The night was quiet, and many thoughts filled her mind.
A tangled mess of ideas surged restlessly in her head.
Bai Li lay quietly in bed, her eyes wide open without a hint of sleepiness.
She held a soft, fluffy pillow tightly in her arms, just as she had for more than one week.
The warmth of another had long since faded from the pillow, leaving only her own faint scent, yet she could not bring herself to let go.
If this were the past, back when she was the steady, reliable, and pillar-like father, Lü Erlu, sleeping alone with a single pillow would have been a common occurrence that she wouldn’t have minded at all.
But now that her identity had changed, her state of mind had undergone a world-shaking transformation.
There was a world of difference between sleeping with someone by her side and sleeping alone; the gap was something that could only be understood through personal experience.
From the lively and frank Long Qiu, who carried the faint scent of Dragon Breath and sunshine, to the cold-on-the-outside but warm-on-the-inside Baining, whose eyes hid a thousand secrets, and then to the gentle and well-behaved Ziya, who always loved to cling to her and smelled of elegant, sweet fragrance…
After the three daughters bathed, their unique and reassuring scents were deeply etched into the depths of Bai Li’s memory like a brand.
Whenever she recalled them, a wave of indescribable warmth and emptiness would rise in her heart.
She didn’t know when it had started, but ever since they had separated to sleep in their own rooms, Bai Li felt as if an extremely important piece of her was missing, making her feel unstable.
There was no warm body to lean against, no soft little hand to hold hers, and no tiny figure for her to pull into her arms for peace of mind.
Yet, her reason reminded her over and over that this was supposed to be the most normal state of affairs.
Back then, when she was still their legitimate father, they were not yet adults, and her thoughts were maturing…
If they had continued to snuggle and share a bed as they did when they were children, it would have been overstepping the boundaries.
She understood the logic better than anyone, but her emotions were simply beyond her control.
At this moment, after being continuously surrounded by her daughters’ gentleness and care, the soul within Bai Li—which had once been so used to independence—had unknowingly become greedy for this Human World warmth.
She could no longer easily adapt to a night spent alone.
A soft sigh drifted through the silent room, carrying a hint of helplessness, a touch of melancholy, and a bit of grievance that she was unwilling to admit even to herself.
‘Fine, stop thinking. Just sleep.’
Forcing down the tangled thoughts in her heart, Bai Li closed her eyes and tried to compel herself to enter the world of dreams.
15 minutes passed.
The room was terrifyingly quiet, leaving only the sound of her slightly hurried heartbeat, which seemed infinitely magnified in the silence. 30 minutes passed.
Her eyelids felt heavy, yet her brain was exceptionally clear.
The scenes of the day, Ziya’s expression, and the subtle atmosphere rotated before her eyes like a revolving lantern.
The more she thought, the more awake she became, and the harder it was to fall asleep.
“45 minutes…” In the room next door, Baining slowly opened her unique, heterochromatic eyes.
There was no sleepiness in her gaze, only a calm complexity.
She, too, was tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
As for Bai Li, just as she was rolling over and was about to get up, a series of light, cautious knocks suddenly came from the door.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
The sound wasn’t loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the dead of night.
It stimulated Bai Li’s already alert mind, chasing away every last trace of drowsiness.
“Who is it?”
She called out subconsciously, her tone carrying a hint of annoyance at being disturbed, though she grumbled inwardly.
‘Coming to cause trouble? Wait—’ She had already guessed the identity of the person outside.
“Father, may I come in?”
A soft, sweet, and slightly timid voice drifted in from outside the door.
It was clear and well-behaved, exactly as Bai Li had predicted without the slightest error.
It was Ziya.
It was expected, yet it made her heart soften.
“Yes, come in.”
Bai Li deliberately suppressed the slight joy in her heart and tried to maintain a steady, majestic demeanor, attempting to keep the dignity and composure a senior should have.
As soon as she spoke, a soft *click* came from the door as it was carefully pushed open from the outside, leaving just a crack.
Ziya was wearing loose, soft pajamas with her long hair draped over her shoulders, and she was also clutching a small pillow.
Her bright, watery purple eyes looked expectantly at Bai Li on the bed, her small face filled with apprehension and hope.
“Father, can we sleep together? I’ll just lie on the side… Just the side. I definitely won’t disturb you.”
Looking at her youngest daughter’s pitiful, cute, and cautious pleading, Bai Li’s feigned majesty collapsed instantly, leaving only helplessness and doting.
*Sigh,* she really had no way of dealing with this child.
How could she have the heart to refuse such a well-behaved, adorable little daughter who had mustered the courage to act spoiled in the middle of the night?
Let alone just lying in the same bed for a while, even if she made a more outrageous request, Bai Li wouldn’t be able to harden her heart to refuse.
“Yes, come in.”
Bai Li sighed softly, her tone full of helpless indulgence as she signaled for Ziya to lie down.
Ziya’s eyes lit up like a little animal that had been given permission.
She climbed onto the bed with light steps, her small body stiff and nervous.
The room fell into silence again, leaving only the sound of two people’s steady, soft breathing intertwining in the air.
Bai Li knew in her heart that this was a rare opportunity.
Usually, everyone had their own thoughts, and there were hidden barriers and defenses between them; many words were kept hidden and left unsaid.
Now, in the dead of night and alone in a room, it was the best time to open their hearts and have a good talk.
She turned her head to look at Ziya, who was lying obediently beside her, and spoke in an exceptionally gentle voice.
“Ziya, can’t you sleep?”
“Yes, Father. I can’t sleep,” Ziya responded in a small voice, her honesty heart-wrenching.
“Then I’ll chat with you. Maybe as we talk, you’ll get tired and fall asleep naturally.”
“Mhm, okay.”
To Bai Li’s surprise, Ziya didn’t show the slightest resistance.
She nodded and agreed very straightforwardly, without any dodging or avoidance.
Bai Li understood inwardly.
It made sense; if Ziya hadn’t already prepared herself mentally, how could someone with her personality gather the courage to run to her father’s room with a pillow in the middle of the night to ask to sleep together?
Since she dared to come, she had already prepared herself to be honest.
This was good.
“Some things… “