It seemed he had gone too long without doing this; he had indulged a little too much last night.
The exhaustion from letting his body fight to its heart's content turned into comfort after a long sleep. Before even waking up, he stretched hard in bed.
Listening to his bones crack as they stretched, feeling the lingering warmth beneath the blanket,
Fang Ran slowly opened his eyes and saw bright sunlight filtering through lush green vines beneath a ceiling over ten meters high.
Huh?
From time to time, he could hear distant birdsong, the flowing sounds of springs and streams, little animals scurrying through bushes and grass, and air so crisp it seemed possible only deep in the mountains.
Though he was lying in bed, it was as though he had impossibly awakened amid the natural world of a mountain forest at dawn.
"Are you awake?"
After he drowsily opened his sleepy eyes,
Fang Ran heard a gentle voice by his pillow. He lazily rolled toward it and saw a woman with black hair spilling over her smooth white shoulders, classically elegant and tranquil, with an intellectual gentleness.
Then, amid the rustle of fabric, he reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, his palm stroking her soft, smooth, slender back.
"What time is it?"
His eyes were half-open, still not fully awake. Feeling the soft, fragrant warmth pressed against him, he did not want to move at all except for the arm holding her.
Fang Ran asked out of habit in a lazy, dreamlike voice.
What am I saying?
She extended her long, slender white fingers and gently wiped the corners of his eyes clean. Then she looped her arms around his neck, holding the young man who had once cried miserably in her embrace.
Their bare bodies