"This isn't Earth?" A sliver of unease rose in Ethan's heart as he asked for confirmation, his voice trembling slightly.
"Earth? What's that? I've only heard of sweet potatoes." Another unfamiliar term. Damian looked at him with growing concern. Ethan's head injury seemed quite severe. Should he find another doctor tomorrow?
Still unwilling to give up, Ethan asked again, his face hopeful, "What about Aldoria? You must have heard of Aldoria, right?"
Damian slowly shook his head, a look of helplessness and confusion on his face. They had been trapped within Blackstone Ridge for so long, completely cut off from the outside world, that they had no way of knowing what era or dynasty existed beyond the mountains.
Ethan silently closed his eyes, his heart sinking with disappointment. Even so, he refused to believe he had traveled through time or dimensions. The concept of transmigration was just too fantastical, harder to believe than pigs flying. A small flicker of hope remained – maybe... maybe he hadn't actually time-traveled, but had just been brought to some isolated, unknown, self-contained little mountain village. Thinking this, Ethan felt slightly calmer.
"It's late, and your injuries haven't healed yet. You should rest early," Damian said softly. He carefully gathered the bowl and turned towards the kitchen.
In the unfamiliar environment, on the strange bed, Ethan tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Various escape plans raced through his mind...
Until the wooden bed beside him creaked, and a tall figure lay down next to him. It was Damian, back from washing the bowl.
"What the hell! What... what are you doing?" Like a startled rabbit, Ethan shot up from the bed, scrambling to the corner and eyeing Damian warily.
Damian glanced at him, then pulled the blanket over himself, closed his eyes, and said calmly, "It's late. Time to sleep."
Even so, Ethan didn't let down his guard. He pointed towards the door, stammering, "You... you go sleep in another room."
In the darkness, Damian sighed and explained softly, "There are only two rooms in the house. One is for Finn and Maeve. This is the only one left." Before his sister Chloe got married, Damian used to sleep with the two children. Now that she was gone, he naturally didn't want to squeeze in with them anymore. After all, he had a spouse now.
"There are other people in your house?" Two others, no less, and judging by the names, they sounded male. Ethan felt a sense of despair: Ding! Escape difficulty +2.
"Yes, two children."
Phew~ Just children, Ethan breathed a sigh of relief. He cautiously probed, "Children? Yours?"
"Yes and no," Damian answered ambiguously.
"So which is it, yes or no?" Ethan was exasperated. Did his ex-wife cheat on him? Is that why he can't even be sure if the kids are his?
"Finn and Maeve are my childhood friend's children. He went up the mountain three years ago... and was killed by a bear."
Damn! There were bears in these mountains! Ethan's internal danger meter shot up wildly, alarm bells practically ringing: Danger level +50%. Escape difficulty +10%. Success rate: -80%.
He swallowed hard and asked, "What about their mother?" Maybe he could play matchmaker between Damian and the kids' mother? That might help his escape plan. After all, he was currently the man's bought-and-paid-for male wife.
"She died. Hemorrhaged during childbirth. They couldn't save her," Damian replied, his voice very soft.
"Oh... I'm sorry!" Ethan felt awkward for unintentionally reopening old wounds and rubbed his nose embarrassedly.
"It's alright. It's late. Aren't you cold? Come over here and sleep," Damian patted the space beside him.
"N-no, I'm not cold." Ethan shook his head in the darkness, watching Damian warily, though his hands instinctively hugged his shivering body tighter.
Seeing this, Damian sighed helplessly again. "Don't worry," he coaxed, "I won't touch you. We'll just sleep. The night air is damp and cold, and you're still recovering. You can't afford to get chilled." He then turned over and shifted towards the edge of the bed, leaving the warmed part of the bedding free.
"Really?" Ethan tilted his head, seemingly weighing the credibility of Damian's words.
"Really. If you're not sleeping, I am." With that, Damian closed his eyes.
A few minutes later, shivering uncontrollably, Ethan carefully edged over. He slowly lay down, pulling the warm blanket over himself. Throughout this, Damian remained perfectly still, seemingly genuinely asleep. Only then did Ethan finally relax a little.
The wooden bed wasn't large, and there was only one blanket. Although Ethan tried his best to hug the wall, he could still feel the warmth radiating from Damian beside him.
With an uncertain future and someone else sharing his bed, Ethan had expected to lie awake until dawn. But somehow, the faint scent of pine coming from Damian, combined with the steady warmth of his body, soon made Ethan yawn. Before long, his consciousness began to fade...
Asleep, Ethan, who had always slept rigidly straight back in the 21st century, unknowingly began to shift closer to Damian. In his sleep, he naturally pulled Damian's arm over, using it like a pillow under his neck, and curled his entire body into Damian's embrace before falling into a deep sleep.
Damian, who had kept his eyes closed the whole time, let Ethan arrange himself. Only when Ethan's breathing became deep and even did Damian turn slightly, wrapping an arm around him and adjusting the blanket over them both.
That night, both slept soundly and sweetly, their positions naturally intertwined, as if they were a long-married couple accustomed to sharing a bed for years...