The morning sunlight carried a scorching heat that roused Huo Ranyin.
As consciousness returned from chaos to his body, he felt a rare soreness and fatigue from overuse…
However… his body was quite clean.
Of course it was.
Later, he had been carried to the bathroom. The hot water pouring down from the showerhead felt like fine needles piercing his skin, bringing a continuous ache, but under the other’s soothing touch, it turned into a watery cloud, enveloping his body in billowing heat.
The absurdity continued from hot water to cold, as if they could never leave the bathroom…
Although it felt good, it was indeed excessive indulgence, Huo Ranyin thought. Good thing he didn’t have to work today. If he did, he couldn’t have played so crazily…
He thought about this and that, his mind wandering, until he felt his eyes had adjusted to the bright light, and then he slowly opened them. The first thing he saw was the half-drawn curtain.
The curtain was no longer burgundy, but a grayish-green.
Because the room had changed, from his room to Ji Xun’s room.
Yesterday, the bed in his room had been left in too much of a mess… so after washing up, Ji Xun had carried him to a different room to continue sleeping… He remembered vaguely protesting, wanting to just sleep in the messy room for the night… but he hadn’t succeeded. He only remembered Ji Xun coaxing him for a long time, telling him not to worry, that he wouldn’t be seen by anyone, and that a comfortable bed would be better for sleeping.
And he indeed hadn’t been seen by anyone.
Ji Xun had found a large blanket, covered him from head to toe, and then, like a thief, opened the door, slipped through the corridor, and returned to the room next door.
Wrapped in the blanket, it was completely dark around him.
He leaned against Ji Xun’s chest, drowsy and amused. Listening to Ji Xun’s heartbeat, he forgot when he had fallen asleep. Perhaps he had already fallen asleep when Ji Xun picked him up and walked down the corridor?
He shifted his gaze, his eyes landing on the person sleeping beside him.
The sunlight outside was getting stronger.
The sunlight that had only been on his side of the bed a moment ago had, in a short while, moved to Ji Xun’s face.
Ji Xun’s face was very handsome, a face that made people feel an immediate sense of trust and closeness.
In this light, some of his minor flaws… like his pale lips, or the dark circles like a panda’s under his eyes, also became unique features, becoming cute and endearing.
He watched for a while, slowly realizing that this was the first time the two of them had officially slept together.
In the same bed, for the whole night.
He raised a hand.
His palm moved, shielding Ji Xun’s eyes and brows, blocking the annoying sunlight streaming in from the window.
He can sleep a little longer, Huo Ranyin thought secretly. It’s still early anyway…
His palm hovered for more than ten seconds, then the peacefully sleeping person suddenly raised a hand, grabbed his, pulled it back under the covers, and then, with a stretch of his arm, pulled him into his embrace as well.
Huo Ranyin was surprised at first: “When did you wake up?”
Ji Xun’s eyes were still closed: “Been awake for a while. I thought you were planning some prank, so I didn’t make a sound, giving you a chance.”
“…” Huo Ranyin was speechless for a moment. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
“Of course…” Ji Xun said. “I worked very hard… I’m really tired.”
“…”
“Don’t underestimate yourself,” Ji Xun said, still with his eyes closed, leaning down to peck Huo Ranyin’s cheek. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I died on top of you one day.”
“Ji Xun…” Huo Ranyin’s voice was low.
“Are you angry?” Ji Xun finally opened his eyes. Just as he was about to pat and soothe him, he met Huo Ranyin’s gaze, which held a smile that was not quite a smile.
Hmm…
He looked at Huo Ranyin. Huo Ranyin curved his lips at him. Seeing this smile, he had a very bad feeling.
The feeling was confirmed.
Huo Ranyin said: “So you couldn’t sleep before just because you weren’t trying hard enough, not exercising, not burning off energy, huh?”
Ji Xun: “…”
“Early to bed, early to rise, quit smoking and drinking, exercise and eat light…” Huo Ranyin said slowly. “To prevent sudden death.”
“It doesn’t have to be like this!” Ji Xun lamented. “You’re only 26 this year, but you sound like a 62-year-old grandmother nagging her husband.”
“Hah.”
“And you haven’t quit drinking either.”
“I exercise.”
“You don’t go to bed early either.”
“I exercise,” Huo Ranyin repeated coolly.
“I…” Ji Xun suddenly remembered his 8888-yuan gym membership card, which he seemed to have never used since buying it… He felt guilty for two seconds, and when he spoke again, he changed the subject. “Alright, alright, isn’t it just exercise? As if I haven’t exercised before. If you had gotten together with me three years earlier, I could have pinned you down…”
Although now, he was probably the one being pinned down by Huo Ranyin.
Ji Xun wouldn’t say such an embarrassing thing out loud. He continued:
“In short, for our harmonious and happy life, I will.”
Huo Ranyin raised an eyebrow, a hint of disbelief in his eyes: “Really?”
“Really,” Ji Xun said. “If you don’t believe me, you can just supervise me.”
“How do I supervise?”
“We live together,” Ji Xun smoothly replied.
Huo Ranyin was silent for a few breaths: “So after all that, this was your goal?”
“The way you say it, it sounds like I deliberately lured you into a trap.”
“Wasn’t it?”
“Of course not,” Ji Xun said with sound reasoning. “Us living together both promotes our relationship and satisfies your desire to supervise my exercise, without costing you extra energy. It’s a win-win-win—unless, you don’t want to live with me?”
“…”
Huo Ranyin opened his mouth, but the words of refusal were hard to say.
They had just confessed, just merged.
He wished he could use superglue to stick the two of them together like Siamese twins. How could he not want to live together? When he heard Ji Xun proactively suggest it, he even felt a moment of secret joy.
