The bed was a single.
The two men had only one blanket to share.
Despite Zhou Li trying his best to press himself against the wall, wanting to give Gu Changheng more space to sleep comfortably, the reality was that they were both grown men. There was no escaping the closeness between them.
Gu Changheng’s breath lingered around Zhou Li.
Zhou Li couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander. He could only count sheep repeatedly, from one to a hundred, then from one hundred one to a thousand, but he couldn’t sleep.
“Still awake?” Gu Changheng suddenly asked.
Zhou Li replied with a soft, “Mm.”
“What are you thinking about?” Gu Changheng inquired.
“Nothing, just counting sheep.”
“Counting sheep?” Gu Changheng smiled and said, “That’s an idea borrowed from abroad. The English word for sheep, ‘sheep’, sounds similar to ‘sleep’. But in Chinese, ‘sheep’ and ‘sleep’ don’t sound alike at all, so Chinese people should count dumplings instead.”
“Dumplings do have a closer sound to sleep.”
Zhou Li had graduated many years ago, and he didn’t learn English well in school. He had forgotten most of the English words, so he didn’t remember words like “sheep” and “sleep”. He just thought that Gu Changheng’s every word was right and smiled, “I’ll try counting dumplings and see if that helps me sleep.”
“Okay.”
After five minutes, Gu Changheng quietly asked, “Are you asleep yet?”
“No,” Zhou Li replied. “I’m hungry.”
Gu Changheng burst into laughter. His sudden movement caused his thigh to brush against the place where Zhou Li had been hard all night.
Zhou Li hurriedly shifted back, feeling embarrassed and flustered. He stammered, “I… I didn’t mean anything, it’s just… it’s—”
Gu Changheng slowly stopped smiling. “Go to sleep.”
Zhou Li felt even worse inside.
He thought about how he might have touched a sensitive topic for Gu Changheng. After all, someone with AIDS was basically saying goodbye to “making love”. He also felt that his physiological reaction was disrespectful to a rich and untouchable young master like Gu Changheng. He wanted to sink into the ground in embarrassment.
Gu Changheng couldn’t sleep either.
In fact, he often suffered from insomnia.
After years of sharing a bed with Zhao Yunfeng, dealing with AIDS and a breakup, Gu Changheng had worked hard to stabilize his emotions. He was able to work normally during the day. He was already very strong inside.
But at night when everything was quiet, people became more emotional, thinking about all sorts of things. He found it hard to sleep.
Many times, Gu Changheng was alone in this single bed, with his eyes open from night until dawn.
“Zhou Li,” Gu Changheng asked, “when did you realize you liked boys?”
“During the summer of my second year in junior high school.”
“How did you realize?”
Zhou Li thought for a moment and replied, “I don’t remember exactly, but I just thought you looked good, had a nice personality, everything was good, and then… then I liked you.”
“That was so many years ago!” Gu Changheng sighed and asked, “Have you tried dating any other boys or girls since then?”
“No.”
Zhou Li replied, “There hasn’t been anyone I liked.”
Gu Changheng suddenly became curious and pressed on, “So besides me, you haven’t liked anyone else?”
“…Mm.”
“Then have you dated anyone as you approach thirty?”
“No.”
“Then, have you ever had sex?”
“No, no.”
Zhou Li’s cheeks turned red as he awkwardly explained his predicament of being an old virgin. Many people laughed when they found out he was nearing thirty without any experience. They even told him to pay for his first time. He didn’t want Gu Changheng to mock him, so he stammered, “I… I just didn’t want to. If I’m not interested, I don’t want to get involved with someone else or waste their time.”
