The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

23. A Nice Smile

Translator: Iris Guo

A’Chou entered the chamber gently, afraid that she would disturb Zhong Mingwei’s good sleep. It was difficult to light a candle in the dark, so she had to move forward step by step. When she finally got to the edge of his bed, she put the wooden basin on the ground. Then, she put her hands under the quilt but withdrew them soon to rub them together hard to make them warmer. Thanks to her attempt yesterday, she managed to change the sheet quickly this time. Afterwards, she wiped his upper thigh carefully with a warm handkerchief. Yesterday, she found that part of his body almost bleeding, so she dared not rub there hard in order not to wake him. After rubbing several times and making sure he was clean, she threw the dirty handkerchief into the water and left quietly.

In fact, Zhong Mingwei wasn’t asleep at all.

He barely slept at night. Precisely, he woke up before 3 am. He tried to suppress the urine so hard that the blue veins stood out on his forehead. However, he still wet the bed. He kept biting his lips until there was blood in the mouth.

He was overwhelmed with shame and despair.

But what could he do? Except for hating himself more.

Especially today.

He hoped that the world would always be dark, A’Chou would never wake up, and his embarrassment would never be exposed.

He was indeed ashamed.

However, A’Chou crept in before dawn. She seemed to believe that he was still asleep because she moved as quietly as a mouse. She just gently lifted the quilt, moved his legs, wiped him clean with a warm handkerchief, and left silently.

How could she be so nice to him?

…

They still had porridge and pickles for breakfast today. After feeding Zhong Mingwei, A’Chou started to clean up the house.

“Why don’t you take a nap?” said A’Chou while tidying up the chamber.

“Sleepless,” Zhong Mingwei lay on his stomach, looked at a jumble of branches in A’Chou’s hand, and got curious, “Is that a broom?”

“Yeah! I just made it with firewood!” A’Chou chuckled and passed the broom. Apparently, she was waiting for his praise. “I’m very clever, right?”

Zhong Mingwei smiled: “Yes, very.”

A’Chou goggled at Zhong Mingwei, opened her mouth wide and forgot to take the broom back. Zhong Mingwei could not figure out why she was like this: “What?”

“You…You have a nice smile,” A’Chou suddenly realized that she was staring at a man for a long time. She felt a little embarrassed inevitably and hastened to sweep the floor with her head down. After a while, she peeked at Zhong Mingwei and whispered: “You should smile more. Don’t always keep a straight face.”

Zhong Mingwei got ill at ease: “Why should I?”

“For many things,” A’Chou put the broom down, knelt seriously in front of Zhong Mingwei’s bed and stared at his eyes, “Was today’s porridge good?”

Zhong Mingwei couldn’t help laughing: “Yes.”