chapter 41 – peaceful sleep

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Xie Ning’s progress at work was stuck on the male protagonist’s appearance.

 

He designed multiple versions, but he wasn’t satisfied with any of them even after erasing and redrawing many times.
He felt like it was missing a bit of flavor.

 

Maybe his understanding of the male protagonist wasn’t thorough enough?

 

This state of work continued late into the evening.

 

The studio that Zhuang Yan arranged for him was a little bigger than the one he had at home, and there were stacks of drawing paper scattered around the long table in the middle of the room.

 

He drew a couple of strokes and wasn’t satisfied, so he crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the trash can next to him.

 

In the end, Zhuang Yan couldn’t watch anymore, and pulled him out of the studio.

 

Xie Ning initially struggled, but when he raised his head, saw Zhuang Yan’s raised eyebrows, and met his eyes, his heart relaxed and he let himself be taken away obediently.

 

Zhuang Yan brought him to the sofa, warmed up a cup of milk for him, and couldn’t help but ask, “Were you like this when you drew before…neglecting sleep and forgetting about food?”

 

Xie Ning nodded out of habit, but halfway through his nodding, he remembered something.
Seeing Zhuang Yan’s eyes that held some anger in them, he obediently shook his head instead.

 

“It’s not so exaggerated,” he whispered, “It’s just that I draw and forget the time, and didn’t I draw after eating dinner?”

 

Zhuang Yan said coolly, “Yeah, I finished making dinner and hollered at you for a while before you came down.
If I didn’t come looking for you two days ago, were you going to stay all night at the studio?”

 

Xie Ning took a sip of milk, obediently sat down, and quietly defended himself, “I just…seem to have encountered a bottleneck recently, so I want to draw more to see if I can find inspiration.”

 

Zhuang Yan made a sound in understanding.
“But you can’t do it like that.”

 

He knew that Xie Ning was stuck on the appearance of the male protagonist, since Xie Ning had discussed it with him the other day.

 

But there wasn’t any progress after the discussion.
He’d seen Xie Ning’s previous designs, and there was a feeling of it being similar to what he wanted.
The design was good, but he felt like there was something that wasn’t perfect enough yet.

 

Like there was a missing piece of the puzzle.

 

Xie Ning was trying to figure out what was missing this whole time.

 

Zhuang Yan watched him slowly finish drinking the warm milk, and asked casually, “Did you eat lunch today?”

 

Xie Ning’s hand that held the cup paused, looking a little timid.

 

Zhuang Yan, seeing his appearance, understood immediately.
He felt angry yet helpless in his heart, and finally said, “Starting from tomorrow, eat lunch with me too.”

 

Xie Ning: “…Ah?”

 

Zhuang Yan chuckled.
“What are you ‘ah’-ing for?”

 

Xie Ning reacted after a while.
“No, there’s no need to be so troublesome, is there?”

 

Zhuang Yan, looking at him, smiled and said, “I can’t stop worrying.”

 

What’s there to worry about?

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Xie Ning obediently promised, “I’ll eat well.”

 

“It’s too late,” Zhuang Yan said, “You have a record, so I don’t trust you.”

 

Xie Ning: “…”

 

For some reason, Xie Ning felt like Zhuang Yan had become clingier recently.

 

Since he’d finished the milk, Zhuang Yan gathered the cups and asked, “Do you want to watch a movie?”

 

Xie Ning blinked.

 

Zhuang Yan said, “You can’t paint like this behind closed doors all the time.
Maybe you can find some inspiration from watching another movie?”

 

Xie Ning thought about it, and nodded.

 

Zhuang Yan’s projection equipment at home didn’t lose to the cinema’s projection equipment, and the environment was excellent as well.

 

Xie Ning remembered that when they first met, Zhuang Yan had used this to abduct him home.

 

But when he saw the dazzling array of movies on Zhuang Yan’s shelves, Xie Ning was still shocked.
“This many?”

 

“Mmn.” Zhuang Yan sat on the sofa in the projection room, with his long legs extended.
“There are a lot of foreign films, and many of them are out of print.
I’ve collected them for a long time, and kept their value when I brought them back from overseas.”

 

Xie Ning glanced quickly at them, and there were many that he’d never even heard of.

 

But he wasn’t a movie enthusiast, so it was normal to not have heard of them.

