The Husband From the Original Pairing is Now Divorced - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Coaxing Sleep – He Just Needed This Warmth

In the midst of this heavy silence, where both sides were acutely aware of each other’s presence, Zhou Zifei was the first to break the quiet.

He cleared his throat and spoke softly, “Teacher Sheng, it’s my first time sleeping with someone else. I’m a bit unaccustomed to it. Let’s chat.”

Hearing this, Sheng Jia cautiously turned his head to look at the man beside him. Through a sliver of light leaking from a gap in the curtains, he realized Zhou Zifei was lying flat on his back and not looking at him. He seemed a bit nervous too.

So I’m not the only one feeling restless and awkward.

Sheng Jia slowly turned over and whispered, “What do you want to talk about?”

“Teacher Sheng, why do you prefer sleeping in the living room?”

“When I sleep in a place where I can’t see the sky, I feel very oppressed,” Sheng Jia answered honestly. Yu Xianghang had asked him this question before.

Back then, when Yu Xianghang worked late, Sheng Jia would feel so panicked sleeping alone in the room that he’d struggle to breathe, so he would sleep in the living room. When Yu Xianghang saw this, he initially said—with pity—that he’d come home earlier. Later, however, he’d ask with dissatisfaction who Sheng Jia was trying to look “pitiful” for.

Sheng Jia had explained it a few times, but Yu Xianghang never truly took it to heart. After one particularly impatient remark about not wanting to deal with Sheng Jia’s “little moods,” Sheng Jia stopped explaining. Eventually, Yu Xianghang chose to sleep at the office whenever he worked late.

When Sheng Jia asked why he wasn’t coming home, Yu Xianghang had said: “I don’t want to come home and see you sleeping in the living room, looking like I’ve done something wrong. It’s clearly you throwing a tantrum because I’m late. Since that’s the case, I might as well not come back.”

Remembering this now, Sheng Jia realized with hindsight that he had noticed Yu Xianghang’s change long ago. But at the time, his trust in Yu Xianghang was so habitual that he believed their estrangement was his own fault, leading him to accept Yu Xianghang’s absences with a sense of guilt.

“Is it because of past experiences?” Zhou Zifei probed gently. His concern was well-hidden in his tone, but how could the sensitive Sheng Jia fail to notice?

Sheng Jia thought: Zhou Zifei is so smart.

He hadn’t told his life story, yet Zhou Zifei had understood his trauma and pain from the scars on his body, the incident with Sheng Qianlong, and the fragments of conversation at the police station.

When a person carries a heavy burden for too long, they get tired. On such a long journey, even if someone just takes the pack off your shoulders for a moment to look at it, it offers a brief respite.

Holding onto the hope of being “light” for just a moment, Sheng Jia began to speak.

“When I was little, Sheng Qianlong locked me in the basement. I could only see the outside through a tiny window with iron bars. Every day, all I saw were the feet of passersby walking on the ground.”

“After I got out, I grew to love looking at the sky. I like it even more when no one is around; it makes me feel less lonely. At least I’m looking up at a beautiful sky, with clouds and stars to keep me company. Instead of looking up at people’s shoes kicking up dust. No matter how many I counted, everyone was just hurrying past. In the end, I was always the only one left.”

Sheng Jia had never revealed these words to anyone. He feared that his mountain of grief would sound light as a feather to others, or worse, be brushed aside with impatience.

Zhou Zifei listened in silence. Even after Sheng Jia finished, he didn’t say a word. Just as Sheng Jia thought he had said something wrong and was about to tell Zhou Zifei not to mind his ramblings, his hand was suddenly taken.

Zhou Zifei gripped Sheng Jia’s hand tightly, pulling those slightly cool fingers into his warm palm.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“From now on, you will never be the one left behind.”

Sheng Jia heard Zhou Zifei’s husky voice say those words. His nose suddenly tingled, and his eyes grew hot. The first thing that welled up in his heart, however, was an inexplicable sense of resentment.

He had already grown used to being abandoned; he had accepted the past. Yet this man insisted on shaking his resolve at every turn.

Why couldn’t you just let me live out my life in lonely peace? Why did you have to walk into my heart? Why do you insist on seeing my sadness and pain? Why must you heal scars I no longer even touch? Why… just as I decided never to lean on anyone again, did you appear with a shoulder for me to rely on?

“My feelings for you are serious.”

“Perhaps you don’t believe me, but you have a long, long time to test me.”

The mattress creaked slightly. Zhou Zifei held Sheng Jia’s hand and looked at the blurred silhouette of his profile in the dark. Sheng Jia’s breathing trembled. He blinked slowly, and a tear slid down, disappearing silently into his hair.

“A lifetime is fine. A lifetime isn’t hard for me.”

