Chapter 85: Extra 2 Separate Sleeping

By the time they got upstairs, Mi Bin and He Linfang had already unpacked their things. He Linfang had also changed her clothes and was pulling Li Sipei aside on the stairs, saying, “Sipei, you should sleep in the bedroom next door. I didn’t know you were coming, so that room hasn’t been tidied up yet. You can put your luggage in there, and after dinner, I’ll ask the aunt to help tidy it up.”

“Okay.” Li Sipei smiled, showing no change in his mood. “Thank you.”

He Linfang pointed in the direction. “Over there, let me show you.”

Mi Zhao was stunned as he followed, one hand pulling his suitcase and the other grabbing He Linfang’s arm. “Mom, he can just sleep in my room!”

He Linfang shrugged off Mi Zhao’s hand and, with her back to Li Sipei, began to make exaggerated facial expressions towards Mi Zhao, though her words were stern. “I know you, you’re such a restless sleeper. What if you kick the blanket off in the middle of the night? Will you both catch a cold?”

Mi Zhao: “…”

He remembered that this did indeed happen quite often.

“And your bed is only 1.5 meters wide. Sleeping two people in it might be too cramped for Sipei.”

“Mom!”

Mi Zhao’s face clearly showed reluctance. He had already gotten used to sleeping with Li Sipei. It felt awkward when they didn’t sleep together. Last night at Li’s house, he hadn’t dared to, but now, back home, still separated? It felt pointless!

Before he could voice his discontent, Li Sipei suddenly spoke, “Auntie, where is the room?”

He Linfang responded, “Oh, let me take you there.”

She shot Mi Zhao a quick glance and added, “You go get your things settled, wash your hands, change clothes, and come down for dinner.”

Mi Zhao, somewhat angry, went back to his room, shoved his suitcase in front of the wardrobe, and lay down on the bed without changing his clothes.

Li Sipei was really petty.

He thought to himself with frustration.

Meanwhile, He Linfang had settled Li Sipei and hurried back to Mi Zhao’s room. When she saw Mi Zhao lazily lying on the bed, playing with his phone, she climbed onto the bed and slapped him on the shoulder. “You’re unwilling to sleep separately, huh? Have you ever heard of bringing your boyfriend home to sleep together? It’ll be embarrassing if people find out!”

Mi Zhao yelped in surprise and quickly got up from the bed.

“What’s wrong with sleeping together?” he protested, feeling wronged. “We’ve confirmed our relationship, so sleeping together is normal, right? We lived together in A City!”

He Linfang shielded her face in embarrassment, angry as she scolded, “Is this something you should be saying? How shameless!”

Mi Zhao stuck out his tongue at He Linfang.

“I don’t care what you two do in A City, but when you come home, you must sleep separately,” He Linfang said sternly. “Your dad and I slept separately when we went to your grandparents’, so young people should sleep separately when they’re home. Got it?”

Mi Zhao was speechless. “Why is it a big deal?”

She was worried they might be doing something inappropriate, but she didn’t say it out loud. Instead, she hurried to change her clothes and go downstairs for dinner.

After He Linfang left, Mi Zhao idly lay in his room for a while before suddenly remembering something. He quickly changed his clothes, washed his hands, and hurriedly went to Li Sipei’s room.

The door to the room was ajar, and the room was dark with no one inside.

Mi Zhao rushed downstairs to the dining room, only to see that Li Sipei was already seated calmly with his parents and the aunt.

Mi Zhao immediately puffed his cheeks and pulled out the chair next to Li Sipei to sit down.

He Linfang asked, “Did you wash your hands?”

Mi Zhao sat sideways, staring at Li Sipei. “Yes.”

“Then go get the dishes. Don’t just sit there.”

Mi Zhao had no choice but to get up.

Throughout the meal, although Mi Zhao sat next to Li Sipei, they barely spoke a word. Mi Bin and He Linfang didn’t notice anything unusual, happily serving Li Sipei food.

