When Xu Ningyan regained consciousness, it took him a moment for his vision to return. He struggled to push himself up, stretching his stiff muscles as he did. Looking around, he found there were broken branches beneath him, and also his broken mask. Close by was a similarly fallen, yet unconscious Song Wenyue. The trees have softened their fall. He looked up to see how far they had fallen but was unable to see much. Around them were similarly thick trees shrouded in mist, making everything a little fuzzy.

Recalling how he reached for him when he was hit by explosions, he felt his head hurting. Seeing how messy it was back up there, everyone must be having a hard time. It might take awhile before they could find them. It would not be wise to linger around here.

By his side was Xu Ningyan’s broken mask, split into pieces. It was quite expensive to make and the disciples usually gave it the utmost care, except him anyways. So, usually Shi Huo would take care of it for him. Touching the broken mask, he burnt it to ashes. He looked away without a second glance.  

Song Wenyue was lying in a pool of blood. Xu Ningyan squinted his eyes in displeasure looking at the blood coming from his chest, which had by then diluted into his robes and the ground. Song Wenyue’s wound must be a mess, he thought as he reached out for him. Upon skin contact, he realised he was burning up so badly, sweat was stuck to his robes. 

Before he could check on him properly, he heard rustling and birds flying away. He pressed at Song Wenyue’s wound with a layer of fire and settled it upon the wound to temporarily stop his blood. It was bad enough he had lost a lot of blood, if they ran like this, there would be a trail directly pointing at wherever they went. He did not bother waking Song Wenyue and just pulled him onto his back in a swift motion. Then, he ran in the opposite direction with the deadweight on her back. 

Five people appeared where they were lying before, inspecting their whereabouts. 

“They did not appear to have left long.” 

“Hey, this dragging marking on the ground. Only one person is moving about.” 

“They must be carrying the injured. They should not have run far.” 

“Let’s go.” 

And then five of them run towards five different directions. 

Every minute, every second was critical to their survival. Added to the fact that Song Wenyue was in a terrible, unclear condition, he already lost so much that his face was ashened. He needed to get away, and fast.  

The only good thing was that the Forgotten Woods were covered in a mist that would set anyone who set foot inside to be stuck in an illusion and losing their way. So, it would take those people some time to find them. Bad thing was that if they found them before he found a place to take a look at his injuries, it might be hard for him to keep Song Wenyue’s life.  

Indefinitely. 

As he dragged him with him and traversed the same endless scenery for the whole night, while leaving misleading signs for their pursuers, he finally found a rather hidden cave to hide in. He carefully placed Song Wenyue down on the cold, hard ground. Conjuring some fire sprites, he looked around the cave, apart from the water dripping from above, there seemed to be nothing in this cave; only still silence.  

Xu Ningyan touched his wrist to check his pulse and frowning as he realised Song Wenyue was poisoned. He clicked his tongue, thinking about how he was going to detoxify him. 

It would appear that the explosion from earlier was no normal explosion. If he found who was behind this, he would make them regret pissing this Palace Master off! They dare pull tricks in his presence! 

He looked at his dirty, pale face. What an unpleasant sight. Then, he removed his outer robe carefully as not to agitate his wounds, revealing a white inner garment that was now soaked in blood. He peeled the inner garment out, frowning at the ghastly wound on his abdomen. He could even see his bones. His skin around the wound was swollen and signs of infection had appeared. 

How annoying, how annoying, maybe I do him a favour and send him on his way? 

He whisked out his black sword and without hesitation stabbed Song Wenyue’s wound. There was no reaction from Song Wenyue but his face did take on a much ghastly expression.

That frown was fleeting as it was quickly replaced by a wry smile. The black sword disappeared from his hand. He thought about it and decided to save him instead.  

“This debt… how are you going to repay me?” He said with a low chuckle. The fire spell he used to stop his wound was gone now but he had lost too much blood. He rummaged his magic pouch for some items—bandages and a short dagger. He cleaned the wound and with a short dagger heated by the fire sprites, he cut the swollen skin to let the dirty blood out.

Then he pressed the cut with his hands and sucked out the poison with his mouth. The blood on Song Wenyue’s wound changed from black to bright red, Xu Ningyan stopped. There should only be a little poison left in his body. 

He took out a gourd from his pouch and cleaned his mouth with the remaining water inside. He shook the empty gourd and kept it back into his pouch. 

