Yu Yixian slept very soundly and was extremely tired. She rarely stayed up late; even during the busiest exam weeks, she would head to bed by one or two in the morning at the latest.
Yesterday, however, she stayed up until past four. By the time she went to bed, the sky was already turning pale, and because the guest bedroom had no curtains, Yu Yixian had no choice but to bury her entire head under the duvet.
But doing that made it hard to breathe, so she kept poking her head out and then ducking back in; eventually, she didn’t even know what time she had actually fallen asleep.
She vaguely heard her alarm clock ringing, but in the effort of turning it off, Yu Yixian lost consciousness once again.
No… must get up…
Zzzz…
Ling Yun pushed open the guest bedroom door quietly, watching the girl curled up in the duvet like a little snail, murmuring something.
She leaned in closer and realized she was saying—
Must keep the senior company.
Ling Yun’s heart softened. She rubbed her slightly cold fingers until they were warm and pressed them against Yu Yixian’s cheek.
“Sleep well. Thank you for yesterday,” Ling Yun said softly, her eyes lingering on Yu Yixian as if looking into the past. “You are always able to reach out your hand at the most critical moments and pull me out of the muddy abyss.”
“But back then, I could only watch you from afar.”
Ling Yun withdrew her hand and leaned down to place a light kiss on Yu Yixian’s forehead.
“Now, I hold the moon in my arms.”
Ling Yun stood up. Although they had agreed the night before to go to the hospital together today, Ling Yun could not bear to wake the deeply sleeping Yu Yixian.
You must have been exhausted yesterday, too.
Ling Yun looked up at the bright windows and frowned slightly. “No wonder there are dark circles under your eyes; you must not have slept well last night.”
Ling Yun had long been accustomed to staying up late and falling asleep under various difficult circumstances. For her, last night had actually been a relaxing one, but it was clearly different for Yu Yixian. Even though Ling Yun had only caught a glimpse of Yu Yixian’s life in the past, she knew she definitely hadn’t slept well.
She turned and left the guest room, returning shortly after. Ling Yun stood by the bed and gently scooped up the still-sleeping Yu Yixian.
The sleeping Yu Yixian subconsciously wrapped her arms around Ling Yun’s neck and rubbed against her chest.
Whether mentally or physically, she had been under high tension all day yesterday, and combined with her lack of rest, even this did not wake her.
Ling Yun carried Yu Yixian back to the master bedroom, carefully laid her down, and covered her with the quilt.
The master bedroom had thick curtains that blocked out the sunlight, and the bed was much more comfortable and softer than the one in the guest room.
As soon as she was laid down, Yu Yixian rolled into the quilt. Her face was slightly distorted against the pillow, her previously furrowed brow relaxed, and she quickly fell back into a deep sleep.
Ling Yun gently touched Yu Yixian’s head, turned to close the bedroom door quietly, and left the apartment.
Time passed, and the mound of the quilt moved. A furry head poked out.
Yu Yixian looked around at the unfamiliar environment in a daze, wondering for a moment if she hadn’t woken up from her dream yet, and ducked back under the quilt before poking her head out again.
Nothing had changed.
Where have I been brought to? .JPG
Yu Yixian sat up blankly, rubbed her eyes, and began to recall yesterday.
She had fallen asleep in the guest room last night, she thought. Yu Yixian blinked, and a bold idea suddenly rose in her heart.
This couldn’t be the master bedroom, right?!
If this was the master bedroom, the senior must have carried her here!
Perhaps she had been sleepwalking?
Yu Yixian felt a bit guilty and didn’t dare to jump to conclusions.
“Hmm?”
She vaguely heard some noise outside the room. There was a rustling sound, and not knowing what it was, she crawled out of the quilt and shuffled in her slippers to open the bedroom door.
The fragrance of cooked food instantly captured Yu Yixian’s soul. As if entranced, she followed the scent to the kitchen, where the back of Ling Yun, wearing an apron, came into view.
“Senior…”
Yu Yixian had just woken up, and her throat was tight and hoarse. The strange, raspy sound of her own voice startled her, and she covered her mouth, eyes wide, looking blankly at Ling Yun, who turned around.
Ling Yun had already prepared warm water. She poured a glass, walked out of the kitchen, and handed it to Yu Yixian.
“Drink some. Your throat might be uncomfortable since you just woke up.” After saying this, she turned back to continue cooking.
Yu Yixian held the glass with both hands, taking small sips, and followed Ling Yun into the kitchen. She stood to the side, watching Ling Yun skillfully stir-fry the vegetables, her eyes wide.
This is the first time seeing ‘homemaker’ senior, huh.
With a glass of water down, her throat felt much better. She cleared her throat, walked to the sink, and washed the glass while speaking softly: “Senior, did you go to the hospital?”
When she came out of the bedroom, she had glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already nearly one in the afternoon.
And with these dishes and seasonings—they definitely weren’t there before—looking at it this way, the senior must have gone out at some point, though she didn’t know when.
Ling Yun looked at Yu Yixian, gesturing for her to step back, and only after ensuring she was at a safe distance did she answer: “I went. Ms. Ling Qian is awake.” As she spoke, she put the dishes onto a plate and handed it to Yu Yixian.
“Take this out. Careful, it’s hot.”
“Okay!” Yu Yixian carefully held both ends of the plate and left the kitchen.
Ling Yun efficiently washed the pots and pans she had just used, wiped the counter and the range hood, and the kitchen was restored to its original, pristine state.
