However, she quickly realized that she was an experienced driver, and the naive protagonist wouldn't have any impure thoughts, especially since she had just emphasized that they were same-sex friends.
“It’s possible, but only if the other person gives you a sense of security. At least it has to be like what we have now, making you willingly choose to sleep in the same bed with her, even if the bed is small.” She tried to explain to Ruan Yu, “The concept of security might be a bit abstract, so try to understand it by replacing me with someone else. For example… if Lin Qiqi, Su Manying, or He Sheng came to the countryside with you, would you sleep with them?”
To everyone's surprise, Ruan Yu shook her head decisively: "No."
The first two people had already chilled and disgusted her in her past life. As for their kindness towards her in this life, it was probably only out of consideration for Wen Yun, not from the bottom of their hearts. She didn't trust them at all, or rather, it was already good enough if she could maintain a superficial normal relationship with them.
As for He Sheng, she could tell from their usual conversations and his love and care for all kinds of small animals that he was a person she could get along with and who was trustworthy.
But her intuition always makes her want to keep her distance from this person, rather than trying to get to know them better.
Most importantly, she couldn't explain why. After all, "wanting to stay away" was just a feeling, which was probably what He Sheng often referred to as "incompatible personalities."
"Yes, that's roughly what a sense of security means. Just get the gist of it," Wen Yun said. "However, a sense of security is something you cultivate by spending time with people. You definitely need to observe new friends for a while before deciding whether you can develop a deeper relationship with them."
She paused for a moment, then said, "Personally, I think if a friend can't give you a sense of security, it's best not to get too close to that person. If the investment and feedback aren't equal, it's a form of internal friction that will only hurt you in the end."
Ruan Yu responded weakly.
She suddenly realized that in her past life she had focused too much on academic performance and knew too little about other aspects of life.
If she had known more, could she have had a better life from the beginning? Even if it was still tough, she would never let other people's disapproval and disappointment hurt her again.
She works so hard simply because she hopes to be cared for and protected by many people, just like Wen Yun.
She tried to use those acts of care to downplay the hurt and regret that the seventeen years she had experienced due to the change in her identity had brought her.
A familiar scent suddenly drew near, and before Ruan Yu could react, she was pulled into the arms of the person next to her through the blanket.
"What's past is past."
The person's gentle voice rang in her ear, and a hand patted her back softly, "Even if there were a chance to start over, people would still cling to those regrets. Looking forward is a better choice."
Upon hearing the words "start over," Ruan Yu trembled involuntarily in her arms.
She suddenly wanted to tell this person that she was right, and that she, who had lived a second life, deeply understood this.
But she felt she shouldn't have said it.
She dared not imagine how the other person would look at her after learning that she was a reincarnated person, and even knowing that the other person's origins were extraordinary, she dared not say it.
Moreover, she has been pretending to be well-behaved, from the first time we met until now, she has almost always disguised herself as someone who is impossible to find fault with.
That wasn't the real her. She knew the darkness and obsession in her heart, and she knew what she cared about and what she resented.
She didn't want this person to know any of this, at least not now.
Faced with this person's newly fed "chicken soup for the soul," Ruan Yu simply responded softly and obediently snuggled up to her.
"This person's embrace is always warm and reassuring," she thought.
Perhaps because she felt so at ease, she closed her eyes and fell asleep without realizing it.
However, her peace of mind only lasted for a few hours. She vaguely felt that her body seemed to have lost control and was turning over on its own. She subconsciously reached out and grabbed something to support herself.
The next second, the overly soft and warm touch from the sole of her palm instantly woke her up.
Even though she hadn't slept in this bed for over a month, Ruan Yu could still reach the bedside lamp switch immediately and turn it on without hesitation.
Ignoring the glare of the light, she looked down and was so frightened by just one glance that she quickly let go. Her cheeks and ears immediately burned with shame and guilt.
Wen Yun wasn't sleeping soundly. The light stung her eyes, and she frowned, asking somewhat groggily, "What's wrong? Is it dawn?"
"It's not dawn yet!" Ruan Yu immediately turned off the light and, like a thief, pulled her hands back under the covers, trying to restrain her hands that had done something wrong.
The person next to him muttered something, then reached out and pulled the girl into his arms.
But this time, because she wasn't fully conscious, she didn't care about anyone's location after retrieving them and just fell asleep on her own.
"..." Ruan Yu felt as if she was suffocating with shame.
It was a psychological suffocation; the scent of soap emanating from this person kept creeping into her nose. She was so close to him that she preferred to believe it was just a nightmare, not reality.
She tried to break free, but the person was too close. Their slender arms had an inexplicable strength, and they were holding her too tightly. Her hands were trapped under the covers, unable to be freed, and therefore unable to help her escape her current awkward situation.
