17 : Insomia

 Song Shi put his phone away. From the moment he stood there, he had seen the little girl carrying a flower basket not far away.

Recently, with Qixi Festival approaching, there were many flower vendors, but there were very few people here. He wondered why she was selling flowers here.

Song Shi squatted down and looked at the little girl. She was wearing a light pink dress, which reminded him of Yuan Yiyi. He looked down at the flowers in the basket.

"How much?"

The girl's eyes lit up. She hadn't sold a single flower all day because other people's flowers were more exquisite and cheaper. Seeing this handsome young man in front of her, she felt a glimmer of hope.

"Five yuan a flower."

She nodded, looking at him, as if thinking about something and wanting to ask again if he thought it was too expensive, offering a discount.

"Can you go home after selling these?"

The girl didn't know what he meant and could only say yes.

Song Shi nodded at the girl, took out several hundred yuan from his pocket and handed it to her: "Then sell them all to me."

She looked at the money he had taken out and was momentarily at a loss. Even if she was lucky enough to sell them all, she couldn't earn this much.

The girl quickly waved her hand, "No need for so many."

Song Shi smiled, trying to appear gentle, "I really like these flowers, so take them."

A shout came from nearby, and the girl looked up, hurriedly handing the flowers in the basket to Song Shi, "Brother, next time, if we meet again, I'll give you a bracelet I made myself!"

"Okay, goodbye." Song Shi smiled and waved, watching the person carrying the flower basket run into the arms of the person who had rushed over.

*

Chen Zhoumu thanked the shopkeeper and came out of the door to see this scene. The person who had been empty-handed was now holding a bouquet of flowers.

One hand held a phone, head down, his tall figure elongated by the streetlights, the wind gently blowing the boy's short hair, revealing a handsome yet spirited face.

He leaned lazily against a pillar, as if waiting for someone.

Passersby would steal glances.

Song Shi knew he was very conspicuous and just wanted to text the other person to come out quickly when Chen Zhoumu's voice rang out.

"Why did you buy a bouquet of flowers?"

The other person even leaned down to smell them. "They smell pretty good."

Song Shi saw the expressions of the passersby change from calm to excitement, so she quickly interrupted them and moved the flowers away. "Weren't we going to buy blankets? Let's go."

Before the two of them could leave, voices started coming from ahead again, and Song Shi's eyelids twitched.

"Damn! I was wondering why I couldn't find you two at the hotel! Turns out you're here." He Xi walked over and looked at the two people standing together.

"What's this? You two... secretly celebrating Qixi Festival?" Zhang Jingxiao was also there. Her eyes kept scanning their faces, mainly looking at their mouths. Although she didn't find anything, it didn't stop the corners of her mouth from turning up slightly.

She held onto Tan Qi's hand tightly, desperately suppressing the corners of her mouth.

"Brother Mu, what's going on?" Liao Ming walked at the back with an ice cream in his hand.

"What are you thinking, you little brat?" He Xi flicked Zhang Jingxiao's forehead.

"Ouch!" Zhang Jingxiao clutched her forehead and grabbed Tan Qi, yelling, "You damn He Xi! You're dead! Stop right there!"

One ran away, the other chasing.

"Wait for us!" Liao Ming shouted; he couldn't stay with the school bullies!

Chen Zhoumu smiled; these two often did this. He took the flowers from Song Shi's hand: "Let's go."

Seeing the flowers taken from him, Song Shi glanced at his silly grin and let him hold them.

After buying the bedding, the people in front had calmed down. Song Shi looked at the bouquet, unsure where to put it, and Zhang Jingxiao finally took it.

When they returned to the hotel, it was almost nine or ten o'clock. Song Shi took her pajamas from her suitcase to shower, while Chen Zhoumu hung the freshly washed sheets on the balcony to dry. The weather was nice here;

once dry, they could be taken back to school.

When Chen Zhoumu opened the door and entered the room from the balcony, he found Song Shi had already gone to shower, but it seemed she had forgotten to close the glass curtains.

The bathroom faced the bed directly. The curtains leading to the balcony were drawn, and only one light was on, making the bathroom appear exceptionally bright.

Chen Zhoumu froze, unable to look away, and then saw Song Shi standing in front of the mirror with his back to him. The mirror was small, barely enough to fit a head, and Song Shi completely obscured it.

He was shirtless, the black T-shirt he had been wearing had been taken off and tossed aside. The light from the bathroom shone on him, making Song Shi's skin appear very fair. He was currently looking down, unfastening the red necklace around his neck.

The boy's body was lean but muscular, his two arched shoulder blades moving with his movements. Because he was looking down, the slightly protruding bones in his neck made him appear somewhat thin. His fingers fumbled at the end of the necklace. His

head was tilted, revealing his high, straight nose, which was shadowed by the light.

