Chapter 55

Chapter 55

When Rong Feng reached out like that, Bian Hong froze in place, only turning his head back, his clear eyes fixed on the man.

Rong Feng felt a twinge of guilt under that gaze, but he still didn't let go—instead, he tugged twice more.

Bian Hong finally couldn't hold back and spoke up, "What are you doing?"

The man gave a soft cough, raised those mismatched brown-and-blue eyes to look back at Bian Hong, then hesitantly said a few words.

"Late spring chill... the cold, uh, cold air can hurt you."

"..."

Bian Hong didn't move, unsure how to respond to that. The two of them remained stuck like that—one half-kneeling on the kang, the other standing at the door.

In the end, Rong Feng couldn't hold out, lowered his head, and let go.

"Nothing. You, go back to sleep soon."

Perhaps because this room hadn't been lived in for a long time, even with the stove lit, the room still wouldn't warm up. Compared to the lively little room next door, it felt especially chilly and empty.

Bian Hong watched the man pull back his hand and let his shoulders droop. He stood there a moment, then turned and left.

Rong Feng watched Bian Hong's back as he left without a backward glance, sighed, and lay down in the cold bedding with his mind in a jumble.

He didn't know what he really wanted. Life as it was now was already good enough. Sometimes, lying awake at night, he'd think back to when they were searching for medicine in the deep mountains—Bian Hong unconscious from the plague, lying limp in his arms, barely breathing.

When Bian Hong woke up, he felt nothing else mattered—as long as this person was alive and well.

But now, he couldn't help wanting to grab his hand and keep him here in the dead of night.

He thought the old saying was right—after getting what you want, you want more. Greed knows no bounds.

And then, desire that could never be satisfied.

After a thorough self-reflection, Rong Feng finally calmed down. In the end, he flopped back into the bedding and started stripping off his clothes. Since he was sleeping alone anyway, no need to worry about making anyone uncomfortable. Out of habit, he stripped completely naked and tossed his clothes onto the rack in front of the cabinet.

Then he rested his head on his arm, staring blankly at the ceiling.

But after only a moment, his ears twitched. He widened his eyes and turned to look at the door.

With a creak, the door opened. It was none other than Bian Hong, carrying his own pillow.

Rong Feng was so excited he wanted to sit up, but then remembered he was completely naked, so he shrank back down.

"You, you."

But after stammering "you, you" for a while, he still couldn't get anything else out.

Bian Hong calmly placed his pillow on the mattress, then stripped off his outer clothes, leaving only a thin set of underclothes. He lifted a corner of the quilt and lay down properly inside it, just like they had slept under the same quilt before.

There wasn't much light in the room, and he hadn't looked closely into the bedding—how was he to know the person beside him was stark naked?

So Bian Hong just pulled the quilt over himself and closed his eyes.

"Didn't you say you were cold? Go to sleep then."

He lay there for a while, and the space beside him stayed completely quiet. So Bian Hong took a few deep breaths and settled in, waiting for sleep to come.

The fire in the stove burned on its own, flames licking the charcoal, gradually growing stronger.

Bian Hong felt the bedding getting warmer and warmer, especially on the side where his back was to Rong Feng—like a stove was burning right inside the quilt.

Judging by this, the man didn't seem like the type to get cold.

Actually, Bian Hong wasn't worried about the man being cold—he was afraid that sleeping alone in this old home of his departed relatives would bring back memories and chill his heart.

So he had gone back to his sleeping younger brothers, hesitated for a moment, and then brought his pillow over anyway.

But after lying there for a while, he felt the man inch closer and closer, until finally, in the darkness, a big hand reached out and pulled him straight into his arms.

Bian Hong jumped, feeling a scorching, solid chest press against his back. The man's body heat, separated only by a thin layer of underclothes, seemed to seep straight into his own body.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

Bian Hong looked down and tugged at the arm wrapped around his waist, but it didn't budge an inch.

Luckily, the man didn't go any further—he just pressed against Bian Hong's back and spoke in a low, heavy voice.

"Sleeping while holding you keeps me warm."

Not just warm—it was getting downright hot.

Bian Hong shifted uncomfortably, but in the end said nothing, staying on his side and letting the man press against his back.

The room fell silent, utterly still, but in the darkness, a deep inhale suddenly sounded.

Bian Hong shuddered all over, turned, and reached out to push away the man's face, which was way too close.

"Quit sniffing my neck!"

The man said nothing.

That just now had given Bian Hong goosebumps all over. "If you do that again, I'm going back to my own bed."

Only then did the man behind him let go, the breath at his nape withdrawing as he rolled back to his spot, trying to steady his breathing.

But that hand still stayed on Bian Hong, pressing down heavily.

This kind of contact was still within Bian Hong's tolerance, so he stopped talking and silently accepted the position and distance.

The flames in the stove burned down and died out, and the last bit of light in the room vanished completely. In the dead of night, Rong Feng, having gotten what he wanted, finally fell asleep with the man in his arms.

Bian Hong suddenly opened his eyes. The man beside him was sleeping soundly, his long, slow breaths gently stirring the stray hairs on top of Bian Hong's head.

That sturdy arm had been withdrawn from his waist, instead reaching out of the quilt to hover loosely above his head, enclosing him entirely within a protective, arm's-reach range.

