Xie Dongcheng didn’t immediately respond, just glanced up at Yu Zi. His eyes seemed devoid of any light even in the darkness.

Seeing him silent, Yu Zi didn’t bother waiting any longer and simply walked into the bedroom and lay back on the bed. However, he didn’t close the bedroom door completely, leaving a gap.

The late-night wind outside began to blow again, making crisp sounds against the glass windows. It sent shivers down one’s spine, prompting Yu Zi to quickly pull the blanket over his legs.

The living room remained quiet.

Yu Zi was starting to feel drowsy, lying on his side on the bed, his eyelids gradually drooping. However, amidst the haze, he heard footsteps. They drew nearer to the door and then moved away again, only to approach once more. This repeated several times.

About five minutes later, there was a soft sound as the bedroom door was slowly pushed open, and a dark figure entered. Yu Zi felt the figure getting closer, so he scooted over, making space for the person on the bed.

However, the bed was indeed too small for two men. It was less than five feet wide, and the thin mattress creaked as Xie Dongcheng moved. In the silent night, even the slightest noise seemed exceptionally loud.

The half of the bed where Yu Zi lay was still warm, retaining his body heat in the bedsheets. It seemed like he had used mango-scented shower gel, and the tropical fruit scent in this cold winter night was somewhat surreal.

Yu Zi lay on his side without making a sound, facing away from Xie Dongcheng as if he were asleep.

The radiator by the bed emitted waves of warmth, heating up the cold air. The orange-yellow light cast onto the small bed, shining directly on Yu Zi’s back.

Initially, Xie Dongcheng propped himself up on his elbow, but after a while, he slowly lay down. He lay flat on the bed, and the corner of his eye caught Yu Zi wearing his clothes. The cotton fabric pressed against his skin, and the soft blanket covered only half of his body.

Xie Dongcheng’s gaze moved downward and saw Yu Zi wearing the pajama pants he had given him. Unfortunately, the pants were still a bit big for him, with the waistband empty, and the pant legs rolled up, revealing some thigh skin.

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable lying down, Xie Dongcheng was about to turn over and face away from Yu Zi when suddenly, Yu Zi turned his body, facing towards him. In the process of turning, his butt brushed against Xie Dongcheng’s body, causing a subtle friction between their skins.

Xie Dongcheng stiffened all over, afraid to even breathe. But the annoying cough suddenly made his throat itch, and he couldn’t help but cough twice.

Startled by the noise, Yu Zi opened his eyes and reached out, accidentally touching Xie Dongcheng’s face. His fingers, warm like the oil heater under the bed, emitted heat.

Xie Dongcheng didn’t know whether to move his head away, so they both stayed still for several minutes before he mustered the courage to grasp Yu Zi’s wrist and gently move his hand away from his face.

“Pfft.” Yu Zi suddenly opened his eyes and chuckled.

“You’re pretending to sleep,” Xie Dongcheng said, unusually annoyed.

“What’s wrong? Do I need to report to you when I sleep?” Yu Zi lifted his eyelids under the dim light, propped his head with his hand, and looked at him with a smile.

“No,” Xie Dongcheng felt like the person in front of him had stepped out of a painting, staring at him fixedly for a while.

Seeing him unwilling to speak, Yu Zi raised his eyebrows and then closed his eyes, turning over to continue sleeping.

There was only one blanket on the bed, and their bodies were close together. If Yu Zi turned back again, his face would touch Xie Dongcheng’s chin, and his entire body would be pressed against his chest.

After a few seconds, he suddenly heard the person behind him speak, “Is that Sheng Chuan, your friend?”

Yu Zi found it somewhat amusing and asked him, “You’ve been holding that in all night just to ask now?”

“…No.”

Another denial.

“What’s it to you? Do you mind me having a drink with him?” Yu Zi teased him.

“No!” Xie Dongcheng’s tone became a little agitated. As soon as the words were out, he realized he had overreacted and quickly tried to amend, “I’m just worried about you going out so late…”

“I came back safely, didn’t I? What are you worried about?” he threw the question back at him.

The person behind him fell silent for a while, and after a moment, Yu Zi heard the sound of movement.

Xie Dongcheng gave up on the conversation and turned away.

This small bed felt like a teetering balance, tilting inward or outward with the movements of the two. Soon, there was no more movement behind him, only the faint sound of breathing. Yu Zi reached out to pull the blanket over himself and closed his eyes.

The stray cat that had been quiet for the past few days inexplicably returned to the base of the wall that night and started howling, its voice hoarse and desperate, forming a chaotic mess.

