Interesting

"Look?!" Zhou Heng's voice cracked as he pointed at himself, both ashamed and angry. "That...that kind of place is not something you can just look at! You...you..." He stammered for a long time before finally managing to utter, "You pervert!"

Xiao Jue's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly, as if he found his exasperated appearance amusing.

He slowly sat up, leaned against the headboard, and his gaze fell on Zhou Heng's clothes, which he hadn't fully covered in his panic, revealing a small patch of his collarbone and chest. Then his gaze slowly moved to Zhou Heng's bare toes, which were slightly curled up due to the cold and tension.

"The ground is cold." Xiao Jue said calmly, as if he wasn't the one who had just tried to conduct a deep "exploration." "Come on up."

"No!" Zhou Heng retorted, taking another step back. The rough carpet beneath his feet sent a chill up his spine, but his anger and shame only intensified. "I... I'll sleep in the outer room tonight!"

As he spoke, he turned and ran out.

"Zhou Heng." Xiao Jue's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an invisible pressure that made Zhou Heng freeze in place.

"Military regulations stipulate that no one may leave their post at night without a valid reason," Xiao Jue said slowly, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger. "You are currently 'on duty' here. Are you trying to disobey orders?"

Zhou Heng was trembling with anger. What kind of duty was this?! This was clearly illegal detention and sexual harassment! But he dared not speak out.

He glared at Xiao Jue, his eyes red-rimmed, half from anger and half from grievance. He couldn't take it anymore! During the day, he was subjected to all sorts of "accidental" physical advances, and at night he had to be bullied like this...like this!

Seeing Zhou Heng's angry yet speechless, aggrieved yet forcedly defiant expression, a faint, almost pleasurable glint flashed in Xiao Jue's eyes.

He gestured with his chin toward the empty space on the outer side of the bed, his voice softening slightly but still leaving no room for argument: "Come here. Sleep peacefully, I won't bother you tonight."

"Who would believe that!" Zhou Heng roared inwardly. But what could he do? Sleep in the outer room? Even setting aside whether Xiao Jue would agree, the low couch in the outer room was hard and cold, and there wasn't enough charcoal...

Just as he was torn between his inner turmoil, feeling cold, angry, and helpless, Xiao Jue suddenly threw off the covers, got out of bed, and walked barefoot to him.

Zhou Heng was so frightened that he jumped back and bumped his back against the tent wall.

Xiao Jue didn't approach any further. Instead, he bent down, picked up the boot that Xiao Jue had kicked off in his panic, and placed it at Xiao Jue's feet.

Then, under Zhou Heng's horrified gaze, he reached out a hand, not to grab him, but... to grasp one of his cold wrists.

"Your hands are so cold too." Xiao Jue said calmly, picking up the heavy outer robe hanging on the clothes rack next to him with his other hand, and draping it over Zhou Heng's shoulders without saying a word, wrapping him up. Then, he gently pulled Zhou Heng and the robe together towards the bed. "Stop fooling around, we have things to do tomorrow."

His movements were not exactly gentle, even somewhat forceful, but the outer robe he draped over Zhou Heng carried his body heat and breath, instantly dispelling the chill from Zhou Heng's body.

The hand gripping his wrist was very strong, yet strangely it didn't hurt him; it simply held him firmly without allowing him to break free.

Like a puppet that had lost all ability to resist, Zhou Heng was half-pushed and half-pulled back to the bedside by Xiao Jue.

Xiao Jue pressed him down to sit, took off his boots, carefully wrapped his outer robe around him, and then got onto the bed himself and lay down again.

This time, he didn't immediately pull her close. Instead, he lay on his side, facing Zhou Heng, with his arm loosely resting on the blanket between them, and closed his eyes.

"Go to sleep," he said.

Zhou Heng, wrapped in an outer robe still warm from Xiao Jue's body, sat on the edge of the couch, his body stiff and his heart pounding like a drum.

He glanced at Xiao Jue beside him, who seemed genuinely ready to "settle down" and sleep, then looked at the oversized outer robe he was wearing, his mind a complete mess.

He sat there stiffly for a long time until the candle flame suddenly popped and burned out, making the light inside the tent even dimmer.

The night grew colder and colder, and even wrapped in an outer robe, sitting for a long time made him feel cold. The warmth emanating from the quilt on the couch, however, was as alluring as a hook.

Ultimately, the longing for warmth and physical exhaustion overcame shame and vigilance.

Zhou Heng slowly and very carefully slid into the bed, still close to the edge of the bed, with his back to Xiao Jue, curled himself up, and wrapped his outer robe tightly around himself, as if it were a fragile piece of armor.

There was no movement behind him for a long time. Just as Zhou Heng's tense nerves relaxed slightly and drowsiness returned, an arm reached out from behind, not tightly wrapping around him as before, but gently and loosely resting on his waist.

Zhou Heng froze, not moving.

The arm didn't move further; it just rested there, the palm warm, conveying a reassuring warmth through the fabric.

Silence returned to the tent, broken only by the gradually synchronizing, steady breathing of the two people.

Zhou Heng lay there with his eyes open in the darkness for a long time before exhaling a breath very slowly and silently.