At that time, she was only ten years old, and the whole experience had left her stunned.

She sat in the middle of the road, dazed for a long while.

Police officers and doctors thought something had happened to her and took turns comforting her.

It wasn’t until a police uncle offered her a lollipop that she finally spoke, "Police uncle, could you help me open this?"

She had injured her hand then and couldn’t muster the strength.

Chun Xi and the little rabbit ran out and saw a figure clad in flowery green sprinting away, standing in the courtyard with perplexed faces.

Chun Xi, staring blankly at the person who had already run off, asked the little rabbit, "Was that the young mistress?"

The little rabbit replied, "It should be, judging by the voice."

"What’s the young mistress running for?" Chun Xi anxiously followed in pursuit.

Shen Chuwei, acting on instinct, dashed straight into the study room, fully waking up in the process.

She pushed the door of the Imperial Study Room forcefully, making a "bang" as the door crashed against the wall, resounding with echoes.

Upon seeing Xiao Jinyan seated at the desk, Shen Chuwei was taken aback for a moment.

The sudden noise made Xiao Jinyan swiftly lift his head to look at the doorway, seeing someone barge in wrapped in a thin quilt, with only their head exposed.

The small face was deathly pale, looking utterly frightened.

Xiao Jinyan immediately put down the memorial he was reading, stood up, and embraced her in his arms, "Xiao Jiu, what’s wrong?"

Shen Chuwei blinked her lovely eyes a few times, looking around at the peaceful room—there was no trace of an earthquake.

Could it be that she had just been dreaming?

She looked down at the quilt in her hands, realizing she had run out while wrapped in it.

Because she was wearing a camisole inside and didn’t want to expose herself, she had instinctively wrapped herself in the quilt before rushing out.

This was also a common post-earthquake self-help method she had learned from school and the internet in modern times.

Among the various posts, there was one about what to do if caught naked during a nighttime earthquake.

There was also a news report of residents wrapping themselves in quilts as they fled from an earthquake.

Looking at Xiao Jinyan holding her, she felt so embarrassed that it could suffice for a three-bedroom apartment.

"I was sleepwalking," Shen Chuwei said and then, pushing Xiao Jinyan away, she turned and ran off like a whiff of smoke.

Xiao Jinyan was stunned for a moment. Sleepwalking?

An image suddenly flashed through his mind: a person sitting by his bed at night, stuffing food into his mouth and then running away claiming to have been sleepwalking.

The image was fleeting, and though he desperately tried to grasp it, he couldn’t catch the slightest bit.

By this time, Shen Chuwei had already run out of sight.

In the adjacent room, both Weichi and Qin Xiao heard Shen Chuwei’s shout, and both men were taken aback.

"What is an earthquake?"

The two of them asked in unison.

"I’ll go check it out," Qin Xiao said, setting down his tools and walking around from the back to the front.

Worried about Shen Chuwei and not noticing someone emerge from the darkness, Chun Xi rushed ahead and crashed right into them.

If not for Qin Xiao’s quick reflexes in catching Chun Xi, she would have been knocked flying by the inertia.

Chun Xi stood there stunned for a good while, clutching her forehead, "That hurts."

Qin Xiao had a firm chest, and Chun Xi was soft, it was like hitting a wall.

Qin Xiao glanced at Chun Xi, the light was too dim to see clearly, but he could recognize that she was Chun Xi, the maid from Lady Shen’s side.

"What are you running for?"

Chun Xi, recognizing the voice, realized she was still being held by Qin Xiao and blushed, "Let go of me quickly."

Qin Xiao frowned, "I noticed you skulking around last time, and now you’re trespassing on His Highness’s bedchamber late at night, what are you up to?"

Qin Xiao’s arms were as tight as iron clamps, no matter how furiously she struggled, for him it was as if he was handling a little chick, posing no threat whatsoever.

Chun Xi, angrily embarrassed, retorted, "I’m here to find my young mistress, let go of me."

As her words fell, a flashy multicolored figure darted past, moving so fast it was as though they were being chased.

Both Chun Xi and Qin Xiao were momentarily startled.

Soon after, the figure disappeared at the doorway.

Chun Xi, still bemused, said, "That looked like my young mistress."

"What’s your young mistress up to?" Qin Xiao’s eyes flashed with confusion; if he hadn’t seen wrong just now, that had been someone wrapped in a quilt, right?

Chun Xi pouted, "How should I know? Just let go of me, I need to go back."

Qin Xiao only then realized how delicate Chun Xi’s arms were, they could be easily broken with a bit more pressure, just as slender as his younger brother’s.

He loosened his grip.

Chun Xi took advantage of his distraction to break free from his hold and turned to run, fearing that if she was too slow, Qin Xiao would catch her again.

Qin Xiao stood there dazed, watching Chun Xi run off like a little rabbit, "I didn’t even do anything to you, what are you running for?"

After waiting for a while, Weichi didn’t see Qin Xiao return; coming over to look, he found Qin Xiao holding onto a young girl’s hand without letting go.

He clicked his tongue twice, "What are you doing, flirting with the young girl again?"

Qin Xiao glared at Weichi, "Nonsense, what are you talking about? I just suspect she has ulterior motives."

Weichi commented, "A girl from a decent family, what kind of ulterior motives could she have? You don’t think she fancies you, a rough fellow, do you?"

Qin Xiao, looking at Weichi, who was also a fellow bachelor, replied, "You make it sound like you’re any better, just as rough as I am."

Weichi didn’t deny being a rough man, especially since Lu Zhaoyan had said the same thing about him, that he was not gentle at all.

"Admitting you have a fancy for the girl?"

Qin Xiao beckoned Weichi with a crook of his finger.

Weichi, curious, leaned in.

Qin Xiao yelled right into Weichi’s ear with all his might, "Scram!"

Weichi was almost deafened by the shout.

Just as the two of them started fighting, Xiao Jinyan came out of the study room, and in front of them, he used his qinggong to leap over the wall to the neighboring yard.

If Shen Chuwei had been there, she would have surely complimented his effortless poise and immortal aura.

In a word, handsome!

Xiao Jinyan completely ignored the two men fighting.

After snapping back to reality, Qin Xiao chased Weichi around the courtyard until he admitted his fault.

Shen Chuwei ran all the way back without noticing the tussling pair, nor the little rabbit and others in the courtyard.

She returned to her room and saw her bed perfectly intact, without a trace of an earthquake; once again, she confirmed that she had only been dreaming.

She patted her small chest, took off the quilt from her body, and lay back down on the bed.

Chun Xi hurried all the way back, and just as she was about to enter the room to look for the young mistress, she saw Xiao Jinyan leap down from the wall top and land steadily on the ground, then stride towards the room.

Chun Xi paused her steps, very consciously stopping before she intruded as the third wheel.

Shen Chuwei was lying on the bed, patting her chest to calm her frightened little heart, and before she could close her eyes, she saw a figure walking in with large strides.

Seeing the moon-white hem of the garment, she guessed it was Xiao Jinyan.

Shen Chuwei was torn about whether to pretend to be asleep to cover up the embarrassment of the fake sleepwalk from earlier.

As she was still indecisive, Xiao Jinyan had already walked to the bed’s edge, lifted his garment to sit down, and gazed at Shen Chuwei with a concerned expression, "Xiao Jiu, what happened to you just now?"

Shen Chuwei shook her head, "Nothing happened."

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