"You want me to go over, so I'll go over? Is your face that important? Hmph."
Quan Jiu mumbled, smoothing out the quilt and covering herself. She then rolled to the left, back to center, then rolled to the right, back to center. Finally, she lifted and pressed her legs, wrapping herself into a standard hibernation pose.
Chu Rong chuckled helplessly, walked over, picked up Quan Jiu from the ground, and placed her on the inner side of the bed, quilt and all.
Quan Jiu remained unmoved, her eyes tightly shut, determined to play dead until the end.
Chu Rong went to the bathroom again to get pajamas and placed them by Quan Jiu's pillow. He whispered softly by her ear, "It's uncomfortable to sleep without changing your clothes. Be good, put on your pajamas."
Quan Jiu's eyelids twitched. It was indeed a bit uncomfortable not to change, she was still wearing jeans.
Just as she hesitated whether to open her eyes, Chu Rong said again, "I'm going to the restroom."
Footsteps faded away.
Quan Jiu slightly opened her eyes, just in time to see Chu Rong enter the bathroom and close the door.
"In all martial arts, speed is the key to victory."
Quan Jiu made a swift decision, sitting up decisively. However, because the quilt was wrapped too tightly, she couldn't get enough leverage and fell back down halfway.
Then, with great effort, she sat up straight. The quilt was still pressed beneath her. She loosened it on one side, only to have both sides end up under her. After struggling to pull it free, she emerged from the quilt at lightning speed and began to strip off her clothes.
"Sleep pants..."
Her voice abruptly stopped.
A divine body, as if stepping out of a painting, was laid bare for all to see.
Chu Rong's throat bobbed, his breathing involuntarily quickening.
Quan Jiu, clutching the pajamas she hadn't managed to put on, froze for 0.1 seconds before frantically pulling the quilt over herself, her face flushing red to the roots of her ears.
She grabbed a pillow and hurled it at Chu Rong, hissing in embarrassment, "Get out."
Chu Rong reached out and steadily caught the pillow, a smile in the corner of his eyes. "You forgot to get the sleep pants."
Quan Jiu watched him approach, her face reddening as if it might bleed.
She eyed Chu Rong warily, anticipating how she would need to exert force if a fight were to break out.
However, the person in question simply put down the sleep pants and turned to leave.
Seeing his figure re-enter the bathroom and close the door, Quan Jiu hurriedly put on her clothes, then quickly changed into the sleep pants.
After a moment, seeing that no one emerged from inside, Quan Jiu impatiently called out, "You can come out now," and burrowed into the quilt, pulling it over her head to sleep.
Chu Rong, hearing the still somewhat embarrassed voice from outside, took deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. Yet, a stirring within him flowed uncontrollably, growing more intense, and his breathing became heavier.
Chu Rong closed his eyes and had no choice but to turn on the shower for another cold rinse.
Hearing the sound of the shower from the bathroom, Quan Jiu thought of something, and her face flushed crimson once more.
She gritted her teeth and muttered softly, "I hope you freeze to death."
Pulling the quilt over her head, she continued to sleep.
When Chu Rong emerged, he saw Quan Jiu curled up by the bed and smiled helplessly.
He quickly dried his hair, then quietly got into bed and lay down beside Quan Jiu.
"Ah Jiu..." Chu Rong called out softly.
Quan Jiu wasn't actually asleep. In fact, she was feeling a bit hot and stuffy, her facial capillaries even expanding and flushing due to the high concentration of carbon dioxide in the quilt.
She felt like she was lying in a steamer, it was truly unbearable.
"You'll faint like this."
Chu Rong said, while forcibly pulling down Quan Jiu's quilt. His ice-cold palm, from the cold shower, touched Quan Jiu's burning cheek.
So cool, like suddenly entering an air-conditioned room from forty-degree heat, Quan Jiu thought instinctively.
Chu Rong, however, frowned and forcefully threw off the quilt. But upon seeing the person beneath it, his breath hitched, and the desire suppressed by the cold water surged back.
Quan Jiu was curled into a ball, her face flushed, fine beads of sweat on her forehead. Her watery eyes stared at him, like a blooming flower bud.
"What are you doing?"
Her delicate cry was like a faint thread, weaving its way into Chu Rong's heart.
Chu Rong's palm gently caressed Quan Jiu's cheek. The warm, smooth touch sent a jolt, like an electric current, from his palm throughout his entire body.
Chu Rong grunted, struggling to control his breathing rhythm, and said softly, "Be good, don't sleep with your head covered." Then he covered Quan Jiu with the quilt again.
Quan Jiu looked at his slightly narrowed eyelids and his uneven breathing, understanding perfectly what it meant.
Her face flushed again, and she pulled the quilt up to her chin, turned over, and faced away from Chu Rong, her heart pounding like a drum.
The breathing behind her grew heavier. She nervously gripped the edge of the quilt, unaware that her own breathing was also gradually quickening.
With a rustling sound, Chu Rong lay down. The distance between them was very close, Quan Jiu could even feel his breath on her hair.
Her cheeks were as hot as if they had just been pulled from a furnace, and her heartbeat seemed especially loud in the quiet environment.
"Ah Jiu."
Chu Rong's voice sounded softly behind her.
Quan Jiu paused, then softly replied, "Mm?"
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
Quan Jiu glanced back slightly, but a dark shadow pressed towards her. His burning breath, mixed with a faint scent of perfume, filled the room with an intoxicating aura.
The situation did not allow Quan Jiu much time to react, leaving her brain completely stunned.
Whispering in her ear, lips meeting lips, the mingled gasps in the air made Quan Jiu feel a moment of delirious infatuation. It wasn't until those long, slender hands slipped through her clothes and touched her skin that she suddenly came to her senses and, in her panic, ended the passionate kiss.
Quan Jiu, with no backbone, fell to the ground.
With nowhere to escape, she could only roll over and break free from the confinement.
"Come here." His rough voice carried an undeniable dominance.
"I won't." Quan Jiu took several deep breaths. The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. She suddenly stood up, grabbed the pillow by the bed, and began to beat Chu Rong with it.
"For bullying me, for pestering me, for forcing me to divorce, for treating me like a blood bag..."
The pillow's impact wasn't great, at least not for Chu Rong, who didn't consider it a big deal. After Quan Jiu had vented her frustration, he caught her hands, gently pulled her, and pinned her down.
"The pillow didn't hurt. I'll buy you a baseball bat tomorrow."
Chu Rong leaned close to Quan Jiu's ear. It tickled, and Quan Jiu couldn't help but flinch away, her voice like a startled cat, "What's a baseball bat? If you have the guts, give me a dozen maces."
Chu Rong chuckled softly, rolled over, and embraced Quan Jiu's waist, pulling her into his arms from behind.
"Okay."
Quan Jiu's jaw was tired from clenching. She struggled, "Who said you could hug me? Let go."
Chu Rong couldn't help but let out a low hum, very helplessly, "Don't move around, it's dangerous."
"Then let me go." What was this? Still hugging her to sleep? Their relationship wasn't that close.
But after struggling for a moment, Quan Jiu suddenly froze as if she had been acupunctured, her body stiff.
A soft sigh echoed in the darkness.
"I told you not to move around."