CH 40.1

By the time the two finally separated, the blizzard outside had stopped, and the air conditioner was set to sleep mode.

It was as if the whole world had stopped making all the noise because of their kiss.

The only sound left in the dim, small room was the not-so-steady breathing of both of them.

Even through the blanket, the cold and hard floor made Zhang Man feel stiff and uncomfortable, and if she slept here overnight, she would definitely be sick tomorrow.

“Uh… Li Wei, how about you sleep with me tonight, if you don’t mind?”

Zhang Man grabbed the youth’s lapel, head against his chest, and asked in a soft voice. Just opening her mouth, even she startled herself.

—Her voice, surprisingly, was much softer than usual, with some intimate pampering and intimate dependence.

The youth leaned lazily against the wall with her in his arms and shook his head, with a helpless chuckle in his voice, he said: “Man Man, if I sleep with you, I will keep my eyes open until dawn.”

In fact, even if he sleeps on the floor tonight, perhaps, he will have to stay awake all night just to calm the rapid heartbeat of his at this time.

“I won’t bother you… I-Is it still not good…even if I’m far away from you?”

Zhang Man was afraid that he would not agree, and immediately added a sentence: “Anyway, I want to sleep with you! If you don’t sleep on the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor with you!”

I must have him to agree to sleep with me…

The youth could hardly suppress a laugh at her words, and the slight vibration of his chest traveled through her skin against his and into her body.

Zhang Man became irritated and raised her hand to pinch his arm: “Don’t get the wrong idea! I meant sleeping together, nothing more!”  

The youth coughed, with an ineffable delight in his voice as he said, “Mn. I wasn’t thinking anything bad.”

Eventually he couldn’t resist her insistence and joined her on the bed. Both of them are covered with the same quilt, sleeping on either side of the bed, without disturbing each other. Zhang Man folded up another blanket and placed it between the two, setting it up to serve as an “impenetrable wall”.

…Just so she could prevent herself from wanting to hold him in her sleep.

“Good night, Man Man.”

The youth raised his hand and turned off the only light in the room when he heard her breathing becoming regular and smooth.

He opened his eyes, gradually adjusting to the darkness that came on in a moment.

The darkness and silence that permeated his entire body was the same old familiar feeling that he was so used to because they came uninvited every night, day after day, year after year.

His eyes were clearly open, but he couldn’t see anything, and a slight sense of powerlessness swept over him once again.

However, in the next second, a small warm hand reached over from the other side of the “impenetrable wall”, fumbling to hold his hand.

“Li Wei, I-I can’t sleep. Let’s talk, shall we?”

“Mm-hmm.”

The youth curled his lips, closed his eyes and gently squeezed her palm.

He thought to himself that probably from now on, he had a way to defend himself against the darkness.

“What did my mom say to you just now?”

Zhang Man rolled over and turned to him, still very curious.

The youth was quiet for a while and answered calmly after a long time: “She said she knows a lot of people in the community… If I put my hands on you, she will have someone come and break my legs.”

Zhang Man sucked in a breath of cold air. She did not expect Zhang Huifang to talk tough, but then she couldn’t help but laugh a little at her mother’s bluff, she probably only said that in an impulse.

She recalled thinking about that kiss just now.

“Then why did you still do…”

The youth laughed teasingly, “Do…what?”

“er, …nothing.”

Once again, her thin skin kicked in.

Zhang Man began to change the subject and asked carefully, “Li Wei, has your mother contacted you recently?”

The youth gave his answer without hesitation this time, his tone relaxed: “No, we haven’t been in touch for a while. I’ve been busy lately, and I guess Janet is living her life to the fullest.”

“What about…that friend of yours? You know, the one you discussed the problem with the last time I went to your house.”

“You mean ‘Nick’? He’s had his own thing going on lately and hasn’t come to see me in a long time. Why? What’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing.”

Zhang Man did not dare to say more, afraid that he would notice something, but listening to his reply, it seems that those delusions have not struck for a long time.

Her restless heart relaxed a little.

