Chapter 97: Why Are You Still Hugging Me?
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Both of them lay motionless.
The silence lingered for a while, and the room was filled with nothing but the sound of breathing.
This clearly audible breathing made it seem like no one dared to move, as though any sound of movement would shatter the frozen quiet.
Neither of them wanted to break it, so they could only keep the situation as it was.
The warmth under the quilt kept rising, enveloping their bodies.
Ruan Yesheng's breathing sounded more rapid. She felt restless and hot, her eyes open in the dim light, as the little finger of her left hand slowly shifted to the side.
It was empty, but she could feel Xi Mo's warmth close at hand, so she moved her little finger further to the side.
This time, it touched the fabric of Xi Mo's pajamas.
Soon, the fabric shifted in that spot. Xi Mo felt her cautious touch and moved slightly, but it was very subtle.
She didn’t seem to lean toward Ruan Yesheng, but because of Ruan Yesheng’s touch, she awkwardly adjusted her lying position.
“Is there anything else you want to say?” Ruan Yesheng sensed Xi Mo’s tension, and a trace of sadness flickered in her burning heart as she softly asked.
After quite a while, Xi Mo finally said, “Nothing.”
“Then sleep,” Ruan Yesheng said.
She had been lying flat on her back earlier, just like Xi Mo. After speaking, she withdrew her little finger, turned her body to the side, facing Xi Mo, and placed her hand on the edge of the boundary, saying, “Now we’re this close. Later tonight, if I sleep in a daze and accidentally cross the line, you can't blame me. It’s because you didn’t use a pillow to separate us.”
“Mm,” Xi Mo responded vaguely, indicating agreement.
Ruan Yesheng smiled quietly to herself and closed her eyes.
Her mood felt as though it was being carried by ocean waves, gently swaying, and she named each wave joy.
Xi Mo, however, didn’t fall asleep. After a long while, she heard the soft pattering sound outside, like raindrops landing on the window.
The autumn dryness had finally given way to this night rain, and tomorrow might be a refreshing day.
Beside her, Ruan Yesheng's breathing was light and shallow, as though she had fallen asleep to the sound of the rain.
This rhythmic tapping of the raindrops was indeed helpful for sleep, Xi Mo thought. Ruan Yesheng would probably sleep very well tonight, and Xi Mo’s mood inexplicably became comfortable too.
The rain grew heavier, and the night became increasingly damp.
Gradually, Ruan Yesheng began to dream, trembling to the ticking of the night rain.
She felt soaked through, icy rain pounding her face and body, stinging her skin and bones.
Without an umbrella, she rushed into a garbage dump reeking of decay, with the rain intensifying the stench.
She searched urgently, sweeping her gaze and digging through piles of trash, indifferent to the foul smell.
After a while, her phone notification rang.
She shuddered, as though she had been waiting for it, stopping her search and hastily pulling out her phone.
The rain pelted her phone screen. She shielded it with her clothing and checked the message. It was from an unknown number, coldly stating: “See the red bucket? Just underneath it, dig carefully.”
Earlier, there had been another message from a different unknown number, guiding her to the garbage dump: “At Xiaohuiling garbage dump.”
Judging from the tone, the sender seemed to be the same person, though the number kept changing.
She couldn’t reach the person or locate them, as if the one contacting her through the phone was a ghost.
Ruan Yesheng didn’t hesitate. Her gaze locked onto the red bucket nearby. She dashed over, disregarding her appearance, moved the bucket aside, knelt on the trash, and lowered her head to dig through the garbage with her hands.
Soggy cardboard, fruit peels, plastic, and other debris mixed together were gradually cleared away by her hands. Rain dripped from her eyelashes, blurring her vision.
She dug for half an hour, creating a pit in the trash.
Finally, she saw the corpse in the pit.
The body was wrapped in black rain cloth, with only part of the head exposed, lying miserably like discarded garbage.
Ruan Yesheng stared blankly at the corpse, her digging hands frozen, her whole body as if encased in ice. Her trembling hands slowly lifted the black cloth, revealing a face that had long been blurred beyond recognition.
But she could clearly recognize it and immediately knelt by the corpse, crying bitterly.
In the dream, the rain ticked.
Outside the window, the rain continued.
It was already past four in the morning when Xi Mo woke up again, vaguely feeling she heard faint sobbing amidst the rain.
By the dim light outside the window, she turned her face and saw Ruan Yesheng facing her, her face pressed against the pillow, her whole body curled up and trembling.
Xi Mo didn’t know what was wrong with Ruan Yesheng. She was startled at first, then instinctively reached out to feel around.
She moved closer, her hand touching Ruan Yesheng’s body, and Ruan Yesheng seemed to shiver suddenly. Xi Mo quickly withdrew her hand, waited for a moment, then reached out again under the quilt. When she touched Ruan Yesheng’s hand, she felt it clenched tightly into a fist, covered in cold sweat.
Xi Mo traced along Ruan Yesheng’s wrist, up her arm, and continued until she reached her neck, where her hand suddenly stopped.
