CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: WHY IS IT SO SOFT

Outside, the thunder roared as rain was about to pour down in torrents. Inside the room, there was only a little light coming in through the window, except for the occasional flash of lightning that suddenly lit up the room.

He Chen scrambled to get up, just as a flash of lightning struck and illuminated the room.

In that instant.

He clearly saw her clutching a pillow, her pale face filled with fear, her eyes wide, her small white legs trembling slightly under her nightgown, even her little toes curled up in tension.

This nightgown was something Ye Manman had asked him to buy long ago. Usually, he didn’t dare to sneak a peek at her while she was sleeping and would hurry off after leaving money.

Seeing her suddenly appear before him in this pink silk nightgown today left He Chen completely dumbfounded.

"Ah?"

"T-together?"

He felt as if his brain had suddenly jammed, gotten rusty.

It took him a while to process.

However, Ye Manman simply informed him without any intention of asking his opinion.

She went straight to the bed, placed her pillow next to his, climbed up, and then crawled over him to lie down on the side closer to the wall.

She even tugged at the quilt.

He Chen felt his whole body go rigid, unable to move.

Especially as he gradually felt the warmth coming from his right side and the fragrance gradually filling the air at his nose, his left hand clenched tightly, and even his left toes tingled slightly.

He couldn’t even think about the right side of his body; it felt as if that half was about to ignite.

A blazing fire burned within He Chen’s chest, and he felt his breath inexplicably grow hot again.

To confirm if he had a nosebleed, he awkwardly and cautiously lifted his left hand to touch his nose.

Thankfully, there was no nosebleed.

Then he felt nervous again.

The drowsiness he initially felt had now turned into an unprecedented level of alertness.

"He Chen, are you really afraid of me?"

Ye Manman suddenly asked him in a muffled voice, as if she had caught a cold, or perhaps because her mouth was hidden under the covers.

Hearing her voice, He Chen’s heart began to thump uncontrollably.

In the dark night, her voice seemed even more lethal.

"N-no... not afraid."

He stuttered once more.

His voice was a bit hoarse.

Ye Manman suddenly laughed. In the inky dark night, her voice was like an enchanting siren’s, captivating He Chen, causing him to tense his nerves.

"Then why are you stuttering? You say you’re not afraid of me."

He Chen had no explanation, he could only clamp his mouth shut, trying to conceal his wild thoughts.

At this moment, the rumbling thunder outside reached a critical point, and a sudden thunderclap boomed, even scaring He Chen, who usually wasn’t afraid of thunder.

Ye Manman, even more frightened, directly huddled into his arms, her slender and soft limbs tightly wrapping around him like an octopus, the suckers clinging to him tightly.

Soft, warm, with slightly chilly feet.

After the booming thunder, the torrential rain finally began to fall.

Outside, the sound was like water being poured from the skies.

He Chen’s mood at this moment was as chaotic as the sound of the rain outside, with raindrops everywhere, causing his heart to pound.

Ye Manman also knew that after the thunderstorm passed, the thunder wouldn’t be as loud, yet she still didn’t let go.

She suddenly felt the weather becoming a bit cold, and cuddling with He Chen, a human-shaped warmly comforter, seemed perfect for sleep.

Her feet were really cold.

He Chen neither spoke nor moved, acting just like a superb hot water bottle.

Ye Manman initially intended to chat with him, but within a few minutes of feeling warm, she fell asleep.

Now He Chen really had to tough it out.

He stared at the ceiling, listening to the rain outside, not daring to move, his body as stiff as a statue, fearing that any movement might wake Ye Manman.

Yet he really wanted to move.

Not only was the fire roaring inside him, but his body was also experiencing significant changes.

Fortunately, Ye Manman’s legs hadn’t touched that area, so He Chen could just barely hold on, thinking he might be able to calm himself by fantasizing about something else.

However, Ye Manman suddenly let out a soft murmur, as if subconsciously uttered in her sleep due to comfort, light and fleeting, yet enough to break his composure.

He Chen felt he couldn’t stay calm anymore.

He decided he needed a cold shower, otherwise, it would be impossible to manage.

He began to move gently, trying to remove Ye Manman’s limbs from his arm, waist, and legs, but she held on tightly. As he moved an arm, she clung even closer to his upper arm, snuggling it.

With a rush, He Chen felt the heat surge to his head, about to explode.

How... how is she so soft...

He didn’t dare to turn his head to look at Ye Manman’s face, the mere thought of the current situation made his forehead hot.

Their bodies were closer than ever before, sharing warmth, and he could sensitively feel how perfect her figure was.

Was it the nutritious meals he made that refined her figure so well recently?

He Chen desperately tried to divert his attention, yet his sensory nerves wouldn’t follow his brain’s orders, pressing aggressively toward that tempting spot...

"Manman..."

"Are you asleep?"

He felt he couldn’t let this continue; otherwise, something beyond his control might happen.

He Chen softly called her twice, yet before she could be awoken, he startled himself with his voice.

He then stopped making any sounds and carefully extricated himself, determined that even if he accidentally woke her, he would get out of there.

Finally, He Chen managed to slip from the bed, while Ye Manman, frowning slightly, turned and faced the wall to continue sleeping.

Seeing she wasn’t awake, He Chen let out a sigh of relief, gingerly stepping out of the room with a peculiar gait, and once in the kitchen, he scooped nearly all the water from the water tank.

"Boom~"

Another booming thunderclap echoed, followed by a flash of lightning like a sharp dagger cruelly slicing through the darkness, lighting up a large portion of the sky.

He Chen sat in the courtyard, slightly tilting his head, letting the rain wash over him, his eyes barely able to stay open due to the icy rain, yet the fire in his heart burned hotter than ever.

Water flowed down his hair into his eyes, nose, and slightly open mouth, then over his chest with each movement of his Adam’s apple...

The torrential rain fell upon the tiles of the house, the water tanks on the ground, the mud in the courtyard, clanging like an unperformed midnight symphony.

Amid this intense symphony, He Chen ultimately couldn’t suppress his wild desire.

He let out a satisfied sigh, his gaze upon the sky unfocused as if in reverie.

At that moment, the pitch-black sky became a mirror, reflecting the face he spent day and night with, yet constantly longed for.

After a short pause, He Chen glanced at his guilty right hand, suddenly snapping back to reality.

He quickly returned to the main house, taking a brisk cold shower in a storage room, meticulously cleaning himself until there was no trace of any scent, before quietly returning to the room.

Ye Manman hadn’t awoken, still in the same posture.

He Chen didn’t notice how tender his expression had become at that moment.

He carefully climbed back into bed, perhaps still chilled from the cold shower, his body radiated a coolness that caused Ye Manman to unconsciously shift a bit away in her sleep.

"..."

He Chen glanced at the space between them and the quilt almost completely wrapped around Ye Manman, resignedly lying flat with only a small corner of the quilt covering his abdomen.

Even like this, he still couldn’t sleep.

Not to mention replaying the recent rash act in his mind, his body also began to heat up quickly.

Perhaps the unoccupied side of the bed felt a bit chilly, and his body was too noticeably warm, Ye Manman turned over once again, placing a slender arm across him.