“Go to sleep.”
Xie Zongxu stood up and turned to leave.
He had only taken one step when he felt a tug at his waist.
Looking down, he saw a fair hand tightly gripping the corner of his shirt.
The lump under the blanket moved, and Li Yang poked her head out. Her hair was a mess, her cheeks were flushed from alcohol, yet her eyes were astonishingly bright.
“Mr. Xie, you’re not allowed to leave. Why are you leaving? This is your bed.”
Xie Zongxu paused.
“My bed?”
Li Yang nodded confidently.
“Of course. You sleep on that side, I sleep on this side. Come on, come on.”
She patted the spot beside her.
Xie Zongxu did not move.
After waiting a few seconds and seeing no reaction from him, Li Yang simply threw off the blanket and climbed up onto the bed. Kneeling there, she wrapped both arms around his waist.
“Just lie down. Why is it so hard to get you to sleep with me? Fine if you’re busy during the day, but are you busy at night too?”
She buried her face against his side and spoke in a muffled voice.
Xie Zongxu’s body stiffened for a moment.
“Li Yang.”
“Hm?”
“Let go.”
“I don’t want to.”
Xie Zongxu closed his eyes briefly.
He reached out to remove her hands, but the moment he touched her wrist, she hugged him even tighter.
“The more you tell me to let go, the less I’m letting go.”
She lifted her face and looked up at him.
“If you keep struggling, I’m going to shout.”
Xie Zongxu looked at her.
“Shout what?”
Li Yang thought for a moment.
“I’ll shout… Xie Zongxu is abandoning his wife and child!”
Xie Zongxu fell silent for two seconds.
“…We don’t have a child.”
Li Yang blinked.
“Then abandoning his wife and wife!”
Xie Zongxu looked at her.
She held her head high, completely righteous, with absolutely no awareness of what she was saying.
Suddenly, he felt that there was probably no way he was leaving tonight.
“Fine.”
He relaxed and allowed her to pull him down onto the bed.
Li Yang was satisfied.
She released him, scooted to the side, and patted the empty space.
“Then hurry up and lie down.”
Looking at her, Xie Zongxu said,
“I haven’t changed my clothes yet.”
Li Yang frowned.
“Why are you so troublesome?”
After thinking about it, she waved her hand.
“Forget it, forget it. Don’t change if you don’t want to. Just lie down.”
Xie Zongxu still did not move.
Growing impatient, Li Yang grabbed his arm and yanked hard.
Caught off balance, Xie Zongxu stumbled forward. One hand braced itself beside her, preventing his entire body from falling on top of her.
They were very close.
Xie Zongxu could clearly count her eyelashes. Her breath carried the sweet scent of alcohol and brushed against his chin.
Li Yang blinked and looked at him.
“Mom’s eyes are so pretty.”
Xie Zongxu: “…Who are you calling that?”
Li Yang blinked again.
“Oh, right. Not Mom. Mr. Xie.”
She reached out and touched the corner of his eye.
“Mr. Xie’s eyes are so pretty.”
Her finger slid from the corner of his eye down the bridge of his nose and then to his lips.
“Your lips are pretty too.”
Staring at his lips, she suddenly remembered something.
“Oh right, you still haven’t answered me. Why did your lips change color?”
Xie Zongxu stared at her lips for a few seconds before looking away. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
“Because you’re wearing lipstick.”
Li Yang froze.
“Huh?”
She touched her own lips and then looked at her fingers.
Sure enough, there was a faint trace of red.
Realization dawned on her.
“Oh, so it got on you when we were kissing earlier. I thought you were sick.”
Xie Zongxu straightened up and lay down beside her, forcing himself to remain calm.
The moment he lay flat, the person beside him rolled over and burrowed into his arms.
Xie Zongxu opened his eyes and looked down at her.
“What are you doing?”
Li Yang buried her face against his chest.
“Sleeping. What else would I be doing?”
Xie Zongxu said nothing.
The person in his arms stayed quiet for a few seconds before suddenly moving again.
She raised her head and looked at him.
“Mr. Xie, let me tell you something. There was a guy dancing at the bar today, and he was really good.”
Xie Zongxu lowered his gaze toward her.
“…Was he?”
Li Yang nodded seriously.
“Yeah. His waist was incredibly flexible. When he danced, it looked like he didn’t have any bones at all.”
As she spoke, she demonstrated with her hands.
“Like this. Twisting like this.”
Xie Zongxu watched her gestures without speaking.
