Chapter 55

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Xia Xingcheng sat down on the edge of the bed and slowly ate the congee Yang Youming had brought him. The pumpkins tasted sweet, the millet congee delicate and light. He ate one bite at a time, feeling the warm congee slide down his throat and gradually filling his empty stomach.

But so what if his stomach was filled–the emptiness that he had hidden at the bottom of his heart became clearer and clearer once its false appearance was torn away, and it couldn’t be filled no matter what.

Xia Xingcheng put the empty bowl on the bedside table and walked towards the balcony.

It was pitch black outside. The light could only illuminate a very limited range. The endless sea was clearly just a short distance away, but in the darkness, nothing could be seen.

The only thing he could hear was the sound of the wind and the waves, and then the vast and distant scenery appeared before his mind. This kind of boundless void made one’s heart open up, as if in the face of this grand and magnificent nature, the human race was too insignificant to be worth mentioning.

For a split second, this made Xia Xingcheng want to become one with the darkness. The thin bathrobe he was wearing was torn apart by the sea breeze. It was as if it had become a burden, and he almost wanted to impulsively break all the shackles chaining him down and jump off the balcony, just to let himself do as he pleased for once.

But he couldn’t. Even if it was pitch black, he still didn’t know if there were other eyes lurking by, watching him indifferently. Once he tore through his bonds and jumped off despite everything, he would never be able to come back.

In the end, he had no other choice but to walk on the right path, not even daring to deviate one step. The price was too high–he couldn’t afford it.

Xia Xingcheng stood there until the cold seeped into his bones, then retreated from the balcony, reaching out to close the glass door and turning off the lights on the second floor.

He didn’t know what Yang Youming was doing. He didn’t know if Yang Youming would come up to sleep either, but he still only occupied half the bed and blanket, leaving the other half empty.

After lying down in the quiet, Xia Xingcheng found that he could still hear the sound of waves through the glass door, as well as the occasional laughter that came from the pool outside the villa, but the sound of waves seemed to be even closer–even clearer. The lights were still on downstairs, but he couldn’t hear any movement. He didn’t think he had heard Yang Youming go out, but he couldn’t be certain that the man was still inside either.

After some time, which Xia Xingcheng reckoned to be more than ten minutes, the lights on the first floor suddenly went out, and the entire room was plunged into darkness.

Xia Xingcheng lay on the bed and tried to keep his eyes open, carefully listening to the movement on the first floor, and not long after, he heard footsteps going up the stairs.

There was only this one bed on the second floor.

Knowing this fact clearly, Xia Xingcheng’s heart was beating violently. He practically held his breath as he listened to the footsteps in the dark, trying to figure out Yang Youming’s route.

Yang Youming came up the stairs, walked to the bedside, then stopped.

Xia Xingcheng’s eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and by the light of a street lamp coming in through a window, the figure of Yang Youming standing by the bedside appeared before his eyes.

He didn’t dare move, afraid that if he did, Yang Youming would leave.

In the end, Yang Youming didn’t leave, but lifted the vacant half of the blanket and lay down on the bed.

Xia Xingcheng felt that side of the bed faintly sink, then smelled the scent of water mixed with the scent of shower gel–Yang Youming had just taken a bath.

The bed was wide and so was the blanket. They were clearly lying side by side, covered in the same blanket, yet they didn’t touch each other.

After lying down, Yang Youming didn’t speak nor move.

Xia Xingcheng waited quietly for a while before restlessly turning over. The sash of his bathrobe had already scuffed loose, and with the bathrobe open, it was not that different from being naked.

But even as he turned over, he was still careful not to touch Yang Youming.

Right then, Yang Youming opened his mouth and softly said, “Not asleep yet?”

Xia Xingcheng answered, “Mm, can’t sleep.”

Yang Youming also turned over to face him, saying, “Hurry and sleep, you’re tired.”

Xia Xingcheng objected meaninglessly, “I’m not tired.”

Yang Youming was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, “Still want to go out?”

Xia Xingcheng was a little stunned and said, “I’m not going. I want to stay here.” After saying so, he realized that he shouldn’t have said the second sentence.

Yang Youming was silent once again.

Xia Xingcheng bent his legs impatiently and said, “What do I do if I don’t have any clothes to wear in the morning?”

Yang Youming said, “I gave your clothes to the hotel staff to be dry-cleaned. They’ll be delivered in the morning.”

Xia Xingcheng listened calmly, and after a while asked, “Did you send my underwear too?”

Yang Youming said, “I asked them to bring new ones after being dry-cleaned too.”

Xia Xingcheng let out an ‘Mm’ and said softly, “Thank you, Ming ge.”

Silence fell between them once again.

Xia Xingcheng was unwilling to fall asleep just like that, but he didn’t know what else he had to say to Yang Youming, and he didn’t want to start a random conversation that would make himself seem deliberate.

In the end, Yang Youming asked him first, “Is it better?”

Xia Xingcheng didn’t react at first, busy staring at Yang Youming’s silhouette in the dark, “What?”

Yang Youming said, “Is your stomach feeling better?

It was only then that Xia Xingcheng realized that he had subconsciously raised his hand to press down on his belly, and said, “Much better.”

Yang Youming did not continue to speak.

Xia Xingcheng bit his lip and asked, “Ming ge, why did you come alone?”

Yang Youming didn’t answer his question directly, instead asking a rhetorical question a moment later, “Who should I come with?”

Xia Xingcheng held his breath slightly, then said with no small amount of effort, “Your wife.”

Yang Youming didn’t say anything.

Xia Xingcheng waited at first, yet as a result, after waiting for a long time, he realized that Yang Youming wasn’t going to give him an answer to this question. But he was unwilling to give up–raising his head, he leaned a little closer to Yang Youming and said, “Why didn’t you two come together?”

They were close enough that they could even feel each other’s breaths.

Yang Youming was nothing but calm and steady as he said, “If she doesn’t want to come, then she won’t come.”

With demons and gods at work, Xia Xingcheng asked his next question, “Ming ge, are you guys still good?” This was a question that had long since been kept at the bottom of Xia Xingcheng’s heart. He told himself not to think about it, but the more time passed, the more this question not only did not go away, but continuously expanded, to the point where he couldn’t see Yang Youming’s face clearly. Right at this moment, he was unable to control the words from falling out of his mouth.

☆ ☆ ☆

t/n – thank you for the kofi Celestia!! ❤

I wanted to post this chapter last night, but there was something wrong with my wifi so I couldn’t even access my drive ;__; here’s a double update instead!

⟵ Chapter 54 | TOC | Chapter 56 ⟶

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