Chapter 22: “Liang Xun, I Can’t Sleep”
“What’s the big rush?” Xiao Yuanzhou complained, lounging on the chaise lounge, his long legs propped up on the armrest like he owned the place. He watched Ning Chen hurry around, tidying up and eager to close the shop for the day, and his impatience grew. “Chenchen, ever since that high school desk-mate of yours showed up, you’ve closed the shop early three days in a row. Which means we also haven’t had a moment to ourselves for three days straight. When is he leaving?”
“It’s not often Huaiyi gets to visit. I don’t want him to leave so soon,” Ning Chen replied without turning around, locking a cabinet door.
Xiao Yuanzhou was instantly displeased, his spoiled-rich-kid temper flaring. “It’s not often I get to visit either! How come you’re not this enthusiastic about me?”
Ning Chen straightened up and looked at Xiao Yuanzhou, his calm gaze feeling almost tangible.
Xiao Yuanzhou shrank back slightly, reluctantly shutting his mouth.
Everyone else chooses their lover over their friends. Why was it the other way around for him?
Wait, what if Jian Huaiyi is also the “lover” in this equation?
A jolt went through Xiao Yuanzhou, and his brow furrowed even deeper.
A light, fleeting kiss, like a feather brushing against his cheek, broke him out of his thoughts. Realizing what it was, Xiao Yuanzhou’s gloom vanished, replaced by a surprised delight. “Chenchen,” he breathed.
Ning Chen wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, turning his face away from Xiao Yuanzhou.
“Huaiyi is my friend, but he also saved me. Without him, I might not have even finished high school, and I never would have met you. So be nice to him, understand?”
Xiao Yuanzhou’s heart melted into a puddle. “I understand,” he answered quickly. “Can I have another kiss, Chenchen?”
Ning Chen: …
Thanks to Xiao Yuanzhou’s pestering, they closed up nearly half an hour later than planned.
Jian Huaiyi was waiting at the entrance to the art museum.
“Huaiyi!” Ning Chen called out, jogging over to him. “Sorry we’re late. Have you been waiting long?”
Jian Huaiyi’s eyes swept over Ning Chen’s slightly swollen red lips. “Not really.”
“Let’s go, then.”
“Okay.”
Upon learning that Jian Huaiyi would be in Vancouver for half a month, Ning Chen had volunteered to be his tour guide, vowing to show him all the sights and make sure his trip was unforgettable.
That evening, after dinner at a local restaurant, Ning Chen suggested a walk through Stanley Park. A post-meal stroll, he argued, was good for longevity.
Jian Huaiyi didn’t disagree.
The park was filled with towering redwoods, and its center was encircled by a bay where the water and sky merged into one, just as picturesque as described in books.
Ning Chen took the camera from Xiao Yuanzhou and aimed it at Jian Huaiyi. “Huaiyi, let me take a picture of you!”
Xiao Yuanzhou’s eyes turned red with jealousy again.
He whipped out his phone and started typing furiously.
He fired off twenty messages, but Liang Xun didn’t even reply with a single period.
Xiao Yuanzhou: ?
Still no reply from Liang Xun.
Xiao Yuanzhou took a deep breath, switched to his alternate account, and started messaging Liang Xun again.
As the night deepened, Xiao Yuanzhou drove them back, dropping Jian Huaiyi at his hotel first.
“Huaiyi, I’ll get the photos developed for you tomorrow,” Ning Chen said, rolling down the window and sticking his head out to say goodbye.
Before he could finish, another, larger hand reached out and pushed his head back inside.
The car window slowly rolled up.
The black G-Wagon sped off into the night, its exhaust fumes dissipating until it vanished from sight.
Jian Huaiyi shoved his hands in his pockets and walked towards the hotel.
“Jean!”
A man’s voice called out from the side.
Jian Huaiyi stopped and frowned slightly as he saw the tall man approaching.
It was the guy who had hit on him at the bar.
“Just getting back from a night out with your friends?” the man asked, trying to sound familiar.
Jian Huaiyi had no desire to talk to him and gave a cold, curt nod.
“I know Vancouver really well. I could be your guide, Jean,” the man offered eagerly.
