Mr. You's fictitious marriage

Chapter 9

The trip back to the city was much more comfortable; even though his husband's shoulder was quite hard to lay his head on, a hand on his waist kept him from being jostled too much on the bumpy road.

They had to return from their outing to the countryside a few days later. Business matters were awaiting Qin Jiu's input, and recruits were ready to be trained by You Huo.

The city was as crowded and noisy as they remembered. Busy days continued, enveloping them in their consimilar succession.

Their relationship didn't outwardly change much, but to You Huo, he felt as though things had finally gone right. Blindly going into this marriage, he didn't expect to find an ally in his fake husband. Not to mention a lover.

Finding a lover was a strange concept for You Huo. Most of his brief acquaintances didn't manage to stay anywhere close; they always drifted away, quickly tiring of his reticent behavior.

Qin Jiu seemed to stick himself to him like glue, not thinking of ever letting go. But surely such a day must eventually arrive?

But it was good for now, when unveiled desire in his husband's eyes made his heart beat faster, touches igniting the flames in his own wintered soul. It felt like living; it was addicting. As dangerous as it was beautiful.

"Why don't you sleep in my room?" Qin Jiu asked one day when they were having afternoon coffee at Qin Jiu's office.

You Huo was neither surprised nor opposed to his request. He was there the night before to give Qin Jiu a drink to warm up in the butler's place when Qin Jiu woke himself up with his own screams again. He agreed.

And every night after that, You Huo would lay in their shared bed, his back facing his husband, drifting off to sleep to the sound of the other's breathing. Then, later during the night, he would feel Qin Jiu awaken—probably from another nightmare—and carefully shuffle closer to sneakily hug him from behind. And then fell asleep again, content.

You Huo would wake up every morning to find himself alone in a pristine, cold bed, as if the embrace that had kept him warm all night had only ever happened in his own dreams.

The first time it happened, You Huo thought that he wouldn't be able to sleep again due to their proximity. When he agreed earlier, he had already prepared himself for that. He knew that Qin Jiu needed to be reminded that there was someone alive next to him, so he didn't mind being the one to do it, even if it meant no sleep. However, contrary to his expectations, the weight of Qin Jiu's arm around his waist and the heat of his embrace caused him to fall back into unconsciousness in minutes.

The other's presence filled him with an unfamiliar feeling of security. It was so surprisingly easy to let go of everything and allow that steadily rising and falling chest to remind him that there was someone who actually depended on himself to sleep so soundly and without care.

A week later, on one of such nights, You Huo was once again embraced from behind, with the other person clearly taking great care not to wake him up.

A sinister hand wrapped around his midsection, drawing him into the other's hot body. Without opening his eyes or fully waking, You Huo turned to face the stunned culprit and instead hugged Qin Jiu's head to his own chest.

"It's better like this; now you can hear my heart and know that I am alive. Don't mess around and sleep obediently." You Huo mumbled through his daze. He really wanted to do this a few nights prior, but those times he was too deeply asleep to do anything.

The next morning, he finally wasn't alone when he woke up. Due to his newly discovered affinity for wallowing in bed, You Huo was actually the one to sleep in most of the time, and Qin Jiu typically woke up much earlier. His husband even moved the time of training for his recruits to a later hour, so You Huo wouldn't need to rise early anymore. Chu Yue laughed her ass off when she learned of his new training schedule and referred to it as "husband's preferential treatment."