By Zephyria 
Chapter 15: We Slept in One Bed
The two of them stood blankly in the narrow breakroom. The room, which had been hastily cleared, contained almost nothing. A single worn-out bed and a chair to set clothes on. It looked bizarrely like an illegal business establishment caught in a surprise raid.
“…….”
“…….”
He Yu tossed his phone aside and looked back at Xie Qingcheng.
“You should sleep, Teacher. You’re not exactly young.”
At those words, Xie Qingcheng’s expression darkened sharply.
“Am I at a point where I need to be conceded the bed?”
Exhausted to his core, He Yu didn’t want to waste energy bickering with Xie Qingcheng.
“Fine. It’s not like it’s a tiny bed, and my sleeping habits are pretty quiet. Will you be okay?”
This was He Yu conceding a hundred times over.
He had never slept with another person before. In his life, a bed was merely a place of rest. But Xie Qingcheng was different. As a man who had been married, the idea of sharing a bed with someone else felt strangely unsettling.
Xie Qingcheng eventually furrowed his brow.
“I’m not that sleepy. I can just sit up.”
His face was pale as he spoke. Though he was forcing himself to hold out, an irrepressible fatigue clung to the corners of his eyes.
Seeing this, He Yu shot back.
“It’s not like I’m going to eat you, so why are you so scared? Do you think I’ll suddenly go crazy in the middle of the night and kill you?”
“……Your imagination is quite vivid.”
He Yu thought to himself that this mentally ill boy was still incredibly sensitive.
Xie Qingcheng was ultimately no match for the pouring drowsiness. Having spent the entire night struggling, he had exhausted all his energy and lacked the strength to argue with He Yu. He let out a deep sigh.
“Then let’s sleep.”
With that single phrase, he lay down on the bed, facing the wall with his back turned. After a moment, he felt one side of the bed sink slightly. He could sense He Yu lying down behind him.
As expected, it was a bit uncomfortable. He detested sleeping with others. Moreover, as a young man, He Yu’s body temperature was hot. Even without clinging, the space was so narrow that the other’s heat and breath were clearly felt. As the surroundings grew quiet, he could hear the soft sound of He Yu’s breathing.
Xie Qingcheng could not relax.
He had always been the head of the household and the protector. He had slept with Xie Xue when they were young, and later, Li Ruoqiu had lain beside him. He had reluctantly let her into his personal space. After all, Li Ruoqiu was a woman who needed him.
But the air emitted by a nineteen-year-old boy was different. The scent of hormones from a fellow male was unpleasant. The feeling of being blatantly invaded felt like sitting on a bed of needles.
Closing his eyes and frowning, he shifted his body slightly toward the edge of the bed.
Once more.
Once more…….
“If you move one more time, I’m just going to sleep on the floor.”
A cool voice suddenly rang out from behind him.
Suddenly sitting up, He Yu braced himself on the mattress and collapsed his upper body over the defenseless Xie Qingcheng. The boy’s breath struck Xie Qingcheng with a determined and reckless force.
Xie Qingcheng snapped his peach blossom eyes open.
“What are you doing?”
He Yu, who had thought Xie Qingcheng was moving away because he loathed his mental illness, lowered his body even further with malice. With his lips pressed against Xie Qingcheng’s neck, he slightly revealed his canines beneath his lips and spoke.
“I’m going to have a psychotic break, kill you, and shut you up. If you don’t like it, run away right now.”
Psychotic break, my ass.
He Yu during a break wasn’t like this. This was nothing more than self-deprecation born from a twisted mood. Recognizing this, Xie Qingcheng replied in a voice like ice.
“Get your body off me.”
“And give me my phone.”
Far from getting off, He Yu instead put his weight into pinning him down.
Regardless of whether he actually wanted the phone, he could not endure this violation of his safety distance. The distance was too close. For a moment, the hot heat of the other youth mixed with Xie Qingcheng’s breath.
Xie Qingcheng, who had been enduring by turning his head to the side, could no longer stand the discomfort and grabbed He Yu’s wrist. Then, spreading his shoulder blades and curling his upper body like a leopard, he ruthlessly pinned He Yu down.
“…….”
Soon, He Yu’s low voice was heard.
“Are you pouncing on me right now? I thought you were scared of me.”
“Why would I be? Behave while I’m speaking nicely.”
“…….”
