There was a 24-hour convenience store right next to the hotel, so Lin Fengqi quickly returned with a fresh pack of three pairs of underwear that he bought for ten yuan.
Surprisingly, the quality was quite good.
And how did Wen Xia know this? Because while Lin Fengqi was in the bathroom taking a shower, Wen Xia couldn’t resist checking out the other two pairs. The fabric was breathable, with plenty of elasticity.
Wen Xia had taken his medicine and curled back up in bed, but with the sound of water running in the bathroom, he couldn’t calm his mind.
Last night, when Lin Fengqi wasn’t there, he had the entire bed to himself. Although he ended up sleepwalking to the sofa, it didn’t change the fact that he had the freedom to spread out without any obstacles when he first lay down. Now that there was someone else to share the bed with, he had already restricted himself to one side of the bed when he rested in the afternoon.
And that someone was Lin Fengqi…
The last time he sleepwalked, he ended up in Lin Fengqi’s room, selfishly taking half the bed and the covers. Was this karma, with the tables turning?
But the situation now was completely different from last time.
Back then, he had been holding a grudge against Lin Fengqi, with no conscious awareness. Now, there was no grudge, and his mind was clear.
What does it feel like to share a bed with someone you like?
This question had crossed the mind of young Wen Xia countless times. As a teenager, his thoughts were bold and imaginative, and he would sometimes wake up from dreams about Lin Fengqi and savor the memory. Of course, he would never admit this to anyone—not even to Zou Boyan.
He had some pride.
Who would have thought that after so many years, a scene he had only experienced in dreams was about to play out in real life?
Wen Xia listened to his heartbeat while the water ran in the bathroom. But when Lin Fengqi finally came out, he hesitated as he glanced at the bed, then picked up a pillow and headed for the sofa.
Wen Xia: “?”
He propped himself up and watched as Lin Fengqi placed the pillow at one end of the sofa, grabbed his suit jacket, and sat down as if intending to use it as a blanket and sleep there.
Wen Xia: “???”
He couldn’t help but speak up, “What are you doing?”
Lin Fengqi replied, “Sleeping.”
“The bed is right here, and you’re going to sleep on the sofa?”
“I’m fine on the sofa.”
“What’s so great about the sofa? This bed is big enough for two people.”
Wen Xia was incredulous.
He threw off the covers and walked over. Lin Fengqi was about to lie down but froze when he saw Wen Xia approaching angrily. When Wen Xia stood over him, Lin Fengqi, clutching his suit jacket, suddenly looked very weak.
He looked up at Wen Xia.
Wen Xia looked down at him.
“Go sleep on the bed,” Wen Xia said.
Lin Fengqi hesitated. “I’ll just sleep here…”
“If you’re afraid of catching my cold, we can switch,” Wen Xia said. “I’ll sleep on the sofa, and you take the bed.”
Lin Fengqi immediately objected, “No.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I’ll sleep on the sof—”
“No.”
“…”
Wen Xia was so frustrated that he felt dizzy again. “Are you that scared of catching my cold?”
Lin Fengqi quickly clarified, “I’m not…”
“Then why are you avoiding the bed? I already left space for you.”
Lin Fengqi stammered, “I…” He couldn’t find the words, and his ears grew redder by the second.
Wen Xia stood over him, casting a shadow that enveloped him entirely.
Lin Fengqi was wearing Wen Xia’s clothes. Their styles were a bit different, and the loose T-shirt looked baggy on Lin Fengqi, forming soft folds. The neckline revealed most of his collarbone, sinking into a deeper shadow. The relaxed fit gave him a casual, almost lazy appearance, which contrasted sharply with his usual strict and disciplined demeanor.
Wen Xia couldn’t help but think, Had these clothes always looked this good?
Without another word, Wen Xia went back to bed.
He lay down with his back to the sofa and cocooned himself tightly in the blanket.
For a while, there was only silence.
Then he heard soft footsteps approaching. He felt the covers being tugged gently, as if someone was testing how much they could take.
He turned his head and saw Lin Fengqi already on one knee on the bed, reaching over to pull the covers.
“…There’s only one blanket,” Lin Fengqi said, trying to hint that Wen Xia should share.
Wen Xia rolled onto his back, allowing Lin Fengqi to take half of the blanket that had been bunched up by his side.
“Turn off the lights,” Wen Xia said. “The switch is on your side.”
Lin Fengqi obediently turned off the lights.
