Ai Zhiyi waited for almost a minute, but Chu Weixu had yet to give any response, so he tried to call him one more time to confirm whether Chu Weixu was in their bedroom or not.
However, after he had asked for the favor for a second time, his voice was only met with the same void, wherein silence became the answer to a vain call as if this house were an image of the silence itself.
Ai Zhiyi suddenly felt worried and couldn't help but think of bad things in his head. After all, Chu Weixu's condition had not completely improved. When they returned to their home, Chu Weixu still looked pale and weak. He was worried that if something happened to him out there.
He intended to go out without caring about his naked body. After all, he and Chu Weixu had often looked at each other's naked bodies and even had sex many times. They weren't lovers who had recently been in a relationship and adjusting to each other, so being shy after their years of relationship was making them a fool of themselves.
However, as soon as he opened the door, Chu Weixu was also right in front of him with a towel in his hand. He looked like he just wanted to open the door, yet Ai Zhiyi opened it first and made him stop with his hand almost touching a doorknob.
Ai Zhiyi instantly felt a bit relieved in his chest when he found out that Chu Weixu was fine and the calmness gradually dampened the tension in his heart. He smiled, then grabbed the towel and said, "Thank you. I thought you were asleep, so you didn't answer me."
Chu Weixu didn't give any response, not even smile.
As soon as Ai Zhiyi took the towel from Chu Weixu's hand, it was as if he was at a loss for words on his tongue and not knowing how he should control their awkward moment which was even worse than before.
However, Chu Weixu looked indifferent, as if he didn't care about their status which could even be called a husband and wife. He didn't seem to have any intention of having a conversation with him and kept silent without a word, showing a meaningful look as if he was forcing Ai Zhiyi to find out how he was feeling right now.
Chu Weixu coldly turned around right away and then walked towards the bed. He leaned his back against the back of the bed, playing on his cell phone lazily. Ai Zhiyi was stunned for a few seconds, staring at Chu Weixu who was still angry at him before closing the bathroom door.
Ai Zhiyi wasn't sure whether Chu Weixu was angry or he just didn't want to talk to him. For him, Chu Weixu was like a huge wall that was extremely difficult to permeate, so he couldn't tell what the atmosphere behind the wall was like.
However, Ai Zhiyi didn't want to think about it any longer as he knew that it was just an endless and futile thing. He already knew so well what Chu Weixu's characteristics were. Such an attitude wasn't once or twice that Chu Weixu had shown him. From their youth to adulthood, Chu Weixu had not changed much, including his silence after their argument. So, Ai Zhiyi only needed to wait until Chu Weixu was in a better mood.
At first, it was quite painful. Chu Weixu, who kept silent as if he thought of him as nothing, was the most painful thing, like pulling his heart out in a conscious state, then letting his injured chest open until it was bleeding out.
However, as time went by, Ai Zhiyi slowly got used to it and assumed that it was a normal thing, which he shouldn't have thought any further than when he had just been in a relationship with Weixu. Now, the pain was no longer lasting.
As soon as Ai Zhiyi came out of the bathroom, he walked over to the bed where he put his pajama on and took it immediately. Meanwhile, Chu Weixu was staring at his lit cell phone with a thoughtful gaze. Ai Zhiyi glanced at him silently without saying anything before he went to the wardrobe. He thought that even if he talked to him in a bad mood would be useless.
Chu Weixu was such a person. As long as he was silent and didn't start the conversation after their argument, then it meant that he was still in a bad mood.
Wearing his pajamas, he returned to the bed and laid down facing his back to Chu Weixu. He intended to sleep early, but he couldn't even close his eyes even though he forced his eyes to close.
Ai Zhiyi stared out beyond the window he had forgotten to close, staring at the endless darkness out there. He could feel the cold air pricking his bones like thousands of needles stuck together, so he tightened the blanket around his body.
He was immersed in silence, and barely even felt the cold air penetrating his thick blanket, piercing his skin. His head was thinking about Chu Weixu, who had not even spoken to him until now.
Nothing could worry him more than that, even though he knew that he could die of hypothermia when the wind penetrated his skin.
However, Ai Zhiyi didn't want to crumble into silence, so he thought of starting a conversation with Chu Weixu.
He turned his body towards Chu Weixu who was sitting behind his back, looking at him with sadness and uncertainty in his eyes, and he couldn't tell whether he was sad or disappointed. He clenched his fists tightly, gripping the white blanket covering his body as if something was about to explode inside.
He didn't flinch for a long time until his lips moved slightly to say something.
However, it all ended with a faint sigh of breath from his dry throat. All the words he was about to say were swallowed up out of concern.
Ai Zhiyi turned his body back and forced himself to sleep even though he had difficulty closing his eyes.
He felt that their silence was more terrible than that of a ghost. He also felt that their stiff atmosphere was colder than the ice from the frozen snow. There was nothing as extreme as how he felt now since ten years ago when he had to leave his parents behind.
But, Ai Zhiyi tried to endure all of that. He allowed himself to be trapped and tried to stand on his own. He thought that it was the best way to defeat the two of them —defeating the stubbornness of Chu Weixu rather than words that would only worsen their situation.