Chapter 60

She had lost count of how many sheep she'd counted. Instead of growing drowsy, Wu Ying's mind only sharpened. She could hear every sound with perfect clarity, even Asher pushing open the bathroom door. His footsteps drew nearer, and she squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers clenching unconsciously, leaving four little crescent dents in the soft blanket.

Closer still. The whisper of fabric against the bedsheet. He was standing right beside the bed now. Wu Ying waited for his next move, but for a long moment, there was no sound at all. Then suddenly the blanket shifted, one corner lifted, the mattress dipped with his weight, and a wave of warm breath ghosted over her from beside her.

Wu Ying's heart hammered. She swallowed quietly, hastily releasing her grip on the blanket, and pretended to toss and turn in her sleep, turning her back to him. That felt safer.

She spoke too soon. The moment she turned, Asher's hand naturally settled on her waist. "Not asleep yet?" he asked, his voice low.

Of course, Wu Ying wasn't about to answer him. I'm already sleeping!

Asher didn't miss the sudden hitch in her breathing. He silently lowered his gaze. When she still refused to answer, his patience finally ran out. He reached beneath the blanket, wrapping his hand around her waist, then slid a little further until his palm fully cupped the curve of her side.

He was holding her from behind. At that realization, Wu Ying dropped all pretense of sleep and immediately pressed her hand over his. It happened to rest against her stomach, so she slapped both her hands on top of it.

Three hands stacked over her belly. It felt... warm.

"I thought you'd already fallen asleep."

That was all Asher said. His movements grew bolder. His other hand reached over to gently pinch the nape of her neck, then circled around her head, guiding her to rest on his arm.

Wu Ying could feel his breath stirring the hair at the back of her skull. She frowned hard. "What are you doing?" Her voice was flat, her body rigid.

"Holding you."

"I'm uncomfortable. Let go."

"What would make it better?"

"You not holding me."

"I meant, how to hold you more comfortably."

Wu Ying took a deep breath first, then said coldly, "There isn't one." She made to sit up. Seeing her rise, Asher pressed close, his arms encircling her waist completely, one hand braced on the bed, his body nearly leaning over hers.

"Asher, what do you think you're doing?"

Wu Ying couldn't get up. She twisted around to glare at him. Asher's eyes flickered, looking almost innocent. When she glared back, he parted his lips and asked, "Holding you. Still uncomfortable?"

"You make me uncomfortable. I'll go sleep next door."

If you can't win, run, right?

Asher's grip tightened. Her eager retreat jabbed straight at the nerves he'd had frayed all day. The frustration he'd been burying for days finally showed its true face.

"Why do you want to leave? I want to hold you. Wu Ying, don't be angry with me. When you're angry, I feel terrible too." The words were almost fragile, and Asher delivered them haltingly, with pauses that made him seem even more aggrieved.

Wu Ying couldn't believe her ears. The phrasing was clumsy, but it was already a breakthrough greater than anything he'd ever done before.

She went still, no longer struggling. Asher pressed his advantage, his warm chest molding to her back, his chin settling perfectly into the hollow of her neck. He nudged her leg with his own, angling every curve of his body to fit hers.

"Keep it down."

Wu Ying jabbed her elbow into his chest, the admonishment carrying a faint, barely concealed note of defeat.

One single person managed to overwhelm her more than a whole bed of stuffed animals. She was utterly swallowed by that airtight embrace, her breath and her eardrums filled with his presence — breaths mingling, rising and falling together.

Wu Ying silently counted the rhythm of his breathing. She even tried to time her own inhales to slip into his exhales, as if to avoid him. But their rhythms were never quite aligned, and before long, they'd tangle back together. After a few rounds of this, Wu Ying hypnotized herself to sleep.

She slept deeply. By the time she opened her dazed eyes from a dream, the sun was setting. What greeted her first was a broad, firm chest. His sleep shirt had come untucked, revealing a hint of skin hidden beneath.

Wu Ying blinked slowly, her forehead still resting against him, her groggy mind gradually waking. She propped herself up to glance around. The room was dim, only the little bed light still glowing to set the mood.

What time was it now?

Her Light Brain wristband lay on the nightstand, but Wu Ying's sleeping posture had never been enviable. She was lying diagonally, her head against Asher, her feet just barely brushing the edge of the bed. If she hadn't been curled up, half her leg would've been on the floor already.

Wu Ying sat up groggily. Asher was still asleep. Perhaps mindful of her sleeping habits, his legs were hooked around her, curling his body into a semicircle that caged her in.

Sure enough, the time was long past — it was now six in the evening. No, to be precise, it was dusk!

Wu Ying grabbed at her hair, mentally running through her plan for the day, then recalled her morning progress. Fury surged instantly.

Sleep, sleep — do you know what time it is?!

"Wake up! Asher, did you turn off my alarm?!"

Wu Ying slapped his bare chest without mercy. The crisp sound of the palm strike echoed in the room. Asher's brows twitched, his lashes fluttered a few times before he slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Wu Ying sitting upright before him, her small face taut, her hair a wild mess spilling down her back — like a ruffled little kitten.

