The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window into the bedroom.
The weather in early summer was usually pleasant. The sunlight generally grew harsh in the afternoon, but it was still gentle in the morning. After passing through the gaps between the leaves outside the window, it became shafts of light that fell onto the pool, which had automatically filled itself with water, forming patches of reflected light.
The window was open, and the wind kept rippling the surface of the pool, making it shimmer. The pale-blue pool was like a mirror, reflecting those patches of light onto the bedroom walls and ceiling.
Three figures lay on the bed in different positions. They were not clinging tightly to one another, but they still made the room a little warmer.
The patches of light swayed with the water, making the room seem to come alive, as though it were about to wake the three of them.
An Yang's sleeping posture was quite proper. He slept however he found comfortable and was fairly well-behaved. He had merely lain on his side with one hand resting over Comrade Xiao Qian's lower abdomen, without any subconscious intention of groping at anything through the night.
Comrade Xiao Qian had always slept elegantly and with great attention to propriety. Unless she was embracing An Yang, she only had a few sleeping positions: either lying on her back with her palms crossed over her stomach, or lying on her side with one forearm as a pillow. A sleeping position like Ji Weiwei's—lying facedown on the bed with all four limbs spread out—was rather bizarre even by ordinary standards.
An Yang opened his eyes. Almost at the same time, as if sensing it, Comrade Xiao Qian opened hers as well. She turned to meet his gaze and blinked.