However…
“You’ll move in with me?” Huo Ranyin coughed lightly and asked.
“It’s not impossible, your place is indeed bigger,” Ji Xun said. “But it’s rented, and the rent isn’t cheap, is it? And while the decor is luxurious, it’s a bit too cold to live in.”
“8000,” said Huo Ranyin.
Ning City wasn’t a provincial capital. Even for a well-located, finely decorated apartment, that rent was indeed staggering. Ji Xun advised Huo Ranyin:
“I know you have money, but what couldn’t you do with eight thousand yuan? Your monthly salary is probably about that much.”
“Mmm…”
“Live at my place,” Ji Xun invited. “Two bedrooms and a living room. It’s a bit small, but if we tidy up, it’s enough. I can move my study into the living room and give the study to you.”
Give it to me for what? For me to sleep in? Huo Ranyin thought of Ji Xun’s insomnia.
“As a walk-in closet for you…” Ji Xun continued. “The difference between my place and yours is probably a walk-in closet, so you can have the study as a closet. We can also section off a space for an office, to handle the confidential files you bring back from the police station.”
“…No second bed?” Huo Ranyin interrupted Ji Xun.
“You’re so young, what do you need a second bed for?” Ji Xun became slightly vigilant and glanced at Huo Ranyin. “We’re living together and you still want to sleep in separate beds?”
“You don’t want to sleep in separate beds?” asked Huo Ranyin.
“I don’t,” Ji Xun said frankly. “I said it during Gao Shuang’s case. If a young couple sleeps in separate beds, their relationship is a hundred percent not good. If the feelings are strong enough, there are always more solutions than problems.”
Huo Ranyin scoffed but didn’t refuse. Instead, he lowered his head slightly and lazily nuzzled against Ji Xun.
The sunlight outside continued to shine, seeming to penetrate into his blood, making him feel a little drowsy again. He wanted to lean against Ji Xun and take another nap.
But he also wanted to hear Ji Xun talk more.
Ji Xun’s voice was light and cheerful. In his ears, it was strangely like a bird, chest puffed out, standing on a treetop, pointing its wings at the forest below, commenting and discussing with its companion which tree was most suitable for building a nest…
That’s right.
This bird also had a strange pair of dark circles.
Huo Ranyin chuckled softly. He suddenly said:
“Your kitchen.”
“What about my kitchen?” Ji Xun was a bit confused.
“No knives,” Huo Ranyin said slowly. “Can’t cook.”
For a moment, Ji Xun wanted to say to Huo Ranyin, “We’re living together, and you’re still thinking about hiding knives in the house?”
But on second thought, one person could make do with anything, but with two people living together, they couldn’t just order takeout for every meal. In any case… there are always more solutions than problems.
Ji Xun pondered for a moment and admitted, “If we live together, the kitchen might indeed need some knives for cooking. But I can’t cook right now, so…”
Huo Ranyin lazily hummed: “Hmm?”
“Let’s hire a cleaning lady,” Ji Xun planned. “Have her bring her own knives to cook, and take them with her when she leaves. That way, as long as I don’t go into the kitchen when she’s here, it won’t be a problem.”
“That’s quite a sacrifice,” said Huo Ranyin.
“Compromise,” Ji Xun sighed. “It’s unavoidable.”
“What if she gets stopped and questioned by the police for carrying knives?” Huo Ranyin asked, holding back a laugh.
“Then we’ll have to send out the criminal investigation captain to bail out his own cleaning lady,” Ji Xun said seriously. “Otherwise, even a clever housewife can’t cook without rice… everyone will go hungry.”
Huo Ranyin couldn’t hold it in and truly laughed out loud this time.
“There’s one more problem.”
“What problem?” Ji Xun showed immense patience. Moving was already a problem; moving in together was the problem of all problems. No amount of patience was too much.
“The place I’m renting is close to the police station, a five-minute walk,” Huo Ranyin said.
Ji Xun was stunned for two seconds.
He had originally thought it was best for Huo Ranyin to live with him, but now he suddenly changed his mind.
“That’s true. You’re usually busy with work, so finding a place close to the station is very important…” Ji Xun frowned slightly.
Huo Ranyin admired the furrowed brow for a moment, then said, “It’s easy to solve.”
“How?”
“I’ll buy the place I’m renting now, then I won’t have to pay the meaningless rent every month.”
“…”
“I know you don’t like the current decor style. Once I buy it, we can renovate it however we want, change it to the cute style you like.”
“…”
“Then you can move in and treat it as your own home…” Huo Ranyin glanced at Ji Xun. “The house I buy, I’ll put your name on it.”
“…”
Ji Xun was silent for a long time.
“Am I the type to live off my partner?” he asked Huo Ranyin. Then he cleared his throat and said sincerely, “This soft rice… smells so good.”
“…Stop messing around.”
“I’m not messing around. I’m telling you my true feelings right now.”
They had gone through decorating, cooking, renting, buying… After all this, Ji Xun suddenly thought of a possibility:
“What if you get promoted?”
“?”
“Buying a house isn’t a problem, but with your current workaholic attitude, getting promoted to the provincial bureau or department doesn’t seem like an unforeseeable future. Would it be a bit of a waste for us to buy so many houses in Ning City? After all, we’d have to drift around with you like duckweed…”
“…You’re thinking really far ahead.”
“We’re already in a relationship, shouldn’t we be thinking about forever?”
“It seems I’m the one doing that.”
Huo Ranyin met Ji Xun’s questioning gaze, then his eyes drifted to the side, landing on the sunlit floor. He said:
“…You’re having a book signing now. Am I not drifting with you?”
