Chapter 84: Habit

Chapter 84: Habits

Days passed busily and swiftly. Due to Wang Dexian's departure, the apartment building construction, which had been going smoothly, was delayed again and again. After one complaint after another, it was finally completed five years later.

Huang Qiuyan was already content just to finally get the apartment. Clutching a small set of keys, she finally had a home of her own in the mining area where she had lived for so many years.

Everyone stood in the still-unfinished concrete room, their faces unable to hide their joy.

Lin Qingshi, now twenty years old, was leaning lazily against Jiang Huaizhi. In recent years, he'd shot up like a weed, now even taller than Jiang Huaizhi.

"Once we get this place fixed up, you two will each have your own room, and Grandma and I will share one," Huang Qiuyan said with a smile. "We'll take the master bedroom—the sunniest one."

"As for the rest, you two can split them however you want."

With that, Huang Qiuyan helped Grandma Zhou slowly make her way to the biggest bedroom, where sunlight streamed through the window, warm and bright.

Standing in the doorway, Huang Qiuyan said, "Aunt Zhou, we'll put a big bed here. I've had my eye on a carved wooden one—it's real sturdy."

She pointed to the side. "We'll put a row of wardrobes here for hanging clothes."

"And we'll bring the sewing machine over and stick it in this corner."

Grandma Zhou squinted, and her smile hadn't left her face since she walked in. "This is so nice. This room is so bright. It's just a shame you gotta share it with an old lady like me."

"Not at all. It'd be so lonely living alone. Having you to chat with—I couldn't be happier." Huang Qiuyan held the old woman's hand and said with a playful scold.

In her darkest, most helpless days, Aunt Zhou had helped her. If she hadn't taken her in, Huang Qiuyan might have ended up compromising. And one compromise would've led to another—the courage she'd built up would've been worn down bit by bit.

Aunt Zhou was already family to her, plain and simple.

"Then I'm lonely too!" Lin Qingshi protested, leaning against the wall. "Mom, I want someone to sleep with me too."

Lin Qingshi had come over without anyone noticing. Jiang Huaizhi was still in the next room, examining the other bedroom.

"You're twenty years old. What do you need someone to sleep with you for? Isn't having your own room better?" Huang Qiuyan gave him a dirty look.

"No, it's not. I want to sleep with big bro."

"Well, that's up to Xiaohuai. Besides, in another couple of years, you'll both be old enough to marry. When Xiaohuai gets married, are you going to shamelessly kick his wife out of bed?"

Lin Qingshi froze in place.

He suddenly realized something he'd been ignoring all this time.

He was twenty years old now. For twenty years, every single day of his life, he'd seen Jiang Huaizhi.

Jiang Huaizhi was all grown up now. Someday he'd get married, and then his wife would be the person closest to him.

And Lin Qingshi would be, at best, just family—and not even family by blood.

But why?

Why should he end up being the outsider?

Lin Qingshi's face grew darker and darker. Huang Qiuyan, puzzled, whacked him on the head. "What's wrong with you?"

"Alright, enough of that. Go pick a room and think about how you want to fix it up."

Lin Qingshi's face went cold as his gaze drifted to Jiang Huaizhi, who was in the other room, studying the walls with intense focus.

Jiang Huaizhi didn't react at all to the news that they'd be sleeping in separate rooms.

Who warmed his hands and feet on freezing nights? Who stayed up all night taking his temperature and giving him his meds when he was sick? Who rubbed his belly when he ate too much?

Well, to be fair, most of the time it was him who overate.

But still—Jiang Huaizhi had no heart. Had he been looking forward to sleeping apart from him all this time?

Lin Qingshi strode over, slung his arm across Jiang Huaizhi's chest, and yanked him back into his arms, demanding irritably, "What are you doing?"

"I want to put a writing desk here, and put a small desk lamp on it. That way, when I'm reading, I won't disturb your sleep." Jiang Huaizhi relaxed against him, turning his head to look at the person behind him.

Lin Qingshi glared. He'd already picked his room this fast, and even figured out how to decorate it.

He was about to blow his top when it suddenly hit him—Jiang Huaizhi had just said he wanted a small lamp so it wouldn't disturb *his* sleep.

So they were still gonna sleep together?

The cold look on his face instantly melted. He casually looked around the room and said magnanimously, "It's fine. Your studying won't bother my sleep either."

"We can get a bed here. Doesn't need to be too big."

"Anyway, when winter comes and it gets cold, you like to curl up in my arms."

"For the rest of the space, we can put up a bookshelf and move all your precious books in."

Lin Qingshi was now looking around with real interest. "And we'll put a nightstand by the bed, with some warm water on it, so if you get thirsty in the middle of the night, you won't have to get up."

Just as Lin Qingshi was getting into it, Jiang Huaizhi suddenly cut in, "Wait, I forgot—Aunt Qiuyan said we each get our own room."

Lin Qingshi's face instantly went from sunshine to thunderclouds. He squinted at Jiang Huaizhi, looking mean, and tightened his arm around Jiang Huaizhi's neck a little, threatening, "You plan on sleeping apart from me?"

But Jiang Huaizhi wasn't scared at all. He said casually, "Yeah, there are two rooms, after all."

"What'll you do when you're cold at night?"

"I've got an electric blanket."

"Who's gonna take care of you when you're sick?"

"I haven't been sick in ages."

"What about when you have nightmares and wake up—who's gonna calm you back to sleep?"

Jiang Huaizhi's face turned red. "I'm grown up now. I don't need anyone to soothe me."

Lin Qingshi said, a little hurt, "What about me? What if I eat too much? What if I can't sleep and need someone to comfort me?"

"You're not a little kid anymore." Jiang Huaizhi shot him a weird look.

"Then don't you wanna live with me? We've lived together for so many years. Can you get used to it?"

"Baby." Jiang Huaizhi let out a soft sigh. "My major requires a ton of memorization. I might stay up late studying and get up early to recite. I can't mess with your sleep."

Jiang Huaizhi had chosen to study medicine. Sure, people say "those who talk others into studying medicine will get struck by lightning," but he'd always wanted to pick something meaningful and valuable. Medicine was a good fit.

"Why are you working so hard?"

"In this profession, a doctor holds patients' lives in their hands, so I have to build a really solid foundation."

Lin Qingshi let out a soft sigh, "Why did you have to go and choose medicine in the first place?"

"And if I ace the finals, there's a bonus." Jiang Huaizhi had already checked it out—the first prize was three thousand yuan.

"It's okay, we've got money. You don't need to work this hard."

"Let's just sleep in separate rooms." Jiang Huaizhi's attitude seemed very firm.

"Even if you're studying, it won't bother me. I sleep like the dead."

"No, my conscience won't let me."

Lin Qingshi's expression darkened even more, "I don't care, I'm sharing a room with you, and that's final."

"Or you could study with me." Jiang Huaizhi backed off a bit and suggested, "That way I won't feel like I'm disturbing you."

Lin Qingshi looked reluctant.

"Think about it—if we both get the first-class scholarship, that's six thousand yuan. Haven't you always said the dorms are a pain?"

"With that money, we could rent a place outside. It doesn't need to be big—just a one-bedroom apartment with a bed, a small sofa, and a little kitchen. We could cook on weekends."

"Wouldn't that be nice?"