smell

The next day, Yang Zheng woke up very early, but Shen Anxia, ​​who should have woken up much earlier, remained motionless.

Yang Zheng considered knocking on her door twice, but after listening carefully, he found no sound coming from her room and was afraid she was still asleep, so he ultimately decided not to call her.

It wasn't until after nine o'clock that he seemed to hear a slight noise from Anxia's room.

As she got up and walked towards her bedroom, Shen Anxia happened to open the door from the inside.

She was still wearing the pajamas from last night, her hair loose, still groggy from just waking up, looking just like a lazy little cat.

"Didn't you sleep well last night?" Yang Zheng took her hand and led her into the living room.

"Hmm... I didn't fall asleep until seven o'clock." Shen Anxia's voice still had a nasal tone from the early morning.

"Insomnia?"

"Um."

"I made shrimp potstickers and congee with preserved egg and lean pork for breakfast. Would you like some?"

"Let's eat later! I'm not hungry yet." Shen Anxia sat on the sofa, where Yang Zheng had already finished tidying up.

Yang Zheng saw that Shen Anxia still looked like she hadn't slept enough: "Alright, then we can eat when we're a little hungrier. Are you still sleepy?"

"I'm a little sleepy." Shen Anxia didn't fall asleep until almost seven in the morning.

"Then sleep a little longer?"

"Are we boyfriend and girlfriend now?" Shen Anxia couldn't sleep because she was thinking about this question. She had to find out the answer.

Seeing that Shen Anxia was clearly very tired but still wanted to get to the bottom of things, Yang Zheng asked, "You didn't sleep well all night because of this?"

"Hmm." Insomnia is extremely uncomfortable, but Shen Anxia felt that she should formally discuss it with Yang Zheng.

“Anxia, ​​whatever kind of relationship you want us to have, that’s what we’ll have. As long as you don’t think I’m being presumptuous and don’t say goodbye to me again, then all the problems are not problems for me,” Yang Zheng paused here.

He took Shen Anxia's hands and made them face each other: "Perhaps I need to make a formal confession—Anxia, ​​you may not know, but from the first time I saw you, I was smitten. I'm sure you are the only girl I, Yang Zheng, want to marry in my life, but I want to give you the freedom to choose."

“Of course,” Yang Zheng smiled shyly, “I know I’ll be laughing in my sleep if you choose me.”

“You’re worried about being separated from your partner, so I can assure you that although it’s like this for now, it won’t last long,” Yang Zheng promised.

After Yang Zheng finished speaking, Shen Anxia also said, "Well, Yang Zheng, welcome to my world, but as your boyfriend, I still have some things to say."

"Hmm." Yang Zheng sat up straight, listening attentively to what Shen Anxia was about to say.

“We’ve known each other for a long time, and I know you’re a very good person. I also know that people are more open-minded these days, but I can’t accept premarital cohabitation—you should know what kind of cohabitation I’m talking about.”

When the topic suddenly turned to taboo subjects, Yang Zheng blushed a little, but still nodded seriously.

“I can also sense that you are looking towards marriage with me, and so do I. But if something really changes, such as meeting someone you like more or feeling that a long-distance relationship is no longer acceptable, please be sure to tell each other in time—I would rather hear the cruel truth than a well-intentioned lie.”

“Although this event will not happen, I can promise you that there will be no deception for the rest of my life,” Yang Zheng said solemnly.

Shen Anxia nodded: "Thirdly, friction is inevitable in life, but when problems arise, we should solve them and not let emotions linger overnight. Cold violence is a killer of relationships; on the contrary, good communication can promote relationships."

Yang Zheng nodded, waiting for Shen Anxia to continue.

But he could tell that Shen Anxia didn't intend to continue.

"Is that all?"

Shen Anxia nodded: "That's roughly it."

Yang Zheng found it amusing: "Isn't this a basic requirement for normal interpersonal relationships? Regardless of gender?"

"What you say is true, but often people can't even meet the basic requirements."

Yang Zheng sighed, "Forget it, I'll just set my own standards!"

"And what about you? What are your requirements?" Shen Anxia was very fair.

"Me? Just having you by my side is enough." Yang Zheng leaned closer to Shen Anxia. "So, your standard is that, as my boyfriend, I have the right to do this—"

He pulled Shen Anxia close, his gaze fixed on her lips, wanting to kiss her.

Shen Anxia, ​​drawing strength from who-knows-where, shoved Yang Zheng aside and ran into the bedroom, yelling, "You wish!"

Behind him, Yang Zheng's laughter, which he couldn't suppress, sounded genuinely joyful.

Let's take it one step at a time. After all, we've waited so many years.

After Yang Zheng finished laughing, he got up and went to Shen Anxia's bedroom. He knocked on the door and said, "Anxia, ​​eat something before you sleep. I'll heat up your breakfast."

Shen Anxia didn't intend to sleep either. She wrapped herself in the quilt, and after a while, she revealed a flushed face with a pair of bright, star-like eyes.

After a while, she got up, still wearing her pajamas, and went to wash up. When she came to the living room, Yang Zheng was serving porridge.

She sat on the sofa, looking at the row of potstickers on the plate, picked one up and tasted it. Mmm, so delicious: "Shrimp and chive filling."

"Yes, girls should eat more chives to keep warm." Yang Zheng finished serving the porridge and sat down.

The two chatted while eating.

"I've never understood why you need to learn to cook when your family runs a barbecue restaurant. But you're really good at cooking; my parents can't even make potstickers."

