Reborn and Pampered

Chapter 248 Not Sleepy

Bai Qingqing blinked her dry, dazed eyes, then frowned in discomfort. “Don’t talk so loud… My head hurts…”

Ning Yan opened his mouth and actually lowered his voice. “How long was I out?”

“Mm… two days? Three?” Bai Qingqing pressed her fingers hard against her temples, trying to massage the pain away. “I don’t remember. But you’re awake now, and that’s all that matters…”

Suddenly, Ning Yan grabbed her wrist. As she lifted her arm, her sleeve slipped down, revealing skin as pale as snow, marred with purplish-blue bruises that stood out harshly against her delicate complexion.

“What happened here?”

Ning Yan recognized them at once—marks left by repeated pressure, fingernails digging into skin. His pupils contracted. Without a word, he yanked up the sleeve on her other arm—and froze.

On her left arm, alongside more bruises, was a thin, fresh cut from a blade. It wasn’t deep, but blood still welled up slowly, gleaming against her skin.

The moment Bai Qingqing saw he was awake, exhaustion came crashing down on her. She frowned slightly as he tugged at her sleeve, trying to pull her arm back with half-lidded eyes, her body slowly sinking downward.

“So sleepy… but can’t sleep… I’m clever. If it hurts, I won’t fall asleep. I even picked a good spot…”

Her eyes were shut now, her thoughts already unraveling, the words from her lips disjointed and muddled. “Can’t hurt the legs… need to walk… hands neither… arm, left one… that’s fine…”

Her voice faded, and in a blink, she was fast asleep.

Ning Yan held her with one arm, sitting there in a stunned silence. He looked around the cave—everything was laid bare to him. The bloodied cloth strips he had removed had been piled to one side, not burned, likely to avoid detection. In the farthest corner, remnants of a small fire remained. A medicine pot sat beside it. Everything was in order, meticulously arranged. Even the stone platform where he lay had been scrubbed spotless.

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As Ning Yan examined the wounds on her arms, he noticed that her once soft, delicate palms had grown rough, littered with tiny cuts. Her hair was carelessly twisted up just to stay out of the way, and dark shadows pooled beneath her eyes, the skin sunken inward.

A girl once as radiant as jade and flowers had collapsed from exhaustion in his arms.

He gently laid her down, and as he did, his fingers brushed against something hard at her waist. He took it out and saw it was the jade token he had given her.

She had kept it with her all this time.

Ning Yan sat quietly by the stone platform, gazing at Bai Qingqing’s sleeping face. He was born with a cursed fate—everyone said those who got close to him never ended well. He had even brought misfortune upon his own mother.

Someone had once told him that in this world, there would never be anyone willing to treat him with their life. He didn’t have that kind of fate. Dying alone in some forgotten corner was the best ending he could hope for.

For a long time, he believed it. And if he was doomed to die alone, then he would at least die somewhere out of reach of those who looked down on him. Everything else? He didn’t care.

But now, someone willing to stake their life on him had appeared—and he had no idea what to do.

…

Bai Qingqing had stayed awake for two full days and nights. It felt like her soul had been wrung dry. Even after falling into a deep, bone-tired sleep, she barely recovered halfway.

But even halfway was better than nothing.

The moment she woke, the first thing she did was look toward Ning Yan. Instinctively, she reached out to touch his forehead. Finding no fever, she held up four fingers and waved them in front of his eyes, asking solemnly, “How many?”