He Yu fell silent.
After a short silence, he let out a sigh as light as a feather.
“Hyung, it hurts when you press down like that.”
Realizing that the man simply disliked being close to another man and didn’t loathe the mentally ill, He Yu stopped resisting. Instead, he quietly took in the sight of the man who had subdued him by firmly gripping his hands.
His subsequent tone and gaze were pathologically detached.
“Alright, alright. I’ll behave. Sorry, but could you give me my phone?”
While being pinned down by another’s force was very unpleasant, the feeling of looking down at the youth as a fellow man wasn’t bad. Like a typical old-fashioned man with a strong macho streak, Xie Qingcheng hated the feeling of being invaded or oppressed by a member of the same sex.
Not in the mood to bicker, he sat up and felt around beside him. His fingertips indeed caught He Yu’s phone. He must have tossed it there carelessly earlier.
He handed the phone to He Yu.
“Thanks.”
Taking the phone, He Yu looked up and fiddled with the screen, speaking indifferently.
“Teacher Xie, we’re both men and our sexual orientations are normal, so why are you so tense? Have you never slept in a bed with a man?”
Xie Qingcheng’s retort was infinitely cold.
“I’m used to sleeping alone.”
He Yu chuckled, still looking at his phone. His long eyelashes, fluttering with every breath, looked as if they were frosted due to the light from the phone.
“Then did you sleep separately from your former sister-in-law too?”
A sarcastic tone.
Xie Qingcheng knew. He Yu must have felt the sorrow of losing a colleague after seeing the other patients today. Even if his expression was calm, he was likely in a very low mood.
However, regardless of He Yu’s mood, he had no responsibility or obligation to be an emotional trash can.
Furthermore, Xie Qingcheng’s own mood wasn’t any better.
The gaze Xie Qingcheng cast upon He Yu froze coldly, as if reprimanding him.
“I’m sleeping. Don’t disturb me.”
With that, he turned to the opposite side and lay back down.
He said he was sleeping, but as expected, the bed was uncomfortable. He Yu had no such problem. He was only lying down because his body was comfortable; being at an age full of vigor, he had no particular intention of closing his eyes. For a while, he watched Xie Qingcheng quietly. He wondered why this man acted like such a stubborn old fogey, as if he were scolding a son.
If he got the chance, he really wanted to find a wedding dress and force him to wear it. Then he wouldn’t be able to even lift his face in front of him for the rest of his life.
At this point, He Yu, having grown bored, opened a mobile shopping app and typed in ‘wedding dress’.
The wedding dresses that flooded the screen were all ordinary, pretty, and neat. This was not the optimal result.
He Yu paused to think. He glanced at Xie Qingcheng’s back, looked down, and added one more keyword.
[Sexy]
This time, a considerably diverse set of results poured out.
White lace with black garter belts, bondage play, translucent dresses. There were so many varieties that everything except the impossible was there. He Yu’s eyebrows twitched as he scrolled down.
Interesting. Human imagination is truly infinite in these areas.
Whenever a dress that suited his taste appeared, he held the phone up and compared it to Xie Qingcheng’s back. Imagining that man eventually being captured by his hands, bound, and changed into such a dress made him not sleepy at all.
When he was young, Xie Qingcheng had been so terrifying. However, males often undergo such changes during the process of growing up. The more pressure they feel in childhood, the more they try to reverse the situation as they grow. The moment they collapse the glacial plains and swap positions, boys who have long craved dominance realize they have truly matured.
That was why He Yu considered defying Xie Qingcheng to be the ultimate pleasure.
Lost in the shopping spree and moving his hand without thinking, he pressed the live broadcast button. Moreover, the phone was not on silent mode.
In the cramped breakroom of less than ten square meters, the booming voice of a live streamer rang out.
—This wedding dress is seriously amazing. If you wear this on the wedding night, your husband will absolutely not be able to resist…….
“…….”
“…….”
He prayed that Xie Qingcheng was asleep.
But unfortunately, Xie Qingcheng turned around and looked at him with an infinitely cold gaze. It was the same gaze as before, as if it would shred He Yu’s heart like a blade.
“What was that just now?”
Since it had come to this, he didn’t particularly want to hide the truth. He Yu smiled gentlemanly.
“Shopping.”
“To buy a wedding dress?”
“Does one have to buy it just to look at it?”
