Did Miss become a nun today?

When Guan Yun returned, Pei Changyu had been lying on the ground for an hour.

He probably tried to get up, but not only did he fail, he also bumped his forehead on the corner of the table.

"Young Master!" Guan Yun quickly helped him up. "What happened to you? Why are you lying here?"

Pei Changyu waved his hand to indicate that he was alright, but his gaze fell on the doorway and the light in his eyes dimmed.

"Did Miss Biao do this?" Guan Yun asked in a low voice.

Pei Changyu's gaze was darker than the night outside, and Guan Yun wisely kept quiet.

Fine, Miss Biao won't bother with him; she's in a bad mood anyway.

When Xie Yunchu returned to the courtyard after her evening class, the light was still on in the next room, and two swaying shadows were reflected on the window paper. Guan Yun was inside changing Pei Changyu's dressing.

Xie Yun Chu glanced at it only once and went straight into her room.

After copying the scriptures for a while, I washed up with water and then went to bed.

In the darkness, she heard Guan Yun's voice from next door, "Young master, your ankle is so swollen, you really can't get out of bed for the next few days."

She didn't hear what was said after that, and turned over to sleep.

The next morning, Xie Yun Chu went out before dawn as usual.

I glanced at it as I passed by next door; the door was closed and there was no sound from inside, so I quickened my pace and walked away.

Hui Niang was waiting for her in the dining hall. As soon as they met, she pulled her to a corner and lowered her voice: "Last night, some officials came and circled around the nunnery. I wonder if they were looking for the person in your courtyard."

"But they didn't come in. They just sent someone to the nunnery to ask if it's safe there."

Xie Yun Chu's heart tightened. "The person hasn't left the courtyard. The walls are high, and no one outside can see us. Don't come to my place too often these next few days, or I'll get you into trouble."

"Then you'd better be careful not to get caught."

"Yes, I know."

Thinking of something, she asked, "Do you know when the nun will return?"

Hui Niang shook her head, "I don't know either. Every time I ask, they say the return date is uncertain."

Xie Yun Chu remained silent and did not ask any further questions.

The weather has gotten cold these past few days, and the charity hall is basically finished. There are still some finishing touches left, which were finally completed when the first snow fell on the mountain.

The charity hall has started registering people one after another, and some have already moved in.

I've been busy these past few days and rarely come back to the courtyard. Now that the charity event is coming to an end, everyone is going back to their own places.

Under the old locust tree in the courtyard, Pei Changyu sat with his back against the trunk, his cane placed to the side, and a thin layer of snow had already settled on his shoulders.

Guan Yun was not there, and the courtyard was quiet, devoid of human voices.

He sat there motionless, dressed in thin clothes, his face as white as paper. In such dim light, he truly looked like a ghost.

Hearing the noise, Pei Changyu turned around and looked over, his voice clear and gentle, "You're back?"

Xie Yun Chu didn't reply and turned back into the house.

Wearing so little and sitting in the yard in the dead of winter, she probably really enjoyed the feeling of being frozen stiff. Naturally, she wouldn't meddle in other people's business.

He can sit for as long as he wants, as long as he's happy.

Pei Changyu's eyes darkened slightly, his fingers curled, and he murmured as he looked at the lamp in the room, "Now you don't even want to look at it anymore?"

"If I were to die, wouldn't you have any mercy?"

Xie Yun Chu went inside and lit a lamp. There was no brazier in the room, and she shivered from the cold.

Her room was in the middle, with Pei Changyu living to the east, and the kitchen to the west connected to a kang (heated brick bed) in her room. In order to get a good night's sleep, she put on another piece of clothing and went to the kitchen to start a fire.

The ashes on the stove were three inches thick; I managed to clean them up by covering my mouth and nose.

Just as he was about to go to the yard to get firewood, he opened the door and saw Pei Changyu standing at the door, leaning on his cane and holding firewood in his other hand.

She didn't stand on ceremony and reached out to accept it, saying, "Thank you, benefactor."

