Chapter 48

The weather was very nice tonight, and the warm moonlight filtered through the window panes, shining directly into Yu Tao’s line of sight, landing softly on the young man in front of her.

In the half-light, Yu Tao stared at him blankly while hugging the quilt.

The young man’s collar was slightly loose, and his pale neck exposed a black collar. The beautiful, lively cat-eye stone, along with his light golden eyes, reflected her small shadow.

He was so close, and Senior Brother’s skin was so smooth…

Hmm, his neck seemed a little red. Was the collar rubbing against him?

…She really wanted to touch it.

Wait, this doesn’t seem to be the main point?

Yu Tao quickly put away her strange thoughts, shook her still-drowsy head, closed her eyes, then opened them again, meeting the young man’s slightly confused gaze.

“Yu Tao?” His cool voice rang in her ears.

At this moment, Yu Tao was fully awake, and she sat up, still clutching the quilt.

Wait, what did she miss? Why was Senior Brother lying on her bed?

Could it be… he was going to sleep here with her?

Yu Tao nervously tugged at the corner of the quilt, her big, watery doe eyes full of uncertainty. She stammered, “Little Senior Brother, I didn’t quite catch what you said just now, what did you say?”

Yu Li glanced at the quilt she was holding tightly to her chest and, recalling the last time she had rolled off the bed while still wrapped in the quilt, he fell silent for two seconds before getting off the bed without hesitation.

Yu Tao breathed a sigh of relief as she saw him walking towards the door. It seemed she had misunderstood.

But just as this thought crossed her mind, she saw the young man stop in front of the room’s cabinet, not far from the door. He opened the cabinet, pulled out a new quilt, and then, with a leisurely pace, walked back to her. He unfolded the quilt and laid it neatly on the side of her bed.

Yu Tao: “……”

Yu Tao sucked in a sharp breath and looked up at the young man’s calm eyes. She remembered what he had said last time in the cabin on the island—that recently, he had realized a habit of needing someone by his side to sleep soundly.

Got it. Senior Brother sees her as a sleep companion.

However, Yu Tao didn’t feel unhappy about it. In fact, she was rather pleased.

Last time, she had only kissed his finger out of shyness, but perhaps this time, she could do something else… He had said before that he didn’t mind if she did things like that, right?

Thinking of this, Yu Tao’s face turned red, and she hurriedly shifted to the inside of the bed, trying to cover up her thoughts by adjusting the quilt and carefully placing the pillows in position for him.

Yu Li raised his eyelids and glanced at her. “Not sleepy?”

Yu Tao nodded repeatedly, then paused for two seconds before suddenly shaking her head. “I’m sleepy!”

Yu Li: “…”

With such a strong voice, it didn’t sound like she was sleepy at all.

Yu Li sighed lightly and lay down fully clothed. “It’s late. Go to sleep.”

The girl blinked in confusion and asked, “Senior Brother, don’t you take off your clothes when you sleep?”

She mumbled softly, “Last time in the cabin, you only wore an undergarment when you slept…”

“…I know.”

After a long silence, the young man uttered that one sentence. He lowered his eyelids, and his jade-like fingers slowly undid the ties on his outer robe and removed it.

Yu Tao, being considerate, took the robe from him, neatly folded it, and placed it at the head of the bed. “I’ll put it here, Senior Brother. You can take it tomorrow when you get dressed.”

The young man watched her movements, his gaze unclear.

Then Yu Tao continued to showcase her service skills, covering him with the quilt, and even leaning by the pillow to ask if he needed a lullaby.

Yu Li fell silent for a moment. “I really can’t tell that you’re sleepy at all.”

Yu Tao processed his words, and after a moment, understood. He was probably annoyed by the noise she was making.

Immediately, she fell silent, obediently pulled her own quilt up, leaving only her head exposed.

“Good night, Senior Brother!”

Yu Tao closed her eyes and lay there, pretending to sleep. After a long while, she sneaked out her hand to grab the Liuli Mirror to check the time. More than half an hour had passed.

She then poked her head out and quietly opened her eyes to look at the young man.

His long, thick lashes were closed, and his breathing was light. The usually indifferent and cold gaze of his, now closed, left only a quiet and serene stillness.

She blinked a couple of times. It had been so long already. He must have fallen asleep by now, right?

Jiuxu was thousands of miles away from the Wuchang Sect. Originally, the journey was expected to take two days, but they encountered some demon cultivators along the way, which delayed them for some time.

However, after dealing with the demon cultivators and seeing the girl’s message, he pushed himself to return in a single day.

Jiang Xingjing, unlike the gossip-loving Hua Lian, didn’t react much after learning about the situation. He didn’t ask any more questions, and calmly accompanied him back to the Wuchang Sect.

If it were Hua Lian, he probably would have interrogated him thoroughly and joked around until he got an answer.

However, even though they had spent much energy and spiritual power on the journey and were physically exhausted, when lying down on the bed with his eyes closed, there was still no sleepiness at all after more than half an hour.

The girl beside him, on the other hand, was breathing evenly, and she seemed to have fallen asleep.

Today, she had been quite obedient, not moving around at all.

As he thought this, Yu Li was about to get up, put on his clothes, and leave, but as soon as he opened his eyes, the quilt slipped away, and then he felt warmth in his arms as the girl burrowed into him.

Yu Li’s breath hitched slightly.

She didn’t hold him tightly. There was still some distance between them, but her head rested against his chest, rubbing lightly, and then she remained still, staying obediently in his arms.

