Chapter 26: Sharing a Bed p1
Zhong Yan’s words were as casual as a comment on the weather, but the blatant declaration of “wife” almost gave Shi An a heart attack.
Of course, Feng Hui wasn’t any less shocked, “You’re… married?”
Zhong Yan’s arm tightened around Shi An’s waist, like a declaration of ownership, “Otherwise?”
Feng Hui wasn’t giving up, “I remember Dr. Shi being single.”
He had inquired beforehand; this wasn’t a reckless confession.
Zhong Yan’s words hit him like a slap, “He was single, but I proposed last night, and he accepted.”
“So suddenly?”
“Love is always sudden.” Zhong Yan turned his head and twirled a strand of Shi An’s hair, “Wife, am I right?”
“…Yes, you’re right.”
Shi An’s back was drenched in sweat. If Zhong Yan called him “wife” again, he would ascend to heaven on the spot, even adrenaline wouldn’t help.
“Oh right,” Zhong Yan, enjoying his role-playing, said to Feng Hui, “We just got our marriage certificate this morning, want to see it?”
Shi An was sweating bullets, the wig feeling like it was taking root in his scalp.
“No need.” Feng Hui’s face went through a myriad of changes, finally settling on a blush of shame, “I’m sorry, I was presumptuous today.”
“This is for you, a small token of my congratulations.” Feng Hui offered the roses again, “Wishing you a happy marriage and eternal happiness.”
Zhong Yan readily accepted, “Thank you.”
Shi An stood frozen, as if struck by lightning.
Thank. You. Very. Much.
The farce ended, but Zhong Yan’s arm was still around his waist.
Shi An shifted, “Can you let go now?”
Zhong Yan held him tighter, continuing to walk, “He’s still watching, we can’t blow our cover.”
“How could he still be…” Shi An turned his head.
Damn it, he really hadn’t left.
Was he that devoted?
Shi An took a deep breath, “Can you loosen your grip? You’re hurting me.”
Zhong Yan let go, his hand moving to Shi An’s waist to massage it, thoughtfully like a proper husband, “Better?”
“Bet… ter.”
Zhong Yan’s palm felt like it was covered in downy feathers, rubbing against Shi An’s waist, making him itch.
Shi An moved away, “Can you please stop calling me that?”
The feathery hand followed, continuing to massage his waist, “Calling you what?”
Shi An forced out the words, his tongue almost burning, “Call… ing… me… wife.”
“What else should I call you?” Zhong Yan lifted his hair, “Dressed like a woman, want to be called ‘hubby’ instead?”
Shi An felt like he had been thrown into boiling water, his whole body bubbling.
This man had no sense of propriety!
“The best way to defeat a man is to make him lose completely,” Zhong Yan said, “Announcing that you’re married is the most efficient method.”
Shi An didn’t understand, “Since he already lost, why mention the marriage certificate?”
Single the day before yesterday, proposed to yesterday, married today, it was like playing house, utterly fake.
Zhong Yan said, “The method doesn’t matter, whether it’s real or fake doesn’t matter either. He’s not stupid, the more outrageous it is, the clearer the message.”
Using such an exaggerated lie to reject someone was a death sentence for any admirer.
Shi An: “What if he really asks to see the marriage certificate?”
“The nearest Civil Affairs Bureau is eight minutes away by car. It’s not crowded at this hour, with our IDs, we can get one in ten minutes.”
Shi An jumped away from him, his eyes wide, “You… what are you trying to do?”
“Have you thought about it?” Zhong Yan’s words sounded like a joke, “Come with me after work.”
Shi An almost called the police, “I’m not going, I’m not playing with you!”
“Why so nervous, afraid I’ll force you into prostitution?”
Shi An squawked like a startled parrot, “You’re crazy!”
Zhong Yan burst out laughing, “I’m just kidding, I’m taking you to dinner.”
Shi An kept his distance, not letting his guard down, “Why? What’s the occasion?”
