Chapter 84: I Slept With You
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Shen Qingbie's messages seemed unstoppable, immediately she asked again: "Ruanruan, let me ask you, after Xi Mo received flowers from her dear fan, was she happy? Did she say anything?"
She didn’t know that the flowers had been switched, and now Xi Mo had received the bouquet originally meant for Ruan Yesheng. The dear fan had unknowingly turned into a dear friend.
Since Shen Qingbie couldn’t see it, Ruan Yesheng decided to deceive her as much as she could: "I couldn’t tell if she was happy or not, and she didn’t say anything. You know how she always is."
Shen Qingbie replied sounding a bit disappointed: "Really? It seems like the flowers I prepared weren’t surprising enough, they just blended in with the crowd, and didn’t leave a strong impression."
Ruan Yesheng saw the message and thought; wasn’t it strong enough? It almost gave me a heart attack.
But Shen Qingbie only stayed disappointed for a moment, then she was back to chatting energetically as if nothing had happened. It was hard to tell if she was carefree or just clueless.
As they continued chatting, seeing that Shen Qingbie was about to ramble on without stopping, Ruan Yesheng gently reminded her: "I had a lot of tests done today, I’m a bit tired, I’ll rest properly in a bit."
Shen Qingbie replied: "Then rest right now, why wait? I’ll stop talking, let’s leave it at that for now. Muah muah."
Ruan Yesheng didn’t respond, placing her phone aside, and preparing to get some water. But soon, the message notification sounded again. She picked up the phone and saw that it was still from Shen Qingbie.
Shen Qingbie pitifully said: "I already sent kisses, why didn’t you kiss me back? Aren’t we dear friends?"
Ruan Yesheng: "..."
Ruan Yesheng’s fingers danced as she quickly replied: "I’ve got a strange condition. Whenever I see or hear those words, my hand cramps up, and I can’t speak, so I can’t reply to you. Dear friend, please don’t blame me."
Shen Qingbie: "..."
Ruan Yesheng put down her phone and went to drink some water.
Shen Qingbie sat in her hotel room, knowing that no matter what, she wouldn’t get that kiss back. But in her mind, sending out a kiss must be reciprocated, that’s how proper etiquette works. So, she decided to change her target and sent a message to Yu An, saying: "A’Yu, muah muah."
Yu An was shopping at the hotel supermarket. Upon seeing Shen Qingbie’s message, she quickly replied with one word: "Scram."
After replying, Yu An pushed her shopping cart around the store. About ten minutes passed, and she noticed that Shen Qingbie hadn’t bombarded her with more messages, which was very unusual.
The more she thought about it, the more odd it seemed. What’s wrong with that fool? Could she be upset and crying into her blanket?
Shen Qingbie was always such a handful. In the past, Yu An often scolded her out of frustration. Although Shen Qingbie was usually carefree, sometimes she did feel sad. When she was really upset, she would sit hugging anything soft—like a blanket or pillow—and cry her heart out, gasping for breath, as pitiful as could be.
Back then, Yu An was pretty hot-tempered. But after seeing Shen Qingbie cry so many times, she began to reflect on herself, wondering if she had been too strict. Over the years, Shen Qingbie had gradually worn down her temper.
Yu An had no choice. After thinking for a while, she took out her phone and replied to Shen Qingbie: "Muah muah."
Shen Qingbie responded in an instant: "Muah muah!"
Yu An: "..."
Next time she felt sorry and replied with anything like "muah muah," she would just kill herself.
Ruan Yesheng finished drinking water and returned to her hospital bed, only to find Xi Mo holding the card from the bouquet and reading it, her expression serious.
Xi Mo looked at it for a while before asking, "Who sent this?"
Ruan Yesheng knew Xi Mo was too smart to fool easily, and if she wasn’t careful, Xi Mo would see through her. So, she started to dodge the question: "It’s someone who’s both my friend and your fan."
