What to Do? She Hasn't

Lin Sangyu pulled back a corner of the blanket and slipped into bed, pressing close to Jiang Wenzhe.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

A few seconds passed before Jiang Wenzhe snapped back to reality, answering her earlier question. "Mm, had a nightmare."

"What kind of nightmare? Did you dream about the end of the world? Or someone chasing you?"

His dark eyes were slightly unfocused, and he said in a low voice, "No, I dreamed about the little pig I used to have."

Lin Sangyu was astonished. "You actually raised a pig before?"

"Mm, but it died later."

Lin Sangyu shuffled forward until their knees touched, then nestled into his embrace and hugged him. "So you were sad today because you remembered your little pig that died?"

Jiang Wenzhe lowered his head, burying his face in the crook of her neck. He took a deep, greedy breath as if drawing warmth from her, and his voice came out a little hoarse. "Kind of."

Lin Sangyu had never comforted anyone before. Her little head spun at high speed, and finally she blurted out, "Don't be sad, Jiang Wenzhe. Most animals don't live as long as humans, so it's totally normal. Maybe I was the little pig you raised in my past life, and in this life I became a sugar glider, and you're raising me again."

The timelines didn't match at all—Lin Sangyu was just Lin Sangyu, not some reincarnated pig—but Jiang Wenzhe only let out a dull chuckle. "Okay."

"And besides, aren't there plenty of bugs at home? You have so many little pets to keep you company," Lin Sangyu said, nuzzling against his chest. She understood the pain of parting all too well and continued to console him. "Didn't you also buy a few more brown bugs a few days ago?"

Jiang Wenzhe sat up slightly and demanded, "How do you know that? Did you sneak-eat bugs again?"

"How is that sneak-eating?" Lin Sangyu said indignantly. "And can you have a little trust in me?"

"Oh, so did you eat them or not?" Jiang Wenzhe no longer believed her act of playing cute at all.

Lin Sangyu pressed her lips together as if she wanted to say something but stopped. A little guiltily, she admitted, "...I ate them."

Jiang Wenzhe said helplessly, "Don't eat those bugs next time. They don't have much nutrition. I'll buy you others."

"But they're tasty," Lin Sangyu said.

"Then suit yourself." Jiang Wenzhe was speechless again.

"So why do you like raising bugs?" Lin Sangyu suddenly wondered, because that hobby was far too peculiar and bizarre.

The room at home was long, a very special elongated rectangle, with three rows of cabinets lined up and Dubia roach containers stacked layer upon layer. All sorts of reptiles slowly shifted their bodies, and worms secreted slick, wet mucus as they undulated inch by inch. Since most of the bugs in the room needed to be kept away from light, the entire space was dim and gloomy all day long. Standing inside, you could occasionally hear the faint rustling sounds of bugs in their containers amid the silence.

To be honest, it was still a bit eerie and frightening.

Jiang Wenzhe blinked very lightly.

There was a term in psychology called repetition compulsion.

It meant that those who had suffered childhood trauma would, in adulthood, unconsciously recreate similar traumatic situations, repeatedly experiencing the pain and deriving a twisted sense of comfort or even pleasure from it.

There were many motivations behind this behavior, and Jiang Wenzhe felt that his was a subconscious act buried deep within him.

He had been powerless to resist the trauma of the past. Every time he woke from a nightmare, all he could do was sit in futile daze, experiencing the emptiness of endless despair.

So he had recreated the layout of the old farm in that small, cramped bug room. This time, he had absolute control over everything in that room. Every time he stepped into that bug room in his mind, he was, in truth, savoring his sense of control, morbidly immersing himself in the endorphins his body secreted after the pain.

Cutting away everything from the past, Jiang Wenzhe chose an inconsequential reason to answer: "Because little bugs are easy to raise. Cold-blooded animals don't need emotional output, and they don't need too much energy to care for. They're convenient to keep."

Lin Sangyu had strong empathy, and as a former sugar glider herself, she was naturally drawn to the fate of animals. It was better that she never know what he had done as a child.

