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But this time, before Song Ling could tease him, the person in front of her pulled her into his arms first.
"Putting everything else aside, I just want to hug you right now."
Song Ling pressed her face against his broad chest, the strong thumping of his heart reaching her ears, and heard his slightly weary sigh from above. He said he missed her very much.
Having just finished the battle, he rushed back and immediately went to Shannan Prefecture to inspect the border defenses, only managing to rest for a short while after a whole day.
Are you going back tonight?
Although she asked that question, Song Ling had already stepped out of Yu Baizhou's embrace. While he was still in a daze, she took a soft cloth and approached him. "You just took a bath? Why didn't you wring it out before coming over?"
She only realized it when she touched the dampness on his back. Song Ling smiled and pressed him down into a chair, then casually removed his hair ornament.
His dark hair cascaded over his shoulders, softening his otherwise sharp and intense features, and combined with his momentarily bewildered expression, it made him look rather endearing.
Song Ling recalled the puppy that Uncle Zhong had brought back from the foot of the mountain when she was in Huailai. It was innocent and very well-behaved.
Perhaps due to his constitution, Yu Baizhou's hair dried quickly; at this moment, only the ends were still slightly damp, while the rest was almost completely dry.
Unable to resist, Song Ling quietly reached out and grabbed his hair, ruffled it, and also took care of his two reddened ear tips.
“Ah Ling…”
The man's pleas for mercy went unanswered, and Song Ling stared at his back without saying a word.
The gaze felt like thorns in his back, making General Yu, who was usually very observant on the battlefield, extremely uncomfortable. It was as if the gaze was peering through his outer garments and stripping him naked.
Can I see what you look like with your clothes off?
He would rather die than not say something shocking.
Yu Baizhou froze abruptly. Before he could turn around in surprise, those restless hands had already grabbed the collar of his shirt at the back of his neck and pulled it outwards.
He quickly grabbed her hand and turned around: "You..."
"I just wanted to see if all men's bodies look the same." Seeing his shocked expression, Song Ling quickly explained, "I was just curious... I didn't pay much attention when I gave you acupuncture before."
Because Wang Zhiyan had told her during the day that Mo Song's muscles were very beautiful, she became curious about Yu Baizhou's. The first two times Song Ling came to the military camp to administer acupuncture to him, she had no other thoughts; she simply treated him as a patient, a large lump of flesh, and inserted the needles as if she were inserting them into a bronze statue.
I can't remember it at all now, I only remember it being quite hard. Now I want to see it, but it won't listen to me.
After all those times they kissed, he still protected that garment like it was his own virginity, even more so than she was a virgin. I wonder what was under that garment, why he was so afraid she'd see it.
But the more he covered it up, the more she wanted to see it.
It couldn't be that he wasn't pretty enough, and therefore he was afraid she'd see him and therefore wouldn't want to leave him. It shouldn't be... Song Ling sincerely looked him up and down a few times; he was quite well-proportioned. Holding him would feel quite...
Yu Baizhou was caught off guard by her gaze, but suddenly seized on a word in her words, his tone tense: "What do you mean by 'all'? Who else have you seen?"
“There are many more…” Song Ling smiled slightly: “Let me count them, Shi Yu, ten…”
She'd barely uttered a name when Yu Baizhou couldn't take it anymore. Of all people to say, why bring up that awful person? She knew perfectly well what Shi Yu's feelings for her, knew perfectly well he disliked her, yet she still had to say it to spite him!
Yu Baizhou looked up at her, his expression unreadable.
Just when Song Ling thought he was finally about to lose his temper, the person in front of her remained seated in the chair, reached out and pulled her a little closer, then suddenly grabbed her waist with both hands and pulled her onto his lap.
Face to face, before Song Ling could say anything, the man showered her with kisses.
"First, I'll shut this mouth that's making him unhappy," Yu Baizhou thought, gently biting his lip.
The bite elicited a soft, displeased cry from Song Ling. Although it hadn't broken the skin, Song Ling still retaliated, biting a spot nearby. She'd long disliked its slippery, undulating motion. This unusual action of hers only earned her a stiff, muffled groan from the man.
"It seems I've offended someone," Song Ling thought, "like when I stirred up a hornet's nest in the woods when I was a kid." She blinked and looked into his turbulent eyes.
