You hidden in my heart - Chapter 57.3

Chapter 57.3

Li Xining actually did head home in the evening, but to grab some fresh clothes. After stuffing her things into a small bag, she made her way back to Lu Yuling’s place. On her way, she even picked up a slice of cake for the birthday boy. 

Lu Yuling didn’t get back until after midnight.

As soon as he entered the house, Li Xining, who was surfing her phone while lying on the sofa, jumped from the sofa and hurried to the entrance. 

Lu Yuling asked while changing his shoes, “Did you miss me?” 

Li Xining shot back. “Not at all.” 

Lu Yuling raised an eyebrow, “Then why are you rushing to greet me?” 

Li Xining was dumbfounded for a few seconds before saying, “Ugh! I’m heading home tomorrow!” 

“You can’t do that! You always threaten to go back to your parent’s home. Am I not your little princess anymore? You never pamper me!” Lu Yuling whined.

Li Xining turned away, muttering, “So dramatic!”

She was still in his short-sleeved shirt. Seeing this, Lu Yuling couldn’t help but smile a little. He decided to stop teasing her and asked while heading to the living room, “Have you eaten yet?”  

Li Xining, feeling weak from hunger, slumped in the chair by the dining table and replied, “Nope.”  

“Isn’t there food in the fridge?” He had cooked for her before he left and even left a note as a reminder.  

Li Xining looked up at him and said, “I was hoping to wait for you so we could eat together. Go on, open the fridge and heat something up for me!”  

Lu Yuling let out a sigh, and replied, “Alright, Landlord’s Wife.”  

As he made his way to the fridge, Li Xining’s gaze was fixed on him, with her eyes sparkling with anticipation.  

When Lu Yuling opened the fridge, he was taken aback.  

The fridge contained three shelves, and the middle one was empty except for a pink cake. Next to it was a tiger-shaped card that read, “Happy birthday, my little princess,” in beautiful handwriting.  

Lu Yuling couldn’t help but chuckle and turned to Li Xining. “Are you trying to be all romantic with me?”

“Can you say again that you love me?”  Li Xining lifted her chin, looking at him with a sense of pride. 

Lu Yuling nodded earnestly, and exclaimed, “Spoil me, especially spoil me!”  

“That’s more like it,” Li Xining replied with a hint of arrogance. “Go warm up the food. Oh do it quickly, or I’ll cut your pay!”  

Lu Yuling responded, “Sure thing, as you wish.”  

After they finished eating, Li Xining went to the bathroom while Lu Yuling went to do the dishes. By the time he was done showering, Li Xining was already tucked in.  

As he entered the bedroom, he noticed the study desk filled with all sorts of girly items—mirrors, face masks, hairpins, lipsticks, and a bunch of unfamiliar bottles and jars.  

Even though the newly bought sheets, quilt covers, and pillowcases had been washed earlier that day, the drying function of the washing machine and the hot weather helped them to dry in a few hours. So now, the bedding was a pink base with white flowers.  

She had even swapped out the black pillow on the sofa for a pink one and added a doll she had brought from home.  

His room was a total mess.  

Just when he was trying to process it all, Li Xining chimed in, “I think the curtain colour needs a change too.”

The only territory that remained was the dark blue curtains. Lu Yuling refused to give in. “Don’t even think about it!”

Li Xining ignored him, and said to herself loudly, “I will have to change them sooner or later.”

When Lu Yuling pulled back the blanket, Li Xining instinctively shot him a wary look. “You better not touch me tonight, or I’m heading back to my mom’s place tomorrow!” 

That was another threat.

Lu Yuling let out a sigh. “Alright, I won’t touch you. I’m just going to sleep.” He then settled onto the bed, propping himself on his side to face Li Xining, and added earnestly, “I won’t touch you, and you can’t touch me either.” 

Li Xining rolled her eyes at him. “Listen up, Lu Yuling, I wouldn’t touch you even if you begged!” 

“Fine, let’s make a bet: whoever lies is a puppy.” With that, Lu Yuling flipped over and switched off the light. 

Suddenly, the room became dark. 

At first, neither of them made a move. Both were trying to out-honest the other. 

Li Xining kept her eyes squeezed shut, trying to fall asleep quickly. But after napping too much earlier, she found herself wide awake. Just as she started to worry about not sleeping, Lu Yuling teased, “Can’t sleep?” 

Li Xining was annoyed. “What’s it to you?”

“It’s all good. I’m feeling sleepy anyway. I’m going to sleep. You’ll probably be super bored by then.”  

Li Xining smacked his arm, shouting, “You little pest!”  

“You actually touched me, Li Xining!” His shocked reaction was like a delicate princess who just got startled. “You really touched me!”  

Li Xining: “What’s the big deal about me touching you? Can I not touch you anymore?”  

Lu Yuling replied with a haughty tone, “I want to sleep, so don’t touch me.” He then shut his eyes, and soon his breathing became calm and steady.  

‘Looks like he really dozed off.’ Li Xining was particularly frustrated. ‘It is all because of this irritating guy.’ 

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She gave him a shove and said, “You can’t sleep!”  

“What are you doing?” Lu Yuling pretended to wake up, looking all hurt and helpless. “I was sleeping.”  

Li Xining: “If I can’t sleep, then you can’t either.”  

Lu Yuling started to reason with her. “You can’t sleep, and you won’t let me sleep. You don’t want me to touch you either. So what do you think we should do now?”  

Li Xining blushed, and muttered, “I can’t stand you.”

“What do you think we should do?”  

Li Xining shot back, “Just sleep on the sofa. I don’t want to see you.” 

Lu Yuling firmly replied, “Not a chance, not in this lifetime.”  

Li Xining clenched her teeth, rolled over, and ignored the young man.  

Then, Lu Yuling wrapped his arms around her from behind.  

Li Xining knew Lu Yuling would do that and muttered, “You’re such a beast.”  

“The beast is still your man,” he said, but didn’t push it any further.  

After a bit of anxious waiting, Li Xining, realising he really wasn’t going to continue, asked in surprise, “Why… aren’t you doing anything now?”  

Lu Yuling didn’t answer directly but gently asked, “Does it still hurt?”  

‘That is the reason.’ Li Xining felt a warmth in her heart and admitted, “A little.”  

Lu Yuling replied, “Just wait a couple of days until the pain goes away.”  

Li Xining smiled, and muttered, “You really care about me.”  

Lu Yuling: “Of course! If I don’t care for my wife, who else would I care for?”  

Li Xining replied, “I don’t want to be your wife.”  

Lu Yuling insisted. “You’ll be my wife sooner or later.”  

Li Xining didn’t respond to that but said, “Lu Yuling, I can’t sleep. Can you sing for me?”  

Since it was a request from his wife, Lu Yuling didn’t hesitate to do that. “Sure! What do you want to hear?”  

Li Xining said, “Just play ‘You in My Heart'”

Lu Yuling was amused by her. “Okay.” Then he began to sing for her.

Night frost

You opened a window in my heart

Silently cast a beam of light

From now on, you become my blazing sun…

His voice had this smooth, captivating vibe, almost like he was singing a soothing lullaby.

Before long, Li Xining drifted off in his embrace. Just before she fell asleep, he planted a soft kiss on her cheek. What he held close wasn’t just his partner; it was his whole world. 

***

For the next few days, he kept his promise and didn’t make any moves, showing remarkable self-control. 

Actually, Li Xining’s discomfort faded after three days, but she never brought it up since she had to manage work at Teacher Zhou’s studio during the week and evening sketching classes, which left her pretty worn out. Lu Yuling was really understanding and didn’t push her at all.

Have a nice day!