“Why are you still wearing underwear with this pattern?”

Lu Li stretched his long legs on the edge of the bed, lying comfortably on Jiang Yi’s bed, holding Jiang Yi’s underwear up in the air, scrutinizing it for a while before giving a sincere comment, “But it suits you.”

Jiang Yi: “…”

He silently reached out to retrieve his underwear, but Lu Li, displeased, muttered, “Now you don’t even let me touch your things anymore.”

Jiang Yi folded his underwear, muttering, “It’s underwear.”

Lu Li, with a righteous tone, responded, “My dad said we’re so close we might as well share the same pair of pants. Since we’re that close, what’s the big deal?”

Jiang Yi, keeping a straight face, replied, “Uncle didn’t mean sharing the same pair of underwear.”

After all these years, Lu Li’s Chinese was still a mess.

Lu Li insisted, “Other people aren’t close enough to share the same underwear, but we’re not like other people. Why can’t we?”

Jiang Yi silently stared at him.

After a few seconds, Lu Li thought again and said, “But I guess we really can’t.”

“Yours is too small for me, and if you wore mine, they’d fall off.”

Jiang Yi: “…”

Seeing Jiang Yi remain silent, Lu Li realized that between the underwear and Jiang Yi, Jiang Yi was definitely more important. Thinking he should make up for it, he added, “But if you let me wear them, I could squeeze in, even if it’s a bit tight.”

It would be uncomfortable, but if Jiang Yi asked him to wear them, he would.

Jiang Yi ignored him and, with a stern face, placed his underwear at the very back of the closet, just in case Lu Li got any ideas and decided to sneak up in the middle of the night to try them on.

But Lu Li’s greatest interest now was sleeping in the same bed as Jiang Yi.

After Jiang Yi got into bed, Lu Li, like when they were younger, hugged him tightly like a stuffed doll and complained, “Why did your competition take so long…?”

Jiang Yi, experienced by now, managed to free his head from Lu Li’s embrace to breathe. He patted Lu Li’s head and said, “It wasn’t just me; everyone was gone for that long.”

Lu Li buried his face in Jiang Yi’s hair and mumbled, “Where’s the little shell you picked up for me?”

Jiang Yi smiled, “In my backpack. I picked out the best one for you.”

Satisfied, Lu Li’s mood improved, and he began playing with Jiang Yi’s hand.

Jiang Yi started counting on his fingers, “I also picked one for Dad, one for Uncle Lu, one for Auntie… Oh, and one for Ying Zhuohan…”

Lu Li’s face darkened as he interrupted, “Who the heck is Ying Zhuohan?”

“His leg is broken, what does he need a shell for? To make soup?”

Jiang Yi corrected him, “Ying Zhuohan didn’t break his leg. He just twisted his ankle playing basketball.”

Recently, Ying Zhuohan had twisted his ankle during a game with upperclassmen and had been resting at home.

Lying on the same pillow, Lu Li, attempting to persuade Jiang Yi, jealously whispered in his ear, “Give me Ying Zhuohan’s shell. He doesn’t need it.”

Jiang Yi, his ear tickled by Lu Li’s soft breath, rubbed it and lazily replied, “You don’t get to decide that.”

Lu Li: “Then I get half of it.”

Jiang Yi: “Isn’t that a bit too much?”

Lu Li, in a displeased tone, retorted, “He should be grateful for half. What right does he have to complain?”

Jiang Yi pulled up the blanket, covering Lu Li’s blonde head, and said, “Go to sleep.”

Jiang Yi’s bed wasn’t big. One person could sleep comfortably, but with two people, it became a bit cramped. There was barely any room left, their arms and legs pressing against each other.

But since they had grown up together, they were used to sleeping so closely.

Yet today, Jiang Yi felt a bit more crowded than usual. He stuck his head out and asked if Lu Li felt the same.

Although Lu Li also felt it was a bit tight, he had no intention of leaving the bed to sleep alone in his room. So, he stubbornly said, “No, it’s not crowded.”

Not only that, to avoid getting kicked out of the bed, Lu Li preemptively accused Jiang Yi, “You must’ve gotten used to sleeping in big beds by yourself while you were away. Now you’re annoyed sleeping with me because it feels cramped, huh?”

Jiang Yi, puzzled, blinked, “I didn’t say that. I just feel like it’s a bit tight tonight.”

Lu Li responded, “That’s nonsense. It’s not cramped at all. You’ll get used to it after a few more nights.”

Jiang Yi, being honest, replied, “Okay.”

He was about to close his eyes when something seemed off. He opened them wide, sat up, and realized that both he and Lu Li were sharing the same pillow.

No wonder it felt tight! Lu Li’s head was huge!

Jiang Yi shook Lu Li awake, pointing at the pillow, and with a bit of frustration, accused, “Your big head is making it crowded, and you had the nerve to say I got used to big beds while I was away!”

Realizing it was indeed his fault, Lu Li sheepishly scratched his nose, mumbling that his head wasn’t that big.

Jiang Yi lifted the blanket, saying, “I’ll go to the living room and get you a new pillow from the storage cabinet.”

But Lu Li, alarmed, protested, “No! If you go out, Uncle Jiang will definitely know I’m here.”

Jiang Yi looked at Lu Li in confusion.

Lu Li avoided his gaze for a moment before confessing, “My mom’s already raised the wall higher. If she finds out I’m here again tonight, she’ll probably raise it even higher tomorrow.”

After all, when they were kids, Arno was practically attached to Jiang Yi with a rope. If Jiang Yi didn’t sleep at his place, Lu Li would insist on moving his bed to Jiang Yi’s house, and no one could stop him.

Jiang Yi widened his eyes and hesitated, “Then I’ll sneak out and grab one?”

Lu Li pulled him back into bed, coaxing, “Your head is small. It’s fine for one night. Just share a little of the pillow with me.”

Jiang Yi softly protested, “But I should still sneak out and get one…”

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a knock on the door. Jiang Yi’s father’s voice came from the hallway, “Sweetie, are you still awake? Can you help Dad with this app installation on my phone?”

Jiang Yi’s eyes widened, and Lu Li stiffened. The two exchanged a look before Jiang Yi quickly pulled the blanket over Lu Li, urging him to hide.

Standing outside the room, Jiang’s father knocked again, noticing the light was still on. He assumed Jiang Yi was too focused on his homework to hear, so he asked, “Can I come in?”

After a brief pause, Jiang Yi finally responded, “Sure.”

Jiang’s father opened the door and saw Jiang Yi sitting up in bed, covered with a blanket, holding a book. Calmly, Jiang Yi asked, “Which app is giving you trouble?”

Jiang’s father handed him the phone, puzzled, “This app keeps saying it won’t install. Sweetie, can you figure out what’s wrong?”

Jiang Yi took the phone, tapped a few buttons, and calmly replied, “It’s done. You just forgot to agree to the disclaimer at the bottom.”

His father squinted at the screen, sighing, “These disclaimers are written so tiny, no wonder I didn’t see it.”

“Alright, thanks, sweetie. Go to sleep.”

As he walked towards the door, Jiang Yi sighed in relief. But as the blanket shifted, Jiang’s father turned back and asked, “Do you want me to turn off the light?”

Jiang Yi quickly shook his head, “No, I’ll do it in a bit.”

His father reminded him not to stay up too late reading before finally closing the door behind him.

As soon as he left, Jiang Yi pulled the blanket back, and Lu Li crawled out, gasping, “I almost suffocated!”