Chapter 267: Sleeping in Separate Rooms
Mu Tangfeng spent a good while in the bathroom. When he came out, he said he was going upstairs to make the beds.
When he didn’t reappear for some time, Shi Lan simply turned off the TV and went to wash up herself.
He Hanshi had already prepared her clothes in advance, so all she had to do was take them out of her Space Chain.
After her shower, Shi Lan went upstairs for a look. She saw that the beds in both rooms had been made, and her expression instantly grew confused.
’Is Mu Tangfeng really planning for us to sleep in separate rooms?’
She didn’t really mind. His collapse value wasn’t at a critical level, unlike He Hanshi, whose frequent battles with the Insect Clan made his need for treatment urgent.
’But still... doesn’t Mu Tangfeng have any special feelings for me at all?’
Shi Lan stood in the doorway, watching him diligently making the bed and even fussing over a vase. Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked, "Is this room for me?"
The room was very large, about the same size as the other one.
The person making the bed seemed to be doing this kind of chore for the first time. He was almost obsessive, constantly fiddling with the corners of the comforter and repeatedly smoothing out every little wrinkle.
At the sound of her voice, Mu Tangfeng—who had been bent over the bed with his rear in the air while arranging the covers—blushed and jumped down awkwardly. He didn’t dare to look Shi Lan in the eye. "Mhm."
"...Oh."
Shi Lan hadn’t expected this to actually be the case. She remained silent for a long moment before walking inside.
She carried the same fresh scent of shower gel he did. The moment she entered, he caught the fragrance. It drifted uncontrollably into his nostrils, and with every wisp, he felt his heart flutter. His pulse quickened, and his head felt dizzy.
Mu Tangfeng had never felt this way before. After meeting Shi Lan and realizing how his heart stirred, he understood that this was what it meant to like someone.
His face was beet red. He scuffed his shoe against the floor, then decided the fragrance in the room was too strong. Announcing that he was tired, he immediately fled to the room next door.
The door to the next room SLAMMED shut with a loud bang.
Shi Lan stood just inside her own doorway, her mind reeling as she processed the shocking news that they were, in fact, sleeping in separate rooms. Only then did she hesitantly close the door.
’Good news: my body gets a break.’
’Bad news: my own Beast Husband, a man I’m legally married to, doesn’t seem to have any... other ideas about me. Is there something wrong with him?’
Filled with doubt, she lay in bed and searched the Star Network for similar cases. She discovered that males like him were few and far between. In the end, she couldn’t find a single helpful piece of advice.
Next door, Mu Tangfeng was also surfing the Star Network.
He was busy searching for "how to interact with a female as a newlywed..."
Many related posts said the first priority for newlyweds was to create a romantic and comforting environment to help the female relax and prepare for the subsequent courtship and mating.
When he read those last few words, Mu Tangfeng’s face grew even redder. His eyes seemed to burn with heat, misting over. He happened to glance in the mirror and was startled by his flushed reflection.
’How can I look so ugly?’
He quickly splashed his face with cold water several times. Only then did the heat subside a little, and he no longer looked so grotesquely flushed.
Mu Tangfeng continued searching for newlywed advice. The Star Network operated on a real-name system, so he couldn’t just post a question for the public to answer. He could only search around on his own, trying to learn from others’ experiences.
But since the topic was newlyweds—legally married couples—the discussions inevitably included a lot of adult content.
There was talk about how a male not lasting long enough would affect the female’s experience...
...and how it was important to give the female plenty of time to relax...
Mu Tangfeng didn’t understand any of this. He only had the vaguest concept of intimacy. Even his dreams lacked detail; they mostly consisted of him and Shi Lan simply holding each other close.
Even now, he still didn’t get it. He ended up browsing the Star Network for over two hours until he finally, sort of, understood. When he looked at the time, it was already past ten. Lanlan was surely asleep by now; he couldn’t go and disturb her.
Mu Tangfeng turned off the light and lay down, but he couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned, the new knowledge he’d just acquired warring in his mind. Even with the air conditioning on, he felt feverish. The heat from all over his body seemed to gather in his lower abdomen.
This wasn’t the first time he’d felt this restless heat. Before, it had been purely instinctual. Now, he understood. He was craving intimate union with Shi Lan—not just simple closeness, but a deeper act of mating.
He thought about an educational video he’d stumbled upon, and his mind automatically pictured himself and Shi Lan in that scenario. In an instant, Mu Tangfeng broke out in a sweat, and his mouth felt parched.
He licked his lips and immediately got up to get some water.
As he passed Shi Lan’s room, he paused. It was quiet inside, and he could see from the crack under the door that her light was off. It seemed Lanlan was indeed asleep.
’The internet said newlyweds should sleep in the same bed,’ he thought. ’It not only facilitates intimacy but also strengthens the couple’s bond.’
And here he was, on their very first day, having made the biggest mistake of all: sleeping in a separate room from Lanlan.
Frustrated and full of regret, Mu Tangfeng headed downstairs, mentally berating himself for his actions. Perhaps because he was so preoccupied with whether sleeping separately would truly affect his relationship with Lanlan, he missed a step on the stairs and went tumbling down. He crashed into a cabinet on the landing, and the vase on top fell with a loud SMASH, shattering into a million pieces.
The huge commotion from outside her door startled Shi Lan awake. She had only just turned off her light and hadn’t yet drifted off to sleep.
She immediately opened her door and stepped out. Looking down the stairs, she saw Mu Tangfeng lying on the floor with his eyes closed. Not far from his head lay the sharp fragments of the shattered vase.
"Mu Tangfeng!"
Shi Lan thought he must have been knocked unconscious by the fall. She rushed down the stairs in a panic and carefully gathered him into her arms, making sure to avoid the shards that were dangerously close to his cheek.
"Mu Tangfeng, are you okay? Are you alright? Wake up, don’t scare me..."
Shi Lan gently patted his cheeks. Mu Tangfeng’s face was a mask of utter mortification as he buried it in Shi Lan’s fragrant embrace, overcome with shame.
’This is so humiliating!’
In his entire life, this was the first time he had ever fallen down the stairs—and Lanlan had seen it all.
Seeing that he was still conscious, Shi Lan breathed a sigh of relief. She gently felt the back of his head, checking for any bumps, and didn’t forget to ask, "Did you hit anything? Are you in pain?"
As a handsome man who had always been particular about his appearance, even the shape of Mu Tangfeng’s head was what one might call perfect.
Shi Lan’s fingers ran through his soft hair. His head felt smooth, with no bumps or bruises.
Mu Tangfeng shook his head in embarrassment. "Lanlan, I’m fine."
Beastmen were tough. A little tumble down the stairs was nothing. Besides, the staircase wasn’t that tall, and he had only fallen from halfway down. Aside from the humiliation, he wasn’t hurt at all.
At this thought, Mu Tangfeng wished he could grind the stairs in his house into dust.
’Honestly, if I’d known this would happen, I should have just flown down. Or installed an elevator.’
But back then, he’d figured that since he had wings and the house was only three stories high, an elevator would be superfluous.
But now, it was too late for regrets.