She escaped the warmth of the covers.
If one had to describe it, Jiangg Yao’s body had gone as limp as a pile of soft noodles, sliding down naturally under the force of inertia. This was, of course, absolutely! not! on! purpose!
Bit by bit, half of Jiangg Yao’s body was hanging off the bed. She swallowed nervously, then closed her eyes as if she had finally made up her mind.
She pushed off slightly with one side of her body.
"Oof—"
She tumbled to the floor next to Chen Yuan’s bed, letting out a very theatrical cry of pain. Her brow furrowed, making it seem as if she really had just been dazed with sleep when she fell.
"So cold... the floor is freezing..." Jiangg Yao mumbled, hugging her arms and biting her lip, pretending to shiver.
She fumbled around blindly until she touched Chen Yuan’s blanket. Her hand slipped inside to test the warmth, and as if she’d found her way home, she eagerly threw the covers back! She rolled in with a powerful heave and didn’t forget to tuck in the side she’d just entered from.
After completing this series of maneuvers, Jiangg Yao’s shivering body finally began to calm down. It felt like sitting next to a furnace in the middle of winter.
’Wow... this blanket is so warm.’
As Jiangg Yao thought this, she couldn’t help but snicker to herself. Chen Yuan hadn’t stirred at all beside her; he was sound asleep.
With this whole performance, even if Chen Yuan asked about it tomorrow, she could claim, without batting an eye, that she’d just rolled off the bed in her sleep and had no idea how it happened.
Just a few seconds after slipping into Chen Yuan’s bed, she was enveloped by the scent of another person.
She could hear his breathing, so clearly, right next to her ear.
His warm breath practically tickled her neck, making her instinctively shrink back as her body couldn’t help but flush with heat.
It was an indescribable feeling, the kind that made your heart pound without end.
Jiangg Yao secretly clenched her little fists. She was thrilled that her scheme had succeeded. She didn’t dare look up. Their bodies were pressed so close together that the slightest movement would cause them to touch. The ambiguity of the situation was maddening, and as she took it all in, she felt completely entranced.
’Cuddling with your boyfriend under the same blanket... it’s so warm. My heart’s racing.’
Jiangg Yao waited for a long while before she finally dared to lift her head slightly. From between messy strands of hair, a pair of beautiful, sparkling eyes glanced nervously at Chen Yuan’s face.
What made her freeze completely was...
Chen Yuan was looking down at her!
Jiangg Yao’s pupils constricted. She met his gaze, her mind going completely blank.
"You... You’re not asleep?"
"Nope."
"Then just now...?"
"I saw it all. You stuck your leg out to test where the floor was, and then you ’accidentally’ fell." Chen Yuan’s calm words stabbed straight into Jiangg Yao’s heart, leaving her speechless for a long moment.
Her eyes darted about. In less than half a second, her face turned so red it looked like it could bleed, and the blush spread all the way to her neck and earlobes.
Jiangg Yao quickly buried her head in his chest, clutching his shirt, mortified. ’Throwing myself at him like this is the most embarrassing thing ever!’
A soft body was now nestled in Chen Yuan’s arms. Jiangg Yao’s scent made his heart race.
His hand, resting by his side, curled into a fist. After a brief hesitation, he reached out and wrapped his arm around her.
"There, you’re not scared anymore, right?" Chen Yuan whispered in her ear.
Jiangg Yao didn’t answer. A mix of bashfulness and frustration, she just pressed herself even tighter against him, as if trying to melt into his body. Not only that, but she also reached out, grabbed Chen Yuan’s hand, and pulled it up toward her shoulder to make him hold her tighter. After a few seconds, she adjusted it again, and then again.
She was acting like a child who’d been caught playing a prank and was now throwing a cute little tantrum.
"Like this!" she said in a low voice, her tone so cute it could kill.
"I want it just like this," Jiangg Yao repeated. "Holding me while we sleep... sleeping with you, hmph~ Mm! Hmph!"
"I want you to hold me like this while we sleep!" she muttered to herself, her tone like that of a little devil who refused to grow up.
Then, she suddenly looked up, staring intently into Chen Yuan’s eyes, so close she could see his eyelashes tremble.
So close that their soft lips were mere inches apart.
In an instant, their lips met. And this kiss was, without a doubt...
More passionate than any before it.
...
They only parted, reluctantly, when they were both out of breath.
All the shyness and tension from the day had finally been released. Their relationship seemed to have taken another big step forward.
Jiangg Yao snuggled contentedly in Chen Yuan’s arms, a blissful smile on her cheeks.
"Chen Yuan, I like you so much," she said softly, nuzzling against his chest a few times.
"I like you a lot too," Chen Yuan said, ruffling her hair. "Jiangg Ning."
"?"
Jiangg Yao’s head shot up. "You’re not allowed to call me Jiangg Ning!"
"Oh, alright."
"Just call me Yaoyao. It’s more intimate. That’s what you should call me when we’re alone. If you call me Jiangg Ning again, I’ll bite you to death!"
...
They held each other and slept for a long time. This time, Chen Yuan was really asleep, and so was Jiangg Yao.
It was already the dead of night.
The two of them were curled up in a small corner of the bed, feeling an indescribable sense of warmth, happiness, and security.
However, even in the dead of night, while sleeping soundly, Jiangg Yao suddenly shot upright!
"All you know is Jiangg Ning, Jiangg Ning, Jiangg Ning! It’s so annoying!"