Physical exhaustion, emotional turmoil, and the overflowing sweetness in her heart finally allowed her to completely relax.
Soon, even, long breaths filled the air around me.
In the dim light, looking at the peaceful sleeping face of the person in his arms, Draco's lips curled into a satisfied smile.
He closed his eyes and hugged Hermione even tighter.
The stars outside the window twinkled quietly on the deep blue velvet curtain, and the huge cruise ship, like a gentle cradle, sailed smoothly on the dark and vast Atlantic Ocean.
Early morning, at sea.
As the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, the soft morning light seeped silently through the huge, curved floor-to-ceiling window of the presidential suite, spreading evenly throughout the room.
She gently climbed onto the luxurious bed, bringing just the right amount of warmth and dispelling the chill of the night.
For Hermione,
Even during this honeymoon vacation, which should have been a time for indulgence and pleasure, her body still followed the rhythm of working at sunrise.
She propped herself up; Draco was still fast asleep beside her, one arm casually draped over the pillow.
Looking at his sleeping face, Hermione's heart softened.
But the top student's sense of responsibility quickly prevailed.
So he couldn't help but reach out and gently shake Draco's shoulder. " Draco... wake up. It's daylight."
"Honey... stop it... we're on our honeymoon right now..." Draco invoked his get-out-of-jail-free card, "Who gets up this early on their honeymoon... Sweetie, sleep a little longer..."
"No, get up and practice your Chinese with me." Hermione wasn't fooled by his charm; even though she was nestled in his arms, she still gently shook his shoulders.
Unable to sleep due to her relentless shaking and nagging, Draco let out a helpless sigh.
But he still didn't open his eyes, only muttering in his sleep.
"I am the Sleeping Prince, cursed with a wicked sleeping spell. Only a true princess's tongue kiss can awaken me..."
Draco wanted to shut Hermione up with a seemingly impossible task so he could continue sleeping peacefully.
"You rascal! You've been reading too many fairy tales! I think you're just a lazy prince!" Hermione's cheeks flushed instantly.
However, seeing Draco's determined not to get out of bed, perhaps she felt a little tempted to kiss him?
Thinking of this, Hermione's face flushed even more.
After hesitating for a few seconds, she finally leaned closer to him shyly, then closed her eyes and gently kissed his lips.
The instant their lips touched,
Draco's eyes snapped open, all traces of sleep gone, replaced by a cunning glint that had been brewing for a long time.
Before Hermione could even react and try to retreat, he took the initiative, pried open her teeth, and began his assault.
"Ugh...!" Hermione was caught off guard and completely went limp from his sudden sneak attack.
She pushed against his chest, trying to break free, but Draco held her even tighter, leaving her no way to escape and only able to passively endure his passionate and lingering kisses.
Hermione felt her oxygen and reason being slowly drained away, yet her body honestly softened in his arms.
After a long while, Draco reluctantly parted ways.
A thin, ambiguous strand of saliva stretched between their lips.
"You... you're not afraid of suffocating your wife with your kisses... pretending to be asleep, you big bad guy!" Hermione gasped for breath.
"Well, Miss Granger's tongue is just... invigorating," Draco said with a smile.
"Stop talking nonsense and get up to practice Chinese with me!" Hermione wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her face flushed.
"What's there to practice, Miss Granger?" Draco propped himself up with a pillow, then looked at Hermione with an idiotic expression. "Didn't I instill mastery in you last night?"
So all that kiss I just gave you was for nothing?
Hermione felt like a fool who had been made a fool of.
"How could that be? That kiss is an essential ritual to start a beautiful day!" Draco said with a smile. "However, I have a better way to help you improve your Chinese."
"What method?" Hermione looked at him with a puzzled expression, wondering what he was up to now.
"Here, this." Draco retrieved hundreds of Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasty poems from the system and displayed them in front of Hermione.
"It contains hundreds of classic Chinese poems, lyrics, and songs, which can not only strengthen your Chinese language skills but also allow you to appreciate the most brilliant treasures of Eastern literature, cultivate your sentiments, and elevate your taste."
"And it won't disturb my sleep, it's a win-win situation." Draco said it in Diadem, as if he really had her best interests at heart.
"You kissed my lips so much they're swollen, and this is how you try to get rid of me? Someone really knows how to find peace and quiet," Hermione complained.
She certainly enjoys elegant poetry and music.
But thinking of her slightly swollen lips and the kiss she'd just been tricked into kissing, she still pouted a little in dissatisfaction.
"Are you really going to practice Chinese with me?"
"I'm not afraid that the conversation will veer off-topic and then accidentally bring up... like the specific practical steps involved in having a baby..."
After Draco finished speaking, Hermione fell silent.
She quickly hugged the heavy collection of poems and songs to her arms, then turned around, adopting a posture that said, "I'm going to start studying now, don't bother me."
Watching her "obedient" back, Draco comfortably lay back down in bed, stretched out his arm, picked up the internal phone on the bedside table, and dialed the butler service:
"Deliver two breakfasts to the suite."
After hanging up the phone, he turned to look at Hermione's profile, focused on her book, and her fair, graceful neck.
A sense of peace and contentment filled my heart.
This is probably the perfect way to spend your honeymoon.
As for more in-depth teaching, there's plenty of time...
Draco was contentedly resting with his eyes closed...
About half an hour later, the doorbell rang.
Hermione seemed not to hear, still immersed in the magnificent scene of "a lone plume of smoke rising straight from the desert, the setting sun round over the long river".
Draco lazily got up and went to open the door.
The butler pushed a silver dining cart into the suite.
He arranged the beautifully plated breakfast neatly on the round table in the living room, bowed respectfully to Draco, and then quietly withdrew.
Draco closed the door and locked it with a simple lock.
Then, he tiptoed up behind Hermione, who was still engrossed in her studies, wrapped his arms around her slender waist from behind, rested his chin on her shoulder, and breathed on her sensitive neck.
"So handsome? Even more handsome than me?" Draco said sourly, deliberately nuzzling her neck as he spoke. "You've been looking at me for half an hour, and haven't even glanced at me once."
"Yes, it's very beautiful." Hermione was completely immersed in the imagery of the poem and didn't notice his slight jealousy at all.
Hermione's nerdy antics amused Draco, who reluctantly let go of her, walked to the dining table, picked up a small plate of cut fruit, and returned to sit down next to Hermione.