“My parents have been running a shop since I was very young. Back then, the shop hadn’t expanded into the city yet, but I was studying in the city and often ate all three meals at small restaurants. However, the food at those small restaurants wasn’t very good, so I started trying to cook for myself. Gradually, I learned to cook more and more, and the food tasted alright.”

Shen Anxia glanced at the clock; it was almost eleven o'clock. "How about we have two meals today? It's already this late."

Yang Zheng nodded: "Okay."

"What do you want to eat tonight?" Shen Anxia asked expectantly.

"I see you have an oven, how about we roast some lamb chops? Want some?"

"You can do that too?"

"That's simple, it just depends on whether you want to eat it or not."

"I want to eat it." Shen Anxia nodded.

"Then I'll make a sauce to marinate the lamb chops in a bit. What do you want to do for lunch?" Yang Zheng asked.

"I haven't stretched or studied English today." Shen Anxia felt that she had been a bit lazy lately.

"After you stretch, I'll study English with you."

"Don't you find this kind of life boring?" Shen Anxia thought of his brothers, who all seemed to enjoy having fun. "I think you guys are living quite fulfilling lives."

"There will be gatherings, but not as many as you might think. Everyone is usually very busy. We've known each other for almost twenty years, so our relationship isn't maintained by gatherings. Before, the fourth and fifth brothers loved the glamorous lifestyle, but after the fourth brother started his game company, he doesn't spend much time with the fifth brother anymore, especially after he had a daughter. Only the fifth brother and Rongyi can play together every day now. It was quite difficult for us to get together last week, but none of the women were there, so it wasn't really a full gathering."

Shen Anxia nodded, then thought of what Yang Zheng had said to her in "Love in the Sea and Sky" during their second meeting.

Yang Zheng added, "Moreover, during our university years, we could only get together occasionally during winter and summer vacations. I also had a lot of things to do during the week. After graduation, I had to take the national civil service exam and spent a long time burying myself in my studies. I think it's pretty good to live my life this way."

Shen Anxia felt once again that Yang Zheng was earnestly telling her about his life over the years, as if he wanted to tell her all his experiences so that she could understand him better.

Moreover, if she thinks back carefully, it seems like these past twenty-odd years have passed just like that.

After eating and resting for half an hour, Shen Anxia changed into her training clothes, did some stretching, and then she and Yang Zheng each studied their own English.

Around 4 p.m., Yang Zheng grilled the lamb chops, made a cold bitter chrysanthemum salad, and heated up some milk. After dinner, the two of them leaned on the sofa and watched a movie.

Yang Zheng pulled Shen Anxia into his arms and let her lean on his left shoulder.

To make herself more comfortable, Shen Anxia stretched her legs out to the other side of the sofa. Yang Zheng noticed she was barefoot and thought about how small her feet were; he could easily hold them in one hand. Yang Zheng pulled back the blanket he had used the night before and covered her with it, then wrapped his left arm around her slender waist from behind.

Only a warm yellow nightlight was on in the living room. Shen Anxia had been sleepless all night and had only slept for two hours this morning. Now, leaning against Yang Zheng, she felt warm and a great sense of security enveloped her. As she looked at him, she felt her eyelids were about to close. After a while, Yang Zheng felt a slight weight on his shoulder.

I glanced at Shen Anxia quietly and saw that in the dim light, her long eyelashes looked like two soft little fans casting clear shadows of the fan ribs. She was asleep.

Yang Zheng didn't dare to move. He stiffened his body and used his right hand to reach for the remote control to turn down the TV volume.

He couldn't remember anything about what happened in the movie afterward; all his senses were focused on the girl beside him.

Her breathing was even and soft, and she looked very sleepy. Yang Zheng was afraid that she was uncomfortable in this position, so he thought about carrying her back to bed, but he was also afraid of waking her up.

He thought back and realized that it was the morning. Although Anxia had only slept for two hours, she hadn't been able to fall back asleep all day after waking up. If he woke her up, she wouldn't be able to sleep well tonight.

In addition, he secretly hoped that Anxia could lean on him a little longer.

He slowly, very slowly lowered his body to make Anxia more comfortable.

About an hour later, Shen Anxia stirred slightly and reached out from under the covers to rub her neck.

"Anxia?" Yang Zheng called her name softly, trying to make a sound.

"Mmm," Shen Anxia replied with a thick nasal tone, her eyelids barely lifting.

"Do you need to wash up?" Yang Zheng asked.

"I'm not going to wash up. I haven't left my room today, so I'm not dirty." Shen Anxia still didn't open her eyes, and her nasal voice sounded a bit like she was being coquettish.

Yang Zheng found it funny: "Nobody said you're dirty. If you don't want to wash, then don't."

Shen Anxia still stretched her neck in the opposite direction.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Yang Zheng moved his hand that was supporting her waist up and smoothed the muscles in her neck that were being pressed.

Shen Anxia hummed in agreement, but did not move.

With her eyes closed, she comfortably enjoyed Yang Zheng's just the right amount of pressure.

Yang Zheng stroked Shen Anxia's hands for a while before Shen Anxia slowly opened her eyes and took his hand, saying, "It's alright, I don't feel uncomfortable anymore."

Shen Anxia looked at the warm blanket she had wrapped herself in, then thought about the temperature of the blankets in her room, and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only nine o'clock. She shook her head: "I'm awake now. If you're not too sleepy, let's watch another movie!"