That Should Have Been Me

Seeing Nangong Xiyun use such a clumsy excuse, Jiang Ningshu laughed again. "Midnight snack? What midnight snack?"

"Shut up." Nangong Xiyun obviously hadn’t prepared anything.

"No, I won’t." Jiang Ningshu insisted.

"I’ll tear your mouth apart."

"Go ahead."

Watching them argue, Li Siyi felt a headache coming on. She hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.

She’d never imagined her master could be so childish.

Noticing Li Siyi’s strange look, Nangong Xiyun immediately straightened up and stopped bickering with Jiang Ningshu.

She said, "Su Luo’s already resting, so let’s skip the midnight snack."

"Master, it’s not like I don’t know. No need to cover it up like this," Li Siyi said weakly.

Nangong Xiyun coughed. "Siyi, I have matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave first."

She couldn’t just not cover it up—she had to maintain some dignity in front of her disciple.

Running away might not solve the problem, but it sure worked.

With Li Siyi here, Nangong Xiyun couldn’t bring herself to stay any longer.

At this point, Li Siyi finally understood what Jiang Ningshu had meant by "no space left."

Of course. A simple bed wasn’t meant to bear such an unreasonable burden.

Jiang Ningshu sat elegantly as ever. "You lost."

"Seems like you know my master pretty well," Li Siyi sighed.

"Just a little."

Silence fell. They weren’t exactly close to begin with.

But now, Li Siyi’s dilemma returned to the original question—

Should she stay or go?

After hesitating for a long time, Li Siyi finally approached the bed and looked at Su Luo, who was fast asleep.

"What, not leaving?" Jiang Ningshu asked.

"Let me stay with Su Luo for a while."

"I’m not kicking you out. Do as you please."

With that, Jiang Ningshu lay down on Su Luo’s right side, ready to sleep.

She’d begun to feel like sleeping beside Su Luo too often might become a habit.

Ever since her cultivation had fully recovered, Jiang Ningshu rarely slept, but when she did, she always stayed by Su Luo’s side.

Li Siyi looked at the three of them—there really was no space left.

"...There’s no room for me here either."

"Here, there is."

Jiang Ningshu pointed to Su Luo’s front.

Huh? That… could work?

Li Siyi had thought about getting close to Su Luo, but she hadn’t expected such full-body contact right from the start. Shouldn’t things progress step by step?

She was determined to go through with it, but with others around, she couldn’t do much.

At this point, she thought holding hands like Little Yu would’ve been nice.

"What, not used to it? Then I’ll do it."

Jiang Ningshu started climbing onto Su Luo.

Li Siyi pressed a hand on her shoulder. "I... I’ll do it."

Jiang Ningshu shrugged and lay back down, closing her eyes.

Li Siyi glanced at Little Yu on the left and Jiang Ningshu on the right, still hesitant.

Being close to Su Luo wasn’t the issue—it was the presence of others that made her feel awkward.

But leaving now would feel like giving up.

After a long internal struggle, she convinced herself to ignore the other two and gently lay down on top of Su Luo.

Pressing against him, she could feel his warmth.

This close, she could even hear his heartbeat.

Slowly, Li Siyi relaxed.

Just this much was enough to fill her with an indescribable sense of peace. Soon, she forgot about the other two entirely.

After longing for this for so long, she finally had it. She nuzzled her face against Su Luo’s neck.

Too bad she couldn’t go further—and Su Luo was sleeping so soundly.

Finally, she kissed him lightly. "Goodnight."

Then, still lying on top of him, she drifted off to sleep.

Outside the room, Nangong Xiyun hadn’t left. She was secretly watching from a distance.

Her eyes burned with longing.

"That should’ve been my spot... Wuwuwu..."

She couldn’t accept this.

She wanted to be in there too. If only she’d stubbornly refused to leave earlier.

But now, even if she went in, there’d be no space left.

Wait—what about from behind?

Nangong Xiyun thought about it. Maybe that wasn’t entirely impossible.

In the end, she still didn’t go in.

She consoled herself—they were all sleeping peacefully. No need to disturb them.

So she spent the entire night watching from outside.

The next morning, Su Luo woke up to find himself pinned down.

Out of habit, he patted the person’s bottom.

"Time to get up."

"Mmm..." Li Siyi murmured, shifting slightly but not fully awake yet. "Let me sleep a little longer~"

Li Siyi?

Huh?

Not Nangong Xiyun?

Su Luo snapped awake, confused. How had Li Siyi gotten in?

Li Siyi finally woke up properly and realized Su Luo had just patted her butt. "You’re so mean..." she muttered.

"What are you doing here?"

Su Luo had genuinely thought it was Nangong Xiyun—she’d been sleeping on him like this a lot lately.

"I can’t come?" Li Siyi glanced left and right, as if to say, They’re here too, you know.

"Of course you can."

Su Luo could easily read her thoughts. He kissed her without hesitation.

Li Siyi’s annoyance melted away instantly. "Mean."

They lingered like that for a while.

Jiang Ningshu woke up around then but didn’t say anything.

She got up and went to pour herself some tea at the table.

With Jiang Ningshu awake, Li Siyi felt too embarrassed to keep fooling around with Su Luo.

She got up too.

Suddenly, Li Siyi pinched Little Yu’s cheek. "Still pretending to sleep at this point?"

Only then did Little Yu "wake up."

"Li Siyi."

"Wow, you’ve really learned how to sneak into Su Luo’s room now."

At the very least, Li Siyi had to admit—Little Yu had gotten much bolder.

"Not really."

BANG!

The door swung open.

"I’m here, I’m here! I wanted to call you all for a midnight snack last night, but you were all sleeping so soundly. No worries—we can eat now instead!"

Nangong Xiyun actually marched in carrying a pile of steaming-hot midnight snacks.

Li Siyi stared, then shook her head.

Still trying to play it off like she’d only come for a midnight snack?

But nobody was fooled.

Jiang Ningshu cut straight to the point. "What, spent the whole night outside preparing this?"

"Don’t spout nonsense. I went back last night. I really did make these then—just reheated them now."

Nangong Xiyun had watched them all night, but she’d never admit it.

Su Luo sensed something. "Did I miss something last night?"

"Nothing at all! By the way, where do you want to go today?" Nangong Xiyun swiftly changed the subject.

"Up to you."

By "you," Su Luo meant Nangong Xiyun and Li Siyi—they knew the place best.

After freshening up, they ate the "midnight snacks." No point letting them go to waste.

Once they finished, Li Siyi took the lead, guiding them on a tour.

From the training grounds to the library, the Pure Martial Pagoda, the Eight Great Peaks...

They revisited all the familiar spots, appreciating whatever had changed.

For Jiang Ningshu, everything was new, so she observed with keen interest, treating it like a sightseeing trip.