Ruan Yesheng’s neck was wet.
Hot liquid had flowed down from her face to her neck.
Xi Mo became flustered and called Ruan Yesheng softly a few times, but Ruan Yesheng didn’t respond and trembled even more violently.
Was she having a nightmare?
Xi Mo didn’t dare to wake her or turn on the light. Her hand touched Ruan Yesheng’s cheek, gently wiping it, and her fingers came away wet and warm.
She had seen Ruan Yesheng cry before, but it was silent, nothing as despairing as this.
At this moment, Ruan Yesheng’s fragile sobs and choking gasps seemed to turn into scalding heat, drilling into Xi Mo’s ears, burning her until she could barely breathe.
She didn’t know what to do.
After hesitating for a moment, Xi Mo moved closer to Ruan Yesheng, placing one hand under her neck as a pillow and pulling her body into her arms with the other.
That wasn’t enough—she even stretched her leg between Ruan Yesheng’s legs, allowing her to hold onto Xi Mo in a closer and more comfortable position.
Ruan Yesheng lowered her head, nestled in Xi Mo’s embrace, almost entirely wrapped up by her.
In rhythm with the rain, Xi Mo began gently patting Ruan Yesheng’s back.
Ruan Yesheng buried her face in Xi Mo’s chest, her tears soaking into it.
Perhaps, in her dazed state, she felt the warmth enveloping her and the soothing rhythm of the pats on her back. Gradually, her sobbing quieted and eventually stopped.
The next morning, Ruan Yesheng slowly woke up.
In her haze, she opened her eyes slightly, feeling her face pressed against something warm and soft. She had never felt anything more comfortable than what she was touching now, and she couldn’t resist rubbing her face against it.
Once wasn’t enough—she rubbed again.
After she rubbed against it several times like a soft pillow, Xi Mo's exasperated voice finally sounded by her ear: "Have you rubbed enough?"
Ruan Yesheng snapped out of her daze, forcing her eyes open. When she focused, she realized her face was actually buried in Xi Mo's chest.
Xi Mo was tightly hugging her, entwining their bodies together.
Ruan Yesheng was still a bit dazed. To confirm, she reached out and touched that chest.
Xi Mo jerked back like she had been electrocuted, releasing Ruan Yesheng’s waist, but her legs were still tangled between Ruan Yesheng’s.
When Ruan Yesheng moved her leg, Xi Mo’s whole body went numb. She instinctively wanted to retreat but couldn’t—Ruan Yesheng’s legs had her firmly locked in place.
The two remained in an unbelievably awkward position, entangled on the bed.
Ruan Yesheng: "..."
Xi Mo: "..."
"I didn’t mean to touch your chest just now." Ruan Yesheng still tried to explain. "I thought I wasn’t fully awake."
"That wasn’t my chest," Xi Mo trembled inside. "It was yours."
"Oh." Ruan Yesheng nodded, but a smile crept onto her lips.
She felt her face was a bit dry. Reaching up to wipe her cheek, she noticed something strange. She had never felt this uncomfortable upon waking up—her skin felt oddly tight.
She had no idea that she had cried in her sleep from a nightmare, rubbing her tears all over Xi Mo’s chest.
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Tears contained salt. If they weren’t wiped away and just left to dry, the skin would feel uncomfortably tight.
"Why are you still hugging me while sleeping?" Ruan Yesheng bit her lip, her eyes glistening as she asked.
Xi Mo: "…"
Ruan Yesheng’s gaze shifted and landed on Xi Mo’s legs.
Xi Mo’s leg was still stuck between hers, unable to break free.
Xi Mo: "…"
"Why do you put your legs all over the place when you sleep?" Ruan Yesheng questioned again.
Xi Mo nearly coughed up blood, thinking that if she hadn’t been trying to comfort Ruan Yesheng last night, she wouldn’t have ended up in such an embarrassing situation.
But she realized that Ruan Yesheng didn’t know she had cried. It seemed like she had unconsciously shed tears while having a nightmare.
Now that a new day had begun, there was no need to bring it up and make Ruan Yesheng feel embarrassed.
She had no idea what Ruan Yesheng dreamed about, but judging from her reaction, it must have been a heartbreaking dream.
Since it was such a bad dream, it was better to let her forget it.
"I don’t know." Xi Mo looked away, holding her breath. "I thought it was a pillow."
"Mm, hugging a pillow while sleeping makes sense. But how come your pillow grew legs and even let you slip between them?" Ruan Yesheng’s eyes gleamed with amusement, like she had caught onto something sweet.
"I don’t know either." Xi Mo pulled her leg free from between Ruan Yesheng’s, then pressed down on Ruan Yesheng’s legs instead. She let out a cold laugh. "I was just trying to sleep like this on my pillow. Maybe the pillow moved on its own.”
Author's Note:
I’ve updated again!
Ruanruan and Xi Mo are finally hugging each other. This time, we can round it up [.
Thank you for your comments, the overlord tickets and nutrient solution, muah (〃'▽'〃)
