Chapter 08

The air conditioning was set to thirty-two degrees, warmer than Ye Ji’an’s room. Upon entering the foyer, he discovered that the entire suite, consisting of four rooms, was brightly lit, a scene of dazzling illumination.

“It’s my habit,” Liang Xiao hurriedly explained as he secured the door, “I like to have all the lights on.”

“…including when I sleep,” he added.

Ye Ji’an nodded, hands on his hips, as he walked toward the bed. Two layers of blankets were piled on top, messy, with a small depression in the middle that seemed to be a book, but without his contact lenses, he couldn’t make out the cover.

“But you weren’t sleeping just now,” he rubbed his eyes, almost able to see Liang Xiao’s face clearly.

Liang Xiao suddenly appeared candid, “I wasn’t sleeping. I have a drug dependency,” he sat down on the edge of the bed, “the medication is stuck at customs, and I haven’t had time to retrieve it these past few days.”

Ye Ji’an was taken aback. Indeed, he returned to the hotel only after ten every day, needing to prepare for the next day’s work. He knew better than anyone how busy it was, and at night, the streets around here were deserted; he had no idea where the nearest hospital was. “Is it sleeping pills?” he asked.

“Strong ones,” Liang Xiao flopped back, lying down, “I’ve been taking that kind for a long time.”

“How long is ‘a long time’?” Realizing he had pried too much, the question had already slipped out.

Liang Xiao, however, seemed unconcerned about his privacy being questioned. He even smiled, his gaze shifting from the chandelier to Ye Ji’an, not knowing whether the dark circles under his eyes were from sleepless nights or the shadows of his eyelashes. “Since I was twenty-one? Or maybe twenty-two.”

“What happened during that time?”

“Ah? What could have happened,” Liang Xiao stretched his arms to reach for the light, “I was preparing for graduate school, my family urged me to return home, oh, and I had a failed romance, broke up with my first boyfriend. Actually, I just found that taking the medication and then sleeping made me feel really happy. By the time I realized it, I couldn’t live without it.”

Ye Ji’an took a while to digest this. Although he seemed… a bit overly concerned about certain details, no, it would be more accurate to say he was curious, he felt he shouldn’t overthink it at this moment. Those questions were ones every international student might encounter. Setting aside personal matters for now, he himself had dabbled in sleeping pills; everyone had stressful times, but he never dared to take too many—one, he was afraid of accidentally overdosing, and two, he feared developing a dependency. In any case, he didn’t want to see Liang Xiao in such a self-destructive state. “So you can’t quit?” he asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed, propping his arms behind him and glancing back.

“Why should I quit?” Liang Xiao turned to the side, resting his chin on his hand, a small section of his waist peeking out from under his T-shirt, looking quite comfortable. “And indeed, I can’t quit. Senior, you saw it; these past few days, I just can’t sleep no matter what. I close my eyes, and after a long time, I think I’m asleep, but I wake up immediately. It’s better to do something else.”

“I’m that kind of person too; I probably have many other bad habits that other seniors wouldn’t think of.” He seemed to feel a bit better by painting himself in a poor light.

“But I heard that taking too many sleeping pills will make you dumber, and your reactions will slow down,” Ye Ji’an warned, his expression serious.

“I haven’t gotten dumber,” Liang Xiao corrected, his expression equally serious.

“That’s not certain. You’re sharp now, smiling all the time to fool me, but who knows about the future?” Ye Ji’an crossed his legs, looking worried. “Count how many years until you’re sixty. By then, if your brain is ruined by sleeping pills, you’ll probably have Alzheimer’s before reaching retirement age, and you’ll be out on the street asking the police, ‘Where is my home?’…”

This ridiculous talk clearly had an effect; Liang Xiao immediately sat up straight, staring intensely. With his dark circles, he looked fierce. “That has no basis. And besides, Senior, you’ll be older than me by then!”

“Oh, so you want a nearly seventy-year-old man to take care of you?” Ye Ji’an squinted, chuckling. “That works; we can help each other out and see who loses their teeth first.”

Liang Xiao was amused, his eyes wide. “Senior, I need to take a leave tomorrow morning; please approve it.” His voice was icy.

“To get your medication?”

“To avoid affecting my work in the second half of the day.” That was indeed a valid reason.

“How about this, let’s make a deal,” Ye Ji’an yawned widely, facing this unlucky young man who was awkward and irritable due to insomnia. He had already come up with a plan. “If you do as I say and fall asleep, you promise me you won’t take medication recklessly anymore. If you don’t fall asleep, starting tomorrow, I’ll give you three days off. You can go to any hospital in Moscow; I’ll handle your work for you.”

