Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Xie Hang slept until noon, waking up twice in the meantime. He was initially worried that Ji Mian might be hungry and considered getting up to prepare breakfast, but Ji Mian pressed him back down to continue sleeping.

This was probably the first time in Xie Hang's life that he had slept in so late.

At eleven, he finally got up, washed up, and went out with Ji Mian to buy groceries for lunch.

While chopping vegetables in the kitchen, Ji Mian ran in from the living room to help wash the veggies and assist.

"Didn’t I tell you to just relax in the living room?"

"I’m a bit hungry, Brother Heng, and I want to eat sooner."

Xie Hang chuckled and picked up the pace.

But as he worked, his eyes kept drifting involuntarily to the person beside him.

Xie Hang had never imagined spending his life with someone, just the two of them. Even when his parents asked, he just shook his head, saying he wasn’t interested in such a mundane life.

He liked a routine life but had always dismissed the dull, everyday aspects.

Now, in the kitchen, the daily life he once dismissed felt as beautiful as a dream.

Xie Hang couldn’t even imagine what he’d become if he ever lost all this.

Just imagining the future he thought would never happen felt unbearable.

Xie Hang put down the knife, turned off the faucet, and asked Ji Mian for a kiss.

After the kiss, he licked his lips and said, "You’re... pretty good at kissing."

Ji Mian’s back straightened instantly. "R-really? It’s nothing special."

A moment later, Xie Hang seemed to think of something, his brows furrowing slightly. "Have you dated anyone before?"

"..." Ji Mian didn't want to lie.

"Yeah, one."

The kitchen went quiet.

The system in his mind sighed in frustration at the answer.

Still so naive.

Why would you tell the truth now?

Xie Hang wasn’t particularly surprised by Ji Mian’s answer.

He knew Ji Mian was likable, and having only one relationship was few compared to how many liked him.

But the number ‘one’ made him cringe, as if that person was something special.

He fought back the jealousy and pulled Ji Mian into his arms.

After holding back, he couldn’t help asking, "What was he like? Tall? Handsome?"

The system had already come up with a standard answer for Ji Mian: 'Not tall, not as handsome as you, I almost forgot what he looked like.'

But Ji Mian's brain just couldn't think straight when it came to his brother, and he seriously thought about Xie Hang's question.

His brother wasn't as tall as he is now, but he was indeed handsome...

He didn't know how to respond and stayed silent for a while.

Seeing his silence, Xie Hang got the message.

Quite tall, and quite handsome.

He wanted to ask more, even though he knew it would only upset him, but he still wanted to ask.

He couldn't resist asking again, "How did you break up?"

"Please don't tell me he's dead!"

Ji Mian: "Why?"

"...Just don't say that, okay?" A deceased ex is scarier than any other kind.

As Ji Mian was thinking about how to answer, he suddenly felt Xie Hang's arm tighten around him, making it a bit hard to breathe.

He suddenly realized he'd messed up; he had made Xie Hang uncomfortable.

"Brother Heng, you don't have to ask..." Ji Mian grabbed Xie Hang's clothes, "In this lifetime, I'll only like you."

Liar, you were chasing someone else just a while ago. Xie Hang thought to himself, but a smile still surfaced in his eyes.

Some words, as long as they came from Ji Mian's mouth, even if they were lies, made him happy.

Only liking him...

Xie Hang let out a soft chuckle.

"Brother Heng?"

"I'm taking it seriously."

"...It's really true, objectively speaking!"

"Then I'm happy, subjectively speaking."

"..."

Xie Hang's hand moved over Ji Mian's shoulder blades, "I believe you."

As long as it came from Ji Mian's mouth, true or not, he believed it.

Luckily, Ji Mian wasn't much of a smooth talker. Otherwise, if he had to listen to all of it, he'd really be in trouble.

By the end of the semester exams, Xie Hang's grades had slipped a bit.

Though it didn't affect his perfect GPA, compared to last semester when almost all his courses were consistently above ninety, there was still a gap.

In the over a month since he started dating Ji Mian, Xie Hang had a hard time focusing in class, and after returning home, he relaxed his studies, which was reflected in his final grades.

Ji Mian gave him a serious talk about this, knowing that Xie Hang was preparing for a Ph.D., and he didn't want to affect Xie Hang's development plans because of himself.

"I’ve got it under control," Xie Hang explained to him. The university coursework wasn’t difficult for him; even if he skipped classes for a whole semester, he could still manage to get a decent score by cramming during the last two weeks of the exam period.

But Ji Mian didn’t believe him. "It’s a good thing we didn’t meet in high school; dating back then would definitely have affected our studies. Brother Heng, you’re not the type for early romance."

"Really?" Xie Hang frowned, pondering Ji Mian’s words over and over again.

He wished he’d been Ji Mian’s desk mate in high school.

*

Their honeymoon period went on for quite a while. If it weren’t for Ji Mian leaving school for an internship in his senior year and Xie Hang being directly admitted to a top university for his Ph.D., his advisor had him start working early, their honeymoon phase might have lasted even longer.

During campus recruitment season, Ji Mian signed with a company in the city where Xie Hang’s university was located.