A note from the author:
The second update is here!
Chapter 35
Ruan Yu had never been so close to anyone before.
Even through two layers of blankets, the person's breath, heartbeat, and body temperature were crystal clear. His warm breath brushed against her neck, causing her to shrink back. She wanted to escape, yet inexplicably wanted to maintain this closeness.
I feel so safe and secure.
It seems that as long as she is by your side, all evil spirits will retreat and all difficulties will be easily resolved.
Despite thinking this, Ruan Yu was still too embarrassed to stay any longer. She finally managed to turn around and lean against the soft side of the bed when she suddenly felt a kick on her foot. Before she could react, two feet had already slipped into her blanket and quickly clamped her legs together.
Ruan Yu: "..."
She suddenly understood what "confinement" meant.
I also understood why this person panicked so much when they said they were a bad sleeper.
This night was destined to be restless. Every time Ruan Yu was about to fall asleep, she would be awakened by the noise of the person next to her. Half asleep and half awake, she endured until sunrise. She was so sleepy that she even got a little irritable. She struggled to stretch out her arm and simply imitated this guy with bad sleeping posture, hanging herself up like a koala.
At 6:15, Wen Yun, who woke up naturally due to her biological clock, felt extremely hot. When she opened her sleepy eyes, she found that there was someone else in her bed at some point, with arms and legs wrapped very tightly around her, fast asleep.
Wen Yun was shocked and puzzled. If she had known earlier that the protagonist was willing to have such close contact with her, Grandma Ruan wouldn't have needed to bring out an extra quilt.
She carefully peeled the girl off her body bit by bit, went to the toilet, asked Grandma Ruan for some warm water, and when she returned to her room, she saw that it was still early and there were no WeChat messages that needed to be replied to, so she simply went back to sleep.
Looking at the bed, which was not much different from last night, Wen Yun was even more puzzled.
She clearly remembers that she was a terrible sleeper, and sometimes when she woke up in the morning, the blankets were all rolled up and dragging on the floor. It couldn't be that the protagonist's halo influenced her and made her even improve her sleeping habits, could it?
She learned about the protagonist's little habit—or rather, the little actions caused by long-term insecurity—and when she was trying to fall asleep again, she searched for long, life-sized body pillows and ordered one shaped like a Shiba Inu.
In this way, Ruan Yu will be able to fall asleep with her pillow as early as tomorrow night.
Putting down her phone, Wen Yun looked at Ruan Yu's sleeping face for a moment, then hugged her.
She didn't know how much sense of security she could give the protagonist, but she'd do what she could.
-
When they woke up again, it was already nine o'clock in the morning.
Ruan Yu woke up first. After waking up, she noticed that her posture had changed, but she didn't pay much attention to it. She glanced at the time on the wall clock and gently shook the person next to her, "It's time to get up and have breakfast."
Wen Yun gave a slightly nasal "hmm," swayed as she propped herself up, and after a few seconds of drowsiness, suddenly said to Ruan Yu, who was changing clothes, "I bought you a pillow."
Ruan Yu turned around, puzzled.
“It makes me feel safer to sleep with it at night,” Wen Yun explained. “The St. Regis I gave you was too small, so this time I’m giving you a bigger one.”
Ruan Yu naturally remembered the Rena Bear doll that she had given her at the beginning. In the days immediately after her rebirth, she relied on that doll to get through the nightmares every night. Hearing this, she was surprised by her thoughtfulness and nodded shyly, "Thank you, you've gone to so much trouble again."
Wen Yun smiled and started changing her clothes as well.
"Did you sleep well last night?" she asked casually. "Did I disturb your sleep?"
Ruan Yu paused, then hastily lied, "It's fine."
She had her back to Wen Yun, so Wen Yun didn't see the sudden blush that appeared on the girl's face.
But Wen Yun could still hear the panic in her tone. She frowned slightly, quickly put on her T-shirt, and moved to her side while holding onto the blanket. "You don't need to pretend that nothing's wrong in front of me. I know I'm a restless sleeper. If I disturbed your sleep, I have to apologize to you!"
The girl seemed startled by her seriousness and looked at her blankly for a long time before asking in a very soft voice, "Do you also lack a sense of security?"
"...Why do you ask that?" Wen Yun asked, puzzled.
"You always... held me while I slept..." Ruan Yu stammered, "and... held me so tightly, I couldn't break free..."
Wen Yun: "..."
Even though they were of the same sex, and even though they looked like minors, Wen Yun was still so shocked by these words that her face flushed and all her sleepiness vanished.
