TYAM Chapter 68

“Jiang Wang, why do you have a coat that my mom gave me?”

“Jiang Wang, what’s going on with your ID?”

Ji Linqiu reached out to touch the man’s back, but realized that the only thing his hand touched was a leather jacket draped over the chair.

His back chilled, his breath became shallow and rapid, and he rushed out of the room to find someone else.

“Xingwang, Xingwang, have you seen your Brother Wang?”

The child looked surprised. “Who’s Brother Wang?”

Ji Linqiu panicked. “Jiang Wang, your mother’s younger brother, how could you not remember him?!”

Peng Xingwang was holding blocks in his hand, and the small castle behind him collapsed with a crash.

“I… I don’t know him.”

Ji Linqiu stared at him and continued rushing out, feeling as though the world around him had become a blur.

He ran into Buwang Culture, urgently asking every colleague if they had seen him.

He ran into the meeting room, ran to his office, ran to every place where he might be found.

“Have you seen Jiang Wang?!”

“…Who is Jiang Wang?”

“Is there such a person?”

People looked at him with blank expressions, as if he were losing his mind.

“From start to finish, wasn’t it always just you?”

Ji Linqiu suddenly woke up, his back drenched in cold sweat, his heartbeat so loud it almost pierced his eardrums.

It was a dream.

It was all a dream.

He gasped for air, pressed his hand to his forehead, forcing himself to calm down.

Maybe it was from all the Greek mythology books or something else he had seen too often, but subconsciously, he always feared that if he asked that question, his lover would quietly disappear.

No, he couldn’t calm down.

Ji Linqiu made up his mind and grabbed his pillow and blanket, heading to knock on the door.

Before knocking, he checked the time.

04:31 AM

He took a deep breath and lightly knocked twice.

“Knock knock”

If the other person was asleep, he shouldn’t knock too much to avoid disturbing their good dreams.

Before Ji Linqiu’s unease could dissipate, the door was already opened.

The man was not fully awake, and the door opened with a pleasant ebony scent. His voice was a little hoarse.

“Why are you awake?”

It was very late at night, and Jiang Wang hadn’t turned on the lights, so the large room looked like the lair of a wild beast.

Ji Linqiu glanced inside but still held onto the blanket, unwilling to retreat.

“I had a nightmare.” He didn’t realize that his voice had softened, unconsciously acting coquettishly as he said, “Squeeze in a bit, just for tonight.”

The other person didn’t joke around as Ji Linqiu had expected, but instead froze for a moment, reaching out to touch Ji Linqiu’s forehead.

Then, he took Ji Linqiu’s hand and led him inside, his voice sounding a little heartbroken.

“How could you have a nightmare?”

Ji Linqiu didn’t expect Jiang Wang to care about him so much.

In the middle of the night, with the embrace, any man would start to think strangely.

“I…” He wanted to explain but was afraid that the nightmare would come true.

He was being held by the wrist, every sensation of body temperature so clear and real, giving him a sense of security.

Jiang Wang had been lying in a large sprawl, the bed sheets in disarray.

When Ji Linqiu suddenly came over, Jiang Wang made sure to smooth the sheets and fold the blanket neatly, trying his best to make it feel tidy and comfortable for him.

He gave the wall side of the bed to Ji Linqiu, so he would feel a bit more secure.

Jiang Wang, on the outer side, lay down gently, turning on the nightlight. “I remember, you seem to like hard pillows. Should I get one for you?”

Ji Linqiu buried his face in the blanket, feeling embarrassed.

“No, you go to sleep.”

“Then… should I turn off the nightlight?”

“Mm, turn it off.”

The man slid under the covers, and as he got closer, Ji Linqiu could hear his breathing being intentionally softened.

It was like he was trying to lull someone to sleep for the first time, his hand gradually wrapping around Ji Linqiu’s back, gently patting him.

Ji Linqiu buried his face even deeper into his chest, feeling a slight tremble.

He remembered he wasn’t like this before.

He used to… seem to have already accepted that he could lose anything at any time.

But now, he couldn’t accept it.

If Jiang Wang really disappeared one day, he would go insane.

He didn’t even realize how much he loved this other person.

Jiang Wang didn’t know what was troubling Ji Linqiu either, but he gently breathed with him, listening to his breath in the dark to see if he had relaxed.

“I… had a nightmare.”

Ji Linqiu buried his head even deeper.

“I dreamed that I asked you some questions I shouldn’t have, and then you disappeared.”

“No one in the world remembered you, as if you had never existed.”

Jiang Wang realized Ji Linqiu was gripping his wrist tightly, and for a moment, he seemed to remember something. He bent down and kissed Ji Linqiu’s forehead. “How could I ever do that?”

“I won’t ask anymore.” Ji Linqiu shook his head, his voice muffled. “I’d rather never ask.”

Jiang Wang sensed something was wrong, and he opened his mouth to explain, but then noticed his chest was a bit damp.

He was… crying? 

‘Will you cry for me because of a dream where I might disappear?’

At this moment, Jiang Wang felt at a loss. He had originally wanted to tell him everything, but now all he could do was hurriedly comfort him with kisses, telling him that it was all just a dream, and that dreams are always the opposite of reality.

The Ji Linqiu he remembered was never like this.

He was slender but upright, a person with great determination and resilience.

He didn’t have much passion, nor could he have gone off alone every year to teach in the remote corners of the world, loving other people.

