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On the night he awoke, Rong Shu entered from outside, carrying a bowl of porridge, only to find him already deeply asleep. She didn't disturb him, instead placing the two-handled pottery jar down and lying on the bamboo bed to rest.

But when she woke up in the middle of the night, she discovered that she was now on the bed, with Gu Changjin sleeping on one end facing east, and she on the other facing west. Rong Shu propped herself up on one elbow.

The bamboo bed was narrow and not very sturdy; her small movement caused a loud creak.

Gu Changjin had been sleeping lightly and, hearing the noise, opened his eyes to look at her.

They gazed silently at each other for a while.

Gu Changjin explained, "It's not good for you to sleep like that. Besides, your injuries haven't fully healed, so I carried you over to the bed."

If he hadn't been injured, he would have given her the bamboo bed to sleep on. But since he was hurt, there was no way she would let him sleep anywhere else.

Though the room was unlit, the moonlight reflecting off the snow outside shone through the windows, illuminating the space brightly.

In the snowy glow, his refined face appeared extremely pale, devoid of any color.

Rong Shu looked at him, pulled the blanket over herself, calmly acknowledged with an "mm-hm," and then lowered her elbow, resuming her sleep.

These past few days, she had been the one to bathe and apply medicine on him, having seen his naked form in its entirety. Naturally, there was no need for them to be overly cautious about gender boundaries, to the point of being afraid to share the same bed.

No sooner had she lain down than a soft, awkward gurgling sound echoed in the room.

This wasn't her stomach growling.

Rong Shu recalled how last year, when he was stabbed on Changan Avenue, he had woken up in the Songsi Courtyard in a similar state. Despite being famished, he hadn't said a word. Instead, his stomach couldn't bear it any longer and protested loudly with "gurgle, gurgle, gurgle" sounds.

Two gentle chuckles emerged from under the covers.

When Rong Shu had finished laughing, she propped herself up on her elbow and said, "Gu Changjin, would you like some congee? There are still two jars of minced meat congee on the bamboo table. I'll go warm them up."

Gu Changjin's gaze was fixed on the curve of her lips as he replied with a smile, "Sure." He then attempted to sit up.

Rong Shu hastily got up and placed her hand on his shoulder, saying, "What are you getting up for? I'll do it."

Upon finishing her sentence, she realized just how intimate their current position was.

She had been too eager in her rush over, and her body carried the momentum, pressing half of her body against his right chest. Her black hair cascaded down either side of his jawline, blocking most of the snowlight filtering in from outside.

This was not the first time Rong Shu had thrown herself onto Gu Changjin.

In the past, when she was drunk, she had done similar things as well.

Of course, those embarrassing episodes were best left unmentioned.

Their eyes met for a moment, and Gu Changjin broke the intimate silence first.

"You don't know how to start a fire."

Back in Wutong Lane, although she occasionally cooked, lighting the fire was always done by a specialized kitchen maid; she never had to do it herself.

Upon hearing this, Rong Shu straightened her posture. "I can light a fire. These past few days, I've been helping Daoist Baoshan prepare your medicine and porridge."

Gu Changjin's gaze fell on her slender fingers, ensuring there were no signs of burns. He then consented, "Be careful and don't burn yourself. Leave the door open, and don't close the kitchen windows either."

From the cottage's entrance, he could see the brick kitchen. With the door ajar, he could keep an eye on her at all times. If she were to get hurt, he would be able to rush over immediately.

Rong Shu wanted to say that she wasn't so delicate that she needed him to watch her light a fire.

Upon the verge of speaking, another memory resurfaced.

Back when she was preparing pine nut candy in the Songsi Courtyard's small kitchen, she had burned her hand and even received a blister from the scalding syrup.

Those injuries had been excruciatingly painful.

When she delivered the pine nut candy to his study later that day, his expression was far from pleasant.

He didn't even touch the jar of candy, leaving it on his desk for many days until the pine nuts inside had become damp. He didn't eat it then.

Rong Shu asked if he didn't like it.

He replied candidly, saying "yes," and even requested that she not make it again in the future because he didn't enjoy it.

Two days later, when Rong Shu revisited the candy jar, it was completely empty.

She assumed that he had instructed someone to dispose of the pine nut candy.

After all, if he didn't eat the crispy and sweet version, it was implausible that he would consume the spoiled, damp one. Who would be foolish enough to choose the spoiled over the good?

From that day on, Rong Shu refused to make him pine nut candy anymore.

How could she not understand the situation now?

There were indeed fools in this world who would rather sneakily eat spoiled candy than enjoy the good ones.

He was someone who could finish a plate of pig offal without flinching; Rong Shu did not believe he would genuinely throw away the pine nut candy she made by hand.

In the end, he just didn't want her to burn her hands again but couldn't express his concern directly, so he resorted to this method to discourage her.

"Did you secretly eat the jar of pine nut candy I made for you before?"

Gu Changjin was caught off guard by her mentioning such an unrelated and long-forgotten incident. After a brief pause, he replied with a simple "Mm."

When Rong Shu thought he had thrown away that jar of pine nut candy, she was incredibly upset. After drinking some alcohol, she couldn't help but scold him for wasting food.

What did Gu Changjin say back then?

Oh, he said, "Rong Zhaozhao, when you eat pine nut candy, you look like a squirrel with a bushy tail."

A Swallowtail...

There was even a little swallowtail in the ice sculpture he had made for her.

Rong Shu was too lazy to talk to him.

She turned and left the room, but left the door ajar so as not to worry him.

For their meals, the two of them always followed the etiquette of silence—no talking during eating or sleeping. Apart from the soft sounds within the room, there were no other noises.

On such a cold night, a bowl of warm and tender meat porridge soothed every organ in one's body.

Rong Shu ate slowly, savoring each bite.

Only after finishing did she realize that the man sitting across from her had long put down his wooden spoon. Leaning against the pillow, he had been quietly watching her eat, perhaps for quite some time.

Seeing that Rong Shu had finished, Gu Changjin took out a handkerchief and offered it to her, saying, "Wipe the corners of your mouth."