A Shared Bed and Lingering Secrets

“Um, could you let go first…”

The pressure around her waist left Ming Yu feeling utterly bewildered.

By the bed, Little Nightingale stubbornly clung to Ming Yu’s waist, her head buried, refusing to let go no matter what.

Inside the bedroom, Luna lay comfortably on the bedside cabinet, her gaze fixed on the interaction between her mistress and the little mistress.

She watched as Ming Yu reached out, gently stroking Little Nightingale’s head and offering words of comfort, seemingly trying to soothe the child’s emotions.

As Ming Yu continued to stroke her, Little Nightingale’s body gradually softened, and a tuft of golden hair unconsciously perked up.

This distinctive cowlick swayed gently.

Ming Yu spent a long time trying to comfort her, but to no avail. Resigned, she finally agreed to stay and keep Little Nightingale company.

Given the circumstances, sleeping on the sofa was no longer an option for tonight.

She would have to pull up a chair by the bed and make do with a short nap.

Having witnessed a murder scene and smelled blood, Little Nightingale was undoubtedly terrified.

Just as Ming Yu thought to get up and fetch a chair, Little Nightingale’s grip tightened around her wrist, pulling her back and preventing her from leaving.

“Don’t go…”

“Don’t worry, I’m just going to get a chair. I’ll stay in the room tonight, right here with you.”

“A chair? No need for that… Sister Ming Yu, we can sleep in the same bed.” Little Nightingale swallowed hard, then bravely declared.

“Huh?”

Ming Yu’s eyes widened.

Little Nightingale wanted to share a bed with her?

This…

She instinctively wanted to refuse, yet for a moment, no suitable excuse came to mind.

‘Men and women should not touch’? Uh…

It was better not to mention it; the moment she did, Ming Yu felt a familiar pang of bitterness in her heart.

It seemed difficult to refuse.

What should she do?

Moreover, after two consecutive nights on the sofa, Ming Yu was genuinely longing for her own bed. Thus, she began to seriously consider Little Nightingale’s suggestion.

‘Wait a minute,’ she thought. ‘If Little Nightingale is willing to share, why am I hesitating and making excuses?’

‘Is it merely for the sake of that lingering, pathetic male pride?’

‘As the saying goes, ‘pride goes before a fall,’ or ‘suffering for the sake of appearances.’

“Then I’ll go turn off the light. I’ll be right back.”

“…Mm-hm.”

Little Nightingale reluctantly released her hand.

Through Luna’s sight, she watched Ming Yu leave the room, feeling a sudden emptiness, which was quickly replaced by a sense of ‘anticipation’.

This time, her hopes would not be dashed.

In the darkness, Ming Yu sat on the edge of the bed, hesitating for a moment. Finally, she gritted her teeth, rolled over, and slipped into the warm covers Little Nightingale had prepared earlier.

Her overworked lumbar spine shed its burden, sinking deep into the comforting embrace of the ‘bedding’, each vertebra seemingly sighing in relief.

Pure bliss.

A wave of pleasure surged through her, reaching the very crown of her head.

The bed she had yearned for day and night, the covers she had longed for, finally… they were back.

Indeed, nothing healed the body and soul quite like one’s own sanctuary.

Perhaps it was the overwhelming comfort, but the moment Ming Yu lay down, an irresistible wave of sleepiness washed over her.

“Goodnight, Little Nightingale…”

Ming Yu gently rubbed the girl’s cheek with her index finger, her eyes already struggling to stay open, her eyelids sticking together as if glued.

After bidding ‘goodnight,’ she retracted her hand, turned back onto her side, and closed her eyes, lying flat.

She truly had been quite tired lately.

Ming Yu was just about to drift off when a soft touch on her arm made her heart skip, instantly dispelling some of her sleepiness.

Opening her eyes, her gaze shifted downwards. Little Nightingale was hugging one of her arms, her head nestled in the crook of Ming Yu’s neck.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sister Ming Yu… you smell so nice.”

