The 60s Island: The Daily Life of a Capitalist Young Lady with the Army - Chapter 77: Long Peiye Was Indeed Having a Tough Time

Chapter 77: Long Peiye Was Indeed Having a Tough Time

The subsequent stories no longer contained twists or scientific explanations.

From the mist in deep mountains that led travelers astray, to the faint, elusive singing only sentinels could hear along the border, to a peculiar village rumored to reveal a person’s life force energy—each tale grew progressively more eerie and unsettling.

Long Peiye’s voice, though not loud, seemed to carry hooks that gently scraped at one’s heartstrings.

When he described a soldier standing guard in the uninhabited Gobi Desert witnessing an entire troop of ancient armored soldiers passing by in complete silence, Xu Xiangsi felt the hairs on her arms stand on end.

With a swift motion, she grabbed his sleeve again, this time clutching it tightly.

She was genuinely terrified.

After finishing the story, Long Peiye found her mixture of fear and fascination both amusing and inexplicably satisfying.

Time slipped away quietly as one story followed another.

The clock on the wall showed the hour hand slowly passing midnight.

The night had grown deep.

As Long Peiye concluded the final story and was about to ask if she wanted to hear more, he noticed Xu Xiangsi finally succumbing to exhaustion, letting out a delicate yawn.

A glistening tear of fatigue even welled up at the corner of her eye.

That tiny dewdrop-like tear trembled on her long lashes with her yawn, shimmering like morning dew under the dim lamplight with an indescribable tenderness.

Long Peiye’s heart softened inexplicably.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he unconsciously lowered his voice to a gentler tone: “It’s very late.”

“Time to sleep.”

Xu Xiangsi initially wanted to stubbornly insist, “I’m not tired.”

But she swallowed the words before they left her lips.

She wasn’t sleepy—she was just too frightened by his dreadful stories to sleep.

But he was different.

Before dawn tomorrow, he would need to depart for training drills, and he would be the one bearing the exhaustion.

At this thought, her stubborn resistance instantly evaporated.

She buried her face deeper into the blanket, her voice muffled: “I know.”

“You should go back and sleep.”

Long Peiye gazed at her deeply, as if trying to see through the blanket to discern her current expression.

But he said nothing more: “Mm, goodnight.”

He stood up, quietly returned the chair to its original position, then turned and walked out of the inner room.

His footsteps faded into the distance, followed by the soft click of the outer door closing.

The room fell into complete silence.

…

Returning to his own room, Long Peiye efficiently completed his bedtime routine.

As a soldier, he was long accustomed to falling asleep quickly in any environment.

Within minutes of his head touching the pillow, even breathing filled the small room.

He slept deeply.

An indeterminate amount of time passed.

In his dreams, an extremely faint rustling sound, light as a feather, brushed against his alert nerve endings.

Long Peiye’s body reacted before his mind could process it.

He woke almost instantly, every muscle tensing as his hands subconsciously clenched into fists, ready to respond to any sudden situation.

This was instinct carved into his bones.

However, the next moment.

A familiar, subtle fragrance unique to Xu Xiangsi—mingled with scents of grass and sunlight—drifted faintly into his nostrils.

His taut body relaxed abruptly.

So it was her.

Long Peiye remained motionless, not even altering his breathing rhythm, still feigning deep sleep.

He wanted to see what this little woman was up to, sneaking into his room in the middle of the night instead of sleeping.

Her footsteps were light, carrying a tentative, almost guilty quality.

She stood by the bed for a long while, as if trying to determine whether he was truly asleep.

Then, he felt the edge of the mattress dip slightly.

She had climbed onto the bed.

For a moment, Long Peiye’s breath nearly hitched.

Next, he felt a soft pillow being carefully placed beside him, at a deliberate distance.

Then came the faint rustle of fabric—she seemed to have lain down.

Throughout the entire process, she moved as quietly as possible, clearly afraid of waking him.

Long Peiye almost laughed inwardly.

This silly girl.

But what happened next was something he never expected.

Just when he thought she would lie there quietly, a small, cool hand tentatively reached over, then cautiously, almost hesitantly, lightly grasped the corner of his pajama shirt.

Just a tiny corner.

As if it were a talisman that could bring her peace.

Having done this, she seemed to finally relax, shifting slightly to find a comfortable position before falling still.

Soon, the sound of even, steady breathing arose beside him.

She had fallen asleep.

In the darkness, Long Peiye slowly opened his eyes.

He didn’t even need to turn his head to picture how she must look now.

Eyes tightly shut, small hand clutching the corner of his shirt, like a little animal that had found a safe refuge.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

So all that earlier bravado about “fifty cents” and “one yuan” had been an act.

This little woman had clearly been terrified by his half-true, half-fabricated ghost stories, too scared to sleep alone, and had sneaked over to “take refuge” with him.

Long Peiye felt as if his heart were being gently, repeatedly scratched by a kitten’s paw.

It was ticklish, tingling, and carried an indescribable sweetness.

He thought she was utterly adorable.

Clearly terrified, yet putting on a brave face.

Too frightened to sleep, yet still thoughtful enough to remember he had early training tomorrow and had urged him to come back and rest.

His little wife… truly a contradictory, heart-tugging creature.

Long Peiye turned his head and, in the dim light, greedily traced the contours of her sleeping profile.

He felt a powerful urge to turn over, to tightly, tightly pull this foolish, stubborn little woman into his arms.

As for Xu Xiangsi, she had only made this absurd decision after an intense internal struggle.

After Long Peiye left, she told herself she wasn’t afraid.

She was a modern woman from the 21st century, a staunch materialist!

Those white shadows in the mass graves, those armored soldiers on the Gobi Desert—they were all illusions! Magnetic fields! Refractions of light!

Yes, that had to be it.

But…

She herself was the greatest contradiction to science.

If something as absurd as time travel could happen to her—something so unbelievable it defied all logic—what else was impossible?

Long Peiye’s stories were so detailed, his tone so convincing—it didn’t seem like he was making them up.

What if…

What if they were true?

Once this thought emerged, it grew like rampant weeds, instantly overwhelming her mind.

In the darkness, the shadow of the curtain seemed to transform into a figure with disheveled hair.

The pile of clothes in the corner looked like a crouching monster.

Even the howling sea wind outside the window sounded like ghostly wails.

Xu Xiangsi abruptly buried her head under the quilt, feeling every hair on her body stand on end.

No!

If she stayed any longer, she would scare herself to death!

She threw off the covers with sudden determination, her mind fixated on a single thought.

Go find Long Peiye!

He was a soldier! Radiating masculine energy!

Staying close to him would surely be safe!

Thus began her furtive, thief-like journey into his room.

…

Meanwhile, Long Peiye was genuinely struggling.

The faint pity and amusement in his heart were quickly replaced by another, more primal and scorching emotion.

He was a vigorous, healthy man—not some clueless block of wood.

The girl he liked lay completely defenseless beside him.

Her subtle fragrance acted like an invisible hook, relentlessly teasing its way into his nostrils.

Her warm breath brushed against his ear.

He could even feel the soft, astonishing heat radiating from her body.

This was the very essence of tender warmth and delicate beauty.

Long Peiye’s body instantly tensed like a fully drawn bow.

His Adam’s apple bobbed uncontrollably, and his breathing grew heavy.