CH 24.2

Falling Asleep (2)

Although soaking hands and feet in the hot water had little effect, the duvet was light and warm. On top of that, he had been running around all day, and was really tired. Soon, Lin Yu He slowly fell asleep.

But it didn’t take long for his body to be attacked again by the inescapable coldness. First from the fingertips, where it was the furthest away from the heart, growing like a wild vine.

Lin Yu He’s consciousness was asleep, but his instinctive reactions were still there. His sleep was not as calm as he believed, as after he got cold, he would begin to unconsciously kick the quilts.

In fact, Lin Yu He had always had this habit, even in school. As soon as he grew cold, he would stretch out the quilt to find a source of heat.

But since stretching out his hands and feet made them even colder, he would soon shrink back to find a warmer place in the quilt.

Most of the time, he couldn’t find a source of heat, so he could only curl up, and when he woke up in the morning, he was always cuddled in the quilt, appearing to be very straightforward in his sleeping habits.

Only the change in the position of the hot water bottle revealed a small hint – Lin Yu He’s problem of yearning for heat and avoiding the cold was very serious. Every night, when he falls asleep with the hot water bottle in his arms, it would get cold by the morning and be kicked far away by him.

He didn’t pay much attention to it, thinking that the hot water bottle would run around by itself, like earbuds, often went missing, so he didn’t think much about it.

Hence, Lin Yu He had no idea he began kicking the quilt again tonight, but this time it wasn’t cold outside the quilt and was actually unusually warm, so his hands and feet that would have normally retracted back into the quilt changed direction and moved towards the heat source.

The warmth from soaking in hot water before bed had almost disappeared completely, and Lin Yu He’s feet were cold to the point that his legs were too. His coldness was the type that would also freeze other people. After rubbing against the side for a long time, he was stopped by something with a huge difference in temperature.

There was a warm touch on the cold legs, not heavy strength but it was difficult to withdraw. If Lin Yu He was awake, he would definitely have dodged immediately–because the legs or ankles were completely surrounded by another man’s hands, which was definitely not very safe.

But Lin Yu He was half asleep, and only wanted to warm himself up, so his perception of danger was dull. In addition, the familiar aura was reassuring, so instead of withdrawing, he leaned against it even more.

Before long, he was in a warmer place.

So warm.

This was the only thought left in Lin Yu He’s chaotic mind.

It was like a hot water bottle that had just been recharged, made even warmer, and even the size was much larger than that of a hot water bottle. No matter how much, it could warm up.

Gradually, Lin Yu He shifted most of his body over.

It didn’t take long for him to be held in by the warmth, and his whole body was warmed up. It was very comfortable.

It was just that the items next to him were awkwardly placed, and the pillow was not comfortable enough. After a while, Lin Yu He began to move unconsciously again, trying to find a more comfortable position.

But this time, instead of succeeding, he felt that all other choices were worse. He even began to try to back away, but there was some force holding him tight, not allowing him to leave.

Lin Yu He subconsciously felt a little guilty, and he wanted to move but had no strength to do so. In the end, he was extremely sleepy, and with the warmth around him, he was still able to get comfortable and fall asleep.

Lin Yu He managed to sleep deeply that night because of the massive hot water bottle, and he didn’t even wake up at 6:00 in the morning from the cold like he used to.

When he woke up, the light outside was already visible through the curtains, and he didn’t know what time it was. Out of habit, Lin Yu He felt for his phone on the pillow, but couldn’t find it, so he tried his best to open his eyes.

He was still on his own side of the bed, without crossing the line, and there was nobody next to him. Lin Yu He vaguely remembered that Mr. Lu said last night that he would get up early today, and so he probably had already left.

Conscious but groggy, he reached for the phone a few more times, but couldn’t feel it, so he simply gave up and closed his eyes again.

Lin Yu He typically had bad sleep quality due to his cold hands and feet, and would be awakened by the slightest movement, waking up very early.

But if he slept soundly at night, he would sleep very deeply and not be able to wake up in the morning, staying in bed instead.

Right now, Lin Yu He was in the latter state, curled up in the quilt with his eyes closed, not wanting to get up.

His hands and feet were rarely warm and he was very comfortable in the quilt. Lin Yu He slept for another while in a daze but kept feeling that something was missing, subconsciously wanting to search for it.

Just as he was looking for a source of heat last night, his body instinctively reacted and it didn’t take long for him to turn to the other half of the bed.

Lin Yu He was a little more awake than last night and he was aware that this was not the place to sleep. But the fact that Mr. Lu had left already allowed him to relax his rational thoughts, letting his instincts take over. It wasn’t until he smelled the familiar scent that he finally stopped.

Most of the quilt on Lin Yu He’s body had slipped off, and the exposed parts of him were cold, so he took advantage of the situation and slipped into the other, more fragrant quilt.

“Well…”

It was also very warm here, perfect for sleeping. But the sleepy Lin Yu He was still not satisfied. After wrapping the quilt around himself, he buried his face in the soft pillow.

It smelled so good…

He sighed contently, settling down, when he heard footsteps in the distance.

Where were the footsteps coming from…?

Lin Yu He pondered dully, turning away from the pillow in a daze.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a man standing beside the bed.

The owner of the reassuring scent.

Lu Nan.

Lu Nan looked down at the sight below him, at the boy who abandoned his own quilt in preference of another quilt to wrap himself up in a ball in, and even burying his face into the pillow to smell.

The air was stagnant.

In the end, it was Lu Nan who stretched out his hand first. He used his warm hand to support Lin Yu He’s face, and leaned over to cover the entire person under his own figure.

“Ning Ning.”

At a very close distance, the man’s eyes were dark and his voice hoarse.

“What are you doing?”