“No, thanks,” Jian Huaiyi replied in English.
The rejection was obvious, but the man either didn’t get it or didn’t care, and began showing off his knowledge of Vancouver.
Jian Huaiyi couldn’t be bothered to engage with someone who couldn’t take a hint.
The moonlight was bright, casting a cold glow over his long eyelashes. With a cool expression, Jian Huaiyi turned and walked straight into the hotel lobby.
“Wait, Jean,” the man said, hurrying after him.
His eyes landed on the youth’s exceptional profile, and a look of awe crossed his face.
He was better looking than any of his last dozen exes.
The moment he’d first seen Jian Huaiyi at the bar, the man had been determined to have him. He’d used his tried-and-true pickup techniques, hoping to at least get his contact information, but he never expected Jian Huaiyi to be so completely unreceptive. He’d been shot down cold.
But he hadn’t given up, which is why he’d followed Jian Huaiyi all the way to his hotel.
The man, nearly six-foot-three, stepped in front of Jian Huaiyi, blocking his path like a small mountain.
“Jean, your eyes are more beautiful than the stars over Granville Island, like an oasis in the Sahara Desert. I can’t help but be drawn to you,” the man confessed in clumsy Mandarin, then suddenly switched to English. “Be with me, Jean. I’m very good. I’ll make you feel good.”
Jian Huaiyi lifted his gaze, and under the man’s burning stare, his thin lips parted. “Piss off.”
The man’s expression changed instantly. He had never been treated like this before. Humiliation turned to anger, and he grabbed Jian Huaiyi’s arm to stop him from leaving.
“Jean—”
Before he could finish, another hand seized his wrist.
The veins on the back of that hand popped as it forcibly pried the man’s fingers off Jian Huaiyi’s arm and flung his hand aside.
“Fuck!” the man cursed.
Liang Xun’s face was grim, an intimidating pressure radiating from him. His gaze was sharp. “Get lost.”
Clearly outmatched, the man shot them both a venomous glare and left, unwillingly.
A cool breeze blew past. The streetlights were on, casting two shadows on the ground.
The shadows faced each other.
“Liang Xun,” Jian Huaiyi said, his voice laced with surprise. His eyes shimmered as he stared at the man in the trench coat before him. “What are you doing here?”
“Business trip,” Liang Xun said.
Jian Huaiyi didn’t doubt him. He lowered his eyes and murmured, “What a coincidence.”
“Who was that just now?” Liang Xun’s brow was sharp, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.
“Some idiot who hit on me at the bar,” Jian Huaiyi said dismissively.
Liang Xun frowned, a nagging feeling that he was missing something.
The front desk said there were no vacant rooms, so Liang Xun had to stay with Jian Huaiyi.
Jian Huaiyi was unbuttoning his collar when the reality of the situation belatedly hit him.
“Liang Xun, you came here on a business trip without booking a hotel in advance?”
Liang Xun’s movements paused. He bent down to pick up a towel that had fallen on the floor. “Assistant Qin’s mistake,” he said in a low voice.
Across the ocean, Assistant Qin sneezed. He pulled a tissue from the box on his desk, elegantly wiped his fingers, and continued to process the tasks Liang Xun had left him before his departure.
Jian Huaiyi nodded in understanding. So, Assistant Qin had forgotten.
Still, it was strange that someone as competent as Assistant Qin would forget something as simple as booking a hotel.
See? Work really does rot the brain.
Liang Xun’s trip to Vancouver had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. He hadn’t brought any luggage; he was even still wearing the clothes he’d had on in City A. Just a thin trench coat. He looked cold.
“You didn’t bring any luggage?”
“I’m only staying for two days. No need.”
“Aren’t you cold?”
“It’s fine.”
Sometimes, Jian Huaiyi really had to admire Liang Xun’s physical resilience. The temperature was only a few degrees above freezing, yet he wasn’t cold in just a thin coat.
Jian Huaiyi handed Liang Xun a set of disposable toiletries he’d found. As his fingertips brushed against Liang Xun’s palm, he felt the warmth of his skin.
He really wasn’t cold.