Liang Xiao was not swayed by his yawn, still staring intently, though he refused to look at Ye Ji’an. Whenever their eyes met, he would quickly look away from the tattoos. “What method?”

“How do you usually sleep at home?” Ye Ji’an countered, “For example, do you like to listen to white noise, or do you have any sleep toys?”

“…Marx will be on the bedside table, watching me sleep. Just a living thing.”

The image of that blue-green lizard with its philosophical eyes immediately popped into Ye Ji’an’s mind. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Then just make do; tonight, I’ll take a shift and watch you sleep.”

Liang Xiao jumped off the bed, shuffling in his slippers to stand in front of Ye Ji’an, towering over him as if to usher him out. “Do you think you’re like a blue iguana, Senior?”

“I’m a living being too; I can be quieter than Marx.”

“You still have to work tomorrow.”

“Not sleeping hasn’t stopped you from working.”

“…No,” Liang Xiao insisted, “You watching me will only keep me more awake. Just let me take a leave; half a day is enough.”

“Then let’s compromise; I’ll lie next to you without watching you,” Ye Ji’an insisted, refusing to leave. “One hundred percent, you will definitely fall asleep.”

Liang Xiao looked utterly bewildered.

“Remember last time in the car? You fell asleep within two minutes of departure, for over an hour, and only woke up when we got to the company. You didn’t take any medication then,” Ye Ji’an softened his voice, sincerely analyzing, “I think I might have that skill to make you feel relaxed and safe. We have to give it a try.”

Liang Xiao’s expression was strange; as for what was strange about it, Ye Ji’an could only say that this person absolutely did not want him to see.

“Have you thought it over?” he asked.

“Alright.” Liang Xiao shook the blanket, “Senior, just sleep; don’t worry about me.”

Ye Ji’an merely smiled. The book that had been trapped in the blankets fell to the floor; it was a detective novel by an obscure author he had never heard of, probably without a translation back home. He picked up the thick book and placed it on the bedside table, quickly burrowing into the blankets. “I see you’ve read a lot of detective novels.”

Liang Xiao had initially planned to separate the two layers of blankets but now found himself at a loss, so he obediently crawled into the other side. “I like to start reading from the last chapter.”

“Then you already know the ending before starting?”

“Yeah, I like to think about how I would avoid that ending if I were the criminal,” Liang Xiao draped his arm over his eyes, speaking slowly, “From close to far, to see which clues led me step by step to lose. It’s more interesting that way.”

“I’ll try that next time,” Ye Ji’an pondered, still glancing at him. “Sleep now.”

“Is it okay if you don’t turn off the lights?”

“You just need to sleep.”

“I definitely won’t be able to sleep.”

“Shut up.”

Liang Xiao indeed quieted down for a while. Ye Ji’an occasionally glanced at him from the corner of his eye, biting his lip and sweating profusely. On the surface, he seemed confident, but in reality, he couldn’t be sure if he had any hypnotic abilities. He wasn’t narcissistic enough to believe that a twenty-seven-year-old mature young man could depend on him that much. Moreover, perhaps that day in the ride-share was just the effect of alcohol? But if Liang Xiao ended up relying on alcohol to sleep, wouldn’t that be worse than taking medication?

Both alcoholism and drug abuse were quick paths to an early grave; people like them, who burned the midnight oil every day, should cherish their health.

Ye Ji’an only hoped he was a bit more useful than Marx.

Yet he saw that Liang Xiao indeed didn’t seem very sleepy. He suddenly moved his arm from his eyes and turned to look at Ye Ji’an. “Senior, are you asleep?” he asked softly.

“I refuse to chat,” Ye Ji’an declared.

“Um, just turn around and face away from me, okay?” Liang Xiao still asked cautiously.

Ye Ji’an couldn’t avoid that gaze anymore. When he looked back, he saw Liang Xiao’s eyes, red and resembling a little rabbit. Little rabbits don’t have these worries; they eat well and sleep early every day, he thought silently. “Alright, but you have to listen and close your eyes.”

“Mm.” Liang Xiao mumbled in agreement. As he turned over, Ye Ji’an felt the weight shifting through the blankets and the warmth generated by the two bodies under the covers. It was solid and also a long-lost feeling.

Will my presence make him more nervous? he couldn’t help but wonder. Indeed, who would want to share a bed with their boss during their rest time—one should avoid that! For instance, he absolutely wouldn’t want to face the General Manager in the middle of the night. He thought again.

