I'll sing you a song; please lend me your ear.

Tang Qi and Cheng Junshi weren't in a hurry to go in. To be precise, the atmosphere between them was so awkward that neither of them moved. After all, no one expected that two people who disliked each other just a few months ago would now be sharing a room. In the end, Tang Qi couldn't help but chuckle and step inside, only to be even more astonished by what he saw.

There was only one bed in the whole room. It could barely fit two minors like Hu Xingche, but if he and Cheng Junshi lay on it, it wouldn't be enough to sleep them unless they stayed completely still.

"I'll go find him and get another room." Tang Qi cursed the unscrupulous businessman under his breath before angrily turning to leave. Cheng Junshi, however, pulled his hand back, his tone still calm: "It's just for one night."

"But—" Tang Qi was about to say something when Cheng Junshi walked to the bedside and made the bed himself. After he had arranged the bedding and everything, Cheng Junshi turned to Tang Qi and said, "You rest first, I'm going out for a bit."

"Where are you going?" Tang Qi asked, not caring at all, as he plopped down on the bed that Cheng Junshi had just made.

Cheng Junshi didn't hear him and walked straight out. Tang Qi didn't dwell on it and went to the table to pour two cups of tea and wait for Cheng Junshi. Actually, he originally wanted to take off his shoes and go to bed, but he felt guilty for messing up Cheng Junshi's clean and tidy bed. So he simply moved to the table, drank tea and waited for him.

After waiting for a while, Cheng Junshi finally pushed the door open and came in. As soon as he appeared, Tang Qi's eyes lit up: "Cheng Wang! How did you know I was hungry!"

He suddenly laughed and took a few steps to Cheng Junshi, taking his bowl of piping hot noodles from his hands. He brought it close, took a sip, and exclaimed with delight, "Delicious!"

He and Cheng Junshi each took a chair, picked up their chopsticks, and started eating. After slurping a few mouthfuls, Tang Qi asked, "What about the other two? Are they eating?"

Cheng Junshi slowly picked at the noodles in his bowl and said, "They're asleep. They were tired from traveling today, and being so young, they were already fast asleep."

Tang Qi devoured the noodles in his bowl in a flash, then downed the hot tea in his cup before saying to Cheng Junshi with satisfaction, "Comfortable~ Hey Cheng Wang, don't you think this noodle tastes familiar?"

Cheng Junshi looked up at Tang Qi before continuing, "You know Haozi, right? The noodle shop where his sister's noodle shop was targeted several years ago, and we happened to run into it. The noodles here taste almost the same as the ones I had there. How come their skills have spread so far?"

Cheng Junshi chuckled softly at his words and continued eating his noodles leisurely. A couple of seconds later, Tang Qi said, "I heard from Haozi that you often go to patronize the business?"

Seeing Cheng Junshi nod, Tang Qi continued, "Are you afraid they'll be targeted again?"

"Their noodles are good, I like them."

Seeing Cheng Junshi calmly eating his noodles, Tang Qi couldn't help but laugh and raised an eyebrow at him, deliberately saying, "You're just saying one thing and meaning another, Shaoqing."

"I asked the boss to prepare hot water. You can take a shower first." Cheng Junshi continued eating his noodles. Unlike Tang Qi, who wolfed down his food, he ate slowly and steadily, without being impatient or agitated.

"Alright, our Young Master Cheng is the most considerate." He chuckled and continued to Cheng Junshi, "With Young Master Cheng around, I really don't have to worry about food or clothing. You know, I'm so dependent on you now, but what will I do when I go to the Northern Frontier and Young Master Cheng isn't here? How am I supposed to go on all alone?"

He spoke deliberately in a cheeky tone, but beneath his nonchalant expression lay a hint of sincerity.

"Then kidnap me." Cheng Junshi continued twirling the noodles in his bowl, his words sounding like a joke, but his tone was so serious that Tang Qi couldn't tell if he was serious or not.

He was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "If I really kidnapped you and took you to the northern frontier, would you come with me?"

Cheng Junshi paused for a long time without saying a word, but Tang Qi laughed and said, "I was just joking. The most important task now is to find out about your aunt's matter."

They don't yet have the right to do whatever they want.

