#25: A Journey of Love

These past two days, I’ve been troubled by a toothache and some stressful issues at work, which made my sleep restless.

After work, Lin Zhiyi came to pick me up in the car, and I leaned back against the seat to rest my eyes.

Before bed, he brought over a wooden foot bath bucket, placed an mugwort sachet inside, and carefully carried over a kettle of freshly boiled water from the kitchen. As he poured the boiling water over the mugwort sachet, he imitated a deep, magnetic male voice like a broadcaster narrating: “High-quality mugwort sachets often require only 100-degree Celsius boiling water, using the simplest soaking method to create a nurturing tonic for warming yang energy and promoting circulation.”

Ten minutes later, he added some cool water to the bucket, measured the temperature with a thermometer, and then asked, “Dà Níng, would you like to experience a five-star foot bath?”

“Sure, I’ll read a book while soaking my feet,” I replied. Since he was being so proactive, I naturally wanted to enjoy it.

“Don’t read; put on an eye mask and focus on soaking your feet. Feel the energy flow from the Yongquan acupoint on your soles all the way to the Baihui point on your head. The last time I had a cold, I soaked my feet like this, and I felt better the next day.”

“What if I fall asleep with the eye mask on? I tend to doze off when soaking my feet.”

“Then I’ll carry you back.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his words, recalling the night he carried me from Xinbao’s bed back to ours.

Every girl has a little princess inside her who longs to be cherished.

Next, he brought over a chair and laid out an mugwort cushion .

“Just for a foot soak? Isn’t this too much fuss?” I asked.

“You sit on the mugwort cushion, wear the mugwort eye mask, soak your feet in mugwort-infused water, and let me take you on a journey of ‘Ai’ (both meaning mugwort and love),” he said.

To regulate my body, I’d been doing moxibustion once a week recently.

After moxibustion treatment, my body would have the scent of mugwort, and I wasn’t supposed to shower that night.

That evening, after finishing my routine and slipping into bed, Lin Zhiyi, who had warmed the bed beforehand, hugged me from behind.

I said, “Don’t hug me; I had moxibustion today, and I smell like mugwort.”

“I know how to do moxibustion too!” He said nonchalantly.

“How could you?” I was puzzled. My teacher who does moxibustion is very professional, having practiced for over a decade. It requires a lot of expertise.

“After making love, just pinch a bit,” he whispered close to my ear.

“...”

I blushed and felt my body heat up. His words were as effective as moxibustion.

After a moment.

“Why do you always make such funny jokes? Is it natural talent?” I humbly asked him about the art of speaking humorously.

“It’s innate,” he said.

I laughed and took out my memo to jot down our conversation.

“Dà Lín, you can’t talk anymore; every time you speak, I can’t fall asleep.” After finishing, I lay down and said to him.

“Alright, my mouth has other functions. Want to try them?”

As he spoke, his warm breath already enveloped me… Due to my cold constitution and dampness, I bought a mugwort mattress, thinking that health starts with improving sleep.

I bought a single-bed size, placing it where I usually sleep on the large bed.

I fell asleep lying on the mugwort mattress, but when I woke up in the morning, I found myself in Lin Zhiyi’s arms…

“I told you that thing doesn’t work. You toss and turn in your sleep,” Lin Zhiyi said.

“What does that mean?”

“It means I am your mugwort, the ‘Campus Grass’ of love, abbreviated as mugwort.”

“...”

I woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night, wanting to cuddle up to the familiar arm, but realized Lin Zhiyi wasn’t beside me. I felt an inexplicable emptiness in my heart.

Probably because Xinbao was afraid before sleeping and wanted him to stay a while, he accidentally fell asleep leaning on her bed.

Hmm? Didn’t I also soak my feet and sleep on the mugwort mattress last night?

How could I still have nightmares? For the past few days, I’ve been in deep sleep!

Could it really be as Lin Zhiyi said, that I sleep well only when he’s around?

I went to Xinbao’s room and indeed saw Lin Zhiyi sleeping beside her. I called him, “Dà Lín.”

“Baby, what’s wrong?” he asked.

“I can’t sleep well without you by my side. I had a nightmare.”

“Then I’ll come over!”

He returned to our bedroom after being woken up in the middle of the night. After listening to my nightmare, I fell back to sleep peacefully in his arms.

The latter part of the night turned into sweet dreams.

The next morning, I said to him, “I didn’t expect that when sleeping, your effect is greater than moxibustion.”

“Of course. Before bed, I gently pinch your ears—it’s called ‘love pinching.’”

The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, melting into honey in my heart.