The room was spacious, but, as it always was with rooms at inns, there was only one bed. Even though it was wide and could surely fit two people--perhaps even three, or four!--Qiu Yunru immediately went and helped Li Chenyuan onto the bed, then took a blanket and laid it out on the floor.
"...is Qiu-ge really going to sleep on the ground...?" Li Chenyuan muttered. His face was dark with irritation as he watched Qiu Yunru hurry about, adding a pillow and smoothing out the blanket over the hard, wooden floor.
Qiu Yunru looked up and saw his shidi lying down with his eyes closed.
He must be so exhausted.
"It's really not a big deal," He said amicably. "Isn't it good for your back to sleep on a hard surface? Anyways, sometimes there's no bed available when on a serious mission. I'll consider it training, so in fact it's helpful to me."
Li Chenyuan turned over in the bed away from him, rolling his eyes.
Anyone watching this scene would cry out in frustration at this behavior--acting sleepy and helpless when facing his shixiong, and rolling his eyes with a terrifying expression as soon as he turned away! What a two-faced young master this was!
Li Chenyuan considered telling Qiu Yunru to take the bed for a moment, but thought better of it. Knowing him, he would refuse profusely. He was the kind of person to sleep on a bed of nails so that his shidi and shimei could sleep on the grass, always wanting to be a respectable shixiong! Pah!
Having finished his floor preparations, Qiu Yunru hovered over Li Chenyuan worriedly now.
"Does Li-shidi feel hot? Should I go and buy some medicine? The kitchen is still open downstairs, perhaps some food might help?"
Li Chenyuan shook his head grumpily. "I don't need it."
"Should I...?" Qiu Yunru trailed off, suddenly seeming awkward.
Li Chenyuan perked up a bit. This tone--it was one that he knew he should always, always poke and pry about!
"What is it?"
Qiu Yunru shook his head with an apologetic smile.
Li Chenyuan grumbled. So many apologetic smiles on a pretty face--it became frustrating after a while. He should just smile happily if he was happy, and frown if he was unhappy--it wasn't difficult! And if smiling was difficult, it was better to frown all the time than to prostrate yourself so much!
"I shouldn't treat Li-shidi like a child," Qiu Yunru seemed to be chiding himself. "This shixiong was about to ask, 'Should I tuck you in?', but realized it was a silly question. Li-shidi is a grown man, and I wasn't thinking clearly."
Li Chenyuan's face was hot.
Of course he couldn't say, Yes, of course I'd like to be tucked in by you! Go ahead! Come sleep next to me as well, and maybe we can--!
So instead, he muttered, "Right. Though, I'm a little sore from exhaustion. Can Qiu-ge help me under the covers?"
Thinking this made a bit of sense, Qiu Yunru supported Li Chenyuan and helped him slide under the soft, silken bedcovers. He felt a little awkward--wasn't this essentially tucking someone in?--but in the end, he wasn't bothered too much. His shidi was truly so exhausted, he could barely get into bed himself--perhaps it really was a good thing they had stopped to stay at an inn!
Li Chenyuan quickly fell asleep after Qiu Yunru blew out the lanterns. Hovering over his shidi for a while to make sure he didn't experience a fever spike or something similar, Qiu Yunru couldn't help but notice how long his eyelashes were. They were like the legs of butterflies, fanning over his jade cheeks and casting shadows on their own!
After he was satisfied that Li Chenyuan was all right, Qiu Yunru sat down and pulled the floor covers over himself.
His back and neck ached and groaned, but it really wasn't too bad. Cultivation training truly changes a person's body, making what once seemed painful only a small annoyance. It wasn't long before he, too, fell asleep.
_____
Early in the morning, the innkeeper came by to deliver some tea. Qiu Yunru sat up, pouring the tea while waiting for Li Chenyuan to wake up.
What a heavy sleeper! Qiu Yunru marvelled, seeing Li Chenyuan sprawled across the bed and drooling. What admirable sleeping skills!
Though he was able to sleep well enough in this life, he had never been able to get good sleep in his past life. When he did sleep well, it was like a travelling merchant arriving at one's house in a gacha game--so rare that it was legendary! So, seeing this kid sleeping so soundly, his heart felt a little warmed.
Shouldn't everyone be able to sleep this well?
He rolled up his floor-blanket, sighing to himself. He was getting somewhat fond of this kid, wasn't he?
This really might not be a good thing. Just as in the real world where he'd grown attached to all sorts of small and cute things like street cats, abandoned puppies, and sparrows at the park, he was really beginning to feel a little too motherly!
Soon enough, Li Chenyuan got up. He was groggy, but all of the exhaustion he had exhibited the night before seemed to have evaporated.
"Feeling better, Li-shidi?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
"Have some tea."
Li Chenyuan sniffed the tea, then made a face. "I don't like dark tea."
Qiu Yunru had always been a big fan of tea in his past life. When one spends so many hours in bed with aches running throughout the body, tea is a respite that can warm one's mind and heart. Also, it wasn't as daunting to consume as all of the pill bottles he had used to have to keep track of.
Though green tea had been his favorite, he didn't mind dark tea. Thus, he shrugged internally--more for him, then.
However, as he took the first sip, he could tell that something was very, very wrong.