Don't move, I'll just hold you

"Why did the Young Master tell us not to make too much noise? How could resting make any noise?"

Ling Yuan Douluo looked at the hall doors, which had closed again, her face full of bewilderment.

"Maybe resting involves fighting, too."

Chen Feng smiled at Ling Yuan Douluo, his gaze sweeping around the side hall.

There was only one broad bed inside. Everything around it was bare, without even a chair to sit on.

Ling Yuan Douluo frowned, even more at a loss.

Resting was resting. Why fight?

Had the Young Master and His Highness the Holy Son really come to blows in the Sleeping Hall earlier?

But even if a married couple sparred, surely there was no need to hurt the Young Master like that?

"Elder Ling Yuan, come and rest."

Chen Feng sat on the edge of the bed and raised a hand to pat the bedding beside him.

"Your Highness, you can sleep. I can just meditate on the floor."

Ling Yuan Douluo's cheeks flushed slightly, and she hurriedly shook her head.

Being alone with a man in a side hall already made her somewhat uncomfortable.

How could they possibly sleep in the same bed as well?

"The floor is so cold. Sitting there all night would be miserable."

Chen Feng glanced at the gleaming floor tiles, his smile fading a little. "We may have to fight a Titled Douluo next. You need proper rest to stay in peak condition."

"A Titled Douluo? You mean Dugu Bo?"

Ling Yuan Douluo's expression grew serious, and she stopped in the middle of preparing to sit cross-legged.

"Who else could it be around Heaven Dou City?"

Chen Feng spread his hands, his tone growing more earnest. "If something goes wrong and I, the Holy Son, get hurt, how will you explain it to my teacher when you return?"

Ling Yuan Douluo's brows furrowed slightly, a trace of gravity appearing in her eyes.

Dugu Bo's poison was indeed troublesome.

Though flying all this way had consumed little Soul Power, she had remained mentally on edge throughout.

After entering the imperial palace, she had also needed to watch the guards' movements, not daring to let her attention wander for even a moment.

His Holiness the Pope's instructions still rang in her ears. If something really happened, how could she have the face to return?

If she fought him alone, she was confident she could escape even if she could not defeat him.

But with His Highness the Holy Son along, the situation was different.

If the slightest lapse allowed the poisonous mist to touch Chen Feng, the consequences would be impossible to predict.

"The bed is so big. We can each sleep on one side without touching each other."

Chen Feng shifted farther inward, leaving the outer side free.

Ling Yuan Douluo looked at the half of the bed he had cleared, but did not move for a long while.

The reasoning was sound, but something still felt wrong.

His Highness the Holy Son had been all smiles a moment ago. How had he suddenly become so serious?

"If you find it inconvenient, I can sleep on the floor."

Chen Feng lifted the bedding and made to get out of bed.

"No, I'll come up instead."

Ling Yuan Douluo hurriedly reached out to stop him. The moment the words left her mouth, her cheeks grew even redder.

She had been ordered to protect the Holy Son. How could she let him sleep on the floor?

After agonizing for a long while, she finally took off her shoes and gently lay down along the edge.

The broad bed was wide enough for four people to lie side by side.

Chen Feng lay on the inner side, while Ling Yuan Douluo clung to the outer edge, half her body hanging off the bed.

The gap between them could still have held two more people.

"Elder Ling Yuan, if you move any farther out, you'll fall off."

Chen Feng turned his head and could not help laughing.

"I won't. Just rest easy, Your Highness."

Ling Yuan Douluo closed her eyes, her voice a little strained.

Lying down was clearly more comfortable than standing, yet at that moment, she could not even decide where to put her hands.

If she placed them at her sides, she worried about touching Chen Feng. If she put them over her stomach, she felt it would make her stiffness too obvious.

In the end, she could only pull over a corner of the quilt and clutch it.

A dignified Titled Douluo who could remain unruffled even when a Soul Beast lunged straight at her was being defeated by a bed today.

Ling Yuan Douluo secretly gritted her teeth, rather annoyed by her own reaction.

Had she known this would happen, she should have asked the Young Master for another set of bedding when she entered and made do on the floor for a night.

What even was this? She was actually sharing a bed with His Highness the Holy Son.

If word reached Spirit Hall, what would the elders think of her?

