Just as he was about to ask Jiang Yu, the door slammed shut right in front of his eyes. Chen Zhiyan turned to look at Mu Chuxia downstairs. “Mom, why is there an extra bed in my room?”
“You did not know?”
“I did not know.”
“Little Treasure bought it. He said you were afraid of the dark and wanted to sleep with you at night to keep you company.”
“It is him who is afraid of the dark.”
“Well, that is perfect then. You can keep him company.”
Chen Zhiyan did not want to lose his temper in front of the adults, especially since Chu Qingzi was still down there. After returning to his room, he went to the bathroom to wash up, intending to give Jiang Yu a beating later. After changing his clothes, he went to the laundry room. As soon as he arrived, he saw through the glass door of the washing machine that it was stuffed full. It was his bedding set.
So, Jiang Yu had slept on his bed again this afternoon.
Very well. He just kept letting Chen Zhiyan’s words go in one ear and out the other, over and over again.
Chen Zhiyan pressed the power button and began scrubbing his own clothes in the sink. When some soap suds appeared under his feet, he paused. He turned around to see that the washing machine was nearly buried in foam.
“Jiang Yu!”
Half an hour later.
The place was finally cleaned up. Jiang Yu knocked on the door from outside. “Chen Zhiyan, Chen Zhiyan, is my bed comfortable? Let me in to try it out.”
Chen Zhiyan hung up the last piece of clothing and put on a pair of dry slippers to open the door.
Jiang Yu slipped under his arm and threw himself onto his own bed, rolling around a few times. “It is so fucking comfortable. I can finally get a good night’s sleep.”
Chen Zhiyan’s face darkened by several degrees. He pulled Jiang Yu up, but the latter kept collapsing back down like he had no bones. “What are you doing? You are being so mean.”
“Did you pour in that much laundry detergent because you wanted to kill the washing machine?”
“My hands were just shaking a little.”
“Jiang Yu, take your bed and get the hell out.”
“Why?”
Chen Zhiyan said, “Allowing you to come in and sleep once or twice was already lowering my standards enough. Do not push your luck.”
Jiang Yu’s breathing quickened at the accusation. He asked, playing dumb, “So you mean I can only sleep on the sofa?”
“Why can I only sleep on the sofa? I did not use your money to buy this bed.”
He scrambled up from the bed, used all his strength to pull the bed a tiny distance away, and jumped onto it. He looked down at Chen Zhiyan from his high vantage point. “Is this okay now? Stop being so mean to me. I am very well behaved when I sleep; I will not get in your way!”
Seeing Jiang Yu’s unrepentant attitude, Chen Zhiyan said in a deep voice, “Try being that self-righteous one more time.”
“I am self-righteous! What are you going to do about it? Ah!”
Chen Zhiyan grabbed Jiang Yu’s ankle and used the same trick again, forcefully pulling him forward. Jiang Yu was yanked into a kneeling position on the bed and grew angry himself. He had been going along with everything Chen Zhiyan wanted, yet the man was still unsatisfied, nitpicking and going out of his way to find fault with him.
Jiang Yu grabbed Chen Zhiyan’s pillow and turned to glare at him, his tone violent. “Let go of me, or I will pee on this.”
“You would not dare.”
“See if I dare or not.”
“This is my room.”
“I am not blind! Who do you think actually wants to live with you? If it were not because of” Jiang Yu caught himself just in time and cursed, “Damn it, even praying to the gods and Buddha is useless. Chen Zhiyan, let me go. I am really going to get angry. I am going to tell my godmother right now!”
Jiang Yu was skilled at shifting the blame, but today, whether he complained or not, Chen Zhiyan was going to teach him a lesson.
“Go ahead and tell her. Do you think they do not know you are the one who started it?”
“I know they know I started it, but they all love and spoil me. Unlike you, all you know how to do is fight with me!”
“Jiang Yu, people like you are just victim-blaming bullies.”
“How am I a bully? Is your mouth rented and you are in a hurry to return it? Why are you saying such nasty things?”
Chen Zhiyan was not as quick-witted as Jiang Yu and soon stopped talking, but he raised his hand.
Slap.
“Fuck, do not hit my butt!”
“I fucking said do not hit it!”
“You are shameless!”
Tears began to well up in Jiang Yu’s eyes. He grabbed the pillow and threw it at Chen Zhiyan’s face, clutching the sheets as he tried to crawl away. But as soon as he managed to crawl a small distance with great effort, he was dragged back again. His ankles were rubbed raw in Chen Zhiyan’s grip, and his shirt was pushed up, revealing his slender waist.
Because of his struggling, Chen Zhiyan’s hand landed on Jiang Yu’s lower back, and a clear handprint immediately appeared. Even though he had not used much force, his hand paused, and he then released Jiang Yu’s ankle.
Jiang Yu seized the opportunity to crawl away and leaned against the headboard. His eyes were red as he stared at Chen Zhiyan with a stubborn and fierce expression. He wanted to open his mouth to curse at him, but he was afraid Chen Zhiyan would grab him and hit him again. After a few seconds of recovery, he threw Chen Zhiyan’s pillow and blanket onto the floor, which finally allowed him to vent some of his anger.
Chen Zhiyan was speechless. Jiang Yu would not listen to reason, and neither hitting nor scolding worked. He was truly the little demon of the house.
“Do not cry.”
“You are the one who is crying.” Jiang Yu looked left and right, wanting to throw more things, but there was nothing left. He knelt on the bed and called Chen Zhiyan a dog, saying he hated him and would crush him to death tonight.
Chen Zhiyan picked up the blanket and pillow, patted them clean, and put them back on the bed.
Jiang Yu sneered, “What happened to your germaphobia? Should you not change the bedding set?”
The remaining bedding sets were not even unpacked. Where would he find another usable one?
Chen Zhiyan pushed Jiang Yu’s bed back and joined it with his own.
“What are you doing? I do not want to be next to you!” Jiang Yu could not hide his thick nasal voice as he opened his mouth. He complained and made a fuss until Chen Zhiyan finally wrapped him in a thin blanket like a caterpillar and held him in his arms to restrain him. Chen Zhiyan manually silenced him when he was about to howl and quickly let go when Jiang Yu was about to bite him.
After several rounds of this, Jiang Yu called Chen Zhiyan an idiot and threw his head back to headbutt him. He ended up bruising Chen Zhiyan’s collarbone and hurting the back of his own head. That last hit was the hardest, and stars began to spin before his dazed eyes.
Seeing that he had quieted down, Chen Zhiyan turned off the lights. The room became pitch black, without a single sliver of light, until their eyes adjusted and they could vaguely see their surroundings.
After a long while.
Jiang Yu said, “I hate you so much.”
“Mhm.”
“Get lost.”
“So, you can hit me?”
“You were the one who hit me! It hurts so much!”
Chen Zhiyan was silent for two seconds. “Does it really hurt that much?”