Little Nightingale brought her nose closer, her warm breath caressing Ming Yu’s neck.

Hearing this, Ming Yu paused.

“Do I?”

Regaining her composure, she also reached up, tugging at her collar to take a sniff.

She couldn’t detect any particular scent.

How strange.

Little Nightingale’s words were quite perplexing, and Ming Yu had no idea what she was trying to convey.

“Sister Ming Yu, I’ll tell you a little secret: my nose is incredibly sensitive…”

Little Nightingale suddenly tightened her embrace, hugging Ming Yu’s arm even closer, her tender voice gradually growing choked with emotion.

“Even if someone drops ink or chalk dust into my cup, I can still smell it…”

“But I have to pretend not to notice, force myself to drink it, and then throw up somewhere no one can see…”

“There are many similar things, Sister Ming Yu…”

“Auntie Misha said that Father, being a sea beast hunter, would most likely die at sea and never return… Is what she said true?”

Even with a tremor in her voice, her words remained clear.

Ming Yu felt the wetness slide into the crook of her neck, her mind consumed by Little Nightingale’s words: ‘Father… never returned.’ Her sleepiness vanished completely, replaced by an inexpressible surge of complex emotions.

‘Could she no longer keep it a secret?’

‘Or had Little Nightingale known all along?’

Regardless, Ming Yu had no reason or desire to continue concealing the truth. After a moment of internal struggle, she decided to reveal everything she knew about Viktor to Little Nightingale.

“I’m sorry…”

“I couldn’t drag Viktor back from that hell…”

****

Ming Yu could no longer sleep.

Deep into the night, Little Nightingale recounted her terrible experiences of being bullied, pouring out her heart filled with pain and sorrow and condemning all the people and events she wished she could forget.

It was hard to imagine such a small child encountering so many distressing things. Seen in this light, it was no wonder the girl had appeared so lifeless when Ming Yu first met her.

The fault was not Little Nightingale’s.

However, if this were the case, Little Nightingale might truly not be suited to return to the church school. Ming Yu would have to make other plans for her future.

If school was out of the question, perhaps hiring a private tutor to teach Little Nightingale at home would be an option…

Nuns from the church school wouldn’t leave their posts without authorization, and inviting Qing Shui Ling Yin to teach Little Nightingale would mean knowledge from an advanced academy, which was far too profound…

‘Could it be that I have to do it myself?’

Ming Yu drew a sharp breath, striving to recall the knowledge she had set aside for over a decade, attempting to rediscover the ‘all-powerful academic prodigy Ming Yu’ she once was.

At fifteen, ‘he’ had been gentle and refined, whereas the current ‘her’ only knew how to hack and slash.

‘Ah, youth,’ she mused. ‘It is terrifyingly potent.’

‘Even if most of it is forgotten, it’s just some basic knowledge. At worst, I’ll just relearn it.’

‘As long as Little Nightingale passes the selection exam, I can then gracefully step aside.’

For now, this was the plan.

Ming Yu pulled the girl closer, letting her head rest on her arm, and in the comfort of unspoken solace, Little Nightingale drifted into a deep sleep.

The next morning.

Ming Yu rose early, breaking free from Little Nightingale’s octopus-like grip, which had her entangled limb by limb, and climbed out of the covers.

In the past two days, she hadn’t had time to deal with the S-rank Hunter investiture ceremony. She estimated that the ceremony was scheduled for today.

After sending her medical records and resignation letter to headquarters’ customer service, it wasn’t long before her communication headset began beeping incessantly.

Ming Yu answered the incoming call from headquarters.

“Hello, this is Ming Yu. Who is this?”

“It’s me, Jiang Chen… You brat, it’s been so long, how did your voice change like this?”

On the other end of the line, an older voice, weathered by time, was filled with confusion.

Upon hearing the caller identify himself, Ming Yu paused slightly.

“Old Instructor?”

“It’s me.”

“Is something wrong?”

“The little rascal I trained just reached S-rank and wants to retire. Do you think something’s wrong or not?”