CH 5.1

‘SANG QI’

From Wen Zhi’s point of view, Si Mingchen knelt down on one knee, in a pose that looked very much like a marriage proposal.

Wen Zhi’s wet and glossy eyelashes drooped and trembled restlessly.

After a moment, he put his hand on Si Mingchen’s palm and said silently in his heart, “I agree to marry you”.

Wen Zhi’s previous face lighted up with delight and Si Mingchen soon noticed the change in his mood.

It was only then that he realised that the silk bathrobe Wen Zhi was wearing was very thin, which was fine in the bedroom, but the temperature in the living room was low.

Draping his own coat over Wen Zhi’s shoulders, Si Mingchen got up to help Wen Zhi pick up the slippers he had left by the window, when he was instantly grabbed at the back.

With his face pressed against his back, Wen Zhi asked in a low voice, “Where are you going?”

Si Mingchen’s voice was a little muffled, “To get your slippers.”

It was only then that Wen Zhi realised that he had left evidence of his crime by the window. He lowered his eyes and tried to hide it with a gag, “I want to go back to bed, carry me.”

Si Mingchen looked down and found that Wen Zhi had unknowingly leaned his head between his waist and arms, raising his bright eyes to look straight at him.

Si Mingchen’s heart and soul moved, and his palm subconsciously landed on the bandage on Wen Zhi’s head and gently stroked it.

In response, Wen Zhi’s tear-stained face lit up with a smile.

Si Mingchen withdrew his gentle gaze and gently squatted down, “Come up here.”

Wen Zhi pounced on him, “Thank you, husband.”

In this way, Si Mingchen carried Wen Zhi on his back as he walked up the spiral staircase, one step at a time, towards the fourth floor.

He has walked through this staircase for more than a thousand days and nights, but today he was particularly fond of it.

Back in the master bedroom, Wen Zhi hung his coat on the coat rack and then lay down on the bed and stared at Si Mingchen, “Want to rest?”

Si Mingchen loosened his tie, “You sleep first.”

Wen Zhi reluctantly rolled over on the bed, revealing his fair and perfectly straight legs in just the right way.

“I want to wait for you.”

Si Mingchen looked away, “If I’m not going to North America, I have a lot of work to do at the moment, so you can sleep first.”

This reason was acceptable to Wen Zhi for the time being.

After Si Mingchen walked into the bathroom with his bathrobe, he quietly got up and hovered outside the door.

The glass in the bathroom was frosted, so he could only see the figure inside, but not much more clearly.

Si Mingchen’s body is very well-built, and he can see a bit of it in the faintest of glimpses.

Wen Zhi peeked through the doorway, but was unable to see through the crack, so he could only sneakily peek through the frosted glass.

He had a sense of shame, but when he thought that this was his husband of four years, he felt at ease.

He was a bit of a Satyromaniac, he admitted. What kind of luck was it that he had been coaxed into marrying such a handsome man?

Wen Zhi suppressed his excitement and peeked through the door.

The hot water was falling from the top and Si Mingchen was standing under the shower, facing the door.

Outside, Wen Zhi’s every move was clearly visible.

Si Mingchen smiled helplessly. He had never seen such enthusiasm from Wen Zhi in his four years of marriage. Every time he paid the semen stipend on a fixed day, it was as if he was completing a task, without the slightest hint of affection.

The sound of the water stopped and Wen Zhi was still looking around when the bathroom door suddenly opened. Si Mingchen’s strong, lean chest met his face.

“What are you looking at?”

Before Wen Zhi could count how many abs Si Mingchen had, Si Mingchen had already fastened his belt without haste.

Wen Zhi said, “I was looking at the stars.”

Si Mingchen: “There are stars in the bathroom?”

Wen Zhi: “There are in your eyes.”

The sudden cheesy pick-up lines caught him off guard.

Si Mingchen asked, “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

Wen Zhi blinked, “I’m thinking about you so much that my heart is pounding.”

At this moment, Wen Zhi seemed to hear Si Mingchen laughing and looked up quickly. However, he found that Si Mingchen still had the same indifferent appearance.

