Chapter 34

After reconciling with Pei Yu, Yun Yin’s mood brightened, like clouds parting to reveal the sun. With no lingering worries, drowsiness naturally crept in.

“A Yu,” Yun Yin said, covering her mouth as she stifled a yawn, “I’m sleepy.”

Pei Yu glanced at his wristwatch. The minute hand had barely passed ten—it wasn’t even her usual bedtime yet.

“Why are you so tired?” he asked. “You’re always acting like you haven’t had enough sleep.”

Yun Yin blinked, trying to shake off the drowsiness. “I went to bed really late last night and woke up early today. I haven’t even gotten ten hours of sleep yet, of course I’m tired.”

Pei Yu raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly. “Ten hours?”

Unfazed by his skepticism, Yun Yin retorted matter-of-factly, “I don’t have a job, you know.”

Hearing this, Pei Yu seemed to remember something. “Do you… want to work?”

Yun Yin: “???”

*Does he even know what he’s saying?*

Who in their right mind would want to work?!

Before she could react, he continued, “I remember you majored in finance in college. You could try working at Yujiang.”

Yun Yin’s pupils constricted, and she hastily waved her hands in refusal. “No need. I really don’t want to go to work right now.”

No! No!

The original owner of this body had studied finance, but she hadn’t!

As the saying goes, “Every profession has its own expertise.” She knew absolutely nothing about finance. If she went to work, they’d discover she wasn’t the real Yun Yin within half a day.

She’d been working hard to maintain the original owner’s persona and didn’t want to ruin it now.

Seeing Yun Yin’s strong resistance, Pei Yu’s eyes darkened slightly. He dropped the topic and simply said, “If you ever change your mind, you’re always welcome.”

Yun Yin tugged at the corner of her mouth, thinking that day would likely never come.

Afraid Pei Yu would press further, she ignored his comment and said, “I’m so sleepy. Can you carry me to bed?”

With that, she stretched her arms out to Pei Yu.

After Pei Yu placed her in bed, Yun Yin suddenly remembered she hadn’t brushed her teeth. “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet,” she whined.

Pei Yu had no choice but to carry the pampered young woman to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

By the time she finished her leisurely routine, half an hour had passed. Snuggled under the warm, comfortable covers, she said without a shred of guilt, “Then I’m going to sleep now.”

Pei Yu sat motionless beside her bed, murmuring, “Go to sleep.”

“What about you?” Yun Yin asked.

“I’ll leave once you’re asleep,” Pei Yu replied.

What’s so interesting about watching me sleep?Yun Yin wondered, but she didn’t object.

“Then read me a poem!” After a moment, Yun Yin still felt awkward. She grabbed a poetry collection from her bedside and handed it to Pei Yu. “I love your voice,” she said expectantly.

She was back to coaxing him with her usual charm.

Pei Yu let out a soft hum, but a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips where Yun Yin couldn’t see.

He took the book and glanced at it—the same copy of Luna de Enfrente he kept in his office. Yun Yin must have taken it back when she visited him there earlier.

Pei Yu opened the book at random.

Seconds later, his deep, magnetic voice filled the quiet room.

“Gray mist blurs distant constellations,

All before me loses history and name.

Only vague tenderness remains in the world,

People are still people, rivers still rivers.”

Pei Yu hadn’t finished reciting the poem when the person in bed, clutching the quilt, drifted into a deep, tranquil sleep.

He gazed at her, his eyes slowly tracing every inch of her face.

Her skin was pale, but an unhealthy, almost translucent white. In sleep, a faint blush had risen to her cheeks. Her long, soft black hair lay scattered across the pillow, and her delicate pink lips were slightly pursed, even in slumber retaining an air of exquisite fragility.

He remained fixed on her for an immeasurable time before finally shifting his gaze.

“Good night,” he murmured, his voice low and deep, as if afraid to disturb her peaceful dream.

……..

The next morning, at dawn.