Chen Zhoumu's gaze involuntarily drifted to the mirror, where he saw a sea of ​​pink...

He hurriedly opened the door he had just closed and returned to the balcony. Chen Zhoumu had been living with this person for almost two months, and since the time he slipped and fell in the bathroom after transferring schools, he hadn't seen him like this.

Moreover, last time it was completely dark and he hadn't seen anything; he didn't expect such a visual shock.

He had seen plenty of naked men, even in public bathhouses filled with naked people, but he hadn't reacted this strongly, especially since Song Shi had only taken off his shirt.

Chen Zhoumu figured he had simply never seen a body like Song Shi's before; what man's skin was so white and smooth? He was just surprised.

The night breeze blew in, slowly sobering him up, but Chen Zhoumu still felt the wind was too hot, making his mouth dry.

The door behind him opened.

Chen Zhoumu was startled, seeing that the other person had already changed into pajamas, and breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze briefly sweeping over the other person's chest.

Song Shi came out with the washed clothes, looking at the other person with a puzzled expression: "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Chen Zhoumu humbly touched the tip of his nose. "Then I'll go wash up."

He hurriedly took the clothes into the bathroom. It was a bit warm inside, and there was still the lingering scent of the other person's shower gel. Before the other person came in, Chen Zhoumu carefully drew the curtain closed, so that the situation from before wouldn't happen again.

He didn't care if he was seen, but if Song Shi found out next time that the curtain wasn't closed, the other person would be awkward for a long time.

After he finished tidying up, the other person was already lying on the bed with their eyes closed.

Song Shi listened to the other person turn off all the lights, and the room was plunged into darkness. There was a rustling sound from the blanket beside him. He carefully pulled back the blanket and lay down next to the other person.

After he lay down, it became very quiet, with only the sound of the air conditioner.

Song Shi closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. Normally a sound sleeper, he started tossing and turning. At first, Song Shi could tolerate it, assuming the other person wasn't used to the new environment.

But after Chen Zhoumu had tossed and turned countless times, Song Shi frowned impatiently and said, "If you're not going to sleep, get out." "

Sleep, sleep, I'm going to sleep right away,"

the other person replied, and then truly stopped moving. Song Shi's brow relaxed.

He didn't know how much time had passed; the light coming through the gap in the curtains dwindled, and the sounds of cars passing by on the street ceased.

Chen Zhoumu closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. He couldn't fall asleep at all; every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was the scene of Song Shi in the bathroom. He felt like he was going crazy.

He forced himself to fall asleep quickly; he couldn't let his brother's body turn into this state just by looking at him. He wasn't into men; it would be too unfair to his brother.

Turning his head, he saw the sleeping person turned towards him. Moonlight shone through the gap in the curtains, and he could vaguely make out the other person's features.

The other person's hair was slightly disheveled, obscuring their eyebrows and eyes. Their eyes were closed, half their face buried in the pillow, their breathing extremely soft. The pajamas on the sleeping person were slightly ruffled.

The top button had fallen off sometime during the night, revealing a large expanse of skin rising and falling with each breath.

Chen Zhoumu dared not look down any further. After countless prayers in his heart, he finally closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Perhaps due to his humility, he didn't sleep very well.

He was vaguely awakened by sobbing. Chen Zhoumu frowned and opened his eyes; his throat was extremely dry, and he wanted to drink something to quench his thirst, but his body wouldn't move.

The crying grew clearer, and only when his vision cleared did he see the person beneath him.

Hair was disheveled and scattered on the pillow, hands were bound upwards, the black cloth strips contrasting sharply with the pale skin, and the small mole on the neck was slightly red.

Half of the other person's face was buried in the pillow, the tip of their nose was red, and tears dripped down their face, soaking the pillow and leaving

a damp patch.

Chen Zhoumu's hand gently rested on the other person's neck. The person beneath him was covered in marks. His gaze fell downwards, revealing a lean waist and long legs…

A faint fragrance wafted over—the other person's scent.

A striking pink stain on his chest.

A chaotic scene.

Even the slow-witted Chen Zhoumu knew what was happening. His mind went blank; the scene was incredibly familiar.

Wasn't this what He Xi had forwarded to him last time? It seemed to be called "The General's Beta Wife."

Since it was something He Xi had shown him, then the other protagonist was…

Chen Zhoumu suddenly woke up. The air conditioning in the room was still on, but he felt incredibly hot and uncomfortable.

He checked his phone; it was only around four o'clock. He slowly sat up, bending his knees and frowning as he felt the heat.

His dream partner was actually Song Shi, the person he slept, ate, and lived with every day?

Was he crazy? Damn it.

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