She squatted down to start a fire, but failed several times. She was secretly annoyed. She had learned everything in the nunnery, but she hadn't learned how to start a fire.

The person at the door limped in. "I'll do it."

As he spoke, he took the tinder from her hand, slowly squatted down, and finished in one go.

He looked up. "I'll watch the fire for you. Go and boil the water."

Xie Yunchu nodded. "Thank you."

Although the kitchen here has been unused for a long time, it is still fully equipped with pots and pans, which is quite convenient.

A large pot of water boiled, filling the kitchen with steam and warmth. Water began to drip from the window in the corner, which was covered with a thin layer of frost.

She held a bowl of hot water to warm her hands, took a small sip, and the warmth spread from her throat into her limbs and bones, making her feel warm all over.

The fire in the stove popped with a "crack," and she was slightly startled, only then remembering that someone was still sitting by the stove.

Pei Changyu remained silent, staring intently at the fire.

She scooped up another bowl of hot water and carried it back into the house.

After copying the scriptures under the lamp for half an hour, she got up, opened the window, and looked outside. The snow was falling more heavily, and a cold wind carrying snowflakes rushed in, making it chilly.

She closed the window, reached into the pre-warmed bedding, found it was already warm, and contentedly slipped inside.

A warm feeling spread up from beneath her, blowing away the chill that had accumulated throughout the day. She stretched and sighed contentedly.

The winter night in the mountains is quiet, but tonight the snow weighs down the rooftops. The tree branches can't support the weight of the snow, so they sway slightly, then collapse with a muffled thud before falling silent again.

As she listened, drowsiness crept in, and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Just then, a suppressed cough came from next door.

Intermittent, as if desperately trying to hold back, yet unable to, the sounds stuck in the throat one after another, making one feel uncomfortable just listening to them.

Xie Yun Chu's eyelids twitched, but she didn't open them.

The coughing stopped for a moment, then resumed shortly afterward, more urgent and severe than before, interspersed with short, labored breaths.

She opened her eyes.

He stared at the beam above his head for a long time in the darkness, coughing repeatedly. Suddenly, he remembered the image of him squatting in front of the stove to start a fire.

She rolled over and pulled the blanket over her head.

The coughing came from behind a wall, growing louder and louder, which was very annoying.

She simply sat up, wrapped herself in the blanket, and began chanting scriptures.

Gradually, the coughing drowned out the chanting.

She finally opened her eyes, threw off the covers, got off the kang (a heated brick bed), put on her coat, and went out the door.

The kitchen light was still on.

Then I realized that I hadn't heard anyone come out of the kitchen.

Pei Changyu knelt and lay half-prone by the stove, one hand supporting himself on the ground, the other hand pressed tightly against his mouth, coughing so hard that his whole body was shaking.

She knelt down and touched his forehead; it was burning hot.

Guanyun hadn't returned, and there was no one in the courtyard who could help. She sighed, still not knowing what bad things she had done in her past life.

Even after becoming a monk, I still couldn't escape this person.

She added some firewood to the stove and helped the person back to the next room.

He was burning up and had little strength left, so he leaned half his body on her shoulder and pressed down heavily on her.

After settling him on the kang (a heated brick bed), Xie Yunchu fed him water and added a quilt.

After finishing all that, she straightened up and prepared to go back to bed.

Just as she turned around, her wrist suddenly tightened, and she lost her balance, falling backward.

"Don't go...don't go..."

He held her tightly around the waist and back, buried his head in the crook of her neck, and mumbled incoherently over and over again.

"Don't leave me..."

"Please don't leave me...please..."

Xie Yun Chu struggled twice but couldn't break free. His whole body was burning hot, like a piece of red-hot coal, and you could feel the scorching heat even through several layers of clothing.

She reached out and pried his fingers open. "Pei Changyu, let go."

He didn't move, but instead tightened his grip on his arms, mumbling something incoherently.

The force was surprisingly strong, and she had no choice but to kneel awkwardly on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

He was delirious with fever, like a curled-up kitten, clinging to her body.