Chapter 1511: Sleep
Night fell.
Outside, the rain drizzled continuously.
The wind swayed gently as if singing a lullaby.
Dong Xuebing and Jiang Min sat on the bed inside the small wooden hut, enjoying their late-night snack. The scent of milk filled the air, creating a warm atmosphere.
"How"s your child?" Dong Xuebing asked.
"Doing well, just a bit early to talk about relations.h.i.+ps," Jiang Min replied.
"Well, getting married early is common nowadays. It"s not a big deal," Dong Xuebing said.
"Whether it"s a big deal or not, these kids nowadays have their ideas," Jiang Min sighed.
"Kids never like to listen to their parents. How about your spouse? How"s their health?" Dong Xuebing inquired.
"Average. Constantly dealing with minor illnesses, so they didn"t come with us this time," Jiang Min explained.
"You should take care of yourself too. I noticed your eyesight is quite poor," Dong Xuebing commented.
"Yeah, I have a bit of presbyopia. I need reading gla.s.ses for close work but must take them off for distance vision. Dealing with numbers in books all day is inevitable," Jiang Min said.
Ring, ring, ring.
Jiang Min"s phone rang, and she retrieved it from her bag. After a brief conversation, she hung up.
"Your spouse is worried about you," Dong Xuebing remarked.
"Yeah, she"s always worried about me, afraid that something might happen to me when I"m alone," Jiang Min replied.
"Well, you have me now. Let her rest a.s.sured. My skills might be unknown to you, but I can take him down from several meters away if there"s ever a bad guy. Dealing with a few of them is no big deal," Dong Xuebing boasted.
"Alright, I"ll rely on you to protect me," Jiang Min smiled.
Before long, they finished their late-night snack and exchanged a few more words. Dong Xuebing noticed Jiang Min yawning, indicating she was getting tired.
"It"s almost ten o"clock. Let"s rest," Dong Xuebing suggested.
Jiang Min nodded. "Yes, it"s time to sleep. I rest around this time every day."
Dong Xuebing climbed out of bed and put on his bathrobe. "Then I"ll sleep on the floor."
"Can you sleep there?" Jiang Min asked, standing up to look at the limited s.p.a.ce.
Dong Xuebing measured with his hand. "It"s just barely enough s.p.a.ce."
"It won"t work. The floor is wet, and it"s near the door and the bathroom," Jiang Min said, shaking her head and gesturing with her hand.
The room was tiny, half occupied by the bed and table. There was hardly any s.p.a.ce except for a small area between the bed and the door. Putting a blanket there would be enough, but the environment was too damp and not ideal.
"Just wipe it dry," Dong Xuebing suggested.
"Wiping it dry won"t help. Look, there"s wind coming in through the door crack and rain seeping in. You can"t sleep like this," Jiang Min explained.
"I"ll be fine for one night," Dong Xuebing insisted.
"No, listen to me. Sleep on the bed," Jiang Min urged.
"But that"s such a small s.p.a.ce. Both of us won"t fit," Dong Xuebing argued.
"We can squeeze. I think it"s possible if we lie sideways," Jiang Min suggested.
"Really? Well, if you say so. But I"ll be fine sleeping on the table," Dong Xuebing persisted.
"That won"t do. Forget about it. Listen to me, and you sleep inside. I"m a bit chubby so that you won"t be squeezed out. You go to bed first."
"This…"
"Hurry."
"Well, fine then."
After dilly-dallying for a while, Dong Xuebing couldn"t persuade her. He could only blink his eyes, take off his shoes, lift the quilt, and crawl into bed, lying against the wooden wall.
"Are you okay now?"
"I"m okay."
"Then I am turning off the light."
Click, the light went out.
The air became quiet.
The room was also enveloped in moonlight.
Dong Xuebing was tempted by Teacher Jiang"s large and intimidating chest and mature figure, but he didn"t dare to have any thoughts about Teacher Jiang. So, he didn"t just politely exchange a few words; he wanted to sleep on the floor or make do with the table. Now, seeing Teacher Jiang"s shadow slowly approaching in the moonlight, her fleshy b.u.t.tocks pressing down on the mattress with a "huh" sound, Dong Xuebing also felt highly uneasy. He always felt a bit inappropriate, and his body was quite stiff. So he squeezed against the wall again, facing her directly.
Tap, tap.
A woman"s hand patted the thin blanket the waiter had brought, then lifted a corner and wrapped her hot body, clad in a bathrobe, inside.
Both of them lay on their pillows.
"Is it okay over there?" Dong Xuebing asked with concern.
Jiang Min adjusted her body for a while. "It"s a bit precarious."
The bed was small to begin with, just a regular single bed. Two people sleeping on it were already quite cramped, and now their blanket was taking up some s.p.a.ce. So, the s.p.a.ce on the bed became even more cramped.
"How about I sleep outside?" Dong Xuebing suggested.
"No need, let me try lying on my side. Hmm, this is much better," Jiang Min replied.
Jiang Min turned to the other side with her back to Dong Xuebing, lying sideways. Although the s.p.a.ce was tight, they wouldn"t fall off.
"Okay, let"s sleep."
"Goodnight, Teacher Jiang."
"Mm, goodnight."
A hand reached out in the moonlight, removing the gla.s.ses and placing them on the table.
Dong Xuebing closed his eyes, too, but his posture was awkward, and he couldn"t get comfortable no matter how he tried. Ultimately, he couldn"t fall asleep and opened his eyes again. Teacher Jiang probably hadn"t slept in such a crowded s.p.a.ce before either; it seemed she wasn"t asleep either. Dong Xuebing could feel her adjusting her position a few times.
It was so narrow; their bodies would be pressed together, unavoidable.
Suddenly, something soft pressed against Dong Xuebing"s leg, making him s.h.i.+ver involuntarily. He lowered his head to see Teacher Jiang"s fleshy b.u.t.tocks wrapped in the blanket. The summer blanket wasn"t very thick, so it was pretty obvious. It felt like his thigh had sunk into a large piece of flesh. Dong Xuebing could almost feel the warmth of Teacher Jiang"s b.u.t.tocks under the blanket. He felt a tingling sensation in his heart, and his normal physiological reaction kicked in. Dong Xuebing quickly knocked his forehead, trying not to overthink. The b.u.t.tocks disappeared from his leg in an instant.
There was nothing he could do.
"There"s no way around it.
No matter how they adjusted, it was still cramped.
Dong Xuebing closed his eyes in torment. He dared not think anymore, hoping he wouldn"t move around too much at night and accidentally kick Teacher Jiang off the bed."