But Jiang Shuyu was unsure whether Xie Xuanlan’s intention was really what she thought, so she set an alarm on her phone, with the ringtone set to a slight vibration.
This kind of vibration could only be felt when the phone was close by and wouldn’t wake anyone else up.
If it wasn’t what she thought, she would wake up in the middle of the night to take the boy’s shift.
Ruan Qing didn’t notice the exchange of glances between the two, and after setting his alarm, he went straight to sleep.
He had initially wanted to face the wall to avoid the awkwardness of facing Xie Xuanlan directly.
But the wall was on his left side, where his heart was, and it was clearly not suitable to sleep facing that direction because he had heart disease, and lying on his left side made it difficult to breathe.
So in the end, Ruan Qing slept lying flat, and within a few minutes, he had lost consciousness.
In the past, Ruan Qing wouldn’t have allowed himself to sleep so deeply, but he was just too tired.
Since the last incident, he had been not only physically exhausted but also mentally fatigued.
He simply couldn’t spare any energy to be alert to his surroundings.
Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one here, so even if he fell asleep, it wouldn’t be a problem.
After Ruan Qing closed his eyes, both Xie Xuanlan and Jiang Shuyu lowered their voices.
They even softened their breathing, afraid of disturbing Ruan Qing’s rest.
A few minutes passed, and Ruan Qing’s breathing became much steadier.
He obviously fell asleep.
Xie Xuanlan noticed the situation and gently picked up the phone next to Ruan Qing, directly canceling the alarm.
He ranked the young man second, never intending to make him work the night shift.
Jiang Shuyu naturally saw this scene, evidently thinking the same thing as the man. She closed her eyes peacefully.
The floor was hard, and even with a layer of clothes, it remained hard.
Ruan Qing was probably feeling uncomfortable. Even though he was asleep, his brows furrowed slightly.
It’s heart-wrenching to watch, and one couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.
Xie Xuanlan reached out to smooth the boy’s brow, but ultimately withdrew his hand.
He just quietly watched the young man.
However, as he continued to gaze, his expression changed, no longer calm and innocent.
Xie Xuanlan’s gaze slowly descended from the young man’s eyebrows to his faint pink lips.
In his mind, the image of Yan San’s finger touching the edge of the young man’s lips involuntarily surfaced.
What did Yan San want to do?
Did he want to touch the young man’s lips?
Or did ...... want to pry open the young man’s thin lips to touch the softness inside?
That must be much softer than the young man’s lips.
Both wet and soft.
Xie Xuanlan’s eyes deepened slightly, and he inexplicably reached out his hand.
This time, he didn’t retract his hand, even propping up his body slightly, moving closer. His fingers lightly touched the corner of the young man’s lips.
Perhaps fearing the boy might wake up, Xie Xuanlan didn’t apply any pressure; he simply touched lightly.
So light that he might not even have touched the young man.
Because he didn’t feel the warmth or softness of the other.
But just that was enough to make Xie Xuanlan tense all over.
Years of training had made Xie Xuanlan’s hands very rough, and his skin was not fair.
But the young man’s skin was very fair, so fair that it gave the impression of being almost transparent.
His hand, resting by the young man’s lips, created a striking visual contrast.
It felt like the prince and the rugged peasant.
And at this moment, the prince remained still, completely defenseless against him.
Xie Xuanlan’s Adam’s apple moved uncontrollably up and down. Even though he hadn’t touched the young man, his fingertips withdrew as if they had been burned.
What he should do now was return to his previous position and diligently keep watch, staying vigilant against any potential dangers.
However, Xie Xuanlan couldn’t bring himself to do it.
He found it difficult even to shift his gaze away from the young man.
Xie Xuanlan felt his heartbeat unusually fast, almost abnormally so.
As he looked at the sleeping figure, a bold thought uncontrollably emerged in his mind.
The young man was asleep now; even if he did something, the young man wouldn’t wake up.
Xie Xuanlan’s hand was usually steady; after all, how could the hand that often wielded a gun be unsteady?
But now it trembled incessantly.
His mind went blank as he slowly reached out towards the young man.
He just wanted to touch.
Just a touch.
He wouldn’t do anything else.
Just touch and see.
Just as Xie Xuanlan was about to touch the young man, a piercing pain shot through his brain, forcing him to involuntarily shut his eyes.
His brows furrowed tightly.
Someone like him was trained specifically to endure pain; he could even endure the pain of losing limbs.
But this pain was entirely unbearable, even growing more intense.
Was something wrong with his body?
Xie Xuanlan broke out in a cold sweat, the pain even emptying his mind.
A few seconds later, Xie Xuanlan opened his eyes again, and there seemed to be something different in his gaze.
But upon closer inspection, there didn’t seem to be any difference after all.
