Yan Mu lay in bed, straining her ears to listen for any movement outside. Unfortunately, with the ear-splitting sound of rain mixed with the rumbling thunder, she couldn’t hear anything.
But Yu Yuan and I are just a wall away, how can I let go of such a great opportunity to steal a kiss! Thinking of this, Yan Mu gathered up her courage and made up her mind.
She lifted off her quilt, stood on tiptoes, and fumbled to push open the door.
She was afraid of waking Yu Yuan, so she didn’t dare light up a candle. Still, she had night blindness and couldn’t see, so she could only rely on her intuition. Unfortunately, this body’s sense of direction was really too poor. It was just a small space, but Yan Mu estimated that she had already been walking for five minutes and still hadn’t reached the table where Yu Yuan was sleeping.
I must kiss Yu Yuan tonight! Yan Mu was a little anxious and she subconsciously quickened her pace.
In the darkness, her injured leg hit something with a “thud”.
“Ouch!” Yan Mu jumped in pain, but fell straight to the ground due to her clumsiness.
Yan Mu’s face scrunched up in pain, and even her body was shaking. She covered her mouth with teary eyes, trying to stop the groan that came out of her mouth.
I wonder if this night blindness will get better after kissing Yu Yuan. Yan Mu took some time to recover before she felt the bone-piercing pain gradually dissipate.
After falling down once, she was much more cautious. She even reached out her hands to feel the things around her as she got up. She seemed to touch something that felt like the corner of a table.
Table? There’s only one table in the house, so this must be the table that Yu Yuan is sleeping on!
Yan Mu’s heart suddenly lept. She used the corner of the table as support and shakily stood up.
She couldn’t see the situation clearly, so she could only rely on her hands to feel around.
First, she felt soft cotton cloth, followed by slightly rough skin. Yan Mu’s eyes lit up as she carefully concentrated on the tactile sensations at her fingertips.
Oh, the bones are well defined and the fingers are all long and slender. Seems like I’ve touched Yu Yuan’s hand.
Yan Mu let out a light sigh and moved towards the direction of Yu Yuan’s head. Her small hands fumbled their ways up, sliding all the way over the teenager’s sturdy arm, lean shoulder and slender neck, stopping at Yu Yuan’s sharp chin.
Yan Mu still felt a little shy thinking of Yu Yuan’s face that was a hundred percent in line with her aesthetic taste.
But as soon as she remembered that a kiss would replenish her lifespan for a month, she threw that little shyness in her heart far far away. She took a deep breath and was about to lower her head to get it over with.
Who could have known that before she could lower her head, her finger on the teenager’s chin would be lightly grasped.
Yan Mu almost jumped in shock. She didn’t expect Yu Yuan to suddenly wake up so her entire body froze.
“What are you trying to do?” Yu Yuan’s voice suddenly rang out in the darkness. His tone was calm, but it sounded like Wuchang[1] demanding her life.
This is the second time I’ve been caught red handed, Yu Yuan shouldn’t have figured out my intentions, right? Yan Mu’s expression looked bitter and aggrieved, on the verge of tears.
Yu Yuan looked straight at Yan Mu. Actually, he hadn’t been asleep.
He normally slept in the woodshed, so he was a little unused to suddenly sleeping on soft and fragrant bedding. Furthermore, once he thought about the bedding being Yan Mu’s, his heart felt somewhat uncomfortable.
He indifferently watched Yan Mu sneak out, then wander around like a headless chicken, blankly watching her fall down, and callously watching her…… touch him.
There’s something strange about this feeling.
His mother rarely touched him, and she had always looked at him with a mixture of love and hate, as if through him she hated something from a distant time and space. As for Hunter Zhang, he would only always beat him with the bamboo pole for no reason, let alone touch him.
Only Yan Mu. Only she would touch me so gently.
Yu Yuan found it novel and unique.
The wind was howling, and one of the windows wasn’t closed properly, creaking and groaning as the wind slammed it against the wall. Lightning cut through the sky and Yan Mu used the momentary flash to see Yu Yuan’s expression clearly.
As always, he was cold without any obvious emotions on his face.