“Are you done?” Yun Yin mumbled, Pei Yu having woken her up early. Her eyes were still half-closed, her voice thick with sleepiness.

He was currently examining the wounds on her ankles and knees, then applying medicine.

Normally, she would still be sound asleep at this hour.

She had always said she needed at least ten hours of sleep or she would be unbearably tired. Right now, she was so exhausted that her head kept drooping against Pei Yu’s chest. Finally, she gave up resisting and simply rested her head on his shoulder, drifting back to sleep.

“You’ve been sleeping for so long. How are you still tired?” Pei Yu’s confusion was evident in his voice, as if he couldn’t comprehend her exhaustion.

Yun Yin was almost losing her patience. “I’m just tired,” she replied lazily.

She didn’t know if it was a physical condition, but she always felt like she hadn’t slept enough. Even when she hadn’t done anything strenuous, her body easily grew fatigued.

“……”

Pei Yu sighed helplessly. After applying the medicine, he carefully examined her ankle and knee.

It should heal in a few days, he thought, provided the person in his arms behaves and doesn’t move around too much.

“I still want to sleep…” Yun Yin mumbled groggily as he finished.

Pei Yu glanced at her and said calmly, “Aunt Lin told me you barely ate anything yesterday.”

Here comes the lecture again, Yun Yin thought.

She gave him a resentful look and muttered, “It’s all your fault.”

“Fine, it’s my fault.”

Pei Yu’s expression darkened as he recalled Aunt Lin’s words. He readily accepted the blame.

Without waiting for her consent, he tightened his grip and lifted her from the bed, carrying her to the bathroom to wash up.

“Finish your breakfast and come to work with me,” Pei Yu said slowly, watching Yun Yin eat.

Yun Yin refused without hesitation. “I don’t want to go.”

“Cheng Zheng and Cheng Wenwen want to see you.”

“Who’s Cheng Zheng?” Yun Yin asked.

Pei Yu didn’t even lift his eyelids. “Cheng Wenwen’s older brother.”

What Pei Yu didn’t mention was that Cheng Zheng had come to Yujiang early the day after the incident, asking to see Yun Yin. Pei Yu, in a foul mood, had refused to give him any face and simply told him to leave.

Last night, Cheng Zheng had been unable to reach Yun Yin and returned to Pei Yu, insisting on meeting her to personally thank her. The main reason was that Cheng Wenwen had been clamoring to see her.

Pei Yu had no habit of doing good deeds anonymously. His little girl had risked so much to save someone, and he deserved to know the full story behind the incident.

Thinking of Yun Yin’s injured ankle and her swollen, reddened knee, Pei Yu’s gaze darkened.

No matter what happened, he wouldn’t let her suffer in vain.

“Do you want to see them?” Pei Yu asked. “If you don’t, you don’t have to.”

It didn’t really matter to him either way. He had only been angry with Yun Yin for saving Cheng Wenwen. After a moment’s hesitation, Yun Yin asked, “Can I see them?”

She was afraid that if she did, Pei Yu would be angry with her again.

He might soften toward her, but if she refused, he might soften toward others.

When Pei Yu saw Yun Yin looking at him, he set down his coffee cup, leaned back in his chair, and lazily said, “If you want to see him, go ahead. Why ask me?”

Yun Yin glanced at him sideways, bit her lip, and tentatively said, “I just didn’t want to upset you.”

Pei Yu reached out and pinched her cheek firmly, raising an eyebrow. “Do you think I’m that easily angered?”

Sensing something amiss in his tone, Yun Yin quickly said, “Then let’s meet him after all.”

Pei Yu lowered his gaze to her, his deep voice resonating above her head. “Not afraid of upsetting me now?”

Yun Yin: “……”

Who said he wasn’t easily angered?!

A man’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.

Yun Yin sighed inwardly, tilted her head back, and looked at him with feigned innocence. “A Yu isn’t so petty.”

The next moment, Pei Yu let out a soft, ambiguous chuckle.

