Chapter One Hundred Forty-Four: An Ill-Fated Bond

Song Wanning did not know when she had fallen asleep. Her mind had been preoccupied with the earlier events, and as she kept thinking, her consciousness gradually dimmed until she truly drifted off. Perhaps she was simply exhausted from the day.

Not long after she fell into a deep sleep, the lack of air under the covers caused her head to slowly emerge. Even so, it was only her head; the rest of her body remained curled up like a little shrimp beneath the blankets.

Wen Jingxing turned his head and looked at her exposed face with a smile. So, she finally deigned to come out? Listening to her steady breathing, he knew without looking that she was fast asleep.

"You little heartless thing," he murmured. Feeling that one remark wasn't enough to vent his frustration, he added a few more. "When you were little, you left without a word. When you grew up, you appeared out of nowhere, and you've even forgotten everything from our childhood. And yet, here you are, sleeping so soundly."

He then let slip a thoughtless comment: "Actually, you must have been very unwilling to be engaged to me, right? After all, the arranged marriage was supposed to be with my eldest brother... But he had someone he liked. Was that why you never gave me a pleasant look back then?"

The person originally intended for the engagement had indeed been the eldest son of the Wen family, Wen Jingshen. The older generation had hoped for a union between the Wen and Xu families, but unfortunately, Xu Xiangling had been whisked away by Song Zijiang. Later, after Xu Xiangling had a daughter and returned to the capital for a period, they happened to live in the same area as the Wens. Old Master Wen had been so fond of little Song Wanning that he proposed the marriage to strengthen the ties between the two families. As for the Song family, they were merely an afterthought.

Only Xu Xiangling and Song Wanning were clear about the fact that the engagement was with Wen Jingshen. The Song family, however, was unaware of exactly whom she was betrothed to. They had been secretly smug, thinking that since the Wen family hadn't specified a groom, Song Wanning could pick whichever of the three Wen brothers she pleased when she reached the age of marriage.

Later, when the Old Master fell gravely ill, he brought up the old engagement again. Before Wen Jingxing had re-encountered the original Song Wanning, she had already met Wen Jingshen. Wen Jingshen had not treated her poorly; since it was merely a family arrangement, he didn't harbor any resentment toward her, though he did have some friction with his family. At the time, Wen Jingshen had already met the person he loved: Li Weiwei. When he insisted on being with her despite his family's opposition, Wen Jingxing stepped forward and offered to marry Song Wanning instead. Although the Old Master was furious, he agreed, realizing he could settle both matters at once.

That was how Wen Jingxing came to be the one engaged to her. However, even Song Wanning herself was unaware of these details. Because the original character was such a minor, tragic figure—and because the story began only when the variety show started, by which point she and Wen Jingxing had already become estranged—Song Wanning had no idea of the complicated history behind her engagement. This was also why Li Weiwei had disliked her from the start; after all, who likes having their husband constantly on someone else's mind?

There was indeed a lack of integrity in how Wen Jingshen had handled the situation, but he had always looked at the original Song Wanning as nothing more than a younger sister, both in childhood and in the present.

Regardless of what Wen Jingxing said now, the sleeping Song Wanning certainly could not hear him. As the night deepened, she felt her hands and feet growing cold and, in her sleep, she instinctively moved toward the source of warmth. The space between them, originally wide enough for another person, vanished completely.

As for Wen Jingxing, the slight drowsiness he had finally managed to summon was instantly banished by her movements. She was comfortable now, her back pressed firmly against his warm chest, but he was wide awake. Still, he subconsciously reached out to touch her hands. He remembered how delicate she was, and how her extremities would turn icy the moment the weather cooled. And with her currently on her period, he knew it could be even worse.

Sure enough, her skin was freezing. Wen Jingxing sighed silently. He hadn't been careful enough, and she had caught a chill again. But in this sanitarium, where was he supposed to find a hot water bottle for her? He had no choice but to grab her shoulders and turn her to face him. He then tucked her cold hands inside his shirt, pressing them against his abdomen, and wrapped his long legs around her delicate feet to warm them with his own body heat.

As her hands and feet began to warm up, her body followed suit, and the pain in her abdomen eased. Her furrowed brows relaxed, and she let out a soft, satisfied murmur, rubbing her fuzzy head against the hollow of his shoulder.

"Sigh." The previous sigh had been casual, but this one was truly from the bottom of his heart. With a beauty like jade lying in his arms, constantly snuggling closer, how was he supposed to sleep? But he couldn't bear to let her freeze, so he simply had to endure the discomfort himself. Song Wanning, meanwhile, was so comfortable that her dreams shifted from frozen, snowy wastes to a lush, vibrant spring.

On the morning of the eighteenth, Song Wanning woke up early. As she drifted in a daze, marveling at how different the sanitarium's bed was—so comfortable that she felt refreshed after just one sleep—she felt something strange in her hand. She squeezed slightly and sensed something wrong. Under her palm was a searing heat, firm to the touch yet supple; the more she felt, the more it seemed like... muscle!?

How... how had she reached her hand inside Wen Jingxing’s shirt!?

She opened her eyes wide to find herself curled up in his arms, with one of her legs draped over his thigh! Looking at Wen Jingxing’s face, she saw dark circles under his eyes; it was obvious he hadn't slept well at all.

Her slight movement woke him. He opened his eyes just a crack and looked at her. "Awake so early?" His tone was lazy, his voice laced with a raspy edge.

"Yeah... did you sleep well last night?" Song Wanning asked, even though she already knew the answer, just to set her own mind at ease.

"It was fine," Wen Jingxing replied. In reality, he hadn't slept all night, only drifting off when dawn was nearly breaking.

"Why don't you sleep a bit more? It's still early. I'll come wake you later."

"Alright." He agreed, and for once, he ended up waking later than she did.

Song Wanning got out of bed, threw on a coat, and stepped out of the room. As soon as she exited, she saw the Old Master in the courtyard... pulling weeds!?