleared his throat and asked softly, “…Were you looking for something just now?”
Shen Zuihuan quickly replied, “I can look for it myself tomorrow. You should go to sleep now; you have duty tomorrow.”
He lowered his eyes to look at her and said gently, “It’s fine. Tomorrow is my day off.”
As he spoke, he stepped barefoot out of bed and lit the two Palace Lanterns placed by the moon gate.
Instantly, the room was filled with a dim, yellowish light.
He turned around to face her.
Shen Zuihuan could clearly see the faint shadows cast by his two rows of dark eyelashes in his eyes.
Gu Changce said, “Since neither of us can sleep, we might as well look for it tonight.”
Seeing that he had already lit the lanterns, Shen Zuihuan found the words of refusal stuck in her throat, unable to come out no matter how hard she tried.
She sat up, feeling somewhat nervous, her fingers continuously twisting the brocade quilt.
After a long moment of hesitation, she finally asked, “…Gu Changce, did you… give me a little wooden bird before?”
Hearing this, Gu Changce’s fingers hidden under his inner sleeve trembled slightly.
He remained silent.
Shen Zuihuan thought she hadn’t expressed herself clearly.
She stretched out both small hands, gesturing continuously, “It’s the kind of bird carved from wood, the kind that moves when you press its tail…”
“I don’t remember.”
She was anxious to explain, but before she could finish, the man before her coldly interrupted.
Gu Changce looked at her with dark eyes, his moist thin lips parting slightly.
He said, “…It’s been so long, and it was just a useless little trinket. I don’t remember anymore.”
Shen Zuihuan was taken aback.
She looked at him, but Gu Changce deliberately averted his gaze.
He turned away, his expression hidden in the dim light.
Shen Zuihuan couldn’t see his expression clearly, nor could she understand what he was thinking.
She murmured somewhat hesitantly, “…It’s fine if you don’t remember. Once I find it, you might remember…”
Gu Changce didn’t respond.
But in his heart, he thought that the thing was probably lost for good.
Most likely, after it was broken, the maids had cleaned it up and thrown it away somewhere.
He pressed his lips together.
Then he looked at the woman on the bed, her eyes filled with hidden longing.
He sighed helplessly and was about to say, “I’ll make you a new one in a while.”
But in a while, once Shen Zuihuan fully regained her memory, whether she would still want it was unknown.
Before he could say this, he saw Shen Zuihuan had already put on her socks.
She got down from the bed and ran over to him with quick steps.
She stood still, lifting a face so tender it seemed as if water could be squeezed from it.
With curved brows and smiling eyes, she said to him, “Gu Changce, believe me, I will definitely find it.”