Between the Notes of Unspoken Love Chapter 10

"Do more exercise during the day to keep a good mood, soak your feet before going to bed, listen to some soothing light music, drink a glass of red wine or milk, and try dropping a few drops of lavender essential oil on your pillow before sleeping."

Aaron Wei looked at the WeChat message that suddenly lit up on the screen and was a little confused. He replied: "What is this?"

"How to relieve insomnia."

"I've tried everything, nothing works..."

Ethan Shen sighed softly: "Have you taken the medicine?"

"Just came back from the hospital, now I'm in bed, so bored┬＿┬"

Aaron Wei had been ill for several days. Apart from going to the hospital for intravenous drips every day, he stayed at home and passed the time by constantly sending WeChat messages to Ethan Shen. Since that night, the distance between the two seemed to have suddenly shortened. They became familiar and intimate, and their conversations were no longer as polite and unfamiliar as before. Subconscious care and dependence lingered in the texts between the two, but they were too confused to notice the meaning behind it.

Ethan Shen is very busy at work every day. He will join the crew to go to Japan to film in a week and has a lot of preparation to do. But as long as it is a message from Aaron Wei, he will reply as soon as possible no matter how busy he is.

In fact, he caught a cold after sitting at the door of Aaron Wei's parents' house until after midnight that night. Fortunately, he had a good health and recovered after two days of medicine. He never mentioned this to anyone. Although his behavior that night was indeed impulsive in retrospect, he did not regret it. He felt very satisfied to be able to stay with Aaron Wei when he was sick, even if Aaron Wei didn't know.

"It's still early. Why don't you watch some TV or take a nap? Are you feeling better?"

"It's much better than the last two days. I plan to go back to my own home tomorrow."

"Go back? Isn't it better to stay at your parents' house? You are sick now and need someone to take care of you. If you go back, you can't even eat properly by yourself."

"That's better than staying here and being nagged by my mom every day. I can order takeout for dinner."

"There's too much MSG in the food out there. You're sick, so try to eat less."

"...I better go to bed."

"Yeah, Ann."

Ten minutes later, WeChat sent another message: "Still can't sleep mm"

Ethan Shen looked at him with a mixture of laughter and heartache. The assistant girl beside him asked him curiously, "Brother Xiang, are you in a relationship?"

Ethan Shen looked up at her in surprise: "No, why do you say that?"

"I see you've been holding your phone and tapping away these past few days..." It's been almost an hour since I got on the bus, and you're still sending WeChat messages non-stop, sometimes giggling, sometimes sighing, and sometimes frowning. Who would believe you if you said you weren't in love...

"Just chatting with friends," Ethan Shen answered her calmly, and after thinking for a while, he asked, "Do you know any way to treat insomnia?"

"Insomnia? Brother Xiang, do you have insomnia?"

"It's not me, it's my friend."

"Is that so?" The little girl rolled her eyes and said with a smile, "For me, the most effective way is to let my boyfriend hold me. I won't suffer from insomnia when I sleep in his arms."

... is completely without reference value.

Seeing his expressionless reaction, the little girl covered her mouth and laughed secretly. After laughing enough, she finally answered him seriously: "Or listen to lullabies, the kind we often listened to when we were children. It's a bit helpful."

Ethan Shen pursed his lips and replied to Aaron Wei: "Why don't you try to listen to some lullabies?"

"Lullaby...?"

"I heard from others that it works, so I'll give it a try."

"Will you sing to me?"

After pressing send, Aaron Wei realized that he had said the wrong thing. Afraid that Ethan Shen would think too much, he quickly sent another message: "I was just kidding."

A minute later, the other side replied: "What do you want to hear?"

******

On the second day after moving back to his own apartment, Felix Luo called and said that it was his birthday and he invited Aaron Wei to dinner to celebrate. Although he was not fully recovered yet, Aaron Wei still had to give him face, so he bought a bottle of fine red wine as a gift and went to the restaurant booked by Felix Luo as agreed.

What was completely beyond his expectations was that he was the only one there, although he had originally thought that there would be many people he knew or didn't know gathered together. The entire restaurant was booked by Felix Luo, who only invited him.

Aaron Wei felt uncomfortable from the moment he sat down. The candlelight flickered in the dim restaurant and the atmosphere was too ambiguous, making him feel very awkward. For a moment he couldn't figure out what Felix Luo meant.

Felix Luo accepted his gift with a smile, called the waiter to open the wine, and asked him: "Are you feeling better?"

He was out of town these days, and he called Aaron Wei every day to say hello. Aaron Wei frowned slightly and said, "It's much better now. By the way, why don't you call more people?"

"Isn't it good for just the two of us?" Felix Luo looked at him with a smile.

