The Amnesiac, Sickly Beauty Is Pregnant With My Dragon Cub - Chapter 20

Yu Xuanji sat by the edge of the bed, scrutinizing Cang Lan’s expression as she asked, “Taking out the trash? What kind of trash are you throwing out in the middle of the night?”

Although Cang Lan felt guilty, she had long since learned how to maintain her composure in front of Yu Xuanji. She explained, “Just the waste from the kitchen and the study. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to clear it all out.”

Yu Xuanji made a move to stand up, but Cang Lan quickly stepped forward, using one hand to press Yu Xuanji back down. She said, “Wife, it is almost the hour of the Ox (2:00 AM). You should lie down and rest quickly.”

Cang Lan took Yu Xuanji’s calves in both hands and placed her legs onto the bed. Sitting by the bedside, Cang Lan gently massaged Yu Xuanji’s calves, relentlessly trying to curry favor. She said with a beaming smile, “Wife, I have something I want to tell you.”

Yu Xuanji’s fingers brushed against a few strands of Cang Lan’s hair, and her palm moved up to rub the top of her head. “What is it?”

Cang Lan said, “It’s just… if I were to eat that fat radish, would you be angry with me?”

Yu Xuanji paused for a moment, then replied, “No. Natural selection and survival of the fittest is the law of the human world, and it is the law of the Wilderness as well.”

Upon hearing this, Cang Lan immediately broke into a wide grin, her mouth unable to close from joy. “I knew my wife wouldn’t be angry with me.”

Seeing this, Yu Xuanji let out a sigh and said helplessly, “You didn’t actually eat her, did you?”

The smile on Cang Lan’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a pout and downcast lips. She gripped Yu Xuanji’s ankles and said gloomily, “I knew you were testing me. You’re still thinking about that fat radish in your heart. So what if she’s a bit shorter than me, a bit chubbier than me, and has a cuter voice? If you like small things, I can turn small too. I can turn into whatever you like; surely I am much better than her.”

Hearing Cang Lan spout such a long string of words all because of that ginseng baby, Yu Xuanji never imagined Cang Lan could be this jealous. She could only ask softly, “Then… where is she now?”

Cang Lan crossed her arms and gave a disdainful smirk. “Hmph, I threw her into a deep forest thousands of miles away.”

Yu Xuanji leaned her head against her hand in exasperation and tried to negotiate. “How about this: send her back to where she came from. She is a small life, after all. What if she is eaten by the wild wolves in those deep mountains?”

Cang Lan’s words were dripping with bitterness; the entire dragon seemed to be marinated in sour vinegar. She said, “If I really sent her back, you would just be reluctant to let her go again, wouldn’t you? Am I right?”

Yu Xuanji was no fool; she naturally recognized this kind of passive-aggressive, vinegar-soaked sarcasm. She reached out a hand toward Cang Lan, intending to repeat her trick of stroking her head, but the usually clingy little dragon nimbly dodged away, not letting her touch a single strand of hair.

The two lay in bed. Usually, whenever they slept, they would embrace each other so tightly they couldn’t be pulled apart. But tonight, for the first time, Yu Xuanji was met with the cold back of Cang Lan’s head.

Cang Lan faced away from her without a word, refusing even to cover herself with the blanket. Fearing she would catch a cold, Yu Xuanji propped up her upper body with her arm, pinched the corner of the quilt, and pulled it over Cang Lan’s body.

After the mermaid-tallow candle was extinguished, Cang Lan slowly opened her eyes. She moved her head slightly, making a tiny sound. She didn’t want Yu Xuanji to hear her turning around; if she were caught stealing a glance, it would be far too embarrassing.

After an unknown amount of time, Cang Lan sensed bursts of warm breath behind her ear. She felt suspicious—Yu Xuanji had been far away just a moment ago, so when had she pressed so close?

Yu Xuanji pressed against her, but Cang Lan was still sulking and didn’t want to be held, so she scooted forward. A gap of about two or three inches opened between them, but Yu Xuanji nudged closer again. The moment she touched her, Cang Lan moved forward once more.

After this “pursuit” lasted for a while, a loud thud suddenly echoed through the hollow cave. The mermaid candle was quickly lit by Yu Xuanji, its crimson flame burning bright and illuminating the entire cavern.

Cang Lan sat on the ground rubbing her head in silence. Her back was toward Yu Xuanji, so her expression couldn’t be seen from that angle.