Lin Sangyu brought her head close to Jiang Wenzhe's face, tilting it to the side, and said, "So are you saying I was hard to raise? I was pretty easy to raise back when I was a sugar glider, wasn't I?"

Every day she'd act cute and throw tantrums, rolling around on his body, and when bathing she'd even sneak a bite at Jiang Wenzhe. As for food, anything too hard was a no, anything too soft was a no, and fried bugs had to be just the right crunch before she'd eat them. If he was away for too long, she'd fuss, and if he didn't keep her company, she'd keep crying. Jiang Wenzhe would patiently accompany her, but if he did it for too long, she'd get annoyed and secretly fly off on her own.

Jiang Wenzhe gave a faint, insincere smile. "Indeed, very easy to raise."

The little glider was smug. Lin Sangyu's eyebrows danced with pride as she said, "Of course! I'm a very low-maintenance person! You know what? The bugs you roasted were never as tasty as the ones I roasted, but I still forced myself to eat them all in the end."

Jiang Wenzhe: ?

Lin Sangyu continued, "But they're still much better than the ones at the very beginning. Those first ones I really couldn't swallow—they were all burnt, yet you still picked them up and fed them to me."

Hearing that, Jiang Wenzhe sulked. He yanked the blanket open with force and headed out of the bedroom without looking back.

"Hey, where are you going?" Lin Sangyu hadn't reacted yet. It was only when Jiang Wenzhe was about to walk out the door that she scrambled up and called after his back.

"Getting food." Jiang Wenzhe replied stiffly.

"Oh, right, right, right. You haven't had dinner yet. I saved your portion with Uncle Xie."

"I thought you two had no conscience." Jiang Wenzhe turned around, leaning against the doorframe as he waited for Lin Sangyu to put on her slippers, saying dryly.

"How could I have no conscience? I just didn't know how to comfort you this afternoon. You wouldn't tell me why you were upset, and I thought that compared to my comfort, you'd be better able to deal with your emotions alone, so I let you go back to your room to sleep."

Lin Sangyu caught up to Jiang Wenzhe and stood in front of him, beaming. "Once you've digested your emotions, I'll take you out for something delicious."

That was how Lin Sangyu used to be with her sugar glider friends. She was bad with words and didn't know how to console anyone, so she'd just rub her head against them, then fly off in silence to hunt and bring back lots of tasty food for her good friends.

That way, before the tears could fall from her sugar glider friends' eyes, drool would fall first.

When they got down to the dining room on the first floor, Lin Sangyu took out the food she had set aside earlier from the insulated container.

All the dishes were mixed together. It was clear that Lin Sangyu had picked out a portion of every dish in advance and put it into this little bowl.

"Still a bit warm, you can eat. There's the sweet-and-sour shrimp you like."

Jiang Wenzhe wasn't picky about food, nor was he that delicate. He just helped himself to some hot rice from the rice cooker and started eating.

In the countryside at night, the summer breeze carried a slight chill, whispering through the grass and trees as it drifted across the courtyard and slipped through the front door of the main hall.

The little yellow dog wagged its tail, returning from who-knows-where, its body dirty and caked with mud and dust.

"Xiao Huang's here!" Lin Sangyu exclaimed joyfully. Without any hint of disgust, she immediately crouched down and stroked the little yellow dog's head.

Jiang Wenzhe only took one glance, and his brows unconsciously knitted together. He silently pulled his legs back a little, resting his feet on the footrest bar of the plastic stool.

He wore an expression that said, stay away from me.

Just as an extrovert can spot the introvert in a crowd with a single glance, the little yellow dog, after being petted by Lin Sangyu, wagged its tail and ran happily toward Jiang Wenzhe, tongue lolling out.

Seeing the intentions of this ill-intentioned bad dog, Jiang Wenzhe really wanted to cross his legs, but considering the stool was too small for him to likely manage it, and that the pose would be undignified and probably not handsome, he gave up on the idea.

