Luo He suddenly pushed her back down onto the bed, the motion abrupt enough to startle Jin Mulan mid-breath. She caught herself instantly, palms pressing against his chest. Eyes narrowing in confusion and concern.
"Honey… what is wrong?" she asked, voice softer now, the earlier teasing completely gone. "Can I help you in some way?"
For a brief moment, Luo He didn't respond. His stare was fixed somewhere past her, as if he was calculating something far more serious than it actually deserved.
Then his expression tightened. "It's your damn parents," he said at last. Voice flat.
Jin Mulan blinked. Luo He sat up abruptly, hair slightly disheveled. His expression now set with rare frustration.
"I can't bear this anymore," he declared. "One of us is leaving this mansion tonight." He said. He swung his legs off the bed in one motion and stood. Jin Mulan stared at him for half a second before realization hit and she immediately followed.
"Wait what exactly are you planning to do now?" But Luo He was already moving, walking fast down the corridor with determined steps. The kind that made servants and guards avoid crossing his path even if they weren't present.
"We are done negotiating with this household," he said coldly. "This ends tonight." Jin Mulan quickened her pace behind him, catching up as he reached the adjoining wing.
"He, calm down." She said softly. "No," he cut in instantly. "This is not a matter of calm anymore." He raised his fist and began banging on the door. THUD. THUD. THUD.
The sound echoed through the quiet mansion like a warning bell. A long pause followed. Then the door opened. Jin Su stood there.
For a moment, she looked exactly like someone pulled unwillingly from sleep eyes half-lidded, posture composed out of sheer discipline rather than alertness.
Her pale blue nightdress was visible beneath a loosely thrown white overcoat, the fabric slightly uneven, as though she had put it on in haste.
The front was not fully adjusted, suggesting she had been interrupted in the mits of sleep rather than fully awake.
Luo He knew how ever that she was far from sleeping. Because the sound of their muffled screams and softned moans is what baught him here in the first place.
"Yes?" she asked calmly, voice low and steady despite the hour. Luo He stared at her. Then behind her. Then back at her again. And just like that the burning frustration that had carried him across the hallway evaporated completely.
He exhaled. Long. Tired. "Forget it," he said quietly. Jin Mulan arrived behind him, slightly out of breath. Jin Su's gaze shifted between them, slowly blinking as if trying to piece together what kind of emergency warranted this level of noise at 2 a.m.
Luo He reached into his sleeve and produced a small object. The thumb sized enchanted seashell, not yet glowing with internal runic light. Signifying it's not activated.
He placed it into Jin Su's palm. "Keep this," he said. Tone now back to his usual controlled calm. "It's a copy of an ancient artifact. If anything private is going on, think of activating it first.
Jin Su's fingers curled around it instinctively. "This is..." She tried to ask. "Yes," Luo He confirmed it, knowing what she is going to ask next. "And it is more useful than it looks."
Jin Su already knew exactly why Luo He had come. The moment the knocking started, her expression sharpened with immediate understanding. Not panic. Recognition.
She had clearly noticed what neither she nor Jin Quan had paid attention to in the middle of their distraction. The sound suppression charm in Luo He's hand explained the rest instantly.
For a brief second, her composure cracked just enough for embarrassment to flicker across her face. Luo He maintaining the expression of a man trying very hard to remain dignified.
He calmly explained the activation method. "Hold this in your palm and think of activation," he said evenly. "Once activated even loud are suppressed." Jin Su took the charm from his hand before he could finish.
She inspected the markings on it once eyes narrowing with quick comprehension. Luo He lifted a hand slightly, preparing to explain the deactivation conditions as well.
But Jin Su had already begun closing the door. "Got it," she said simply. Click.
The door shut directly in front of his face.
Silence. Luo He stood there motionless for a full second. Then blinked once.
Jin Mulan slowly turned toward him.
"Did she just close the door onto your face honey?" She asked mockingly.
Luo He inhaled through his nose with remarkable restraint.
