The Warmth of Shared Sleep

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The air grew exceptionally silent.

Li Chunsheng’s heart leaped into his throat. ‘Could my senior have… misunderstood?’

Indeed, the phrase “sleep together” was ripe for misinterpretation, no matter how one heard it—especially when uttered to a girl late at night.

Yet, deep down, his senior was still a man… No, that wasn’t right. He could no longer simply treat his senior as a man.

Hadn’t his recent oversights, those that made his senior uncomfortable, stemmed precisely from this habitual thinking, from unconsciously still seeing his senior as the “he” of the past?

But if he were to genuinely view her entirely as a woman, would his senior… accept it?

Li Chunsheng’s mind was in turmoil; for a moment, he found himself utterly uncertain how to perceive Liuxia before him.

Fortunately, Liuxia had not misunderstood as he had feared.

Instead, she merely reached out, wiped away the tears that had unconsciously streamed down her face during her nightmare, and apologized softly, a hint of embarrassment in her tone: “I’m sorry… for letting Chunsheng see me like this…”

Then, raising her gaze to Li Chunsheng, she smiled faintly, her voice gentle: “Chunsheng’s home… I imagine there’s only a single bed, isn’t there?”

“It would be quite uncomfortable for two people to sleep together.”

Liuxia’s gaze shifted to the sofa beneath her. She reached out, lightly caressing the armrest, and murmured, “This sofa is perfectly fine… It’s spacious and quite soft.

“I, your senior, can simply sleep on the sofa.” The girl lowered her head, not meeting Li Chunsheng’s eyes.

Though her tone was gentle, it carried an undeniable force, brooking no argument.

She seemed to have made up her mind, determined not to cause Li Chunsheng any trouble, intent on doing her utmost to preserve his accustomed routine.

As if she had never arrived at all—but how could that possibly be?

Upon hearing this, Li Chunsheng sighed inwardly. ‘Ah, I knew my senior would say something like that…’

At this point, he had no choice but to abandon his meager dignity.

Li Chunsheng steeled himself, took a few steps forward, and placed both hands heavily on Liuxia’s somewhat slender shoulders. Gritting his teeth, he spoke with palpable embarrassment: “Senior…!”

“Eh…?”

“I… I’m a little… afraid of the dark… and also a bit… um… afraid of the cold…” As these words tumbled out, Li Chunsheng’s face flushed an uncontrollable crimson.

Liuxia was momentarily speechless, simply gazing at him with her clear red eyes, uncertain how to respond.

Indeed, his words were far too obviously false.

Li Chunsheng’s face reddened further, but having gone this far, he was determined to get his senior into the bed with him tonight.

Thus, he decided to escalate his efforts.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke with rapid, shallow breaths: “Senior… didn’t we agree before that, even at home, you would treat me according to ‘girlfriend’ standards?”

“As a girlfriend, sleeping with your boyfriend… isn’t that a matter of course?”

It was anything but a matter of course! In this world, the strictures between men and women were so severe that typically, only those with an engagement confirmed and on the verge of marriage would ever sleep together.

Of course, in the romance novels and erotic art of this world, there was no shortage of fantastical settings that transcended conventional morality.

Therefore, Li Chunsheng’s current statement was akin to saying, “If you’re apologizing, you need to perform a full-body dogeza naked to show true sincerity” in his previous world—a concept existing only within specific cultural works.

Upon hearing this, Liuxia’s first impulse was to laugh, but immediately afterward, tears once again slipped uncontrollably from her eyes.

‘So that’s it… Chunsheng, to ensure I sleep a little better… he’s actually willing… willing to say such foolish things…’

Meanwhile, Li Chunsheng, his face still flushed, was racking his brain to concoct more nonsense.

When he looked up and saw his senior bursting into tears once more, he became flustered.

“No… Senior, did I say something wrong? Oh, a senior who’s become a girl really cries easily, don’t they…” he thought, his mind a tangled mess.

Even as tears streamed down her face, Liuxia let out a soft chuckle.

She continuously wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, saying, “Mm, I understand. Then… let’s sleep together…”

‘This clumsy determination, willing to utter all sorts of absurdities just to get me into bed… truly, it’s rather endearing.’

‘How could I possibly betray Chunsheng’s resolve?’

Consequently, the two of them, stepping in unison, made their way to Li Chunsheng’s bedroom and lay down together on the somewhat cramped single bed.

In reality, just as Liuxia had anticipated, two people sharing a single bed proved to be incredibly crowded.

Their bodies were forced to press tightly against each other.

Li Chunsheng could distinctly feel the soft, yielding pressure of Liuxia’s maidenly form emanating from her, as if intending to envelop his entire being.

This sensation of soft, warm jade in his arms almost made Li Chunsheng feel… excessively stimulated.

‘Oh no, I seem to be a little too agitated…’ Li Chunsheng felt his body producing some inconveniently honest reactions.

‘Suppress it, my supreme will! That’s! That’s your senior! Are you truly treating them as your girlfriend?!’

Yet, even as his mind grappled with reason, the inherent qualities of Liuxia’s female form were undeniably exquisite.

Faced with such potent, immediate proximity, his body, against his will… stiffened in resolute resistance.

Li Chunsheng’s body abruptly stiffened. He squeezed his eyes shut, his muscles tensing, daring not to make the slightest move.

‘Don’t move, don’t move! At a time like this, I absolutely cannot disturb Senior’s rest!’ Li Chunsheng frantically admonished himself internally. ‘As long as I don’t move, I can still pretend it’s just my knee or something…’

Just then, a voice as soft as a feather whispered in his ear.

“Chunsheng…” Her languid tone, like a purring kitten, sent a tickle through Li Chunsheng’s already restless heart.

“Hm?” His own breathing was far from steady. With their bodies pressed so tightly together, feigning sleep was clearly impossible, so Li Chunsheng reluctantly responded.

A drumbeat had already begun in his chest.

‘No way, could it be… that my inability to suppress this commotion was discovered?’ A few beads of cold sweat trickled down Li Chunsheng’s forehead.

‘My senior is fundamentally a man; they must detest such things, right? My reaction to her is truly… a bit perverted.’

To his surprise, Liuxia did not address his embarrassment as he had imagined. Instead, she merely chuckled softly, her voice tinged with amusement: “It’s fine~ Sleep now… Hee~”

Nevertheless, her reaction caused Li Chunsheng’s face to instantly flush crimson.

‘Huh? Did she notice, or did she not?’

In truth, how could the girl not have noticed?

Ever since Liuxia had become a goblin, her senses had been extraordinarily heightened in every aspect. In other words, Li Chunsheng’s slight stirrings, even while still in a nascent state of arousal, had already been clearly detected by her.

Not to mention the almost undeniable presence now.

However, Liuxia had, after all, once been a man.

She naturally understood that men, especially young and vigorous ones, often found it difficult to completely control their physical reactions through sheer willpower.

Furthermore, feeling the intense warmth radiating from her junior, to be honest, for Liuxia, who currently felt a chill throughout her body, it was actually… quite comforting…

Therefore, the girl generously chose to feign ignorance, preserving her junior’s pitiable dignity.

‘After all, Chunsheng’s initial intention in doing this stemmed from his kindness towards me,’ Liuxia thought warmly.

‘Chunsheng, he’s still a gentle child, just like before.’

‘The last time we slept together like this was so, so long ago, back at the orphanage, wasn’t it?’

‘Thank you, Chunsheng…’

‘Goodnight~’

Liuxia closed her eyes gently, a reassuring smile gracing her lips.

That night, she experienced the most peaceful and sweet sleep she had known since becoming a girl.