Xie Hang’s academic journey went pretty smoothly. After five years of combined master’s and Ph.D. studies, he stayed at the university. Besides his research, he occasionally taught students.

Ji Mian, on the other hand, lived a pretty laid-back life. He didn’t like staying in the same job for too long. By the time Xie Hang became a professor, Ji Mian had already changed six or seven jobs, his career path was all over the place, now working in a field completely unrelated to his university major.

If it weren’t for Xie Hang, he couldn’t bear to be too far away, Ji Mian could have traveled the entire globe.

Once he hit thirty, Xie Hang, as one of the main forces in his university’s faculty, took on increasing responsibilities, becoming increasingly busy. When he got home from work, Ji Mian was already preparing to sleep.

A mix of factors piled up, making Xie Hang’s life in his thirties more stressful than during his university days, always feeling like something was missing.

His life centered on two things: Ji Mian and work.

Ji Mian’s life also centered on two things: work and Xie Hang. But unlike Xie Hang, Ji Mian had countless hobbies beyond these.

Xie Hang never told Ji Mian that he actually hated Ji Mian’s various hobbies and his countless friends.

His perfect weekend was staying home with Ji Mian for two days, cooking and eating together, or just cuddling on the sofa, watching movies or doing nothing.

But Ji Mian’s ideal weekend was different. He had many friends, and most weekends were spent going out with a large group of friends—hiking in spring, climbing mountains in summer, admiring chrysanthemums in autumn, skiing in winter, and occasionally going out for sports or gatherings with a few friends, a very active social life.

These activities ate up more than half of Ji Mian’s free time.

On Saturday morning, Ji Mian woke up just after seven. Work had made his schedule extremely regular.

Last night, he had fallen asleep snuggled face-to-face with Xie Hang, and when he woke up, he was still firmly held in Xie Hang’s arms, one hand around his waist, the other arm under his neck, hooking his shoulder.

Ji Mian blinked slowly a couple of times, gazing at Xie Hang’s sleeping face, lost in thought, feeling affectionate.

After a while, he gently pushed away the arm around his waist and slipped out of Xie Hang’s embrace.

As soon as Xie Hang’s arms were empty, he woke up immediately.

Before Ji Mian could get out of bed, kneeling on the edge, he stuffed his pillow into Xie Hang’s arms and tucked the blanket around him: "Brother, go back to sleep."

"..." Xie Hang looked at the soft pillow now in his arms, squeezing it hard where Ji Mian couldn’t see.

Ji Mian got up to change clothes, and Xie Hang let go of the pillow, sitting up shirtless, "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah," Ji Mian said, buttoning his shirt, then turned and leaned down to give Xie Hang a goodbye kiss.

Ji Mian kissed his forehead, and Xie Hang always had a subtle feeling of being used and then abandoned as Ji Mian dressed and left.

He’d also tried to keep Ji Mian in bed the next morning, but no matter how hard Xie Hang tried at night, Ji Mian still managed to get up with his remarkable willpower.

Xie Hang had once doubted himself for a long time because of this.

"When will you be back?"

"It's hard to say, but I should be home before dark."

Xie Hang wanted to hit the bed but restrained himself. He then asked, "What are your plans for tomorrow? Still going out with them?"

"Them" referred to Ji Mian's so-called friends. Of course, this was just Xie Hang's internal thought; he knew that the friends Ji Mian made were all of excellent character.

"Not going out tomorrow, staying at home. Brother Heng, if you want to go somewhere, I can accompany you."

Xie Hang smirked slightly, feeling a bit better.

Ji Mian buttoned up his shirt and said with his head down, "Brother Heng, my department has arranged for me to go on a business trip next week." Ji Mian mentioned the name of a city in another province and added, "I might be away for a while."

He had planned to mention it last night but was afraid that Xie Hang wouldn't sleep after hearing it.

Xie Hang was momentarily taken aback.

At that moment, Ji Mian suddenly heard two alerts of increased Affection Points in his mind.

He had almost forgotten how long it had been since he last heard that sound.

"Song Yu and He Chang work in that province."

Ji Mian squinted, "Brother Heng, what are you thinking?"

"...Nothing much." Xie Hang indeed wasn't thinking much, at least less than Ji Mian assumed.

He just recalled Song Yu when Ji Mian mentioned the location of the business trip, and then remembered Ji Mian chasing after him during university... He couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

He asked, "How long will you be away?"

"About two months or so."

Sometimes, Xie Hang also had to travel to other provinces for important academic seminars, but he could usually return within a week.

Two months... That's way too long.

But when it came to work, no matter how much he didn’t want to let Ji Mian go, he wouldn't interfere.

He just pursed his lips and hugged Ji Mian tightly for a while after he finished dressing.

As time passed, the love in his chest grew deeper and more intense, to an unbearable extent.

Xie Hang realized that even love had to be fiercely suppressed, even though he already had Ji Mian, he still suffered, but the pain was sweet, masking the underlying pain.

Love was overwhelming, time was fleeting.

A lifetime was too brief, even loving one person felt like it wasn’t enough.

He desperately wanted to have the next life, to have it forever.

"If you can, come back soon."

Ji Mian replied, "Alright."