 

The sofa in the projection room was very large, but Zhuang Yan just had to sit down next to Xie Ning.
When he put his arm across the back of the sofa, it was like he was holding Xie Ning’s shoulders.

 

Xie Ning moved to the side quietly, but right when he moved, Zhuang Yan pulled him back.

 

In the dark, Zhuang Yan’s low voice was pleasant.
“Why are you sitting so far? Do you think I’m going to eat you?”

 

Xie Ning immediately replied, “No.”

 

He still wanted to quietly move, but Zhuang Yan directly put his head onto his own shoulders, and tried to scare him by saying, “If you bother me during this movie, I’m going to put you on my lap and hold you there.”

 

Xie Ning: “…”

 

He felt like with Zhuang Yan’s personality, he might actually do this.
So, he made up his mind to not give him a chance to do so, and obediently put his head on Zhuang Yan’s shoulder.

 

After a while, there was no movement beside him, and his breathing had eased.

 

Zhuang Yan turned his head to look.
Facing the soft light of the gleaming screen, Xie Ning had his eyes closed, with an indescribably serene look on his face.

 

He’d fallen asleep.

 

Zhuang Yan reached out to grab a small blanket from beside him and put it on him,

 

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It seemed like Xie Ning was a little startled by his movement, so he turned over, and Zhuang Yan subconsciously made his breathing lighter.

 

Fortunately, Xie Ning didn’t wake up, and half of his body was buried in Zhuang Yan’s arms, found a comfortable position, and slept even more peacefully.

 

Zhuang Yan lowered the volume of the movie, looked at his sleeping face for a while, and slowly let out a breath.

 

He knew that since Xie Ning had gone to Dr.
Ji, he’d been suffering from insomnia for several days.

 

And was sneakily taking sleeping pills while drinking milk.

 

For something like sleeping pills, it wasn’t healthy to take too much of it.
Zhuang Yan couldn’t keep on watching, but he didn’t want to shock him, and quietly replaced the sleeping pills with milk tablets that were similar in appearance but didn’t have any side effects on the body.

 

Since he usually puts it in with his milk when he drinks it, he wouldn’t be able to taste anything.

 

Xie Ning didn’t suspect anything and only thought his body had developed a resistance to sleeping pills.

 

When he couldn’t sleep, he would go to the studio and draw the whole night.
When the next morning came, he would quietly go back to his room and pretend that he’d just woken up.

 

Today, Zhuang Yan finally put him to sleep.
He wanted to let him sleep comfortably, so he leaned against the sofa for a long time, until half of his body was almost completely numb, before he was certain that he wouldn’t wake Xie Ning.

 

After turning off the movie, he carried Xie Ning back to his room and changed his clothes, wanting to let him sleep more comfortably on the bed.

 

When he left, Xie Ning’s hand pulled on his clothes, as if his peace was disturbed when he was out of Zhuang Yan’s embrace.

 

Zhuang Yan sighed deeply, rolled onto the bed, and hugged him again.

 

Xie Ning became quiet.

 

……

 

Xie Ning only felt like he had a very peaceful sleep.

 

There were no disgusting or frightening scenes in his dream, no memories from his past a long time ago that he didn’t want to remember, and there was nobody chattering on next to his ear.

 

He felt like it was very quiet and very calm.

 

As if he was lying on the broad back of a blue whale, floating in the sea.

 

When he looked up, there was the blue sky and floating white clouds, and there were seagulls that flew across his view.

 

Occasionally, the waves would slap and roll past him, but he felt calm and steady, with no turbulence.

 

Harmonious, reliable.

 

Like as long as he was on this broad back, he could stay until the end of time.

 

When he was almost awake, he even rubbed his face against his pillow, feeling nostalgic, like he didn’t want to leave the dream.

 

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the blue whale plushie next to his pillow.

 

The black, bean-like eyes looked like they were glowing, making Xie Ning’s heart go into a trance for a little.

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When he went downstairs, Zhuang Yan had expectedly woken up before him.

 

Xie Ning greeted him with a little awkwardness.
“When watching the movie yesterday, did I…fall asleep while it was on?”

 

Zhuang Yan looked at him with a faint smile.
“Yes.”

 

Xie Ning smiled dryly.
“Then why didn’t you…wake me up?”

 

Zhuang Yan said, “I tried to, but I couldn’t wake you up.”

 

Xie Ning blurted out, “Impossible.”