He didn’t reply, but instead released her cheek and pushed the bowl of vegetable porridge across the table toward her.

Yun Yin’s expression darkened slightly as she stared at the porridge. She suspected Pei Yu was doing this on purpose, knowing how much she hated vegetables, especially carrots.

Frowning at the floating green leaves and diced carrots in the porridge, she pleaded, “I’m already full. Can I skip this?”

“Yun Yin.”

Yun Yin blinked in confusion. Pei Yu was staring at her with a serious expression, and she instinctively tensed up. “What’s wrong?”

“Eat properly,” Pei Yu said, watching her intently, enunciating each word clearly. “No whining.”

Yun Yin: “???”

When had she ever whined?

She wondered if something she’d done had given Pei Yu the mistaken impression that she was always whining. She’d simply been talking to him normally.

“I’m not,” Yun Yin protested, her face turning green as she stared at the bowl of vegetable porridge. “I just don’t want to eat vegetable porridge.” It was that simple.

“I’m going to be late,” Pei Yu said, ignoring her protest. He continued to stare at the bowl, his meaning unmistakable.

You’re not leaving until you finish this porridge.

Yun Yin knew she couldn’t escape. Resigned, she muttered under her breath, “Aren’t you afraid of being late?”

She suddenly realized there were advantages to Pei Yu ignoring her. At least he didn’t care when she slept or woke up, force her to eat things she disliked, or scold her for not eating properly.

Pei Yu’s eyebrow twitched slightly as he silently observed her.

Perhaps her resentful gaze was too intense. Pei Yu didn’t insist she finish the porridge.

Instead, to Yun Yin’s astonishment, he scooped up the remaining porridge and swallowed it in one gulp. Then, with a leisurely air, he asked, “Is it really that bad?”

Yun Yin: “……”

With everything finally ready, they could finally leave. If they didn’t hurry, Pei Yu would be late.

Yun Yin, bundled up in a hat and scarf, was led out by Pei Yu, her head drooping in an uncharacteristically docile manner.

“Are you cold?” Pei Yu stood before her, adjusting her scarf.

Yun Yin lowered her gaze to his fingers, moving deftly around her neck. His knuckles were distinct, and on his wrist was the watch she had given him, which he still wore.

She ducked her head slightly and replied, “Not too bad.”

Time had slipped by unnoticed. Next month would mark the start of a new year.

Lost in thought, Yun Yin suddenly felt a pang of wistfulness. She unconsciously tightened her grip on Pei Yu’s hand.

Whether by coincidence or fate, time in this world ran six months behind her own. Before transmigrating into the book, she had scheduled her surgery for April of the following year—the surgery that would ultimately claim her life on the operating table.

“Do you think it will snow in Kyoto City this year?” Yun Yin suddenly felt a chill.

Due to her health condition, Yun Yin had been living in Bright City, where the weather remained perpetually warm like spring, allowing her to recuperate better. Bright City had never seen snow, and she had never witnessed it firsthand in her entire life.

Pei Yu sensed Yun Yin’s unease. He turned his hand to grip hers tightly, lowered his gaze to meet her expectant eyes, and whispered, “It should.”

It should?

Yun Yin suddenly longed to see snow. She tilted her head, seeking a definite answer. “Did Kyoto City snow last year?”

Pei Yu’s eyes darkened slightly. Time had blurred his memories; he couldn’t recall whether Kyoto City would snow this year. Still, he gave an affirmative response.

“It will snow,” he said.

Yun Yin’s peach blossom eyes lit up instantly. She looked up at him, her smile curving her eyes into crescents. “Really?”

Pei Yu nodded. “Really.”

Fueled by her anticipation of snow, Yun Yin found the cold bearable.

Even as she accompanied Pei Yu to work, her spirits remained high—until she checked Kyoto City’s weather from the previous year online.

Kyoto City hadn’t seen a single snowflake all winter last year.

And not just last year, Kyoto City hadn’t experienced snow for several years.