Chapter 21: Sharing the Same Bed

Habit is a terrible thing; it quietly and imperceptibly alters a person's soul.

When accompanying a bride, Xiao Che wanted to help Xi Qingyue down, but she coldly froze his arm. The first time he called her "wife," she nearly flew into a rage; the first time he took her hand, Xiao Che could feel the icy, deadly aura emanating from her...

And in just these few days, the words "wife Xi Qingyue" came more and more smoothly from Xiao Che's mouth, she merely tolerated it, regardless of what she thought inside, but on the surface, she had entirely accepted this title. Not to mention being held by his hand, even taking off her clothes in his presence was no longer awkward.

These few days, Xiao Che was unquestionably sleeping in the corner, though the thick quilt on the floor made it somewhat more bearable. And every time at three in the morning, he would wake up on his own, using a silver needle to perform "massage" on her. These days, she began to clearly feel the remarkable changes in her constitution.

The light was dim, Xiao Che held the silver needle, his fingertips dancing; soon he was drenched in sweat. After two hours, another "spiritual awakening" was complete, Xiao Che withdrew all the needles, let out a long sigh, and suddenly his head spun as he sagged, his body swayed, and he plunged directly onto Xi Qingyue's back, and an indescribable warmth spread from his chest.

Xi Qingyue suddenly opened her eyes, a flash of anger flickering in her eyes. She was about to exert force to push Xiao Che far away, but suddenly noticed that his breath was exceedingly weak... weaker than at any previous time.

Xi Qingyue's spiritual energy immediately retracted, and with very little effort pushed Xiao Che away, then instantly pulled up her clothes, and supported his body, looking at him and saying: "What's wrong with you?"

Xiao Che's face was pale, with no trace of blood, his eyes half-closed, as if he had lost the strength to open them fully. He nodded slightly, weakly saying: "Nothing... I'm just... slightly exhausted... Let me rest a while."

Xi Qingyue's eyes trembled slightly, and a pain she shouldn't have felt again arose in her heart. After the first needle prick, he was completely exhausted. And one exhaustion could be relatively easily rectified. But these days, he pricked her every day, each prick required his utmost spiritual energy. His body was already weak, such continuous exhaustion... how could it be sustained? This was most likely to cause permanent damage to his body.

"...You don't need to be so desperate for me." Xi Qingyue said with a complex expression.

Xiao Che smiled, his mouth stretching: "You are worthy... because you are my... the bride I'm taking home!"

Xi Qingyue: "..."

Xiao Che closed his eyes, slowly recovering his energy, speaking in a light voice: "Although you came here just to repay a favor, and don't treat me as your husband. But I can't help but not treat you as my wife. Unless I divorce you, otherwise, taking good care of my woman is also a man's basic responsibility and dignity..."

After saying these words, a warm sensation spread across his chest... I can't believe it myself, I've been moved, I don't believe there's not even a trace of feeling in your heart!

After a while, he didn't hear Xi Qingyue speak, opened his eyes, took a few light breaths, and said in a pitiable tone: "Qingyue wife, I might be a bit slow on my feet now. Could you... help me over there?"

His eyes indicated that corner... where he slept.

Xi Qingyue glanced at the quilt spread on the floor, and the pain she shouldn't have felt deepened slightly, she shook her head, turned her body toward the bedside: "You sleep on the bed, I'll sleep there."

When she heard those words, Xiao Che immediately got excited, and with the fastest speed, grabbed Xi Qingyue's arm: "No, absolutely not! Even though you're stronger in every way... but I'm a man, you're a woman! As a man, how could I sleep in the bed and let a woman sleep on the floor? If you sleep there, I'd rather sleep in the courtyard!"

His voice was urgent, and full of an unyielding determination that couldn't be disputed. After saying that, he struggled to his feet, making an effort to get on the floor.

Xi Qingyue's face suddenly showed a complex expression, she bit her lower lip, and after a brief struggle, made a decision, and gently pushed Xiao Che's exhausted body inside, then pulled over the red quilt, and covered both of them.

"Don't touch me." Xi Qingyue lay down on the outside of the bed, back to Xiao Che, not letting him see her expression at that moment.

Xiao Che smiled silently, quickly arranged himself into the most comfortable sleeping position, and closed his eyes peacefully: "Rest assured. With your spiritual power, I couldn't possibly do anything to you... Hmm, sharing the bed and the pillow... that's what a married couple should be..."

Xi Qingyue: "..."

"So tired... Qingyue wife, I'll sleep first... Mmm, tomorrow I'll have the midwife make me a bowl of snow ginseng chicken soup to replenish my energy... Mmm..."