The fire sprites hovered round them to stabilise the temperature around them. Song Wenyue had lost too much blood and his body temperature was so low, Xu Ningyan felt like if he did not take extra care Song Wenyue might not survive the night. He cut his palm with the short dagger, letting out a drip of blood before using the qi to clot the blood. 

Enveloping the drip of blood in fire, it quickly hardened into a shape of two round pills. Though, they looked more like red crystal jades than pills. 

He only needed to wait a while until Song Wenyue’s body temperature returned to normal before feeding him with it. The state of his body had always been a mystery to him. Xu Ningshu warned him multiple times not to let anyone notice anything strange about his body. His identity itself was already a high profile thing that got the attention of various parties. If they started to think that he was a sort of panacea, would he not be the target of the entire world, not just Listeria? They had enough problems as it was.  

He also needed to give him some of his qi to help him nourish his meridians or his condition might just worsen. He could only wait for Song Wenyue to wake up or forcibly entering his meridians would only backfire.  

However, their assailants might not give them time. He did not understand why they would target Song Wenyue when it should have been him. He pondered for a bit before deciding to leave before daybreak. In any case, as long as his qi was not exhausted, they had a chance of leaving in one piece. 

He can eat them after waking up. He stared at Song Wenyue’s pale complexion. He looked so thin, he needed some meat. He pulled out his red overcoat from his pouch and covered him with it. Then he stood up and left the cave. 

By the time Song Wenyue opened his eyes, a pair of cold, dark eyes were staring at him at a close distance. If he could move, he would jump back immediately.  

“Y-you,” he struggled to speak but his voice was hoarse. Why were they so close to each other?! 

Where is her sense of propriety!! 

“Stop talking, don’t reject my qi,” Xu Ningyan mumbled unhappily as he snuggled closer to his warm body. A normal cultivator, no matter what, when they reached a certain realm, they would no longer feel hot or cold unless they were not feeling well but in Xu Ningyan’s situation it was different.  

His body temperature would forever be lower than other warm-blooded creatures. Some days, when the cold poison would act up, he would feel unbearably cold. Sticking close to Song Wenyue, they shared his red robe as a quilt.  

He could feel his cold embrace which should have made him feel uncomfortable and embarrassed and his heart thumped, and yet there was a familiar scent that made him feel comfortable. There were many reasons why he should maintain a distance with him, he struggled to move away but he could not even lift a finger and he wanted to escape Xu Ningyan? 

Xu Ningyan stared at him disinterestedly. Why did he even have such a great reaction? Xu Ningyan snorted at his pointless resistance and rested his eyes. 

There were two reasons why he was sticking close to him, because he was warm and he was circulating his qi into his meridians, slowly repairing them. It would take a few months for him to completely heal but it was better than nothing since it would be better if he was able to stay conscious till Xu Ningyan’s shadow guards found them. 

Beads of sweat were dripping from both of them, making their attire sticky. His throat felt dry and his face and ears were flushed red. Why were both of them in their inner garments? His mind was literally screaming, despite the cold from Xu Ningyan’s skin contact making him feel better. He should be feeling grateful but he could not.  

Why was she so cold in the first place? 

Why was she holding him? 

What did she say earlier?  

He suddenly felt something entering his meridians. Because he was so embarrassed, he unwittingly let it in. This should be his qi? It was comfortable and yet, a strange burning sensation tingled at the same time. 

There was no rejection at all. Xu Ningyan was a little taken aback by his lack of reaction. Is he a fool? What if he completely destroyed him now?  

“Y-your hi—” 

Without letting Song Wenyue finish his words, Xu Ningyan pushed a red pill into his mouth. His eyes widened in surprise.  

“Medicine, swallow.” 

Whatever, it was not like he could gain anything from harming him. And besides, there was something off with his sea of consciousness, there was an array on it, forcing it to only be able to reach a certain level?  

The moment his qi passed through it, the seal seemed to have loosened. Strange, but he had no time to think about this now. 

Song Wenyue looked at Xu Ningyan for a while before obediently swallowing the pill that had a lingering metallic taste and immediately choked to tears.  

Xu Ningyan helped Song Wenyue to sit up and he started coughing. It felt like he swallowed fire into his stomach.  

He looked at Xu Ningyan with an aggrieved look on his face. 

“You were poisoned, this will help.” 

