Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As she sucked the thumb on her right hand, she kept rubbing her left hand all over his face.
Cheng Zhiyan stared at her for a while without saying anything, then reached out to remove her hand from his face and turned to sleep farther away from her.
Just when he was about to doze off, Xiaotu suddenly shot up in bed.
Cheng Zhiyan instantly felt all his drowsiness vanish. He turned around to see that Xiaotu’s eyes were tightly closed and her head was tilted backward. She didn’t show the slightest sign of awakening.
“What is going on? Maybe this little rascal walks in her sleep?”
Cheng Zhiyan gazed at her in bewilderment, hesitated for a moment, and called out in a low voice, “Xiaotu?”
“…”
Still not responding, Xiaotu’s head wobbled. She suddenly started crawling toward him on all fours.
When she’d crawled all the way over to him, she suddenly paused, and then, without any warning, her head fell onto Cheng Zhiyan’s stomach with a heavy thud.
Cheng Zhiyan’s stomach was really hurt. After the pain finally subsided, he glanced down to see that the little culprit was lying face-up on his stomach, continuing to sleep sweetly and soundly, using his stomach as a pillow.
……
It was eight o’clock in the morning, and Zhou Yue felt a bit confused as she stood outside Cheng Zhiyan’s bedroom door. He usually got up at seven o’clock. How come today she hadn’t heard a sound at such a late hour? She knocked softly on the door, yet there was still no movement or noise coming from inside.
Zhou Yue hesitated for a moment more, before she finally reached out and gently pushed open the bedroom door.
Inside the room, the warm sunlight shone upon the brown floor through the window curtains. A cool breeze from the air conditioner ruffled the bedding. On the big bed in the middle of the room, two little figures were sprawled every which way as they slept together.
Cheng Zhiyan’s body was lying in a horizontal position on the bed, and Xiaotu’s head was resting on his stomach. Her hands were extended straightly outward like a cross as she lay there fast asleep.
“Ahhhh, these two kids are simply way too cuuute!”
As she stood in the doorway watching them, she suddenly felt that this was a precious moment that had to be captured with a camera, so she rushed back to her bedroom to grab a camera.
…
Later, after he’d woken up, Cheng Zhiyan discovered that his entire body felt sore. It was aching and extremely tired, as if he’d just run 20 miles.
As he watched the energetic Xiaotu talking with his mother animatedly over the breakfast table, he couldn’t help but sigh and wonder when these days of misery would finally end.
“What’s wrong? Why are you sighing so early in the morning?” Zhou Yue carried two plates in her hands as she walked toward them. The plate with the fried egg on it was for Cheng Zhiyan, while the plate with the omelette on it was for Xiaotu.
“I’m finished considering it.” Cheng Zhiyan picked up his chopsticks listlessly, poked at the fried egg on his plate, and lowered his voice. “I don’t want Xiaotu to be my girlfriend.”
“What?” Xiaotu and Zhou Yue lifted their heads at the same time and asked Cheng Zhiyan the same question in unison.
“The way she sleeps is just too horrible. I don’t like it.” Without even glancing at them, Cheng Zhiyan put one hand on his chin, while his other hand continued to poke at the fried egg on his plate.
“How can that possibly count as a legitimate reason?” Zhou Yue stared at him as she asked in amusement.
“I’ve heard that after two people marry each other, they have to sleep together forever,” Cheng Zhiyan said to Zhou Yue in a matter-of-fact tone.