SG 31

Yan Anqing slept soundly. When he woke up in the morning, the other half of the bed was empty. Only the white tank top in his hand remained.

He walked to the living room. Chu Baiyan was still asleep on the sofa. The blanket still only covered his stomach, and his upper body was completely bare. His muscles were tight and refined, and every line looked as beautiful as a Greek sculpture.

The man still asleep had handsome features and deep outlines. Even without the long fishtail, he was dazzling enough to make Yan Anqing unable to look away.

His eyes moved down bit by bit. When he saw the blanket over Chu Baiyan’s waist rise in a small curve, curiosity made him want to lift it and take a look. When his hand touched Chu Baiyan’s lower stomach, it got caught.

“You’re awake?” Chu Baiyan knew it was Yan Anqing. He didn’t open his eyes.

“Why did you sleep on the sofa again?” Yan Anqing’s hand was pressed on Chu Baiyan’s stomach. He couldn’t move it, so he bent his fingers slightly to show his annoyance.

“You fell asleep and rolled to the edge of the bed. I had no space left. I didn’t want to disturb your sleep, so I came out here.” Chu Baiyan made an excuse with his eyes still closed.

Yan Anqing believed him. He had always slept alone. No one had ever told him whether he rolled around in his sleep or not. Since Chu Baiyan said so, it must be true.

“Then next time you can hold me, and I won’t roll around.”

Chu Baiyan laughed. Yan Anqing had no idea how much willpower he needed every time he heard such words. He already felt restless when he woke up that morning, and when Yan Anqing’s hand moved over his stomach, it only got worse.

Chu Baiyan opened his eyes. He gently pinched Yan Anqing’s hand and then let go. “Go wash up. We’ll go downstairs and see how the starfish are.”

When they went downstairs, the shop still looked the same as when they had left it the previous day. It proved that even if they didn’t watch the shop for one night, the world hadn’t ended.

Yan Anqing went to check the starfish first. Red Fingers and two sea swallows were injured. Several tube feet had broken, and their bodies showed festering cuts. He took the injured starfish out and placed each one in a separate recovery box.

“Are they okay?” Chu Baiyan asked.

“Starfish can heal themselves. They’ve bitten each other before. I’ll put them in small boxes separately, keep the water clean, and make sure they don’t get hurt again. They’ll recover slowly.”

Yan Anqing picked up two boxes and asked Chu Baiyan to carry the third one upstairs.

“Are we taking these three home?” Chu Baiyan followed behind him, holding the box with the injured starfish.

“I’ll keep them in the fridge compartment. Around ten degrees helps them heal.” The injured starfish couldn’t go back in the big tank yet, so Yan Anqing could only keep them in the fridge for now.

After he settled the starfish, Chu Baiyan went out to buy breakfast. When they finished eating, Yan Anqing made a few dishes. Then his phone alarm rang, reminding him that it was time to go to work.

When he thought of Chu Baiyan leaving soon, Yan Anqing’s expression dimmed again.

“I’ll see you later at the aquarium. I’ll wave at you from the water,” Chu Baiyan said to lighten the mood.

“You have to make a heart too.” Yan Anqing made a request. A heart drawn with bubbles underwater looked beautiful.

“Okay.” Chu Baiyan hooked his little finger with his.

An hour later, through the glass, Yan Anqing saw Chu Baiyan slowly swimming down from the surface, dragging his fishtail. The bare upper body overlapped with the man he had seen on the sofa that morning.

His merman floated in the water and greeted him. He made a heart and drew a huge one with bubbles near his lips. The crowd cheered loudly, praising the show, but Yan Anqing knew it was all for him.

When he came out of the aquarium and walked through the underground passage, he felt better. He had already decided to take one day off every week and make it the same day as Chu Baiyan’s rest day.

The bathroom renovation finally finished that Friday. After the afternoon performance, Chu Baiyan went home to check. When he confirmed that everything was fine, the foreman handed him the keys.

After the foreman left, Chu Baiyan walked around the room that felt a little unfamiliar. He tossed the keys in his hand and caught them again. For days he had been rushing the workers to finish faster, but now that he had the keys back, he didn’t feel as excited as he thought he would.

He took a mop and did a quick cleaning, then closed the door and went out, already thinking about how to tell Yan Anqing goodbye.

“The bathroom’s fixed. I’ll move back to my place tomorrow night.” After closing the shop that night and going upstairs, Chu Baiyan decided it was better to say it directly. With Yan Anqing, being indirect or being direct didn’t make a difference anyway.

Yan Anqing had just opened the fridge to check on the injured starfish. When he heard that, he closed the door again.

“Don’t go.” He sounded anxious. He didn’t understand why Chu Baiyan still wanted to leave even though he had offered him the bed.

“I just won’t sleep here at night. I’ll still come during the day. I’ll bring you breakfast in the morning and stay with you in the shop at night.” Chu Baiyan hadn’t expected such a strong reaction, so he tried his best to comfort him.

“You can sleep in the bed.” Yan Anqing frowned, looking very upset.

“I can’t live here forever.” Chu Baiyan explained patiently.

“Why can’t you? You can.”

“You and your grandma and grandpa didn’t live together all the time, right? Everyone has to live independently until they meet someone they believe they can live with.” Chu Baiyan didn’t know how much of that Yan Anqing would understand.

Yan Anqing was confused. What Chu Baiyan said was both right and wrong. His grandparents were the people closest to him. They didn’t live together because his grandma said they couldn’t stay with him forever, and only if he learned to live independently would they be at ease.

But Chu Baiyan was young. Why couldn’t he live with him?

“I’ll still come every day. On Mondays when you close the shop, I’ll take you out. We can watch movies or go swimming. You can make a list of what you want to do, and we’ll do them one by one.”

Chu Baiyan listed tempting plans. Yan Anqing, who had frozen like a stuck computer, immediately got drawn in again. More accurately, he got drawn to doing those things with Chu Baiyan.

“You can’t take the tank top.” Even though Yan Anqing kept promising he wouldn’t roll around in bed, Chu Baiyan hadn’t slept beside him these days. But holding the tank top made him feel secure.

Chu Baiyan went quiet. He couldn’t bring himself to reject such a small request.

After saying that, Yan Anqing opened the fridge again to check on the starfish. The festering parts of their wounds had shrunk. That was a good sign.

The next night, when Yan Anqing closed the shop, Chu Baiyan carried his packed suitcase and left. Even though Yan Anqing looked reluctant, he didn’t stop him, because he had promised to leave.

Standing outside his apartment building, Chu Baiyan looked at his own dark room. Surrounded by other windows lit with warm light, his looked especially lonely. A kitten jumped out and meowed at him, reminding him of when he had brought Yan Anqing here before.

When he got in the elevator and pressed his floor, he remembered how nervous Yan Anqing had been when he ran into strangers in the elevator.

Everything about Yan Anqing had filled his mind completely. Chu Baiyan smiled bitterly. He realized that he was even less used to being without Yan Anqing than Yan Anqing was without him.

He put down the suitcase, took the sheets and blankets that covered the furniture for dust, and threw them in the washing machine. Then he took some cat food, went downstairs to feed the kitten, and casually took a few photos to send to Yan Anqing.