Chapter 35: “Wife, Can We Sleep in the Same Bed?”

He was still thinking about what had just happened. Earlier, he had pulled Gu Siqing into his arms and kissed her deeply. His whole body felt hot, and it even seemed like there was a physical reaction. He remembered that when his leg was injured, that part had stopped working. At the time, he felt regretful—he hadn’t even had a child before it stopped functioning.

But just now, when he felt a reaction, Shen Qingyan became unnaturally excited. He looked at Gu Siqing’s face, wanting to say something but holding back. He really wanted to ask if they could try—he suspected that maybe he was okay again.

Gu Siqing, sensing his gaze behind her, turned around and glared.
“Can you focus on cooking properly?”
“My parents are about to arrive.”

With that, she went to stir-fry the dishes. Shen Qingyan stared deeply at her back, deciding to wait until after the celebration to bring it up. Although he had postponed the conversation, the excitement in his heart was hard to contain. Even though it was awkward, he looked at Gu Siqing with unmistakable tenderness in his eyes.

Gu Siqing was efficient—soon, several dishes were ready and placed on the table. Just then, Qi Yuan and Shen Mengzhou arrived. As soon as they entered, the aroma of food hit them.

Qi Yuan took a deep breath.
“Siqing really learned well from that restaurant owner. I’ve missed this taste.”
“If you like it, eat more,” Gu Siqing replied with a smile.

Qi Yuan and Shen Mengzhou placed the items they brought in the living room and joined the family at the table. As they ate, they discussed the skip-grade exam. Qi Yuan already knew, but it was Shen Mengzhou’s first time hearing about it. When he heard Gu Siqing had skipped directly to the fourth year of college, his eyes widened in shock. Qi Yuan nudged him, and he quickly said:

“I just didn’t expect our daughter-in-law to be this amazing!”

“Mom is amazing!” the kids chimed in, raising their hands and making everyone laugh.

The family enjoyed their cheerful meal together. Qi Yuan gave her husband a piece of food and was about to serve some to Gu Siqing when she noticed her son glancing at his wife repeatedly. She observed them closely for a few more seconds, then seemed to realize something important and nodded to herself—looks like the couple had indeed developed genuine feelings.

The children were full and satisfied, and the celebratory meal soon came to an end. Qi Yuan and Shen Mengzhou stayed for a little while longer before leaving as it got late. They initially wanted to take the kids with them but decided to leave them behind since they’d be too busy the next couple of days. Gu Siqing would be going to school tomorrow, so Shen Qingyan would take care of the children.

Once the grandparents left, Gu Siqing and Shen Qingyan brought the kids back to their special space. Back in their room, Gu Siqing bathed the children and put them to sleep. Meanwhile, Shen Qingyan lay in bed, unable to sleep. After doing some light rehab exercises, he waited for Gu Siqing to come over.

As was her nightly routine, Gu Siqing came to check on him before bed and to perform acupuncture treatment, which helped his blood circulation. Hearing her approach, Shen Qingyan quickly lay down.

“You done with rehab?” she asked.
“All done,” he replied a little awkwardly.

Gu Siqing didn’t notice his strange tone and picked up the needle pouch.
“Let me finish your acupuncture, then I’ll go rest.”

She sat beside him on the bed. Shen Qingyan hesitated, unsure how to bring it up. Time was ticking, and he was starting to get anxious. As Gu Siqing was about to finish and head back to her room, he took a chance.

“Uh…” He spoke as she was removing the last needle. “Wife, can we sleep in the same bed?”

Gu Siqing’s mind momentarily went blank. She froze. Embarrassed, she didn’t know how to react.

But then she thought about it—they were married, after all. They could be honest with each other about their secret space, so why not about this? This was a natural part of being husband and wife.

“I was just asking,” Shen Qingyan added, hoping to confirm his suspicion—if his body had truly recovered, that would be amazing. After all, with such a beautiful wife, how could he not feel excited?

Seeing how serious he was, Gu Siqing hesitated a bit, then nodded. “Okay.”

Shen Qingyan’s legs had mostly recovered, and he truly did seem different from his past self. She could feel the change in him.

“You really agreed?” he asked, a bit surprised. He had just wanted to ask, but now that she said yes, he was eager to verify if his body was truly functional. For a man, this kind of ability meant a lot.

In the past, he’d had no hopes for life, but now with a wife and children, he naturally hoped for more.

Gu Siqing nodded again. Shen Qingyan immediately jumped up, full of energy.
“Then the kids will stay in this room, and we’ll sleep together in the master bedroom, okay?”
“Okay.”

Seeing that she agreed, Shen Qingyan eagerly helped move their things. Soon, the two of them were lying in bed together.

When Gu Siqing felt the bed dip next to her, her heart skipped a beat. She was shy, but mentally prepared—clearly, something was going to happen tonight. Her hands gripped the sheets tightly. Shen Qingyan, also nervous, thought back to how it had felt kissing her earlier. He slowly turned and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Gu Siqing swallowed nervously but leaned into him little by little.

They embraced tightly. Shen Qingyan could hear his own heartbeat. After a while, though, he noticed his body wasn’t reacting as strongly as it had earlier. So, he simply held Gu Siqing quietly, their body heat gradually rising. They could both hear each other’s heartbeats.

Shen Qingyan kept paying attention—something felt off. The reaction wasn’t as intense as before. That puzzled him, so he just continued holding her.

Gu Siqing waited, already prepared for something to happen, but nothing did. She couldn’t help but wonder:

“(｡•́︿•̀｡) …Am I supposed to make the first move? That doesn’t seem very appropriate, does it?”

After thinking it through, she decided it wasn’t quite right for her to initiate, even though their relationship had progressed rapidly.

She waited a bit longer, and when she saw that Shen Qingyan still hadn’t made a move, she figured he might just be shy. So, she stopped waiting and yawned—she had class tomorrow, after all—and eventually fell asleep.

Hearing her even breathing, Shen Qingyan continued holding her, but his mind was full of question marks.
Why had he felt something during the kiss earlier, and even now to some extent, but not strongly enough to actually go further?

He tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and finally decided—he’d find an opportunity to ask his wife about it.