But this strong person also had his moments of fragility, and it was a fragility that existed only because of him.

Ji Linqiu didn’t even know why he was crying. It had been many years since he last cried, and he found himself unfamiliar with this feeling.

But there was no way to stop, and he could only clutch the man’s clothes, burying his face deeper and letting the other person hold him so tightly that it almost made it hard to breathe.

Eventually, they both unknowingly fell asleep, and Ji Linqiu didn’t have any more dreams.

Jiang Wang was only half-asleep, and a thought vaguely emerged in his mind.

‘It was so comfortable to sleep with Linqiu in my arms.’

Warm and soft—how wonderful it would be if they could do this every day.

The next morning, Ji Linqiu woke up exactly at 6:30 AM.

He woke up to find himself being held tightly like a pillow in someone’s arms, his long limbs firmly wrapped up, unable to escape.

He groggily stared at Jiang Wang’s sleeping face for a while and then, feeling nostalgic, went back to sleep.

By 11 or 12 o’clock, they finally both woke up, and there was a knock on the door from Peng Xingwang.

“Brother Wang!!

“Do you know where Brother Linqiu went?!”

“His phone is still in the room, but there’s no one at the tutoring class!”

Jiang Wang paused, and before Peng Xingwang opened the door, he quickly covered Ji Linqiu completely with the blanket.

“Brother!!” Peng Xingwang opened the door with a dissatisfied expression. “It’s already 12, get up quickly!!”

“Little friend Peng Xingwang,” Jiang Wang wrapped the blanket tightly around himself and spoke in a clear voice, “From now on, knock three times before entering and wait for my permission.”

Ji Linqiu was caught off guard, trapped in the blanket, the space was narrow and suffocating, and he couldn’t breathe easily. He bit Jiang Wang’s wrist.

Peng Xingwang vaguely sensed something was off but still seriously tried to explain, “I knocked at 8 this morning and again at 10, you didn’t hear.”

“Maybe I slept too soundly…” Jiang Wang muttered, scratching Ji Linqiu’s chin from under the blanket, squinting as he said, “I’ll change clothes, you go out first, and I’ll take you to find Teacher Ji later.”

“Then hurry up,” the child puffed out his cheeks and said, “Don’t be lazy anymore!”

“Okay, okay, okay.”

As soon as the door closed, Jiang Wang lifted the blanket, and Ji Linqiu, who had been hiding under it, sighed in relief.

“I really don’t want to let go,” the man sighed, “You’re so soft when I hold you. I never thought it would be like this.”

Ji Linqiu adjusted his pajamas, buttoning them up, and was about to speak when the child suddenly barged in again.

“Surprise inspection!!!”

An awkward silence filled the air.

Peng Xingwang was stunned by the shock and froze on the spot. “Teacher Ji!! Wha-what a-are you—!!”

Jiang Wang raised his hand to cover his face. “…”

Ji Linqiu remained silent for a few seconds and then slowly said, “Actually, I… had a nightmare last night. I couldn’t sleep alone, so I asked your older brother to sleep with me.”

Peng Xingwang looked at them with a face of disbelief, clearly questioning their excuse, unsure whether he should leave or stay.

Jiang Wang honestly said, “He’s not lying, it really was like that.”

They didn’t even kiss last night, they just slept under the blanket, purely sleeping.

Ji Linqiu thought the more they explained, the stranger it sounded, so he retorted, “Otherwise, what do you think happened?”

Peng Xingwang thought for a few seconds. “Something’s not right. If it was really like that, why would Brother Wang hide you the first time I came in?”

“I told you, the blanket looked really suspicious! I didn’t ask earlier!” 

Ji Linqiu replied flatly, “Because it was really embarrassing.”

To prove his innocence, he immediately rolled out of Jiang Wang’s blanket, stood beside Peng Xingwang dressed properly.

“The truth is, your brother watched a horror movie last night, scared himself so badly that he couldn’t sleep until four in the morning, and he begged me to come over and keep him company.”

Ji Linqiu said casually, “Jiang Wang, you’re a man, men shouldn’t be so timid.”

He finished speaking, grabbed the child’s hand, and turned to leave.

Peng Xingwang gave Jiang Wang a look of contempt.

“Coward!”

Jiang Wang: … 

—

Ji Guoshen had been at Buwang Culture for an entire week. At first, he only helped with odd jobs like serving water, but later, he was somehow dragged by some senior teacher to attend training lectures. Gradually, every morning, he showed up with a thermos to clock in, and in another month, he would likely become a formal employee.

In contrast, Chen Danhong had no educational background, and having spent her whole life as a housewife in the countryside, she knew nothing other than farm work. She seemed a bit out of place here.

She initially competed for cleaning duties but then realized this might embarrass her son, so she buried herself in cleaning the new house and the small yard.

Ji Linqiu noticed this and thought he should find more things for his mother to do.

Jiang Wang had many stores, so why not rent one for her to open a tailor shop?

Young people now wear clothes from department stores, but older folks still like to mend and sew, and it would be a good way for her to make more friends.

Ji Linqiu was thoughtfully planning when his phone vibrated twice.

[Brother Wang]: Come downstairs, we’re going on a date.

[Linqiu]: Where to?

[Brother Wang]: The shooting range in the suburbs. Let’s go shoot with real guns XD[mfn]yes the emoji is from the OG text[/mfn]