Yu Yuan always kept his inner thoughts well hidden. This made Yan Mu even more nervous.
A sudden clap of thunder boomed from the sky unexpectedly[2], and the deafening sound seemed to make the world tremble. A light bulb went on in Yan Mu’s head and she stammered, “I’m afraid of thunder.”
After speaking, she guiltily[3] lowered her head like an ostrich burying its head in the sand. Yan Mu’s mind was in a mess as she didn’t hear Yu Yuan’s reply after a long time.
“……Yu Yuan?” Yan Mu wanted to see his expression so she subconsciously looked up, but forgot that she had night blindness, so she could only see a black mass.
Yu Yuan pursed his lips and didn’t speak. He remembered the way Yan Mu cowered and shivered at the sound of thunder when she went out to find him before dinner.
“……So, what did you come over to me for?” Yu Yuan, whose face was not visible, continued to stiffly ask.
“I…… I wanted to talk to you.” Yan Mu was frozen at first, then whispered.
Yu Yuan took a glance at Yan Mu’s pale complexion and frail body, his expression slightly softened, but his tone was still stiff, “It’s very late now, you should go to bed.”
At these words, the young girl in front of him hung her head.
Yu Yuan couldn’t help but think of Hunter Zhang’s hunting dog. As far as he could remember, after being bullied by Zhang Goudan, that hunting dog also had that same pitiful and aggrieved look.
Thinking of this, Yu Yuan couldn’t help but take a few more glances at Yan Mu. As expected, they were exactly the same.
If Yan Mu wasn’t night blind right now and could see Yu Yuan’s strange expression as he tried not to laugh, she would surely shout “OOC”[4]. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see it. Not only could she not see it, but she was also panicking from his response.
Does Yu Yuan believe me or not? Yan Mu pondered deeply for a long time but still couldn’t figure out Yu Yuan’s attitude towards her.
“…… Why would you want to find me?” Yu Yuan was puzzled.
He felt a little strange inside. It was like during the first melting of ice and snow, there was a bud struggling to break out from the frozen ground.
However, this feeling instantly vanished when he heard the young girl’s reply.
“Because my father’s away during the day, and I don’t know anyone else in the village except you.” Yan Mu said while twiddling her fingers with her head down.
“…… No.” Yu Yuan paused, then expressionlessly refused.
A sense of irritation surged up in his heart for no apparent reason. He curled himself tightly into a ball and turned around with his back facing Yan Mu.
Although Yu Yuan turned around without speaking, Yan Mu clearly understood what he meant—— ‘I’m going to sleep, don’t bother me.’
“Then, then I’ll go back.” Yan Mu whispered. Yu Yuan still had his back facing her, and his breathing was light and steady, as if he had fallen asleep.
Did he figure it out, or not? Yan Mu was inwardly torn and left while looking back every few steps.
Only after the sound of Yan Mu’s footsteps had entirely disappeared did Yu Yuan slowly open his eyes.
He sat up and looked at the direction Yan Mu left in, feeling even more irritated inside.
Stupid girl. Yu Yuan gripped the quilt tightly, and the memory of Yan Mu’s cheeks couldn’t help but emerge in his mind.
Malice welled up in his heart. He imagined the quilt with the little pink flowers printed on it as Yan Mu’s cheeks and pinched it hard. Only then did he feel like his anger was slightly relieved.
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The author has something to say:
Yan Mu: Never in a million years did I think that when you looked at me, you thought of a dog!
[1] 无常 (wúcháng) – famous demons that were regarded as the messengers of death. If anyone watches any Chinese dramas that have slightly horror content, they are the death messenger (usually a pair) dressed in black and white.
[2] 猝不及防 (cùbùjífáng) – be taken by surprise/to be caught off guard
[3] 做贼心虚 (zuòzéi-xīnxū) – to feel guilty as a thief (an idiom) – to have something on one’s conscience
[4] OOC (Out Of Character) is an internet buzzword which means out of character/ out of expectation. It is often found in role-playing and fanfic, where a character behaves in a way that is inconsistent with the original work, doing something the original character wouldn’t. (Source: Baidu)