Even though it was electronic, it was inconvenient for the pet to be kept in the bedroom.
Xie Shuo supported himself up without speaking. His expression was cold, and it was clear that he wasn’t happy.
But that was obvious: no man would be happy if he was interrupted at such a time.
Ye An looked at him and thought to herself: don’t blame me; you bought this robot penguin yourself.
After waiting for a while, but before Xie Shuo had made any more moves, Ye An curled her legs up, feeling somewhat chilly. She pulled her shoulder straps back up and rearranged her dress.
Xie Shuo also moved to the side when he heard her movements. The hem of his shirt was pulled out of the waistband of his pants, and his collar was popped open, revealing some of his collarbones–a faint red mark was visible on his neck.
The two sat on opposite ends of the sofa, silent, sobered, and embarrassed.
Xie Shuo sat with his legs apart and a hand on each knee. The tension on his face didn’t go away.
Ye An held her legs and glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. Noticing his reaction, she asked, “Are you… okay?”
Xie Shuo frowned and remained silent, his jaw tight.
After a while, he stood up and walked to the closet to get some clothes and then shower.
Ye An hurriedly followed behind him and helped him get arranged.
Not long after, the sound of running water came from the bathroom. Ye An returned to the sofa and sat down again, the situation from just then flashing through her mind. Her ears were hot, and she covered her face out of embarrassment.
Was he drunk tonight too?
Honestly speaking, Ye An understood Xie Shuo’s indifference to her. Although they were married, he couldn’t see her. To him, she was a stranger without a face.
If she put herself in his shoes, she too would be unable to accept getting married to a random man as her husband if she were to ever go blind.
Moreover, he had been handsome and successful since childhood, so it was inevitable that he would be somewhat arrogant. Now, this version of him was the result of spending every day together for half a year.
He was slowly accepting their relationship, right?
———-
Because of this interaction, the two were awkward as they went to bed after showering. Ye An, especially, felt uncomfortable no matter how she moved her arms and legs.
She wrapped herself in the comforter while tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
She suddenly heard Xie Shuo’s voice from the other side, “You can’t sleep?”
Ye An looked at him and hesitated for a while. She leaned closer to his side and said softly, “I was thinking that before your eyes heal, how about we try to work things out… as husband and wife?”
Although she had been looking forward to his eyes healing sooner rather than later, no one could say whether that day would come. They couldn’t continue with this current dynamic forever.
After a while, Grandpa Xie and Xie Baiyan would definitely know that something was wrong with how awkward they were.
Since nothing could change, why not try to move on?
After Ye An finished speaking, she waited a while for a response.
Their surroundings were silent.
She also didn’t know why she brought up such a proposal. Perhaps it was because of the alcohol, or maybe it was because the atmosphere tonight was right.
Just as she was about to accept the silence as his response, the voice from beside her suddenly sounded:
“Okay.”
Ye An froze in shock. She hugged his arm happily, and the corners of her lips curved up.
In this position, Xie Shuo could feel the softness of her chest pressed against him and smell her faint fragrance by his pillow. His eyelashes fluttered, and the feeling that had subsided before seemed to rise again.
However, before he could move, there was a sudden sharp pain in his eyes that also spread towards the back of his head. It felt as if hands were his nerves and caused his ears to ring.
He squeezed his eyes shut and turned sideways in pain, gripping the sheets tightly with his fists.
Ye An was happily hugging him, but when she noticed something was wrong, she hurriedly sat up. “Are you okay?”
Nothing was visible in the dark.
The room suddenly lit up when Ye An managed to turn on the light. When she turned around, she saw how his brows were furrowed, his lips were pale, and the veins on his neck were bulging.
“Did you forget to take your medicine?” Ye An hurriedly helped him sit up. “Or is it because you drank tonight?”
Xie Shuo didn’t respond, enduring the pain with a muffled voice.
Ye An no longer asked him questions and got out of bed to pour him a glass of water. She brought him some medicine and fed it to him.
She embraced him and pressed her fingers against his temples, massaging him as usual.
“Don’t drink from now on, not a single drop…”
After a while, Xie Shuo gradually calmed down, and his expression softened.
He seemed to have had more frequent headaches recently. Ye An was worried and asked, “Should we go see Professor Cen again soon?”
Xie Shuo leaned on her shoulder and replied with a small, “En.” He was able to smell the faint scent of her body wash on her.
There seemed to be a faint light coming in from his closed eyes. He tried to open his eyelids, but was too exhausted, so he could only keep them closed. His long eyelashes covered the shadows and light.
Seeing that he had closed his eyes, Ye An carefully helped him lie down and covered him with the comforter.
She sat and watched him for a while to make sure everything was fine before turning the light off and laying down next to him.
She leaned on his shoulder interlocked his fingers with hers.
Xie Shuo kept his eyes closed and began to feel drowsy. He fell asleep not long after.
The night was quiet, and the moonlight shone calmly in the cold mist outside the window.
——
That night, Xie Shuo slept very deeply. When he woke up, the sun had already risen and flooded in through their French windows.
His eyelashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes as usual.
However, as opposed to the endless darkness, a piercing light suddenly entered his eyes.
His eyes weren’t used to such sudden stimulation, and after a burst of stimulus, he closed his eyes and opened them again. He repeated this process several times before finally feeling better.
When he saw the light in front of him, he was stunned.
Everything was so sudden, so he couldn’t tell if he was dreaming or not.
Fate always seemed to be like this. Everything was unexpected and abrupt.
It was similar to his car accident, which had happened without warning. After going unconscious, he woke up to a world of darkness.
No matter how much he struggled, how angry he was, or how deep his resentment was, it didn’t help.
The arrogance he had from the first half of his life was gone.
He had fallen to his lowest point and had never seen the light of day again.
However, just when he became accustomed to such darkness, he now woke up to how the world looked like before.
As if the long period of darkness had been nothing but a nightmare.
On a random day, he had just woken up from a nightmare.
At first, he could only see a white blur and a faint halo of color. However, as the light gradually faded away, the scene became clear.
He saw the light-colored comforter, the dark sofa, the bright floor-to-ceiling windows…
After some length of time, familiar footsteps sounded, and her figure appeared.
A young woman.
She wore a plain white nightdress. She was slender, and her black her was draped around her shoulders. Under the skirt, her calves were fair and slender.
She pushed the windows opened, shuffled into her slippers, and walked onto the balcony. The sun was shining brightly, and she turned around.
From this angle, he could see her delicate side profile. Her proportions were just right; her eyebrows were slender and curved. The bridge of her nose was straight as jade, and her red lips were charming and dainty.
The warm sun shone on her face, making her skin look like snow, translucent and delicate. A faint brilliance floated around her, and a halo was slightly visible.
She closed her eyes and took a breath of fresh air. In the sunlight, she seemed to have a transcendent beauty.
After you regain your sight, who is the first person you want to see?
Xie Shuo had thought about this question many times. He had imagined the scene in which he would regain his sight, and he had also imagined the scene in which he would see her for the first time. However, he never imagined that it would be during such a mundane moment.
Mundane yet unexpected.
As the ice and snow of a cold winter season melted silently, you might open a window. If you don’t pay attention, you will miss the flowers beginning to bloom outside the window and the flowing sounds from the streams of springwater.
Xie Shuo leaned against the headboard and looked at her quietly.
Seeming to notice the movement in the room, she suddenly turned around to face him. A bright smile blossomed across her lips, and her features were glowing.
“Morning.”
