As night fell.

After Lan Xiaoling had tidied everything up, she motioned for Gabriel to sleep in the small room next door. Although she had agreed to take him in, they still had no relationship in that regard, and she definitely couldn't let him sleep in the same bed as her.

Of course, Gabriel had no objections. Lan Xiaoling's current compromise was already a great step forward, and it made him quite satisfied.

"It gets cold at night. If you feel chilly, there's another quilt in the cabinet. I sunned it before, so you can just take it out and cover yourself with it," Lan Xiaoling explained before turning around to leave.

Just as she stepped out of the room, Gabriel said to her back, "Thank you, Xiaoling!"

Lan Xiaoling stopped in her tracks, her mind racing at his words. After a long moment of silence, she said, "There's no need to thank me. I just don't want the children to be sad." With that, she left without looking back.

Gabriel, on the other hand, lay down with a smile. Recalling every detail of what had happened that night, the corners of his thin lips curved upward involuntarily.

The first half of the night passed without incident, but in the second half, everyone was awakened by the sound of crying. Gabriel rushed over when he heard the noise and saw Yuan Man crying his heart out. He immediately went up and picked him up.

"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

When Yuan Man was still weak in the past, he would often have nightmares and cry. But since Freya had cured his illness, he had gradually stopped having such bad dreams. However, having a nightmare again tonight made Gabriel extremely worried.

"Daddy, I'm faking it!" Yuan Man whispered into his father's ear when he saw how worried his daddy was.

At that moment, Gabriel understood that the little guy was acting again. Gabriel also lowered his voice and asked, "What are you up to this time?"

Yuan Man's big black eyes, as round as grapes, rolled around, and he answered with his eyes, "Daddy, just keep acting worried. Leave everything to me."

After saying that, the little guy started crying again. Although Gabriel didn't know what he was planning, he still cooperated and pretended to be extremely worried.

"Daddy is here. Don't be afraid!"

The child's crying made Lan Xiaoling at a loss as well. She came up and patted his back. "Don't cry. Mommy is always by your side. There's nothing to be afraid of!"

Yuan Man gradually stopped crying, but the next second he started acting up. "I want to sleep with Daddy. Let's sleep together."

Upon hearing the words "sleep together", Lan Xiaoling was stunned. But Gabriel suddenly understood that this was Yuan Man's goal. Well, the little guy had become much more resourceful after not seeing him for a few months.

Gabriel also wanted to sleep together, so he continued to cooperate with the act. Watching the father and son playing along with each other, Lan Xiaoling vaguely felt something was wrong. They were clearly teaming up to deceive her.

Just as she was about to say something, Yuan Bao, who was lying next to them, suddenly turned over and started talking in his sleep. "Mommy, Yuan Bao also wants Daddy to hug him!"

And this sentence instantly broke Lan Xiaoling's defenses. Since Gabriel had appeared, Yuan Bao hadn't shown the same enthusiasm as Yuan Man. Lan Xiaoling had always thought that it was because Yuan Bao hadn't spent much time with Gabriel, so their relationship wasn't as close.

But now, hearing Yuan Bao's words in his sleep, Lan Xiaoling suddenly realized a problem. It wasn't that the child didn't rely on his father, but that she simply hadn't given the child the opportunity to do so.

Because of this, Yuan Bao had hidden his feelings in his heart and finally expressed them in his dream. Thinking of this, Lan Xiaoling went up and hugged Yuan Bao, gently caressing his face and humming the nursery rhyme she used to hum when he was a child.

Gradually, Yuan Bao's emotions settled down. He suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Lan Xiaoling with expectant eyes. "Mommy, I want Daddy to sleep with us."

Lan Xiaoling didn't expect that the always obedient child would also make this request, and her face immediately turned a bit dark. "But this bed is too small, and your daddy won't be used to sleeping in it!"

As soon as these words were out, Gabriel interrupted, "I can get used to sleeping on the floor!"

Yuan Man gave his daddy a thumbs-up and whispered, "Daddy, we can't sleep on the floor. We have to sleep in the bed!" In such weather, sleeping on the floor would surely make one sick, and he wouldn't allow his daddy to do that.

So, he deliberately said, "Mommy, it's very wet on the floor when it rains at night. We can't sleep on the floor. Besides, our bed isn't small. It's big enough for four people!"

Seeing that the little guy was bent on matchmaking, Lan Xiaoling let out a sigh in her heart. "Your daddy isn't used to sleeping with others. It's not possible!"

"I'm used to it!" As soon as Lan Xiaoling finished speaking, Gabriel threw in this sentence, leaving her speechless.

She had originally wanted to find an excuse to send Gabriel out and then coax the two children properly, but how had things turned out like this? Sleep together? No, no, she didn't want to sleep with Gabriel.

But she couldn't think of a better reason, so she could only stutter as she tried to coax the children to be obedient. However, she didn't know that the two children had already colluded and wouldn't be easily persuaded by her few words.

Yuan Man kept crying, and Yuan Bao pleaded with pitiful eyes. In the end, Lan Xiaoling had no choice but to agree to let them all sleep together.

Gabriel was quite surprised. He didn't expect the two children to be so resourceful that they had won him this opportunity. "Daddy, sleep here!" Yuan Man and Yuan Bao were overjoyed and immediately found their places and lay down.

Yuan Bao slept on one side, and Yuan Man lay next to him. The two little kids thus occupied half of the bed, and the other half was left for their daddy and mommy.

Gabriel understood the little guy's thoughts, so he lay on the edge on the other side, leaving the middle position empty for Lan Xiaoling. After the three men were settled, Lan Xiaoling fetched the quilt. When she saw the middle position, she felt uneasy.

"Yuan Bao, come and sleep in the middle!" Lan Xiaoling ordered. But to her surprise, Yuan Bao, who was always obedient, refused his mother's arrangement for the first time. "No, it's too hot in the middle. It's more comfortable on the side!"

"Then Yuan Man, move over a bit. Mommy will sleep between you two!" Lan Xiaoling said, not giving up. Anyway, she didn't want to sleep next to Gabriel.

Yuan Man was bent on matchmaking his daddy and mommy, so he naturally wouldn't be so compliant. He pretended to be asleep and ignored her.

Seeing that she had no other choice, Lan Xiaoling climbed onto the bed with a heavy heart. As she lay down, the unique scent of a woman wafted over, making Gabriel's already restless heart even more agitated.

Gabriel was just about to turn his head to look at her when Lan Xiaoling, after lying down, turned sideways towards the children and faced away from him. There was still a gap between them.

After thinking for a while, Gabriel slightly moved his body closer and then also turned sideways. His hand gently rested on Lan Xiaoling's waist. When the warm breath fell on her, Lan Xiaoling's body froze.

Even her breathing became rapid, and she didn't know how many beats it had skipped. Her voice even changed. "Gabriel, don't do this!"