"I respect her efficiency," he replied calmly. Jin Mulan crossed her arms immediately. "You were ready to declare war five minutes ago." She said. "I have evolved." Luo He simply responded.
She stared at him for a long moment. Luo He accepted this judgment without resistance. From behind the now firmly sealed door, there was complete silence.
The charm was apparently already working.
"Extremely efficient," Luo He muttered.
Jin Mulan nearly laughed despite herself.
The two finally turned away and walked back toward their own room, the earlier tension burning itself out into sheer exhaustion.
By the time they entered, the entire situation already felt absurd in hindsight.
The room was dim and quiet, illuminated only by pale moonlight slipping through the curtains.
In the corner, the floating shuttle rested motionless, harmless now, like some ancient war relic finally put to sleep.
Luo He walked to the bed without ceremony and collapsed onto it with a tired exhale, one arm draped across his forehead.
Jin Mulan followed more slowly. She watched him for a moment at first, the defeated dignity, the exhaustion, the lingering disbelief that this entire night had somehow happened.
Then she climbed onto the bed beside him. There were no more arguments now. No more dramatic declarations about abandoning the mansion in the middle of the night.
Only the quiet aftermath of chaos, that in retrospect never needed to become chaos at all. Jin Mulan settled against him naturally. Resting partly atop his chest as though she had done it a thousand times before.
Luo He's arm wrapped around her automatically. She adjusted slightly, pressing her cheek against him while listening to the steady rhythm beneath his ribs.
For a while, neither of them spoke. Then, very quietly, almost reluctantly, she admitted; "We are not leaving this mansion tonight. Are we?"
Luo He closed his eyes. "We are prisoners," he murmured softly. "Of love, family, and terrible architectural soundproofing." A faint breath escaped her that might have been a laugh.
Her fingers tightened slightly against his clothing not out of irritation this time, but comfort. Outside, the estate still breathed with distant night time sounds.
But inside their room, the world had finally narrowed into something smaller and calmer. Moonlight. Silence. Two steady breasts. And the quiet relief.
This time neither of them got up again.
Morning arrived slowly. Soft golden sunlight filtered through the thin curtains of the southern wing, painting long streaks of light across the quiet room.
The night's exhaustion still lingered heavily in the air. The dark cloud shuttle rested silently in the corner.
Jin Mulan woke first. For several moments she did not move at all. She remained lying partially atop Luo He her head resting against his shoulder while listening quietly to the slow rhythm of his breathing heart.
One of his arms was still wrapped around her waist even in sleep, holding her close completely out of instinct. Outside the mansion, faint sounds of morning had already begun.
Servants walking through corridors.
Distant doors opening. Birds settling along the estate rooftops. But inside the room everything still felt warm and still.
Jin Mulan slowly lifted her head. Her crimson hair spilled across his chest and shoulders as she studied him quietly.
Luo He looked unusually peaceful while asleep. No teasing smile. No arrogant remarks. No calculating gaze.
His face still carried traces of exhaustion from the previous night. Even now he looked like someone who had forced himself awake through sheer stubbornness for far too many days in a row before finally collapsing.
Jin Mulan's expression softened slightly.
Carefully she reached up and brushed several loose strands of hair away from his face. He didn't wake. That alone surprised her slightly.
Normally Luo He noticed everything around him even half asleep. She considered waking him. Her lips parted slightly as if about to speak. Then she stopped.
Her eyes lingered on him for another long moment. "Sleep a little longer," she whispered quietly instead. The words came softer than she intended. She slowly lifted his arm from around her waist and slipped free from the bed with surprising care, almost as if worried she might disturb him accidentally.
The mattress shifted lightly beneath her movement. Luo He only gave a faint tired breath and turned slightly onto his side without opening his eyes. Jin Mulan paused immediately. Watching. Waiting to see if he would wake.
He didn't. A faint smile finally touched her lips. "Rare," she murmured quietly to herself. Then she stood fully. The cold morning floor brushed against her bare feet while she stretched lightly.
Working the stiffness from her body after spending most of the night either flying through the sky or sleeping half on top of another person.
She glanced back one final time before leaving.