Blinded chapter 14
Xie Li looked at Chang Xiaojia through the crack in the door. The corridor was dimly lit, and even though it was past two in the morning, it was still evident that Chang Xiaojia’s complexion wasn’t great.
The chain on the door remained in place.
Xie Li asked, “Do I know you?”
Chang Xiaojia didn’t get angry at the question. He just lifted a foot and kicked the door. Once again, he said coldly, “Open the door!”
The corridor, initially very quiet, was disrupted by the forceful kick, causing even the neighboring conversations to come to a halt.
Xie Li calmly asked him, “What do you want me to open the door for?”
Chang Xiaojia replied, “I can’t sleep.”
Xie Li inquired, “Am I just a pillow to you?”
Chang Xiaojia didn’t respond. He seemed quite impatient and kicked the door twice more, insisting, “Open the door!”
Worried that he might continue kicking the door and draw the attention of the hotel staff, Xie Li unlocked the chain. As he opened the door, Chang Xiaojia walked in, jumped onto him, and wrapped his arms around his neck.
Almost reflexively, Xie Li, without much thought, reached out and supported Chang Xiaojia’s ass, holding him close. Looking at him, Xie Li asked, “What are you trying to do?”
Chang Xiaojia, with both legs around Xie Li’s waist and his head against his shoulder, replied, “I want to sleep.”
As if in reflex, Xie Li, still holding him, walked toward the bed.
With his eyes open, Chang Xiaojia scanned the room and remarked indifferently, “The environment here is terrible.”
Bending down, Xie Li placed him on the bed. “Still better than prison,” he said. When he tried to get up, Chang Xiaojia used his legs to hook onto him, refusing to let go.
“Not much better,” Chang Xiaojia said, looking at him.
“Because I’m poor,” Xie Li replied, reaching around to his back to grab Chang Xiaojia’s foot to push it away. Feeling Chang Xiaojia resisting, he took off his shoes and used his fingers to tickle the soles of his feet.
Chang Xiaojia immediately retracted his foot.
Xie Li stood up straight.
Chang Xiaojia’s gaze moved from his bare upper body to his unzipped jeans, revealing the bulge of his underwear.
Xie Li asked, “Are you sleeping here tonight?”
Chang Xiaojia didn’t answer. Instead, he said, “Take off your pants.”
Xie Li remained silent, just standing by the bed and watching him.
After a while, Chang Xiaojia sat up on the bed with his legs crossed. He touched the pocket of his shirt, then put his hand down, saying, “I don’t have money on me, but aren’t you poor? I can give you some.”
Xie Li extended a hand, pinching his chin and softly said, “Not for sale.”
Chang Xiaojia shrugged indifferently, lowered his head, and started unbuttoning his shirt. He took off his clothes first, then removed his pants, leaving only his underwear before slipping under Xie Li’s blanket.
The warmth from Xie Li still lingered inside.
Chang Xiaojia said, “come” He shifted to the side, making room for Xie Li.
Xie Li stood by the bed for a while before taking off his jeans, lifting the blanket, and lying down beside Chang Xiaojia. He reached out to turn off the bedside lamp, but Chang Xiaojia held his arm, saying, “Don’t turn it off.”
Xie Li thought, “Chang Xiaojia is afraid of the dark.”
So, Xie Li didn’t turn off the light. He just adjusted the lamp’s direction and then lay down, extending his arm to embrace Chang Xiaojia.
Chang Xiaojia wrapped his arm around Xie Li’s waist and said, “I couldn’t sleep last night.”
Xie Li remained silent, soothingly running his fingers through Chang Xiaojia’s hair.
Chang Xiaojia continued, “Tonight, I still can’t sleep.”
Xie Li asked, “Did you go home?”
Chang Xiaojia responded with a simple “Hmm.”
Xie Li continued, “If you’re home, why can’t you sleep? Isn’t it your usual room?”
Chang Xiaojia explained, “It feels strange, and I’m scared.”
Xie Li didn’t understand what he was afraid of. He asked, “Aren’t you scared when I’m around?”
While Chang Xiaojia spoke, his lips almost touched Xie Li’s skin, softly brushing against it. “It’s much better with you,” he murmured.
Xie Li said, “Can’t you find someone else to sleep with you?”
Chang Xiaojia’s tone was inexplicable, “Why would I want someone else?” Then, in an impatient tone, he added, “Don’t bother me; I want to sleep.”
Xie Li didn’t say anything more. His emotions were complex, and for a while, he couldn’t feel sleepiness. He only felt Chang Xiaojia burying his head in his arms, quickly becoming still.
The voices from the next room had stopped, and after a few minutes, Xie Li suddenly heard a low moan from the woman through the thin wall.
