My body is sore and weak, my neck feels twisted, and something is poking my arm?
Renz woke up, staring at the ceiling. His mind wasn't quite clear. He hadn't slept well last night. First, he lay on the floor for almost an hour, and even when he got into bed, he couldn't sleep comfortably. He had to precisely control his distance, feeling like half his body was hanging off the side. And why was his left arm so painful?
Renz turned his head.
Erina Nakiri was using his left arm as a pillow.
When did this happen?
Renz didn't care about when it happened; he silently pulled his arm out. Sleeping in that position—well, it'd be a miracle if his arm wasn't crippled. Sleeping like that, one would get shoulder periarthritis, the other cervical spondylosis.
Renz's movement to pull out his arm was already very slight, but unexpectedly, Erina still woke up, though she looked hazy, still in a dazed state.
"You're awake?" Renz carefully checked the distance across the bed.
Good. He hadn't made a mistake. Erina, who was perfectly fine, had suddenly, in her sleep, moved closer to him.
Could this be his fault?
Erina, still somewhat drowsy, saw a face so close to hers and immediately snapped out of her sleepy state. Not only did she become alert, but she also almost cried out.
Renz was stunned. If Erina cried out, the situation would go south. He quickly rolled over and gently covered her lips with his hand.
Erina, with her mouth covered by Renz's hand, had already recalled what happened last night. Her subconscious reaction was due to years of sleeping alone; she was still not fully awake and was suddenly startled to find another person—a man—next to her, nearly shouting.
Coming to her senses, she recognized Renz.
Erina gestured with her eyes.
Renz released his hand.
"Erina, scaring someone like that, you could scare them to death!"
"Don't mess with me!" Renz let out a long breath.
Just then, he suddenly heard Erina softly panting.
Renz was abruptly aware of how intimate his movements were. Half his body was leaning on Erina, and the distance between them was practically nil—even closer than when he first woke up.
Renz propped himself up with his hand, and as he prepared to get up, he seemed to pull the quilt, and being at the edge of the bed, he slipped, falling to the floor.
Both he and the quilt landed on the floor.
Erina quickly sat up. "Are you okay?"
Renz was filled with grievances. This time, he was truly aggrieved.
"Miss, how about you rent a house for me outside? I'm begging you," Renz said, somewhat on the verge of breaking down. "I wake up this morning, after sleeping perfectly fine last night, meticulously controlling our distance. I wake up, and you're using my arm as a pillow. Not only is my arm numb, but then you scare me like that when I get up. What grudge do you have against me?!"
"I didn't do it on purpose!" Erina quickly got out of bed to help Renz up, but unexpectedly, in her haste, she stepped on Renz's calf—which was wrapped in the quilt—and she also slipped.
Renz, lying on the floor, didn't even care about being stepped on; he reached out to try and catch Erina.
But ultimately, she fell anyway.
Thump!
"I get it, Miss Erina. You're here to punish me from heaven," Renz said, grimacing and taking a deep breath. "When I was playing professionally, someone cursed people with fast hands like me, saying we'd never find a partner."
"Is that a curse? That's a blessing!"
"Next time I see him, I'll apologize to him!"
What suffering!
"Are you disgusted with me?" Erina was a little unhappy. She had genuinely wanted to apologize, but Renz's words made her very upset.
"I told you I didn't do it on purpose. When I woke up, we were sleeping too close. I was a bit groggy from just waking up, not fully conscious. I just got startled. And didn't you fall off the bed because your movements were too exaggerated? You're blaming that on me too?" Erina retorted.
"Then what about you stepping on me?" Renz complained. "You get out of bed and immediately step on me? Even if I'm the live-in son-in-law, I shouldn't be that subservient."
"I wanted to help you up, but I missed a step. You and the quilt fell together. How was I supposed to know I'd hit your foot?" Erina immediately argued back.
"So, I'm wrong again?" Renz felt a little dizzy.
"You're not wrong, I am," Erina sighed.
"It seems Miss isn't entirely unreasonable," Renz nodded.
"My mistake was letting you sleep on the bed yesterday. If you hadn't slept on the bed, none of this would have happened," Erina calmly analyzed.
"Are all you women maxed out on your arguing skills?"
Renz realized he couldn't win against this woman. "You and Rina are truly cut from the same cloth."
"However, Erina, before you argue with me—"
"Could you please tidy up your clothes?"
Renz suddenly noticed a detail, and looking at the scenery above, he immediately began to chant the Great Compassion Mantra to himself. His awareness was there, but he still needed to carefully refine his rapid recoil control technique.
Erina's face flushed slightly, and she immediately crossed her arms over her chest, losing all her previous arguing swagger.
She snatched the quilt covering Renz.
"Get out! Get OUT!!!!"
This battle, I, Renz, was still the more skilled one! Even if this last move was a stroke of luck, it was still a victory.
Renz, told to get out, unlocked the master bedroom door. He walked out, hands on his hips, his back and waist aching.
It wasn't that he couldn't win an argument against Erina. Who was he? A pianist! The kind of person who could reason with trolls until they cried. But was Erina a troll?
No!
That was his future wife.
A man, well, it's not shameful to give his wife an inch, to give her a bit of ground. If you think about it this way, no matter how fierce Erina was, how unreasonable, how much of a tigress—she still bore him children.
A man shouldn't argue seriously with a woman.
If you argue seriously, you lose.
Walking out, Renz saw Alice Nakiri sitting in the living room with two dark circles under her eyes, yawning.
He waved and greeted her, "Good morning."
"Didn't sleep well last night?" Renz asked, frowning. "You look a bit rough."
Didn't sleep well? Don't you have any idea why?
Alice was truly going crazy. Last night, every time she thought of that sound, her mind couldn't stop imagining things. The more she imagined, the less she could sleep. She spent the entire night imagining. The most terrifying thing wasn't even that.
In the early morning, the noise from the room was astonishingly loud. Then seeing Renz walk out, hands on his hips, looking utterly deflated—it seemed they were still at it even after waking up?
You two really are something. No wonder you already have two children. Don't just "bloom thrice," how about another one? At this rate, a third child will be here soon!
"You didn't sleep well last night either, did you?" Alice said with a displeased expression. She deliberately spoke that way to provoke their sense of shame.
Now, their shame should be exploding, right?
"It took me an hour or two to fall asleep last night, how could I sleep well?"
Renz grew more annoyed the more he thought about it. If she had just let him sleep on the bed earlier, instead of being so coy for so long, his whole back wouldn't be ruined from sleeping on the floor. And the worst part was—even on the bed—he didn't get any peace.
The morning started with a confrontation.
Alice's face instantly darkened.
One... one or two hours? That fierce?
Have I underestimated you two too much?!
---
What will be the lingering effects of Renz and Erina's chaotic night and morning on their dynamic? And how will Alice's growing suspicions and judgments further complicate their already precarious fabricated family life?
----Support with power stones