"It’s not Yan Tinghuan." Although Yan Tinghuan was Ruan Yesheng’s friend and had even mentioned being a fan of Xi Mo in front of her, Xi Mo didn’t believe Yan Tinghuan was truly her fan. Plus, the style of the flower gift didn’t match Yan Tinghuan’s flamboyant personality. She decisively ruled out Yan Tinghuan and asked, "Then who could it be?"
Ruan Yesheng smiled mischievously: "That’s a secret."
Xi Mo: "..."
Ruan Yesheng’s smile carried a deeper meaning: "So it’s okay for you to keep secrets, but I can’t? If you want to know, let’s trade. You tell me the secret you just kept from me, and I’ll tell you mine."
Xi Mo fell silent, seeming a bit troubled.
Seeing Xi Mo’s troubled expression, Ruan Yesheng softened and said, “When the time is right, I will tell you.”
“Alright, I’ll wait,” Xi Mo replied.
Ruan Yesheng smiled at her.
Unknowingly, it was already evening. Feng Tangtang bought food for the two of them and also prepared clothes and daily necessities, busying herself the whole time. By around eight in the evening, Ruan Yesheng told Feng Tangtang to go rest. After that, the two tidied up washed up, and lay down on their respective beds.
The lights in the hospital room were turned off, but the corridor lights shone through the observation window in the door, casting light into the room.
Ruan Yesheng couldn’t sleep, but she didn’t dare to turn over, afraid that the noise would wake Xi Mo. Xi Mo’s side was very quiet. There was a slight distance between them, and Ruan Yesheng could see the outline of Xi Mo’s blanket.
It’s said that nighttime is the time for longing because it is quiet. People’s attention isn’t as easily distracted by the mundane matters of the day, so the feelings of longing inevitably start to spread.
It was strange—she was in the same room as Xi Mo, yet she missed her so much. This feeling was even deeper than before.
Was it because she had gotten a little closer to her, so her desires had grown as well?
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Ruan Yesheng sighed, tugging at her blanket, preparing to sleep.
“What are you sighing about?” Xi Mo’s voice came from the adjacent bed.
Ruan Yesheng jolted, “Why are you still awake?”
“Aren’t you awake too?” Xi Mo retorted.
“Of course, I’m not sleeping.” Ruan Yesheng turned onto her side and smiled. “After all these years, I finally get to sleep with you again. I have so many feelings; how can I sleep?”
“Watch your wording,” Xi Mo said seriously.
“Oh.” Ruan Yesheng corrected herself. “I meant sharing the same room; that’s the ‘with’ I meant.”
“It isn't 'the same room',” Xi Mo corrected her. “It’s the same tent.”
Ruan Yesheng burst into laughter. “I didn’t expect you to remember that!”
“Mm.” Xi Mo replied somewhat ambiguously.
Perhaps because this topic had come up, Ruan Yesheng felt her emotions stirring once more.
She remembered when they were in college, and the class organized an event for a picnic and camping with tents in the countryside. At first, when she asked Xi Mo if she wanted to go camping, Xi Mo simply replied that it was boring. However, the next day, when she and her classmates arrived at the campsite by bus, she found that Xi Mo had already arrived early, waiting in a four-wheel drive.
The tents were set up by the students themselves, and there were limited numbers, so they had to stay in groups. Ruan Yesheng shared a tent with two other girls.
During the day, the classmates fished in the nearby river and had a barbecue, enjoying themselves immensely. By nightfall, due to the limited skills of those who set up the tents, two tents had their stakes poorly secured and suddenly collapsed, and unfortunately, the tent where Ruan Yesheng was sleeping was one of them.
In the dark of night, it was not easy to set up a tent again, and since it was too late to re-pitch, the unlucky classmates had to find space in other tents to squeeze in.