No matter how careful he was, a bit of cold air inevitably slipped into the blanket as he lay down. He moved slowly and cautiously, finally settling down a short distance away.
The more careful his movements, the faster Wen Xia’s heart raced.
Neither of them said anything, but suddenly, their feet touched.
Both of them froze.
Lin Fengqi stopped moving immediately. After a brief pause, he asked, “…Why are your feet so cold?”
They couldn’t see each other’s expressions in the dark, but Wen Xia could imagine Lin Fengqi frowning from his tone.
“How should I know?” Wen Xia replied.
It must have been when he got out of bed earlier without socks, and his slippers weren’t exactly warm.
Lin Fengqi didn’t say anything more and finally lay down fully.
After a couple of seconds, he spoke again, “Did you take your temperature before bed?”
Wen Xia replied, “Yeah, while you were in the shower.”
“What was it?”
“37.2°C.”
“Okay,” he paused, “And your medicine?”
“I took it.”
They weren’t lying close to each other, with about a hand’s width of space between them. Once they lay down, neither of them moved, not even to shift positions. It was almost like an interrogation, the two of them engaging in brief exchanges, not knowing if it was to ease their nervousness or because the silence of the night made sleep difficult.
After a brief silence, Lin Fengqi spoke again, “If you can’t sleep, you can talk to me.”
“And then what?” Wen Xia asked. “You’ll lull me to sleep?”
Wen Xia was still a bit annoyed about the whole sofa incident, so his words were tinged with sarcasm. Lin Fengqi could tell, but he didn’t know how to explain it.
He wasn’t avoiding Wen Xia. He wasn’t afraid of catching a cold. He wasn’t really trying to sleep on the sofa.
If he could, he’d sleep next to Wen Xia every night. If only…
Lin Fengqi abruptly stopped his thoughts from straying into dangerous territory, pulling himself back from the brink.
—How was he supposed to explain that to Wen Xia?
Lin Fengqi felt frustrated with himself. After a brief silence, he mumbled, “If you… need me to lull you to sleep, I will.”
Wen Xia shifted, turning his head in the dark to look at Lin Fengqi. “Alright then,” he said.
Lin Fengqi was stunned for a moment. “Huh?”
“Aren’t you going to lull me to sleep?” Wen Xia said. “Go ahead.”
This was the definition of digging your own grave.
Lin Fengqi wasn’t unwilling, but he had no idea what to do.
He was at a loss, opening and closing his mouth, completely unsure of what to say or do.
Wen Xia, however, was very patient. He didn’t rush Lin Fengqi at all. His breathing was so steady and even that it almost seemed like he had already fallen asleep—if not for the occasional sound of him sniffing because of his congested nose.
Finally, with his heart pounding, Lin Fengqi made a decision and clenched his teeth.
The stillness of the blanket was suddenly disturbed as Lin Fengqi shifted onto his side. The next moment, Wen Xia stiffened.
A warm sensation tentatively pressed against his long-cold feet. After about two or three seconds, that warmth climbed over his feet like claws, carefully pulling his cold feet closer, trapping them between Lin Fengqi’s calves.
The warmth spread from all sides, enclosing Wen Xia’s feet in a comforting heat.
Wen Xia’s mind went blank. He moved his feet slightly, only to be met with Lin Fengqi’s firm, low voice, “Don’t move.”
“…Too cold,” Wen Xia said.
“It won’t be,” Lin Fengqi corrected himself after a pause, realizing that if Wen Xia wasn’t cold, he wouldn’t need to be warmed. “It won’t be cold soon.”
Wen Xia didn’t respond, but a few seconds later, he quietly turned to face Lin Fengqi.
Lin Fengqi lifted his legs slightly, allowing Wen Xia to adjust his position. Just as Wen Xia tried to pull his feet back, Lin Fengqi pressed them down again, keeping them locked in place.
Seeing that his efforts to pull away were in vain, Wen Xia asked, “So, is this your idea of lulling me to sleep?”
Lin Fengqi replied, “No.”
After a brief pause, he added, “I just… want you to be more comfortable.”
It really was comfortable.
The warmth from another person was much better than the cold, unfeeling blankets.
Wen Xia remained silent, and after a moment, he weakly wiggled his feet—snuggling deeper into the warmth.
He sensed Lin Fengqi’s slight tension, followed by a gentle loosening of the grip, allowing him to find a more comfortable position.
“Anything else?” Wen Xia asked.
Lin Fengqi’s heart hadn’t yet calmed, so his response was a bit delayed. “Hmm?”