“To find a restaurant better than the one next door, so you won’t be tricked away by a free meal.”
Shi An: “I’m not that stupid.”
Zhong Yan: “Better safe than sorry.”
Back in the locker room, Zhong Yan helped him take off the wig, “Take this back, don’t wear it again.”
“I think it’s quite useful.”
“Useful or not, you’re not allowed to wear it outside,” Zhong Yan emphasized.
Shi An put the wig back in the bag, “I know.”
Before leaving, Zhong Yan handed him the roses, “Here, happy wedding, may you be forever happy.”
Shi An: “…”
Crazy.
After dinner at the upscale restaurant, Zhong Yan drove back.
After passing two intersections, Shi An realized something was wrong, “Why are we at my house?”
Zhong Yan: “Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve.”
Shi An: “But I still have work in the morning.”
The emergency department only had shift rotations, no holidays.
Zhong Yan: “You have the day off.”
Shi An: “What about you?”
“I’m working.”
“Aren’t our schedules synchronized?”
Zhong Yan: “I’m a full-time doctor, I have to follow the rules. You’re just a resident, I wouldn’t be that cruel.”
Shi An thought, finally realized you’re cruel?
Zhong Yan stopped the car in front of Shi An’s house, “Or do you want to work overtime? I don’t mind.”
“No, no need.” Shi An opened the car door, “Dr. Zhong, Happy New Year, bye.”
“It’s not New Year’s yet, we’ll say that tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir!”
Shi An dashed upstairs and disappeared within three seconds.
Thanks to Zhong Yan’s sudden kindness, Shi An slept until the afternoon on New Year’s Eve.
While they were preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner, the courier knocked on the door, “Mr. Shi, your same-city express delivery.”
It was a large box full of seafood, lobsters, crabs, shellfish, all Shi An’s favorites. Even without a signature, he knew who it was from.
Grandma leaned closer, “An An, did you win the lottery? Why buy so much?”
“No, it’s from my mentor.”
Grandma: “Oh my, how much did this cost?”
Mother Shi said, “Call your teacher and thank him, send him something in a couple of days.”
Shi An looked at his watch, “He’s still busy, I’ll call him later.”
Grandma carried the lobster box to the kitchen, “Such a good doctor, we should invite him over for dinner sometime.”
Mother Shi muttered, “What should we send your teacher?”
Zhong Yan hadn’t gotten off work yet, so Shi An just sent a text message.
“Received the package, thank you. I only owed you lobster, why so many varieties?”
Within half a minute, Shi An received a reply.
Zhong Yan: “The rest is a New Year’s gift.”
Zhong Yan: “But don’t eat too much, you’ll get a stomachache.”
“I know. Is the department busy today?”
Zhong Yan: “Come keep me company?”
Shi An’s heart pounded, his fingers numb as he typed.
“If you’re really busy, I’ll…”
Before he could finish typing, a message popped up:
Zhong Yan: “Not busy, stay home.”
Zhong Yan: “Talk to you later.”
After dinner, his mother and grandmother watched the Spring Festival Gala. Shi An usually played video games on New Year’s Eve, but this year, afraid of missing the timing, he sat with them, bored.
Shi An’s family had the tradition of staying up late on New Year’s Eve. As midnight approached, his mother and grandmother were making dumplings in the kitchen.
Shi An lay in bed, hesitating whether to call or text.
On TV, as the host started the countdown, Shi An sent the pre-written message.
“Dr. Zhong, Happy New Year.”
The phone immediately rang, Zhong Yan’s voice and the Spring Festival Gala blending together in his ear, “Your so-called New Year’s greeting is a seven-word text message?”
“I was afraid you were busy and wouldn’t have time to answer the phone.”
“I’m very free.”
There was no sound of celebration on the other end of the phone. Shi An asked, “Is your house so quiet?”
Shi An had imagined the clinking of glasses, chatter, mahjong tiles, the cracking of sunflower seeds, and the screaming of children.
