My wife is a witch princess

Chapter 12 Xia Li Doesn't Want to Be Alone

Song Che stretched comfortably and found that half of the quilt had fallen to the ground. The fatigue from last night was swept away, but he felt a pain on his left cheek, as if he had been slapped.

I turned on my phone; it was 7:30 in the morning.

I got up a little late.

Song Che took off his school uniform and prepared to go to the restroom.

"Holy crap!"

He stumbled and almost fell face-first to the ground. Something tripped him; looking down, he saw half of a blanket lying on the floor.

The blanket rustled a few times, and then a sleepy head poked out from the edge of the bed. Xia Li, with her messy silver hair, had a blank and bewildered expression. She turned her graceful neck from side to side, seemingly still not understanding what was going on.

Song Che's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a wave of fear wash over him.

If I hadn't felt something was off under my feet, I would have definitely stepped on solid ground...

Good heavens, the Witch Princess wasn't killed by the blanket alone, but was almost finished off by one of her own.

"……Um?"

Xia Li rubbed her silver hair in a daze, completely unaware that she was almost about to be reincarnated and meet the King of Hell of this place.

"You...sleepwalked yesterday?" Song Che asked tentatively.

"...I had insomnia." Her voice was soft, slightly hoarse from just waking up.

"You'll catch a cold sleeping on the floor. Remember to sleep on the bed next time." Song Che finally understood the situation. It's normal to have insomnia on the first day in an unfamiliar environment. "I'll go get you a toothbrush. Wash up and have breakfast."

"……oh."

The slight confusion on Xia Li's face quickly faded, and she returned to her usual aloof demeanor. However, there was a strange glint in her eyes as she looked at Song Che. "Last night, you talked a lot of inappropriate things in your sleep."

"What did I say?"

Song Che's heart tightened. Had he had some strange dream last night?

He doesn't remember.

"...A very troubling statement," Xia Li stated expressionlessly, then covered her mouth and sneezed. "Do I need to repeat it from the beginning?"

"Speak," Song Che said, steeling himself.

"...Kiss me."

Alright, case solved. The source of that faint pain on my face has been found.

Song Che raised his hand to stop him, "...Let's go brush our teeth. There's no magical tooth-cleansing wood here, you need a toothbrush. I'll teach you."

Song Che helped Xia Li up from the ground, then brought out her crutches from the bedroom and handed them to her, saying, "Remember, you must sleep in the bed next time. There's no magic to keep you warm here. If you get cold, you'll be the one who suffers."

As Xia Li listened to his rambling instructions, a fitting word unexpectedly appeared in her impoverished vocabulary.

Old mother.

Song Che... is a mother.

She nodded, indicating that she had heard: "Okay."

Song Che found a disposable toothbrush and handed it to her, squeezing out two tubes of toothpaste onto the bristles.

I poured myself a glass of cold water, let it soak for a while, thought for a moment, then went to the living room and picked up the thermos, which still had some hot water inside.

Song Che usually washes up by himself and just brushes his teeth with cold water. Last night, he didn't buy any daily necessities, so he took a bowl from the small kitchen partitioned off from the living room.

"Watch closely, and follow along with me."

After pouring the warm water, Song Che picked up the cup and his toothbrush.

"Hold the toothbrush in your right hand and the cup in your left."

"Can I change it?"

Xia Li's right hand was a little awkward.

"Whatever you want." Song Che took a small sip of water. "Take a small sip first, rinse your mouth, and then spit it out."

"Achoo..." Xia Li sneezed and stared intently at Song Che.

"Take a mouthful of water."

"...He took it in his mouth."

"After you put it in your mouth, rinse your mouth and spit it out."

"..."

"You drank it?" Song Che looked at her empty mouth and her still calm face.

Xia Li blinked but didn't say anything.

Did she drink it? It's so hard to guess.

"...Take another sip after drinking it, don't be too rigid."

Xia Li took another mouthful, puffed out her cheeks for two seconds, rinsed her mouth, and then spat it out.

"Okay, now put the toothbrush bristles on your teeth... Hey, hey, don't put it in your mouth and rub it down your throat, and you can't eat the toothpaste either. Never mind, I'll squeeze some more for you."

"You said we don't need to be so rigid," Xia Li said logically. "Sweet things are theoretically edible."

Rat poison is sweet, would you like to eat it?

"You should... be a little more rigid and watch me do it first."

Xia Li nodded, her gaze shifting from the toothbrush in his hand to the few bubbles at the corner of his mouth, then back to the toothbrush. She lowered her head, picked up the toothbrush, put it in her mouth, and imitated Song Che's actions, puffing out her cheeks, rolling her eyes, and then pursing her lips. She brushed once on the left side and twice on the right. After brushing, she turned to look at him and frowned slightly.

