As soon as the words fell, Ning Anmiao got up and turned off the glowing night - light.
The room instantly plunged into darkness.
After a few seconds of silence, Ning Anmiao finally couldn't help but sigh. She turned over and said in a soft voice, "Lie flat."
Hearing this, Lu Yan shifted his body and lay flat.
Ning Anmiao turned to her side, reached over from under the quilt, and placed her hand on Lu Yan's abdomen.
Lu Yan immediately stiffened and said in a deep voice, "What are you doing?"
"Aren't you having a stomachache?" In the darkness, Ning Anmiao's tone was extremely gentle. "Rubbing it like this will make the pain go away."
She exerted a little strength with her hand. The warmth from her palm made Lu Yan catch his breath.
Instinctively, he leaned slightly towards Ning Anmiao.
"Does it still hurt?" Ning Anmiao asked after rubbing for a while. "Do you want to drink some more hot water?"
Lu Yan looked up and deliberately leaned closer to Ning Anmiao's neck. His voice was muffled. "No more. But it still hurts a bit."
"Let me rub it for a while longer."
...
In the end, Ning Anmiao didn't know how long she had rubbed. The pitch - black environment was so suitable for sleeping that her eyelids grew heavy and she fell asleep.
Lu Yan didn't fall asleep. He noticed that the hand on his abdomen suddenly stopped moving. Coupled with the even breathing sound beside his ear, he knew that Ning Anmiao had fallen asleep.
The corners of his lips curled up slightly. He gently moved her hand away and placed it in a more comfortable position for her.
When Ning Anmiao was sleeping, her chest rose and fell slightly. She looked very serene.
Even though she was now in "Lu Yan's" body, she still exuded a gentle and tranquil aura that was uniquely hers.
This kind of heart - warming feeling was so addictive that Lu Yan didn't want to let go.
Over the years, countless moments of hesitation and bewilderment seemed unimportant when he saw Miaomiao's smiling eyes.
Her presence had healed too many wounds that the world had inflicted on him.
His Miaomiao deserved the best of everything.
Before, he thought giving her freedom was the best return for her; but now, a selfish thought suddenly occurred to him.
He wanted her to stay by his side.
He wanted Ning Anmiao to stay by his side openly, boldly, and passionately.
---
The next day.
Ning Anmiao got up early, washed up as usual, changed her clothes, and sat down at the dining table to have breakfast.
It had been more than a month since their souls had switched.
The two of them had more or less adapted well to their "new bodies".
But as time passed, Ning Anmiao became more and more uncertain.
Could it be that they really couldn't switch back?
She lowered her head and stared blankly at the hands that didn't belong to her, looking a bit dazed.
Lu Yan, sitting beside her, seemed to notice something and said calmly, "Are you thinking about how to switch back?"
Sure enough, only Lu Yan could see through her thoughts at a glance.
Ning Anmiao nodded, admitting it. "The longer time passes, the more uncertain I feel."
Then she continued, "It's already been over a month, and there's no sign of our bodies switching back. I'm so afraid that we'll be like this for the rest of our lives."
"Maybe we should try asking a doctor?" Ning Anmiao proposed a rather unfeasible solution.
Lu Yan's hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly. He looked up at her.
"Miaomiao."
Their eyes met, each with different emotions in them.
Compared to Ning Anmiao, Lu Yan's eyes were more determined and calm. "I can understand your uneasiness. I'm just as worried as you are."
"As of now, we know that we can't find a second pair of people who have switched bodies, and we can't tell others and ask for help. This is the most difficult part."
He paused for a moment and then continued, "If this matter were to be known by a third person, what kind of chaos would ensue?"
"Xinghe might change hands, and the Lu family would also be in turmoil. The two of us might even be taken to a research lab for human experimentation."
"If you can't hold your nerve and panic first, can we bear these consequences?"
Ning Anmiao was stunned. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.
Lu Yan was always like this. His vision was longer - term than Ning Anmiao's, and his sense of crisis was much stronger.
She pursed her lips and didn't mention seeing a doctor again.
The human heart was the most unpredictable thing. She was well aware that she couldn't be sure whether the doctor they found would really help them whole - heartedly or turn them in to the research institute instead.
This was really scary.
"There are too many temptations in this world that lure all kinds of people. They won't be touched by your sincerity. Instead, they'll use it as a weapon to hurt you."
Ning Anmiao lowered her head and said nothing.
She had already experienced what Lu Yan was talking about.
Due to her family background and education, she was used to treating people sincerely and never wanted to speculate about others with malice.
But everything that had happened during this period forced her to admit Lu Yan's point of view.
It was as if in an instant, her original worldview had been shattered. Her previous principles and beliefs seemed so ridiculous.
The cruel truth told her that sincerity couldn't always be reciprocated.
She was in a very low mood, with her eyebrows and eyes drooping.
Lu Yan naturally didn't miss the emotions on her face. He said gently, "I'm not saying that your sincere self is bad. On the contrary, your purity and integrity are qualities that many people don't have."
Ning Anmiao replied listlessly, "Thank you for the compliment."
At this moment, any of Lu Yan's honest words sounded like consolation to Ning Anmiao.
"I'm not consoling you," Lu Yan said in a deep voice. "These pure qualities of yours are exactly what attracted me to you."
His calmness and composure came from his rich experiences. "Compared to you, I've been contaminated by too much of the world. I've long lost my original state of mind."
"However, these experiences also teach me how to protect someone in difficult times, to keep her from being hurt and defiled."
"For me, the person I truly want to protect is you."
Ning Anmiao looked solemn. Hearing Lu Yan's affectionate confession, she was touched for a moment, but mostly worried.
Lu Yan's excellence couldn't be imitated overnight. His maturity and calmness were things she couldn't learn in a lifetime.
But they might switch bodies and be each other for the rest of their lives.
This put more pressure on her.
She didn't say a word, but everything was written on her face.
Seeing her in a low mood, Lu Yan was silent for a few seconds and then said, "I'll go and talk to the abbot of the temple we went to before to see if he has any solutions."
The abbot seemed to have some skills. Maybe he really had a brilliant plan to help them switch back.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Lu Yan reached over and held her hand. "Don't think too much, okay?"