Chapter 430: Finished Waiting
I woke up with Zhenlan’s hand beneath my shirt and one of his legs trapped between mine.
For several seconds, I stayed exactly where I was.
My body hurt in places that had been perfectly fine yesterday, and the muscles in my thighs had apparently decided they were never moving again. Even the soft sheet against my skin felt like too much information.
Then Zhenlan’s thumb moved over my stomach.
He was awake.
I opened one eye and found him lying behind me, close enough that his chest covered most of my back. His face was partly buried in my hair, and his arm remained tight around my waist as though I had tried to escape during the night.
I hadn’t.
Mostly because walking had stopped being an option.
Sunlight came through the curtains, bright enough to prove we had slept for more than two hours this time. The room was quiet except for Lingyun breathing heavily somewhere near the other side of the bed.
I remembered the garden.
The swing.
The blanket.
Zhenlan losing control of the weather because I touched an old scar on his chest.
Heat climbed into my face before I could stop it.
His mouth brushed the back of my shoulder.
"You’re awake," he murmured.
That seemed obvious, but I was too comfortable to complain properly.
Zhenlan’s hand moved higher beneath my shirt. I had no memory of putting one on, which meant he had dressed me after carrying me inside. Judging by the oversized black fabric covering most of my thighs, it probably belonged to him.
His palm spread over my ribs before sliding back down to my stomach.
I pressed my hips against him without thinking.
The body behind me went very still.
That was satisfying.
I turned my head enough to see him. His hair was messy, and the faint marks I had left along his shoulder were still visible above the blanket. The calm expression had returned to his face, but his hand tightened against my waist when I moved again.
Apparently, the calm part was fake.
"Did you sleep?" I asked.
"Yes."
"You’re lying."
"I slept."
His voice stayed low so he wouldn’t wake anyone, but I could feel the small movement of his mouth against my shoulder.
I looked toward the rest of the bed.
Yuche was asleep on his back with one arm beneath his head. Lingyun had somehow ended up half across him, although the pillows around his injured ribs were still in place. Chenghai lay near my legs, facing us, with one hand resting close to my ankle.
His eyes were open.
I froze.
Chenghai’s gaze moved from my face to Zhenlan’s arm beneath my shirt. Then he looked down at the blanket without saying anything.
He had probably been awake long enough to notice everything.
Great.
I pulled the sheet higher over my shoulder, which accomplished nothing because I was already wearing a shirt.
Zhenlan didn’t move away from me. His mouth touched the side of my neck, slow and warm, before his hand settled low on my stomach again.
Chenghai watched that too.
There was no book, radio, map, or bottle of water in his hands this time. He only lay there, quiet and awake, while Zhenlan held me like he planned to keep doing it.
I reached down and touched Chenghai’s wrist where it rested near my ankle.
His fingers turned beneath mine immediately.
The movement was small, but something in his face eased when I left my hand there.
Lingyun woke with a long breath and shifted against Yuche. Pain crossed his face before his eyes fully opened, but he still found enough energy to look around the bed.
His gaze landed on me first.
Then Zhenlan.
Then the shirt I was wearing.
His mouth began to curve.
Yuche opened his eyes and pressed one hand over Lingyun’s face before he could speak.
Lingyun made an offended sound against his palm.
"Too early," Yuche muttered.
That was probably the kindest thing anyone had ever done for me.
Lingyun grabbed Yuche’s wrist and pulled the hand down far enough to breathe. His eyes stayed bright with everything he wanted to say, but one look from Yuche convinced him to keep it inside.
Mostly.
"You look tired," he told Zhenlan.
Zhenlan’s arm tightened around me.
Lingyun smiled and settled his head back on Yuche’s shoulder before Yuche could cover his mouth again.
I buried my face in the pillow.
No one asked what happened in the garden. No one needed details, and no one acted like Zhenlan and I had done anything strange enough to turn breakfast into a meeting.
That should have made the whole thing easier.
Instead, I was very aware of Zhenlan’s bare chest against my back and Chenghai’s fingers slowly closing around mine near the bottom of the bed.
Yuche was the first to get up. He moved carefully so Lingyun wouldn’t roll onto his ribs, then helped him sit without letting him pretend the injury had disappeared overnight.
Chenghai sat up next and reached for the water bottles on the nightstand. He opened one before handing it to me.
I pushed myself onto one elbow and immediately felt every part of last night complain.
Chenghai noticed.
Of course he did.
His eyes moved over the way I shifted my legs beneath the blanket before returning to my face. He didn’t smile like Lingyun or ask whether I needed help. He simply moved closer and placed the bottle in my hand.
I drank most of it.
Zhenlan sat up behind me and pulled me back against his chest while I finished. His hand stayed on my hip, and when I gave the bottle back, he kissed the side of my head.
The man had apparently decided privacy was something other people needed.
Lingyun watched from Yuche’s side of the bed, looking happier every time Zhenlan touched me.
I pointed the empty bottle at him. "You’re smiling too much for someone with broken ribs."
"They aren’t broken."
"That can be fixed," I assured him.
Yuche caught the bottle before I threw it.
Chenghai stood beside the bed. He had pulled on a pair of pants, but his chest remained bare, old scars cutting across muscle that had carried me more times than I could count.
His gaze returned to Zhenlan’s hand on my hip.
This time, he didn’t look away.
He leaned over the bed and placed one palm beside my thigh. The mattress dipped beneath his weight as he came close enough that I could feel his breath against my face.
I expected him to check the scar on my calf or ask whether the tether had bothered me during the night.
Instead, Chenghai touched my chin and turned my face toward him.
His mouth pressed against my forehead.
The kiss lasted longer than it needed to.
When he pulled back, his fingers moved along my jaw before falling away.
Zhenlan watched him without loosening his hold on me.
Chenghai straightened and picked up his shirt from the floor. "Don’t make plans for tomorrow."
I stared at him.
He pulled the shirt over his head, hiding whatever expression had been on his face.
Zhenlan’s thumb moved once against my hip.
Lingyun sat forward too quickly and grabbed his ribs when the movement punished him.
Yuche pushed him back onto the pillows.
Chenghai walked toward the bedroom door without explaining where he expected to take me or why he had already decided I would go.
Apparently, Zhenlan wasn’t the only one who had finished waiting.