Tomorrow, I’ll ask Butler Chen to arrange separate rooms. This man’s presence is too overwhelming—I can’t handle it.
Shen Xiaoxing glanced at her, then stared straight ahead, leaning against the headboard. “What are you doing?”
Was she planning to sleep on the sofa?
An Ruo folded the blanket, thinking she’d just make do for the night.
“I toss and turn in my sleep. I’m afraid I’ll bump into you, so I’ll take the sofa.”
Since she wanted to sleep there, Shen Xiaoxing didn’t stop her.
What did this woman’s life or death have to do with him anyway?
“Good night, Master Shen!”
Shen Xiaoxing’s vision went dark, his eyes unusually bright in the dimness. He stared at the ceiling for a while, then silently shifted his gaze to the sofa not far from the bed, where a small lump had formed.
He couldn’t sleep that night.
Just as he closed his eyes, a faint sound broke the quiet darkness. He snapped them open alertly, only to see An Ruo in her pajamas getting up from the sofa...
Shen Xiaoxing kept his eyes on her as she slowly approached the big bed. A cold smirk curled at his lips—had she changed her mind and wanted the bed now?
His smirk lasted only a few seconds before An Ruo changed direction and walked straight toward him. Her steps were unsteady, almost like... sleepwalking???
Shen Xiaoxing’s face hardened as he watched her jump onto the bed, lift the covers, and lie down on top of him, even pulling the blanket over them both.
Shen Xiaoxing: “...”
“An Qing?” he tested, calling her name. The girl wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled him like a puppy.
Shen Xiaoxing’s breath hitched, her strawberry scent filling his nose—it was pleasant.
There was an urge to take a bite.
The thought barely surfaced before he suppressed it.
He rubbed his forehead, calmed down, and tried to push An Ruo away, but she clung too tightly. Every attempt only made her grip stronger. After failing, he gave up.
What difference did it make whether he slept on the bed or not?
It wasn’t the bed she was attached to—it was him!
The girl let out a soft murmur like a kitten, shifting restlessly below. Shen Xiaoxing’s expression darkened!
This damn girl!
“Don’t move!” His voice was hoarse.
---
The next morning, An Ruo stretched comfortably, then suddenly felt something hard beneath her. She slowly opened her glistening eyes...
A man’s enlarged, handsome face appeared before her without warning, startling her so much her heart seemed to stop!
He was still asleep, eyes closed. Realizing her terrible sleeping position, she carefully tried to move away and slip out of bed.
She had to leave before he woke up—getting caught would be mortifying!
But just as she pushed herself up, the man’s dark eyes snapped open, startling An Ruo so much her arms gave way, and she fell back onto him...
Her soft lips landed right on his thin ones!
Shen Xiaoxing’s eyes widened slightly. The girl’s mind went blank, and when she came to, her face flushed crimson. She quickly scrambled off him, avoiding his gaze with her big, round eyes.
Who could tell her what just happened?!
An Ruo lowered her head, ready to bolt, but the man turned his face slightly to look at her, clearly catching her panicked escape.
“An Qing?”
An Ruo, tiptoeing to flee, froze at the sound of his voice.
“Wh-what...?”
“You just now...”
She cut him off. “I accidentally touched your mouth with my hand.”
Shen Xiaoxing: “...”
Was she trying to deny it?
This woman could lie without batting an eye.
“Why are you in my bed?”
An Ruo snapped back to reality. “Right, why am I in your bed?”
Shen Xiaoxing propped himself up on his arms and sat up. A few buttons on his pajamas had been undone by her restless hands last night, revealing his strong, defined chest muscles...
“You were sleepwalking,” he said coldly.
An Ruo instinctively retorted, “Nonsense, I never sleepwalk.”
“Then how did you end up in my bed?” Shen Xiaoxing sneered. “Did I, a cripple, carry you up here?”
Seeing he wasn’t joking, An Ruo tugged at her cotton pajamas. “I do have sleepwalking issues... Maybe sleeping on the sofa last night triggered it.”
She only sleepwalked when she wasn’t in a bed—a subconscious attachment to it.
The man fumbled for the headboard. “Tonight, you’re sleeping outside!”
Was he really that harsh?
Shen Xiaoxing genuinely hated her climbing onto him in the dead of night. If not for his self-control, who knows what reckless thing he might have done.
---
An Ruo deeply felt this man was exceptionally hard to get along with. In the villa, she had to endure not only his mood swings but also his countless finicky habits.
Luckily, Old Master Shen’s agreement was for three years. After that, regardless of whether his health recovered, she’d be free.
Finally, the day of her return visit arrived.
An Ruo was terrified that Shen Xiaoxing would come with her to the An family home and discover she was a substitute bride for An Qing—that would be a disaster.
Just as she was growing uneasy, Butler Chen came to inform her that Shen Xiaoxing had rehabilitation at the hospital today and couldn’t accompany her back to her parents’ house.
For An Ruo, this was fantastic news!
Afraid the man might change his mind, she guiltily hurried back to her room to change, dressed neatly, and then sneaked downstairs.
The man sat quietly by the window, his eyes fixed on the distant frozen sea. His long, well-defined fingers were interlaced on his knees, his thin lips pressed together.
The seaside villa had been specially built for him by Old Master Shen, a place for him to recuperate while temporarily escaping the clutches of the second branch of the family.