Cang Lan winced in pain and took a sharp breath. A second before Yu Xuanji climbed down from the bed and saw her plight, she turned her face away with an expressionless mask.

Yu Xuanji cupped her face to check carefully, her palm gently rubbing the back of Cang Lan’s head, her voice filled with anxiety: “A-Lan, did you fall somewhere? Does your head hurt? Let me see if there’s any swelling.”

Cang Lan originally didn’t want Yu Xuanji to touch her, but Yu Xuanji’s voice seemed to possess some sort of magic, and she involuntarily leaned her head over.

Yu Xuanji’s palm pressed against the back of Cang Lan’s head, her soft voice tinged with worry: “Is it here? Why does it feel a bit swollen to me?”

This bit of minor pain was negligible to Cang Lan. She had indeed been stunned for a moment when she fell off the bed, but now there was no discomfort at all.

Staring at Yu Xuanji’s anxious profile, Cang Lan said on a sudden whim, “Wife, it hurts so much.”

Yu Xuanji’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. Looking over, Cang Lan was so frightened by Yu Xuanji’s pallor that she sat frozen on the floor. She was speechless with fear, and even her rounded golden pupils narrowed into slits.

A moment later, she was pulled into a tight embrace. Yu Xuanji’s long, soft arms were like bands of steel, confining her neck and shoulders.

Cang Lan was squeezed so hard she could barely breathe. She opened her mouth, leaning into the hug dazed, wanting to pull back slightly to catch her breath. But the moment Yu Xuanji sensed her intention, the arms wrapped even tighter.

Yu Xuanji’s lips trembled: “A-Lan, I’m sorry… I’m sorry, I was the one who harmed you, it’s all my fault, it’s my fault…”

Cang Lan was pinned and unable to move. She craned her neck, listening to these words and feeling that something was very strange. She had only fallen to the floor, not been skinned, de-boned, or had her heart cut out; Yu Xuanji’s reaction was far too extreme.

However, seeing the situation, Cang Lan didn’t dare say another word. She instead hugged Yu Xuanji’s trembling, slender frame, patting her back gently with one hand, ignoring the pain in her own internal organs from being squeezed.

Cang Lan leaned against Yu Xuanji’s ear and coaxed her softly, “Wife, it’s not your fault.”

Yu Xuanji choked back a sob and murmured, “It is my fault.”

Cang Lan continued to soothe her: “It’s really not your fault. It’s… it’s all the fault of this bed. When it’s daylight, I’ll change it for a new one. We’ll change it to a wooden one, okay?”

Yu Xuanji’s voice was very soft: “Yes, it is their fault.”

Cang Lan felt that Yu Xuanji was acting strangely. She had intended to coax more information out of her, but in this state, the more Cang Lan said, the more unstable Yu Xuanji might become.

It was just an accidental bump to the head, is there a need for such a fuss? Cang Lan touched the back of her head. Back when she had declared war on the ancient Great Demons in the Wilderness, she had almost been disemboweled by a Hou beast.

If a bump to the head caused this, if Yu Xuanji ever found out about the many injuries she had suffered in the past, she might actually go mad.

Cang Lan felt a pang in her heart and wanted to stand up while holding Yu Xuanji. She was kneeling on the fur rug, but at the slightest movement, she was held so tightly that she couldn’t stand at all.

Fortunately, the floor of the cave was covered in fur blankets; otherwise, Yu Xuanji’s weak body would surely catch a cold.

Cang Lan stared at Yu Xuanji’s earlobe and turned her head to brush it lightly with her lips. Just that one touch made Cang Lan’s heart leap into her throat, but she reasonably comforted herself: she couldn’t touch Yu Xuanji anywhere else, so she could only use her lips to touch her earlobe.

Yu Xuanji’s earlobe was icy and cool, soft and tender, and seemed to carry a faint, chilly fragrance. It reminded Cang Lan of the “Cold Fragrance Pill” from the Dream of the Red Chamber story Yu Xuanji had told her in bed a few nights ago.

If there really were such a thing as a “Cold Fragrance Pill” in the world, the scent on Yu Xuanji’s body would likely be it.

Seeing that Yu Xuanji didn’t react, Cang Lan took two deep breaths of the fragrance and, emboldened by a sudden obsession, took the left earlobe into her mouth.