My Childhood Friend is Secretly in Love with Me - Chapter 13

“The Two-Meter Bed in My Room, Is It Not Comfortable?”

In the afternoon, while Auntie Chen was awake, Zuo Yi told her stories about the little courtyard back at Moonlight Bay. “Auntie, you have no idea. Not long after you moved, Grandpa Wang started a sunset romance. She is the new lead singer in his senior choir. Grandma He and Grandpa Wang are so sweet together; before I came to Jingxi, I even heard they were going to get their marriage certificate.”

Hearing about such happy events made Auntie Chen smile, though the joy often led to coughing fits. Zuo Yi quickly moved on to other topics. “Uncle Ouyang’s wolfdog had a litter of pups last winter. I saw them being born with my own eyes; there were five little ones. I even reserved one with Uncle to bring home once it is weaned, but when my mom found out, she nearly yelled my head off. You know how loud she can get.”

Zuo Yi massaged Auntie Chen’s arm and added, “By the way, speaking of my mom, Old Song and Auntie Wen miss you so much. Once you are discharged, you must come back to Jiangcheng for the New Year and cure fish and meat with Old Song. In the past, you were the one who helped her measure the salt. Since you were not there last year, the cured fish and bacon were so salty they were practically inedible.”

Auntie Chen loved listening to Zuo Yi talk about the courtyard. She struggled to raise her hand, wanting to tousle Zuo Yi’s messy curls. Zuo Yi leaned down, offering his head to her hand, and guided her right hand, still marked by the IV needle, to stroke his hair gently.

“Auntie Chen, promise me you will get better. When you are well, I will tell you a secret; a secret that nobody else knows. I will only tell you,” Zuo Yi whispered, his face buried in the quilt as he quietly shed tears.

“Okay,” Auntie Chen’s raspy voice reached Zuo Yi’s ears clearly.

Like a child rewarded with a lollipop, Zuo Yi happily nuzzled his head against Auntie Chen’s arm. “Then it is a deal. Pinky swear.” He lifted Auntie Chen’s hand, which was covered in bruises, and hooked his pinky finger with hers, sealing the promise.

Soon, Auntie Chen fell asleep. Zuo Yi sat quietly in the chair beside her, not feeling tired at all.

During this time, Old Song called him to ask why he was not coming back to Jiangcheng for the holiday. Zuo Yi wanted to tell her the truth about Auntie Chen’s illness, but he knew that if Old Song found out, she and Auntie Wen would rush to Jingxi immediately. Auntie Chen needed peace and quiet; having everyone show up would only increase her psychological burden. He could only lie and say that he needed to keep training for the school team trials after the holiday.

Fortunately, Old Song did not suspect anything.

That evening, Qi Yan came to the hospital after class to pick up Zuo Yi. Auntie Chen was still in a deep sleep, and the overnight caregiver arrived a few hours early to take over the shift, so Zuo Yi went home with Qi Yan.

Entering Qi Yan’s apartment again, he finally took the time to truly appreciate the space. Or rather, it was a space that could be seen in its entirety at a single glance. The apartment was a classic example of minimalist style; this was not just in terms of the interior design, but also the furniture and decor. Besides a dining table, a two-seater sofa, a small coffee table, and a large bookshelf filled with books on astronomy and physics, the living room was almost empty. It felt spacious, yet lonely.

Zuo Yi thought to himself that when he had time, he would slowly help fill this home. The sofa could be replaced with a larger one, a plush rug could be added under the coffee table, and a painting could be bought for the white wall behind the sofa. Or, he could drag Qi Yan and Sister Xiao to take some artistic photos together; hanging those would be nice too.

“Xiao Yi.”

Zuo Yi was pulled back from his thoughts by Qi Yan’s soft voice. “Huh?”

“You can put your luggage in the wardrobe in my room. Is tomato and beef brisket risotto okay for dinner?” Qi Yan said as he walked toward the kitchen.

Putting my clothes in his wardrobe might be inconvenient, would it not? I would have to go into his room every time I need to grab clothes before washing up.

Recalling the awkward situation on Qi Yan’s bed last time, Zuo Yi’s cheeks flushed involuntarily. He hardly dared to step into that room again.

“I will just put my clothes in the guest room.” Just as he finished speaking, Zuo Yi reached the guest room door. The moment he pushed it open, he froze. “Damn! Where is the bed?”

“I forgot to tell you, my mom thought the bed in the guest room was too hard, so I got rid of it. I have not had time to buy a new one yet.” Qi Yan spoke casually, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Oh. But if there is no bed, where am I supposed to sleep? On that 1.2-meter sofa in the living room?

Zuo Yi mentally compared the length of his legs to the sofa; they were roughly the same length. He silently calculated what position would be best for sleeping over the next seven days.

It seemed nothing would work. After all, he was 68 centimeters taller than the sofa. Where was he supposed to put those extra 68 centimeters? Zuo Yi walked over to the sofa and tried several positions, all of which ended in failure.

“Yan-ge, do you have extra quilts so I can make a bed on the floor?” Zuo Yi sat upright on the sofa, looking toward the busy figure in the kitchen with a glimmer of hope.

Qi Yan stepped out of the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe with an innocent shrug. “No.”

This made Zuo Yi unhappy. He stood up abruptly, walked over to Qi Yan, and asked, “So I moved in here just for you to have me sleep in the bathroom?”

“Why would you sleep in the bathroom?” Qi Yan asked back, his phoenix eyes wide with feigned innocence.

Zuo Yi crossed his arms. “Then where else?”