She has always had a habit of doing bad things but not admitting her mistakes.
"Ah Ling..." Yu Baizhou tightened his grip on her waist, lowered his head, and brushed his nose against hers, his tone helpless yet somewhat resigned: "You really are... what am I supposed to do..."
“Do this,” Song Ling cupped his face, turned slightly to meet his soft lips and kissed him, “I like it this way, A-Zhou.”
Unsurprisingly, she was met with a more silent yet passionate kiss in response.
The dormitory room grew warm. As she caught her breath, some inappropriate thoughts suddenly flashed through Song Ling's mind. Perhaps they had burned too much charcoal tonight. She felt hot even though she was only wearing two layers of clothing.
In that position, Yu Baizhou suddenly stood up, calming his breathing somewhat, but his hands were still steadily supporting the woman in front of him.
Song Ling clutched the front of his shirt, her eyes misty and confused.
Looking at her like this, Yu Baizhou's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he looked away, but he held her even tighter in his arms.
Each step resounded on the ground, striking the hearts of the two.
Yu Baizhou suppressed the surging heat in his heart, placed Song Ling on the bed, and couldn't bear to see her current expression: "You rest for a while, I'll go take care of it."
Unfortunately, we couldn't make it.
"Sleep with me for a while. If the general is unwilling, I won't force him." Song Ling sat up. "We haven't seen each other for many days, can't you even give me this little bit of time?"
Yu Baizhou saw the disappointment in her eyes and his heart suddenly panicked. He didn't care about anything else and sat down next to her to explain, "I'm not unwilling, I just don't want to be with you so hastily..." He combed away the strands of hair that the woman had messed up earlier, "I hope to wait until we get married, A-Ling."
Song Ling lowered her eyes, and the hand that was gripping his collar loosened: "You know I never care about these things. I have no relatives or friends, and no one will say anything to me. I don't care about other people's cold words."
“But I care, I care what they say about you.” Yu Baizhou held her hand and comforted her, “A-Ling has been down the mountain for a long time, she should know how harsh this world is on women.”
“If we’re together without a formal relationship, we’ll inevitably become the subject of gossip. It’s nothing for me as a grown man, but they’ll make up a lot of hurtful things about you.”
“Besides, A-Ling is so capable, I’m afraid that one day you’ll abandon me and leave me behind…” Yu Baizhou pressed her hand to his face, pleadingly saying, “I want to have a legitimate title with A-Ling.”
There was one more thing he didn't mention: what if Song A-Ling got pregnant if they actually did it? Her health was already poor, and she absolutely couldn't endure the pain of childbirth. At least for now, he hadn't found a fertility-inhibiting drug that a man could take.
If you want to say Song Ling's medical skills are high, why not ask her...? Knowing her as Yu Baizhou does, she definitely wouldn't agree. Most importantly, he's afraid of getting hit on the head.
"I'm doing this for your own good. I'm afraid you'll suffocate." Song Ling turned her head away and pointed downwards with a reserved gesture.
This isn't the first time. Every time he says he's going out to deal with it, he always comes back shivering. Even a ghost would know how to handle it.
It's understandable that a man in his early twenties is full of youthful vigor. But what if he overdoes it and things go wrong?
Song Ling blushed slightly as she recalled the booklets Wang Zhiyan had given her yesterday. They were all about the human body, and as a doctor, she didn't find anything wrong with them, but in other situations, they felt extremely embarrassing.
She was knowledgeable in medicine and had read several books on the subject. She understood the principle that it's better to let things flow than to block them.
"If you hold it in, you won't be able to use it later." Song Ling said with some regret, completely ignoring Yu Baizhou's flushed face and his heart pounding in shock at her words.
Yu Baizhou: "Use...use what?"
"Don't change the subject." Song Ling turned his face back and looked down at the tent. "Use it."
"I'll use it."
"What, do you want someone else to use you?" Song Ling poked his chest suspiciously. "You haven't forgotten your home in Yangzhou, have you? I heard that those powerful people in Yangzhou have sent you quite a few people to win you over?"
"Slander!" Yu Baizhou clenched his fists in anger: "Whoever spreads rumors that I'm gossiping about you, I'll go chop them up!"