Song Che: ……

You're so rigid.

Song Che remained silent, focusing on brushing his teeth.

In the cramped bathroom, only the dripping of the faucet and the soft sounds of the two brushing their teeth could be heard.

The mirror reflected two figures side by side: a boy wearing a simple sweatshirt with his hair slightly messy from sleeping; and a girl with loose silver hair, wearing oversized pajamas, with slender shoulders and a head shorter than the boy.

White foam gradually filled my mouth.

Song Che turned his head to check the position of his back molars in the mirror, and saw that Xia Li was also watching his movements carefully through the mirror, and then adjusting the angle of her toothbrush.

"You need to brush the inside, the outside, and the chewing surfaces."

With foam in his mouth, Song Che's voice was a little muffled. He demonstrated by opening his mouth wide and brushing the inside of his mouth.

Xia Li also tried to open her mouth wide, but the action was a bit unfamiliar and unseemly to her, so she only opened it a crack and carefully inserted the toothbrush.

"Brush your toothbrush once in the morning and once before bed." Song Che rinsed the foam from his mouth and rinsed the toothbrush with water. "Your mouth will feel much more comfortable after brushing it clean."

"Um."

"Come on, let's have breakfast together." Song Che put down his toothbrush, washed his face, and said, "I'll go downstairs and bring it for you. You should rest a bit more."

Xia Li tugged at Song Che's sleeve, her tone calm but firm, "...I don't want to be alone."

Song Che turned around and examined the situation for a moment.

"...Okay, then wash your face. Here's a towel."

Xia Li dried her face, walked out of the bathroom, and slept through the night. Her knees were mostly fine, but her ankles were uncomfortable when she walked.

Song Che was already waiting for her at the door.

As soon as she reached the door, Xia Li's nose twitched. She smelled a warm fragrance coming from about ten meters to the left of the first floor.

Following the directions downstairs and turning left, sure enough, the aroma came from the steamed bun shop next to the oden, where a kind-faced middle-aged woman was greeting customers.

"Yes, it's free. Breakfast is free today."

"Why is it free?"

The newly moved-in residents from out of town didn't understand.

"Today is Nanhui Safety Day. When Nanhui was hit by a major flood, this place was a disaster relief point, a rear base supplying food to the soldiers. Without those soldiers, there would be no Nanhui as we know it today."

"Oh, I remember. Well then, you're welcome. Respectfully, soldiers of Nanhui."

The resident held up a steamed bun, speaking with great enthusiasm.

Laughter and conversation filled the breakfast shop. After finishing their meals, most adults would quietly slip money into their bowls or hand it to the proprietress. Some children, wanting to join in the fun, would take a few large meat buns from the proprietress. The proprietress would smile, wrinkles appearing at the corners of her eyes, and remind the children to eat slowly, before turning around to bring them a few cups of hot soy milk.

Xia Li tilted her head, not quite understanding. The humans here were different from the humans before. The people here spoke peacefully and talked about things like "whose dog had puppies" or "what new policies the country has." Unlike the people of the Hit Kingdom, who discussed things like "how to invade the Elf Forest" or "how to buy and sell female slaves."

"Boss lady, two baskets of soup dumplings, two cups of soy milk, and one egg."

Song Che only drank a cup of soy milk and ate an egg; the rest was Xia Li's.

"Okay."

A few minutes later, the soup dumplings were served, accompanied by a small dish of condiments and chili oil.

Seeing that Xia Li was a stranger, the proprietress smiled and reminded her, "Miss, don't rush when eating soup dumplings. Slurp the soup first, then eat the meat. You can't eat soup dumplings if you're in a hurry."

"……Um."

Xia Li stared at the soup dumplings, it was unclear whether she had heard anything.

Song Che was also considering whether to demonstrate it once.

However, Xia Li's knowledge of "eating" far exceeded her expected level of thinking. She used chopsticks, which she wasn't very skilled at, to pick up the soup dumpling, took a small bite, and sucked the soup.

"..."

So delicious I can't even speak?

"...It's too hot to eat."

It seems I overestimated you.

Xia Li blew on her lips, with the soup still partially swallowed in her mouth, and said, "What kind of meat is this, and what kind of noodles is this? There's not a speck of dust or husks in it."

"Pork, white flour, the buns are naturally free of dust and husks." Song Che finished speaking, paused, and added, "Unlike our place, which is constantly embroiled in war and conflict, or where the king imposes taxes ninety years in the future. Relatively speaking, this place is very stable, and our country is very powerful. Of course, all of this is relative; the suffering in the world has never disappeared."