Good Morning

"Ah! Ye Feng, you're awake~"

When Ye Feng opened his eyes, the first person he saw was Xie Yuyan lying beside him on the pillow. Xie Yuyan wore a delighted expression, nestled comfortably against his shoulder.

"Xie Yuyan!!"

Ye Feng was startled awake by her sudden closeness, his entire body tensing up. But Xie Yuyan's grip on him was too tight—pulling away would require brute force, and that would inevitably aggravate his injuries. In the end, Ye Feng had no choice but to resort to verbal persuasion.

"What are you doing, Xie Yuyan? Who sleeps like this?"

Ye Feng turned his head to the side. Xie Yuyan seemed to have just taken a shower, her body still carrying the faint scent of shower gel mixed with her own alluring aura. To avoid being affected by it, he quickly added,

"Go back to your own side and sleep. I’m still recovering from my injuries."

"But... I can’t help it~"

"How is that possible? All you have to do is take a blanket and sleep on the other side. I even left plenty of space for you, and instead of using it, you squeeze in next to me. And... where’s your blanket?"

"My blanket..."

Xie Yuyan pinched Ye Feng’s arm at this question, then huffed in frustration.

"It’s all because of you!"

"Huh? Because of me? What does this have to do with me?"

Ye Feng was utterly baffled by her sudden accusation. He hadn’t touched her blanket—how was this his fault?

Just as he was lost in confusion, Xie Yuyan finally explained.

"It’s because you distracted me while I was organizing my things, making me drop my blanket on the floor. You know how dirty floors are! As your caretaker, I have to stay healthy—if I get sick, who’s going to look after you? So I had to wash it, but now there’s no spare blanket in the room. To avoid catching a cold, I had no choice but to endure the discomfort and squeeze in with you~"

"......"

"Xie Yuyan, have you ever considered that you could just change the blanket cover instead?"

Ye Feng’s words cut straight to the heart of the matter, plunging the room into dead silence.

After what felt like an eternity, the pair of light blue eyes in front of him slowly opened. For some reason, Xie Yuyan’s gaze carried a hint of something unreadable.

"Ye Feng... Why can’t you just play dumb for once?"

"X-Xie Yuyan, what do you mean?"

"What do I mean? It means I want to stay close to you, of course! Honestly, you always make me say such embarrassing things—you must be doing it on purpose."

Xie Yuyan shot him a resentful glance before burying her face in his chest and murmuring softly,

"Alright, let’s not overthink it. Just go back to sleep."

"Sigh."

Ye Feng knew there was no point arguing further—Xie Yuyan wouldn’t change her mind. Resigned, he closed his eyes and pretended nothing was happening.

Seeing his reaction, Xie Yuyan knew her stubbornness had won him over. A triumphant smile curled at her lips as she savored her victory. Though she longed to get even closer, she knew pushing too hard would only annoy him. For now, just being by his side was enough.

......

"Mm..."

"Hm?"

Deep in the night, Wenwen was roused from sleep by a faint whimper. Groggy, she slowly opened her heavy eyelids. When she saw the source of the sound, her mind snapped awake—Shen Mengli lay beside her, brows furrowed in distress.

"Sister?"

Wenwen called out nervously, but there was no response. Shen Mengli seemed trapped in a terrifying nightmare, her head tossing restlessly as if haunted by something.

"Sister!"

Frightened, Wenwen tugged at Shen Mengli’s sleeve, trying to wake her. Finally, under her insistent pulling, a pair of crimson eyes slowly opened in the darkness.

"Sister? Are you okay?"

At Wenwen’s voice, Shen Mengli’s consciousness gradually cleared. She looked down at the girl beside her and spoke in a hoarse whisper,

"Wenwen..."

"You finally responded! Are you alright? Did you have a bad dream?"

"A dream? No... it wasn’t a dream. It was... reality..."

Shen Mengli murmured, as if recalling something unbearably painful.

"What do you mean, sister? I don’t understand."

Wenwen puzzled over her words—nightmares and reality? What was the difference?

"Eh? Sister, why are you crying?"

"Crying? These are... my tears?"

Shen Mengli touched her face, only to find two silent trails of moisture. She hadn’t even noticed them—only the dull ache in her chest.

"Xiao Feng... Xiao Feng..."

The "nightmare" flashed through her mind again. Clutching her chest, she struggled to breathe, her scarlet eyes filled with visions of Ye Feng.

"Don’t... take him... away from me..."

......

Dawn arrived, filling the dim bedroom with light. Ye Feng, an early riser by habit, woke at his usual time.

As he stretched his arms out instinctively, he suddenly realized one hand was pinned firmly under a certain someone’s grasp—reminding him that Xie Yuyan was still beside him.

Ye Feng cautiously glanced at her. Xie Yuyan appeared to be fast asleep, her serene expression almost heart-melting. But Ye Feng hadn’t forgotten how she’d nearly been the death of him yesterday.

Logically, a top-tier assassin like Xie Yuyan should have impeccable emotional control—so why was she the exception? It baffled him. The woman before him now was worlds apart from the one he’d first met.

Sigh... What am I going to do from here? And what about Mengli...

Lost in thought, he didn’t notice the faint flutter of eyelashes before him—until a pair of eyes suddenly opened, locking onto his.

"Xie Yuyan? You’re awake..."

"Mhm. This was the most peaceful sleep I’ve had in a long time."

Her bangs partially obscured one eye, but the happiness in her gaze was unmistakable. The combination of her sultry voice and delicate features left Ye Feng momentarily stunned.

"G-Good morning."