“You said this doesn’t count as lulling me to sleep. So, what else have you got?”
“…A lullaby.”
“I’m not a child.”
Lin Fengqi closed his mouth, frowning in frustration.
Wen Xia: “How about a bedtime story, then?”
Lin Fengqi: “?”
“What kind of story?”
“Anything is fine. How about you talk about yourself?”
“Me…?”
“Yeah,” Wen Xia said, “How about reminiscing about your college days? Tell me something interesting.”
Something interesting…
Lin Fengqi wasn’t sure if his college life could be considered interesting, but it was definitely busy. From his first year, he was always occupied—busy with studies, busy making money to pay off his family’s debts. His family had used up all their savings for his grandparents’ and mother’s medical expenses, and his father had borrowed from friends and relatives, to the point that people stopped answering their calls.
At that time, he felt like twenty-four hours in a day wasn’t nearly enough.
The only time he had to think about Wen Xia was in those brief moments before sleep, which he would fill with thoughts of him.
It was like recharging a robot that had run out of power.
—Those four years, he was like a machine running at full speed, day after day.
Digging through his memories, Lin Fengqi finally pulled out a few notable moments from the corners of his mind.
He asked Wen Xia, “The story of how I met Senior Zhou… Do you want to hear it?”
Wen Xia was all ears, “Sure.”
“It might not be very interesting.”
“No problem, go ahead.” Wen Xia wasn’t really looking for something exciting; he just wanted to know more about what Lin Fengqi had gone through during those years when they weren’t in contact.
Lin Fengqi organized his thoughts and began, “Senior Zhou was two years ahead of me. By the time I started, he was already in his third year.”
Wen Xia knew this; he had heard it before. That day when they had dinner with Zhou Yixian, Zhou had also mentioned it.
With the idea of a “bedtime story” in mind, Lin Fengqi was forced to be more talkative, “He was the vice-chairman of our department’s student council. During the freshman military training, he would often come to check on us. Occasionally, the instructor would have him help out with the training. I met him because, not long after starting school, I lost my phone.”
Wen Xia also knew about the lost phone incident.
Before Lin Fengqi lost his phone, they had added each other’s contact information. Wen Xia had even thought about reaching out to Lin Fengqi during that time but decided against it because Lin Fengqi hadn’t responded to any of his messages. Later, he found out that it wasn’t because Lin Fengqi was ignoring him, but because his phone, along with his SIM card, had been lost.
Losing that phone had been a big blow to Lin Fengqi. It was a gift from his father, who had scrimped and saved to buy it for him as a present for getting into university. It was a cheap, no-name brand smartphone, but it was the best his father could afford.
Lin Fengqi hadn’t expected to lose it.
But his father hadn’t scolded him much. After all, what’s done was done, and beating himself up over it wouldn’t bring the phone back. It was just that they couldn’t afford to replace it anytime soon.
Lin Fengqi understood, so after talking it over with his father, he went back to living without a phone for a while. He figured he’d save some money from his living expenses or work a few more part-time jobs to buy a new one.
He made decisions quickly and decisively, a trait he had had since childhood.
The only time he felt lost and uncertain was when it came to Wen Xia.
A month later, he walked into a mobile phone store with a small sum of money.
The place was filled with shops, each one offering a dizzying array of phones, but Lin Fengqi remembered the brand he had bought before. It was so obscure that he had to search through several shops before finally finding one in a small, out-of-the-way store. The shop sold all kinds of phones, from big brands to no-name brands, all crammed into a tiny, poorly decorated space.
But Lin Fengqi wasn’t there for luxury or appearance. He just wanted the phone.
The shop owner, seeing that Lin Fengqi was a student looking for such a low-end phone, probably thought he was easy to scam, so he quoted an inflated price. The owner even emphasized, “This is the lowest price, kid. You won’t find it cheaper anywhere else.”
But Lin Fengqi wasn’t easy to fool. He had done his research and knew the market price for that model. The owner had added a 200 yuan markup.
Back then, Lin Fengqi hadn’t yet been hardened by society. He was still a bit naive, unfamiliar with the ways of the world, and didn’t know how to haggle. But he wasn’t one for games and tricks, so he calmly exposed the scam.
He wasn’t angry, just a bit displeased, and he stated plainly that the owner was lying to him.
The owner reacted as if Lin Fengqi had slapped him in the face. His expression changed colors, and he said, “Don’t go accusing people, kid. I know what I’m talking about. That price you mentioned is impossible! This phone is a new model this year. If anyone’s selling it that cheap, they’re definitely scamming you with a used phone!”
