Soothing Gentle Snoring

Ai Zhiyi couldn't fall asleep yet. He turned his body towards Chu Weixu with difficulty, like carrying a sack of rice on his back, then pulled the blanket over so that it enveloped the two people in intimacy.

The thin figure lay comfortably in Chu Weixu's embrace. With a feeble gaze, Ai Zhiyi stared at the man's shady face in silence without daring to make a slight noise, watching him attentively and thinking that Chu Weixu was very easy to fall asleep under any circumstances, still the same as before. Once Chu Weixu put his head on the pillow, then Ai Zhiyi only needed to count up to ten fingers and Chu Weixu was already fast asleep beside him.

Chu Weixu was like a person who always got blessings. When Ai Zhiyi struggled, Chu Weixu was the one who always got the sweetness. Ai Zhiyi felt jealous sometimes — maybe even always jealous — it's just that calmness covered the badness on his face. Like now, Ai Zhiyi had to struggle through a long night with pain all over his body, while Chu Weixu was already asleep as if he didn't want to know how his lover was after he overturned his body viciously.

Unlike Chu Weizu, Ai Zhiyi rarely fell asleep earlier than Chu Weixu and had to force everything. Not only that, he was even difficult to just close his eyes at night and ended up experiencing insomnia throughout the night.

Ai Zhiyi realized that he had a serious problem with insomnia. He had tried to take a lot of medicines, but his resistance to medicine exceeded other people's, so he decided to quit and chose to face the hardships by himself.

Gradually Ai Zhiyi got used to it. He had always been through a long night of pain, but as soon as he heard Chu Weixu's gentle snoring, he felt hypnotized by Chu Weixu's voice and slowly became sleepy. Ai Zhiyi liked to hear Chu Weixu snoring softly in his ears. Although Chu Weixu was not someone who liked to snore and only snored when he was tired, Ai Zhiyi always felt good when he heard it, like the chants to the melody that Ai Zhiyi often played, and was even more effective than the medicines he used to take for the past year and a half then.

Ai Zhiyi reached out, embraced Chu Weixu's body, and curled up within the two arms that had always protected him from many threats. Sensing the slight movement, Chu Weixu unconsciously tightened his two hands, even bringing their bodies closer together as if they were two fused bodies. Chu Weixu's breath caressed Ai Zhiyi's chest, which made Ai Zhiyi feel warm and tickled in his heart until he sank into a comfortable memory.

Chu Weixu woke up early in the morning, and when he returned to the room after doing a lot of household chores, he saw Ai Zhiyi still asleep on the bed. Chu Weixu felt that he couldn't bear to wake him up and just sat by the bedside looking at him attentively.

Ai Zhiyi was very thin. Not much different as in the past. It's just that Ai Zhiyi has lost a lot of weight over the past few years. When Ai Zhiyi went to music class to teach all day long, Ai Zhiyi always seemed to endure a lot of things once he returned, but Ai Zhiyi had to endure everything alone and keep practicing for a few hours at night, of course, Ai Zhiyi didn't eat regularly. Besides, Ai Zhiyi was like a housewife who took care of his home, husband, and career. So, he couldn't gain weight.

Chu Weixu wasn't pleased about it, but Ai Zhiyi wasn't an obedient person who would keep obeying his words like an obedient puppy to his master. Ai Zhiyi was a dissident who didn't want to listen to anyone when it came to his work. The last time Chu Weixu persuaded him to quit the job, they both ended up fighting. Ai Zhiyi ran away from their home and complained with his sister, so that Chu Weixu, who was the same dissident as herself, didn't come back for a week.

However, Chu Weixu regretted everything from that day on. Out of selfishness, Chu Weixu had almost broken their relationship that had been built up with pain and joy, tears and laughter, over the years by using his own hands.

Recalling that time, sadness, and regret gradually arose in Chu Weixu's heart. He involuntarily moved to embrace Ai Zhiyi's thin body in warmth.

When Ai Zhiyi opened his eyes, he was startled by something weighing on his body. As soon as Ai Zhiyi turned his head slightly, he found Chu Weixu leaning his head on his shoulder and holding him like a pillow in his arms. The man's breath was so warm against his neck, approaching a slow and calm rhythm.

Ai Zhiyi was silent, looking at the man in confusion. Until a few minutes later when Chu Weixu still didn't move, he whispered, "Brother ... Chu?"

Chu Weixu didn't react.

Ai Zhiyi frowned in confusion, until he asked in a hushed voice once again, "What's wrong?"

Chu Weixu grabbed Ai Zhiyi's body tighter, hooked their fingers, and smiled. "Wake up. It's time for breakfast. Today you teach in the morning class, right?"

Ai Zhiyi felt something was different, but he didn't dare to comment. So, he followed his instincts and nodded slowly.

Chu Weixu lifted his head, looked at Ai Zhiyi, and kissed his cheek gently. Seeing Ai Zhiyi's confused look, who had not yet fully awakened, Chu Weixu felt very fond of him.

Chu Weixu said, "Xiaoyi, I've already prepared breakfast, but it's better to take a shower first. I'll wait for you at the dining table before preparing the ingredients downstairs."

Ai Zhiyi got up slowly. He sat up for a while, nodded slowly, and yawned. He finally slept well last night and felt fresher this morning.

Chu Weixu smiled and patted Ai Zhiyi's messy hair. Then, Chu Weixu stood up and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door carefully.

Ai Zhiyi was finally able to remember last night's incident, remembering how Chu Weixu devoured him fiercely as if Ai Zhiyi could still feel sharp fangs leaving pain in his neck and parts of his body and how cruelty was on Chu Weixu's face, but this morning Chu Weixu's good-looking face looked peaceful and human.

Ai Zhiyi slowly glanced at the objects around him and accidentally saw himself in the mirror, which was covered in love bites on his neck and parts of his body, which looked terrible. Ai Zhiyi didn't want to stare at himself for too long in the mirror, which looked like someone else's reflection.

He immediately got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. When he came out, he went to the wardrobe and dressed neatly before finally going out to the dining table for breakfast.

On the dining table, there were two bowls of warm soup. Ai Zhiyi glanced at the soups briefly, then shifted his gaze towards Chu Weixu who was standing by the window while occasionally smoking a cigarette that was pinched between his middle and index fingers.

Ai Zhiyi said, "It's still early and you've been smoking. That's not good for your lungs. Why don't you ever listen to me?"