Xie Xuanlan lowered his head, looking at the peaceful and obedient young man in front of him, gently lifting him up horizontally.
Then he sat in the corner, letting the young man sit on his lap, acting as his cushion.
Perhaps due to a sudden change in position, the young man became slightly restless in his sleep, moving slightly in Xie Xuanlan’s embrace.
Seemingly seeking a comfortable position.
Not sure if it was because he was afraid of waking the young man up or because the young man’s head brushed against his neck, Xie Xuanlan stiffened all over.
He held onto the young man, not daring to move at all.
Fortunately, the young man soon found a comfortable position, resting his head on Xie Xuanlan’s neck and once again falling into a deep sleep.
However, the breaths he exhaled fell directly onto Xie Xuanlan’s neck, causing his already stiff body to become even more rigid.
Xie Xuanlan stared straight ahead, not daring to look away.
As time passed by, Xie Xuanlan sat there without moving an inch.
Jiang Shuyu woke up feeling a slight vibration around her waist. She took out her phone and turned off the alarm, then looked at the two figures on the ground.
But there was no one there.
Jiang Shuyu widened her eyes in shock, instantly sitting up. Just as she was about to shout, she spotted the two figures in the corner.
The words she was about to shout got stuck in her throat.
Damn it, she was really scared.
She thought something had happened.
But it turned out the man just hugged the young man in that position.
Jiang Shuyu wanted to glare at the man, but looking into his bottomless gaze, she ultimately timidly lay back down.
She didn’t know why, but she felt this man was even more frightening.
Jiang Shuyu reluctantly bit her sleeve and finally closed her eyes.
Time to sleep!
***
Ruan Qing woke up when the sky was already completely bright.
He was lying on the floor right now, with his phone beside him.
Ruan Qing rubbed his head in confusion and picked up the phone next to him.
It’s already half-past twelve, but his alarm didn’t go off.
Ruan Qing checked the alarm on his phone and found that it wasn’t unset, but someone had turned it off.
He paused for a moment, understanding why Xie Xuanlan had asked him to take the second night shift.
Ruan Qing glanced at the clothing store and only saw Jiang Shuyu at the entrance.
Jiang Shuyu turned her head upon hearing the sound behind her, revealing a smile, and whispered, “Are you awake?”
Ruan Qing nodded slightly. “Where’s Captain Xie?”
“He went out to find something to eat. He should be back soon.” Jiang Shuyu finished speaking and smiled again.
But Jiang Shuyu was unsure whether Xie Xuanlan’s intention was really what she thought, so she set an alarm on her phone, with the ringtone set to a slight vibration.
This kind of vibration could only be felt when the phone was close by and wouldn’t wake anyone else up.
If it wasn’t what she thought, she would wake up in the middle of the night to take the boy’s shift.
Ruan Qing didn’t notice the exchange of glances between the two, and after setting his alarm, he went straight to sleep.
He had initially wanted to face the wall to avoid the awkwardness of facing Xie Xuanlan directly.
But the wall was on his left side, where his heart was, and it was clearly not suitable to sleep facing that direction because he had heart disease, and lying on his left side made it difficult to breathe.
So in the end, Ruan Qing slept lying flat, and within a few minutes, he had lost consciousness.
In the past, Ruan Qing wouldn’t have allowed himself to sleep so deeply, but he was just too tired.
Since the last incident, he had been not only physically exhausted but also mentally fatigued.
He simply couldn’t spare any energy to be alert to his surroundings.
Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one here, so even if he fell asleep, it wouldn’t be a problem.
After Ruan Qing closed his eyes, both Xie Xuanlan and Jiang Shuyu lowered their voices.
They even softened their breathing, afraid of disturbing Ruan Qing’s rest.
A few minutes passed, and Ruan Qing’s breathing became much steadier.
He obviously fell asleep.
Xie Xuanlan noticed the situation and gently picked up the phone next to Ruan Qing, directly canceling the alarm.
He ranked the young man second, never intending to make him work the night shift.
Jiang Shuyu naturally saw this scene, evidently thinking the same thing as the man. She closed her eyes peacefully.
The floor was hard, and even with a layer of clothes, it remained hard.
Ruan Qing was probably feeling uncomfortable. Even though he was asleep, his brows furrowed slightly.
It’s heart-wrenching to watch, and one couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.
Xie Xuanlan reached out to smooth the boy’s brow, but ultimately withdrew his hand.
He just quietly watched the young man.
However, as he continued to gaze, his expression changed, no longer calm and innocent.
Xie Xuanlan’s gaze slowly descended from the young man’s eyebrows to his faint pink lips.
In his mind, the image of Yan San’s finger touching the edge of the young man’s lips involuntarily surfaced.
What did Yan San want to do?
Did he want to touch the young man’s lips?
Or did ...... want to pry open the young man’s thin lips to touch the softness inside?