Because the ingredients were limited, Ling Yun hadn’t made anything too complicated: a stir-fry of baby cabbage, ham, and mushrooms, a radish soup, and a side of ready-made food bought from outside—enough for both of them.
Yu Yixian sat obediently at the dining table, the aroma of the food drifting directly to her nose.
“Eat.” Ling Yun handed her the rice and chopsticks, feeling incredibly satisfied as she watched her eat in large bites.
Neither of them liked to talk while eating. After finishing, Yu Yixian quickly grabbed the plates and ran to wash them.
It wouldn’t do to have one person do all the cooking and cleaning; it wasn’t conducive to family harmony.
“Senior, you are not allowed to move! Otherwise, I’ll be angry!” Yu Yixian had discovered the way to keep Ling Yun in check: as long as she said she was going to be angry, Ling Yun would definitely listen obediently.
Sure enough.
Ling Yun stood behind Yu Yixian, watching her wash the dishes in silence.
Looking at Yu Yixian’s clumsy movements, Ling Yun chuckled, then closed her mouth when Yu Yixian glared at her.
There wasn’t much to wash. Yu Yixian just didn’t wash dishes often, it didn’t mean she didn’t know how, and she finished quickly.
Ling Yun took the clean plates and bowls from Yu Yixian and dried them with a clean cloth. The two worked in tacit cooperation and exchanged a smile.
Now that the work was done, it was time to talk about serious matters.
Ling Yun pulled Yu Yixian back to the living room, pressed her into the sofa, and sat on the coffee table, trapping her between her legs.
“Senior?”
“Let’s talk about what’s going on with this apartment.” Ling Yun clamped her legs around Yu Yixian, braced her hands on either side of the sofa, and kept her firmly trapped.
It was too late last night, and they had encountered too many things, so she hadn’t realized it at the time. But when she left this morning, she discovered that this place was way too close to her studio.
There was no way Yu Yixian would run here to live for no reason. She was only a sophomore, incredibly busy during the week, and usually went home on weekends. No matter how she thought about it, Ling Yun felt there was only one possibility: it was for her.
Yu Yixian’s eyes shifted for a moment, recalling the scene from last night where Ling Yun kept saying “I’m sorry” to her, and the words she wanted to say suddenly stuck in her throat.
Seems like I need to change the reason.
After all, she had only done what a girlfriend should do last night, and the senior kept trying to push her away. If she knew this apartment was originally intended as a gift for her, she might just get scared away.
“Hmm?” Ling Yun leaned in closer.
Yu Yixian hurriedly spoke: “I thought it wasn’t very convenient to date at school, and since you’re graduating soon, you might need a place to stay, so I… I rented this apartment. Senior, why don’t we… why don’t we…”
Yu Yixian’s eyes darted around, and under Ling Yun’s gaze, she closed her eyes and boldly declared: “Why don’t we live together!”
Silence.
Yu Yixian didn’t dare to open her eyes to look at Ling Yun; she could only hear her own breathing and the ticking of the wall clock.
Why isn’t the senior saying anything? Does she think it’s moving too fast?
Yu Yixian bit her lip nervously, unable to stop a wave of regret from rising in her heart.
She had always wanted to live together. From the moment she saw Ling Yun, the moment of love at first sight, she had decided that her future partner would only be Ling Yun.
She wanted to be with the senior forever. This was the first time in her twenty-plus years of life that she had felt the desire to be with someone for the rest of her life.
Living together was just an instinctive thought for her; she had even bigger plans.
But, but does the senior feel the same way?
Yu Yixian bit her lip hard, feeling full of frustration. She should have been more prudent, taken it slow. What now? Is the senior not angry? Why won’t she say anything…
“Don’t bite.”
A familiar scent and touch pried her lips apart. She subconsciously opened her eyes to look at the other person, but could not read the turbulent, surging emotions rolling in Ling Yun’s dark eyes.
Yu Yixian closed her mouth, but unexpectedly bit Ling Yun’s finger. She stared blankly at Ling Yun.
“Don’t bite. This is mine; you aren’t allowed to hurt it.”
Ling Yun leaned forward, gently nipping at those warm lips, sucking and licking, prying them apart to explore further.
A few minutes later, Yu Yixian pushed Ling Yun away with misty eyes and covered her now-swollen lips with her hand, grumbling discontentedly: “Senior, you really should learn the art of ‘draining the pond to catch the fish.'”
It’s so mean of you to always kiss my mouth swollen.
Even though I really like it, too.
Ling Yun looked at Yu Yixian, who was glaring at her with red-rimmed eyes, and laughed.
“You’re still laughing!” Yu Yixian reached out and pinched Ling Yun’s mouth, manually forcing her to shut up.
Ling Yun pulled Yu Yixian’s hand down, planting light, dense kisses on her palm, which burned so much that Yu Yixian wanted to pull her hand away, but it was firmly held by Ling Yun.
“Alright.”
Yu Yixian tried to move her hand and found she couldn’t pull it back. She was stunned by Ling Yun’s answer.
What does ‘alright’ mean?
Wait!
Yu Yixian’s eyes widened instantly. “Re… really?”
Ling Yun nodded, lowering her head to rub her cheek against Yu Yixian’s palm, hiding the burning brilliance in her eyes.
“Let’s live together.”
She would work hard to buy this place eventually, because this was the first home for her and Yu Yixian.