CH 63

Chapter 63 Sharing a Bed Together (1)

The night was dark, and the lights in Songhai Academy went out one after another. The only dim lights left were from the rooms of students who were studying at night.

Chi Jingxi sat in the study, and after reading for a long time, his eyes became a little tired. He closed the book and rubbed his eyes, intending to sleep.

Mo Li standing beside him immediately lifted the cotton curtain.

Chi Jingxi went to the door of the study. When he was met with silence on the bed, he asked, "Is he asleep?"

"Replying to Little Marquis, Wen gongzi fell asleep an hour ago, probably because of the medicine," Mo Li replied in a low voice.

Chi Jingxi picked up the cloak and walked out. He stood at the door and called the guard, "What did Mu Yang say?"

The guard replied, "Young Master Mu said that the concubine-born son of the Fu Residence was in his dorm. He's afraid there is no place for Little Marquis to sleep."

Chi Jingxi frowned and stepped out of his dorm, only to find that the snow stopped at an unknown time.

He walked outside Mu Yang's dorm and let someone knock on the door.

In the middle of the night, Mu Yang was still in high spirits. He was insistent on studying archery skills as he dragged the sleepy Fu Zixian over and refused to give up. He let him go for the time being at Chi Jingxi’s arrival.

He came out and said, "Brother Xi, why are you here?"

Chi Jingxi asked, "Why is Fu's concubine-born son in your room? Doesn't he have his own dorm?"

Mu Yang shrugged. "I wanted him to teach me how to hit the bull's eye, so I called him here. The charcoal fire in his dormitory is simply not enough. It would be bad if he caught a cold, so I let him live with me."

Chi Jingxi's lips moved. He wanted to refute how not having enough charcoal would cause him to get cold, but he soon recalled that there was still a burned-out patient, who got sick exactly because of the lack of charcoal, lying on his bed.

His mind turned as he stated, "Let him sleep in my room, and I will sleep with you tonight."

Mu Yang asked suspiciously, "What's wrong? Did Wen Yantong make you angry again?"

"He caught a cold." Chi Jingxi frowned. "He kicked over the water basin and got the couch wet. He’s sleeping in my bed now."

Mu Yang understood immediately. Chi Jingxi didn't like to share the bed with unfamiliar people, so he would rather come and squeeze into a room with him.

Mu Yang was about to agree when he suddenly remembered something. He looked back at Fu Zixian, who was dozing off, and then said, "Brother Xi, look! The snow has stopped."

Chi Jingxi looked back in confusion. "So what?"

"As soon as the snow stops, someone will start clearing the snow on the streets tomorrow morning, and then we can go back to our homes. Tonight is the last night of our stay here." Mu Yang smiled. "Just be patient."

Chi Jingxi looked at him in disbelief.

Mu Yang said, "Brother Xi, Wen Yantong is actually quite funny. He even talks in his sleep. You can listen to him tonight."

"You……" 

"I won't talk to you anymore! I still need to practice archery!" Mu Yang took a step back and hurriedly closed the door. His muffled voice came from the inside. "See you tomorrow morning!"

Chi Jingxi looked at the closed door in front of him and was very angry.

For a brother-like friend who grew up together to dare abandon him in a time of need just to learn some archery?

He noted down this grudge and went back to his dorm angrily.

Chi Jingxi ordered people to boil hot water, and after taking a bath, he was ready to turn off the lights and go to bed.

He left Anhuai Marquis’ Mansion when he was ten years old and came to Chaoge, which was thousands of miles away. He had always lived in the Little Marquis’ Mansion given by the Emperor and had never slept in the same bed with anyone.

Fortunately, Wen Yantong was a commoner and the son of a wealthy businessman, which made Chi Jingxi feel a lot less frustrated. In addition, he had some intersection with this person, so he did not resist it to an unacceptable level.

Wen Yantong liked to lean against the wall when sleeping, and while rolled in her quilt, her sleeping posture was quite good. She had left a large area of the bed vacant, so Chi Jingxi laid down with another quilt.

As soon as he sat on the bed and was making the quilt, his wrist suddenly became hot. Chi Jingxi looked sideways and saw that Wen Yantong opened her eyes at some point.

As if forcing her eyelids up, Wen Yangtong’s eyes were full of drowsiness. She looked at Chi Jingxi in confusion. The temperature in her palm was scorching hot, and even though Chi Jingxi wasn't cold, he could clearly feel the heat.

Chi Jingxi shook his wrist, but it did not shake off her hand. He asked in a low voice, "What are you doing?"

"Little Marquis." Wen Yantong's voice was very hoarse as she said to him, "He Ying didn't deliberately leave the charcoal unattended last night. She thought your servant was guarding the room, so she didn't come in."

The room was very quiet, and the dim light reflected in Wen Yantong's half-open eyes, making them actually shine a little. Chi Jingxi thought for a while and realized that the He Ying she was talking about was the maid of the night vigil last night.

He said, "What?"

"Don't blame her," Wen Yantong softly said.

Chi Jingxi said, "Didn't you already stop her from leaving?"

Wen Yantong withdrew her hand when she heard his reply. Her voice got lower and lower as she muttered, "It's good that you aren’t angry. It's scary when you become so fierce."

She retracted her hand into the quilt, rolled herself into a cocoon, closed her eyes with peace of mind, and continued to sleep.

Chi Jingxi glanced down at her, spread the quilt beside him, and then lay down to sleep. When he closed his eyes, he heard the sound of another person's breathing, which gave him a peculiar feeling.

Compared to last night, the herbal smell was stronger, almost as if it was embedding itself in Chi Jingxi's whole body. His nose was full of medicinal fragrance, even after a light inhalation.

As Mu Yang said, it’ll be over after tonight.

Chi Jingxi fell asleep slowly in the scent of the herbal fragrance, and his consciousness gradually became blurred. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard whispering in his ear.

He frowned slightly as he turned his head to look. He saw that Wen Yantong was still sleeping soundly, but her lips were squirming slightly as if she was calling someone.

He endured it and decided to ignore it.

But as soon as he turned his head back, he heard Wen Yantong muttering uninterruptedly as if she had no intention of stopping. It was so noisy that Chi Jingxi couldn't sleep at all. He turned around and pinched Wen Yantong's face, "Wake up..."

Wen Yantong felt the pain. She struggled for a while until she broke free from Chi Jingxi's hands. She then shrank back and warned, "Be careful, else I'll beat you."

Chi Jingxi laughed angrily. As a short cripple, who could he beat?

But his move was somewhat useful and Wen Yantong quieted down for a while. Just when Chi Jingxi was about to fall asleep again, she began to mutter again.

Chi Jingxi recalled a piece of information he had read from a book. If someone was talking in their sleep, just pinch the thenar webspace[1] of the person's hands, and they would stop talking after a while.

He reached into Wen Yantong's bed, looking for her hands. One hand was on her side, while the other one was on her neck. Chi Jingxi grabbed both of her hot hands and pinched both of her thenar webspaces.

Wen Yantong cried out immediately and woke up. She stared at Chi Jingxi with her wide eyes.

Seeing that she was awake, Chi Jingxi hurriedly threw her hand aside, coughed awkwardly, and warned. "Be obedient. You are not allowed to talk in your sleep."

Wen Yantong's consciousness was blurred as she rubbed her hands with a shriveled mouth. She muttered something, turned her back toward him, and went to sleep.

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Footnote:

[1] thenar webspace - the short muscles located between the index and thumb finger.