After a long day of traveling, everyone wanted to go to bed quickly. Once the aunt finished clearing the dishes, He Linfang pulled her upstairs to tidy Li Sipei’s room.

Seeing this, Mi Zhao steeled himself and called out to Li Sipei, who was about to follow them upstairs. “Come with me for a walk outside.”

“No,” Li Sipei responded briefly, but was immediately stopped by He Linfang.

He Linfang, knowing that Li Sipei intended to help, couldn’t let a guest do that. She gently nudged his arm. “Go, go. After dinner, take a walk and we’ll call you when we’re done.”

Outside was a small garden where Mi Bin had planted many flowers. Over the past six months, the aunt had been helping to maintain it. However, since it was winter now, there weren’t many flowers, and the garden only appeared green under the lights.

Mi Zhao wasn’t interested in the scenery. With a serious face, he pulled Li Sipei to the corner of the garden. “Are you mad?”

Li Sipei let him pull him, his handsome face backlit, so his expression was hard to read.

“No,” he said in a gruff tone.

“You’re lying.” Mi Zhao yanked his hand away. “You’re clearly angry!”

Li Sipei fell silent for a moment, then muttered a soft “Mm.”

Mi Zhao looked up, staring at the only part of his chin visible in the light. “You’re so petty.”

Li Sipei mumbled, “Mm.”

“Auntie was just joking, does it really bother you?”

“Mm.”

“Mm-mm-mm, all you do is say ‘mm’!” Mi Zhao, irritated, tugged at his hair. “Stop saying ‘mm.’”

But Li Sipei deliberately disagreed with him, saying “Mm” again, louder this time.

Mi Zhao became irritated, raising his hand to grab Li Sipei’s collar and pulling him down, his lips pressing against Li Sipei’s in a heated kiss.

It wasn’t a simple kiss, but more of an expression of frustration, biting down on Li Sipei’s lips.

Worried about hurting him or causing pain by biting too hard, Mi Zhao tried to control his strength.

Li Sipei remained motionless, like a wooden figure, letting Mi Zhao do as he wished. It wasn’t until he noticed Mi Zhao’s emotions getting out of hand that he grabbed Mi Zhao’s hand from his chest, pulling some distance between them. He lowered his gaze to look at Mi Zhao’s face, half-covered by messy hair.

He gently brushed the hair aside, leaned down, and kissed Mi Zhao’s forehead.

“You used to like someone else,” Li Sipei said softly, “and I care about that.”

Mi Zhao was left speechless. “What should I do about it? Back then, I never knew I would fall out with Li Yan, nor did I know I’d end up with you. If I had known, I would’ve gone straight to you and not circled around from Li Yan.”

Li Sipei asked, “Do you often bring him up to your family?”

“Not often,” Mi Zhao replied in a stiff tone. “After we became official, I thought it was impossible to go back and date girls, so I decided to come out to my family first. It’s better than them finding out on their own. Since I came out, I obviously need a partner, otherwise my parents would start introducing girls to me.”

Li Sipei listened quietly.

Mi Zhao took a moment to organize his words, then continued, “Since he’s my partner, I have to highlight his good traits. I can’t tell my parents that he has bad character, a terrible temper, or an unstable mind, or that he might flirt or cheat in the future, right?”

Li Sipei chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Mi Zhao grumbled but quickly climbed closer to Li Sipei, cupping his face to kiss him, feeling delighted. “Didn’t you notice something?”

“What’s that?”

“Last night when we went to your house, my parents didn’t react at all when they heard your mom mention Li Yan’s name,” Mi Zhao said with a grin. “My parents and aunt only know I have a boyfriend, but they have no idea who Li Yan is. They all think that when I came out to my family, the person I was with was you.”

Li Sipei looked at him, their faces close in the dim light, their breaths mingling.

Even though it was hard to see Li Sipei’s face clearly, Mi Zhao could feel the emotions swirling in his eyes.

It was strange.

He said, “If I tell you that I’ve never liked Li Yan, you probably won’t believe me. The only thing I can say is that my feelings for Li Yan were never as deep as mine for you. Maybe when he pursued me, but when I came out to my family, he was planning to hide like a coward. Just this alone drained a lot of my feelings for him, so my family doesn’t even know his name.”

