Lu Jiayan’s throat felt dry, and the familiar scent lingering around the tip of his nose gave him a unique sensation.
The person beside him moved closer and closer, his chest pressed firmly against Lu Jiayan’s arm. The friction of the fabric produced faint, rustling sounds that were exceptionally distinct in the quiet of the night.
“Do you want to…”
Lu Jiayan thought Pei Zhiwen had gone back on his word the moment he lay down.
Before the words “what are you doing” could leave his lips, an arm reached across his upper body and pulled the duvet outward.
It wrapped snugly around his side, which had not been completely covered, and the edge of the blanket was tucked in to prevent the cold draft from slipping through the gap by the bedside.
As it turned out, Pei Zhiwen just wanted to pull the blanket over him.
He was not trying to do that other thing.
Pei Zhiwen’s breath brushed against Lu Jiayan’s ear. After rising and falling a few times, he lowered his voice and asked, “Do you want it, or do I?”
A tingling numbness spread across Lu Jiayan’s ear, and the underlying itch on his skin found a trace of relief in Pei Zhiwen’s closeness.
“I did not.”
He hadn’t even been asking whether Pei Zhiwen wanted to do that.
He hadn’t finished his sentence yet.
At that moment, the arm resting across his upper body slid downward.
Just as Lu Jiayan thought Pei Zhiwen was about to act up, he realized the other man was simply wrapping his arms around his waist.
A wave of numbness radiated from his chest, instantly spreading across his entire body.
The two of them were pressed very close together.
Lu Jiayan only needed to turn over to face Pei Zhiwen, who was holding him tightly from behind.
For so many years, Lu Jiayan had grown accustomed to living alone, usually tossing and turning freely in bed while sleeping.
Now, however, the majority of the space had been occupied by Pei Zhiwen, who held him in his arms with an absolute sense of territorial possession.
The presence of the person behind him was simply too strong.
It was exceedingly difficult to even close his eyes and ignore it.
“Are you not sleepy?” Pei Zhiwen’s breathing brushed against Lu Jiayan’s exposed back neck as he spoke.
He then lowered his head and pressed a kiss against the skin with his cool lips.
“If you are not sleepy, we can.”
Lu Jiayan’s entire body shivered.
“…”
There was no need to explicitly state what they could do; they both understood.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t fall asleep.
It was simply that after sleeping alone for the past three years, returning to this once-intimate way of sharing space with Pei Zhiwen made it a bit difficult to adjust all at once.
Especially since there were still some old, unresolved matters lingering between them, leaving a certain knot in his heart.
For instance, the scar near Pei Zhiwen’s eye.
Yet since the other man didn’t bring it up, Lu Jiayan wouldn’t take the initiative to ask either.
“I…”
“Sleepy.”
“Goodnight.”
Lu Jiayan closed his eyes, letting himself be cradled within the warm embrace.
It was the exact temperature from his memories.
All those sealed-off memories flashed through his mind at that moment.
Lu Jiayan had thought he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep tonight, but to his surprise, drowsiness washed over him almost immediately.
In the room, deep, steady breathing rose and fell, soft and light.
Pei Zhiwen, holding Lu Jiayan tightly in his arms, was well aware of the other’s sleep cues.
The person in his arms had truly fallen asleep.
Pei Zhiwen hadn’t expected Lu Jiayan to lower his guard so completely, nor had he anticipated that the other wouldn’t try to run away after reuniting with him.
He was just as obedient as before, letting himself be held or allowing even further actions.
Every single reaction fell within his predictions, yet carried slight deviations, falling outside what he had expected.
He didn’t know whether to call Lu Jiayan broad-minded or completely resigned.
Back then, the other had hated him so much, yet offered not the slightest resistance when caught.
Was it because of the scar near his eye that the other had softened his heart?
Pei Zhiwen closed his eyes, his thin lips gently pressing against Lu Jiayan’s back neck with utmost devotion.
If that were true, then he hoped Lu Jiayan would soften his heart toward him just a little bit more.