Chapter 91: A little warmth
Yexue had stormed out of the room in obvious anger, but Ru Yi was more worried about Qingyue to go after her.
A proper conversation could solve the misunderstanding, but right now Qingyue’s health mattered even more. Her temperature was going fast from hot to increasingly cold.
"She’s freezing," Ru Yi told Lieyin who was putting away the towel and bowl. "We should take her to the bed and cover her up."
Lieyin nodded. "She must be trying to replenish her energy from the inside. Usually we help each other renew our energy, but..." It seemed like even while unconscious, Qingyue didn’t want to bother her sisters.
Ru Yi caught on. Even with the people closest to her, Qingyue maintained a cold distance, a line everyone was afraid to cross.
Lieyin fell back into her thoughts as she helped carry Qingyue to the bed. The thin mattress dipped under their weight but remained.
"I’ll ask Madam Xiao if she has any blankets we can use," Ru Yi was saying as she laid Qingyue’s head in a very careful manner. "There should be a spare candle in the kitchen, if we keep the room warm enough—"
Qingyue’s hand shot out and held Ru Yi’s arm in a death grip, just as she was about to get off the bed.
Ru Yi looked at Lieyin with a panicked expression.
Lieyin tilted her head to the side so she could take a proper look at Qingyue whose eyes remained close. She couldn’t wrap her head around as to why she was clinging onto Ru Yi.
"Don’t worry about it. Stay with her, while I get the blankets." Lieyin paused briefly at the doorway, unceremoniously catching the way Qingyue buried her face into the crevice of Ru Yi’s neck.
If she didn’t know any better, she’d think Qingyue harboured some secret feelings for the maid. But that would be the most absurd conclusion she had ever come to in all her years of living.
Meanwhile Ru Yi was trying not to breathe too loud, or let her heart race faster than it was already doing.
On instinct Ru Yi’s gaze had fallen to the sides of Qingyue’s neck where the moles were after she leaned into her. Then she shook her head and pulled Qingyue’s hair down until they covered her neck completely.
Cold breath brushed against her neck with each rise and fall of Qingyue’s chest. She wanted to think that Qingyue was only clinging to the person closest to her, and it was nothing personal.
Only for her brain to short circuit when Qingyue fisted her robe. "Don’t leave me," she mumbled, half awake. "Please...don’t leave me."
Ru Yi was certain now that Qingyue was imagining someone else in her place. The state of vulnerability she’d been left in made reality blur at the edges for her.
She swallowed hard, wondering who had been fortunate enough to make Qingyue’s high walls crumble. Was it a lover?
Ru Yi shook her head. She couldn’t imagine the cold disaster she had come to know harboring feelings that were not indifference towards anyone.
Ru Yi became even more stunned when tears rolled down the corner of Qingyue’s eyes. She immediately caught the little droplets with the pad of her thumb.
"Is she still cold?"
Lieyin’s voice from the doorway had Ru Yi pulling her hand back like she’d been burned.
"Yes," she answered.
Lieyin draped the thick blanket she’d gotten over Qingyue. The material smelled of dark cupboards, making Ru Yi sneeze. But it was better than nothing.
"You should stay with her for the night." Lieyin gestured to the length of her. "There’s no candle left, and your body heat will warm her up faster."
Ru Yi gulped but nodded.
"Call me if you need anything," Lieyin said, eyes on Qingyue before she left the room.
The candle in the corner of the room was beginning to go dim, almost at its wits end. It cast a soft shadow across the room, making the atmosphere feel even softer.
Ru Yi shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable. But it only results in Qingyue moving closer and extinguishing any remaining space between them.
She went still, trying to notice how Qingyue’s body was completely melted against hers. Or how their chests were pressed against each other.
Instead, Ru Yi forced herself to think back to the moments in the cave. That pit-pat of dripping water that had been their savior, and imagined how she would’ve managed if Yexue hadn’t insisted on tagging along.
She’d noticed other tunnels in the cave in passing. Was it what they used to transport the kidnapped children?
There were too many questions that she couldn’t start to answer. If Lin Guowei was capable of imprisoning his own family, then there was little faith that he wasn’t doing the same to other children.
They had to move fast before he could strike first.
Ru Yi wondered if he knew they’d already escaped. She should’ve pressed for more answers after she saw the bruise on Madam Lin’s wrist.
She huffed. "Why is there always trouble in every corner?"
"Because you always find a way to put yourself in danger," a hoarse voice replied.
"Qingyue!"
"Keep it down, my head already feels like it’s about to explode," Qingyue mumbled against Ru Yi’s neck.
Ru Yi stilled, suddenly feeling hot all over. Why wasn’t Qingyue moving away now that she was fully awake.
"How do you feel?" she asked instead. "Everyone is worried."
"They always make a fuss out of nothing." Qingyue inhaled deeply. "Why do you smell like...water?"
Ru Yi’s cheeks heated up. "I was imprisoned in a cave. There wasn’t a chance to go over what happened to you before you passed."
"Only you would get herself imprisoned in a cave," Qingyue replied. "You really don’t value yourself much, do you?"
There was no answer for that so Ru Yi remained quiet.
"How’s the little girl doing?"
"She’s not yet awake, but she regained some of her color. She’ll live."
Qingyue nodded once.
"You don’t value yourself either," Ru Yi mumbled. "It was risky using that much energy to heal her all at once. What if you died?"
Qingyue scoffed, but the sound only sent shivers down Ru Yi’s body. "You’re stupid if you think something that small can kill me."
"Looks like you’re back to yourself," Ru Yi said, pulling away. "I’ll let the others know you’re awake."
Qingyue immediately threw an arm over Ru Yi’s waist. "Stay a little longer." She closed her eyes. Please...stay.
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