It seems that her previous deduction was valid, and the frequency of his episodes was much lower as his life became fuller after being with her. She felt sweet in her heart. If this continues, perhaps his episodes will become less frequent until they cease.

When he no longer has delusional symptoms, she will choose whether to tell him or not.

By then, this matter should be much less devastating to him, right?

Zhang Man gradually fell into a deep sleep as she pondered.

******

The biological clock caused by daily morning study allows Zhang Man to open her eyes early in the morning.

Because the curtains were closed last night and the winter nights were long, the room was still dim when she opened her eyes, making it hard to tell what time it was.

For a moment Zhang Man thought she was at home in N City, in her own bed and she slowly rolled over, only to be met with a pair of eyes in the next second.

The owner of those eyes was only two fingers away from her, his breath audible.

The youth’s face was not very clear in the dimly lit room, but those eyes seemed to light up with a million lights as soon as they locked eyes with her, then he gently came over and placed a kiss on the corner of her lips.

“Good morning, Man Man.”

The soft, warm touch made Zhang Man’s dazed mind instantly wake up, her face flushed red as she held her breath.

He was so close to her that his breath gently brushed the pores of her face, making her itch a little.

Zhang Man’s memory began to recover, and her hands gripped the quilt.

Last night, they slept together……

But she clearly remembered that she put a folded blanket in the middle to act as a wall?

Zhang Man tried to remember, yes, at first there was indeed such a blanket, but then, she seemed to cross over to hold his hand, and afterwards… She looked at the position where she was now lying.

And well, it is clearly her who crossed the “wall” she made, since her whole body was already lying on the other side of the dividing line.

Chagrined, Zhang Man reached out and wrapped her arms around the youth beside her, burying her head in the nook of his shoulder.

Since she already crossed the “wall”, it’s no big deal to have a hug in the morning.

Zhang Man began to regret again, had she known that she would cross the boundary when she fell asleep, she would have directly hugged him to sleep last night.

The youth’s body was refreshing, no sticky feeling at all, and his body was warm. His chest was hot, much warmer than hers—not different from a warm stove in the cold winter morning.

Zhang Man comfortably arched in his arms.

Her voice was still a little hoarse, and her mouth, which had been closed all night, was not quite open, and she mumbled in a small voice.

“What time is it now?”

The youth had a slight tremor in his body the moment she hugged him over. He was quiet for a moment before answering, his voice was surprisingly parched, not quite the same as usual. “It’s still quite early. It is now past five in the morning, so you should sleep a little more. I just looked and the snow has stopped, so we should be able to go back today.”

Zhang Man was surprised that it was only after five o’clock—he actually got up so early?

“Li Wei, did you fall asleep last night?”

“Well, it was a good sleep.”

In fact, he didn’t sleep at all. He was in the dark, with his eyes open, watching her all night.

He sensed her not-so-good sleeping posture. From time to time, she would stretch out her hand under the blanket, and he overheard one or two occasional words in her sleep.

He simply couldn’t fall asleep. He wanted to hear her every breath in the infinite darkness which gave him a real and unmistakable feeling of being alive.

It’s not that there hasn’t been insomnia until dawn before but mostly the reason is that some derivations were not clear and he would spend throughout the night thinking about it.

But never more than today…

His heart was pounding to the point that he could hardly sleep, and he was worried that after he fell asleep, he would open his eyes and find that it was all just a dream.

In his mind, he was afraid that he had fallen for her so deeply.

Perhaps the youth’s embrace was warmer than the comforter, Zhang Man’s sleepiness resurfaced and she intended to take a nap: “I want to hold you and sleep a little longer, is that okay?”

“En…”

The youth restrained himself and kissed the center of her hair, reached out and patted her back, mumbling, “Go to sleep, I’ll wake you up later.”

Teenagers at the age of 16 or 17 are the most energetic.

In fact, lying in bed with her holding him tightly like this, especially in the morning, was very hard for him. He feels restless and it was really hard to bear.

But this ordeal completely defeated the nightmares he had when she’s not in his arms.

……