With his eyes closed, Yu Zi couldn’t help but touch the person behind him with his legs. The dream he had long forgotten seemed to be returning to his mind.

But this time was different. The person lying behind him was a living, breathing human being, the protagonist of his dream. The scar on Xie Dongcheng’s nose was almost invisible now, but the contours of his muscles, the shape of his hands, were more real and tangible than in the dream.

Yu Zi rolled his eyeballs a few times and didn’t know how long it took before he entered into a light sleep.

Perhaps because Xie Dongcheng was sleeping next to him, that night’s dream was even clearer. In the dream, Xie Dongcheng held his waist with his palm, affectionately stroking his back, each movement sending tingles through his head.

So much so that Yu Zi began to doubt in the dream, whether this was reality or a dream.

In the dream, there was no sense of time passing, until the illusory Xie Dongcheng pressed hard against his waist, confirming that this was indeed a dream. Otherwise, being subjected to such forceful impact, he should have felt pain.

The stray cat slept very late but woke up very early. The sky was just beginning to lighten up. Yu Zi heard the stray cat’s cry again outside the window.

He rubbed his eyelids with his knuckles, gradually regaining his senses. But when he fully woke up, he realized that the two of them were maintaining the same posture as in his dream.

Xie Dongcheng’s arm was stretched across the pillow, his chest against Yu Zi’s back, and his cheek against his hair. He looked like he was embracing him.

If it weren’t for the fact that both of them were wearing their clothes properly, he would have really wondered if something had happened with this person.

Yu Zi sat up, causing the bed to creak again. Soon, Xie Dongcheng beside him opened his eyes. When he saw the position they were in, he immediately pulled his arm back, inching away, almost falling off the bed.

“Are you awake?” he spoke, his voice a bit hoarse.

“Otherwise, am I sleepwalking now?” Yu Zi thought, annoyed by his meaningless questions. “Is your throat feeling better?”

Xie Dongcheng didn’t expect Yu Zi to care about his health. He nodded quickly, “Much better.”

After speaking, he cleared his throat, confirming that he was indeed feeling much better.

Yu Zi was sleeping on the side against the wall, so he had to roll over Xie Dongcheng to get off the bed. He thought for a moment, then lifted one leg and placed it on Xie Dongcheng’s thigh.

Xie Dongcheng immediately became alert, “What are you…”

“I want to get out of bed.”

“Oh, okay.”

But Yu Zi didn’t move after saying that. Instead, he straddled Xie Dongcheng’s lap in this position. The two of them froze like this for four or five seconds.

The bruise on his ankle from the fall a few days ago hadn’t completely faded yet and looked particularly striking against his smooth skin. In the faint morning light, with the curtain swaying, the two of them squeezed on the same bed, making the bruise seem even more ambiguous.

Yu Zi originally wanted to tease him a bit, but as he prepared to lift his other leg and shift his weight to get off the bed, he unexpectedly found that Xie Dongcheng’s body was a bit strange.

His calf accidentally brushed against a certain area where the fabric was protruding.

Before Yu Zi could speak to break the silence, Xie Dongcheng stammered, “This is a normal physiological phenomenon.”

If he hadn’t explained, it might have been better, but this explanation seemed more like trying to cover something up.

Yu Zi laughed several times before his shoulders finally stopped shaking, “I’m a man, of course, I know this is normal.”

He knew that if he didn’t roll off the bed soon, this person might explode right there.

Feeling a bit merciful, Yu Zi pulled back his other leg, shifted a bit, and sat at the edge of the bed.

Only then did Xie Dongcheng breathe a sigh of relief, pulling the blanket over his waist and legs.

Yu Zi sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the swaying curtains, and suddenly felt a tug at his heart. He turned his head to look at Xie Dongcheng, “Did you have a dream last night?”

Xie Dongcheng’s eyes suddenly became tense, “What kind of dream?”

Yu Zi didn’t expect this reaction from him. That sentence was just something he randomly made up, but it made the person in front of him so nervous. Could he actually deceive something out of him?

He blinked, then turned his head to look into Xie Dongcheng’s eyes, seemingly serious, and said, “You said one word.”

“What word?” Xie Dongcheng hurriedly asked.

But Yu Zi didn’t answer, he just got off the bed and walked out of the bedroom.

“What word?” Xie Dongcheng watched his back and asked again.

Yu Zi walked into the living room, where the sky outside was blue and clear. The weather seemed good that day.