At first, Ai Zhiyi wanted to pretend to be sullen but failed as if his heart had just been defeated after hearing the joke, making his cheeks heat up. So that Chu Weixu wouldn't catch him blushing, Ai Zhiyi lowered his head to hide his face then ate his soup quietly. Chu Weixu indeed knew how to tease him.
As soon as they finished eating, Ai Zhiyi cleared the dining table, while Chu Weixu washed their tableware. After that, they sat down in the living room before going downstairs to prepare the groceries in their tea house and open them up for customers.
Their house wasn't that big, but it was more than enough for both of them. There was a lounge, a living room, a bedroom with a bathroom, and a kitchen, all of the modest-sized in a minimalist style, and purchased in their names, using their hard-earned money over nearly five years, during which they did much menial labor toiling from morning to night, only to fid their hungry stomachs and set aside most of it as savings.
At that time, they shared rice in one bowl and very rarely ate meat. Although Chu Xinian secretly gave money to Ai Zhiyi, in the end, Chu Weixu found out and returned the money.
If people looked at their lives now, and then heard how they struggled to survive in the past, people who didn't truly know them wouldn't believe their words or even think they were bragging.
However, Ai Zhiyi and Chu Weixu never cared whether people would believe them or not at all. For them, people didn't need to feel sorry and didn't need to talk about the past that was hard to believe with mere words.
They were the only ones who felt how painful those five years were and knew how much they suffered at that time. What's more, the past five years were the most unfortunate years for them and engraved on their bones like engravings of a dark history, which was a reminder to them today.
Ai Zhiyi smiled as he recalled the bitter things in his head. While drying Chu Weixu's hair with a towel, he felt reminiscing about the painful past too often, but he also couldn't stop doing it as if it was auto-playing in his head. No matter how hard he struggled not to think about the memories, the past seemed to explode his head, even the bitter sense in his heart was like a virus that was eating away at every cell in his body. It was impossible for him not to remember everything.
While Chu Weixu sat on the floor, hugging Ai Zhiyi who was sitting on the sofa. He laid on Ai Zhiyi's thin thighs, enjoying how Ai Zhiyi gently touched his head, like a kid being pampered by his mother. Chu Weixu felt comfortable in this position.
"Weixu, have you taken your medicine?" Ai Zhiyi asked in a small voice.
"Not yet."
"Why? Go take your medicine," even though Ai Zhiyi was irritated with Chu Weixu, his tone still sounded gentle, "Please, stop being so stubborn about things like this. How long am I going to keep reminding you like this? What if I'm not around, would you take your medicine on your initiative or just let yourself be?"
There was a long pause before Chu Weixu replied with a sigh, "Xiaoyi, you don't know what it's like to be me, where you have to take medicine every day for your entire life. I just want to live a normal life like people without being addicted to medicine. I'm tired of taking the medicines. My tongue had lost its sense of taste from taking them for years."
Chu Weixu was silent, then asked deeply, "When do you think I can live a normal life?"
Chu Weixu buried his face in Ai Zhiyi's stomach, tightened his arms, feeling how deep he was saying the words earnestly straight from the depth of his heart.
Hearing about this, Ai Zhiyi couldn't help but hug Chu Weizu. He felt his affection for Chu Weixu doubled but felt pity at the same time. Ai Zhiyi knew that hemophilia wasn't something that could be cured, but he believed in a miracle.
"Never compare something with the word 'normal'. Everyone is normal, only attitudes and circumstances differentiate us from others. The word 'normal' is too cruel to compare someone's imperfections. After all, no matter how you are, I will always be there for you, so You should always be there for me too," Ai Zhiyi replied affectionately to his tone, "Tomorrow, I'm off and so are you. I'll accompany you to do prophylactic therapy at the hospital. You've been absent for a month, Doctor Dong will scold you."
Taking a deep breath, Chu Weixu lifted his chin, looked at Ai Zhiyi's face for a long time before nodding in agreement. A line of a sincere smile appeared on Chu Weixu's face and was touched in his heart. He said, "I will always be there for you too."
Ai Zhiyi smiled, then patted Chu Weixu's head, "Good boy."
They stared at each other for quite a while, until Chu Weixu spoke up, breaking the intimate silence between them, "Since I've become an obedient kid, may I get a kiss reward?"
Ai Zhiyi giggled. He couldn't refuse, so he slowly closed his eyes, leaned in slightly, and gave a kiss from lips to lips. The long intimacy was suddenly shattered by a wet and fishy liquid entering Ai Zhiyi's mouth. Ai Zhiyi immediately opened his eyes and separated their lips.
Chu Weixu realized that. He immediately wiped the blood on Ai Zhiyi's lips before he wiped the blood that came out of his own nose with the back of his hand.
Ai Zhiyi was used to this, and so was Chu Weixu. However, Ai Zhiyi never stopped worrying about Chu Weixu's condition. He gently touched Chu Weizu's face, then asked sincerely, "Is there anything hurt?"
Chu Weixu clasped Ai Zhiyi's hand on his face, hooked their fingers, then kissed him. "Nothing."
"Then go take some medicine to stop your nosebleed," while saying, Ai Zhiyi reached out to grab the tissue box that was on the table. He took out several pieces, then immediately wiped the blood around Chu Weixu's nose and lips.
The treat made Chu Weixu smile and feel so fond of him. He said in a deep, deep voice, "But, it isn't bad having hemophilia, though. I'm glad you care about me like this."
Ai Zhiyi smiled. "What are you talking about? After all, I will always care about you. So, now, go take your medicine."
After Ai Zhiyi's words, Chu Weixu immediately stood up. He grabbed a few tissues to bung up his nose so that blood didn't seep out before he went into their bedroom to get some medicine, then came back shortly after.
Ai Zhiyi sat quietly on the sofa, watching the tall and burly figure from a distance, like a mother watching her little kid taking medicine, and subconsciously smiled. He was always pleased when Chu Weixu followed his words without having to force him first. After all, this kind of thing shouldn't be argued, but as he knew, Chu Weixu wasn't someone who always wanted to be persistent when it came to his own condition.