The corners of his lips twitched. Why was he acting like he was made to eat poison? One had to know, he had never fed anyone with his blood. Since he was curious about his own body and yet unable to try in on anyone, he tried it on animals in his palace. He did not know how a person would react after consumption, only knowing that it works. 

“You should sleep more. You will feel better then.” 

Song Wenyue looked at Xu Ningyan, his eyebrows in knots. He had many things more to ask, and yet he did not have much energy. He considered and nodded, letting Xu Ningyan help him to lie down. 

Once Xu Ningyan settled him down, he proceeded to open the lapels of his inner garments. Song Wenyue did not know where he found the strength to but he quickly reached out to stop him but he was too late. 

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!”  

He shouted in a hoarse voice. Even though he quickly averted his gaze, images of a thin, healthy chest of a young man appeared in his mind. Young man? It took him a second to realise something was wrong. His mind throbbed as he looked at Xu Ningyan.  

“Who are you?” Song Wenyue asked cautiously. Xu Ningyan ignored him and took the lotion he had given him before and used it to rub at the blue and purple bruise on the side of his stomach. 

“Has the fever muddled your brain? Don’t you already know who I am?” 

“Y-you’re a man?” 

Song Wenyue stared at him in an incredulous manner. 

“...do you think a young master could be anything but a man?”  

He chuckled darkly, putting the lotion back to his pouch and wore his inner garment properly. 

“Aren’t you the pri—”  

Before he could finish, Xu Ningyan pushed him down, giving him a shock as his back hit the ground. 

“Didn’t I tell you not to call me that?” 

“S-sorry,” he apologised breathlessly. 

Was that why he hated being called a princess? Because she was actually a he? Did I really hear wrongly the other night? If so, I have committed a great disservice towards this palace master. 

“Young Master Song, one has to take responsibility for what they see. This was the first time someone saw…” 

His lips curled, what sort of nonsense was he even thinking that his expression looked so dumbfounded. 

Was it not too much to ask him to marry him over this? Song Wenyue thought about it. The Palace Master did say it was the first time, he had wrong him and besides, anyone who saw a beauty—no, did he just find the Palace Master beautiful? No!  

Her, no, his beautiful collarbone, to the lines on his chest and even the wound—no, he was not seriously considering it. They cannot be together!  

His mind was getting too heated that he fainted. Xu Ningyan broke into cold laughter.

“What a weak man!” Xu Ningyan snorted, poking at his cheeks. Another hand brought the remaining pill and he stared at it and then at it. Why did he use it on him? 

He looked around, it seemed like the qi in the surroundings were attracted to her blood in his body. They swarmed into his meridians, replenishing and boosting his cultivation. 

Xu Ningyan blinked, there was no use thinking about it. He helped him because he wanted to and that, for now, was good enough. He pulled the overcoat up and crouched closer to Song Wenyue. 

He closed his eyes and meditated, taking the chance the spiritual energy in the air was plentiful to restore his energies. Two opposing energies in his meridians intertwined and then pushed each other. Like two beasts fighting for dominance.  

The sound of fighting grew louder and louder. And then, his entire being exploded with pain. He shuddered and opened his eyes, gasping for air. Feeling something wet on her nose, she reached out only to see blood. He wiped it away, unhappily. 

As long as the poison in his body did not act up, he could still handle whoever was after them. 

At this moment, news had reached Shi Nie’s ears. He was now in the Forgotten Woods. He was on top of a tree, feeling the energy in the air. As long as there was some irregularity he would set forth immediately.

His gaze was different from when he was with Xu Ningyan. His timid gaze had turned cold and ruthless. Seeing shadows moving by a tree, he nimbly jumped out and twisted the person’s neck. That was the second person he killed.  

He rummaged through the person’s belongings and then left after burning the body. He did not care if he alerted anyone with that smoke. It would be better if they did, but judging by the density of the mist, highly unlikely. 

There was not any light in the woods, but he was moving like a fish in water, leaping from branch to branch. According to the information, their master would be fine. But, they did not know for sure about the young man. Since their master was the one who rushed out to save him, he would not let anything happen to him. 

If so, it might be hard for them to survive. 

Their master was not good at protecting others, after all. 

Why would he put himself at risk because of Song Wenyue though? Shi Nie pursed his lips. Even if he was going to make a friend, could he not at least find someone who could take care of themselves? 

