Je vends des vêtements et j'achète du vin à boire avec toi

Chapitre 20

"I had a nightmare." Feng Ning huddled under the covers, wrapping herself up tightly.

"Nightmare?" Long San walked to the bedside and tried to pull her up. "I don't care about dreams."

"Don't send me away." Feng Ning only showed her head, her big, clear eyes looking pitiful: "If I close my eyes, I'll sink into the water. I'm scared."

"You'll get used to it after a few more times." Long San didn't want to spoil her like this; this woman was getting more and more demanding.

"I can't get used to it, it's terrifying. I've woken up twice already. I can't breathe, I'm going to die. Tomorrow you'll find a corpse in my room."

"Then find Xiaoqing to sleep with you."

“But I feel more at ease here.” Feng Ning patted her chest and said, “Yes, I’m not afraid here after all.”

Long San was very unhappy: "If everyone were like you, coming to me after having nightmares, how would I ever get any sleep?"

Feng Ning's eyes widened: "You mean your female confidantes?" She thought for a moment, then pouted and retorted: "They're not your wives, I am. I can come to you when I have nightmares, but they can go to their own maids." She pulled the blanket over her head and mumbled inside, "Anyway, I'm not leaving."

Long San stood by the bed and glared at her: "Even with the blanket over your head, you still can't breathe."

“You’re right.” Feng Ning poked her head out. “So don’t kick me out, I’m afraid I’ll feel suffocated.” She saw Long San’s extremely unhappy expression and then said ingratiatingly, “I won’t cause you any trouble. Look, I even brought my own pillow.”

"Where's the blanket?"

"The blanket is too big; it's inconvenient to bring it over."

Where's the bed?

"Since you're not asleep, you should get back to work. I'll go to sleep first. When you're done, wake me up so you can sleep." As she spoke, she even gave a delicate yawn, her eyes still half-closed, clearly very sleepy.

Long San was furious. How could she come up with such a way to coordinate? He reached out to pull her up and kick her out, but Feng Ning pleaded pitifully, "I'll only sleep for a little while, really, don't kick me out, I'm so tired."

She closed her eyes, and his outstretched hand paused, a sudden softening in his heart. Fine, let her sleep a little longer; he hadn't finished reading the case file anyway. He warned fiercely, "You can only lie here for a short while. When I go to sleep, you'll have to get up."

"Mmm," Feng Ning responded softly, and soon seemed to fall asleep. Long San stood by the bed and watched her for a while, listening to her long, soft breathing. After thinking for a moment, he turned to look at his files.

After looking at it for a while, Long San was a little dazed. He suddenly realized that he had been distracted. He hadn't turned a page of the file for a long time, and he hadn't absorbed what was on this page. However, he could feel Feng Ning's aura very clearly.

He was annoyed. He glared at her, intending to watch her for a while longer before shooing her out of bed. Why should she be sound asleep while he was suffering in this middle of the night sitting on a hard chair? He glanced at her again and noticed she wasn't breathing. He went over and checked her breath; she really wasn't inhaling. Just as he was wondering about this, he suddenly saw her wriggling and struggling. Startled, he rushed to push her, calling out, "Feng Ning, Feng Ning..."

Feng Ning suddenly opened her eyes, gasped for breath, and looked panicked. She instinctively reached for his hand and pulled his arm into her embrace: "Long San, Long San..."

"Did you have a nightmare?" Long San turned to the side, brushed the hair away from her face, looked into her empty eyes, and couldn't help but worry.

Feng Ning, panting, took a long time to come to her senses, glanced at him, then closed her eyes wearily again, and whispered, "Hold me tight, don't let me go into the water."

Long San frowned and gently patted her: "Okay, I'll hold your hand, don't be afraid."

That night, Long San didn't sleep. Not only did he not sleep, but because his arm was being held and he couldn't move, he lay on his side on the bed, and half of his body went numb.

Feng Ning woke up naturally the next day, feeling refreshed and in an excellent mood. Long San, on the other hand, had a dark expression, feeling frustrated and unable to vent his anger. Rumors of the couple sharing a room quickly spread, and the different expressions of Long San and Feng Ning filled everyone's minds with all sorts of speculation.

Upon hearing the gossip, Feng Ning excitedly ran to find Long San: "Have you heard about it?"

"What did you hear?" Long San's tone was very unpleasant. He was already angry because he hadn't slept all night because of this crazy woman, and now she was acting like she had found a treasure, which made him even more unhappy.

"The servants are all saying that Third Master Long has been taken down by Third Madam Long."

Long San gave a forced smile: "Congratulations, Mrs. Long San."

"Hey, congratulations!" Feng Ning patted Long San's shoulder heartily. "Your plan worked! Didn't you want everyone to think we were close, so you could pass the word to the murderer and make him think I definitely told you the secret, thus luring him out?"

Long San wasn't surprised that she understood what he was thinking; she was smart, he knew that. But he was still angry: "My plan only requires us to stand closer and talk, stroll around the streets and have a meal together. I don't need you to steal my bed."

Upon hearing this, Feng Ning stared at Long San for a long time before uttering a complaint: "You're so stingy." Then she ran away.

Long San watched her retreating figure and made up his mind that he would not open the door for her tonight no matter what.

Long San didn't know why he guessed so accurately. Feng Ning really did come again that night. She knocked on the door, but he wouldn't open it. He coldly told her to go back through the door. He peeked through the window and saw that she was still the same as last night, wrapped in a big cloak, round and plump, probably carrying some pillow or clothes again.

Feng Ning knocked for a long time, but Long San wouldn't let her in. She sat down angrily at the door of Long San's room and said, "Long San, if you don't open the door for me, your guards are peeking from afar. How embarrassing!"

"If you're afraid of losing face, go back."

"Tomorrow everyone will be saying that Master Long and his wife lost their feelings for each other after just one night." Feng Ning said, glancing around like a thief. She thought she could sneak in and get a good night's sleep as easily as yesterday, but it turned out to be so difficult.

Long San answered smoothly: "That's perfect. The murderer will think I already know the secret, and then kick you aside, which will make it easier for him to believe it."

"So ruthless." Feng Ning hugged a pillow, propped her knees up, and sat against the door panel. She said, "Long San, tomorrow Granny Yu will take me to the temple to perform a ritual to exorcise evil spirits. If I am exorcised, you will never see me again."

"You thought you were an evil spirit, and you even drove it away."

"Maybe, if I really am possessed, he could kill me with a spell, and you'd be heartbroken."

"Thank you for your concern, but you don't need to worry about whether I'm hurt or not." Long San was really annoyed; this crazy woman was never going to stop.

“Long San, talking to us through the door is the same as talking inside the house.”

"I don't even want to talk through the door, I want to sleep."

"Then why did you say it?"

"..." Long San was speechless, realizing he had acted just as foolishly as she had. Fine, he wouldn't say anything more then, and he really went to sleep.

"Long San, Long San..." Feng Ning waited for a long time, but there was still no response from inside. She said sadly, "Are you really ignoring me?" No one answered. She waited for a while and said again, "Are you really not going to care about me anymore?" Still no one answered.

After a long while, she asked again, "Are you asleep?" There was no sound from inside the room. She waited a long time and then said, "Are you having nightmares? I'll stay here with you, don't panic."

Long San gritted his teeth in anger, but he stubbornly ignored her. But after a while, he heard her voice again: "Long San, you can sleep well, I won't disturb you."