When night fell, Shen Guan wandered around and indeed found no extra rooms, so he frankly slipped onto Xiao Ning’s bed. Anyway, the bed was large enough for two people.
When Xiao Ning finished tidying up in the kitchen and went upstairs, he saw Shen Guan sitting cross-legged on his bed to regulate his breathing as he pushed the door. He had clearly just bathed, his slightly damp black hair falling over his shoulders. He wore no outer robe, only a loose plain white inner garment. His eyes were shut tight with a faint layer of cold sweat on his forehead, while his face was pale. He looked like a fragile, delicate piece of porcelain.
Shen Guan exhaled a long breath, opened his eyes, and gently said with a smile, “You’ve finished with work?”
Xiao Ning was momentarily lost in thought. Meeting Shen Guan’s calm, detached eyes, he quickly composed himself and did not look at him again.
Shen Guan pressed his hand to his chest and quietly exhaled. His old illness had flared up again. He had taken medicine and spent a long time steadying his breath before his strength finally returned. But the medicine was very strong. Each time he used it, the meridians all over his body felt like they were being stabbed, and the inner force in his core turned chaotic. The feeling was indescribable.
Xiao Ning turned his back to Shen Guan, took off his outer clothes before sitting on the edge of the bed. Shen Guan obediently shifted to the inner side of the bed, lifted the quilt, and lay down quietly with his eyes open, watching Xiao Ning.
Xiao Ning: ……
The candle was then went out, leaving the room even more still. The space beside Shen Guan on the bed sank as Xiao Ning lay down. In the quiet, their breaths seemed to blend together.
About a quarter of an hour passed, and neither of them was asleep.
Shen Guan simply turned onto his side, resting his arm under his head, and whispered, “Boss Xiao… Boss Xiao…”
Xiao Ning closed his eyes, his nostrils filled with Shen Guan’s familiar cold scent: “What is it?”
“After all these years, isn’t Boss Xiao lonely being alone?” Shen Guan’s voice was light and soft, with a slight nasal quality, gently sweeping across Xiao Ning’s heart.
“What do you mean?” Xiao Ning suppressed the warmth and frowned tightly.
Shen Guan chuckled softly and said, “No particular meaning, just chatting. Hasn’t Boss Xiao ever thought about finding another companion?”
Xiao Ning’s brow furrowed deeper, saying, “By Lord Shen’s words, are you perhaps offering yourself for the bed?”
Shen Guan pondered for a moment, then seriously said, “If it were anyone else, naturally it would be impossible, but if it is Boss Xiao, there is no problem.”
Xiao Ning let out a cold snort: “Are all people from the Tianyi Division this frivolous and unrestrained?”
Before Shen Guan could speak, he felt a tightening around his waist and was pulled into Xiao Ning’s embrace. Their loose strands of hair instantly became intertwined.
Xiao Ning merely held him while stroking his lean back up and down with his palm. His icy voice seemed to soften considerably: “If it hurts, don’t try to endure it. Your face is so pale.”
Shen Guan, who had been planning to ramble on to distract himself, was instantly stunned. The hand Xiao Ning placed around his waist wasn’t tight, but it offered him a perfectly comforting embrace. The stabbing pain in his meridians and core seemed to truly be soothed. In all these years, which time did his old illness flare up without him spending the entire night sleepless? Yet this time, he was vaguely starting to feel sleepy.
Shen Guan pressed into Xiao Ning’s embrace, resting his forehead on his chest, and for the first time felt that the night was not so hard to bear.