So he suppressed his disgust and calmly awaited the ravaging of this dirty dog.

"Jiang Wenzhe, Xiao Huang seems to really like you," Lin Sangyu said, enjoying the commotion. She had long since noticed Jiang Wenzhe's disgust and inner collapse.

People with cleanliness obsessions were always like this.

"Who needs its liking."

Xiao Huang kept circling Jiang Wenzhe's legs, rubbing against him back and forth. Looking down, you'd see it baring its big teeth, grinning up at him.

Like sitting on a bed of nails, like having needles in his back—Jiang Wenzhe couldn't take it anymore. He finished his meal quickly, slipped into the kitchen, locked the door firmly, and only then began washing the dishes.

And he thought to himself, if Lin Sangyu still insisted on sleeping next to him tonight, she'd have to wash herself clean before getting into bed. No discussion.

Then, when it was actually time to sleep, Lin Sangyu said, "Uncle Xie has prepared a room for me too. Your bed is too small, so I won't squeeze in with you."

Jiang Wenzhe, with one hand in his pocket, said in a seemingly considerate and understanding tone, "That room of yours used to house chickens. There might be a smell when you sleep at night. Better to sleep with me."

"Really?"

"Really."

—Lies.

Lin Sangyu thought for a moment, then finally nodded in agreement. "Fine then. But don't complain that I'm squeezing you tonight."

Jiang Wenzhe curved his lips. "I'll try."

The single bed from his childhood was fine for Jiang Wenzhe alone, but with Lin Sangyu added, it felt cramped.

The air conditioner was set to a very low temperature, but with the two of them holding each other close and sleeping warmly, the cold was hardly noticeable.

Lin Sangyu slept on the side against the wall. She scooted up a little and, through the old windowpane, quietly gazed at the sky.

The countryside sky shed the neon finery of the city, revealing a deep, pure ink-blue. The clouds were thin and light, the stars bright.

"What a beautiful moon and stars."

Jiang Wenzhe turned his head for a quick look, then met Lin Sangyu's eyes again. "Mm, they're in your eyes too."

Lin Sangyu smiled, then snuggled back into Jiang Wenzhe's arms. "Good night."

Jiang Wenzhe had napped in the afternoon and was now completely sleepless. After returning the good night, he didn't close his eyes. He simply held Lin Sangyu and watched her, using his eyes to trace her delicate features in the darkness.

All was silent. He didn't know how long had passed when he suddenly felt the person in his arms shrink, and his embrace was left empty.

Looking down, it turned out that Lin Sangyu, in her sleep, had unconsciously transformed back into a sugar glider.

Afraid she'd have trouble breathing if she was buried under the blanket, Jiang Wenzhe fished Lin Sangyu out from under the covers and carefully placed her on the pillow. He then got up, picked up her pajamas and undergarments from the bed, and hung them up one by one.

The air conditioner hummed with mechanical noise. Thinking again that Lin Sangyu might get cold, he pulled two tissues from the nightstand and draped them over her furry little body.

No, covering a living creature with white tissue seemed like a bad omen.

With that thought, Jiang Wenzhe quickly whisked the tissue away. He rummaged through boxes and cabinets to find clothes he had worn as a child, and by the moonlight, cut out a small piece of fabric with scissors to cover Lin Sangyu's soft little belly.

After all, when sleeping under the air conditioner in summer, how could you not cover your belly?

Only after doing all that did Jiang Wenzhe pull up the blanket and prepare to sleep again.

But just as he was beginning to feel drowsy, he suddenly discovered that the Lin Sangyu beside him had transformed back again.

Clear, soft moonlight fell upon the girl's skin, fair as glistening jade, as if veiled in a thin gauze. Lin Sangyu's sleeping face was serene, her body sprawled out freely. A single glance was enough to glimpse all the spring scenery.

A powerful electric current shot from the top of his head down his entire body. Jiang Wenzhe's eyes flew wide open, at a loss.

What to do.

This was—

his wife, sleeping beside him, with n-o-t-h-i-n-g o-n.