His voice grew smaller and smaller, and when it finally faded, his breathing also became extremely steady... and he fell asleep in the exhaustion.

Xi Qingyue silently turned over, looked at Xiao Che's face just inches away, her eyes trembling with extreme complexity... Since joining the Ice Cloud Palace, she had determined to live a life of chastity and abstinence, never imagining she would ever sleep with a man. He had always believed firmly that he would never allow such a thing to happen. Before marrying Xiao Che, she wouldn't even allow him to touch her a hair's breadth...

But now, she was sleeping on the same bed with him, and inside her heart, there was surprisingly little resistance...

What on earth had happened to me? Was it because of that guilt I felt for him?

Perhaps...

Thinking this over, she unknowingly fell into sleep. She didn't realize that the fact that she could sleep so quickly with a man lying beside her meant that her subconscious had almost completely lost any resistance or rejection toward Xiao Che.

That night, Xiao Che slept until three o'clock in the afternoon. When he opened his eyes, Xi Qingyue was no longer beside him, and there was no trace of her in the room.

Though he had rested all night, his body still bore a serious soreness. Xiao Che sat up, let out a heavy sigh, and said to himself: "If this continues, my body might really get worn out. I think I've been a bit too stubborn."

"But only like this, could she actively find those three things for me."

Xiao Che got off the bed, changed into clothes, and when removing his outer garment, he touched the pendant hanging on his neck, paused briefly... On the first day of his rebirth, the overlapping memories made him doubt this pendant. Because in that life in the Cangyun Realm, he also had a pendant around his neck, and it was exactly the same as the one he wore now! The pendant seemed to be made of silver, which could be opened in the middle to reveal two smooth little mirrors on both sides, but that was all, with no other special features.

In the Cangyun Realm, his master told him that when he found him, he was already wearing this pendant. And the one he had on now was also worn since he could remember. Grandfather told him, this was a pendant his father Xiao Ye hung on him after he was born, which his father had obtained from somewhere, and it had been worn on him since birth, which was his father's legacy.

Two lives... identical pendants... What on earth was going on?

After changing into comfortable clothes, Xiao Che entered the heart of the Tianyu bead. In the emerald green world, the girl with red hair still floated quietly in her initial pose, with no signs of waking.

These two days, he had asked his grandfather and Xi Qingyue in a roundabout way if there was anyone who had grown red hair, and received the answer "never heard of it" both times, which made Xiao Che more curious and puzzled about the girl's identity. However, he did not tell anyone about the girl's existence.

After changing into light clothes and stretching his body, a tempting fragrance suddenly wafted through his nose, making him salivate instantly. Following the scent, he quickly spotted the soup can on the table, rushed over, opened the lid, and a warm, delicious aroma slowly rose.

"Snow ginseng chicken soup... Mmm, the midwife's is still the best!" Xiao Che was immediately ravenous, grabbed chopsticks and started gorging. After eating a little, the door was pushed open, and a girl in a light yellow robe, Xiao Lingxi, entered playfully. Seeing Xiao Che's eating expression, she opened her mouth and said: "Huh? Chicken soup? Smells good! It also smells like snow ginseng, Xiao Ze, who made you chicken soup? Hmph, and you didn't tell me, sneaking a snack by yourself!"

Xiao Lingxi's words made Xiao Che suddenly blink: "Midwife, could this not be yours?"

"Of course not!" Xiao Lingxi said, and her eyes immediately turned strange: "In the Xiao family, the only person who would make you soup, besides me... hmph... it's probably only your Qingyue wife! Looks like your marital relationship is quite good."

In Xiao Lingxi's words, there was clearly a sour taste. Xiao Che put down his chopsticks, and whispered: "She... how could she... make chicken soup for me..."

This was completely illogical!

"Hmph! Whether it's who made it for you, anyway you do like drinking chicken soup, finish it all... I'm here to tell you, the Xiao clan's people will arrive this afternoon, the whole Xiao family is preparing, you'll definitely need to be careful, and above all, don't accidentally offend anyone from the Xiao clan!" Xiao Lingxi said seriously.

"I'll manage, I might not go out anyway, they probably wouldn't pick me." Xiao Che said with a carefree expression.

"You can't stay inside." Xiao Lingxi nodded at him, pointed his snow-white finger, and said in a serious tone: "The head said, the young master from the Xiao clan is going to review all of us in the Xiao family... not a single person can be missed! When that time comes, you must be careful, and absolutely don't miss any formalities."

"That's even more reason not to worry, the midwife obviously knows, I'm always the most polite." Xiao Che smiled and answered, then went back to eating.

"Alright then. I'll go help my father first, when you finish your soup and are free, you can come over too." Xiao Lingxi said, and then left.