In the bedroom, Qi Ji walked to the side of the bed after taking a shower.
When Xue Jingrui came in, he had laid out a mattress on the floor, but his mind was already brainstorming.
He thought of several ways to get to sleep on the bed, but one by one they were rejected. He originally thought of pretending to look pitiful, saying his back and waist were aching and uncomfortable sleeping on the floor.
But then he thought, he was older than Qi Ji after all, so if he said his body wasn't doing well, how would Qi Ji look at him in the future?
Suddenly, Xue Jingrui's eyes lit up when he saw a cup of water on the table nearby. Could he...?
"Qi Ji, do you want some water?" Xue Jingrui asked.
"Big Brother Jingrui, I drank some earlier tonight, I'm not thirsty now," said Qi Ji, lying down and pulling the thin blanket over herself, ready to sleep.
If she wasn't thirsty, then he was relieved.
Xue Jingrui walked over to the table, picked up the cup and said, "I'm a little thirsty."
Qi Ji was engrossed in reading a comic on her phone at an exciting part and didn't have time to pay attention to Xue Jingrui.
Seeing that Qi Ji didn't respond, Xue Jingrui carried the cup of water and walked toward his mattress. As he was about to reach it, he pretended to stumble, lurching his body forward and throwing the cup out of his hand.
Not a single drop was left in the cup - all the water splashed onto the blanket. The commotion was so loud that Qi Ji looked over.
"Big Brother Jingrui, are you okay?" Qi Ji got out of bed.
"I'm fine, but my blanket isn't."
The cup had landed on the blanket, leaving a large wet patch around it that wouldn't dry anytime soon.
"How will you sleep now, Big Brother Jingrui?"
Upon hearing this, Xue Jingrui felt like crying for a moment. How would he sleep? Of course he wanted to sleep on the bed. He was puzzled - shouldn't the young lady let him sleep on the bed?
"It's okay, I'm young and my body is sturdy. Sleeping in a damp blanket for one night is no big deal." Xue Jingrui's words sounded tough, but his expression made him seem pitiful.
Qi Ji couldn't bear it anymore.
"If it really doesn't work out, you can sleep on the bed."
At Qinghe Villa, a family of three lay on the bed.
Xu Xiuhe glanced at his phone, then turned to look at Shen Yin, who was coaxing their son Xu Yunzheng, and asked, "Hey? Wife, can you tell fortunes?"
Shen Yin looked bewildered at first, then realized and laughed, "Xue Jingrui asked you that? I was just joking with Qi Ji, but she took it seriously. Qi Ji is so adorable."
Xu Xiuhe also smiled. What Shen Yin didn't know was that in his eyes, she was the most adorable.
"Mommy, isn't Yunzheng adorable too?" Little Xu Yunzheng was almost asleep but had heard his mom praise Auntie Qi Ji for being adorable. He thought he was adorable too.
"Yes, Yunzheng is the most adorable," said Shen Yin, gently patting Xu Yunzheng's tummy. The little one soon grew sleepy.
Shen Yin also fell asleep, but she didn't sleep well that night. The nightmare attacked her again, and this time in the dream, a man had kidnapped her. She couldn't see the man's face.
She was tied up in an abandoned, dirty factory full of garbage, with rats scurrying around occasionally.
She wanted to escape, but she wasn't bound by ropes, but rather iron chains.
She couldn't see the man's face, but she felt that he had wicked intentions toward her.
"No one will come to save you. You already have a child, why resist so much? If you can give birth for other men, why not for me?"
Shen Yin suddenly woke up, the dream too realistic. She realized this dream, like the previous two, was a premonition.
The nightmare had left her drenched in cold sweat. After waking up, she couldn't fall back asleep. She was completely baffled, unable to figure out who had kidnapped her and how that person could have succeeded in tying her up.
She tossed and turned, struggling to sleep. Luckily she had woken up – she dared not imagine what might have happened next, even though it hadn't occurred yet, the thought alone sickened her.
Perhaps her movements were too much and disturbed the man beside her. Xu Xiuhe turned on the light and saw Shen Yin lying flat, eyes wide open staring at the ceiling with a worried expression.
"What's wrong? Another nightmare?" Xu Xiuhe rubbed his eyes, his voice soft and gentle. For a moment, Shen Yin wanted to tell him about her dream, but she couldn't - he would worry.
"No, I was just a bit hungry and it woke me up," Shen Yin made up an excuse.
"Just wait," said Xu Xiuhe, putting on his slippers and walking out of the bedroom.
Shen Yin sat up, her mind still on the events of her dream. She had no clue who had kidnapped her or when this would happen. She had always thought herself vigilant and smart, acting cautiously, but never imagined she could be so helpless in her dream.
Luckily it hadn't happened yet. Luckily there was still time.
Shen Yin walked out of the bedroom toward the kitchen, where the man was chopping vegetables as the water boiled in the pot. She had never imagined there would come a day when a man would cook for her in the middle of the night just because of something she said.
The man was about to blanch the chopped vegetables when Shen Yin entered the kitchen, hugging him from behind and pressing her face against his back. Xu Xiuhe paused for a moment - this was the first time Shen Yin had been so proactive with him.
"What's wrong?" Xu Xiuhe asked.
Shen Yin didn't answer, just hugging him tightly, her face against his back. So she could be vulnerable and afraid too.
"Easy now, what happened?" At this point, Xu Xiuhe couldn't believe Shen Yin was just hungry.
"Nothing happened, I just feel you're so, so good and I want to..."
Seeing Shen Yin's actions, Xu Xiuhe naturally understood what she wanted.
For the first time she was taking such initiative - how could he refuse?
The man turned off the stove, and they stayed in the kitchen.
Xu Xiuhe felt Shen Yin's passion.
"Don't worry, no matter what happens, I'll be by your side."
"Okay."
Outside, the sky was gradually brightening - the first light of summer at 4am.
The two of them finished.
"Am I really silly?" Shen Yin asked.
Xu Xiuhe kissed Shen Yin's neck, his voice slightly hoarse but unbearably gentle, "How could my wife be silly? She's the smartest, most capable woman in the world."
Shen Yin looked at the half-cooked meal and asked, "Shall we continue making it?"
"Of course, the water has cooled down. I'll reboil it and make you some clear noodle soup. Eat it, then take a shower and get some rest."
Shen Yin put on her clothes, folded her arms, and leaned against the wall, watching Xu Xiuhe's every move.
In 10 minutes, a bowl of fragrant clear noodle soup was placed on the table, and Shen Yin walked over.
"The noodles smell so good."
"My mom used to make them for me all the time, so I learned how to make them over time."
Shen Yin took a sip, and it tasted delicious.
"I can't finish it all. Come and share it with me."