Xie Qingcheng, who already found He Yu an eyesore, sneered indifferently.
“Why a wedding dress? Who are you planning to put it on?”
He Yu rolled his eyes and quietly weighed his options. If I answer that I’ll put it on you, will Xie Qingcheng try to kill me?
Murder in a police station—that wouldn’t do. What a terrible influence it would have on the good citizens.
Having judged this, He Yu retorted lightly.
“I don’t think it’s something you need to worry about, Teacher.”
“…….”
Xie Qingcheng’s expression hardened.
“Turn off the phone. Stop looking at useless things. You’re a young brat with no partner, yet you’re doing pointless things.”
For some reason, his tone was cold, and irritation flickered in his eyes. That sight made He Yu’s mood sour.
Who does he think he is, acting like a teacher?
Just what is our relationship anyway?
Suddenly, He Yu wanted to provoke him.
So, he stared silently at Xie Qingcheng’s peach blossom eyes and then smiled slowly with a hint of mockery. It was a smile that sounded meaningful.
“You don’t need to worry, Hyung. I’ll have someone to marry soon.”
After a short silence, he added.
“I’ll ask for your help when that time comes. You’re older than me and have rich life experience in both marriage and divorce. You know how to take care of a woman. I’ll come to seek your advice later, so please guide me, Professor Xie.”
The gaze as he continued speaking shone clearly. A delinquent malice could be felt within the smile.
“Instead, there’s one thing I’m curious about. You were married to your sister-in-law for quite a while, so why didn’t you have children?”
Xie Qingcheng’s face had long been frozen.
“…….”
The youth who had pretended to be gentle and cultured in front of everyone during the day now felt like a beast that had returned to its cave and shed its human skin. His almond-shaped eyes looked down languidly. A sarcastic voice followed.
“Surely there isn’t a problem down there?”
A few seconds of silence. Soon, instead of an answer, Xie Qingcheng grabbed He Yu’s collar and ruthlessly threw him onto the floor. Then, he threw a pillow and a blanket over him, completely burying He Yu alive.
He had intended to provoke him, but he hadn’t expected him to flare up like this.
Meanwhile, Xie Qingcheng was genuinely boiling with rage.
He was sexually conservative and somewhat cold. And now, this insolent brat was spouting nonsense that crossed the line.
“He Yu.”
Ice shards overflowed in the eyes and voice that glared at He Yu.
“—You’re like a childish brat.”
Rising from his spot, he straightened his clothes and walked out. The breakroom door slammed shut behind him.
Xie Qingcheng stepped out into the police station hallway and took out a cigarette.
There was nothing he hated more than others mentioning Li Ruoqiu in front of him, yet He Yu poked and stirred the painful spots every single time.
With his clothes and hair disheveled, he shed his perfectly cold demeanor and leaned against a pillar at the police station entrance to smoke. Thick smoke rose repeatedly. The anguish spread across his brow, bloodshot eyes, dry lips biting the cigarette filter, and a hollow gaze. It was a decadent look rarely seen.
Passing police officers couldn’t help but glance his way. After a moment, a young male officer rushed over and handed him a cold can of beer.
“Teacher, you seem to be in a bad mood. I understand. Tonight’s incident was a bit— Huh? Qingcheng Hyung? Why are you here?”
Only then did Xie Qingcheng snap back to his senses and look at the male officer.
“……Chen Man.”
Chen Man was well-acquainted with Xie Qingcheng.
Actually, Chen Man’s real name was Chen Yan. He tended to step forward quickly in everything, and his family gave him the nickname ‘Man’ (Slow) in the hope that he would live quietly and slowly. Thanks to that, people around him gradually began to call him Chen Man rather than his real name, Chen Yan, which was written on his ID.
The way the two met was through his brother. Chen Man’s brother, who had unfortunately died in the line of duty, had been a junior officer to Xie Qingcheng’s father. Chen Man had applied for the same college major as his brother and was currently slowly learning the ropes as a trainee officer.
“How did you get involved in this case?”
Having recognized Xie Qingcheng, Chen Man stood beside him with a calm hand, opening the beer and offering it to him, as if he had never been in a hurry.
“It’s a long story.”
Xie Qingcheng sighed and took the cold beer while still holding the cigarette. He gave a slight nod of the can toward Chen Man as a sign of thanks, then leaned against the pillar with a troubled mind, staring at the night scenery.
