Stay with me!

Eventually, the next morning had arrived and chased the darkness away by leading the sun back to the sky, allowing it to shine through the windows of Jinshi's residence. Its light entered the room of a certain apothecary and fell on a figure lying on her bed. Bothered by the bright sun shining directly into his eyes, the young noble, who was still lying on his stomach, started to stir and groan in annoyance. “Urgh…” Jinshi sleepily opened his eyes and rubbed them, letting out a yawn. Then he lifted his upper body, propping himself up on his elbows, and looked around in slight confusion, not understanding where he was at first. A few seconds passed, before he remembered in whose room he was and how he had gotten there the previous night in the first place. “I… really fell asleep here,” he thought and ran his hand over the apothecary's pillow his face had been pressed against just a mere few minutes ago, staring at it as if he couldn't believe that fact himself. His cheeks turned a shade of pink. “I really did.” But then another, more urgent matter came to his mind, making him widen his eyes and basically jump out of the bed, completely forgetting his awkwardness and bewilderment. Maomao! He had to go check on her, to see whether she had finally woken up! Quick! There was no time to waste! Focusing his thoughts on the apothecary alone, the young lord didn't even notice that he wasn't wearing any shoes and was, indeed, about to run out of the room just like that, barefoot. But before he could do something as unseemly of his position as that, he saw the door open and his aide step inside. “Are you awake, sir?” Gaoshun asked, as if having his lord sleep in his maid’s bed was the most normal thing in the world. Jinshi stared at him, dumbfounded, thinking about the right words to explain the situation, but it seemed as if that wasn't needed. To his surprise, Gaoshun didn't mention it at all. “I have some news from Suiren for you.” And the worry was immediately back again. The young noble almost threw himself at him, grabbing him by the arms and giving him a desperate look, as if his own life depended on the other's words. “What is it!? Is the apothecary awake!? Has something happened during the night!? How is she!?” “Please calm down, sir. No, nothing happened, and yes, Xiaomao has just woken up. According to Suiren, she is alright.” Jinshi let go of him, feeling his agitated heartbeat and breathing calm down as soon as these words reached his ears. A huge smile appeared on his face, as he stood there, beside himself from joy. “Basen will arrive shortly, as well,” Gaoshun continued informing him. “And then we can go and interrogate Xiaomao about how she managed to find out what would happen during the ritual.” Jinshi snapped out of his relief and happiness and cast him a slightly doubtful gaze, arching an eyebrow. “So soon? Shouldn’t we be a bit more considerate? She just woke up after having received a blow to her head, after all.” He really didn't want to burden Maomao with such things right after her awakening, even if she really was fine. “I’m afraid we can't afford to do that in this case, sir.” According to Gaoshun's expressions, the aide regretted that fact as well. “That was an assassination attempt on a member of the imperial family, hence it’s vital to gather all the information we can and investigate the matter.” Jinshi let out a sigh. “I see. Let's go, then.” Gaoshun glanced down at his lord's feet, making the latter follow his gaze and finally discover that they were bare. “Xiaomao is changing clothes right now. Do you perhaps want to do that as well, sir? You spent an entire day in this attire and even slept in it. I can call Suiren to assist you.” But the young man waved his hand, shrugging it off. “No, it’s fine. Suiren didn't sleep all night, and there won’t be anyone present besides us and Basen, anyway, so it’s not that much of a deal.” Meaning: he didn't have to wear his impeccable disguise of a “celestial nymph”. Jinshi sat down to put on his shoes and then ran his fingers through his hair, trying to comb it a bit and make himself look more presentable, after all, he had just gotten out of bed. Gaoshun, in the meantime, folded and put away the extra blanket he had covered his lord with last night. *** Jinshi stood in his chambers, wearing a light frown on his face, as he watched the apothecary tuck all the medicinal stuff she was always carrying around, back into her clothes. Suiren had, of course, taken everything out while undressing her the previous day. As soon as the interrogation had ended, Maomao had gotten up from the chair she had been sitting on and started to gather her belongings, clearly preparing to leave. "Say, should you really be walking around?” he asked her. There was still a certain concern lingering in his voice. Maomao was currently standing with her back to him, so she didn't see that Jinshi had raised his arms a bit, as if he was getting ready to catch her if she should fall. No. Forget the "as if". He WAS getting ready to catch her. But despite the fact that she was limping a bit, she still seemed to walk rather steadily. "It's alright, sir. I have peeked at the stitches under the bandage while changing clothes, and they are done very neatly, so walking is not a problem.” Jinshi nodded, but the doubt on his face still hadn't entirely vanished. "I see. But are you sure you want to return to your room already? You can rest here for today as well, you know?” Maomao finished getting ready and turned around to face him. "Master Jinshi, I am your maid. I can't keep occupying your chambers.” He gritted his teeth at these words, holding himself back before a loud “Who cares!?” could escape his lips. In the end, he crossed his arms and let out a sigh filled with frustration. Well, if she was more comfortable in her own room rather than in his chambers, then so be it. "Fine. But you will take it easy and continue to rest, do you hear me, apothecary? No work for today. And if you walk, walk slowly. Don't even think about running.” "Yes, sir.” *** A few hours had passed since then, and now, Jinshi was heading to Maomao's room once again, this time consciously and in broad