"...It will be more lively with more people, right?"

"You're not fully recovered yet, and I'm afraid you'll feel uncomfortable if there are too many people and it gets noisy. It's fine for just the two of us to have a quiet meal."

These words really sounded strange, but seeing Felix Luo acting as if it was a matter of course, Aaron Wei didn't know what to say. He wanted to ask him what he was doing, but he hesitated for a moment and swallowed the words back.

There were exquisite dishes in the high-end restaurant, and someone was playing the violin beside him to create an atmosphere, but Aaron Wei had no appetite at all. He patiently chatted and laughed with Felix Luo, but in fact he felt a little uncomfortable.

"Why aren't you eating? Is the food not to your liking?"

"No...it's pretty good." Aaron Wei lowered his head and reluctantly took a bite. Today was Felix Luo's birthday, and he really didn't want to spoil his mood.

"Then eat more."

Aaron Wei was sweating all over after eating this meal. He finally waited until the plates were cleared and the cake was served. He quickly forced a smile and signaled to Felix Luo: "Make a birthday wish."

Across the candlelight, Felix Luo smiled at him but said nothing. Aaron Wei didn't know how many times tonight he felt a strange sense of discomfort in his heart. It was strange enough for two grown men to celebrate their birthdays like this, especially with Felix Luo's smiling expression at this moment, which made him feel inexplicably embarrassed.

"Make a wish now."

Originally, he just said it to cover up his discomfort, but Felix Luo smiled even more: "Do you really want to know my birthday wish?"

Looking at his burning eyes, Aaron Wei suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart. He lowered his eyes slightly and cleverly avoided it: "Just keep your birthday wishes in your heart. It won't work if you say them out loud."

"It's okay, I want to speak out."

As Felix Luo spoke, he reached out and covered Aaron Wei's hand, which was also on the table. Before he could break away, he said slowly and firmly: "My birthday wish is to be with you, not as friends but as lovers."

Although he had a premonition just now, Aaron Wei was still confused for a moment, and more embarrassed. He pulled his hand back without leaving a trace and stammered: "Don't make such a joke..."

"I'm not kidding. I like you. I've liked you for a long time. I couldn't give you anything before, so I kept working hard. I want to wait until I'm worthy of you before telling you. Can you give me a chance?"

"...I am a man." Aaron Wei reminded him helplessly.

"Is it not okay to be a man? You can't accept homoS3xuality?"

"I..."

As soon as he opened his mouth, Aaron Wei didn't know what to say. He said he couldn't accept homoS3xuality? How could it be possible? He also liked men. However, in fact, ever since he fell in love with Ethan Shen when he was young, he had never seen anyone else in his eyes. No matter whether it was a man or a woman, no one else had ever moved his heart. So when he first heard Felix Luo's confession, he really didn't know what to say. It was impossible for him to accept it, but after all, they had been friends for more than ten years, and he really didn't want to embarrass him.

"I haven't thought about such a thing," Aaron Wei frowned slightly: "I have always regarded you as a good brother, and I have never thought about anything else."

"What do you think now?"

"...Felix Luo, you'd better stop wasting your time on me."

******

After coming out of the restaurant and getting in a taxi, Aaron Wei almost ran away. Felix Luo's last words "I won't give up" were still ringing in his ears, but he could only smile bitterly. He couldn't help but think of the time when he expressed his feelings to Ethan Shen. He wondered if he also wanted to be like himself now, embarrassed and helpless, and finally he simply avoided him.

Just as I was thinking this, the phone screen suddenly lit up. It was a voice message from Ethan Shen: "I'm sorry, I promised you a lullaby but it's been delayed until now. I didn't sing it well, so you'll have to make do with it."

Aaron Wei was stunned for a moment. He had just made a joke that day, but he didn't expect Ethan Shen to take it seriously. His mood suddenly improved for some reason. He paid the fare and got off the car halfway. He walked to a bench on the green belt on the side of the street, sat down, and opened the voice call.

"Twinkle twinkle little stars, how I wonder where you are..."

Ethan Shen sang the nursery rhyme slowly in his low, slightly magnetic voice, but it had a fatal attraction. He listened to it over and over again, repeating it continuously, with the corners of his mouth raised and smiling like a fool.

"I don't think this is going to be of much use..."

Ethan Shen sent another WeChat message, and Aaron Wei replied with a smile: "You look like my dad ▽"

"ah?"

"Papa can you sing twinkle twinkle litter star..."

Ethan Shen looked at the words on the screen, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "...If you don't want to listen, just delete it."

Of course not. Aaron Wei hesitated for a moment and replied, "Didn't you say last time that you would treat me to a meal some other day? How about now? Treat me to a midnight snack."