His attitude suggested he wasn’t in the mood to explain. Recognizing this, Chen Man stood beside him for a while before suddenly speaking.
“Hyung, aren’t you cold? Or maybe my clothes……”
“I’m fine. I’m not cold. Why would it be cold in summer?”
“By the solar terms, it’s already the Start of Autumn……”
My head is already complicated enough, and he’s so talkative. Xie Qingcheng thought this and said,
“Go on. I’m not in the mood right now. Thanks for the beer.”
“Are you really okay?”
“I said I’m fine.”
Chen Man reluctantly stepped away, repeatedly looking back.
“Wait.”
At that moment, Xie Qingcheng called him back.
“Come here.”
At that one word, Chen Man rushed back as if he had wings.
Xie Qingcheng grabbed Chen Man’s police uniform by the collar. Despite appearances, the two had a long history and were quite informal with each other. Xie Qingcheng abruptly reached into his uniform pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
Chen Man was a non-smoker, but non-smokers were a minority in the police station. Carrying cigarettes and handing them out here and there was quite helpful when dealing with miscellaneous chores.
Only after extorting the cigarettes did Xie Qingcheng straighten the police uniform and pat his shoulder.
“I’m going.”
“……Ah. Then don’t smoke too much, Hyung. I think it’s a bit excessive right now.”
Regardless, Xie Qingcheng ignored Chen Man and leaned against the pillar, smoking doggedly.
How much time had passed? Soon, footsteps were heard behind him.
Irritated, Xie Qingcheng snapped.
“Don’t you have work at night?”
“What work would I be doing?”
“…….”
Xie Qingcheng slowly turned his head. He thought Chen Man had returned, but it was He Yu who had come outside.
His gaze sank coldly toward him. Xie Qingcheng turned his eyes away without a word.
He Yu, who had been standing quietly beside him, reluctantly spoke.
“Teacher Xie, I’m sorry. I sincerely apologize for mentioning your sister-in-law……”
At these few words, the anger he had been suppressing finally exploded. He Yu had scratched at Xie Qingcheng’s insides with immature nonsense more than a few times. Still, Xie Qingcheng had managed his anger reasonably well due to his naturally cold personality.
But ironically, this apology made him even angrier. It would have been fine if He Yu hadn’t acted so unnecessarily polite. Because he offered an apology with such pretentious courtesy, Xie Qingcheng felt a surge of rage the moment he heard it. It was an attitude that practically advertised a lack of sincerity and a lack of genuine feeling. It was nothing more than a merchant coaxing a customer, just like his parents. Even the prepared lines sounded like a typical capitalist.
All the anguish filled his heart. He poured the beer Chen Man had just given him over He Yu without leaving a drop.
“What are you sorry for?”
The ice-cold beer dripping down was not as cold as Xie Qingcheng’s tone.
“I don’t feel any sense of apology. Acting might work in front of others, but it doesn’t work on me. How long do you think I’ve been watching you?”
“…….”
He Yu was speechless. This was the first time in his life that someone had dared to pour alcohol on him, so he couldn’t even react properly.
“And.”
Xie Qingcheng’s voice was laced with spite.
“Don’t ever mention my sister-in-law again. It’s been ages since the divorce. Even if it hadn’t been, I’m not your biological brother, so why is that woman your sister-in-law? I don’t even want to see your face tonight, so get lost and don’t come near me!”
He Yu, who had been keeping silent, spoke, pressing each syllable.
“Then what do you want? Do you expect me to swallow the words I’ve already spat out?”
Drops of beer trickled down between his dark eyebrows. As if to prove he truly was a psychopath, He Yu maintained a slow, bright smile even in this situation. It was a smile so gentle it was almost eerie.
“Or perhaps you believe that kneeling and apologizing would show more sincerity.”
“It doesn’t matter what you do.”
Xie Qingcheng crushed the empty beer can in his hand and threw it straight into the trash bin while glaring into He Yu’s eyes.
“He Yu, remember just one thing. I may have failed at marriage, but you are in no position to laugh at me. Because you are a hypocritical psychopath. Just as you are, there is no one who will ever truly love you. Didn’t you say you’d find someone to marry soon? Why don’t you go ahead and confess.”
“…….”
“I don’t care who the person you like is. If that woman dates you for more than a month, I’ll change my family name to the doomed He clan.”