Xi Mo's tent was set up by the two drivers of her family's four-wheel drive—one in the driver's seat and one in the passenger's seat, allowing them to take turns driving. Although they were referred to as drivers, they also served as bodyguards and had previously participated in outdoor training, making tent set up a piece of cake for them. Thus, Xi Mo's tent was the most comfortable and secure of all.
Xi Mo's tent was a personal one, unlike the others which were rented collectively by the class. She had the entire tent to herself, and no one would say anything. She left a camping light outside her tent and was about to sleep when she suddenly noticed a dark shadow reflecting on the tent fabric, standing completely still.
She was startled at that moment and picked up a folding stool from inside the tent, and carefully pulled down the windproof zipper of the tent.
Earlier, during the bonfire gathering, some classmates had deliberately shared scary camping legends to create an atmosphere. They mentioned that there were some unclean things in the wild, which would hide near the tents and, while the occupants were asleep, quietly creep in and drag them away to eat them.
Many of the girls screamed in fright, and Ruan Yesheng, sitting next to Xi Mo, asked if she was afraid. Xi Mo only gave a cold snort in response.
Now, Xi Mo did not know what kind of shadow was outside. She swung the folding stool and poked her head out of the tent. To her surprise, she found Ruan Yesheng wrapped in her sleeping bag, curled up against the side of her tent.
Seeing this, Xi Mo frowned and asked, “What are you doing hiding there?”
Ruan Yesheng rubbed her sleepy eyes and said, “My tent collapsed, and I had nowhere to squeeze in. Your tent is quite big and can block the wind, so I just leaned against it for a while.”
“Are you stupid?” Xi Mo said, “This is outside the tent. How can it block anything?”
“Well, I have no choice,” Ruan Yesheng said with a hint of grievance. “I have no tent to sleep in, and all the other tents are full.”
Xi Mo ignored her and went back into the tent. After sitting inside for a while, she came out again and said to Ruan Yesheng, “Come in and sleep.”
Ruan Yesheng hurriedly hugged her sleeping bag and entered Xi Mo's tent. Xi Mo told her to lie on the left side, placed the folding stool in the middle as a boundary, and said, “Don’t talk. Hurry up and sleep.”
Ruan Yesheng poked her head out of the sleeping bag and smiled, nodding her head.
That night, Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo slept together in the tent. Some youthful memories never faded; instead, as time accumulated, they became clearer because they were often remembered and reminisced about.
The more Ruan Yesheng thought about it, the more she couldn't help but laugh.
“Laughing again,” Xi Mo said from her bed.
“I just like to laugh. Are you forbidding me to laugh?” Ruan Yesheng replied. “I was laughing at you back then.”
“What are you laughing at?” Xi Mo retorted coldly.
With a light and cheerful tone, Ruan Yesheng said, “Do you remember that time we slept in the tent? You said I was sleeping outside the tent and that nothing could block me, calling me stupid. But I wasn’t stupid at all. I was pretending to be pitiful so that you would feel sorry for me and invite me in.”
Xi Mo: “…”
“Are you angry?” Ruan Yesheng asked her softly.
“No.”
“I was wrong.” Ruan Yesheng quickly said, “I lied to you. I wasn’t pretending to be pitiful. I just felt embarrassed to disturb you, but I really had nowhere else to sleep, so I had to borrow the spot outside your tent to sleep for a bit. I thought it would be warmer there. I didn’t expect you to come out.”
“The wind is strong outside at night. How could it be warm?” Xi Mo frowned.
“I knew you were in the tent,” Ruan Yesheng replied. “I felt warm in my heart. It was like the little match girl; she struck a match and saw a roasted goose. That was a kind of psychological comfort, even though she was freezing to death.”
Xi Mo: “…”
What little match girl?! What roasted goose?!
Can’t you use a better metaphor when you are being flirty?!
“Go to sleep,” Xi Mo turned over.
“Okay, sleep, sleep.” Ruan Yesheng secretly chuckled, wrapped herself in the blanket, and closed her eyes.
Author's Note:
Muah muah!
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