Su Aoxue was now utterly tormented to the extreme.
Emotions like shame and fear surged endlessly through her mind.
In her entire life, she never imagined she’d find herself sneaking up to a man late at night, like some thief.
A man!
Was that something a real man should do?
Oh, she was a girl now…
No, that seemed even more inappropriate!
Su Aoxue’s mood was exceptionally complicated at this moment.
Right now, her back was only about four fingers’ width away from Shen Yan.
She stopped there, not daring to move even a single inch closer.
‘What the hell am I doing? Is this something I should be doing?’
Su Aoxue buried her head in the blanket, her face full of regret.
She’d gone to the bathroom, washed her face, used the toilet—not only had she not sobered up, but she felt even more mentally exhausted.
Feeling her back just one step away from the heat source, her heart was truly torn.
‘Why… does this scene feel so familiar?’
Su Aoxue inexplicably recalled the moment in the classroom that day, when Shen Yan had held her hand to check her body.
The sensation of that warm current flowing through her body was something Su Aoxue found hard to resist.
As she thought about it, that feeling seemed to grow more vivid.
‘Maybe… just a little closer?’
…
‘Is Little Xue…?’
Suddenly sensing an object pressing against his left arm, Shen Yan, who had been pretending to sleep, was startled.
But to prevent Su Aoxue from realizing he was awake, he didn’t dare make any movement at all.
Meanwhile, his mind began racing.
‘Her body temperature is so low. Could it be because she’s too cold? Would an Ice-type Talent user be afraid of that?’
Other than that, Shen Yan couldn’t think of any reason that would cause Su Aoxue to approach him.
After all, before falling asleep, she’d insisted she had cleanliness obsession and didn’t want to share a bed with him!
‘Moving so cautiously, even checking if I’m asleep—could it be she’s embarrassed to admit she’s cold, afraid I’d mock her?’
In Shen Yan’s old-timer view, an 18-year-old’s heart was sensitive.
Although Su Aoxue usually showed maturity beyond her age, this might still be the case, since teenagers at this stage cared a lot about face.
‘Oh well, I’ll let him soak up some of this fatherly warmth.’
‘An 18-year-old boy cares about face. If I suddenly spoke up now, Little Xue would definitely be embarrassed.’
Thinking this, Shen Yan suddenly felt he was becoming more and more like a caring elder.
For the moment, he was treating Su Aoxue like a younger brother?
Maybe this was a side effect of rebirth?
‘Little Xue really has so much more emotion at this time…’
Shen Yan suddenly began to sigh inwardly.
Having returned from rebirth, seeing a friend with such rich emotions again made him feel nostalgic.
…
Su Aoxue had originally planned not to sleep tonight.
But after enduring a six-day escape, her nerves had been stretched taut.
Now that she finally had time to relax, lying on such a soft, large bed with her back pressed tightly against a warm heat source…
Gradually, a powerful drowsiness washed over her like a tide.
‘No, I can’t sleep. Something bad will happen!’
Realizing she was about to fall asleep, Su Aoxue quickly pinched her thigh.
But Shen Yan’s warm body heat was like a heater in the dead of winter, warming her up.
‘It really feels more and more familiar… this sensation, just like that day in the classroom…’
In a daze, Su Aoxue thought this.
Soon, her breathing rhythm gradually steadied.
It seemed she had fallen asleep.
Even though her mind was tense, after not having slept properly for a full six days, Su Aoxue’s body had reached its limit.
‘Has she fallen asleep?’
Shen Yan opened his eyes at this moment and glanced at Su Aoxue pressed against his side, but made no move.
He then continued cultivating his Visualization Method.
Perhaps due to his rebirth, Shen Yan’s mental strength was exceptionally strong. Not sleeping for six days had no effect on him at all.
Just as Shen Yan thought he’d spend the night peacefully, he suddenly opened his eyes.
“Hm?”
Shen Yan looked down at his side. At that moment, Su Aoxue, sound asleep, suddenly turned over and buried her head in the blanket.
“Is she really that afraid of the cold?”
Shen Yan instinctively reached his hand out from under the blanket to straighten the covers behind Su Aoxue, preventing her body from being exposed.
Even though an awakened Martial Artist rarely got fevers or colds…
“I’ll get you a heater for next time?”
“Burying your head in the blanket—aren’t you afraid of suffocating?”
Shen Yan muttered under his breath.
But he didn’t plan to wake Su Aoxue, who hadn’t rested well for six straight days.
Given her personality, if he did that, she’d definitely be embarrassed and feel like she’d lost face.
She might even decide not to sleep at all tonight, staying awake or even running outside.
And so, Su Aoxue faced Shen Yan, only a finger’s width away, curled up quietly in the blanket, deeply asleep.
As for Shen Yan, he continued cultivating his Visualization Method.
…
The next morning, Su Aoxue woke with a start.
Perhaps due to high tension, she hadn’t slept well that night.
She kept dreaming, and they all seemed to be nightmares.
But just as she was about to wake up, Su Aoxue couldn’t remember any details of the dreams.
She only felt a hollow emptiness in her heart and a low mood.
She slowly opened her eyes, then suddenly realized she was having trouble breathing. Her face was warm, as if pressed against something.
Soon, Su Aoxue realized she had buried her head in the blanket, and her face was pressed against…
Once that thought hit, Su Aoxue’s entire body instantly froze, and even her mind snapped to full alertness.
‘Am I… currently facing Shen Yan as I sleep?’
At this moment, Su Aoxue’s heart was in complete panic.
The bulging blanket and the warm touch on her cheek all seemed to confirm what she feared.
‘Right now, I look like I’m huddled under the covers seeking comfort. This is so damn messed up…’
For some reason, Su Aoxue felt an inexplicable discomfort deep inside.
Accustomed to being strong, she absolutely hated showing weakness in front of others.
Even if it was her best buddy, her family—no exceptions!
‘What time is it now… Old Shen probably hasn’t woken up, has he?’
‘Damn, would he think I look soft and weak, like some girl?’
In an instant, Su Aoxue imagined many scenarios. But soon, she gathered her courage and poked her head out from under the blanket.
She tentatively glanced at Shen Yan.
Seeing that he was still in the same sleeping position from last night, Su Aoxue was stunned.
‘He hasn’t moved all night? He sleeps that soundly?’
‘He probably… didn’t wake up, right?’
Su Aoxue thought this with intense inner conflict, only able to comfort herself this way.
She quickly lifted a corner of the blanket and got out of bed.
After glancing at the clock in the room, Su Aoxue felt very relieved she had woken up early at 6:00 AM.
Otherwise, wouldn’t Shen Yan have been the first to wake up?
But what Su Aoxue didn’t know was that Shen Yan, with his eyes closed, had been pretending to sleep while cultivating his Visualization Method.
From the Base City to their escape and now, Shen Yan had never slept.
‘As expected, he really cares about face…’
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