 

Zhuang Yan just smiled meaningfully.

 

Xie Ning became uncertain again.

 

He did seem to sleep almost like the dead last night, and couldn’t even remember how he got from the projection room to his own room.

 

Maybe he didn’t sleep well for the past couple of days, and the sleep last night made up for it.

 

Zhuang Yan gestured to him to sit down and eat breakfast.
“I really couldn’t wake you up.
You were like Sleeping Beauty.
In the end, I couldn’t think of anything else, and almost wanted to try out a different method.”

 

“What…” Xie Ning asked halfway, then remembered the plot of Sleeping Beauty that was just mentioned, and swallowed his next words.

 

Zhuang Yan still responded, “I wanted to try and see if I could wake you up with a kiss like in the fairy tales.”

 

Xie Ning: “…”

 

He tried his hardest to not show his emotions so easily, but the tips of his ears became red, uncontrollably.

 

Seeing how Zhuang Yan was smiling but not smiling, Xie Ning ducked his head and took a bite of breakfast, deciding to change the subject.
“Yesterday, were you the one that brought me back to my room?”

 

“Correct.” Zhuang Yan said in his low voice, “I carried you upstairs.”

 

Carried me upstairs…

 

The corner of Xie Ning’s lips trembled, and he couldn’t speak.

 

How was he carried?

 

Did he put him on his shoulders and carry him like a sack, or hug him at the waist, or…a princess carry?

 

Several images flashed across Xie Ning’s mind, and a blush bloomed slowly on his face with each picture that passed by.

 

He definitely couldn’t ask Zhuang Yan this question.
Not to mention he might not even tell the truth.

 

If he really did ask, wouldn’t he be setting himself up?

 

The way he saw it, with Zhuang Yan’s personality, if he didn’t make Xie Ning red from head to toe, then he wouldn’t be called Zhuang Yan!

 

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Xie Ning cried out silently in his heart.

 

He didn’t drink alcohol last night, so why did he sleep so deeply? He didn’t even have a single clue as to how he was carried upstairs.

 

He was struggling with this question, when Zhuang Yan, seeing how he hadn’t spoken for a long time, pointed to his clothes and said, “I also changed your pajamas for you.”

 

Xie Ning: “…”

 

Needless to say, his face became even redder.

 

Knowing that he would probably start teasing him again, Xie Ning put his chopsticks down and decided to go with the best plan.

 

“I-I’m finished eating.”

 

Zhuang Yan raised his eyebrows.
“You’ve only eaten two bites though?”

 

Xie Ning lowered his head and quietly said, “I have a small appetite.”

 

When he finished saying this, he left the table, and after taking two steps, he heard Zhuang Yan say lazily from the back, “It’s okay if you don’t eat breakfast, since you still have to eat lunch with me anyways.”

 

Xie Ning stumbled and almost fell onto the ground.

 

He glanced at Zhuang Yan indignantly, then, without looking at his expression, slipped back into his room.
The first thing he did was change out of his pajamas.

 

It was cold in the winter, and he was still wearing the warm underclothes he had on yesterday, untouched.

 

Zhuang Yan always knew how to be appropriate.
Even when teasing him, he would only step on the line without overstepping it.

 

Xie Ning finished changing, and glanced at the mirror inadvertently on his way out.

 

The face of the person in the mirror was flushed, his brows and eyes were filled with hidden spring feelings, and the corners of his lips were slightly lifted.
One could tell at a glance that he was radiant with happiness.

 

There wasn’t a sign of the haggardness caused by insomnia for the past few days.

 

Xie Ning couldn’t resist and reached his hand out to touch his own face.
The cold feeling made him shiver, and the person in the mirror did so as well.

 

Only then was he sure that the person in the mirror was himself.

 

This appearance was…too ridiculous, wasn’t it?

 

Xie Ning wanted to bury himself in his blankets again.

 

That morning, Zhuang Yan waited in the living room for a long time before Xie Ning came downstairs slowly, his face thoroughly red.

 

Zhuang Yan raised his eyebrows, surprised.

 

He didn’t really say anything in the morning.

 

So how did Xie Ning set himself on fire?

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Author’s Note: ZhuangZhuang: I’ve upgraded to become a sleeping pill.

NingNing: (imagination)(red face)(imagination)(even redder face)(imagination)(blushing so hard he set himself on fire)