TBS Chapter 36

Good night?

Who says good night?

Who says good night at ten-thirty?

Can you even sleep, saying good night?

Xie Ge still kept the same posture from when Xu Miao turned off the light. After a long while, he stiffly turned his neck, twisting his face toward Xu Miao’s side where he was sleeping.

The curtains were only half drawn, and soft moonlight spilled inside. Even though it barely gave any light, Xie Ge could still clearly see Xu Miao’s face as he slept with his eyes closed.

The longer he looked, the more wrong it felt.

Xu Miao just fell asleep like that? Really asleep?

Didn’t they just get married three months ago? Is the honeymoon period supposed to be this dull? Their relationship wasn’t as good as people usually described either—so then why did Xu Miao refuse to divorce?

So… does he still need, or maybe should he, carry out the “kissing experiment”?

Thoughts drove actions. Xie Ge’s gaze fell back onto Xu Miao’s lips.

Does it even matter if it’s necessary? Xie Ge thought. It’s just one kiss. He’s not some stranger. Besides, Xu Miao’s already asleep, so it doesn’t matter. He could sneak it in, silent and unseen, finish the experiment quickly, and then he’d have his answer.

Xie Ge struggled inside for a long time, nearly an hour of careful consideration, before finally deciding to try as fast as possible.

He steeled his heart, closed his eyes, puckered his lips, and leaned forward toward Xu Miao—only to end up kissing Xu Miao’s pillow.

Opening his eyes, he found that coincidentally, after he had shut his eyes, Xu Miao had rolled over to the other side, turning his back toward him.

At this point, giving up halfway would be too much of a waste. And Xie Ge also felt that he probably wouldn’t be able to muster this courage again tonight.

So he crept off the bed, then crept around to the other side where Xu Miao was lying, crouched by the bedside, and leaned in slowly.

To avoid the mishap from last time, and to make sure he found Xu Miao’s lips correctly, Xie Ge didn’t close his eyes this time.

Bit by bit, the distance shrank, closer and closer, until Xie Ge could clearly smell the fragrance on Xu Miao’s skin—probably his shower gel, a faint jasmine scent.

But just as he was about to kiss, Xu Miao rolled over again, this time from his side to lying flat on his back.

Accidents one after another made Xie Ge start to hesitate. This felt too much like taking advantage while someone was defenseless—something an immoral person would do.

Maybe he could just wait until tomorrow when Xu Miao was awake, and ask him directly whether he’d agree to cooperate with the experiment.

If the experiment failed, then he could use the chance to bring up the idea of separating.

But still… why does Xu Miao even look this good while asleep?

No, wrong, why is he even thinking like this?

Ridiculous.

Xie Ge pressed his lips together, but still decided to give it one last try.

He stood up, leaned over, bracing his hands on both sides of Xu Miao’s body, and lowered his head.

Xu Miao’s breath was warm, brushing lightly against Xie Ge’s face. In a daze, Xie Ge started feeling dizzy. He suspected the central air conditioning was broken, that the room temperature had risen, hot enough to make him think he was sweating.

Worried that sweat would drip onto Xu Miao’s face and wake him up, he lifted a hand to wipe his forehead with the back of his hand—only to realize his forehead was completely dry.

He wasn’t sweating.

But Xu Miao had opened his eyes.

Xu Miao’s eyes were dark, beautiful in shape, and now staring straight into Xie Ge’s. Panic rose in Xie Ge’s chest. Just then, his wrist—the one holding his weight—accidentally brushed against Xu Miao’s shoulder. Suddenly, he lost strength and accidentally fell right onto Xu Miao.

That was how Xie Ge, so carefully trying not to disturb him, ended up waking Xu Miao.

Xu Miao, half-asleep, asked drowsily, “What’s wrong? Do you want to sleep holding me?”

Xie Ge then heard him let out a helpless sigh, before an arm wrapped around his neck, pulling him over to roll onto his side. Face to face, Xu Miao patted his back lightly:

“Didn’t you say ages ago you were tired? Now you’re being held, so sleep.”

It wasn’t until around two in the morning that Xie Ge finally felt sleepy.

The next day, naturally, he woke up late. By the time he opened his eyes, the space beside him was already empty.

A strange sense of familiarity rose up in him. For no reason, Xie Ge felt panicked at the scene before him, as though he had lived through something similar before—an event that had left him with heavy, unpleasant emotions.