That must be much softer than the young man’s lips.
Both wet and soft.
Xie Xuanlan’s eyes deepened slightly, and he inexplicably reached out his hand.
This time, he didn’t retract his hand, even propping up his body slightly, moving closer. His fingers lightly touched the corner of the young man’s lips.
Perhaps fearing the boy might wake up, Xie Xuanlan didn’t apply any pressure; he simply touched lightly.
So light that he might not even have touched the young man.
Because he didn’t feel the warmth or softness of the other.
But just that was enough to make Xie Xuanlan tense all over.
Years of training had made Xie Xuanlan’s hands very rough, and his skin was not fair.
But the young man’s skin was very fair, so fair that it gave the impression of being almost transparent.
His hand, resting by the young man’s lips, created a striking visual contrast.
It felt like the prince and the rugged peasant.
And at this moment, the prince remained still, completely defenseless against him.
Xie Xuanlan’s Adam’s apple moved uncontrollably up and down. Even though he hadn’t touched the young man, his fingertips withdrew as if they had been burned.
What he should do now was return to his previous position and diligently keep watch, staying vigilant against any potential dangers.
However, Xie Xuanlan couldn’t bring himself to do it.
He found it difficult even to shift his gaze away from the young man.
Xie Xuanlan felt his heartbeat unusually fast, almost abnormally so.
As he looked at the sleeping figure, a bold thought uncontrollably emerged in his mind.
The young man was asleep now; even if he did something, the young man wouldn’t wake up.
Xie Xuanlan’s hand was usually steady; after all, how could the hand that often wielded a gun be unsteady?
But now it trembled incessantly.
His mind went blank as he slowly reached out towards the young man.
He just wanted to touch.
Just a touch.
He wouldn’t do anything else.
Just touch and see.
Just as Xie Xuanlan was about to touch the young man, a piercing pain shot through his brain, forcing him to involuntarily shut his eyes.
His brows furrowed tightly.
Someone like him was trained specifically to endure pain; he could even endure the pain of losing limbs.
But this pain was entirely unbearable, even growing more intense.
Was something wrong with his body?
Xie Xuanlan broke out in a cold sweat, the pain even emptying his mind.
A few seconds later, Xie Xuanlan opened his eyes again, and there seemed to be something different in his gaze.
But upon closer inspection, there didn’t seem to be any difference after all.
Xie Xuanlan lowered his head, looking at the peaceful and obedient young man in front of him, gently lifting him up horizontally.
Then he sat in the corner, letting the young man sit on his lap, acting as his cushion.
Perhaps due to a sudden change in position, the young man became slightly restless in his sleep, moving slightly in Xie Xuanlan’s embrace.
Seemingly seeking a comfortable position.
Not sure if it was because he was afraid of waking the young man up or because the young man’s head brushed against his neck, Xie Xuanlan stiffened all over.
He held onto the young man, not daring to move at all.
Fortunately, the young man soon found a comfortable position, resting his head on Xie Xuanlan’s neck and once again falling into a deep sleep.
However, the breaths he exhaled fell directly onto Xie Xuanlan’s neck, causing his already stiff body to become even more rigid.
Xie Xuanlan stared straight ahead, not daring to look away.
As time passed by, Xie Xuanlan sat there without moving an inch.
Jiang Shuyu woke up feeling a slight vibration around her waist. She took out her phone and turned off the alarm, then looked at the two figures on the ground.
But there was no one there.
Jiang Shuyu widened her eyes in shock, instantly sitting up. Just as she was about to shout, she spotted the two figures in the corner.
The words she was about to shout got stuck in her throat.
Damn it, she was really scared.
She thought something had happened.
But it turned out the man just hugged the young man in that position.
Jiang Shuyu wanted to glare at the man, but looking into his bottomless gaze, she ultimately timidly lay back down.
She didn’t know why, but she felt this man was even more frightening.
Jiang Shuyu reluctantly bit her sleeve and finally closed her eyes.
Time to sleep!
***
Ruan Qing woke up when the sky was already completely bright.
He was lying on the floor right now, with his phone beside him.
Ruan Qing rubbed his head in confusion and picked up the phone next to him.
It’s already half-past twelve, but his alarm didn’t go off.
Ruan Qing checked the alarm on his phone and found that it wasn’t unset, but someone had turned it off.
He paused for a moment, understanding why Xie Xuanlan had asked him to take the second night shift.
Ruan Qing glanced at the clothing store and only saw Jiang Shuyu at the entrance.
Jiang Shuyu turned her head upon hearing the sound behind her, revealing a smile, and whispered, “Are you awake?”
Ruan Qing nodded slightly. “Where’s Captain Xie?”
“He went out to find something to eat. He should be back soon.” Jiang Shuyu finished speaking and smiled again.
