Chapter 1038: with translation of chapter title

NO．161：Remember the four-character mantra

Although the extra person's heat dissipation and lingering breath were very obvious to a tension-sensitive demon.

But with a touch of fantastical help, Aomo was still able to fall asleep.

And his sleep was quite good.

What's more worth mentioning is that, in the dreams of several consecutive nights, Ling had visited, but this time Ling unexpectedly didn't come.

Perhaps it was also because she wasn't controlling the stage, Aomo had a very ordinary dream after a long time.

He dreamed he became a fisherman, fishing for a long time with a small wooden boat and a small fishing rod, but saw no catch; he could only gaze at schools of fish swaying on the sea surface, and in anger he picked up the small fish spear on the boat and thrust it, stirring up over a hundred fish.

Then he startled a shark.

But the shark was useless; he speared it again, then came a furious whale, and then a giant squid rushed out to break up the fight.

But they were all blasted down by his whale spear, which had been upgraded at some point; then came double-headed sharks, triple-headed sharks, quadruple-headed sharks, and lethal five-headed sharks attacking.

He handled them with great effort, but still won!

Finally, a manta ray as huge as a sea serpent attacked, easily smashing his small boat, and the current caught him pulling him down; as he struggled desperately, he was also seized by the tentacle tip of a vengeful octopus mad shark.

Will it ever end!

He felt angry.

But this time he was utterly exhausted, able only to be extremely angry amidst extreme anger.

That soft yet tenacious bond could not be broken; he was dragged down continuously until, in reality, he widened his eyes and saw the faint dawn light through the curtain gap.

He also felt the extension of that dream's bond.

"Miss Xintiao?" he said in a flat tone, but no one answered in the quiet bedroom.

Only the hands that had passed his waist and were resting on his abdomen and chest continued to press.

So he slightly raised his volume: "Miss Qian?"

"Mmm..." a half-asleep murmur came from beside his ear, reminding Aomo of those middle-school classmates who, while napping face-down on their desks, would shift sides and mumble the same vague, fragmented words.

But she obviously couldn't turn over; her hands were still clamped on Aomo's body above and below as he slept on his side.

Logically, the arm underneath would surely feel bad, being compressed by the side of the body easily impeding blood flow, leading to soreness and weakness.

But that hand was unusually active, pressing on his chest as if trying to give him CPR.

By contrast, the hand on his abdomen slipped under his shirt, trying to draw a map around his abs.

"Miss Xintiao, do you still remember the first clause of our three-article agreement from last night?" he asked.

The response was a pause of those hands, then a dazed female voice.

"Xiaoshe, you're awake? What time is it now?"

"You act just like you just woke up." Aomo's mood seemed still stable.

"Mm... how did I end up hugging Xiaoshe? Maybe I was using him as a body pillow!"

"Are you saying these two hands are sleepwalking? Using me as a body pillow doesn't feel hard…?" He trailed off oddly, because the two hands encircling his body suddenly linked together, and then a palpable sense of pressure came from behind.

Well, the pressure—a physical sensation transmitted through the thin shirt—was too vivid and too detailed, not very friendly to Aomo's overly vivid imagination.

In order to quickly restore the work's label to all-ages, he chose to focus his attention on the normally functioning, activatable terminal screen.

Then, upon activation, he saw a sassy pop-up window:

【Beware of women!】

To be honest, indeed.

If you're not careful, you might get dragged into a mire of thousands of words that all-ages works require you to skip, delaying breakfast and work.

【Taking over the doujin publication, sorry】

No need to be polite; since they've come to our door, what's there to say? Besides, it's not like I'm the childhood self who had to provoke Aizhi.

Recalling that memory, Aomo felt only: "Hey, you little brat!"

When he used to recall his childhood, he still thought he was a model good kid, but now he's also become a childhood filter.

Could it be that there are truly no hassle-free little angels in this world?

【Aomo… checking status, detected abnormal particle disturbance, are you okay?】

A new message from the 'New Universe' note made him feel somewhat relieved.

What? There still is, it's just not convenient to reply right now.

"Indeed it's rock hard, but Xiaoshe is like a little furnace; feeling cooler works great." Previously only a voice from behind, now it came with a warm, moist breath at his ear.

"My normal body temperature is 40°…"

Despite ASMR, Aomo remained unmoved as he spoke, when suddenly the hand still hugging him pulled him over.

He saw Qian in pajamas looking down at him.

A faint blush colored her face.

But more noticeable than the blush were the dark circles under her eyes.

