A Sleepless Night

This inevitably made me doubt my own long-held self-perception.

Was I truly stronger in heart than ordinary people, or was I fundamentally…

At that time, a certain long-suppressed restlessness surged from within my body. But realizing this, I quickly shook my head and forced myself to calm down. Thankfully, I no longer needed to do that anymore.

The hazy moonlight spilled through the window onto the cold floor. Because Chen Si Yi had just mopped it, the light refracted upward from the floor, flickering in my eyes.

Recalling how my sister had mopped the floor while urging me to go to bed early, I couldn’t help but smile. My heart also grew warmer.

Ah, after all this time, had I finally dared to face the person who could fill the void in my heart?

Stepping out of the bedroom with a lighthearted bounce, I intended to sneak into the kitchen for a celebratory cola. However, the moment I stepped out of the room, I collided head-on with something soft.

“Hey, Lin Yan, you’re still awake too?”

The person before me was Chen Si Yi, dressed in a pink nightgown. Unlike the ponytail she wore after school, her jet-black hair now fell naturally over her shoulders. In the dim light, her already smooth skin appeared even fairer.

“Mm, can’t quite fall asleep.” Glancing at her snow-white neck, I scratched my head awkwardly.

“And you, Si Yi? Can’t sleep either?”

“Of course not.” Ignoring my attempts to stop her, Chen Si Yi grabbed my hair and giggled. “After all, tomorrow is a very important day. I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

“Tomorrow?”

Hearing her words, I was momentarily stunned.

“You mean Su Xiao Yu coming to our house for dinner tomorrow?”

“Yeah, what else could it be?” Chen Si Yi smiled ambiguously. Then, as if remembering something, she suddenly lowered her head. Her silky hair slid down, covering her delicate face that was already blurred in the darkness.

“After finally reaching this point, I definitely won’t regret it.”

Amid the lively atmosphere, Chen Si Yi murmured these words under her breath, but I didn’t catch them clearly. Because, just as her lips moved, Serena, who was in the living room, suddenly let out a piercing scream.

“Wah wah wah wah wah!”

Her scream was unusually high-pitched and terrifying, startling both me and Chen Si Yi into rushing to the living room to check.

“What’s wrong, Serena? Are you hurt?”

Chen Si Yi arrived at the sofa with a worried expression, but when she turned to look at the TV screen, her face instantly darkened. Steam practically rose from the top of her head.

“Serena, you!”

Chen Si Yi pressed both fists against Serena’s temples and, ignoring Serena’s pained wails, twisted them back and forth vigorously.

“What are you doing watching a horror movie this late at night? And screaming so loudly—do you want to wake up all the neighbors?!”

“No, no, that’s not it…” Pinned at her vital points, Serena stammered an explanation. “I haven’t seen this… this female ghost is so terrifying! She suddenly popped out and scared me to death!”

While speaking, Serena pointed at the white-clad female ghost on the screen. With her blood-soaked appearance, she looked eerily similar to the ghost that had scared me and Chen Si Yi half to death in the haunted house.

Oh, right, I forgot to mention: after learning that Chen Si Yi and I had visited a haunted house, Serena was sick with jealousy. Having never been to one since coming to Earth, she strongly demanded that her caretaker take her there. Of course, she was mercilessly rejected by my younger sister.

“Don’t even think about it. First, watch over Lin Yan!”

That was how Chen Si Yi refused. Although on the surface she asked Serena to keep an eye on me, only I knew it was because she was too scared to go again.

On the way back that day, though the empty streets were filled with our laughter, whenever I brought up her embarrassing reaction in the haunted house, I was always met with a death glare!

But then again, I was scared out of my wits that day too, so I had no right to mock others.

However, Serena wasn’t human—she was a demon!

“Tsk tsk, a demon afraid of ghosts? Serena, you’ve completely disgraced your demon ancestors!”

I sighed as I patted Serena on the shoulder, my expression full of pity for the demon clan’s forebears.

“Who says that?! Who says we demons can’t be afraid of ghosts?” Serena argued with a red face. “Lin Yan, you always talk about demon ancestors, but you don’t even know what our demon race is really like!”

“Oh?” I suddenly grew interested. “Aren’t you all ugly freaks who crave blood all day?”

“Who told you that?! That’s mountain demons from thousands of years ago!” Serena was furious at my words. “Let me tell you, our demon race is more civilized than humans! And our technology is hundreds of years ahead of yours!”

“And besides, we demons…”

“Ah, yeah, yeah, I get it. Stop talking.” Whenever Serena talked about her hometown, she couldn’t stop. To avoid her showing off in front of me, I quickly waved my hand to interrupt her ongoing speech.

“Anyway, I’m going to the bathroom and then to bed. I’m dead tired.”

I covered my mouth and pretended to yawn sleepily, then turned to leave the living room. But before I could even take a step, I felt a tug at the hem of my skirt.

Confused, I looked back to see Chen Si Yi, who had just been scolding Serena, now standing beside me. Her hand holding my skirt was trembling slightly for some reason.

“Want to sleep with me?” Noticing my gaze, she quickly turned her head away, her cheeks flushed.

“Wha—why would we sleep together?” Stunned by her unexpected suggestion, I was a bit startled. Although I was a little tempted, my reason told me the time wasn’t right yet. What if I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t resist reaching out with sinful hands? That would be bad.

So I firmly shook my head in refusal. But tonight, Chen Si Yi seemed to have taken something. Without giving me a chance to resist, she simply opened her arms, pulled me into a hug, carried me into the room, tossed me onto her lightly fragrant bed, shut the door, and climbed on top.

“This is the last time, you know.”

After saying this ambiguous statement, Chen Si Yi closed her eyes and fell deeply asleep, soon emitting steady breaths.

But this put me in great agony. Because Chen Si Yi’s nightgown was clearly one size too large in the bust. Without anything to hold it up, the loose top soon slid down like a landslide!

Catching a glimpse of the fair skin on Chen Si Yi’s chest, my face flushed bright red. My heaving chest couldn’t calm down for a long time.

It seemed tonight was destined to be a sleepless night……