Chapter 5 First Night Together

Now that I was out of the bedroom, I headed for the bathroom to wash my face. My reflection in the mirror told me that I was quite dirty, and my face was a mess from the rough travelling. I must have looked quite unladylike in Ren’s eyes. Oh well, it’s not like we’ll ever meet again after he recovers and leaves this place. Then my life will return to how it was before. Since Ren was sleeping in my bed, I had to find someplace to sleep in the living room. My house was small so there was only one bedroom, a living room, a small kitchen, and a tiny bathroom. It was comfortably enough considering that I was living all alone. I wrapped a blanket around my body as I sat down on the chair. I’ll just sleep with my head resting on the dining table. I feel so exhausted from travelling to the village and from helping Ren on my way back. I hope Ren gets better soon… … A while after Lin had fallen asleep, the door to the bedroom slowly opened. Ren carefully opened the door as silently as he could so that he wouldn’t wake Lin up. Carefully, Ren slipped out from the bedroom and into the living room. He was holding a candle to provide enough light for him to see and navigate his way around the house. Is this girl crazy or what? Why is she sleeping out here in a sitting position? It’s so cold in this room, she’s going to catch a cold and get sick at this rate. I’m no fool, judging from the size of this cottage it was plain obvious that there was only one bedroom and only one bed. If I slept in her bed, where was she supposed to spend the night? My dear girl, you are honestly too good-hearted for your own good. Look at her just sleeping there completely defenseless with a man that she had just met today in the house. I looked down at her sleeping face in the dim candlelight as I observed her sleeping face. Now that I have time to observe her, I just noticed that surprisingly she has a very attractive face. Her skin was fine and white like the snow and her lips are small and pink. Her eyes were round and her eyelashes long. Her brows are shapely and her nose a perfect shape. Her hair was a dark brown color, straight and very long… Without realizing what I was doing, I had already reached out a hand to lightly stroke her soft and fine hair. I froze in shock when I felt the softness of her hair against my fingertips, realizing that I had just started touching her. I sighed silently to myself as I slowly pulled my wandering hand way from her. I can’t leave her to sleep out here, I need to fulfill my original mission of taking her back to her bed. Slowly and with care, Ren lifted Lin’s small body easily into his arms before taking her into the bedroom. When at the side of her bed, Ren gently placed Lin on the bed and wrapped the warm blanket around her body. After tucking her in, Ren sat down on the floor next to the bed as he continued to watch her sleeping. Now…how should I go about with my scouting mission? I need to find the most optimal routes for my army to launch a surprise attack on the village. I only have a few days left before I need to head back and discuss the plan of attack with my head general. I pray this trip will be fruitful regardless of the slight and unexpected trouble. Is it morning already? The light shining in through the window onto my face tells me that morning has arrived. I stretched lazily and I breathed in deeply. I felt like I had a good night of sleep and was quite well rested. I rolled around a little as I continued to stretch on my bed… Wait! I’m on the bed?! But last night…I brought a man home…and I took care of his wound and then I let him sleep in my bed. So why am I on the bed right now? I looked around and was immediately greeted with the sight of Ren sleeping on the floor next to the bed. Did he carry me to the bed last night after I fell asleep in the living room? But his arm is hurt and what is he thinking just sleeping on the floor like that. The floor must be freezing cold. Never mind his injured arm for a second, he’s going to catch a cold at this rate. “Ren…Ren…” I called out his name softly as I shook his body a slightly. He stirred a little but didn’t wake up. I crouched down next to him as I leaned down to inspect his face. His face was slightly flushed, and he was sweating quite a lot. Oh no... I quickly touched his forehead with the palm of my hand. I knew it…Ren is burning up with fever. “Ren…wake up please. I need to get you into bed…Ren!” I called out a little louder to him and he slowly opened his eyes in response. At least he’s still conscious. His eyes were in a daze and his movements were clearly sluggish. His body must be aching all over from the fever, I need to get him into bed as soon as possible and give him some medicine. “Lin…” Ren called out my name in a low voice that was barely audible. He seemed confused. “Ren…please try your best to get up. I’ll support you,” I instructed him patiently as I wrapped his arm around my shoulder to support him up. With a lot of struggling, we somehow managed to get Ren into the bed. His body was hot, and he was sweating more now. His breaths were labored, this doesn’t look good at all. I need to give him some medicine and wipe his body down with cool water as soon as possible. I ran off to boil some water and prepare the medicine before heading back with a bucket of cool water and a small towel. --To be continued...