EAY Chapter 65

Living Together

Living Together

65

Although Qi Ye and Shi Ran had never formally discussed living together after graduation, they shared a tacit understanding.

The matter of finding a place also arose one day while they were leisurely strolling after a meal.

“Since we don’t have anything to do this afternoon, why don’t we go look at apartments?” Shi Ran suggested.

They were quite lucky; they only looked at three or four places before settling on their current apartment.

The location was excellent, in an old residential complex without an elevator, but luckily it was only on the third floor, so they didn’t have to climb too high. Shi Ran felt that this complex was very similar to his own, old but clean, cozy yet providing privacy.

Shi Ran was also immediately drawn to their current apartment; he seemed to be able to picture himself and Qi Ye living there together.

But after actually moving in and living there for a while, Shi Ran often had a feeling of unreality.

Was he really living with Qi Ye?

Especially every morning when he was the only one left in bed, the spot next to him empty and already cold. One of Qi Ye’s good habits was that he never slept in, even on his days off.

And when he got up, he would invariably see Qi Ye busy in the kitchen. Thanks to his boyfriend, Shi Ran hadn’t had to show off his cooking skills since moving in.

Suddenly, he was hugged from behind. Qi Ye paused with the spatula in his hand, then relaxed and leaned back slightly. “Didn’t you say you were going to sleep in today?”

“But I remember you saying you wanted to eat breakfast on time,” Shi Ran said, rubbing his forehead against Qi Ye’s back. “You have an AI-like schedule.”

Qi Ye smiled. “You came back too late yesterday; you can sleep in today.”

“I think I’ll just take a nap after breakfast,” Shi Ran said. “Do you want to join me?”

Qi Ye said, “I’ll draw next to you and keep you company.”

“Okay.”

After breakfast, still in his pajamas, Shi Ran returned to bed. He suddenly chuckled, and Qi Ye, who was beside him, stopped drawing. “What’s so funny?”

“I just suddenly realized that working isn’t bad, you can even eat breakfast and then take a nap,” Shi Ran said. “I never felt this relaxed when I was in school; I always felt like I wasn’t resting well. But since being with you, resting has become guilt-free.”

“Do I deserve some credit?” Qi Ye reached out and stroked his head.

“Maybe it’s because I feel more at ease with you, especially with so many things in life, I can be lazy,” Shi Ran mumbled. “Crap, I’ve developed bad habits.”

“Great, my goal has been achieved,” Qi Ye kissed him on the forehead. “Go back to sleep.”

But Shi Ran wasn’t sleepy; his eyes were bright. “After a good nap, let’s go on a date this afternoon. I want to see a movie, stroll in the park, and eat snacks at the night market.”

“Okay,” Qi Ye said. “Then let’s eat lunch out and watch a movie after.”

Shi Ran closed his eyes, thought for a moment, and said, “Let’s skip the night market and come back early after the park.”

“What’s wrong?”

Shi Ran cleared his throat. “Well, you know, let’s save some time for some indoor activities.”

Qi Ye: “Are you talking about cleaning? No need, I already did it yesterday.”

Shi Ran: “…”

He closed his eyes, not wanting to deal with this person, but soon, his right cheek was kissed, then his left cheek, and then his lips. Qi Ye whispered, “Do you really want to sleep or not?”

“Sleep, sleep, sleep,” Shi Ran quickly said. “My back is sore, and I’m exhausted right now. You wait until I recover my strength tonight.”

“Oh my god,” Qi Ye sighed, holding his forehead by the bed, and worked hard for a while before shifting his attention back to his drawing.

They had already tried that sort of thing during winter break of their sophomore year.

When they first got together, Shi Ran never even thought about such things. But gradually, as they spent more time together, he began to have those thoughts, but he was too embarrassed to say it, thinking he would wait for Qi Ye to initiate.

Anyway, Qi Ye should be more eager than me, Shi Ran thought.

Unexpectedly, Qi Ye wasn’t eager at all.

That winter break, wanting to spend more time together, they agreed to return to school after the Lantern Festival but didn’t stay in the dorm. They turned around and went to nearby attractions, and Qi Ye even rented a beautiful bed and breakfast.

Shi Ran thought Valentine’s Day was a good day, a more romantic atmosphere. If Qi Ye really had those kinds of thoughts, he would probably choose this day. Sure enough, Qi Ye had planned a whole day of dates and even bought a projector to watch movies at the bed and breakfast, although they were watching animated movies, Shi Ran liked them too, so he watched them.