She didn't even know how to answer, and remained awkwardly silent for a long time before lying guiltily, "Yes, actually I also lack a sense of security."
Judging from the protagonist's reaction, she felt that the answer "bad sleeping posture" might not satisfy the other party.
Although she was certain that she was holding her belongings tightly in her arms because of her bad sleeping posture.
Ruan Yu had already put on her dress and was about to get out of bed when she heard this. She picked up her phone, searched for a pillow while walking, chose a long tabby cat-shaped one, and quietly placed an order.
Since the pillow can provide her with a sense of security, it can perhaps provide this person with a sense of security as well.
After breakfast, Wen Yun followed Ruan Yu up the mountain to walk the dog, picked some wild vegetables along the way, and also went to the forest contracted by the Ruan family to pick a basket of chestnuts and a few pears.
“After a while, Grandma will hire people to come here to harvest chestnuts and pears, and sell them in town to make some money. She will also keep some for herself to eat.” Ruan Yu said, leaning on a bamboo pole. “Our family’s pears are of a good variety. They are big and crisp, and especially refreshing. Whether you eat them directly or stew them in soup, the fresh taste will be unforgettable.”
Wen Yun listened and responded, using the fire tongs in her hand to pick up a chestnut wrapped in a thorny shell, tapping it hard on the stone to get out the chestnuts inside, then peeling and eating it directly.
Seeing her practiced movements, Ruan Yu couldn't help but ask tentatively, "Have you lived in the countryside before?"
“I grew up in the countryside when I was very young,” Wen Yun recalled. “Later, my parents brought my grandparents to live in the city, and I haven’t been back much since.”
To this day, she still doesn't know how the system determines "disrupting spacetime." She's gone this far, and she hasn't heard any warning sounds.
“No wonder you like it here so much.” Ruan Yu sat down next to her, picked up a chestnut and started peeling it, without asking any further questions.
She kept He Sheng's advice in mind: to truly understand someone's past and habits, one must proceed gradually and maintain a sense of distance at appropriate times. This is just like treating a newly brought-home pet; trust must be built up little by little.
Before they arrived, they had promised the Wen family elders that they would bring chestnuts and pears down the mountain and have a meal of hand-pulled noodles made by Grandma Ruan. Then they contacted Sister Luo to pick them up and take them back.
While Ruan Yu was washing the dishes in the kitchen, Grandma Ruan specifically called Wen Yun into Grandpa Ruan's study and earnestly instructed her with a complicated expression: "Yunyun, I'm begging you, please don't let Xiaoyu come back next time! This village is only good for its mountains, water, and air; nothing else is particularly good! Isn't your city known as a 'glamorous world'? Even if you find something to make Xiaoyu obsessed, don't let her think about this place anymore!"
Wen Yun had no choice but to confess: "Grandma, Grandpa, I want to apologize to you both first. Actually, it was I who persuaded Xiaoyu to come back; she wouldn't dare to come back on her own!"
Faced with the astonished looks of the two elderly people, she explained earnestly, "I was just thinking that we're almost adults now, and some educational philosophies shouldn't be taken to extremes. It's best to explain the pros and cons clearly. Xiaoyu is too naive and very obedient. If you were to be firm and tell her not to come back, she really wouldn't. But she misses you, and the thought of you makes her sad. Even though she's not your biological granddaughter, she's been by your side for seventeen years, and her feelings for you are very deep!"
“I knew about the situation in the village before I brought her here. I’ll try my best to find a solution in the future. If we really can’t change the environment, I’d like to bring you to live in the city. The city has comprehensive services for the elderly and disabled. It’s very convenient for Grandpa to go out, see a doctor, and get medicine. You won’t have to go far to buy groceries either. But it depends on what you think. Whatever you choose, Xiaoyu and I will respect it.”
“My dear, you really don’t need to think so much about us. We’re so old, half of us are already in the grave, it doesn’t matter to us.” Grandpa Ruan sighed. “Your grandma and I are only thinking about how Xiaoyu can have a good life in the city. Most of the girls in the village have grown up in hardship, and they get gossiped about and pointed at when they walk down the street!”
"I assure you, as long as I'm here, no one will be able to bully Xiaoyu!" Wen Yun said firmly, then tentatively asked, "However, I have some questions I'd like to ask Grandpa and Grandma, about my aunt..."
When Ruan Yu returned from washing the dishes, Wen Yun had already finished asking around and was thanking and saying goodbye to the two elders.
"This is just a small token of my appreciation. It's not much, but I hope Grandpa and Grandma will accept it." Wen Yun stuffed a stack of 100-yuan bills that she had prepared beforehand into Grandma Ruan's hand. "When I'm successful in the future and can earn my own money, I'll definitely send you more!"