When Tang Qi finished showering and went upstairs, he opened the door and found that Cheng Junshi was not there. He called out twice in confusion before hearing Cheng Junshi's muffled voice behind him: "What's wrong?"

Tang Qi was startled and stumbled forward a few steps before turning around to look at him: "What are you doing with these?"

Amid his questioning voice, Cheng Junshi shook the straw mat in his hand and spread it on the ground, then hastily spread out the bedding and said, "You sleep on the bed tonight, I'll sleep here."

"How can that be?" Tang Qi immediately said in surprise, "Although the bed is a bit small, the two of us can squeeze in and it should be about the same."

Cheng Junshi didn't look up at him, but simply said, "No, you can't, your back is bad."

Tang Qi choked up. Although the words were meant to be caring, the more she listened, the more they sounded like an insult.

"Actually, my injury is almost healed," Tang Qi said softly.

Cheng Junshi put down what he was holding and spoke softly, "Almost healed means not completely healed." He didn't give Tang Qi a chance to refuse again, and smiled at him, saying, "I'm going to take a shower, you should go to bed early."

Even after Cheng Junshi left, Tang Qi remained motionless, sitting alone on the bed, staring sullenly at the straw mat beneath him. "If I sleep here tonight, my back will hurt tomorrow," Tang Qi thought, frowning. Suddenly, he had the urge to rip off the straw mat and force Cheng Junshi to get into bed.

But he didn't do that, because he could guess what Cheng Junshi would do—continue to sleep on the straw mat on the ground, no matter how many times he overturned it.

When Cheng Junshi pushed the door open, Tang Qi was already lying on the bed. He tiptoed over and blew out the candles, plunging the room into darkness instantly.

Tang Qi, though facing away from him, wasn't actually asleep; his eyes were open in the darkness. He could hear Cheng Junshi breathing, and even the sounds of him undressing, loosening his shoes, and stepping onto the straw mat.

Cheng Junshi was already being very careful, keeping his voice very low. But in the pitch-black darkness, hearing is amplified countless times, and these tiny sounds were like stones thrown into water, creating ripples in Tang Qi's heart. He became inexplicably anxious.

After what seemed like an eternity, Tang Qi suddenly realized that he probably wouldn't be able to sleep that night.

He couldn't understand his inexplicable emotions; he only felt tense, as if every part of his body was acutely aware. This made him uncomfortable. He should relax, he should sleep peacefully, he should...

But Cheng Junshi's breathing was right next to his ear.

Tang Qi swallowed, suddenly feeling a dryness in his mouth. Would Cheng Wang be cold sleeping? Was the floor too hard? Would he be uncomfortable?

Of course, what he wanted to know most was—was Cheng Wang asleep? Tang Qi was stunned by his own sudden question.

Strangely, he was concerned about whether Cheng Junshi was asleep or what he was doing.

He was so caught up in this internal struggle that he actually got angry with himself. Why was he lying here in the middle of the night, not sleeping and overthinking things?

Tang Qi frowned, let out a long sigh, and awkwardly turned over to go back to sleep.

But as soon as he turned over, he was caught off guard and met a pair of eyes in the darkness.

Clear and clean.

He stared at Tang Qi so blatantly. His heart tightened, and his breathing suddenly became erratic.

"What's wrong? Can't sleep?" Cheng Junshi asked first.

Tang Qi suppressed her frustration and absentmindedly replied, "A little."

Cheng Junshi suddenly laughed: "Then what should we do? You can't expect someone to sing to you to sleep, can you?"

Tang Qi chuckled, rolled over and lay flat on the bed again, looking at the ceiling and said in a muffled voice, "When I was little and couldn't sleep, my mother would hum songs to me. Later, there was a time when I had a fight with my father. He wanted to make up with me but couldn't bring himself to do it, so he discussed it with my mother and asked her to come and coax me to sleep at night."

At this point, Tang Qi burst into laughter again: "You know my dad, getting him to put me to sleep is like torture. For the first few days, he would sit on the edge of my bed with a stern face, and we would just stare at each other without saying a word. But as soon as I lay down, he would start humming a song with a fierce look on his face."

Cheng Junshi, suppressing a laugh, asked him, "How is it? Is it working?"

Tang Qi raised an eyebrow and said cheerfully, "Of course, it's especially refreshing."

