At night, the vigil was supposed to be kept, but as usual, no one kept it.
Still, the crowd of people sitting by the door chatting and drinking tea could be considered as helping Jiang Dayong keep the vigil.
Ji Zhaoxi hadn’t been back here for a long time. The cabinet was filled with her belongings, and the walls were covered with her award certificates, many of which had already faded.
“Maybe you could lie down for a bit?” Ji Zhaoxi asked tentatively.
Zhou Chiye had barely spoken since arriving.
He stared at the clearly feminine bed and, his voice trembling with shock, asked, “Sleep here?!”
Ji Zhaoxi looked down, embarrassed. “There isn’t really a spare room to sleep in at home. How about I ask my aunt to take you somewhere to sleep? Their beds are better.”
Zhou Chiye grew anxious seeing her like this. “No... I’m not disgusted.”
He just hadn’t expected that she would offer him her bed.
His face flushed deeply, and his heart began to race. His eyes fixed stubbornly on Ji Zhaoxi.
What did she mean by this?
Was she indirectly confessing her feelings?
If he slept there, did that mean he accepted her confession?
Zhou Chiye’s mind was a whirl of confusion right now. What was happening? How did this suddenly get so intense?
But of course, he definitely wanted to sleep there!
Just then, a woman carrying a shoulder bag pushed open the door. Her face was heavy with fatigue. “Xiaomei, I’m going to nap in your bed. I’m so tired right now.”
Zhou Chiye frowned deeply. “Xiaomei’s bed—I plan to sleep there now.”
Ji Zhaoxi blushed furiously at the term of address.
She coughed lightly. “Aunt, let me take you to my brother’s room to rest. Mom’s already sleeping in there too.”
The woman yawned widely. “Alright, that works. I haven’t slept much all day.”
In a rural setting, especially at a funeral like this, it was normal for people to sleep wherever they could. With so many people around, it was perfectly fine for someone who had traveled a long distance to rest on the homeowner’s bed for a while.
But Zhou Chiye didn’t see it that way. Right now, all he wanted to ask Ji Zhaoxi was whether what happened earlier counted as a confession or not.
Ji Zhaoxi, however, didn’t notice his reaction at all. She took out the blanket and carefully made the bed.
Zhou Chiye stared at her for a long time, but she didn’t react. He let out a deep sigh.
What had he even been hesitating about earlier?
In the end, though, Zhou Chiye didn’t lie down, because Ji Zhaoxi was sleepy and she wanted to sleep instead.
Zhou Chiye rummaged through the cabinet, searching everything. Outside, the sound of card games filled the air. Ji Zhaoxi listened to the chatter and watched him as he searched.
“This is you when you were little,” Zhou Chiye announced, pulling out a photo.
Ji Zhaoxi just thought Zhou Chiye had way too much energy. Dawn was almost here, and he still wasn’t tired.
She didn’t see the point in all that searching—everything was just junk covered in dust.
Pulling the blanket up to her face, Ji Zhaoxi closed her eyes.
But no matter how much Zhou Chiye searched, he only found that one photo.
In it, Ji Zhaoxi looked very young, her hair in two little braids, bundled tightly in a padded coat. She wasn’t sure if she had been crying, but she looked toward the camera with a pitiful expression.
Zhou Chiye gazed at the photo in excitement. He sneaked a glance at Ji Zhaoxi, then carefully slipped the photo into his bag.
Ji Zhaoxi was already fast asleep, and snoring came from the next room. Even the noise from the card games outside seemed to have quieted down.
Zhou Chiye sat on the edge of the bed. Gently, he touched Ji Zhaoxi’s hand, then held it with practiced familiarity, his fingers rubbing the back of her hand over and over.
He lay his head down on the bed, his mind starting to drift.
If, when he fell asleep, she secretly kissed him, it would be perfect. He would definitely pretend not to have woken up...
But that was unlikely.
The blanket carried her scent, along with a hint of wood. Zhou Chiye kept holding her hand and let his thoughts run wild.
He wished he could live with her—even just next door would be enough. He didn’t dare ask for more.
Still lost in thought, Zhou Chiye pulled her hand closer, opened his mouth, and gently nibbled on her fingers.
His eyes now held a dreamy look. Her fingers were soft. He didn’t bite hard, just lightly sucking and gnawing. Then, he bit down a little more firmly. Suddenly, he felt her fingers slightly curl.
Zhou Chiye finally realized what he had just done. His whole body froze. His guilty gaze shot to Ji Zhaoxi, who was breathing steadily. He quickly dropped her hand and even wiped it clean.
After that, he didn’t dare to do anything else. He obediently lay down to sleep.
Just as Zhou Chiye fell asleep, Ji Zhaoxi opened her eyes, her entire face burning red.
Why did Zhou Chiye have to bite her hand!
Was he still going through an oral phase at his age?
She had been half-asleep when she suddenly felt a strange sensation on her hand. When she looked over, she saw him lying beside the bed, biting her hand while lost in thought.
She had been so startled that she quickly shut her eyes again.
Now it was Zhou Chiye who was sound asleep. Ji Zhaoxi tried to pull her hand back, but it seemed welded to his chest—she couldn’t get free at all.
Half-conscious, Zhou Chiye felt something slipping away from his grasp and tightened his hold. Because of her struggling movements, he unconsciously bit it again.
Ji Zhaoxi: ...
She stared at the ceiling in deep bewilderment.
Why was Zhou Chiye still biting people’s hands at his age? And not even his own hand. She remembered she had stopped that habit when she was very young, and even back then, she only bit her own hand—never someone else’s.
The night grew deeper. Fewer people lingered by the door. The ground was littered with firecracker debris and shells of peanuts and melon seeds.
Ji Huaichuan bent to sweep up the mess. The butler yawned widely as he approached. “Ji Huaichuan, do you have a photo of your father? The one we used before might not work.”
Ji Huaichuan frowned. “If it has to be an ID photo, he probably doesn’t have one.”
The butler smiled. “No problem. Just find one where his face is clear, and we can Photoshop it.”
Ji Huaichuan first went to his own room to look. Several people were sprawled on the bed passed out, but he didn’t wake them.
Failing to find anything there, Ji Huaichuan led the butler to Ji Zhaoxi’s room. As he pushed open the wooden door, he saw two people sleeping peacefully inside.
One of Ji Zhaoxi’s hands was tightly grasped by Zhou Chiye, while her other hand rested on his face. She looked like she was sleeping soundly. Zhou Chiye’s face lay pressed to the bed, his arms hugging a bulging bag close to his chest—what was inside was anyone’s guess.
Ji Huaichuan and the butler fell silent at the sight.
The butler tried to ease the awkwardness. “Classmates sure have good relationships.”
Ji Huaichuan said nothing, puzzled. He quietly began searching for a photo of Jiang Dayong. The room was full of boxes, and after a long search, he finally found a picture with a clear view of his face.
The two grabbed the photo and quickly left.