Li Sipei gave a small hum.

“Another ‘mm’,” Mi Zhao said, slightly irritated as he pinched Li Sipei’s face. “Still upset?”

“No.”

“That’s good,” Mi Zhao said, licking his dry lips. He hesitated before suggesting, “Come sleep in my room tonight.”

“No,” Li Sipei refused without thinking.

Mi Zhao instantly sulked. “Why?”

Li Sipei pried Mi Zhao’s hand from his neck, raising his foot to walk inside. “Your mom won’t allow it.”

Mi Zhao: “…”

After showering in his bedroom, Mi Zhao, wearing his pajamas, went to twist the doorknob of Li Sipei’s room, only to find it locked from the inside. He paused and knocked on the door. “Li Sipei.”

“I’m sleeping,” came Li Sipei’s voice from inside.

Mi Zhao then realized that Li Sipei was determined to sleep apart. He got upset, turning and returning to his own room.

It had been the same last night at Li’s house—he slept alone, and tonight he would again. Mi Zhao tossed and turned in bed, feeling uncomfortable. Fortunately, the day’s travels had made him sleepy, and within half an hour, he was holding his pillow and asleep.

The next morning, Mi Zhao was woken by He Linfang’s nagging.

Before he could even open his eyes, a blanket was thrown over him from above. He curled up, pushing the blanket off his head and groggily shouted, “Mom, I already have a blanket, no need to add another. Is it hot or not?”

He realized his voice was hoarse and barely intelligible.

“Who added a blanket? This is the one you kicked off the bed,” He Linfang said in annoyance. “I told you you’d kick off the blanket, but you didn’t listen. I told you to turn on the AC before bed, but you didn’t. Now look, you’re catching a cold.”

Mi Zhao’s head hurt like someone had shoved a heavy stone into his brain. When he got out of bed, his head felt like it was going to drop to the side.

“Get dressed, go downstairs for breakfast, and I’ll have your dad take you to the hospital,” He Linfang ordered.

Mi Zhao sat on the bed, wrapped in his blanket like a withered rice dumpling. “Mom, I’m fine. A packet of medicine will do.”

“No way,” He Linfang insisted. “If you don’t treat a small illness, it might turn into something serious. What if it gets worse?”

Mi Zhao laughed, amused by He Linfang’s concern. “Thanks, mom, you’re really my real mom, always worrying about me.”

After breakfast, He Linfang urged Mi Bin to take Mi Zhao to the hospital.

Since no one else had anything to do, everyone except the aunt joined in.

Mi Zhao wore four layers of clothes, topped with an incredibly thick down jacket, and a woolen hat. He pulled the collar over his face, looking like a curled-up penguin, squinting his eyes as the car gently rocked.

As the car swayed, he bumped into Li Sipei.

He was about to sit up, but suddenly Li Sipei’s hand pressed against his waist.

Li Sipei looked calm, but his strength was enough to pin Mi Zhao down, making it impossible for him to move. Mi Zhao didn’t dare struggle, worried Mi Bin and He Linfang might notice and say something.

“Let go,” he gritted through his teeth.

Li Sipei not only didn’t let go but also gently squeezed his waist.

Mi Zhao grabbed his hand and pinched the flesh on the back of Li Sipei’s hand, twisting it hard.

Li Sipei furrowed his brows and groaned.

He Linfang, hearing the sound, quickly turned around. “What’s wrong?”

As Mi Zhao applied more pressure, Li Sipei’s face turned pale. After a moment of silence, he shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

He Linfang gave them a suspicious glance before turning back.

Mi Zhao felt it was pointless, so he released his grip, but after a moment of thought, he gently massaged the back of Li Sipei’s hand.

Li Sipei, however, was quick to follow the lead. Holding Mi Zhao’s hand, he didn’t let go.

Mi Zhao snorted softly and comfortably leaned into Li Sipei’s arms.