When Song Wenyue woke up at daybreak, he noticed that Xu Ningyan was already up and dressed.  

“Young Master Xu.” 

“Morning, Song Wenyue,” Xu Ningyan looked at his face and laughed. His complexion looked better. “Do you feel better?” 

He hurriedly got up and clasped his hands together. He really felt better, and felt like he could fight a bear even. He felt refreshed even. 

“It’s all thanks to Young Master Xu.” 

“Don’t you think it’s a little mouthful?” 

“What is?” 

“Young Master Xu. There are so many of them, even.”

“Oh, erm…” 

“Just call me Yanyan.” 

Yanyan? That sounded like what they called Young Miss Shi. 

“What is it?” 

“...Are you close with the Grandmaster’s granddaughter?” 

Xu Ningyan stared at him like he was some foreign object. 

“What?” 

“Are you that dense?” 

“Dense?” 

He ignored him and re-tied his hair in a high ponytail. Then he stood up, changing her tone slightly. 

“Young Master Song, we should get moving.” 

He stared at Xu Ningyan blankly. That voice sounded a bit like Young Miss Shi. But… 

“Do you have an idea now?” He approached him and did not give him the chance to reject him as he helped him up. “We are the same person.” 

He looked at the disbelief in his eyes. All these while, they were the same person?? Impossible? They sounded, and looked different but… right… things like this, in their world, could easily be changed.  

“Come on, we should leave and find some food for you on the way.”

“Me? What about you? Aren’t you hungry? After all, you took care of me and…” 

“I don’t get hungry. Keep your eyes out for food.” 

He said that casually, but there was no way he would help him catch food. While he could not fight anyone right now, catching a small animal or two would be fine. 

Along the way, Song Wenyue caught a couple of pigeons and then settled by a river. He placed the pigeons and went to find some firewoods. Setting them down, he began removing feathers and cleaning the pigeons. Xu Ningyan squatted by his side and snapped his fingers. The firewoods sizzled and slowly lit up. 

Xu Ningyan threw his empty gourd at Song Wenyue and he, though a little dumbfounded, filled it up with water without question and returned it to Xu Ningyan. Even though they were not doing much—just having a small meal—small fire elemental magic beasts slowly gathered around them. He looked around in surprise, but Xu Ningyan nudged him to hurry up. 

The fat pigeon meats were stabbed into sticks and then placed near the fire to cook. Layers of fat surrounding the meat were turned into oil and the surface of the meat started sizzling. While waiting for them to be cooked, Song Wenyue put up a bottle of water to boil over the fire. 

When it finished being roasted, he took one of the pigeons and bit into it tender meat. He was in pain and tired the whole time. Even though bird meat was not as tasty as it could be with seasonings, he felt much alive.  

Xu Ningyan watched him for a bit before taking one and then tearing it into pieces for the magic beasts hovering round him.  

Song Wenyue looked at them for a while, before speaking up.  

“They seem to like you a lot.” 

“Maybe.”  

It was more like they held Xu Ningyan in reverence. And in his definition, reverence was completely different from liking. 

“?” 

He could never understand him. As he returned his attention to the meat before his hands, Xu Ningyan leaned against his shoulder and closed his eyes. 

He felt something thumped in his chest but kept a calm expression. Given the situation, he was probably tired. After all, he had to look after him before and carry him… Thinking about it, he felt a little uncomfortable. A grown man like him being carried by a young maiden. The tips of his ears flushed as he bit into his food. Wait, it was not actually a young maiden… but it was still embarrassing nonetheless. 

The small magic beasts hovered around Xu Ningyan closer, as if replacing his little fire sprites at giving him warmth. 

Song Wenyue did not understand how his body was cold all the time. They were running the whole time and no matter what, was all that exercise not supposed to raise someone’s body temperature? Was something wrong with his body? Did it have anything to do with the injuries he had gotten before?  

Even if he asked, Xu Ningyan would only say it was nothing. 

Song Wenyue took the bottle and drank carefully, not wanting to disturb his rest. He had the time to actually sit down and think about things.  

That day, really, he found his friend acting weirdly. Thinking that it would be enough if he was separated from others and he could figure out what was wrong with his friend. They were having such a normal conversation that Song Wenyue almost thought that he was overthinking it. But his instincts hardly fail him. 

