After being disturbed all night, Xie Ge still woke up later than Xu Miao, thanks to Xu Miao’s biological clock.
Clearly, Xie Ge was the one who caused all the trouble, yet he looked as if he had been bullied—his brows furrowed even in sleep, occasionally mumbling words that Xu Miao couldn’t catch.
Xu Miao hadn’t forgotten what Xie Ge did last night. Mimicking him, Xu Miao used two fingers to pry open Xie Ge’s eyelids and repeated similar words that Xie Ge had once said:
“Why are you closing your eyes? I’m already awake, how can you still sleep alone?”
It didn’t take much effort to wake Xie Ge. As soon as he realized it was Xu Miao, he grabbed Xu Miao’s wrist, flipped over, and pressed him down firmly. With Xu Miao trapped and unable to move, Xie Ge closed his eyes again and went right back to sleep.
No matter what Xu Miao said after that, Xie Ge refused to wake up. He stubbornly waited until Xu Miao’s alarm rang and snoozed five times before finally pretending to “naturally” wake up.
Blinking his eyes, he acted as if he had just woken up for real, rubbing his face against Xu Miao’s, then against his hair, before lowering his head to rest his forehead on Xu Miao’s shoulder, mumbling that he was so tired.
“You’re such a bad actor,” Xu Miao bumped his chin lightly against the top of Xie Ge’s head. “Should I sign you up for some acting classes? Otherwise, your acting skills are too unconvincing for me to play along.”
Without a word, Xie Ge quickly rolled off Xu Miao, wrapped himself up in the blanket, and curled into a ball beside him.
With the restraint gone, Xu Miao took the chance to flip the situation. He pounced on the bundled-up Xie Ge, pried open the blanket despite his resistance, touched his face gently, and comforted him:
“Actually, you acted pretty well. At first, I really didn’t notice you were faking it.”
Seeing Xie Ge still sulking, Xu Miao continued to soothe him:
“Really. Think about it—if I had known you were pretending, would I have let you lie on top of me for so long? You’re kind of heavy, you know.”
Although his fake sleep hadn’t fooled Xu Miao, Xu Miao’s little white lie fooled Xie Ge almost completely. Soon, guilt overcame him, and he confessed.
“I only pretended to sleep because I didn’t want you going to work. That colleague of yours is definitely up to no good. I’m afraid he’ll harass you again today… and I also don’t like you being around him.”
When lacking confidence, Xie Ge always spoke softly. He didn’t want to seem unreasonable in front of Xu Miao, yet he also couldn’t bear just watching someone circle around Xu Miao without doing anything.
Jealousy is a scary thing. Xie Ge wanted to hide it from Xu Miao, but jealousy is instinct—it can’t be hidden.
Yet Xu Miao didn’t feel uncomfortable at all about Xie Ge’s jealousy. In fact, he had already been considering resigning.
As long as Xia Jingzhou was still there, if Xu Miao didn’t play along with him, staying at the company meant no chance of promotion and endless petty torment.
So when Xie Ge faked sleep to stop him, Xu Miao didn’t fight it.
Maybe he just needed an excuse. Maybe he just needed someone to give him a little push forward.
And that person happened to be Xie Ge. The reason didn’t need to be formal or significant.
“How about I resign?” Xu Miao asked seriously, already planning a future with Xie Ge. “I’ll rent a place near your school. I’ll stay with you while you study.”
Years of hard work finally showed their benefit. After covering family expenses and repaying all the money he had once deceitfully taken, Xu Miao still had a decent amount of savings left.
Enough to support Xie Ge through his studies until graduation, and enough for Xu Miao to live comfortably for two years without pressure while looking for new work.
“You’re about to graduate anyway. I don’t want to always be too busy. I’m afraid I might even miss your graduation ceremony because of work. And… I think I’m a little tired. I want to rest for a while.”
In the most difficult times, Xu Miao had never admitted to being tired.
Back then, he simply felt everything was his responsibility. Someone had to sacrifice for the family, and when those ahead of him couldn’t bear it, it was his duty to step forward.
But now, even over small things, he found himself complaining of exhaustion to Xie Ge.
Xu Miao suspected that because of Xie Ge, he had become much more fragile. He even started wishing for someone to rely on, wishing that when he couldn’t hold on anymore, he wouldn’t collapse on cold, hard ground but instead fall safely into someone’s arms.
He rarely allowed himself to be willful, but every time he did, it was with Xie Ge.
At first, after hearing the suggestion, Xie Ge wanted to refuse.
He couldn’t deny that the thought of Xu Miao resigning to stay with him thrilled him at first—but he quickly calmed down. He didn’t want Xu Miao sacrificing for him or giving up everything he had.
Until he heard Xu Miao’s voice—so weary, so tired, so vulnerable.
Xie Ge was afraid if he looked any longer, he would burst into tears. His heart ached as he stumbled over his words:
“Then quit. It’s fine. Whatever you want to do, I’ll support you. Rest, you really should rest. I’ll give you all my money, okay? From now on, you support me. If I’m good, you give me pocket money. If I’m bad, you don’t. I’m easy to handle.”
Xu Miao laughed:
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll only give you twenty yuan a day? Can you live with that? It’s hard to go from luxury back to frugality. Begging others for money isn’t a pleasant feeling.”
“I’ve told you so many times—you’re not ‘others’!” Xie Ge’s eyes were misty one second, and the next, he was fuming.
He huffed, “I like asking you for money. I like you controlling me. I wish you’d put a tracker and a bug in my phone. I wish you’d do nothing all day but keep watch on where I go, what I do, what I say.”
“If I upset you, just scold me. If I make you happy, give me a reward. You can be part of everything I do, control anything about me. Whatever requests you have, just tell me—please, just take control of me.”
It was the first time Xu Miao had heard such a strange request. But since it was from Xie Ge, it didn’t seem strange at all.
“Hold out your hand,” Xu Miao paused, then said, “That’s my first request.”
Without asking why, Xie Ge obediently stretched out his left hand.
Xu Miao somehow produced a thin string, wound it once around the base of Xie Ge’s ring finger, and marked the spot where it overlapped.
Even a fool could tell what Xu Miao was implying, and Xie Ge was certainly no fool.
Trying to act nonchalant, Xie Ge made a suggestion:
“No need to get anything too fancy, or full of diamonds. Just something simple. I like plain platinum bands—low-key, easy to match with clothes, and I can wear it every day. But if you really want to add a diamond, I’d like that too. Whatever you give me, I’ll love it.”
He was already full of anticipation for the ring that existed in spirit but had yet to truly appear on his finger. He imagined countless scenarios of Xu Miao giving it to him.
He even boldly predicted Xu Miao would present it during his graduation ceremony, in front of everyone.
Xu Miao nodded as if acknowledging the request, but what he said was a denial:
“Who said I was giving you a ring? You already agreed you didn’t want one.”
It was meant as a joke—but who would have thought it would become reality? In the end, that ring never did get delivered as planned.
