The Withered Tree Always Welcomes Spring chapter 22

Shen Jixue’s voice was soft, but Chen Xian couldn’t ignore the longing in his tone. He knew, for able-bodied people, especially for someone like him who had worked on ships for years, there was nothing interesting about the ship. Most of the time, it was dull and boring. Once something became work, it lost its enjoyment. Day after day, year after year, doing the same thing, it was just a means for ordinary people to make a living. Where was the fun in that?

But for Shen Jixue, it was different. It was the taste of freedom. Just stepping out of the house was difficult enough, let alone going out to see the world. To go to many places he had never been, to see many people and things he had never seen, for someone who couldn’t see, the longing for freedom in his heart was even more urgent.

Listening, Chen Xian felt uncomfortable. He wanted to talk to Shen Jixue about life on the ship, but Wu Bie had already talked about everything that could be said, and he wasn’t a good storyteller himself. He could only softly respond, “When your eyes are healed, I’ll take you to see.”

“Really?”

Chen Xian was worried that his promise might touch on something sad for Shen Jixue, but unexpectedly, he sounded excited. “Of course, what else do you want to see? You tell me, and when your eyes are better, I’ll take you to see.”

“I’ve never been on a big ship before,” Shen Jixue’s voice was pleasant to hear. As a boy who had already passed the voice change period, his voice had become deep and powerful, matured beyond his youthful face. “My hometown is in the mountains. It takes two days on the train to get to where I go to college. The first time I took the train was when I went to enroll in college. I was so excited on the train that I couldn’t sleep all night. The university is much bigger than our high school in the county, and my classmates and teachers are all very nice.”

At this point, Shen Jixue’s tone lowered. Despite everything going well, he couldn’t shake off the pessimism. Just when he thought he would graduate from college, find a stable job, and bring his father to live in the city, his eyes failed him.

Chen Xian knew what Shen Jixue was thinking. He didn’t want him to be so pessimistic, so he changed the subject casually, “So, when your eyes get better, what do you want to see first?”

Shen Jixue blinked, without hesitation, “I want to see you, see what you look like now.”

“Huh?” Chen Xian was puzzled. He didn’t quite understand what Shen Jixue meant. As an utterly ordinary man, what about him could arouse Shen Jixue’s curiosity? Chen Xian recalled Shen Jixue’s actions these days, how he would curiously explore his body while he slept. “Me? What’s there to see about me?”

Shen Jixue didn’t know how to respond. His curiosity about the ship was also a curiosity about Chen Xian. Anything related to Chen Xian made him curious.

“I want to see if you’re as I imagine.”

The more Shen Jixue said this, the more curious Chen Xian became. “What do you imagine I look like?”

“Well…” Shen Jixue, lying beside him, turned over, looking troubled. “Actually, I can’t imagine what you look like at all.”

No matter how he fantasized, he couldn’t clearly picture Chen Xian’s appearance. It just never seemed right.

“Oh?” The more Shen Jixue said, the more curious Chen Xian felt. “Am I supposed to have three heads and six arms in your imagination, unlike anyone else?”

Indeed, he was different from others, but not with three heads and six arms.

“Different.”

Seeing Shen Jixue so insistent, so decisive, Chen Xian got interested. “How am I different? Tell me.”

Shen Jixue turned towards Chen Xian and tentatively reached out his hands. Sensing Chen Xian didn’t pull away, he slowly cupped Chen Xian’s face in his hands. He had been curious for quite some time now, and at this moment, there was a surreal feeling of dreams coming true.

His palms held Chen Xian’s cheeks. The sharpness of his jawline was a bit rough against his hands. He freed one hand, reaching up to Chen Xian’s forehead and then his eyebrows and eyes.

“Your eyebrows are a bit thick,” Shen Jixue commented. “Your eyes…”

The eyes were the most delicate organs of the body. Chen Xian instinctively blinked, his eyelashes brushing against Shen Jixue’s fingertips, causing a slight pause in Shen Jixue’s movements.

“Eyes?” Chen Xian squinted, waiting for Shen Jixue’s continuation.

“Your eye sockets are deep, and your nose is straight,” Shen Jixue thought, Chen Xian’s eyes must be very profound.

 “You must be very handsome.”

Hearing Shen Jixue’s appraisal, Chen Xian chuckled.

“Why are you laughing?”

Chen Xian spoke, “No one has ever praised me for being handsome.”

“Why?” Shen Jixue didn’t believe it.

“Because from childhood to adulthood, those elders only praised me for being honest and reliable.” As for being handsome, it wasn’t something he associated with himself. Chen Xian’s gaze was blocked by Shen Jixue’s hand, and he could only barely see Shen Jixue’s face through the gaps between his fingers. “You’re the one who’s good-looking.”