Who would have expected that an ambush was already laid in place and he was focusing on the wrong thing to realise it? He blamed himself for his short sightedness. He was pretty good among young cultivators but in the eyes of true experts? He was still very much a greenhorn.  

His master always said he had good instincts but the drawback was that he tended to focus on a certain area and forget other factors. While it did not cause much trouble before, during this period of time life had proven how his carelessness posed risks. 

If it were not for the Palace Master, his little life would be gone by now... He felt like he kept troubling him... Why would he bother with someone like him? He did not get it before but knowing that he was Young Miss Shi, he still did not understand. What he did for him had long exceeded what he did for his grandfather.... 

Though there was one more question in his mind. Before the raid, he had not come across this organisation at all, why were they targeting him?  

He turned and looked at the back of Xu Ningyan’s head. Or... their real target was someone else? They wanted to harm the Palace Master through him? They must be sure that he would return for him for the plan to succeed...  

It looked like his presence had brought more trouble than help to Xu Ningyan. He felt disheartened and distressed for him. 

“I am sorry,” he muttered softly under his breath, not expecting that she was not actually asleep. 

“For?”

He was so startled he almost dropped the bottle. 

“Stop moving, it’s uncomfortable when you move around.” 

“...” 

He did not recall agreeing to be his pillow? But he felt it to be rude to just push him away, plus he did owe the Palace Master a lot. He did not have time to worry about this sort of thing to begin with.  

Seeing how he was not going to respond to his question, Xu Ningyan thought about it for a moment before diverting the topic. 

“Say, Song Wenyue.” 

“?” 

He looked up at the darkening sky. The surrounding was misty as always, it reminded him of home.  

“Do you want to become stronger?” 

Song Wenyue pursed his lips. Why did he ask that? Discomfort and unease filled him and he reluctantly replied.

“Yes.” 

“Do you want my help?” 

“?” 

“If you are able to bear hardships, I don’t mind lending the little flower at home to beat you up.” 

Little flower? Was it Shi Hua? Why did the second half of his sentence seem a little wrong? Did he mean to say ‘spar’? Or did he offend him in some way that… Song Wenyue thought of the things they have been through lately. Xu Ningyan was also a person; he was not a saint, so obviously he would also have a temper. 

Yes, Xu Ningyan was one who never let go of his grudges. Ever. But, he was seriously offering him a way to get stronger. The one closest to his level right now was Shi Hua and even then, she could defeat him in a blink of an eye. If he truly really wanted to get stronger, he needed to work harder. 

“Thanking Young Master Xu for his kindness,” he replied, resigning to his fate. 

“Young Master Xu?” 

“...Yan... Ningyan.”

Xu Ningyan held his laughter. He could not count how many times he felt like laughing when dealing with this young master. He was clearly not some naive young master who had never seen the world and yet, he still retained some sort of innocence that he could not put a name to. 

Truthfully, he knew he was impartial to Song Wenyue. He did not understand the reason behind this but he felt like this was not the first time they met, and that watching over him was something he should do. 

But, for him who had lost part of his younger memories, and his reluctance to make an effort to recover them, it would not be any time soon that he would remember the past. He was not trying to run away, there must be a reason why he chose to forget and in respecting that thought, he believed that if he had to remember, he will remember. 

Perhaps, that was just him convincing himself that he was not as cold as he thought, not as emotionless as everyone thought. Perhaps, the reason he could not remember was because he could not care less. Even if he were to die now, without knowing anything, he would not feel the least troubled.  

The world had nothing to do with him and neither did he want anything to do with it. 

His thoughts were interrupted by Song Wenyue. He did not say anything for so long and it did not seem like he was sleeping. In fact, he did not think that the Palace Master ever sleeps. 

“Ningyan…?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Are you… always… this close to another person?” Song Wenyue asked but he could not but feel something was wrong with his question. He always saw Xu Ningyan distancing himself from others and unless he needed to, he would minimise his presence when people were around. What was he trying to ask? 

The feeling of a cold body against his shoulder, he could not explain. Is this how having a corpse—no, a block of ice felt like placed against one’s body for a long time? His shoulder felt a little numb. 

“The only time I am close with someone is when I want to kill them,” he chuckled, feeling a tremble from behind him. The only reason why he was always close to him was because he felt warm and was not an enemy. He would unwittingly relax his guard with him. Harmless little animal.