The room was a single, which meant there was only one single bed. The bed was half the size of the one in his villa, so there was certainly no room to put a pillow down the middle.
Good thing he was used to it by now.
The pillow was in his heart.
They lay down on their respective sides, shoulders touching. Jian Huaiyi closed his eyes, then opened them again two minutes later.
The person beside him was like a giant furnace. He’d never noticed it before with the pillow between them, but Liang Xun radiated a constant, steady heat, like an electric heater.
“Liang Xun.”
Jian Huaiyi nudged him with his elbow. Liang Xun wasn’t asleep either. His dark eyes were fixed on a circle on the ceiling. He grunted a low acknowledgment.
“I can’t sleep,” Jian Huaiyi said.
Liang Xun’s heart instantly tightened. A vein popped on his forearm, which was resting on his abs, and he curled his palms into fists.
“…Mm.”
The air was quiet. The hotel’s soundproofing was poor; if he pressed his ear to the pillow, he could even hear the conversation from the next room.
After a moment, Liang Xun’s lips tightened. “Should we… do something?” he asked, his voice a little strained.
Jian Huaiyi: ?
“Yes.”
Liang Xun’s jaw tensed, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists.
“Move over a bit. You’re burning up. You’re so hot I can’t sleep,” Jian Huaiyi said, his face expressionless.
Liang Xun unclenched his sweaty palms and pushed himself over to the side.
The single bed was small. With that one move, more than half of Liang Xun’s leg was now dangling in the air. He turned onto his side, his arm tucked under his head, his back to Jian Huaiyi.
It was an incredibly awkward sleeping position.
Jian Huaiyi closed his eyes, a wave of drowsiness washing over him.
He glanced at Liang Xun, who he had practically pushed halfway off the bed.
Jian Huaiyi: …
“You’re going to fall off. Just move back.”
Liang Xun didn’t budge.
“I’m cold,” Jian Huaiyi said.
Liang Xun rolled back over, lying flat on his back.
A continuous stream of warmth, like the heat of a summer day, enveloped Jian Huaiyi, carrying with it the man’s unique hormonal scent. His breathing gradually evened out.
Late in the night, a long, soft sigh of relief echoed in the room.
Ning Chen was at the counter developing the photos he had taken of Jian Huaiyi the day before. Xiao Yuanzhou casually picked one up and studied it. In the photo, the young man had a cool, distant expression, almost unreal.
The more he looked, the more familiar he seemed.
“Chenchen, has your desk-mate ever been to San Francisco?”
“Why do you ask?” Ning Chen looked up, puzzled.
Xiao Yuanzhou stroked his chin. “I just feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.”
Hiss… where was it?
Jian Huaiyi wasn’t going to the salon today; he planned to head straight to Ning Chen’s studio. Just as he finished getting ready, Liang Xun returned.
“Forget something?”
“Finished my business,” Liang Xun said, looking at Jian Huaiyi. “Are you heading out?”
“To see a friend.”
“Okay.” Liang Xun placed the milk he’d bought on the table. It had taken him several supermarkets to find that particular brand.
Jian Huaiyi was quite moved. “Have you eaten?”
“No.”
“Want to come with me?”
“Sure,” Liang Xun replied.
The two of them went to Ning Chen’s photography studio together.
Xiao Yuanzhou was helping Ning Chen hang picture frames when he saw a familiar figure reflected in the glass. He stared.
“Holy shit!”
Ning Chen: ?
“My bro came to find me for a drink!” Xiao Yuanzhou exclaimed, both touched and surprised.
Ning Chen: ?
He never thought Liang Xun would actually take his joke on WeChat seriously.
His brain really does work better after the amnesia!
Xiao Yuanzhou eagerly opened the door, sticking his handsome face between the two newcomers.
“Surprise, bro!”
Liang Xun paused, his dark eyes fixing on the suddenly-appeared Xiao Yuanzhou, then constricting in shock.
Recommended Reads
![Those Years When the Son of Destiny Was Severely Scammed [Quick Transmigration]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/QUICK-TRANSMIGRATION1-214x300.jpg)
![[Esports] I Started an Online Romance with a Big Shot After Retiring](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/esports.jpg)