Lin Fengqi kept his expression neutral, “It’s a new phone.”
The owner refused to admit it, “How do you know it’s new? They could have refurbished it. You think people are stupid? You students are so gullible, getting ripped off without even knowing it!”
Lin Fengqi said, “You’re the one trying to rip me off.”
The owner got angry, “Hey, are you here to cause trouble?”
Not wanting to argue any further, Lin Fengqi put the phone down and started to leave. But the owner wasn’t having it. Some people, when caught doing something wrong, don’t feel guilty; they just want to save face.
He grabbed Lin Fengqi, and they started arguing in the store—well, it was more the owner yelling while Lin Fengqi stayed calm, his words sharp and to the point.
Their argument quickly attracted a crowd. The owner, relying on his loud voice and years of experience in the phone business, became even more arrogant, acting as if he had been wronged, “You think I’m ripping you off? Fine, call the police!”
The owner had no intention of actually calling the police. He just wanted to scare the kid. After all, how many young students have ever dealt with the police? Just the mention of it would be enough to make them back down.
But when Lin Fengqi reached out to the bystanders and asked, “Could I borrow a phone?” the owner’s face changed, “What are you doing?”
Lin Fengqi glanced at him and said, “Didn’t you say to call the police?”
At that moment, a man squeezed through the crowd, holding out his phone with a smile, “Use mine.”
That man was Zhou Yixian.
Seeing that Lin Fengqi was serious about calling the police, the owner quickly rushed over to stop him. His arrogance vanished, replaced by a sour expression, “Alright, alright, I’ll sell it to you at cost.”
Ten minutes later, Lin Fengqi walked out of the store with a new phone.
Zhou Yixian had been there that day to help a friend get their phone repaired. After witnessing the scene, he caught up to Lin Fengqi, slinging an arm around the young man’s shoulders, “You’re Lin Fengqi, right? I got that right?”
Lin Fengqi, slightly off-balance from the sudden gesture, nodded, “Hello, Senior.”
Zhou Yixian grinned, “You’re something else, kid.”
That day, Zhou Yixian took Lin Fengqi and his friend out for a bit of fun, and they ended up having dinner together. That evening, they exchanged contact information.
As they grew closer, Zhou Yixian began to involve Lin Fengqi in various projects. Lin Fengqi eventually gave up his other odd jobs, finding a more stable income source in a field he excelled at. Later, when it came time for his thesis, Lin Fengqi chose Zhou Yixian’s mentor as his advisor, making them officially part of the same academic lineage. His title for Zhou Yixian changed from “Senior” to “Senior Brother.”
“…That’s pretty much it,” Lin Fengqi finished, pausing for a couple of seconds, “Not exactly interesting.”
Wen Xia, who had been listening intently, found himself getting sleepy, realizing that this really was turning into a bedtime story, “Actually, I think it’s pretty interesting.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah.”
Anything about you is interesting.
And the thought of a young Lin Fengqi seriously telling a phone shop owner, “You’re ripping me off,” was just too adorable. Wen Xia wanted to scoop him up and give him a good cuddle.
How could anyone be this cute?
Wen Xia couldn’t help but smile in the dark, though his response was thick with drowsiness, and his eyelids grew heavier. He was ready to sleep.
“Wen Xia?” Amid the dense fog of sleep, Wen Xia heard someone softly call his name.
“Hmm?” He mumbled a half-asleep response.
The voice asked, “What about you?”
“What?”
“In the future… will you tell me about yourself too?”
The voice was quiet, hesitant, and carried a small, almost imperceptible hope.
Just before sinking into deep sleep, Wen Xia replied, “…Sure.”
The curtains were drawn tightly, blocking out all light, and the room was enveloped in silence. The warm air from the heater couldn’t compete with the gentle, rhythmic breathing of the person beside him.
In the darkness, Lin Fengqi tried to make out Wen Xia’s features, inching closer little by little.
Wen Xia’s breaths were still warm, but he had fallen into a deep, peaceful sleep.
His feet, once cold, had been warmed, but Lin Fengqi didn’t let go, keeping them cocooned in his own warmth.
The closeness came slowly. Inch by inch.
When his forehead finally touched Wen Xia’s, his heart pounded as if it were about to leap out of his throat. It took him a long time to calm down.
He closed his eyes, finally relaxing, satisfied, and drifted into sleep.
The night can always hold all the burgeoning desires.
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