There is no Redemption for A Scum Villain

Chapter 3

As expected, Yue Qingyuan was not able to sleep alone even once the next few days. It didn't matter what he tried, he would always end up with Shen Qingqiu clinging to him, squeezing the life out of him whenever he only slightly made the attempt to leave. He couldn't even turn in his sleep, resulting in his shoulder being all sore and his neck being unable to recover. And if only that was the worst out of all of this. No. The most concerning part was that the one clinging to him had been a child before, but now, for the last few days, this child had become an adult. To say it was strange to have a full grown man cling to one in their sleep would be an understatement. Especially when said man was  pressing his body flush against them.

Yue Qingyuan didn't know how to feel about this. A Shen Qingqiu of about twenty was holding him tightly. His strength seemed to grow by the day. Yue Qingyuan was worried he was going to suffer bruises on his arms. He knew he should probably go to see Mu Qingfang about his neck and back. He needed something to relax it, otherwise it might cause him headaches that he never suffered before. Just as he thought that, Shen Qingqiu moved a little in his sleep and was now laying slightly on top of him, using him as a pillow. His head was right above his heart. Yue Qingyuan feared he could hear his heart speeding up. His breathing too grew faster. He tried to regulate it to also keep his heart steady, but it did not work very well.

This was very strange. Why was he reacting this way? His face felt all hot and he had to swallow a lot more times than usual and that although his mouth felt dry as a desert. He felt as though he was trapped in a kiln. He needed to get out as soon as possible. Yue Qingyuan started wondering if it might just be too hot for him. After all, the bodily warmth could be enough and they additionally had a blanket. That would explain why his head felt this hot. And if it was too hot, of course he would have trouble breathing and his heart would need to compensate for that. Right, that sounded plausible.

He really needed to get out. This was starting to feel very uncomfortable. Yue Qingyuan tried carefully prying off the arms that were holding his upper body in place, but of course, as soon as he had gotten one arm off, Shen Qingqiu woke up. He made a displeased grumbling noise and slapped Yue Qingyuan's hand before wrapping his arm back around him.

"It's too warm", Yue Qingyuan said quietly.

Without opening his eyes, Shen Qingqiu removed his arm and started pulling and kicking the blanket off. Once the blanket lay on the floor, he snuggled a bit closer and put his arm back. This should have helped, Yue Qingyuan thought. Should. Why had it not? He soon realized that now he was definitely feeling the cold and yet he was not necessarily better than before. This was way too confusing. Yue Qingyuan looked helplessly in the direction of the window. His mood lightened when he saw that rays of sunlight were starting to break through the foliage of the trees.

"You have black rims under your eyes again", Shen Qingqiu stated later as he was having breakfast. Yue Qingyuan sat opposite of him, his head resting on his hand. He did not reply. "You aren't going to eat today either, are you?", Shen Qingqiu asked. There was a worry in his voice. If anyone who knew him had heard this, they would think he had been possessed. Yue Qingyuan didn't think that. He was too tired. And this even though he was a cultivator. Was he getting old after all?

"I don't need to eat", Yue Qingyuan replied, "And I'm not hungry."

Shen Qingqiu frowned. He had heard this exact same reply time and time again already. Every day at breakfast, lunch, dinner... Shen Qingqiu was starting to get frustrated. If he was honest, why would he care if that man ate or not. He wasn't his mother. Shen Qingqiu's expression grew stern and he picked up some rice.

"You really aren't hungry?", he asked, a mischievous grin on his face. Yue Qingyuan had his eyes closed and didn't see it. With closed eyes he replied, "No, I'm-" The moment his mouth was open wide enough, Shen Qingqiu just pushed the rice into his mouth. Yue Qingyuan's eyes opened wide and he almost would have choked on the rice if he hadn't managed to stop himself from breathing in out of sheer shock.