"You're awake?"
After staring at her for a long while, Mu Zibai finally spoke, his voice trembling. Wenren Lingmeng had really woken up. The two hundred thousand points hadn't gone to waste.
His heart was a jumble of emotions. It was good that she was awake; Mu Zibai felt a little relieved, but also a little worried. He thought of his face.
He checked carefully. He really had been slapped. It must have been Wenren Lingmeng, right?
Why had she slapped him? Could she not recognize him and think he was a lecher?
"You're awake?" Wenren Lingmeng's voice was gentle, graceful, and melodious, like a songbird's. Just hearing it lifted his spirits and made his heart melt.
Mu Zibai asked, "You remember me?"
His heart leaped with joy. From Wenren Lingmeng's words, it was clear she knew who he was. That meant she remembered everything he had done for her all these days.
This was the best possible outcome. At last, he could put his anxious heart to rest.
Wenren Lingmeng shyly lowered her head, not daring to look directly at Mu Zibai, who lay beside her, sharing her bed. She nodded bashfully.
"Mm-hmm. I remember everything. How could I ever forget?"
How could Wenren Lingmeng forget everything Mu Zibai had done? It was all etched into her heart. Mu Zibai was the white moonlight in her heart.
His warmth had shone into her heart, soothing her fragile soul.
Mu Zibai smiled with relief. It was good that she remembered. Looking at the beauty before him, he thought of how, at first, he had treated her merely as a tool for earning points, but little by little, he had developed feelings for her.
She had become a part of his life—this poor young woman.
Knowing she still remembered him made Mu Zibai happier and more relieved than ever before. Even if Wenren Lingmeng hadn't remembered him, he would still have been relieved to see her wake up.
Suddenly, he remembered that his face still stung fiercely. Pointing at it, he asked, "Did you just slap me?"
Wenren Lingmeng: "!"
She smiled gently and said, "Husband, you're exhausted. You've watched over me for so long without getting any proper rest. Hurry and sleep."
"But—"
Mu Zibai had just started to speak when Wenren Lingmeng gently interrupted him again. "Husband, go to sleep. You must have imagined it just now because you haven't been getting enough rest. Get some good sleep."
As she spoke, Wenren Lingmeng's slender hand lowered Mu Zibai's eyelids, lulling him to sleep.
An illusion?
Mu Zibai was bewildered. Had he really imagined it? But the feeling on his face was so real. Someone had definitely slapped him.
But Wenren Lingmeng's eyes were so clear and innocent, and she was being so gentle. It definitely couldn't have been her. Besides, she recognized him; she wouldn't hit him for no reason.
There was nobody else around, either. Could it really have been an illusion?
With Wenren Lingmeng soothing him, he gradually drifted off to sleep, though the more he thought about it, the less it made sense.
"I'm sure someone—"
Wenren Lingmeng hurriedly caught hold of Mu Zibai and said, "Go to sleep, go to sleep. Don't think about it. You're tired."
For some reason, Wenren Lingmeng's voice seemed to hold an invisible magic. Mu Zibai gradually grew drowsy and fell asleep.
Wenren Lingmeng let out a sigh of relief. That was close. Her husband had almost figured it out. How embarrassing would it have been if he'd known she was the one who slapped him?
It was good that he'd fallen asleep. After a nap, he'd forget all about it.
Looking at the sleeping Mu Zibai, Wenren Lingmeng felt at ease. She wanted to caress his cheek, but was afraid of disturbing him.
Thinking of how Mu Zibai had cared for her day and night, going several days and nights without sleep, she decided that today she would let him sleep well. And she would stay by his side, keeping watch over her husband just as he had once watched over her.
Wenren Lingmeng smiled sweetly. At that moment, she felt as if she and her husband were lovers in a romance novel, and she was filled with bliss and sweetness.
At that moment, she felt like the happiest person in the world.
She drew Mu Zibai into her arms. He had held her like this before. She listened to the thump, thump, thump of his heartbeat as she drifted off, careful not to disturb his sleep.
Mu Zibai sensed the movement but didn't wake. He was so exhausted that all he wanted was to rest. He sniffed. What was that smell? It was so fragrant.
Gradually, his mind grew hazy, as though he couldn't breathe enough air. He felt as if he were suffocating!
His consciousness grew ever more muddled, and he fell completely asleep.
"Ah!"
When Mu Zibai suddenly hugged her, she instinctively tried to push him away. How could he do that? He was getting carried away!
But when she saw how soundly Mu Zibai was sleeping, two sides of her heart started arguing with each other. In the end, she reluctantly persuaded herself to let him be and indulge him for one day.
She gazed at Mu Zibai fondly.
Remembering all the little moments she had shared with Mu Zibai, she sank into sweet memories.
At first, when she'd learned she was to marry Mu Zibai, she'd resisted with all her heart. Then she'd carefully looked after him and accepted his place in her life. In the end, she'd fallen for him completely, and he'd become an inseparable part of her heart.
Wenren Lingmeng had often imagined what kind of man she would marry in the future: a man versed in both literature and martial arts, an unmatched god of war.
And Mu Zibai? A concubine-born son? A concubine-born son the Lineage had cast aside and sent to marry into her family? How could he possibly be any good?
Yet the more time she spent with him, the more she realized Mu Zibai was a treasure trove of surprises, constantly bringing unexpected joys into her life.
She began looking forward to seeing Mu Zibai and sharing a life with him. She wanted to wake up and see him as soon as possible.
But she was terrified. What should she say to Mu Zibai? How should she face him once she woke up?
She'd imagined all kinds of possibilities and thought of many things she wanted to say to Mu Zibai. She'd also wondered what he might say to her.
But once she woke up, things weren't all that passionate or lovey-dovey. They were quiet, yet exceptionally warm and reassuring.
Wenren Lingmeng understood now. Perhaps love didn't have to be passionate and earth-shattering. A quiet, simple life, knowing she had a place in Mu Zibai's heart and loving the man before her—that was enough.
Looking at Mu Zibai's sleeping face, she thought of the white rice porridge and that hateful man who had tempted her appetite so badly, leaving her craving it when she couldn't have any.
Back then, she had sworn that she would lock Mu Zibai up and make him eat nothing but white rice porridge for a whole month. Xiao E was no exception—she was such a wild girl, getting wilder by the day. She needed to be punished, too!
She pictured the poor sight of Mu Zibai eating nothing but white rice porridge, and couldn't help but smirk and giggle.
Of course, Wenren Lingmeng was only imagining it. How could she bear to treat Mu Zibai that way?
Then she thought of that wild girl, Xiao E, and how she'd made Mu Zibai sleep beside her and bathe with her.
Especially the bath! Even now, thinking about it made Wenren Lingmeng feel mortified. It was so embarrassing—all because of Xiao E! Mu Zibai had seen her completely naked, without a stitch on.
And Mu Zibai had even washed her himself. At the thought, Wenren Lingmeng's face turned so red it seemed ready to drip blood.
Before you continue