Chapter 218: You Won’t Wake Up

Qinghe stepped inside and placed the water beside the plates. He waited while Zhiyi settled her hand more comfortably around Hanchuan’s.

"Is there a reason my husband needs to stay awake to watch me sleep?" she asked.

Qinghe glanced at Hanchuan. There was no surprise in his expression, which made Hanchuan wonder how many times his friend had noticed him doing it.

"No," Qinghe answered gently. "You needed that much attention earlier. You don’t need it now."

"I’m not sitting up all night," Hanchuan said, although his hand had tightened beneath Zhiyi’s.

"I know you aren’t," Qinghe replied. "But waking over and over doesn’t give you much rest either. You can be in bed all night and still get very little sleep."

Zhiyi turned Hanchuan’s hand over and smoothed her fingers across his palm.

"If that changed, you would tell us?" she asked Qinghe. "If I needed someone to watch me again?"

"Of course," Qinghe assured her. "I’d tell both of you what was happening and what you needed. You wouldn’t have to guess."

Hanchuan looked up. He had heard much of this before, but always while he was asking about something else: her pain, her sleep, whether she had done too much that afternoon.

Qinghe let him sit with the answer.

"Thank you," Zhiyi said. She returned her attention to Hanchuan, and Qinghe picked up the plates.

"I’ll be up front," Qinghe told them. "Call if you need anything."

Hanchuan watched him leave before turning back to his wife.

"You were waiting for a chance to ask him that," he said, brushing her hair away from her shoulder.

"I hadn’t planned for him to arrive," Zhiyi replied. "But he was here, and you might believe him."

A quiet laugh escaped Hanchuan before he could help it. Zhiyi’s mouth softened, and he leaned closer, resting his forehead against hers.

"I believe you," he murmured. "Even when you’re making it difficult for me to keep doing something."

"Then listen to what he said," Zhiyi told him, her fingers curling lightly against his shirt.

He brushed his lips over hers. When she lifted her chin to follow, he kissed her again, taking his time with it. Her hand slid to the back of his neck, and he let her keep him close.

For a few moments, he thought only of her mouth and the familiar touch of her fingers in his hair.

He had missed being wanted this way, without a question to answer or something to adjust before he could touch her.

When they drew apart, he stayed close. Her next breath warmed his lips, and he found himself waiting for the one after it.

Zhiyi’s thumb moved beneath his ear.

"You’re listening again," she said softly. "You stopped kissing me to check."

Hanchuan lowered his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. "I know," he admitted. "I don’t always notice until I’m already doing it."

She stroked the back of his neck without asking for another promise. He was grateful for the time she gave him to sit there, feeling her fingers move against his skin.

Outside, the wind brushed dust along the vehicle.

Somewhere in the front compartment, Shichen said something about the road, and Hanchuan’s shoulders tightened before he heard Jingwei’s ordinary reply.

Zhiyi waited until he looked at her again.

"Lie beside me," she asked, drawing her hand down to his shoulder. "There’s room if you stop perching on the edge."

"We haven’t told Zeyu whether we’re going back," Hanchuan reminded her. He glanced toward the doorway but made no move to rise.

"We can decide after you’ve rested," Zhiyi replied. "Tell him we’re staying here for a while."

Hanchuan studied her face. She looked tired herself, but she wasn’t drifting toward sleep. She was waiting for him to join her.

He kissed her once more before standing.

"I’ll be right back," Hanchuan told her, letting their hands separate only when he had to move away.

Zeyu sat sideways in the driver’s seat, finishing his sandwich while Jingwei watched the cameras. Shichen had stretched his legs into the aisle, and Qinghe was drying the plates.

"We’re staying stopped for a while," Hanchuan told them. "Unless something changes outside."

"I’ll let you know," Jingwei replied, looking over his shoulder. "You can close the door if you want. We’ll hear you."

Hanchuan nodded, but his gaze lingered on the displays.

"Hanchuan, we’re here," Zeyu said.

He looked toward his friend, who had lowered his sandwich.

"All four of us," Zeyu continued, his expression more serious than his voice. "You don’t need to keep coming out to make sure."

Hanchuan nearly answered that he hadn’t been doing that. Instead, he looked at each of them and realized Zeyu had noticed something else he hadn’t meant to make obvious.

"Call me if you need me," Hanchuan said, then returned to Zhiyi.

She had left space on her uninjured side. He removed his shoes and lay down carefully, keeping clear of her ankle. Once he had settled, she guided his arm around her, below her sore ribs, and rested her hand over his.

"Is this comfortable?" Hanchuan asked, watching her face.

"Yes," Zhiyi replied. "You can leave your arm there."

He eased closer until his cheek rested near her hair. The faint scent of her shampoo was familiar enough to make him close his eyes. She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand while the low voices continued beyond the doorway.

Something rattled outside, and his eyes opened again.

No one called him. Jingwei kept speaking to Shichen in the same even tone, but Hanchuan remained awake, waiting to hear whether anything followed.

Zhiyi shifted her hand over his.

"What are you afraid will happen while you’re asleep?" she asked.

He looked toward the ceiling. There were things he could tell her about the road and the people outside, but the others were watching those now. They had watched over him before. He trusted them.

"When you were unconscious, I kept thinking you might wake while I was gone," Hanchuan said at last. "I didn’t want you opening your eyes and looking for me."

Zhiyi turned toward him on the pillow and touched his jaw.

"I’m here with you now," she said. "What are you afraid of tonight?"

Hanchuan looked into her eyes. His arm tightened slightly around her before he caught himself, and she kept her hand over his, waiting.

"Now I’m afraid I’ll wake up and you won’t," he admitted.