After finishing, Li Yang looked at him again.
“Can you do that?”
Xie Zongxu replied,
“No.”
Li Yang looked disappointed.
“How can you not know how? You should learn.”
Xie Zongxu said,
“…Why would I learn that?”
Li Yang thought for a moment.
“So you can dance for me.”
Xie Zongxu looked at her.
“You want to watch me twist around?”
Li Yang nodded.
“Yes.”
Xie Zongxu was silent for a second.
“Then keep wanting.”
Li Yang froze before realizing what he meant. She immediately smacked him lightly.
“You tricked me!”
Xie Zongxu could not help it. The corners of his lips curved slightly upward.
Seeing him smile, Li Yang stared blankly.
“Mr. Xie, you smiled.”
Xie Zongxu immediately suppressed it.
“I didn’t.”
“You did. I saw it.”
She moved closer and stared at his face.
“Smile again and let me see.”
Xie Zongxu turned his head away.
“Not smiling anymore.”
Li Yang grabbed his face and turned it back toward her, leaning even closer.
“Come on, smile. Just smile once.”
Xie Zongxu looked at her.
Her face was right in front of him. Her bright eyes carried a hint of coquettish pleading.
He looked away, closed his eyes briefly, and remained silent.
Li Yang burrowed deeper into his arms.
“Mr. Xie, why do people live?”
Xie Zongxu paused.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
Li Yang spoke softly.
“I just thought of it all of a sudden.”
After a moment, she continued.
“Today at the bar, I watched people dancing, drinking, laughing, and suddenly I started wondering… Are they happy? Am I happy? Are you happy?”
Xie Zongxu was silent for a while.
“You drank tonight. Don’t think too much.”
Li Yang shook her head.
“I’m not overthinking. I just want to know if you’re happy.”
She lifted her face and looked at him.
“Mr. Xie, are you happy?”
Xie Zongxu looked at her.
Moonlight streaming through the window reflected in her eyes, making them shine with quiet sincerity.
Several seconds passed before he answered.
“I’m okay.”
Li Yang frowned.
“What does ‘I’m okay’ mean? If you’re happy, you’re happy. If you’re unhappy, you’re unhappy. What does ‘I’m okay’ even mean?”
Xie Zongxu did not answer.
Li Yang stared at him for a while before suddenly sighing.
“Forget it. I won’t make things difficult for you.”
She buried her face against his chest again.
“I’ll sing you a song.”
Xie Zongxu said,
“…No need.”
Li Yang ignored him and had already started singing.
“The dark, dark sky hangs low, the shining stars follow close, little insects fly, little insects fly, who are you missing—”
She sang terribly off-key, but she sang with complete dedication.
After finishing one section, she looked up at him.
“Does it sound good?”
Xie Zongxu was silent for a second.
“…It’s okay.”
Li Yang frowned.
“‘It’s okay’ means it doesn’t sound good.”
After thinking about it, she switched songs.
“Little swallow, wearing a flowered dress, comes here every spring—”
This time she was even more off-key.
Listening to her, Xie Zongxu’s lips curved upward again.
Halfway through the song, Li Yang suddenly stopped.
“You smiled.”
Xie Zongxu immediately straightened his expression.
“I didn’t.”
“You did!”
Li Yang reached out and pinched his cheek.
“You smiled again. I saw it.”
Xie Zongxu removed her hand and held it in his own.
“Stop fooling around. Go to sleep.”
Li Yang shook her head.
“I’m not sleepy.”
She stretched a hand out from under the blanket and began feeling around near the headboard.
“Where’s my phone? I want to take a picture.”
Xie Zongxu stopped her.
“A picture of what?”
Li Yang answered confidently,
“Of us, of course. We haven’t taken a photo together yet.”
Xie Zongxu looked at her.
“Right now?”
“Yes. Right now.”
Li Yang pulled free from his grasp and continued searching.
She failed to find her own phone but found his instead.
“Huh? Your phone. Using yours is fine too.”
Holding his phone, she unlocked the screen.
She opened the camera and raised it toward them.
“Come on, smile.”
Xie Zongxu did not move.
Li Yang frowned.
“Smile.”
She reached out to tug at the corners of his mouth, but Xie Zongxu took her hand away.
“Stop fooling around. Go to sleep.”
Li Yang ignored him.
She scooted even closer and pressed her face against his.
“I don’t want to sleep. I want to take pictures with you. Come on, look at the camera.”