He rarely got to see Rong Feng in deep sleep.

Whether in the deep mountains or under a narrow eaves, Rong Feng always fell asleep after him, and by the time he woke up, the man was already awake—even out in the wild, he'd stay up all night keeping watch alone.

Now, not only could he feel the warmth of the body behind him, but he could also hear the steady thump of a heartbeat through their contact.

With him asleep, Bian Hong finally felt a bit more at ease.

Thinking about it now, he didn't know what had come over him to crawl into the man's bedding.

But it really was warm in here.

He turned his head slightly, and beside his nose was the man's sturdy forearm.

Bian Hong twitched his nose and instinctively gave a gentle sniff—a rugged smell of skin, but pleasant enough.

Before long, Bian Hong finally blinked with drowsiness. Since coming down the mountain, one thing after another had happened; once he recovered from his illness, he'd been run off his feet at the clinic. He was tired too, just as weary as the man behind him.

Finally, he quietly burrowed deeper into the blankets, snuggling against the man's broad chest, and fell asleep feeling very safe.

Rong Feng, half-asleep, suddenly felt a tickle on his chest, as if something were squirming around under the covers.

So he instinctively reached in and grabbed, and his hand met something furry. Before he could even pull back the blanket, he saw a person with furry ears pop up from under the covers on his chest.

He looked down, and his eyes nearly popped out.

It was Bian Hong!

And somehow, Bian Hong had a pair of fluffy bear ears on top of his head, and was currently lying on his rapidly heaving chest, grinning at him with a sly grin.

"Brother, I've got a tail on my ass too—wanna feel it?"

Rong Feng felt like his soul had flown out of his body. He nodded instinctively and reached his hand under the covers.

Just at the critical moment, he heard a few giggles near his ear. He groggily opened his eyes and looked—Bian Hong wasn't on his chest at all. Instead, a little bear cub was lying by his pillow, sucking its paw.

At that moment, the cub blinked its small, black bean-like eyes at Rong Feng, who was suddenly staring at it, then pulled its wet, soggy paw out of its mouth with a "pop" and held it out to Rong Feng's mouth.

The message was clear, and the offer was friendly.

Want a taste?

Rong Feng was jarred by the stark contrast between dream and reality, and with a sharp intake of breath, he scrambled back.

Standing on the floor nearby were Yuan Ding and Guan Bao. Seeing their big brother startled by the little bear, they both burst out giggling. But Yuan Ding had a good heart—after laughing, he stood on his tiptoes and reached out to pat his big brother's hair.

"Pat pat the hair, no more scare."

Rong Feng steadied himself, and with an expression the kids couldn't quite read, let out a heavy, complicated sigh. "Where's your Xi ge?"

Guan Bao, leaning against the edge of the kang, answered first, "Xi ge is messing with mud."

Yuan Ding, afraid his big brother might think Xi ge was being lazy, added, "Xi ge isn't playing around—he's building a stove."

Then Guan Bao hopped up onto the kang, leaned against the little bear, and started playing again. Being a stickler for cleanliness, he also turned down the cub's invitation to suck on its "bear paw" with it.

When Rong Feng heard that Bian Hong was building a stove, he quickly snapped out of it and got up to go help.

But the moment he moved, he froze. He lifted a corner of the blanket wrapped around him, peeked inside, and then had a "just as I thought" look on his face. Amid the children's laughter, he bowed his head and rubbed his forehead in frustration.

The morning wood was already bad enough, and on top of that, having a dream like that—his heart was still pounding.

There was no way the blanket was coming off his lower half.

"Yuan Ding, bring big brother his clothes."

Yuan Ding obediently turned and ran to the clothes rack by the cabinet to grab Rong Feng's clothes.

Just then, Bian Hong, who was outside, had finished mixing the mud for the stove and came in to ask Rong Feng if it was okay to put it in the middle of the yard, where they could later build a small shelter to block the sun in the summer, and also cook outside to avoid making the house too hot to sleep in when it's hot.

Since his hands were covered in mud, Bian Hong used his elbow to push the door open. Guan Bao, playing with the little bear on the kang, rushed over excitedly, but tripped on the blanket and was about to fall off the kang.

At that crucial moment, Rong Feng quickly stepped forward and caught Guan Bao, who was falling head-first.

Bian Hong's heart leapt to his throat, then dropped back down.

He was about to go in and scold the clumsy kid, but his gaze landed on the man.

Because Rong Feng had lunged to catch Guan Bao so quickly, the blanket had fallen off him completely. He was now completely naked, one knee on the kang, one foot on the floor.

Everything was on full display, nothing left to the imagination.

Bian Hong's eyes went wide, his scalp prickling.

Rong Feng realized what had happened, and his face turned bright red in an instant.

"You—how dare you!" Bian Hong didn't even know what to say, wishing he could smear a handful of mud right over the man's crotch!

It was early morning—why so riled up! And with the kids right there, what if they saw something they shouldn't?

Rong Feng quickly turned and snatched the blanket up to cover himself, then set the bewildered Guan Bao down on the floor.

Yuan Ding hadn't seen what happened; he just put the clothes beside his big brother, but turned to look at his big brother's red face, then at Xi ge, who was fuming, like smoke was coming out of his ears.

Yuan Ding put two and two together.

His big brother must have peed the bed again!