She indeed hadn't slept at all… and apparently even suffered insomnia.

But Aomo didn't point that out, merely asking with a blank expression:

"What are you doing?"

When he was about to lose composure, a blank expression was his only recourse; fortunately, Miss Qian had no intention of being late, did nothing out of line, and simply tilted her head to his chest.

"Let me check if Xiaoshe's heartbeat is really tense, huh, it's beating fast." She lifted her head and chuckled.

"The normal heart rate for my species range is also faster than humans," Aomo casually recited a report he'd heard from the infirmary, then frankly added, "but I am indeed quite nervous right now."

"You keep ignoring my rejections like this, and I'm starting to think I have no charm for Xiaoshe." The girl looked down at him, pouting.

"No, it's just that the timing isn't good." He raised his hand to touch the girl's face, then pushed himself up.

"But this isn't your fault either; a lot has happened these days, there really isn't a good moment, and even I now have to say something that kills the mood at this time."

"It wouldn't be that he'd immediately make me go to class or something, would it?" Qian had already picked up a pillow, making an eager-to-throw motion at Aomo.

But he said: "No."

Just as she was about to put it down, she heard him say:

"But what I want to talk about is Qielienina's matter."

——

Twelve minutes later, the kitchen.

"Good morning, Aomo. Did you sleep well last night? Oh, what happened to your face?"

Upon receiving Aomo's morning greeting, but then noticing the red mark on his face, Ling couldn't help but be surprised.

Not a palm print, but rather like… a foot print?

And it was a human sole… Ling's expression became subtle, recalling colleagues on the company forum who often discussed odd hobbies.

"I made Qian angry."

Then she received the same treatment as the TV version's screen.

Compared to hands, she prefers to use her feet; could Miss Qian possibly be a horse girl?

"Oh, you finally shared a bed and blanket?" Ling clasped his hands with understanding, "My absence this time is rather timely… but is it appropriate to say congratulations now?"

She asked subtly, gazing at the faint red mark on Aomo's face.

"Sure, after all I've finished the necessary talk and dealt with a hidden trouble; I accept your congratulations," the youth scooping fried eggs said with a light smile, then asked her, "What about you—what's happened on your end?"

These past few days I've been coming in like clockwork; today's absence naturally raises some suspicion.

"Could it be that the steward of your household finally caught you?"

"Haha, quite the opposite—she needs my help."

"That sounds rather rare."

"That's true; my younger sister usually appears self-sufficient and isn't particularly bad at anything, but this time it's about managing sisters."

"Family members?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's really offensive."

"It's fine; it's not some shameful family secret—basically, I have a melon‑sister who stayed up late drawing again last night and got caught by Shu."

"Is it Miss Xi?"

Ling's sister, who draws pictures—this instantly brought to Aomo's mind the black‑haired woman who had briefly cooperated during the initial rescue operation.

After that there was no further interaction, and after Ling mentioned himself, she seemed to deliberately avoid him together with Miss Nian.

However, talking about drawing at night… it's hard not to think of that person from last night.

"Exactly, she's gotten into the habit of not sleeping; before it was understandable, now it's just habit, and my chatty little sister who likes to look after people can't stand this."

"Do you need my help with this?" Aomo, who was garnishing the dishes, wondered.

"Of course, after all, if Xiao Xi hides herself in the painting, she can't do anything."

"I see, a family with vast supernatural abilities."

"Exactly, after helping her I actually earned exemption from the nagging—now I'm even freer."

"Miss Ling is naturally free and unrestrained."

"Well said—shall we drink to being free and unrestrained?"

"All right, but just one cup."

"Easy—I've never urged you to drink more, have I?"

"Quite a few times in dreams?"

"Oh? You shouldn't have any memory, right?"

"Precisely because I have no memory, that's why I'm guessing this way—it doesn't seem wrong."

"But that's still wrong, after all I didn't force you to drink," Ling took the cup Aomo passed over and made it disappear with a raised hand, "still, let's not talk about that—I heard you're being pursued by a girl named Qielienina? Are you supposed to give a response today?"

"You rushed over early this morning just to watch the excitement?"

"Can't say that either; I'm here mainly to explain my absence this time."

"Is it necessary? We hadn't even made plans."

"That's true too, but you'd still be curious, right?"

"Indeed."

"Right?"

"So an explanation is indeed needed—indeed, I'm not the only one who feels this way. Ha, let's float another big white!"

"You drink it yourself; I don't want to bring alcohol smell to the table or to school."

"That makes sense, then I'll go entertain myself for now."