“I’m at my apartment near the Provincial Hospital,” Zhong Yan said, “I’m alone.”
“You didn’t go home for New Year’s?”
“I went, and I came back.”
“Don’t you eat dumplings at midnight?” At least Shi An thought that most families in northern China had this tradition.
“One is at a conference in Switzerland, one is in the operating room, and the other is a health-conscious old man who goes to bed before 9 PM, what dumplings?”
“Want to come to my house for some?”
Shi An hadn’t thought before he spoke, but he thought Zhong Yan was even more impulsive for agreeing.
Within half an hour, Zhong Yan was sitting at his dining table.
Besides freshly cooked dumplings, there were lobsters, shellfish, and dishes specially made by his mother.
Four people at a table, three happily chatting, only Shi An was awkward. He felt like a student whose teacher was visiting his home for dinner.
Zhong Yan got along well with his mother and grandmother, chatting happily. The Big Devil was nice to patients, nice to their families, nice to his student’s family, only mean to him.
The dumplings were gone, the conversation wasn’t over, Grandma suggested playing mahjong, but Shi An strongly dissuaded her.
Even if others weren’t sleeping, he had to.
Shi An racked his brains, finally finding an opportunity to interrupt, “It’s getting late, my teacher should go back.”
Grandma was hospitable and loved lively gatherings, “Go back where? Just stay here tonight, we’ll have more dumplings tomorrow morning.”
Shi An: “Grandma, we only have three beds.”
“Let Dr. Zhong sleep in your bed, you can sleep on the floor.”
Shi An: “…”
Grandma, his dear grandma.
“My bed is too small, my teacher isn’t used to it.”
Zhong Yan was gentle and polite, understanding, “It’s okay, I don’t mind, I can sleep anywhere.”
Shi An: “…”
Thank you very much.
At this point, Shi An could only obediently prepare the floor bedding.
He really couldn’t understand. Zhong Yan wasn’t drunk, it was a twenty-minute drive, and he had a 300-square-meter apartment, yet he insisted on squeezing in with him in the middle of the night. Wasn’t he crazy?
The crazy person was still giving him instructions from behind, “Get me a change of clothes.”
“What for?” Shi An grumbled while making the bed.
Zhong Yan: “Taking a shower.”
Shi An took out an oversized T-shirt and pajama pants, thought for a moment, and said with burning ears, “Just these two, nothing else.”
“It’s fine, no need for underwear, your size…” Zhong Yan’s eyes drifted downwards, “…I can’t wear them anyway.”
Zhong Yan entered the bathroom, leaving Shi An fuming.
What did he mean, was he mocking his size?
Shi An pulled at his waistband, what was small about him?
You’re the small one, you’re small everywhere!
After Zhong Yan finished showering, Shi An went next.
Less than twenty minutes later, Shi An returned with wet hair and locked the door.
“What are you doing?” Zhong Yan put a towel on his head, tilting his head to look at him, “Plotting against your teacher?”
Shi An: “…”
This person was really crazy.
Shi An ignored him, dried his hair, took his blanket and pillow from the bed, and lay down on the floor, “I’m going to sleep now, don’t make any noise.”
The floor had a foam mattress, so it was quite comfortable.
Zhong Yan rested his chin on his hand, sitting in the chair, “Sleep on the bed.”
“No need, I don’t want my mom to think I’m not being hospitable.”
Zhong Yan: “You locked the door, what are you afraid of?”
Shi An wrapped himself tightly in his blanket, “That’s not why I locked the door.”
“Then why? Do you really want to take advantage of me?”
Shi An: “…No.”
It was New Year’s, he wouldn’t argue with him.
“Shi An,” Zhong Yan said in his usual work tone, “Sleep on the bed.”
Shi An hugged his blanket, closing his eyes and ignoring him.
“Not listening to your teacher anymore?”
“I won’t be your student after the New Year.”
