Can't Sleep Together or We'll Die

After Chen Qin finished showering, she also put on Ye Shuang's T-shirt, though she added a pair of shorts and even pulled Bai Yuyou into wearing pants too.

Ye Shuang didn’t say much when he saw them like that.

"You didn’t buy a piano?" Chen Qin asked curiously, eyeing the guitar in Bai Yuyou’s hands.

After all, they had initially planned to get a piano—had it not arrived yet?

Bai Yuyou was watching a tutorial video on her phone. At Chen Qin’s question, she explained softly, "Wanted to learn… this instead."

"How much did it cost?"

"A few grand," Ye Shuang said.

Chen Qin raised an eyebrow. "Why not get a better one?"

"You spoiled brat, this is already good. The guitar I bought in college was barely a thousand," Ye Shuang retorted, exasperated. Only someone like Chen Qin, who treated money like water, would say that. The piano he’d learned as a child hadn’t even cost more than a hundred grand.

If he didn’t know Chen Qin was genuinely wealthy, he’d have thought she was just showing off.

"It’s different," Chen Qin insisted. "Instruments can last a lifetime. Might as well get the best from the start."

"Yuyou, next time I go abroad, I’ll get you a top-tier guitar."

Bai Yuyou hugged the guitar tighter. "This… is enough."

"Don’t bother with all that. What matters is that she likes it," Ye Shuang said, sitting beside Bai Yuyou. He took the guitar from her, strummed it lightly, then began tuning it while explaining some basics. Though the initial learning phase could be tedious, the moment it clicked, most people grew to love it.

Following Ye Shuang’s guidance, Bai Yuyou tentatively played a short melody. It was slow, clumsy, and riddled with wrong notes, but her eyes shimmered with quiet excitement.

"I think you could get both a guitar and a piano," Chen Qin mused from the couch, her gaze drifting to the floor-to-ceiling window. "That spot over there would be perfect—a piano would look great and be practical. Just move the cat bed somewhere else. The cat won’t mind."

At that moment, Yiwan, who had melted into a puddle of fur in her bed, lifted her head. "Meow?"

"I originally planned to check out pianos, but…" Ye Shuang trailed off, hesitating as if recalling something. He shook his head with a faint smile. "A guitar’s fine too. Who has the energy to learn two instruments?"

Chen Qin noticed the shift in Ye Shuang’s mood. Though she was usually brash, she was also perceptive and empathetic. Sensing his reluctance to elaborate, she didn’t press further.

But Bai Yuyou, still cradling the guitar, murmured, "Ran into… ex-girlfriend… so didn’t go."

"Ye, you saw Zhao Mengyao?" Chen Qin studied Ye Shuang’s face, but his expression remained unreadable. He simply nodded. "Yeah."

"You okay?"

"What’s there to not be okay about?" Ye Shuang countered with a smile.

"Good, that’s good." Chen Qin kept watching him but found nothing amiss.

"You don’t have to look at me like that," Ye Shuang said.

"That Zhao Mengyao’s been getting worse and worse. Next time I see her, I’ll punch her for you," Chen Qin declared, waving a tiny fist.

Ye Shuang shook his head. "I just regret it, that’s all."

Chen Qin’s heart clenched. "Regret what…?"

"If I’d realized sooner, maybe my parents would still be here." His smile was faint, eyes shadowed.

A first love might be significant, but for someone as filial as Ye Shuang, losing his parents had been the real blow. The guilt and torment gnawed at him endlessly, far worse than any heartbreak.

"Uncle and Auntie wouldn’t blame you," Chen Qin said, knowing her words couldn’t truly comfort him. Still, she moved to sit beside him, placing a hand over his in reassurance.

Bai Yuyou mirrored the gesture, resting her hand on his other one. The warmth of their touch left Ye Shuang unsure whether to laugh or cry.

"It’s fine. Life goes on."

"Zhao Mengyao’s the worst!" Chen Qin huffed. "Rude, selfish brat—no upbringing at all!"

Ye Shuang had wondered if he’d played a part in shaping Zhao Mengyao’s personality. She hadn’t always been so self-centered—proud, yes, but once capable of empathy.

But he’d done everything for her, spared her every inconvenience. Even if she was thirsty, he’d hand her a glass without her asking. He’d never contradicted her, fulfilling every demand short of plucking stars from the sky.

Maybe that excessive indulgence was what turned her into the spoiled, entitled person she’d become.

In the end, it boiled down to one truth:

Simps get wrecked.

Ye Shuang often asked himself if he’d been wrong—to pour his entire heart into a relationship, only to reap nothing in return. Yet now, when he treated Bai Yuyou with the same kindness, she cherished every gesture. Slowly, he realized:

People were different.

Not everyone took kindness for granted.

Some would never think you’d done enough, no matter how much you gave. But others, like Bai Yuyou or Chen Qin, would repay your kindness twofold and remember it always.

The trick was directing it where it mattered.

A 998-yuan bouquet might end up in a goddess’s trash, but a single rose could make a mother’s day.

So before giving your all, make sure the other person holds you in their heart. Don’t feed your sincerity to the dogs.

…

Night deepened.

After updating his novel for the day, Ye Shuang headed upstairs to sleep, only to find the three of them stuck on sleeping arrangements.

"I… want to sleep with Ye Shuang," Bai Yuyou announced, clutching her pillow and gripping the bedframe stubbornly.

"No, you’re too old for that. Time to sleep separately," Chen Qin argued, tugging at the blank-faced girl to no avail.

"Won’t…"

"Listen, men and women are different. You can only share a bed after marriage."

"We’re married…"

"You’re not."

"Are…"

Back and forth they went, until Bai Yuyou finally leaped onto Ye Shuang’s bed, wrapping herself in the blanket like a sushi roll.

Beside her head lay a note:

【(˘•ω•˘) I have a disease where I’ll die if I don’t sleep with Ye Shuang. Are you trying to kill me?】

"What kind of disease is that?!"