daylight. Not to mention, a lot calmer, thanks to having seen her being fine with his own eyes. Honestly, what a huge relief that she was, in fact, the same as always… He turned beet-red at the memory of what he had done last night and cautiously looked around, hoping that no one saw him like that. “But I guess it couldn't be helped…” Well, now that he thought about it, it had been actually quite logical that, in his state of distress, he would instinctively go to a place that held Maomao's belongings, to surround himself with things that reminded him of her in order to distract himself from his overwhelming anxiety. And it had really worked, since the sight of her beloved herbs and having her scent in his nose had managed to calm him down, in the end, even to the point of making him fall asleep. He hoped she would forgive him if she should ever find out about it and not think of him as a pervert. That would be truly horrible, something he wouldn't be able to bear. But then again, she had even forgiven him his prank with the honey-covered fingers, so maybe he shouldn't give it too much thought. But anyway, that wasn’t the point now. This time, he was going to her with the intention of telling her something he hadn't been able to say in front of the others. And with “others”, he mainly meant Basen. *** Standing in front of her door, Jinshi took a deep breath and knocked on it. "Apothecary? Are you there? Can I come in?” “Yes, sir? Is there still something you need to know?” Hearing Maomao's voice from inside, he opened the door and saw her sitting on her bed and holding a few plant leaves in her hand. Judging by the few little piles beside her, her herbs had dried now and she was sorting them. Jinshi gulped when his gaze fell on the bed, but since the apothecary didn’t look as if she had noticed something amiss, he attempted not to think about it. Maomao looked up and intended to get on her feet as soon as she saw him enter. “No, stay seated!” Jinshi stopped her quickly, raising his hand. She obeyed, placing her hands on her lap, and looked at him again. “Why are you here, sir?” The young noble couldn't help but pout a little. Did he really always need a reason to see her? He cleared his throat, averting his gaze and scratching his cheek. “Well, I just wanted to make sure you are really resting.” “I am, sir.” “Yes, I can see that. That's good.” There was silence for a few moments while they just kept observing each other, Maomao sitting on the bed and Jinshi standing by the door. Twisting his fingers that were hidden in his sleeves. Then he took another deep breath and shook his head. “No, actually there is something else…” And with that, all the bashfulness and composure left him, as he suddenly charged forward in order to carry out what he had wished to do all along, hugging her so tightly he almost lifted her from the bed. Finally, oh, finally! It had truly taken him every bit of self-control he could muster to not do it the second he had seen her awake. But, well, with Basen being in the room, he decided that he probably shouldn't. Having his arms wrapped around the small of her back, he was pressing the petite young woman against his trembling body, so desperately as if someone would come and take her away any minute. Finally letting out his pent-up emotions. All of them. "You're alright, it’s not a dream… I’m glad… I’m so glad..." he mumbled, getting on his knees and placing his chin on top of her head, while a few tears escaped his eyes once again and ran all the way down to her hair. But Jinshi suddenly returned to his senses and widened his eyes when he felt her squirm in his arms and hear her let out a muffled “Sir! I… can't… breathe…” “Gah!” He paled a bit and slackened his hold on the spot, but still didn't let go of her. “Sorry.” Maomao rested her head against his shoulder, gasping for breath, and let out a few coughs. He gently rubbed her back as an apology, while she gradually started to relax again, once the initial startle was gone. Next, she looked into his face, dedicating him a confused and irritated gaze. "Jeez! What's gotten into you, Master Jinshi?” The young man didn’t answer her question, instead grabbing her by the shoulders and looking her directly into the eye. “Promise me you will never do anything like that again! Ever!” he suddenly blurted out. Maomao's eyes widened a bit, accentuating the confusion on her face. As it seemed, she was quite surprised by the imploring tone in his voice. “What do you mean?” “What you did yesterday, of course!” Jinshi was puzzled. What else could he mean!? "Save your life?” “No, put yourself into danger like that!” “If I hadn't, you would probably be dead now, sir.” She didn't mince her words with him, as always. Jinshi produced a sound similar to a growl. Very well. If he wasn’t able to make her get it with words, then he had to find another way. Thus, he seized her right hand out of the blue and pressed it firmly against his chest, right where his heart was. It had started to pound like crazy at the mere memory of what had happened the previous day. Holding her hand in place so she wouldn’t move it away, he could feel her thin fingers twitch slightly. “There! Can you feel it? If you keep doing things like that, I won’t be able to take it anymore! Then I would die anyway, but of a heart attack! Do you understand!?” Without adding another word, the young noble buried his face in her shoulder, not even waiting for an answer. He was breathing heavily. For a while, there was silence. Then he felt Maomao shift a bit on the bed. “Sir?” “What is it?” Jinshi’s voice was still a bit shaky. “I have some dried valerian here. Should I maybe make you tea out of it to calm your nerves?” That made him speechless for a few seconds. Next, he shook his head and pressed his face now against her neck. “No. Just let me stay like this a little longer.” The apothecary didn’t comment anything on that, but the fact that she had placed her other hand on his back made Jinshi assume that he had her permission. He finally let go of her hand in order to hug her with both arms again, and to his surprise, she didn’t move it away from his chest. It stayed right where it was. On his heart.