The nightmares that had haunted him since the other's departure surged like a tide, drowning him once more.The tall figure leaning against the door gradually slid down until he was seated on the floor. In his daze, it seemed as if he had returned to that icy cage…Yun Miao called out several times from outside the door, but the person inside still gave no response. The figure behind the door slowly disappeared, leaving only the faint sound of a body collapsing to the ground.Hesitating outside, Yun Miao heard the noise and thought of the other's persistent fever. Without further delay, she recited an incantation and passed directly through the tightly shut door into the room.Soon, the familiar furnishings of the room unfolded before Yun Miao's eyes. The bed was neatly made, the covers undisturbed, and still empty—there was no sign of Xie Jue anywhere.Yun Miao quickly turned around.As she turned, she saw the man who had not responded for so long, curled up with his knees drawn to his chest, leaning against the back of the door. His face was buried in his knees, as if adopting a posture of self-protection.Beside him, a grayish-white fluffy tail extended behind him, and atop his head, a pair of wolf ears had appeared.Although Yun Miao had known before that Xie Jue was a half-demon, this was the first time she had seen him in his half-human, half-beast form.Fluffy and utterly adorable, it made one want to reach out and touch him.But his condition seemed far from well. Visibly, his entire body trembled lightly, as if trapped in some nightmare."Xie Jue!"Yun Miao hurried forward and crouched down in front of him.She called his name several times, but he showed no reaction. She tentatively reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle pat, and called again, "Xie Jue, wake up."Fortunately, this time, he finally responded.The young man slowly lifted his head. His clear amber eyes were filled with confusion, the corners tinged with a hint of red. The expression on his face resembled shattered white porcelain."Xie Jue, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"Seeing Xie Jue in such a broken state, Yun Miao felt at a loss.Xie Jue blinked slowly, as if trying to recognize something or process what was happening.He reached out as if to embrace himself, but then seemed to remember something and quickly curled up again. A muffled voice emerged from the crook of his arm."Don't look, don't look. The way I look now is… ugly."Hearing this, Yun Miao was momentarily stunned. An inexplicable pang shot through her heart, sharp and painful, as if a searing hot iron had been pressed against her flesh.She didn't know where this feeling came from, but the pain was real and palpable.The next moment, her hand moved uncontrollably, as if with a will of its own, and reached toward Xie Jue's head.A wave of familiarity swept over Yun Miao, engulfing her completely.This strange sensation gave her the illusion that she had performed this action many times before.By the time Yun Miao regained her senses, her hand was already stroking Xie Jue's head rhythmically, full of soothing intent.The furry beast ears occasionally brushed against the back of her hand, soft and gentle, like the down of a kitten.It seemed that his half-demon identity must have brought him many unpleasant memories in the past, which was why he was acting this way now that his fever had worsened.Thinking this, Yun Miao's movements couldn't help but become gentler. She softly comforted him, "It's not ugly at all. It's quite cute.""Really?"As if he had taken Yun Miao's words to heart, he lifted his head again, looking at her somewhat dazedly."Mhm."Yun Miao's hands never stopped moving, and she even ruffled his hair once more.What she didn't say aloud was that this look of his actually suited her taste quite well, much like the little cats and dogs she used to feed at the foot of Xuantian Sect.Almost as soon as he received Yun Miao's answer, Xie Jue leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head against her shoulder and neck.It was an embrace devoid of any hint of intimacy—simply a pure seeking of warmth. Yet he held her tightly, so tightly that Yun Miao couldn't move at all, forced to endure the unusually high temperature radiating from his body.It was so scorching that it seemed to raise her own body temperature as well.Yun Miao didn't push him away. Instead, the hand that had been resting on his head now moved to his back, gently patting him.But before long, Yun Miao felt the arms around her loosen slightly.She tilted her head, her gaze falling on Xie Jue, who had buried his face in the crook of her neck. His breathing had already steadied, as if he had fallen asleep from exhaustion.Yun Miao looked at the person in her arms and tried to help him up.But the man was already much taller than her, and in this position, Yun Miao found it difficult to find the right leverage.After several unsuccessful attempts to lift him, she simply cast a spell and moved him onto the bed.Yun Miao walked over, shook out the blanket, and covered him with it, then stood by the bed for a while longer.The ears on the man's head still hadn't disappeared, looking rather soft and endearing.But it seemed he was still troubled by unpleasant dreams in his sleep, his brows slightly furrowed, his lips tightly pressed together, and the corners of his mouth turned slightly downward.Yun Miao reached out, her fingertips lightly touching the space between his brows, as if trying to smooth away the furrow…Perhaps because Yun Miao's nerves had been tense for so long, now that she suddenly relaxed, a long-absent drowsiness