Chapter 16 – Trust

After living together for ten days, Zhao Xi observed a change – Shen Fei, who used to occupy the whole bed, had started to sleep at the inner half of the bed, leaning against the wall.

The size of the bed was not exactly small, but it was not big either. If he had slept in the middle, there was ample space for him to lie down, yet now that he had shifted to the side, there was suddenly a space left for Zhao Xi to lay down too.

This change caused Zhao Xi to be confused – why did he suddenly shifted from his usual sleeping position?

Was it because it was uncomfortable to keep sleeping in the same position? Or was it because he used to be cautious towards her and didn’t dare sleep, but now that he felt more comfortable and slept soundly at night? He would turn during his sleep such that whenever Zhao Xi used the washroom at night and looked over at him, he would be sleeping at the corner of the bed.

Of course there was another reason – Shen Fei was finally touched by her sincerity and was willing to accept her, and decided to give half the bed to her.

It was not convenient for him to move his legs, so unless he shifted on purpose, the reason of this change in sleeping position was technically impossible.

But… she couldn’t remember having done anything special; why would he suddenly accept her?

Zhao Xi was afraid that she was overthinking things and didn’t try to take her relationship with Shen Fei to the next level. Instead, their relationship took a turn for the worse; she continued sleeping on the bench, and when the weather was good in the morning, she would carry him out to the courtyard to bask in the sun.

Shen Fei absolutely disliked being out in the sun, and tried to find excuses to not be out. One day, Zhao Xi realised that Shen Fei had woke up before her, and was reading on the bed, his back slightly propped on the frame.

As reading under strong sunlight isn’t good for the eyes, taking him outside was not an option. Zhao Xi was unwilling to disrupt his reading mood; she decided to wait for him to finish reading before carrying him out.

That day, Shen Fei ended up reading the whole morning, and missed out on the morning sun. As the sun in the afternoon was too hot, and basking in it may cause sunburn, Zhao Xi was unwilling to carry him out—even if Shen Fei was finally willing to be out in the courtyard…

At first, she thought that Shen Fei’s new reading schedule in the morning was a pure coincidence. However, she realised over the next few days that it was reoccurring. Zhao Xi finally understood – this was Shen Fei’s ploy to avoid being carried out in the sun.

Basking in the sun had some health benefits, thus, even if he tried refusing again, or struggled against her, Zhao Xi would still carry him with his blanket to the courtyard.

She would make up for him cleaning his hands and face in the courtyard. Occasionally when she was bored, she would also help him wash his hair and change his clothes. He was like a life-size doll; from head to toe, she could play with him as she wanted. As he always kept silent, Zhao Xi was tempted to force herself on him so that she can pry the truth from him.

As she thought deeper about why Shen Fei would leave a space in bed for her, she realised that it could be because she hadn’t done immoral towards him for the ten days, and he had finally lowered his guard against her and was preparing to slowly accept her.

It was definitely a good sign, although it could also be a test for her – if Zhao Xi made a move on him, Shen Fei might end up being more guarded against her. Worried about that, Zhao Xi controlled herself and never made a move.

As she fed him, cleaned his body, carried him out to bask in the sun, she had pretty much seen everything there was to see. She had no regrets even if she did not get to “have” him in the end.

As a physician, Zhao Xi lived her life orderly to be a role model; she wakes at early dawn preparing breakfast, brewing medicine, playing with Ping An and bringing it out for a stroll in the forest while searching for food for the three of them.

Ping An likes eating fish and meat; the more flesh it has, the more it enjoys the food. Meanwhile, Shen Fei preferred eating food that are more bland, especially those that were boiled or steamed; Zhao Xi wasn’t picky about food, and was fine eating the same as Ping An or Zhao Xi.

One early morning, Ping An was insistent on having deer meat and caught one at night. Bears are nocturnal animals, but ever since following Zhao Xi, Ping An’s sleeping behaviour changed. Despite that, once in a while, Ping An would still hunt at night, catching a deer, rabbit or other small animal prey.

Despite seeing the deer meat, as handling meat would require much effort, Zhao Xi decided to cook prawns and crabs as usual instead. The moment Ping An realised Zhao Xi’s intention, it started rolling around on the ground like a petulant child, disrupting Zhao Xi’s cooking.

Zhao Xi ignored Ping An, so Ping An went to find Shen Fei.