He looked around but didn’t find any notes or sticky memos, so he quickly walked out of the bedroom.

He didn’t even know why he was searching. Maybe because if Xu Miao had suddenly disappeared, that would be a problem far more complicated than just a torn marriage certificate.

Thankfully, Xu Miao hadn’t vanished. When Xie Ge reached the living room, he saw Xu Miao sitting cross-legged on the carpet, leaning against the sofa, watching a movie.

So Xie Ge changed course and went to the bathroom to wash up.

When he returned to the living room, Xu Miao’s movie still wasn’t over.

Even without turning around, Xu Miao somehow seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He said to Xie Ge, who was about to head into the kitchen: “Breakfast is on the table. Auntie had something to do today, so I went out and bought it.”

Xie Ge casually asked, “Did you already eat?”

Xu Miao answered, “I don’t eat breakfast.”

As soon as he finished, Xie Ge blurted out: “If you’re not eating, then I won’t eat either.”

The movie that had been playing was finally paused. Xu Miao turned around, looked at him, and smiled lightly:

“Saying you forgot everything, but you didn’t forget how to use skipping meals as a way to threaten me. Are you really amnesiac, Xie Ge?”

Honestly, it was a bit awkward.

Xu Miao clearly noticed Xie Ge’s embarrassment, so he immediately added: “Just kidding. I already ate.”

Xie Ge didn’t want to talk anymore…

So for the entire morning, the sulking Xie Ge and the teasing Xu Miao each occupied their own space—bedroom and living room, separated like the River Jing and River Wei, not disturbing each other.

It wasn’t until lunchtime that Xie Ge came out of the bedroom. After wandering left and right, he found Xu Miao in the kitchen cutting vegetables. Moving fast—maybe in just a few seconds—he was at Xu Miao’s side, snatching away the sharp-looking knife from his hand.

“I’ll do it,” Xie Ge heard himself say.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he froze, and only then did his brain react: Do what? Do you even know how to cook?

After his brain asked, Xie Ge followed up by asking Xu Miao, “Why do I feel like I can cook? Can I cook?”

Xu Miao started laughing. “Good question.”

As he said that, he pulled out his phone right under Xie Ge’s nose, opening their chat history to look for records. Panicked that Xu Miao might play some unbearable voice message, Xie Ge hurriedly stopped him.

“Pretend I didn’t ask.”

Thirty-five minutes later, Xie Ge set down the last dish and sat across from Xu Miao. At that moment, he felt he really couldn’t stay in this house with Xu Miao any longer—it was dangerous.

So, while Xu Miao wasn’t paying attention, he secretly set an alarm, answered it five minutes later, pretended to talk for a bit, then told Xu Miao a friend had an emergency and he had to go out. He wouldn’t be eating lunch with Xu Miao, and wouldn’t be coming back for dinner either.

Xu Miao didn’t object, just said okay.

And so Xie Ge quickly left.

The restaurant he often went to was open, and since there weren’t many customers, he chose a seat by the window.

Years had passed, but the restaurant hadn’t changed much—neither the service nor the taste.

Finally, Xie Ge calmed himself and enjoyed a meal free from Xu Miao’s interference. But when it came time to pay, he was horrified to discover that he had less than 300 yuan on him—barely enough to cover the restaurant’s service charge.

The waiter remained polite and considerate, kindly reminding him that if there was a payment problem, he could always contact family or friends for help.

Xie Ge called Xie Min. His younger brother said, “Bro, I’m your little brother. What kind of older brother borrows money from his younger brother? Do you even have a face? And even if you did, I don’t have any money anyway—my girlfriend controls all of it.”

So Xie Ge had to call his mother, only to be rejected again.

“You’re married now. How can you still be asking your parents for money? If you want pocket money, ask your wife.”

After those two calls, the waiter was still smiling patiently at his side. It was too embarrassing. So Xie Ge had no choice but to take his mother’s advice, grit his teeth, and call Xu Miao.

The call connected quickly. Flustered, Xie Ge said:

“You… give me some money.”

Xu Miao asked: “Who are you?”

“I’m Xie Ge.”

“And who am I?”

“…Xu Miao.”

“And who am I?” Xu Miao repeated.

Xie Ge understood what he meant. Word by word, almost dragged out of his throat, he said:“Wife… give me some pocket money, okay?”