What's the Point of Living, when the best is Sleeping? [BL]

14

The storage room was quiet, almost unnervingly so. The soft hum of the school's Foundation Day festivities drifted through the thin walls, a constant reminder that the world outside was still moving, still bustling with energy. Yet here, in this dimly lit room, Ye Ming felt like he was suspended in time. The cool marble under his body felt refreshing, but it wasn't enough to calm the restlessness creeping into his chest.

He shifted slightly, adjusting the small pillow beneath his head, but even that did little to alleviate the strange sensation building inside him. His mind, which was usually a lazy haze, full of indifference and dulled emotions, felt alive in a way he hadn't experienced before. But it wasn't a pleasant awakening. It was like his thoughts were tangled, caught in a web he couldn't untangle.

Why did he feel like this? Ye Ming never cared much about anything—about the people around him, about the world he was now forced to live in. But ever since those three had entered his life, something had changed. He couldn't pinpoint it, couldn't name the unease that had taken root deep inside him, but it was growing, spreading like a weed through his mind.

Maybe it was the exhaustion. Maybe it was the strange sense of responsibility that had suddenly settled on his shoulders—responsibility for the emotions of others, for his own reactions.

He let out a soft sigh, his breath fogging up the cool air around him. How had it come to this? Ye Ming knew the story—he had read it before. He was supposed to be the side character, the comic relief, the lazy boy who slept through everything while the protagonists had their adventures. But now, things were shifting. The plot wasn't following the path he had anticipated. Those three—Li Wei, Guang Kai, and Jing Jian—weren't acting like they were supposed to. Instead of ignoring him or dismissing him like they should have, they had taken an interest.

And that wasn't part of the plan.

He was about to turn on his side, hoping to force himself into a deeper sleep, when the door to the storage room creaked open. Ye Ming froze, his body tensing instinctively, though he remained with his eyes shut, feigning sleep.

The soft shuffle of footsteps entered the room, hesitant at first, but then they stopped. There was a silence so thick Ye Ming could almost hear the sound of his own breathing, even though he was trying to keep it as steady and quiet as possible.

"Ye Ming?"

The voice was soft, uncertain. Ye Ming knew instantly who it was. Guang Kai. Of course. The strategist, the one who always thought a few steps ahead.

Ye Ming didn't respond. He hoped, absurdly, that if he pretended to be asleep long enough, Guang Kai would just leave. He was good at avoiding people, after all. Sleeping through encounters was his specialty.

But Guang Kai didn't leave. Instead, the boy sighed softly, and Ye Ming heard the sound of fabric rustling as Guang Kai knelt beside him. There was a pause, and then the strategist's hand reached out, brushing a stray lock of Ye Ming's hair away from his face.

"You're running again," Guang Kai murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. There was no accusation in his tone—just a quiet observation, like he understood something that even Ye Ming hadn't quite grasped yet.