Then he heard a question from behind him: “Can I hug you, Senior?”

Ye Ji’an was taken aback. “Will that make you feel sleepy?”

Liang Xiao seemed to smile. “That will make me feel warm.”

“Then come here.” Ye Ji’an realized he was surprisingly shy about turning around.

The sound of sheets rustling came, and the mattress vibrated slightly. The embrace was incredibly light, just a pair of arms quietly wrapping around his waist, with no other contact, yet it made Ye Ji’an feel like he had to pay attention to his breathing.

Even his waist felt stiff; he was afraid that if he moved, he would crush that little arm supporting him.

Both were very considerate people, and they remained silent for a while.

Liang Xiao’s breath lightly brushed against the back of Ye Ji’an’s neck, the warmth almost imperceptible, just like the uncertain sleep.

“Senior, I really like your tattoos, every single one,” Liang Xiao suddenly spoke.

His voice was nasal and sounded a bit muddled. Ye Ji’an also lowered his voice, “Still looking? Just sleep properly.”

“I definitely can’t sleep… but these are all my favorite bands,” Liang Xiao said, making connections only he understood, his forehead resting against Ye Ji’an’s neck, with the fine hairs on his forehead brushing against him, a delicate prickling sensation.

Ye Ji’an shivered and quickly suppressed it. “I like your records too,” he said, “but you need to sleep.”

Liang Xiao nodded vigorously, making Ye Ji’an’s already sensitive neck feel quite uncomfortable. “Then goodnight, Senior.”

“Mm.”

“Goodnight, Ge, say goodnight to me.”

“Goodnight.”

Ye Ji’an began to worry about his own sleep. Not only did he lose confidence in lulling someone to sleep, but he even concluded that this was destined to be a sleepless night for both him and the person behind him. But before long, he heard even breathing. He still couldn’t determine whether this guy, who insisted he “couldn’t possibly sleep,” had actually fallen asleep. Then he heard murmurs; Liang Xiao first mumbled, then became quite impatient, speaking in both Russian and Chinese, “Get lost.” That was all he said.

Ye Ji’an’s heart finally settled.

As long as he didn’t tell me to get lost, he thought, drowsiness hit him almost instantly, and he sank into a deep sleep.

The quality of sleep this time was miraculously excellent for both of them, just like someone who was extremely hungry finally getting a feast. This led to the morning alarm; both phones were set to ring three times, yet neither of them heard it.

In the end, Ye Ji’an was the first to wake up to a thunderous knocking on the door. “Liang Xiao! Do you know where Director Ye went? What happened to you two?”

It was like a clap of thunder, and Ye Ji’an immediately sprang up.

Meanwhile, Liang Xiao was still groggy, rubbing the corners of his eyes, seemingly quite dissatisfied with the absence of his sleep toy. “I know!” he shouted with a scowl.

“What do you know?” Xiao Li asked anxiously.

Liang Xiao’s morning grumpiness was clearly still present and growing worse. He sat up abruptly, angrily saying, “I know where he is; just wait a moment!”

“…Then hurry up!”

Liang Xiao refused to respond.

The sun was already high in the sky, past eight-thirty. Ye Ji’an looked down at his patterned black tank top and sports shorts, along with his arm covered in colorful tattoos, thinking that he could only hope the corridor would be empty when he went out. Listening closely, it seemed quiet outside the door. He took one last glance at his fellow slacker still in bed. “Hurry up; we have to meet at ten, at least leave by nine.”

“Sleeping is really comfortable,” Liang Xiao grinned at him, looking smug and almost gleeful.

“…I know that,” Ye Ji’an snapped, “Let’s go!”

Just a few steps out, he was pulled back at the foyer. Liang Xiao not only got up quickly but also handed him one of his shirts. “The corridor is really cold,” he insisted.

Ye Ji’an looked at him suspiciously, then at the Valentino shirt, silently putting it on but not buttoning it. “Thanks, I’ll return it later.”

“No need.”

“Hurry up and brush your teeth and wash your face!”

With that, he walked to the door and opened it.

As soon as he opened it, he nearly shouted.

There stood Xiao Li from the General Affairs Department waiting at the door. Their heads nearly collided, and she almost burst into tears from shock, turning into a strange excitement. “Ye-ge, you two finally…”

Ye Ji’an was left speechless. What do you mean “finally”? Before he could ask, someone stood beside him. “Good morning—Senior just came here to borrow a razor; I haven’t gotten up yet.”

With a fox-like smile, Liang Xiao skillfully squinted his eyes.