Gu Qingcheng said happily, "That's great. Our Phoenix Village is quite comfortable and pleasant. I'll talk to your parents and try to ensure your safety when you travel."
"Mm."
Du Lanyue nodded vigorously, then playfully extended a finger.
"You promised to take me back to Phoenix Village. You must keep your word. Pinky promise!"
"Sure, a pinky promise it is!"
Gu Qingcheng also extended her finger.
As their fingers touched, Gu Qingcheng praised, "Sister Lanyue, your skin is so good, so fair and smooth. How do you take care of it?"
When girls get together, what else is there to talk about besides beauty and gossip? Drinking and archery were hardly topics for light conversation.
Du Lanyue heard this and subconsciously looked at her finger, then pulled it back. "It's natural. I don't really have a skincare routine. I just use some balm in winter to prevent dryness. In summer, I don't use anything."
"I have some really good skincare products. I'll give you some later," Gu Qingcheng said, remembering the endless supply of cosmetics in the Mountain Cat supermarket.
"Okay."
Du Lanyue saw no reason to refuse.
After all, whatever Gu Qingcheng gave her, she would surely reciprocate. It's through giving and receiving that relationships grow closer, wasn't it?
At this point, Gu Qingcheng felt her hair was sufficiently dry. She got up and broke open the lock on the chest.
As expected, it was a chest of gold bars.
"Now we're all set. One chest for you, one for me," Gu Qingcheng said with a chuckle.
She didn't actually care about the gold bars. She offered to split one chest now to prevent Du Lanyue from refusing the other.
Indeed, Du Lanyue seemed indifferent. Faced with the alluring, golden wealth, she remained calm, showing no sign of ecstatic joy. Perhaps the risk she had just taken diving underwater had tempered her reaction.
Gu Qingcheng herself cared even less. The gold bars she had previously acquired from Prince Xia were already incredibly valuable, making these two chests merely a negligible addition.
Seeing Du Lanyue's nonchalant expression, Gu Qingcheng "slammed" the chest shut and said, "Sister Lanyue, finding these gold bars is an unexpected bonus. After we get out, we must keep our mouths shut to avoid attracting the attention of villains."
"Alright," Du Lanyue replied docilely.
She understood the reasoning, but Gu Qingcheng's concern for her safety made her heart feel warm.
Tired from a day of activity, Gu Qingcheng yawned.
It was then that she realized how late it was. She could see the time displayed in the supermarket system, indicating it was already ten o'clock at night.
"Sister Lanyue, should we sleep? I'm sleepy."
Gu Qingcheng was a good child who slept and woke early, a habit cultivated by her mother since childhood. Her mother had always preached that sleeping and waking early, and getting at least ten hours of sleep, would help her grow taller.
To grow taller, Gu Qingcheng had been thoroughly indoctrinated by her mother from a young age to go to bed early. The habit had stuck, and now she was tired.
"Okay." Du Lanyue was also feeling sleepy. She usually slept even earlier than Gu Qingcheng, as there wasn't much entertainment to be had at night in those times.
If they were to do needlework, it would strain their eyes, and their mothers would never permit them to read or do needlework late into the night.
However, when it came to sleeping, Du Lanyue found herself in a predicament.
There was only one floor mat, clearly indicating they would have to share.
What was to be done?
The cave was damp and cold. If they were to lie directly on the ground without a mat or oil-paper partition, their bodies would surely suffer.
Sleeping for one night would be fine, but if they had to stay for several nights, it might lead to lingering ailments.
Du Lanyue herself didn't dare to sleep directly on the ground, nor could she allow Gu Qingcheng to do so.
As she hesitated and pondered, Gu Qingcheng shed her outer robe, leaving only her white silk inner garment. She "rolled" into the quilt. Seeing Du Lanyue still not joining her, she called out, "Sister Lanyue, aren't you sleepy yet? Come on over, I'm warming the bed for you."
"Ah? This!"
Du Lanyue hadn't expected Gu Qingcheng to resolve her dilemma so efficiently. "Warming the bed for her" clearly meant sharing the same quilt, didn't it?
Du Lanyue no longer hesitated.
Since Young Master Gu had extended an invitation, shouldn't she seize this opportunity?
Fortunately, Young Master Gu was capable. Otherwise, she would have lost her life here today.
Setting aside the harassment from the dissolute Young Master Li, just the fact that she had fled into the cave, gotten lost, and couldn't find her way out, without the food, drink, and lamp that Young Master Gu had found, she would have been scared to death in the dark cave.
After a near-death experience, a person's thoughts and actions undergo significant changes.
Du Lanyue closed her eyes and, without hesitation, burrowed into the quilt that Gu Qingcheng had "warmed."
Compared to the cold cave, the quilt warmed by Gu Qingcheng's body was indeed like heaven. As soon as she lay down, Du Lanyue felt a warmth envelop her, a comfortable, cozy sensation.
"This bedding is a bit hard. Are you used to sleeping on it, Sister Lanyue?"
Du Lanyue was lying with her back to Gu Qingcheng, but as Gu Qingcheng leaned over to speak, her warm breath tickled her cheek.
"Uh, it's quite soft. I'm used to it," Du Lanyue stammered. Her earlobes turned slightly red. She lay rigid, not daring to move, for fear of what Gu Qingcheng might do next.
"Mm, that's good. Let's sleep! Sleep until morning."
Gu Qingcheng had already settled down and closed her eyes. She had added enough coal to the fire, and it should burn slowly to provide warmth all night.
With the fire, she wasn't afraid of any strange creatures appearing in the cave at night.
Du Lanyue was still lying stiffly, her limbs numb from being so still. Suddenly, she heard Gu Qingcheng's soft snores beside her.
What? He was asleep?
Du Lanyue's stiff body froze.
In this situation, with them lying so close, Gu Qingcheng could actually fall asleep?
Was he even human?
Du Lanyue didn't know whether to be happy or worried.
Happy that Gu Qingcheng was a gentleman, a Lu Xiaohui, who could sit in the embrace of a beauty without stirring.
Worried that perhaps she wasn't attractive enough to Gu Qingcheng?
Did Young Master Gu have no feelings for her at all?
Du Lanyue pondered this back and forth, but she didn't dwell on it for too long. Gu Qingcheng's steady breathing gave her a sense of security, like a lullaby. Combined with her own exhaustion, she soon fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, she rolled out of the quilt and felt cold. In her sleep, she instinctively burrowed back into the depths of the quilt. She then felt a small, warm furnace pressed against her and burrowed further in, clinging tightly to this little furnace, refusing to let go.
Just as Gu Qingcheng had said, she slept soundly until morning.
Gu Qingcheng opened her eyes, feeling a bit stiff. As she focused her vision, she couldn't help but chuckle.
She hadn't expected Du Lanyue's sleeping posture to be so uninhibited. She had burrowed into her embrace, her limbs clinging to her like an octopus, holding her tightly.
Looking down at Du Lanyue's sleeping face, she appeared so adorable.
Her small face was rosy, and her long eyelashes, like tiny fans, cast shadows on her lower eyelids.
Moreover, she slept with a relaxed expression, her small mouth pouting like a ripe vermilion fruit. If Gu Qingcheng had been a boy, she might have taken a bite.
"Haha, so cute."