Song Wenyue really did not know how to continue the conversation then. He sighed, before packing up the remaining food and keeping them in his magic pouch. 

He did not know what would happen after this and if he would be lucky enough to find food again. Anything could happen so he best be prepared.  

Looking around them, he realised other than the small fire magic beasts around them, he could not hear or see any other signs of other living beings. This forest seemed a little bit too quiet and dark when the night fell. 

He would be lying if he said he was not scared but having this powerhouse and magic beasts around was reassuring. Xu Ningyan did not seem the least bothered so he had a feeling whatever was in this place was no big deal to him. 

“Are we going to just stay here?” He asked as he used a branch to poke at the fire. “It isn’t early anymore.” 

“Hmm, no. Put the fire out, we’ll rest on the trees. Being out here is like waiting to be attacked.” 

“...Are they coming?” He blinked, wondering if Xu Ningyan saw something. It did not come as a surprise if he did. For Song Wenyue, he was like a huge mountain and as someone with lower cultivation, it was obvious that he could not see things the way she could. 

Song Wenyue got up to put out the fire. While he did, he hid signs of them being there. Then following him, who jumped onto a tree, he sat next to him.  

“Following me blindly, eh?” 

“I…” He almost sang his praises, but he swallowed back his words. After all, he wanted to be a friend, not a follower. 

“No need to say anything. I can still keep your little life intact,” he replied with a smile before reaching for his pouch and rummaging for something. 

“Take this,” he said, throwing something at him. 

Catching it with both hands, he felt something warm in his palms. Opening his hands, a red, round flower shaped crystal could be seen. 

“This is…?”  

“Something that will save your life. That’s the same pill I had you consumed before. Without it, you would not have lasted,” she said and then walked ahead. “Let’s go.” 

This was the same as before? What was this? A sort of magical panacea? Something like this must be priceless!! How could he give him not only one, but two. It was too precious! Song Wenyue thought as much but did not dare to return it to him. He took out a jade bottle and kept it inside before putting it into his robes. 

He was not too sure how he could repay Xu Ningyan. Everything he could give him were things the Palace Master had plenty of or could easily attain. Someone like him did not seem to lack anything.  

But, if it comes one day that he needed help, he would do everything to help him. He silently resolved in his mind. Whether it would require him to cross seas of fires or ice, even this life that he helped preserve…

After a sleepless night traversing the woods by the riverbank, they never stopped the entire day and when night fell once more, darkness enveloped the surroundings. Minus the fire beasts around then. 

After sending them away, there was only darkness around them. Xu Ningyan set up arrays a distance around them to warn them about trespassers as they rested. 

Song Wenyue stood by a tree, not moving an inch. Even though he could see with his qi, in an unknown place, he always tried not to do anything at night.  

When he returned to his side, he gave him an odd look. But noticing the fatigue in his face, he decided not to comment. For fearing they might be found out, he did not summon her fire sprites. 

Instead, he pressed his stiff shoulders and made him sit down. “It’s only for tonight we’re sleeping in the open. Don’t worry, nothing will happen to your little life,” his cold voice resounded softly. If it was another person it might feel like someone was coaxing another but when he said it, it was like he was threatening them or something… 

Song Wenyue did not say anything, believing that he misunderstood his reaction and just rested against the tree trunk behind him and closed his eyes, his breathing a little unstable. 

After a while, he felt a bump against his back, and when he turned, Song Wenyue’s head fell to his shoulder. Feeling the warmth on his shoulder, he blinked for a moment before reaching for his forehead to feel his forehead.  

It was still a little warm, his fever not fully receding. 

Before Xu Ningyan could pull his hand back, Song Wenyue’s hand reached for him and pulled him into his embrace, the ice bag in his arms soothed his feverish body. He was slightly startled and almost acted in defense and hurt him but he quickly reacted and held back, letting him whatever he wanted. 

Xu Ningyan looked up; their faces close together, Song Wenyue was still asleep. His warmth breath tickled his cheek and he felt a little dizzy. He felt like he could see something but he could not. A childish voice in his memories said his name softly and happily, Brother Yanyan.

He did not realise it but a small smile appeared on his cold face and he mumbled, “what a silly face” and closed his eyes. 

He could have easily broken free from his hold but he did not. As such thoughts came to him, the two arms encircled his waist tightened. 

Instead, he looked forward to his reaction and excuse when he woke up.