Her warm breath scattered across him, and the heat transferred through his thin inner garment, making him unconsciously tense up a little.

Yu Li lowered his eyes slightly. He couldn’t see what was going on under the covers, but he could roughly guess. She must have looked content, like someone cuddling a cat to sleep.

…Just after he praised her for being obedient, she started causing trouble.

He sighed faintly, barely audibly, and shifted a little, adjusting his position so she could rest more comfortably on his arm.

But after he did that, her body stiffened, and her breathing became a bit more rapid.

Did he wake her?

Yu Li paused and dared not move further. Sure enough, after a moment, her breathing steadied, and her body relaxed again.

He had intended to leave, but now, with the current situation, he couldn’t leave. So, he closed his eyes again.

However… it seemed unlikely that he would be able to fall asleep.

After a while, while the girl remained peacefully asleep, Yu Li opened his eyes again.

She had crawled out of her own quilt and into his. She hadn’t even properly covered herself with his quilt. He could feel the cold wind blowing from behind her, and his hand, resting on her lower back, was met with a chill.

Although it was already summer, the Wuchang Sect was located in the Hanshan (Cold Mountain) Range, and even summer nights were chilling to the bone.

Yu Li wasn’t afraid of a little cold wind, but Master Song, an alchemy, had specifically told her not to be exposed to the cold. If she did, the pain would be unbearable when she have Kuishui stage. If she were left like this, exposed to the cold all night, it would be troublesome in the future.

He remembered how she had bitten herself in her sleep due to the pain during her Kuishui stage last time, and his lips pressed together in a tight line. He wrapped his arm around her slender waist, pulling her into his arms, then subtly adjusted the quilt, ensuring they were both covered completely so no cold wind could seep in.

When he did that, the girl’s breathing became a bit more erratic, and Yu Li’s ears felt warm.

…It was getting a little too close.

Just a moment ago, there had been some distance between them, but now they were pressed together, with no space between them. His hand loosely held her waist, and he could even feel the pounding of her heartbeat.

Yu Li tried to calm himself down, closing his eyes and not thinking any further.

After a while, the girl’s breathing steadied again, and her warm breath continued to fall softly on his collarbone, warming the small patch of skin there.

Time flowed slowly, like the moonlight, stretching on endlessly.

He didn’t know how long had passed, but just as he was starting to wonder how much longer until dawn, the girl, who had been calm in his arms, suddenly moved.

It seemed like she had been curled up under the quilt, and perhaps it had become too stuffy. She tried to move and get some fresh air. She gently shifted his arm upward and managed to poke her head out.

Her soft, fluffy hair brushed against his chin, which tickled him slightly, and Yu Li’s lashes fluttered.

The girl held this position for a while, then suddenly pressed against his arm and started moving up again. Yu Li, curious about what she was trying to do, was about to open his eyes when a soft touch suddenly brushed against his cheek.

The contact was brief, but her breath, now a bit disordered, sprayed against his face.

Yu Li froze.

After stealing the kiss, Yu Tao’s heart raced, and she covered her face, feeling her cheeks burn even more.

When she had gathered the courage to burrow into the young man’s arms, he had suddenly moved, startling her into stiffening up and freezing in place. At that moment, she wondered what to do if he woke up, thinking she’d have to pretend to be asleep.

Fortunately, he only moved a little and then didn’t do anything else. She waited for a while, observing him, and he didn’t wake up.

Taking a deep breath, Yu Tao was ready to proceed with her next move. But then, his hand, which had been resting on her waist, suddenly tightened, pulling her completely into his arms, and her face ended up pressed against his chest. She could hear the steady beat of his heart.

Yu Tao was stunned.

She instinctively thought he had woken up and froze, too afraid to move. But as her brain processed what was happening, she realized something was off.

If he really had woken up, he would have pushed her back into her own quilt, not pulled her into his arms.

After thinking it through, Yu Tao reached a conclusion.

—Little Senior Brother actually likes to cuddle something to sleep, just like her!

The more she thought about it, the more she was sure of it. No wonder Little Senior Brother said he needed someone to accompany him to sleep in order to feel at ease. He probably wanted to be able to cuddle a cat while he slept, just like her.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a cat. Facing her, he must have been too shy to say it out loud, but when he fell asleep, his need for comfort unknowingly came to the surface!

Yu Tao tried to calm herself down and not move around, making sure not to wake him.

It’s just that… the hand around her waist was so warm. The heat passed through the fabric of their clothes, and the two of them were so close… Yu Tao’s face started to burn, and she could feel her own breath getting warmer.

She felt like she couldn’t stay like this much longer—sooner or later, she would suffocate under the quilts. She decided she would complete her final plan and then quickly return to her own quilt to sleep.

So, Yu Tao gently adjusted her position, supporting his arm and slowly moving her body upwards, exposing her head.

Because she didn’t control the distance well, her head accidentally bumped into his chin. Fortunately, her movements were slow and light, so the young man didn’t wake up.

Yu Tao stared at him for a moment, her gaze softening. She leaned over and lightly kissed his cheek.

After stealing the kiss, Yu Tao felt guilty and decided she should leave quickly. She reached down to remove his arm from her waist, then gently began to pull away.

But just as she moved a little, the hand on her waist tightened, trapping her firmly in his arms.

Yu Tao froze, not reacting immediately.

The familiar voice of the young man, too close to her ear, sounded with a hint of hoarseness, clear and cold, like a feather brushing against her eardrum.

“Junior Sister, was this another accident?”