CH 96

Chapter 96: Suddenly Enlightened

The room was very quiet, with only occasional giggles from Zhou Mushi himself. When the light from his phone dimmed, he didn’t know what time it was.

He was about to sleep when suddenly the person lying next to him, who he thought was already asleep, spoke up: “Are you asleep?”

Zhou Mushi immediately put down his phone, leaned over, and hugged Jin Yang from behind. Jin Yang didn’t turn around and remained in his original position, with his back facing Zhou Mushi. He softly said, “Can we chat? I can’t fall asleep.”

Zhou Mushi rubbed his warm back and made a sound of agreement. His movements were gentle and delicate, like a small animal in love with its owner.

“What do you want to talk about?” he asked softly.

“Anything is fine,” Jin Yang said, hesitating for a moment before adding, “Or, you can tell me about your time studying abroad.”

Zhou Mushi found a comfortable position to lie down and said, “There’s nothing much to say about studying abroad. Every day was just running around in various classrooms, with heavy academic workload and having to take time out to intern at a company. It was actually very tiring.”

Jin Yang turned slightly and lay flat, staring at the ceiling.

“When you had free time, what did you do? It must have been tough being alone in a foreign country,” he asked.

Zhou Mushi rested his face on Jin Yang’s shoulder. “It was tiring, but the hardship was not from physical exhaustion. It was entirely due to internal reasons, that’s why it felt bitter.”

“Why? Did you miss your family and want to go back to your country?”

Zhou Mushi smiled gently. “Have you ever heard the saying ‘Falling in love with a city because of a person’? The so-called longing to go back to my country is only because there are people there that I miss.”

His hand, which was placed in the duvet, grabbed Jin Yang’s fingers and played with them gently.

“It’s actually not too bad when I was busy. But when I had free time, it was a bit scary. The house there was very quiet. When you sit alone in the room, even the sound of the watch ticking could not be heard. That’s what made me uncomfortable.”

Jin Yang frowned with concern, but didn’t say anything.

“Actually… when I first went there, I was afraid of having too much free time. I would find many things to do every day and try to tire myself out so I could sleep better. Because if I had too much idle time during the day, I would always easily think of something at night, and then I would stay awake all night. At my age, staying up all night continuously made me feel exhausted and like I could die at any moment, like I couldn’t see tomorrow’s sun,” Zhou Mushi said.

Rubbing Zhou Mushi’s scalp with his chin, Jin Yang felt both heartbroken and unable to resist coaxing him, trying to get some result. He asked, “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about someone.”

As soon as the words were spoken, Jin Yang’s heart skipped a beat. This conversation was just like what was written in Mushi’s article: being excessively busy, having a scattered mind, and using the little remaining time to think about one person, the protagonist of the article, one being Mushi and the other being Zhou Hang…

Suddenly, Zhou Mushi moved his face away from leaning against Jin Yang’s shoulder, buried himself in the pillow beside him, and said, “At that time, my sleep was very poor. I would dream that you came to visit me from China, and we hadn’t broken up yet, but when I woke up, there was only me in the room. You wouldn’t come, and I couldn’t call you either…”

He didn’t continue speaking, and his muffled voice was already mixed with a hint of sobbing, which hit Jin Yang like a blow.

In that instant, he seemed to have a sudden understanding, like an epiphany. Why was the transition from brotherly love to romantic love in the article so different, as if there was something different about Zhou Hang?

In the romantic love that followed, where was the playful Zhou Hang from before? It was clearly another person wearing that name, living in his writing.

But he didn’t go see him like it was written in the article, and it was all just a dream of Mushi.

Jin Yang turned his face, pulled the person buried in the pillow out, hugged him, and lightly kissed his forehead. All his doubts disappeared instantly, leaving only countless pity.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered these three words from the bottom of his heart, following the tip of Zhou Mushi’s ear, penetrating into his heart and lungs.

The person shrinking in his embrace said, “Why apologize? There was a misunderstanding at that time, and we broke up. It’s normal not to come see me, isn’t it?”

Jin Yang felt extremely uncomfortable in his heart. “How do you know it was a misunderstanding? What if it wasn’t?”

Zhou Mushi remembered the reason for Jin Yang Company’s bankruptcy, his heart sank, and he gritted his teeth and said, “I knew it. Have I become the same ignorant fool as before after wandering outside for so long?”

Jin Yang lowered his head and kissed him, “I’d rather you be the same as before. Living too clearly is too tiring.”

Zhou Mushi certainly understood this truth. People are forced to grow up. Knowing too much and understanding too much only means experiencing more, suffering more losses, and making more right choices.

The more dazzling the present seems, the more severe the injuries suffered behind the scenes.

“Why should it only be you who goes through hardship? Of course, I also have to grow. It’s best for two people to progress together, otherwise, it’s like having one leg longer than the other. Even if the longer leg can bear more pressure, it’s not good for the body.”

Jin Yang smiled and patted his head, saying with relief, “It seems that you have really grown up.”

Zhou Mushi instinctively turned his head away, not letting Jin Yang touch him, and said, “Don’t talk like that. When you say that, it reminds me of my dad and my brother. Talking about them makes me tired. I always thought my dad was reliable, but now look at him. How many illegitimate children outside. As for my brother, he’s actually a good person, but he’s blind and insists on being with Chen Sheng. I think he’s just superficially mature, but actually still going through a rebellious phase! You can’t learn from them.”

“What?” Jin Yang asked, returning from his deep thoughts.

“I said, you can’t learn from my dad’s womanizing or my brother’s lack of social skills!” Zhou Mushi replied.

Jin Yang smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I’m the most reliable.”

“Tsk~”

Speaking of Chen Sheng, his brother had also come out…

Jin Yang felt a headache just thinking about him, but some things had to be faced. Avoiding them was not a solution, especially since Chen Sheng was such a clingy person who couldn’t be shaken off.

“Mushi, what do you think about the relationship between Chen Sheng and your brother?” Jin Yang suddenly asked.

Zhou Mushi thought carefully and said, “It’s hard to say. I always feel like my brother has more one-sided feelings for him. As for Chen Sheng, well, I’ve always thought he’s strange and unreliable since I was a kid.”