Wearing a silk inner garment, beneath was a plain white vest. Xu Wanzhi paused, silently lowering his eyes and lifting the vest to directly press the wine-soaked handkerchief on her chest. The cold sensation immediately made her uncomfortable, frowning and wanting to throw it off, but he pressed her hand and commanded: “Keep it there, don’t throw it away.”
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Qu Xiaojue looked at him with some grievance. Xu Wanzhi didn’t care, tying her loosened inner garment and pulling the blanket to cover her from head to toe, leaving only her eyes exposed.
He turned to leave, but after two steps, he seemed to hear the blanket being lifted. Xu Wanzhi turned back and glared at her: “I’m going next door to get blankets. Don’t get out of bed. Count to ten before moving, understand?”
She looked at him and nodded, already starting to count in her mind.
He couldn’t help but snort as he pushed the door. The frustration lines on his forehead could probably be pulled out to make noodles.
By the eighth count, he returned carrying two large cotton blankets. Qu Xiaojue gripped the blanket and breathed a huge sigh of relief, staring steadily at the doorway with a look that was unmistakably… attached.
Shivering slightly, he calmly walked over and covered her entirely with the blankets. Seeing her about to resist in discomfort, he immediately whispered: “Keep these on tonight, no matter how uncomfortable.”
She pouted, “You’re so mean.”
His hand trembled. He really wanted to slap her unconscious!
Forget it, he’ll go sleep in the adjacent room tonight. But before he could act, Qu Xiaojue sat up, staring unblinkingly and patting the bed: “Come sleep here.
What an utterly frustrating yet endearing Qu Xiaojue!
He dared to swear that if he turned around, she would definitely lift the blanket and follow, then he’d have to put her back to bed, arrange her wine compress, fix her clothes, and comfort her! So, he compromised.
But he was still ruthless – on a summer rainy night, he covered her with three cotton blankets while he lay inside with nothing, turning to press against the wall, using just a bit of bedding on his back.
But Qu Xiaojue was sensitive too. Wrapped like a cocoon, she felt the inner area was particularly cool and started wiggling like a worm, finally nestling against Xu Wanzhi’s back.
He turned and glared at her, coldly threatening: “If you come closer, I’ll throw you out.”
“Hot…”
“That’s your problem, or you’ll burn into an idiot.”
What else could he do? He might as well cover her head completely. Seeing him finally turn to face her, she seemed inexplicably happy, quietly reaching out from under the blanket to hold his hand, quickly laying her head on his arm and closing her eyes.
Xu Wanzhi unsuccessfully tried to withdraw his hand, ultimately consoling himself that he’d see this through to the end and wouldn’t mind this arm’s effort.
Midway through the night, Qu Xiaojue was extremely uncomfortable, moving erratically, wanting to escape the blankets to find a cool spot. Xu Wanzhi, held by her arm with her head rubbing against his shoulder, found it impossible to sleep.
After pushing her away, only to have her persistently cuddle back, he finally gritted his teeth: “What exactly do you want?”
“Water…”
Exasperated, he pulled away his arm and got out of bed. Fortunately, there was a cup of cold tea, which he directly brought to her head and ungently poured in, then placed the cup on the ground and turned back to sleep.
Qu Xiaojue felt slightly more comfortable, then reached out to touch his arm again and closed her eyes to sleep. At this moment, he had no energy to argue with her and let her be.
In the middle of the night, she kicked the blanket. The movement was naturally loud, and she kicked several times outside the blanket, hitting Xu Wanzhi’s calf, inadvertently waking him up. Blinking and understanding the situation, he thought: I can’t control this anymore, I’ll just knock her out!
Thinking was one thing, but his hand came down to pull the blanket back and cover her tightly, not caring whether she could hear him or not. He turned over and pressed down on her struggling momentum, coldly warning her for the last time: “If you kick again, I’ll throw you out tonight!”
“
Blankly staring into the eyes close at hand, she nodded slightly and stopped moving.
Xu Wanzhi turned back to sleep again. Qu Xiaojue persistently pulled his hand into the blanket, closing her eyes to sleep.
After such a night of disturbance, he inevitably woke up late the next day. The early morning light streamed into the room. His hand felt a bit numb with warmth. Recalling the memories, Qu Xiaojue was still sleeping soundly beside him.
Her breathing was low and continuous, seemingly sleeping well. He thought she must not have had an easy night either.
The fever had probably subsided. He moved his hand in the blanket, and when he loosened it slightly, she unconsciously gripped tighter, furrowing her brow. He didn’t want to disturb her, lying flat and drowsing with half-closed eyes.
After a short while, Qu Xiaojue blinked and woke up, feeling the person lying beside her, and slowly smiled. She tentatively called out: “Husband.”
“Awake?” He pulled his hand away and asked, “It’s not early. Let’s get up.”
Qu Xiaojue quickly grabbed him, turned to embrace him, and pulled him back onto the bed, muffling, “Thank you for last night. I have something to tell you.”
In the morning light.
Xu Wanzhi glanced at her indifferently and said, “I’ll give you a chance to speak, after breakfast.”
Unable to be so close to him, Qu Xiaojue held him tightly, feeling his elbow move and quickly clasping both his arms together. She habitually buried her head in his shoulder, murmuring against his collarbone: “A’wan, do you have anything you want to say to me?”
Xu Wanzhi involuntarily shrank his shoulder and said, “Please move, I want to get up.”
Her tightly locked hands pinched his waist punishingly. Xu Wanzhi turned to look at her, his eyes warning.
She softly sighed, “That day when you were angry, you hit me…”
His expression became extremely cold. He flipped over and pressed down, one hand locking her throat, lifting his lips in a cold laugh: “You’re quite bold, daring to bring this up in front of me. Do you think I won’t do anything to you?”
As his low voice fell, his hand tightened, both threatening and warning. Qu Xiaojue slightly furrowed her brow without resistance, just staring directly into his eyes.
She raised a hand to cover his left cheek but was turned away.
The marks from that day’s forceful hit were no longer visible. She pursed her lips and slowly said, “I’m not afraid of what you’ll do to me. For four entire days, you refused to speak to me or look at me… In a moment of anger, I mistakenly hit you. Haven’t I been suffering too?”
Xu Wanzhi was about to withdraw his hand and turn over, but she reached out to hug him and pulled him back, heavily pressing him under her full, soft body. He was stunned, somewhat surprised and annoyed, coldly humming: “Qu Xiaojue, I’ve always only looked at facts. You don’t need to feel bad. Although it wasn’t intentional, I somewhat owe you something. You can take it back this way, and I can accept it.”
She immediately understood the meaning of his words, wanting to be angry but finding no outlet. She stared directly into his eyes, eventually rubbing against his shoulder and laughing softly: “Stop saying you don’t owe me. You owe me so much. I’ll always treat you well, and you’ll owe me bit by bit, for a lifetime.”
Such casual words, when thought about, were more like a promise than not a promise. Even if the object or intention was wrong, the words themselves were somewhat touching.