During the movie, Shi Ran was very distracted, looking here and there. Qi Ye noticed and asked, “Are you bored?”

Shi Ran shook his head and looked at the time. “It’s pretty late, isn’t it?”

Qi Ye: “It’s only ten o’clock, are you sleepy?”

Shi Ran: “I’m not sleepy, I’m actually pretty energetic.”

This bed and breakfast was a beautiful two-story villa, and only the two of them were staying there. Shi Ran looked around, “The house is quite big.”

“Do you like it?”

“Of course, I like it,” Shi Ran said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to live in a house like this in my life.”

Qi Ye: “That’s too pessimistic.”

Shi Ran: “It’s realistic.”

Qi Ye: “We’ll work hard together.”

Shi Ran nodded. Strange, how could he be so considerate when talking about this kind of topic but ignore the issues he currently needed to address?

Could Qi Ye be asexual? Please no, if he didn’t take action tonight, Shi Ran would really become pessimistic.

“Well,” Shi Ran rubbed his arms, “do you get cold at night?”

Qi Ye: “Is the air conditioner in your room broken?”

Shi Ran touched his head: “I don’t know, it’s just especially cold at night.”

“I’ll go check it for you,” Qi Ye got up, and before Shi Ran could stop him, he went straight to his room.

After trying the air conditioner, Qi Ye said, “It’s not broken, it can blow warm air.”

Shi Ran leaned against the door, listless: “Oh.”

Qi Ye: “Are you scared to sleep alone at night?”

Shi Ran seemed to see hope and nodded: “Actually, I was holding back from saying it last night. There are only two of us in this house, and it’s a bit empty. The neighborhood is also very remote—”

Qi Ye said, “Then I’ll come keep you company tonight.”

“Yeah, that’s fine too.”

Then at night, Qi Ye slept in a sleeping bag on the floor next to Shi Ran’s bed… damn it, why did the villa have a sleeping bag?

Shi Ran looked up at the ceiling, resentment almost filled the entire room.

Qi Ye seemed to sense it and silently sat up, holding the edge of the bed. “What’s wrong, can’t you sleep?”

Shi Ran stopped pretending, patted the edge of the bed: “Come up, I’ll tell you.”

Qi Ye hesitated for a moment but still went up. As soon as he lay down, Shi Ran suddenly leaned close, sat on him, and then leaned over, looking down at him: “I’m curious about something.”

Qi Ye: “What?”

Shi Ran lifted the blanket, sat on his body, and looked down at him: “You’re so abstemious at your age.”

Qi Ye’s eyelashes fluttered rapidly. Shi Ran knew he was nervous now and felt a sense of successful teasing. He reached out to touch his face: “Really, you don’t want to at all?”

Qi Ye stammered: “No, it’s not that.”

Shi Ran angrily said: “Then why are you so insensible? Can’t you see that I’ve been hinting at you?”

Qi Ye: “When did you hint?”

Shi Ran gritted his teeth: “I hinted all day today, and last night too. When we first arrived, I said that it’s such a waste to book two rooms, how else do you want me to say it!”

Qi Ye smiled embarrassedly: “I really thought you were scolding me for being wasteful, but since we finally got out to play, I wanted you to be comfortable.”

Shi Ran paused and said, “So are you an asexual person or not?”

Qi Ye: “I don’t think so.”

Shi Ran: “What do you mean ‘I don’t think so’?”

Qi Ye: “Because, I don’t have any experience, but I do, think a lot, about you.”

Fortunately, only a lamp was on in the room, and the blush on Shi Ran’s face could be hidden well. He was defeated by this person and leaned against his chest: “Don’t just think about it, take some action.”

Qi Ye: “I don’t want you to think I’m impatient, I want to cherish you.”

Shi Ran: “You can do it and then cherish me.”

That night, they tried it for the first time, and in Shi Ran’s memory, it was sweet and innocent.

At first, Shi Ran felt that he was more open than Qi Ye, with a thicker skin, so he needed to be proactive and guide him in this area. But after living together, Shi Ran realized that this was more like some kind of perverse hobby of Qi Ye’s.

His usually quiet and introverted boyfriend had so many tricks, Shi Ran didn’t dare to easily recall them. His skin was too thin, too thin.