Chapter 90: What’s Done Is Done

“It is not…” 

An Ling retorted stuffily at Li Yang, yet still took the tissues and messily cleaned the marks off her face.

After a moment Li Yang took the dirty paper from her hand, tossed it into the trash can by the bed, then pulled out two more sheets and handed them to her.

“Wipe again. There’s still some on your face.”

An Ling took the tissues, this time carefully wiped her face clean, then crumpled the paper into a ball and passed it back to him.

Li Yang took it and threw it away, then lowered his head to look at her.

Her eye rims were red.

Her eyes had already been rubbed a little swollen.

The tip of her nose was red too.

Unset tears still hung on her lashes.

Her gray hair had been mussed into a mess.

Her ears drooped pitifully.

“Does it still hurt?” he asked.

An Ling bit her lip, nodded, then shook her head.

“Does it hurt or not?”

An Ling stopped talking, buried her face back against his chest, and answered with silence.

Li Yang knew she was still feeling wronged and didn’t press.

He only continued gently patting her back.

The air conditioner’s cold wind was still blowing whoosh whoosh.

Li Yang looked at her wearing thin summer pajamas.

Going back and forth with him like this, it would be easy to catch a cold.

Li Yang reached out, pulled the quilt over, and covered her with it, wrapping himself in as well.

Under the quilt, the two of them squeezed close together, warm and comfortable.

“Alright, alright, go to sleep.”

“I won’t punish you anymore.” Li Yang was still comforting a certain little thing.

An Ling only showed a little bit of the top of her head from the covers.

Li Yang’s chin rested there.

Being held while sleeping, An Ling wanted to struggle a couple of times, but Li Yang was holding her very tightly.

She also didn’t want to talk to him.

An Ling rested her face against his chest.

What’s done is done.

Sleep first.

She would settle accounts with him tomorrow.

On a clear morning, there were always early birds to tell people the time.

When that time came, An Ling’s body clock also rang.

She opened her eyes in a daze.

The first thing she felt was the warmth coming from behind her.

Li Yang’s arm was still resting at her waist.

His whole body was pressed against her from behind.

His breathing was even and deep.

Warm breath spilled against the back of her neck, itchy.

An Ling’s whole body went stiff.

Her just-woken morning brain had not resumed normal work yet.

Why was Li Yang holding her while sleeping?

Slowly she recalled everything that had happened last night.

Being exposed by Li Yang.

Being punished by him.

Being held by him while sleeping…

Her face instantly flushed to the roots of her ears.

She wanted to break free of Li Yang’s arms, but the moment she moved, a faint leftover ache rose up and made her suck in a cold breath.

“Don’t move.”

Li Yang’s voice came from behind her, and his arm tightened a little.

“You… you’re awake?” An Ling’s voice was as small as a mosquito’s.

“You woke me.” Li Yang buried his face in her hair and drew a deep breath.

“What time is it?”

“I don’t know…”

“Let go. I’ll go look.”

Li Yang was a little reluctant.

He held her a while longer before slowly loosening his hands.

An Ling quickly crawled out of his arms, yet accidentally pulled at the leftover ache from last night and bared her teeth from the sting.

Enduring that faint burning leftover pain, she took the phone from the nightstand and glanced at it.

“Six twenty.”

“Still early.” Li Yang reached out and pulled her back into his arms.

“Sleep a little more.”

“No.”

“I have to get up and make bento.”

“Last night’s ingredients weren’t dealt with either.” As An Ling spoke she struggled twice, wanting to get off the bed.

Li Yang didn’t care.

He had endured this long.

Now that he had finally pulled her into his arms, he even wanted to ask for a day off and stay lazy in An Ling’s bed.

“Don’t make any today.”

“We’ll eat in the cafeteria.”

“But…”

“But what?” Li Yang opened one eye and looked at her.

“You’re not hurting anymore?”

An Ling’s face instantly went red.

She bit her lip and stopped talking.

“Lie there.”

“I’ll go buy breakfast later.”

“Eat in the cafeteria at noon.”

“Cook again at night.”

“You’re still eating at my place tonight?”

“What, you don’t want to?” Li Yang gave An Ling a look.

An Ling stopped talking and buried her face in the quilt.

Li Yang looked at her like this and couldn’t help laughing.

He reached out and rubbed the top of her head.

“Alright, sleep.”

“I’ll set an alarm.”

“Sleep a little more.”

He was still bullying her like this.

The resentment and grievance from last night rose in An Ling again.

She burrowed back into Li Yang’s arms, found a comfortable position, and closed her eyes again.

Half an hour later, Li Yang reluctantly let go of the warmth in his hands, got off the bed, found his clothes and put them on, then walked out of the room.

The moment the door closed, An Ling poked her head out of the quilt and let out a long breath.

She slowly sat up and reached back to check.

It still hurt a little.

That bastard Li Yang.

He really went hard…

An Ling cursed him once in her heart, but then thought of that sense of security when he had held her while sleeping last night.

She shook her head, flung those messy thoughts out of her mind, then slowly moved off the bed and walked into the bathroom with a slight limp.

While washing up, she looked herself over in the mirror.

Her eyes were still a bit red.

The tip of her nose was red too.

She looked pitiful.

“Sigh…”

After packing her things, she slung on her backpack and went downstairs.

She had just opened the door when Li Yang was already standing outside, two bags of breakfast in his hands.

“Morning.” He grinned, exactly the same as usual, as if nothing had happened last night.

An Ling looked at him.

He had bullied her that much, and now he was pretending nothing was wrong.

Right now An Ling even wanted to run straight to Grandma Li and tattle.

“Hmph!” She snatched the breakfast, took out a bun, imagined it as Li Yang’s flesh, and bit down.

Li Yang looked at a certain little thing whose resentment was almost overflowing.

“Let’s go.” Li Yang naturally reached out, patted her head, then took her hand.