Sharing a Bed

Nan Nan made a point of cleaning the other room and bringing out fresh bedding.

"Minghui, Wanyu, get some rest."

After the three wished one another good night and the door closed, Dongfang Minghui and Dongfang Wanyu were left staring at each other.

The cramped room was only about thirty square meters, with a plain chair and a small bed a meter and a half wide and two meters long. There was nothing else.

Dongfang Minghui felt that The Female Lead would probably kick her straight out of bed that night. After all, although they had been getting along as sisters, they had never been this close.

An inexplicable sense of awkwardness swept through her.

Dongfang Wanyu took her fingers, removed the Spatial Ring from her own hand, and said, "My Spatial Ring may not compare to a high-grade one, but it has fifteen cubic meters of space. Use it for now. When I find a better one, I'll buy it for you."

As Dongfang Wanyu moved everything out of the ring, she erased the soul imprint she had left inside. "Here, drip some blood onto it, and it will recognize you as its owner."

Dongfang Minghui's eyes went round. She stared blankly at The Female Lead, hardly able to believe it. "Seventh Sister, are you giving this ring to me?"

Dongfang Wanyu smiled and drew her hand closer. With a light stroke of her finger, a bead of blood welled up, which she smeared onto the Spatial Ring.

Dongfang Minghui soon saw the inside of the Spatial Ring clearly. Just as The Female Lead had said, it held roughly fifteen cubic meters of space—more than enough for all her odds and ends.

The face of the ring was beautiful too, shaped like a peony in full bloom.

Excited, she picked up her bundle and silently willed it into the ring. When she opened her eyes again, the bundle was gone. She checked the Spatial Ring with her mind and found it lying quietly inside.

Watching her play so happily, Dongfang Wanyu could not help feeling puzzled. Ninth Sister was, after all, the most pampered young lady of the Dongfang Family. Why would she treasure a mere Spatial Ring so much and act so childlike?

As she undressed, she pondered Ninth Sister's strange behavior of late.

"Ninth Sister, time to sleep."

Dressed in only her underclothes, The Female Lead sat on the edge of the bed and beckoned to her. Dongfang Minghui's scalp prickled. "Seventh Sister, go ahead and sleep. I'm not tired yet. I want to sit for a while longer."

Sharing a bed with The Female Lead was far too stressful. She would surely spend the whole night having nightmares about being hunted down by her.

She imagined herself tossing and turning in bed, inevitably disturbing The Female Lead's sleep. What if The Female Lead got angry and cut her down? Dongfang Minghui became even less willing to sleep in the bed. She would rather sit.

Her imagination ran wild until she fell asleep sitting up, her head bobbing like a chick pecking at grain.

Dongfang Wanyu opened her eyes and chuckled at the sight. She got out of bed, scooped her up, and laid her on the inner side. Dongfang Minghui smacked her lips and rolled over, flinging one leg across the quilt as she slept soundly.

The bed was already rather small, and Dongfang Wanyu found her sprawling, domineering pose amusing. She arranged her arms and legs before carefully pulling the quilt over them both. Their skin touched, each able to feel the warmth of the other.

Dongfang Wanyu was not used to sleeping beside someone either, but she forced herself to close her eyes quickly. More important matters awaited them tomorrow.

When Dongfang Wanyu woke the next morning, she found one of the other girl's fair legs draped across her waist, a hand resting on her chest, and a head nestled against her shoulder. Breath tickled her neck. No wonder she had slept so poorly.

The culprit was completely oblivious and still sleeping blissfully, what appeared to be a trail of whitish liquid trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Dongfang Wanyu sat bolt upright, nearly flinging Dongfang Minghui, who had been leaning against her, into the wall.

Unable to sleep, Dongfang Wanyu simply got up and left the room. Seeing that Nan Nan's door across the way was still open, she pushed it farther and went inside. Nan Nan's room was furnished almost exactly like theirs: simply, with just a bed and a chair.

With her back to Dongfang Wanyu, Nan Nan stood beside a furnace, constantly watching the size of the flames and tossing medicinal herbs inside.

After watching for a short while, Dongfang Wanyu understood. Nan Nan was refining pills.

"Wanyu, I'm almost jealous of your luck. Nan Nan is clearly an alchemist. Whatever you need falls right into your lap. Aren't you short of a medicinal pill?" Qing Mo said in her mind.

Dongfang Wanyu left as quietly as she had arrived.

"She let me see that on purpose."

The Nan siblings struck her as strange. Neither seemed like someone who had grown up amid hardship. There had to be a story here that they knew nothing about.

"If she deliberately let you see it, she must want something from you. Besides, you saved her yesterday." Qing Mo left it at that.

"Ninth Sister was the one who really saved her," Dongfang Wanyu murmured.

"Miss Qian, why not sleep a little longer?" A pleasant voice suddenly sounded behind her.

Dongfang Wanyu turned and saw Nan Fei wheeling himself toward her with some difficulty. She went over and helped push him from behind.