“The two-meter bed in my room, is it not comfortable?” Qi Yan asked.

“…”

Zuo Yi’s ears turned red instantly.

Oh my god, sharing a big bed with Qi Yan? Who could handle that?

Zuo Yi panicked; he was visibly panicked.

“If you are not used to sleeping with someone else, then I will sleep on the sofa. Although it is small, I can squeeze in,” Qi Yan said with a troubled expression, glancing at the small black sofa.

Zuo Yi suddenly felt he was being difficult. He was the one who said he wanted to stay at Qi Yan’s place, he was the one who complained about the lack of a bed, and now he was the one unhappy with a two-meter bed. Qi Yan was about the same height as him; he definitely would not fit on the sofa.

What is there for two grown men to be so conflicted about when it comes to sleeping?

Resolved to his fate, Zuo Yi waved his hand and walked toward the master bedroom with his backpack. “No need. We will sleep together.”

“Come out and eat after you put your luggage away,” Qi Yan said.

Zuo Yi opened the wardrobe. Qi Yan’s clothes had already been moved to the right side; the left side was clearly reserved for him. His clothes were mostly black and gray, creating a sharp contrast with the white tones on the other side. After tidying up, he stepped back to admire it, feeling that their clothes somehow looked like a good match.

For dinner, Zuo Yi ate two full bowls of risotto. Burping, he gathered the dishes to wash them.

Qi Yan stopped him. “Rest for a while since you are full. I will wash them.”

“No. The one who cooks does not wash the dishes. From now on, you are in charge of cooking and I am in charge of washing.” Zuo Yi quickly finished gathering the bowls and took them to the kitchen.

The corners of Qi Yan’s mouth quirked up, and he did not insist further.

After cleaning the kitchen, Qi Yan was no longer in the living room. Zuo Yi returned to the master bedroom and heard the sound of running water from the bathroom. He muttered, “Showering right after eating, that is going to cause indigestion.”

The evening seemed to stretch on. He did not know what to do with himself. Usually, at school, it would be late by the time he finished training, and he would chat with his roommates or browse his phone before falling asleep. He had never felt time move so slowly; it was only eight o’clock.

Might as well do some planks. Thinking and doing went hand in hand. Zuo Yi got down on the living room floor, adjusted his posture, and pushed himself up.

Planking requires tightening the abdomen to engage the core. When pushing to the limit, the brain often goes blank, and one might miss what is happening nearby. Qi Yan had finished his shower and stood in the living room watching him for over thirty seconds before Zuo Yi noticed. He only realized when a pair of incredibly long and straight legs appeared before his eyes.

Zuo Yi looked up, tracing those clean legs upward. Qi Yan was wearing white shorts that almost blended with his skin tone. The scent of lemon body wash mixed with the warmth of his body heat washed over Zuo Yi.

Looking further up, it was too much. Qi Yan actually had a six-pack, and a few stray droplets of water from the shower were still trickling down his chest, making his lean and muscular physique look even sexier. Zuo Yi’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and his palms began to sweat profusely. This scene was so distracting that Zuo Yi nearly lost his mind.

Wait, he is not wearing a shirt?

Zuo Yi’s face heated up, and his form collapsed. His arms gave out, and his chest slammed into the floor. His cheek hit the floorboards, and the pain made him gasp.

“Are you okay?” Qi Yan knelt to help him up. A cold drop of water from his hair fell onto the tip of Zuo Yi’s ear, making him shiver.

Zuo Yi practically dove away to avoid physical contact. Sitting on the floor, he rubbed his right cheekbone and complained, “Why are you not wearing a shirt?”

Qi Yan replied, “I am used to sleeping like this at night.”

“…”

Fine, fine. Fate sent this male enchantress to torture a young man like me. This is too much!

While Zuo Yi was mentally protesting, Qi Yan suddenly leaned in to check his face. “Bruised. Face.”

“Kiss whose face?” Zuo Yi asked, confused.

Qi Yan lightly pressed the bruised area of his cheek and said again, “Your face. It is bruised from the fall.”

Zuo Yi let out a hiss of pain, squinting.

Later that night, after Qi Yan helped apply ointment to the bruise, they went to bed.

The orange glow of the floor lamp by the bed was on. Qi Yan was leaning against the headboard reading a book about astronomy. Zuo Yi was scrolling through his phone, but his attention was elsewhere; every few seconds, he stole a glance at the person beside him.

“You seem quite tense. You can actually be a bit more casual,” Qi Yan said suddenly.

Being casual while lying half-naked on a bed with the person I like is exactly how things go wrong.

Zuo Yi felt aggrieved. Qi Yan is a grown man; does he not know how to protect himself? Lying there without a shirt next to someone else, is he not treating me like a man?

“I am not. It is not like we have not slept together before. Why would I be tense?” Zuo Yi explained.

Qi Yan put down his book and said softly, “So you remember that we have slept together.”

That came out sounding a bit wrong.

Zuo Yi cleared his throat. “Ahem. That was just a few years ago.”

It was an ordinary night at the end of their sixth-grade term. Their family company was facing some minor issues, and his parents had to go out of town for a few days. Since the two families lived in adjacent buildings, Old Song had entrusted him to Qi Yan’s mother for his meals.

That night after dinner, he went home to do his homework, only for the power to go out instantly. Since he was a child, he had feared nothing except the dark.

He loved being underwater because being enveloped by the water gave him a sense of security. In the darkness, the senses are magnified, which is terrifying.

With his parents away, he had huddled in a corner of the living room, crying. Just as he was on the brink of despair, someone knocked on his door.

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