He reached out, covering her hand where it rested against his chest. His voice was still thick with sleep. "What did you just say?"

"I said, did you do this? Did you turn off my alarm?!"

"Mm. You were sleeping so well, so I turned it off."

Wu Ying's lips curled in a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."

Wu Ying yanked her hand away, then slapped him again. Who asked for his kindness! She made a show of stomping out of bed, dragging her slippers with loud, deliberate slaps, and slammed the bathroom door shut with a satisfying bang.

Asher sat on the bed, watching her whole performance in silence. When Wu Ying disappeared into the bathroom, he tilted his head and smiled — cold features suddenly blooming into a genuine grin. He could feel the shift in Wu Ying's attitude toward him. She was open, direct, venting every emotion freely. Even her dissatisfaction was something he could catch.

He withdrew his gaze, got out of bed, and leisurely straightened the covers. Every stuffed animal was lined up against the headboard in height order, and the space left over was piled high with a tower of pillows.

Good thing the master bed was big enough. Otherwise, they wouldn't all fit.

Asher hopped off the bed, spotting a stray stuffed toy on the floor. He raised an eyebrow, picked it up by the ear, and gave it a pat, silently revising his earlier assessment — no, the bed truly was too small.

His coexistence with these stuffed animals was clearly unstable. Perhaps he needed to get a bigger bed.

At six in the evening, dinner time had arrived. But since Wu Ying had just eaten lunch before falling asleep, Jiujiu came over to ask. Wu Ying shook her head. She still felt full. However, she glanced at the man who'd just emerged from the bedroom — he might not have eaten. So she told Jiujiu to ask him.

Asher first asked what Wu Ying's answer had been. After learning it, he said he'd push back dinner as well.

Wu Ying sat cross-legged on the sofa, and upon hearing his words, she rolled her eyes in secret. Copycat!

The living room was spacious. Wu Ying claimed one sofa for herself — study tablet at one end, stuffed animals at the other, and herself in the middle. She was reviewing her study plan. It was already dark, and after sleeping so long, she felt languid all over, too tired just to sit.

The implication was clear: she was trying to find a loophole in her schedule to sneak an early break. She flipped left and right, only to discover that her past self had been mercilessly strict — there wasn't a single spare minute carved out for rest.

Asher watched her the whole time. From his angle, her small frame was blocked by the sofa back; he could only see the fuzzy top of her head bobbing around. It wasn't until he came closer that he saw what she was doing. He paused at the sight of the stuffed toy by her side, said nothing, picked up the MooMoo Beast by its two horns, and sat down.

Sensing the movement, Wu Ying tilted her head up, frowned, widened her eyes, and let out a sharp "Tsk" — a smooth, practiced little combo.

Asher pretended not to notice. He pat the MooMoo Beast's head, smoothed the horns he'd ruffled, adjusted them to stand upright again, and only then turned to Wu Ying. "What are you busy with? Need any help?"

"Just don't make more trouble for me. Help? You already helped by turning off my alarm — now I can't finish my plan at all!"

Asher nodded solemnly, lifting his wrist. "Send me your schedule. I'll help you figure out how to catch up."

Catch up? It was already dark. Did he expect her to stay up all night studying?

Wu Ying's mouth twitched. "No. I'll handle it myself."

"There's still time. With the right method, you can finish today's plan within the day — provided I get to see your schedule."

Asher sounded serious, tapping his Light Brain wristband as if to urge her on.

Wu Ying thought to herself, how could studying have shortcuts? She knew exactly how much she could learn. It wasn't like flipping a few more pages meant she was done. She just had to see what "method" Asher claimed to have.

She sent him her schedule. Asher opened it, first recalling the relevant content for the qualification exam, then looked over the plan Wu Ying had set: wake at 7, study from 8 to 11, lunch at noon, nap until 2, study from 2 to 6, dinner, then lab work from 7 to 11 at night.

Today's study content was to complete one chapter of lessons, three post-class practice papers, and the corrections.

Asher considered that Wu Ying might need better study methods to improve efficiency. But could she really finish the learning in half an hour? Clearly difficult. He frowned and offered a new suggestion: "Maybe we can compress your lab time. What's today's lab task?"

Lab task? She'd planned to do a flower seed grafting experiment. Today's task was seed selection, with no completion requirement. But she didn't want to!

And was picking flower seeds an easy thing? Add today's study tasks on top of that — she'd be dead. The whole schedule didn't even have a slot for break time as it was; she was already exhausted.

Wu Ying wrinkled her nose with a disdainful "Hmph." "Today's experiment is very important. That method won't work."

"You slept long during the day. You can sleep less tonight."

"That's the brilliant idea you came up with after thinking this whole time? I could've thought of that myself. If you can't think of anything good, don't force it. You're wasting my time."

Wu Ying rolled her eyes at him. So much for the Commander's great wisdom. Speaking of the experiment, she didn't feel like eating dinner anyway. She got up and began her preparations.