"I'm used to getting up early. Where are you going? I'll push you there," Dongfang Wanyu offered kindly.

"The vegetables are ready to harvest. They'll make a nice addition to your meal." Nan Fei pointed to a small vegetable patch behind their house.

Dongfang Wanyu headed that way. The vegetables in the garden looked fresh and lush, without a single weed in sight. It was clearly tended often.

"Let me help you."

"Do you think I'm useless too, Miss Qian? I can't walk, and I really have caused Nan Nan a great deal of trouble." Nan Fei smiled bitterly.

Dongfang Wanyu had not expected Nan Fei to be so sensitive. She withdrew her outstretched hand. "You're her only close family. She has never thought of you as a burden."

The siblings worried about each other, yet neither was willing to say it aloud.

Nan Fei nodded. "You're right, Miss Qian. I'm being oversensitive."

Dongfang Wanyu glanced at his legs. "They'll be getting up soon. We'd better hurry."

Nan Fei produced a pair of scissors from somewhere, bent as far as he could, and snipped off a vegetable. Seeing how practiced his movements were, Dongfang Wanyu relaxed.

Dongfang Minghui rubbed her eyes and walked to the doorway, where she saw a warm scene unfolding in the sunlight. The two occasionally exchanged smiles and seemed to be getting along very well.

"The plot is finally heading in the right direction."

"Minghui, what are you muttering about?" Nan Nan asked from behind her.

Dongfang Minghui turned with a bright smile. "Good morning, Nan Nan. Nothing. I was just saying that Seventh Sister and your brother are picking vegetables in the garden."

Nan Nan went to the doorway and looked as well. "They certainly got up early."

While helping carry the porridge, Dongfang Minghui asked, "Nan Nan, how did your brother hurt his legs? What did the physician say? Is there any chance he'll be able to stand again?"

Nan Nan's hand paused as she ladled out the porridge. "My brother is a water-element Spirit User. He had an accident while cultivating. The physician said he missed the best window for treatment. There's no hope."

Dongfang Minghui tilted her head. That clearly wasn't right. Nan Fei's legs would recover. Otherwise, how could he end up with The Female Lead?

"Brother, Wanyu, come have some porridge."

The meal was a simple bowl of porridge and a large basin of cold dressed wild greens. Dongfang Wanyu pushed Nan Fei into place, then sat down to eat.

Dongfang Minghui's gaze shifted between their faces. Lost in thought as she ate, she finished a bowl of porridge without even realizing it.

"Minghui, Wanyu, did you two come to enroll at the Royal Academy as well?" Nan Nan suddenly asked during the meal.

Dongfang Minghui glanced at The Female Lead. Seeing nothing unusual in her expression, she nodded. "You're so clever, Nan Nan. How did you figure it out?"

Yesterday, Nan Nan had recognized at a glance that they were from out of town. Her powers of observation and insight were clearly impressive.

Nan Nan smiled faintly. "It wasn't cleverness. When I was running my stall, I saw plenty of people heading to the Royal Academy. You both looked travel-worn yesterday, as though you'd just arrived in the Snow Capital, so I guessed you'd come to enroll."

"A stall?" Dongfang Wanyu repeated.

Before Nan Nan could explain, Nan Fei said, "To support our household, Nan Nan often refines medicinal pills and sells them in the Northern District."

Dongfang Minghui's eyes suddenly lit up. "Are you going today too?"

Nan Nan nodded. "Yes. I'll leave in an hour."

Dongfang Minghui tugged at The Female Lead's hem beneath the table, gazing at her with blinking eyes.

She always looked like this whenever she wanted something. Dongfang Wanyu was already used to it. "Nan Nan, if it's convenient, could you take us along to have a look?"

"Of course." Nan Nan looked delighted at first, then warned them, "But the Northern District is a mixed bag of people in the Snow Capital. Many members of Mercenary Corps like to go there, so you'll need to be careful."

Dongfang Wanyu thought of Young Master Lu Peng, whom she had beaten yesterday. Since Nan Nan had said the Lu family was a major power in the Snow Capital, they would clearly come looking for her again.

Judging by how certain Nan Nan had seemed last night, Lu Peng probably did not know where she and Nan Fei lived yet. He would most likely be waiting for Nan Nan at her stall.

If they appeared openly in the Northern District, wouldn't that be as good as telling everyone she was the one who had beaten him?

After the meal, Dongfang Wanyu drew Nan Nan to a spot thirty meters from the doorway. "What do you make of what happened yesterday?"

Nan Nan froze, pain immediately surfacing on her face. "I'm sorry. I dragged you both into this. I didn't think it through. Perhaps you shouldn't go to the Northern District today. Go report to the academy right away instead."

Dongfang Wanyu regarded her coldly. "Ninth Sister is a little naive. If she hadn't insisted on saving you yesterday, I would never have intervened. I've never liked beating around the bush. What is it you want?"