He guessed that the two beds in the two rooms were probably against the same wall. Along with the woman’s moans, there were also sounds of a wooden bed and the wall colliding. There was no need to guess; he knew what the people next door were doing.
The walls were too thin, and the woman’s moans sounded unrestrained.
Xie Li’s mind was a mess. Suddenly, Chang Xiaojia, who should have been asleep in his arms, moved and reached out to hold him. Then, he lifted his head and looked at Xie Li, saying, “It’s so hard.”
The sounds from the next room were unusually intense.
Xie Li didn’t say anything.
The room had a table lamp on, and the light was much brighter than in the prison cell. Xie Li could clearly see every expression on Chang Xiaojia’s face. He always felt that Chang Xiaojia under the light seemed a bit different, but he couldn’t pinpoint what was different.
Chang Xiaojia kept looking at him, his round eyes slightly drooping at the corners, looking both lifeless and unhappy.
While they locked eyes, Chang Xiaojia’s hand was still holding the most vulnerable part of Xie Li’s body. After a while, Chang Xiaojia suddenly leaned in, attempting to kiss Xie Li’s lips.
Xie Li raised his hand to block it.
Chang Xiaojia’s face turned cold. He flipped over, straddling Xie Li, and raised his hand to slap Xie Li.
Xie Li grabbed his hand.
Chang Xiaojia sneered, then flipped over and lay with his back to Xie Li.
With one hand clenched into a fist by his side, Xie Li reached over, turned Chang Xiaojia to face him and kissed his lips.
In the adjacent room, two people were vigorously engaged in a passionate bed battle.
On this side, the two were entangled silently. Xie Li suddenly kissed Chang Xiaojia passionately, caressing his body. Chang Xiaojia pulled down Xie Li’s underwear, grasping him intimately.
Chang Xiaojia had seen Xie Li’s body many times in prison. Normally, the size was slightly larger than the average man, but when hard, it was quite impressive. Chang Xiaojia seemed to enjoy it, holding it with both hands and lowering his head to take a closer look.
Until the noise next door subsided, their bodies remained entwined, and it took a long time for them to finally quiet down.
Chang Xiaojia quickly fell asleep with closed eyes.
However, Xie Li couldn’t sleep. This time, his mentality toward comforting Chang Xiaojia was completely different from their interactions in prison. It wasn’t just because of the kiss; he was now immersed in the same sensory pleasure.
Throughout, he had tried hard to control the direction of their relationship, but now it was gradually deviating from his anticipated path. In fact, it might have never been on track from the beginning, especially when Chang Xiaojia initially made physical demands of him.
Xie Li wanted to smoke again, but Chang Xiaojia was tightly hugging his waist. If he turned to grab a cigarette, Chang Xiaojia would surely wake up. For some reason, Xie Li didn’t want to disturb Chang Xiaojia, who had been sleepless for two days.
He lay quietly on the bed until the dead of night when all sounds ceased, and Xie Li’s brain couldn’t continue to contemplate. Eventually, he drifted into sleep.
Leaving the prison meant no morning lights or sharp wake-up alarms, but the biological clock of adults woke both Xie Li and Chang Xiaojia up before seven o’clock.
Yawning, Chang Xiaojia raised his hand to scratch his head, uncovered the blanket, and got out of bed without putting on anything, wearing Xie Li’s slippers as he headed towards the bathroom.
After a while, Xie Li heard the sound of water flowing in the bathroom.
In the prison cell, the toilet and the bed were separated by a narrow wall only half the height of a person. They had never had any private space since they met, and they were familiar with each other’s daily habits.
After a while, Chang Xiaojia came out of the bathroom, returning to bed and curling up in Xie Li’s arms.
Xie Li asked him, “Anything planned for today?”
Chang Xiaojia replied, “Every day is the same.”
Xie Li felt a bit dazed, as if he had returned to the days in prison. Chang Xiaojia was always passionate at night, but during the day, he became distant.
Closing his eyes, Chang Xiaojia lay for a while. Apparently unable to sleep, he nudged Xie Li’s shoulder and said, “Give me a cigarette.”
As Xie Li reached for a cigarette, he asked, “You smoke?” Even in prison, he never saw Chang Xiaojia smoke.
Chang Xiaojia said, “I smoke, but I’m not addicted.”
Half-lying on the bed, he smoked, flicking the long ash into the ashtray on the bedside table when it burned too long.
The bedside table still held Xie Li’s wallet.
Chang Xiaojia picked it up, opened it, and looked inside. He didn’t find photos or identification, but he did find a train ticket.
Taking out the ticket, he looked at Xie Li and asked, “Are you going back to Chongfeng?”
Xie Li reached over, took the ticket, and said, “I’m going back to Chongfeng.”