“I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” Yunmei replied hoarsely. Closing the door, he went to the inner room, hearing the howling wind outside. He opened the window and let the cool breeze calm him. After a while, his tears dried up, and he wiped his face before closing the window and walking to the bed as if nothing had happened.

Xia Rong closed his eyes in relief after hearing Yunmei’s calm breathing.

#

Su Xi was uncomfortable, having grown used to Jinyu’s embrace and not sleeping with Xiao Lian for a long time.

Xiao Lian, excited to be next to Su Xi, stroked his belly, “Your belly seems to be getting bigger. Will it continue to grow? When will the baby be born?”

Su Xi was not used to Xiao Lian’s attention. “Xiao Lian, touch it tomorrow after we wake up. Sleep now,” he said, taking Xiao Lian’s restless hand.

Disappointed, Xiao Lian said “Oh,” then became curious, “Why does it seem smaller down there? Does it get smaller when the belly gets big? Why are both my top and bottom so small?”

When Xiao Lian grabbed Su Xi down there, his body trembled. Su Xi quickly reached out to move Xiao Lian’s hand away, a hint of anger on his face, “Don’t touch there.”

“Why?” Xiao Lian shrugged, looking aggrieved. He had just touched it for a moment, so why did his brother seem angry?

Feeling helpless, Su Xi didn’t want to make Xiao Lian sad, “The baby is tired and wants to sleep. We should too, or we’ll disturb the baby.” Su Xi had learned to occasionally deceive him for a moment of peace.

This worked well. Xiao Lian quickly put his hand down, “I forgot the baby would be tired. Let’s sleep, and I’ll ask more questions tomorrow.”

Su Xi stiffened at these words, wondering how he would explain things to Xiao Lian. If only Xiao Lian were married, he could understand. But if that happened, he would struggle to see the Xiao Lian he had protected for so many years. His heart was reluctant.

While Su Xi was conflicted, Xiao Lian embraced him to sleep, thinking it was nice to have someone to sleep warmly with and that he too wanted to find someone to hold every night like his brother.