Cheng Junshi finally couldn't help but tilt his head and chuckle softly. Then Tang Qi slowly said, "Later, he often went to my mother to boast, saying that the songs he hummed could make me fall asleep faster than the songs my mother hummed."

Tang Qi couldn't help but shake her head and continue, "Actually, it's not that he hums songs to help me fall asleep quickly, it's that I pretend to be asleep so I won't hear him sing too many songs."

"And then?" Cheng Junshi asked with a smile.

"Later, I don't know if he secretly learned from my mother or what, but his singing became barely listenable. After my sister was born, when he sat by the bed humming songs, it was already considered a proper 'soothing' to sleep. Anyway, I never heard my sister complain that she was tormented and couldn't sleep at night."

When talking about the past, Tang Qi's voice is always gentle; the beauty of the past can gradually warm a broken heart. Even his smile exudes happiness.

"What song are you humming?" Cheng Junshi suddenly asked.

Tang Qi paused, his eyes flashing a few times, before falling silent again. He didn't answer Cheng Junshi's question directly, but instead slowly hummed a tune:

The little fish swims slowly~

The little bird flies gently~

Don't move, little star~

The little one here is going to sleep~

......

"It's just a very ordinary folk song. After all, even if it were a little more difficult, my dad wouldn't be able to learn it." Tang Qi chuckled to himself after singing.

He hadn't heard this very simple piece of music for a very, very long time.

Now, when he sang, his voice was not only hoarse but also a little choked up, and his singing was extremely dull. It didn't sound like he was lulling someone to sleep; it sounded more like he was saying goodbye.

"Close your eyes," Cheng Junshi suddenly said softly.

"Hmm?" Tang Qi turned his head to look down and saw that Cheng Junshi had somehow gotten up from the straw mat.

Cheng Junshi chuckled softly, looked at him slowly and earnestly, and repeated, "Close your eyes."

Knock knock.

Tang Qi's heart skipped a beat, and he stared blankly at Cheng Junshi. Only after Cheng Junshi called him several more times did Tang Qi finally look away, his mind wandering, and obediently close his eyes.

"The little fish swims slowly~"

Cheng Junshi's voice is clear and bright, and he sings this kind of song with exceptional gentleness. He is skilled at playing the zither and has excellent music theory. Not only is his zither playing first-rate, but his singing is also captivating.

Tang Qi suddenly felt a lump in her throat, and just as she frowned, she heard Cheng Junshi say, "Don't open your eyes."

He had no choice but to turn his head away so that Cheng Junshi wouldn't see him in such a disheveled state.

"The little bird flies gently,"

One sentence after another.

"Little star, don't move,"

He sang slowly and earnestly.

"The little ones here are going to sleep."

......

"The little ones here are going to sleep."

Cheng Junshi's voice was soft and pleasant. Tang Qi closed her eyes and turned her back to him, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart, and suddenly had an inexplicable urge to cry.

He was too used to being a reliable adult. But sometimes, Tang Qi also wanted to go back to the age more than ten years ago when he still needed his parents to lull him to sleep.

Tears shed at that age don't need to be judged. Back then, you could be unrestrained.

Cheng Junshi continued singing slowly.

Tang Qi hunched over, curled up, and cried silently on the bed, biting his lip. He didn't want Cheng Junshi to see him like this. Coincidentally, Cheng Junshi didn't deliberately expose him; he just sang slowly and let Tang Qi cry slowly.

Since I can't be a child forever, I'll be a child for one night.

Tonight's tears are not for anyone to judge.

Finally, whether it was from crying herself to exhaustion or from Cheng Junshi's singing being truly effective, Tang Qi surprisingly felt sleepy, and it was a strong, overwhelming drowsiness.

Cheng Junshi's voice gradually faded, and the surroundings became quiet, almost inaudible. Then, he stretched out as if lying in the clouds.

Tang Qi felt her eyelids were heavy and her mind was foggy, as if she was about to faint from sleep at any moment.

"Cheng Wang, your singing is really hypnotic." He squeezed out the words through clenched teeth in a daze.

After waiting a few seconds without a response from Cheng Junshi, he tried to look up, but found it extremely difficult to open his eyes.

It's like, it's like—

Tang Qi suddenly snapped out of her daze, realized what was happening, and slapped herself hard across the face.

Oh no, it's sleeping potion!