Song Ling pulled him back, staring at him with some surprise: "That's not right, I remember medical texts saying that emotional transference should have subsided by now..."
But it still didn't move.
Yu Baizhou almost laughed in anger. What was there not to understand? His Ah Ling was using him as a test subject… no. A patient? That didn't quite add up either…
My thoughts are all jumbled up.
“Actually, there’s another way.” After calmly analyzing the situation in her mind, Song Ling looked at him and suggested, “I can help you.”
Yu Baizhou couldn't stand the fact that she had such a simple and earnest face, yet uttered such astonishing words.
I'm going crazy.
Perhaps to change the subject, he asked, "You need to explain to me first why you just said you saw Shi Yu..."
"So curious," Song Ling squeezed his fingers. "Just like you, he was also injured. I just performed acupuncture."
"Is that all?" Yu Baizhou asked suspiciously, clearly not quite believing it.
"nature."
Song Ling would never admit that she was the one who stabbed the man in the bamboo forest, but was forced to perform acupuncture on him while injured due to a deal with that man. Even if it was only temporarily being manipulated, it would be too humiliating.
"What, you don't believe me?" Song Ling asked, her tone displeased. "Doubt me?"
"I will never doubt A-Ling, never." Yu Baizhou leaned closer, resting his head on the crook of her neck, concealing the possessiveness in his eyes. He simply didn't want her to be so close to other men, nor was he pleased that she kept so many things from him time and time again.
Even though he knew it, she just wanted to bear it all alone so he wouldn't worry.
But the resentment in his heart just wouldn't dissipate, and Yu Baizhou couldn't help but act childishly and stubbornly: "Didn't A-Ling say she would help me?"
"Huh?" Song didn't expect him to actually agree, and was a little flustered, but quickly regained his composure and coldly ordered him, "Then General, take off your clothes first."
Yu Baizhou's hand stiffened for a moment, then he recklessly tore open his waist belt. If you ignored his familiar ear tips and wandering gaze, you would really think he was very calm and capable.
...
"Can you do it?" Yu Baizhou asked weakly, and when his hand was grasped, he couldn't help but clench the quilt beneath him, his eyes widening in shock for a moment.
"Don't talk." Song Ling curiously touched and pinched here and there before finally getting to her goal, "I learn things very quickly."
Yu Baizhou's breath hitched, and he felt a pang of regret.
“Ah Ling,” a vein throbbed on his forehead, and he couldn’t suppress the sound in his throat, “you, a little too lightly…”
Was I too rough? Song Ling was just about to lift the blanket to take a look when he grabbed her other hand.
Does that mean she shouldn't lift the covers? Okay. Their general is a little embarrassed. After all, she's still fully clothed, while he's practically naked; it's normal for him to be shy.
A warm feeling welled up in Song Ling's heart as he willingly exposed the man's most vulnerable part to her, and she couldn't help but lower her head and kiss him.
Yu Baizhou frowned slightly, returning the kiss while stroking her back, unsure whether he was comforting her or himself.
...
I don't know how much time passed.
"It should be almost healed, right?" Song Ling's wrist was a little tired, so she moved her hand a few times to relieve the discomfort.
"Um."
The man's ears turned red, and he placed the back of his hand on his face, unsure of how to respond.
Just then, Song Ling suddenly spoke up: "A-Zhou, urge the Qi Prince's mansion to expedite the processing of those medicinal herbs again."
"What's wrong?"
"I think I need to nourish my body more." Song Ling hesitated for a moment and glanced at him. "I'm afraid I'll need it later."
"It's not a good place to live."
The man remained silent for a long while before speaking in a hoarse voice: "Ah Ling..."
"Um?"
"Don't say these things at this time."
Why?
"Because I can't help but think of other things... and then..."
And then what?
The man in front of her suddenly pulled the blanket over his face.
He didn't need to answer. Song Ling already knew the answer.
Half an hour later, Yu Baizhou, his face flushed, looked flustered and didn't even dare to look at her. "I'll go get some water for you to wash your hands."
Song Ling's ears turned red as she picked up a handkerchief to wipe her fingers clean, and she was a beat slow to react before saying, "Okay."
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