Dawn arrived in silence. Daylight streamed through the window lattice, dispelling the bewildering, restless night. Sumeru Heaven opened her eyes and found herself still lying in Hu Xiaotian's arms. The rascal was still sound asleep, a smug smile lingering at the corners of his lips. He looked positively triumphant, like a general returning victorious from the battlefield.
Sumeru Heaven quietly sat up, her lovely face flushing more brilliantly than the morning clouds. She bit her cherry lips, then suddenly raised a delicate fist and swung it toward Hu Xiaotian's radiantly cheerful face, as though she meant to smash that handsome face to pieces with a single blow. Yet halfway there, her fist stopped. She wrinkled her nose, an unprecedented look of bashfulness appearing on her face, then tiptoed barefoot off the bed. Picking up her tattered clothes from the floor, she put them on, briefly tidied her appearance, and went to the door. She gently pulled it open, her footsteps so light that she seemed afraid of crushing the morning dew. Before leaving, she turned to look at Hu Xiaotian again, her eyes filled with tangled emotions. At last, she softly closed the door. The chilly morning breeze blew into her face, scattering her fatigue and sweeping away the little tenderness that remained there. Sumeru Heaven's gaze grew cold and sinister once more. The golden sunlight did nothing to soften her expression. She picked up a twig from the ground, swiftly traced four large characters in the earth before the door, then left the cottage without looking back.
Hu Xiaotian slept exceptionally soundly, waking only when the sun was high in the sky. His head felt somewhat muddled. He sniffed; a faint fragrance lingered in the room, resembling Sumeru Heaven's natural scent, but inhaling it made him feel dizzy. Only