Especially that fellow Yue Guan. His tongue never spared anyone.

He might well laugh at her for grazing on tender grass at her age when they met tomorrow.

The more Ling Yuan Douluo thought about it, the more embarrassed she became, wishing she could immediately roll over and get out of bed.

But things had already gone quiet beside her. His Highness the Holy Son seemed ready to sleep.

Wouldn't getting up now make her look guilty?

They were only resting, after all. The innocent remained innocent. What was there to fear?

Ling Yuan Douluo silently reassured herself and tried to slow her breathing.

Lamplight flickered in the side hall, casting a faint glow along the edges of the bed curtains.

Occasionally, the footsteps of patrolling guards sounded outside, then quickly faded into the distance.

Even when she had kept watch alone in the past, she had never felt time pass so slowly.

"Elder Ling Yuan, can I hold you for a moment?"

Chen Feng's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting those tangled thoughts.

"H-hold me?"

Ling Yuan Douluo's eyes flew open, and her heartbeat immediately quickened.

"Every night, I have to hold a big body pillow to fall asleep."

Chen Feng turned onto his side to look at her flushed face and smiled. "There's no body pillow here, so I'm sorry for the trouble, Elder Ling Yuan, but could you help me out? If you don't want to, forget it."

Ling Yuan Douluo pressed her lips together, unsure how to answer for a moment.

They had already embraced on the journey, so there was no need to make such a fuss.

But they had been in the sky then, and now they were in bed. How could the two be lumped together?

Yet those eyes kept looking at her, with a hint of anticipation in his gaze.

"You can only hold me. Don't try anything else."

Ling Yuan Douluo avoided his gaze, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

"All right. I'll do as you say."

Chen Feng shifted outward, gently slipped an arm around her waist, and drew her a little farther onto the bed.

As her back met his warm chest, Ling Yuan Douluo's breath briefly caught.

She had just been thinking the bed was too wide. How had they ended up pressed together in the blink of an eye?

His hand rested quietly outside the quilt without making the slightest extra movement.

Ling Yuan Douluo's tense shoulders gradually relaxed.

His Highness the Holy Son did keep his word. He had said he would only hold her, and that was truly all he did.

But how could she fall asleep with him holding her like this?

Chen Feng's breath brushed behind her ear, making her involuntarily tuck her neck in.

"Is it uncomfortable? Should I let go?"

Noticing her movement, Chen Feng loosened his arm slightly.

"No. Just don't move around."

Ling Yuan Douluo instinctively held his hand in place, then froze after speaking.

She had clearly still been hesitating. How had she ended up making him stay instead?

"Elder Ling Yuan, your heart is beating very fast."

Chen Feng lowered his head to look at the flushed tips of her ears, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Your Highness, if you say another word, I'm getting out of bed."

Ling Yuan Douluo turned her head in embarrassed annoyance, only to meet his gaze.

They were so close that all the words she had prepared suddenly lodged in her throat.

This fellow's smile really was impossible to withstand.

Ever since returning from Death Canyon, she had found herself paying attention to his every move.

She had thought that leaving Spirit City and going somewhere else would lessen those distracting thoughts.

Instead, a single order from His Holiness the Pope had sent them traveling together the whole way, and now they were even staying in the same side hall.

Ling Yuan Douluo lowered her eyes, her fingertips unconsciously curling.

If she had merely shaken her head earlier, His Highness the Holy Son would have backed away. Yet in the end, she had been unable to voice that refusal.

"All right, no more talking. Let's sleep."

Chen Feng put away his smile and pulled up the corner of the quilt that had slipped off her.

Looking at his hand, which had once again come to rest, Ling Yuan Douluo finally felt some of her fluster subside.

Yue Guan absolutely could not find out what had happened tonight.

As for the Young Master, how was she supposed to explain when they met tomorrow?

At that thought, the heat in her face lingered.

"Your Highness, you mustn't tell anyone about tonight."

Ling Yuan Douluo gently caught his hand and solemnly instructed him.

"Mm. Whatever Elder Ling Yuan says."

Chen Feng held her hand, his voice dropping.

A moment later, the woman in his arms finally let out a soft sigh, relaxed her body, and leaned into him.

Just this one night. Tomorrow, she could not let this nonsense happen again.