After Cat A Saved the Wrong Female Lead - Chapter 45

Chapter 45: The Sound of Breathing

They didn’t talk much over the next few days.

Not out of discomfort.

Just a shared understanding that quiet was easier than explanation.

Even stillness had its own kind of rhythm.

Qin Shiyang would return from work.

Tang Li would look up from whatever she was doing—reading, folding laundry, sipping soup—and their eyes would meet for a beat too long.

Not quite deliberate.

But not accidental.

….

That evening, Tang Li fell asleep early.

Not in her own room, but on the sofa again.

Qin Shiyang found her there, curled slightly to the side, her cheek pressed to the cushion, the same book resting open on her stomach.

She was breathing softly.

Deeply.

Like she finally trusted something.

….

Qin Shiyang turned off the lamp.

Left the room.

But came back a minute later with a blanket.

She stood over Tang Li for a long moment.

Then slowly—carefully—pulled the blanket over her.

Just as she was turning to go, Tang Li stirred.

Eyes half-open.

Still caught between sleep and waking.

She reached out and lightly caught Qin Shiyang’s wrist.

Didn’t grip.

Just held.

Just enough to ask:

“Stay?”

….

Qin Shiyang sat down.

Right there, on the edge of the sofa.

Didn’t lie down.

Didn’t speak.

But she stayed.

And for a long time, neither of them moved.

Only the soft sound of Tang Li’s breathing filled the room.

And something unspoken between them—

Not desire.

Not yet.

Just presence.

Real.

Quiet.

Undeniable.

….

Eventually, Tang Li’s grip loosened.

She drifted back into sleep.

But Qin Shiyang didn’t leave.

She sat there, beside the girl who had once been a stranger in her house.

Now—

Not quite a lover.

But no longer just a guest.

Somewhere in between.

….

Sometimes, the most intimate sound is not a voice.

But a breath.

Heard in the dark.

Shared in silence.

And meant for no one else.