rushed over her fiercely, making her unaware of when she had fallen asleep./Within the high walls of a foreign land, in an exquisitely furnished palace, a girl of stunning beauty stood before a bronze mirror, examining the slight bulge beneath her robes that seemed impossible to hide. Hesitantly, she reached out and touched it, her gaze gentle.Her long eyelashes fluttered like butterflies about to take flight, and her dark, flowing hair fell against her cheeks as she lowered her head. The light from the palace lanterns outside the window filtered through the paper, softly illuminating the girl's face.From a distance, it looked like a serene and tranquil ancient painting.But suddenly, a drop of thick, dark ink fell, spreading abruptly across the canvas, and the room's tranquility was shattered by the entrance of a palace maid.Seeing the slight bulge in the girl's abdomen reflected in the bronze mirror, the maid hurriedly set down the copper basin she had brought for washing and rushed to the girl's side, tugging at her sleeve."Princess, you must leave this place soon. I fear your condition can no longer be hidden."The girl addressed as "Princess" shook her head. "I cannot leave. If I go, they will surely withdraw their troops, and then our country will be in danger.""But…"The maid still hesitated.The girl, however, seemed to have already made her decision. She only needed to keep it hidden for a little over two more months, and this war would be settled.“No buts.”“Mother…”Xie Jue gazed at the girl in his dream, murmuring her name softly. But almost at the same time, his eyes abruptly opened without warning.He opened his eyes, staring at the strangely unfamiliar canopy above the bed, and blinked slowly.The pressure on his arm gradually became clearer. He lightly curled his fingers, and a tingling sensation washed over him.What was pressing against him?Puzzled, Xie Jue turned his head toward the source of the pressure.A sleeping face, all too familiar, suddenly filled his vision, and he froze for a moment.It took a while for memories to flood back, reminding him of where he was and why he was there.But Xie Jue’s gaze did not withdraw. Instead, he slowly traced the features of the person before him, while his long-numb arm instinctively tightened, pulling her into his embrace.Soft strands of hair brushed against Xie Jue’s chest. Though separated by layers of fabric, he felt as though a ball of cotton had sprouted in his heart—light, soft, and exceptionally warm.Xie Jue lowered his head, resting his chin against the top of her hair, his tone tender and lingering.“Sister, I missed you so much.”Now, it seemed he could only express himself so freely while she was deep in sleep.After all, in the past, she had only seen him as a younger brother. And now that she had forgotten him, to her, he was little more than a familiar stranger…As soon as Xie Jue finished speaking, he felt the person leaning against his chest stir slightly. His gaze quickly followed the movement.Yun Miao tilted her neck, and her brows furrowed slightly.Seeing her furrowed brow, Xie Jue glanced at her half-sitting, half-reclining posture and quickly understood.Xie Jue’s thin lips parted slightly, and in the next moment, Yun Miao, who had been half-sitting against the edge of the bed, was now lying flat on the mattress.Sure enough, the furrow in Yun Miao’s brow soon smoothed away.Xie Jue held her close, restraining the urge to tighten his embrace further. Watching her relaxed expression, the corners of his lips unconsciously lifted into a faint smile.The wolf tail behind Xie Jue, still not retracted, silently wrapped around the person in his arms, as if marking her within his territory.His body temperature, which had begun to recede, seemed to surge once more, yet he was too greedy to let her go.He bent down, creating a slight distance between himself and Yun Miao, but buried his chin once more into the crook of her shoulder, nuzzling gently. “Sister, I like you. I’ve liked you for a hundred years, but you left me behind without a word…”Perhaps due to his still-weak condition, Xie Jue’s emotions were unusually unrestrained today. By the end of his words, his tone carried a hint of grievance.After speaking, he buried himself even deeper into the crook of Yun Miao’s shoulder.He closed his eyes, quietly allowing Yun Miao’s clean and unique fragrance to envelop him. The panic and sorrow that had lingered in his heart were once again dispelled, and he slowly relaxed.In her sleep, a heavy quilt seemed to have been draped over her. Yun Miao instinctively tried to push it away, but after several attempts, it remained stubbornly in place. The thick quilt wrapped around her so tightly that fine beads of sweat formed on the tip of her nose.Thus, Yun Miao was awakened by the stifling heat.She had just opened her eyes when her peripheral vision caught sight of the young man nestled against her shoulder and neck.She shifted slightly, only to realize she was held in his embrace.What was going on? How had she ended up sleeping on this bed?Yun Miao couldn't help but feel a bit dazed.She lowered her gaze further and noticed that the thick blanket she had tried but failed to pull away in her sleep was actually his unretracted tail.The grayish-white tail was fluffy, looking quite soft and full.As if guided by some inexplicable impulse, she reached out and stroked it.Sure enough, the texture was just as she imagined—soft.At that moment, even Yun Miao herself didn't notice the faint smile that had crept into her eyes."Does it feel good?"
Chapter 9
Mistakenly Believing I Was Given the Substitute Lover Script