When An Ning came out of the shower, she saw Lu Qingze already changed into a set of dark blue loungewear, lying on the bed and looking at his tablet.
Seeing her, Lu Qingze turned off the tablet and placed it on the bedside table, lifting his gaze toward her. “We’re getting our marriage certificate tomorrow morning. Have you taken leave?”
An Ning nodded.
Lu Qingze turned off the bedside lamp and settled back onto his pillow. “Then let’s sleep early.”
“Okay.”
An Ning took small steps forward and lay down on the bed.
With the lights off, darkness enveloped the room. An Ning, who had thought she would fall asleep instantly as usual, found herself unable to sleep at all.
Perhaps it was because she had finally gotten her household register, and after obtaining the marriage certificate tomorrow, she could transfer her household registration out of the An family.
Or perhaps it was because… there was now a man beside her?
An Ning knew that the latter was likely the real reason.
The last time she had slept with someone else was a vague memory from before the age of five.
Back then, she was still in the orphanage, where the children slept side by side on a large shared bed.
Later, after being adopted by the An family, the three of them initially slept on the bed while she slept on the floor.
After they bought a house, although she slept in the storage room, at least she had her own space.
When she went to university and moved into the dormitory, each student had their own bed.
She had never been this close to anyone before.
In the darkness, An Ning bit her lip, feeling an indescribable tension.
But then she thought, starting tomorrow, they would be husband and wife.
Since they were husband and wife, sooner or later they would sleep in the same bed. Just looking at Lu Qingze’s face, she felt she wasn’t at a disadvantage.
Not to mention, he had helped her so much.
Thinking this way, An Ning suddenly felt less nervous.
Her heartbeat gradually steadied, and drowsiness washed over her like a tide. An Ning fell into a deep sleep.
As the girl’s light, even breathing sounded in his ears, Lu Qingze realized he was even more unable to sleep.
The faint scent of magnolia lingering in the air had grown slightly stronger than before.
Without guessing, he knew it was emanating from An Ning.
But from their interactions over the past two days, Lu Qingze knew that An Ning didn’t wear perfume.
Her body wash didn’t smell like magnolia either.
So, it could only be her natural scent.
The awakening sensation in his body surged again, just like last night. In the darkness, Lu Qingze carefully turned over.
To the left—no good.
It pressed against his heart, making the stifling, breathless feeling even more pronounced.
To the right—even worse.
An Ning’s face was right in front of his nose. The fresh minty scent of toothpaste drifted from her breath, gently brushing against his face, making his already restless body even more agitated.
Lying flat on his back, the blanket felt like a heavy iron pressing down on him, making him even more uncomfortable.
In the darkness, Lu Qingze let out a heavy sigh.
“Lu Qingze…”
When An Ning’s murmur sounded in his ear, Lu Qingze’s body tensed.
The next moment, the girl snuggled closer, nestling into his arms, and mumbled dreamily, “Thank you.”
She was in his arms.
He was in her dreams.
Experiencing such a wondrous feeling for the first time in his life, the restlessness within Lu Qingze seemed to be completely soothed by her unconscious murmur.
He tried moving his arm, carefully freeing her long hair tangled around it and placing it on the pillow.
Lu Qingze pulled the blanket over her, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
…
As soon as dawn broke, An Ning woke up.
The moment she opened her eyes, her body froze.
Before her eyes was the pocket on Lu Qingze’s pajama chest. Looking down, she could see him lying properly on his half of the bed.
Meanwhile, she had not only crossed the line but was also resting her head on one of his arms.
Though she prided herself on being a relatively well-behaved sleeper, An Ning never imagined that her first time sharing a bed with someone would reveal such poor sleeping habits.
After lying motionless in silence for a long while and realizing Lu Qingze was still asleep, An Ning gently lifted her head.
What met her eyes was Lu Qingze’s serene sleeping face.
In the faint light of dawn, the man’s deep and tranquil features appeared even more handsome.
In his white shirt, he exuded an air of noble elegance, graceful and composed, like a domineering CEO from an idol drama.
Now, wearing dark-colored pajamas, he retained every bit of that noble composure while also gaining a touch of steadiness.
In short, this was an exceptionally attractive face, one with devastating appeal to women.
Even if he was only her husband in name, just this face alone made her feel like she had struck gold!
Her heart began pounding wildly again. Holding her breath and moving silently, An Ning slipped out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
As the sound of running water echoed, Lu Qingze woke up.
His right arm felt as if it had gone numb, almost immobile.
Yet last night, he had slept better than he had since arriving in Sicheng.
There were no bizarre, monstrous beasts in his dreams, no sudden gunshots, and no sobbing cries.
Instead, the faint scent of magnolia blossoms lingered at the tip of his nose, as if he were in a sunlit garden, bathed from beginning to end in the warm, gentle glow of sunlight overhead.
So much so that the moment he opened his eyes, every cell in his body seemed to cheer with delight.
It was the feeling of waking up naturally, a sensation he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
As his vision and thoughts gradually returned, Lu Qingze flexed his arm and sat up, just in time to see An Ning tiptoeing out of the bathroom.
Their eyes met, and both froze for a moment.
An Ning thought of the intimate embrace she had woken up to.
Lu Qingze recalled the magnolia fragrance from his dream.
Both felt somewhat awkward, with Lu Qingze’s discomfort being more apparent.
The moment he saw An Ning, his body once again stirred with the restless heat he had felt before waking.
“Good morning…”
Unaware, An Ning smiled and greeted him calmly, then pulled open the door and went downstairs with an unruffled demeanor.
The room fell quiet. Lu Qingze let out a long sigh and covered his eyes with his hand.
A moment later, he entered the bathroom with a hint of frustration in his gaze.
By the time he went downstairs, An Ning had already prepared breakfast.
The aroma of the meal wafted from the dining room into the living room, but even more heartwarming than the scent was the harmonious conversation between the old and the young.
“Grandma, I can make so many delicious dishes. I’ll cook all sorts of things for you from now on! But for these few days, we’ll have to stick to light meals. Trust me, in a week—at most a week—your eyes will definitely see more clearly than they do today.”
“Alright. I trust you…”
“Grandma, do you like Huangmei opera? There’s a performance at the Grand Theater tomorrow, and I happen to have some work there. How about I take you to listen to the opera?”
“Huangmei opera? I love listening to Huangmei opera the most…”
Lu Qingze couldn’t remember the last time he had heard his grandmother sound so happy.
Grandfather passed away.
Uncle’s family moved abroad.
After his mother’s death, his father married that woman.
At some point, his grandmother had become sullen and unhappy.
Not long after, she developed an eye condition.
Unable to see clearly, his mood grew even worse, spending each day either criticizing this person or scolding that one, leaving the servants trembling in fear.
For a long time, the Lu Jia Laozhai in Didu was eerily quiet, devoid of any lively atmosphere.
But this morning, Lu Qingze felt as if he had returned to his childhood.
Back then, his grandfather was still strong and healthy, spending each day drinking tea, reading books, and practicing calligraphy with his grandmother.
His mother was still alive, too.
From morning till night, the Lu Jia Laozhai was filled with laughter and joy.
Yet such happiness had already become a thing of the past ten years ago.
“Aze…”
When the call sounded before him, Lu Qingze snapped back to reality.
After greeting his grandmother, Lu Qingze turned his gentle gaze toward An Ning. “An’an, after breakfast, let’s go get our marriage certificate.”