Chapter 39 - Relapse (1/2)
Chapter 39: Relapse
Translated by Shiya of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
When Li Sui got home, no one was in the living room. Only the bedside lamp was still turned on in their bedroom, Lu Shang had already fallen asleep.
Li Sui walked inside quietly, he sat on the side of the bed. When Lu Shang slept, he always tended to curl himself up, whichever made Li Sui want to hug him from behind. The lights inside the room were dim, half of the sleeping person’s face was buried in the pillow, his bangs were randomly laid on his forehead, his lips were slightly pursed together, and they were a bit white. Li Sui had already seen Lu Shang’s sleeping face for a million times, yet he still managed to get enchanted by it every time. After immersing himself at the moment for a bit, Li Sui couldn’t help but reach his hand out to brush Lu Shang’s scattered bangs away, then leaned into land a soft kiss on Lu Shang’s forehead. After that, Li Sui carefully pulled the blanket up before he went to the bathroom to wash himself up.
Sometimes Li Sui found it odd, he always heard people say that love was something that fades. The longer two people were together, the blander their relationship would become. However, even over years of staying by Lu Shang’s side, he only found himself becoming more affectionate as he learned more about him. Lu Shang’s every move, the way he spoke, the angle of his smile, and everything about him enchanted Li Sui. Li Sui wouldn’t be fed up nor bored, even if he were to sit here all-day watching Lu Shang.
Li Sui kept the showering noise to the bare minimum, but when he finished, Lu Shang was still awake, Lu Shang was squinting his eyes and looking at Li Sui.
“Did I wake you up?” Li Sui sounded apologetic, he climbed onto the bed and hugged Lu Shang from behind.
A wave of hot air spread towards Lu Shang, he leaned on Li Sui’s arm and took a little sniff, “There’s less alcoholic smell on you than I thought there’d be.”
“I only had a little, brother Zuo said he was going to drink less alcohol.” Li Sui kissed Lu Shang’s ear, then said, “I bought a tank for your turtle, it’s downstairs.”
Lu Shang just gave a soft “hand,” Lu Shang’s voice was a little stuffy, Li Sui noticed and raised his head a little, asking, “Do you have a cold?”
“No, I’m just sleepy.” Lu Shang turned around to face Li Sui.
Li Sui saw that Lu Shang’s eyelids were drooping, his eyelashes seemed to be batting slightly as well. That got Li Sui cautious, he said with certainty, “There’s something on your mind.”
Lu Shang was a bit shocked, then he clasped onto Li Sui’s hand, he said in a soft voice, “Li Sui. We can’t have kids, do you find that unfortunate.”
Li Sui didn’t expect he’d say this, so he froze.
“If you want a child, you can go find a surrogate.” Lu Shang added, “I don’t mind.”
Lu Shang was speaking with sincerity, but Li Sui didn’t like what he was hearing. Li Sui knew that Lu Shang must be thinking about this all of a sudden because of Zuo Chao, though Lu Shang never seemed to be scared of dying, in truth, he did think about it a lot. Lu Shang was most likely scared that when he died one day, Li Sui will be all alone. If they had a child though, at least Li Sui would still have a family left, that could at least be a comfort.
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Li Sui felt soreness in his nose, the second he imagined Lu Shang thinking about things like this made his heartache. Li Sui extended his arms to pull Lu Shang into a tight embrace, “You know how much I love you, no one can replace that, not even my offspring. I don’t want to share the love I have for you with anyone, no matter if it’s now or in the future, my love is all yours.”
Lu Shang seemed to want to say something else. Li Sui tightened his arms and cut him off, he said, “Okay, don’t mention this again from now on. If you like children, let’s be Zuo Chao’s kid’s godfathers. You can be the godfather, and I will be ‘god dad.’ What do you say about that?”
“I think the child will have a financial crisis when we get old,” Lu Shang said with a smile.
Li Sui relaxed his arm and stroked Lu Shang’s head, “There is me, I will take care of you.”
The two of them cuddled each other for a while, chatting a bit about company things. Neither of them was sleepy; Lu Shang slept too much during the day, and Li Sui was too excited from all the talking, his stomach growled so he got up to make them both a late-night snack.
“It’s late. Red meat is hard to digest, so I’ll fry you a fish steak,” Li Sui said as he rummaged through the refrigerator.
“Hmm,” Lu Shang answered while sitting on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket. He was looking at Li Sui, almost like a little bird waiting to be fed.
“Why didn’t you touch dinner? Were you feeling sick?” Li Sui was only wearing a thin shirt and an apron, his sharp shoulder blades were showing.
“I forgot.”
Li Sui took a bit of time to glance back at Lu Shang, he found Lu Shang staring at him. Li Sui smiled as he said, “Why are you looking at me?”
“You’re good to look at,” said Lu Shang with a faint smile. After a short pause, he added, “I want to look at you some more.”
Li Sui had an odd feeling, Lu Shang rarely use this tone to speak, but maybe people got more emotional late at night, so he didn’t put much thought into it. Seeing Lu Shang wrapped himself tighter in the blanket, Li Sui asked, “Are you cold? I’ll get you a coat.”
Lu Shang shook his head, but Li Sui was still worried. After turning the stove off, he quickly went upstairs to get a thick, goose feather coat. Li Sui covered him up with the jacket, leaving only his head to be shown.
“Wait. I’ll feed you soon.” Li Sui combed Lu Shang’s hair tidy with his hand and laughed.
The fish steak was delivered here only this evening, so it was very fresh. The bones were shaved clean, and the fishy smell was removed with Brandy, it was seasoned with a bit of lemon juice and pepper. The fragrance sipped out almost immediately after the met was put on the frying pan. Li Sui didn’t add much seasoning, the amount of oil and salt added were not hefty either. The meat was tender and easy to digest,
perfect for a late-night snake.
Li Sui propped his head up with his hand, his elbow on the table. He was sitting on the opposite side of Lu Shang, watching him eating the food slowly and elegantly, and he felt content in his heart. In his mind, enjoying life was nothing grand. The simple act of cooking a meal with all his heart and feeding his lover was more than enough.
“Have you eaten enough?” Li Sui waited for Lu Shang to finish eating, then smiled as he pulled out a piece of paper towel for Lu Shang to clean his mouth.
Lu Shang nodded and looked at the glass tank on the coffee table.
“It’s for the little turtle, do you want to move it now?”
Lu Shang shook his head, “Tomorrow.” After replying, he went for Li Sui’s hand and said, “I’m sleepy now, accompany me to bed?”
“You’ve just eaten, so you should do some exercise.” Though Li Sui lectured him about that, he still let Lu Shang lead him to the bedroom passively.
Lu Shang seemed to have thought of something and turned around with a faint smile, “Then let’s ‘exercise.’”
At the end of the day, they didn’t “exercise.” Though Lu Shang suggested it, Li Sui knew that his complexion was not good, his lips were white, and his legs were swelling a bit as well. So after washing up, Li Sui massaged Lu Shang’s acupoints, and they hugged each other to sleep afterward.