“Good-looking” wasn’t a compliment Shen Jixue particularly liked. “I’ve been told I am good-looking since I was young, no, they didn’t say I was good-looking, they said I looked like a boy and a girl.”

Being delicate when young made him an easy target for bullying, but as he grew taller and eventually got into college, things gradually improved.

Shen Jixue didn’t want to talk about himself. His fingers continued to explore, “Lips…”

As his fingertips touched Chen Xian’s lips, Shen Jixue instinctively bit his own lower lip. In a place Chen Xian couldn’t see, he licked his lips with his tongue, feeling a softness that seemed different from the touch of his fingers, soft as if it didn’t belong to Chen Xian.

One finger gradually became two, and Shen Jixue’s fingers gently stroked Chen Xian’s lips, constantly outlining the contours of his lips. From his mouth came two words, “Very soft…”

The sight blocked by his fingers gradually blurred. Chen Xian felt a tingling sensation on his lips, and his heart sank as if something soft had collided with it.

The scent of alcohol in the air became stronger. Chen Xian felt he might be a little drunk. His cheeks were hot, and despite having just showered, a thin layer of sweat formed on his back again. The electric fan in the room seemed useless, unable to dispel the summer night’s heat.

“Very soft?” Chen Xian pretended to be mature, holding Shen Jixue’s hand. “What kind of appraisal is that?”

Shen Jixue made many small movements, but Chen Xian caught his wrist. His thumb and index finger were still rubbing, as if savoring the feeling of touching Chen Xian’s lips.

“I don’t know.” He struggled out of Chen Xian’s grasp, curling up into a ball like last night. “I’m a bit sleepy.”

Seeing this, Chen Xian turned off the bedside lamp. Just as he settled down, Shen Jixue beside him wriggled closer, and the warmth of his body surrounded him.

“Sleep.”

That night, Chen Xian felt like he was soaked in a vat of wine. He slept deeply, so deeply that it felt like something was pressing down on his chest, making it especially hard to breathe.

The morning sun shone through the window, casting a golden hue over the entire room. Wu Bie woke up from the heat, using his arm to shield his eyes. He looked around the room’s furnishings for a moment before realizing this was Chen Xian’s house.

This bedroom faced the sun, and there wasn’t even a fan in the room. Wu Bie was drenched in sweat and couldn’t stand it anymore. He jumped out of bed and splashed his face with cold water in the bathroom. The icy water running down his neck finally brought a moment of cool relief.

After leaving the bathroom, he stood with his hands on his hips in the living room. His stomach growled with hunger, a typical morning after a hangover. He wanted to find something to eat, and his scattered thoughts finally connected. Where was Chen Xian? Why hadn’t anyone woken him up, and what about that little blind kid?

The master bedroom door was slightly open from the breeze. Wu Bie hesitated but couldn’t help himself and walked over to push the door open. In an instant, his confusion was resolved.

The electric fan was oscillating, stirring the curtains, and the light spots on the floor danced with the breeze. Shen Jixue was nestled against Chen Xian’s back, both of them sleeping soundly on the bed.

Wu Bie initially wanted to shout, but seeing this scene, his throat felt choked, and he was momentarily speechless.

Chen Xian woke up from the noise, saw Wu Bie standing at the door, and asked, “You’re up?”

Wu Bie snapped back to reality, though he couldn’t understand the strange feeling he had. He directly questioned Chen Xian, “Why didn’t you get a fan for my room? I woke up from the heat, do you know that?”

“The fan is broken. I haven’t had a chance to get it fixed.”

This explanation made Wu Bie even angrier. “You know it’s hot, and you’re sleeping in the same room as him, why didn’t you bring it to my room and sleep with me?”

Early in the morning, talking about sleeping with him or you, Chen Xian was a bit slow to react. He didn’t know how to explain, and Shen Jixue, woken up by Wu Bie’s noise, added to the confusion.

Shen Jixue grabbed Chen Xian’s arm, looking dazed and clearly not fully awake.

That odd feeling grew stronger, especially seeing Chen Xian and Shen Jixue wake up from the same bed. Wu Bie felt extremely uncomfortable, didn’t want to stay any longer, and without another word, he went up, unplugged the fan, and carried it out to the living room.

“You two don’t need it, I’ll use it.”

In this weather, the fan blew hot air, and without it, the heat quickly became oppressive.

Chen Xian gently patted Shen Jixue’s hand. “Wake up, get up, and let’s find something to eat.”