“Go to sleep, I have to stay up all night.”

Wen Zhi was as docile as a small quail, “OK.”

When Si Mingchen reached the door of his bedroom, he turned back to find Wen Zhi still looking at him from the same spot.

With his palm on the doorknob, he said in a gentle voice, “Go to sleep.”

But Wen Zhi frowned, “The winter melon doll you gave me is gone, I can’t sleep.”

A feather fell lightly on Si Mingchen’s heartstrings. He asked unexpectedly, “Do you need to hold it every day when you sleep?”

Wen Zhi nodded, “Yes. But if you are beside me, I don’t have to hold it.”

Si Mingchen clutched the doorknob and his voice was soft, “I’ll help you find it tomorrow, so you can sleep tonight.”

Wen Zhi: “Okay.”

Back in the study, Si Mingchen sat in front of the computer but never started working.

He remembered the winter melon doll that Wen Zhi was holding in his arms before he left.

It was the doll he had caught in his senior year of high school when he accompanied Wen Zhi to the amusement park and spent 56 coins to catch it.

He was inexperienced at that time, and it was also Wen Zhi’s first time playing with it. As Wen Zhi looked like a little puffer fish that was about to explode with anger, Si Mingchen finally caught the biggest doll for him.

Wen Zhi was so happy that he hugged the doll and kept calling out to him.

He later found out that the reason why Wen Zhi wanted the ugly melon doll was because he had bet with his classmates bragging about his doll-catching skills and was determined to take home the biggest doll from the claw machine in the amusement park.

The corners of Si Mingchen’s mouth lifted slightly as he remembered their high school life.

The Wen Zhi after his memory loss is exactly the same as he was back then.

It was as if he had been drawn back to his high school years together.

Suddenly, Sang Qi’s face appeared in his memory, and Si Mingchen’s expression grew cold as the cigarette between his fingers gradually burned out.

In the second half of his senior year, he went abroad to study and never had any contact with Wen Zhi again. But he and Sang Qi were relatives, and they would occasionally see each other.

He met him once in his third year. At that time, he stayed in China to study at Qing University for Wen Zhi.

He asked him tentatively about Wen Zhi’s current situation, and Sang Qi smiled happily and said that they were planning to get married after graduation.

He didn’t ask any more questions, but just wished him well.

He was interrupted by the ringing of the phone and Sang Qi’s name appeared on the top of the caller ID.

Without hesitation, he picked up, “Hello.”

Sang Qi said, “Mingchen, I’m back home, let’s get together sometime.”

Si Mingchen said coldly, “Hmm.”

Sang Qi laughed twice, “What is Xiao Zhi doing these days? I sent him a message today, but he didn’t answer me. When we get together, why don’t you bring him with you?”

Si Mingchen: “He is injured and needs to recuperate for the time being, so he may not be able to reply to you.”

Sang Qi hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong with him? Where did he get hurt?”

Si Mingchen: “The head.”

Sang Qi: “Where is the hospital? I’ll go and see him tomorrow.”

This time, there is a moment of silence on the phone.

Si Mingchen: “Wait until he gets better, don’t bother him for now.”

That being the case, Sang Qi did not ask to see him again.

“Okay, then you can remind Xiao Zhi to call me back when you have time, I’m worried about him.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Hanging up the phone, Si Mingchen threw the cigarette butt in the ashtray, no longer interested in work.

It was now eleven o’clock at night, and Wen Zhi should be asleep.

He gently walked into the bedroom and found Wen Zhi sleeping as usual, draped in a blanket like a child.

He tucked Wen Zhi in and looked out the window at night. For once, he was being selfish, he didn’t want Sang Qi and Wen Zhi to see each other.

It might be a bit mean, but he admitted that he was afraid that Wen Zhi would remember all those things after seeing Sang Qi.

Since God had given him a chance, he wanted him to be the only person in Wen Zhi’s memory from now on.

He is not sure whether Wen Zhi’s divorce from him is related to Sang Qi, but it is certain that Sang Qi himself does not know that he and Wen Zhi have signed a divorce agreement.

Half an hour later, the sound of the car engine disappeared into the courtyard.