The wet tracks on Sheng Jia’s cheeks were wiped away by a thumb, leaving behind a warm, dry sensation. Sheng Jia closed his eyes, but the tears fell continuously, one by one, hitting Zhou Zifei’s hand.

“Teacher Sheng, for now, just use me as an object. Like a trial product before you buy the full version.”

“I’ll be your hand warmer, your private car, your entertainment, your dishwasher, your tissue… everything you want. As long as you need me, use me as you wish. When you’re satisfied, give me a ‘boyfriend’ stamp and let me go full-time. There will be even more premium services after that.”

Zhou Zifei laughed and placed Sheng Jia’s hand on his own chest. The heartbeat was steady and clear, as if beating only for him. Hearing Zhou Zifei’s increasingly nonsensical talk, Sheng Jia couldn’t help but let out a tearful giggle. He muttered, “What are you talking about…”

“Nonsense? I’ll show you if I’m talking nonsense—”

Zhou Zifei pulled Sheng Jia’s hand, using his arm to pull the man directly into his embrace. Before Sheng Jia could let out a cry of surprise, he was held firmly.

“Sleeping on the edge of the bed made you so cold. Your hands and feet are like ice. Do you need me now?”

Sheng Jia’s head rested against Zhou Zifei’s chest, his lower back held by a strong arm. Nestled in a warm embrace that smelled faintly of fragrance, his instinct to struggle quietly vanished.

Outside, the autumn rain pattered, and the chill seeped into every corner of the night. Ultimately, Sheng Jia followed his heart. He thought: I just need this warmth.

Sensing Sheng Jia’s tacit permission, Zhou Zifei’s palm patted the man’s back gently, like soothing a cat that finally allowed itself to be close. A gentle voice sounded above Sheng Jia’s head: “Sleep.”

Soon, sleepiness washed over him like a tide. Sheng Jia blinked his tired lashes and slowly closed his eyes.

…

“Teacher Sheng.”

“Teacher Sheng?”

Zhou Zifei’s voice snapped Sheng Jia back to reality. He looked dazed at the person across the dining table.

“What are you thinking about? I’ve called you several times.”

At Zhou Zifei’s words, Sheng Jia instinctively lowered his head, his mind flashing back to the scene from early that morning.

He had been practically tangled around Zhou Zifei. His head was pillowed on a solid arm, one hand was resting on a chest that rose and fell with breath, and the other hand had found its way inside the man’s top, unceremoniously touching those well-defined abs. His feet were even resting on those warm steps.

Sheng Jia hadn’t known his sleeping posture was so terrible. Zhou Zifei had been far more “behaved,” simply lying on his side with his hands exactly where they were before sleep—on Sheng Jia’s shoulder and back.

Except for one certain place, which was boldly pressed against Sheng Jia’s soft lower abdomen.

Thinking of this, Sheng Jia’s face burned again. Zhou Zifei’s… thing… how could it be so, so exaggerated…

“Teacher Sheng—”

A spoon tapped lightly against the edge of a bowl with a crisp sound. Sheng Jia jumped.

“Are you finished? If so, I’ll go wash the dishes,” Zhou Zifei asked helplessly, watching Sheng Jia’s face turn beet-red while dazing off.

Sheng Jia felt he couldn’t sit across from Zhou Zifei a second longer. Looking at that face made him think of the morning.

“I-I’m finished.” Sheng Jia hurried to push his bowl toward Zhou Zifei and walked toward the living room.

When Zhou Zifei finished the dishes and looked toward the living room, he saw Sheng Jia folding clothes. He slowed his pace as he walked over. Sheng Jia sat sideways on the sofa; the sunlight from the floor-to-ceiling balcony window bathed him in a fuzzy, golden halo.

His long fingers patiently folded the garments. His black hair slipped from his shoulder, revealing a slender, pale neck. His silhouette was as graceful as a swan by a lake. Zhou Zifei found himself afraid to speak. He sat on one end of the sofa, watching silently.

His heart was filled with warm, soft emotions. His gaze drifted from Sheng Jia’s eyes to his nose, then his lips… The surge of affection he felt when he woke up to find Sheng Jia nestled in his arms returned. Suddenly, he wasn’t satisfied; he wanted to possess more of Sheng Jia.

“I washed your thermal underwear last night, but I just felt them and they weren’t quite dry, so I put them in the dryer for a bit. You can wear them now.”

Sheng Jia turned around and handed the folded clothes to the man in front of him. Zhou Zifei took them silently, his eyes still fixed on Sheng Jia’s face.

“Teacher Sheng, can I kiss you?”

Zhou Zifei stared directly at the red lips that kept opening and closing as Sheng Jia spoke.

In this quiet, cozy morning, the beast had awakened. It broke its ropes, but it didn’t pounce. Instead, it tucked away the fangs that would scratch tender skin and walked over submissively to beg its master for a kiss.

…

Oh my! It seems things are moving very fast now that they’ve shared a bed!