Min Shu: … 

Min Shu: ??

The drowsiness he’d finally managed to muster vanished in an instant. In the darkness, Min Shu snapped his eyes open. W-what on earth is going on?!

Feeling the scorching heat on his back, Min Shu’s eyes darted frantically around the room—there were only two people in the bed, so it was obvious who was pressed against him from behind.

Then, suddenly, Min Shu felt a tight grip around his waist.

His whole body froze. He slowly lowered his gaze in the darkness and saw an arm draped across his waist.

That arm had just made him drool with desire; its forearm, with its smooth, defined muscles, was now draped across his waist.

Min Shu：！！！

Min Shu instinctively struggled to break free, but the moment he moved, the arm around his waist suddenly tightened.

Next, Min Shu felt himself slide a short distance across the bed with a “swoosh,” his back colliding with a hot, firm sensation. He could even feel the man’s warm breath against his earlobe, and the man let out a sigh of satisfaction.

Wei Changchuan had pulled him completely into his embrace.

It wasn’t a loose embrace, but one as if holding a large stuffed animal—one arm wrapped around his waist, the other around his shoulder, holding Min Shu firmly in place.

Min Shu felt like the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end! W-what is this?!

Is this some kind of straight guy’s little trick?!

Min Shu’s face flushed crimson as he felt the man’s thick pectoral muscles pressed against his back. His body temperature was so high, it was like a furnace, enveloping him in a suffocating heat. For the first time, Min Shu understood what the ancients meant by “warming the bed.”

In stark contrast to his own fluster, Wei Changchuan slept soundly, his body rising and falling with long, deep breaths.

It wasn’t exactly snoring, but the man’s slightly deep breathing reminded Min Shu of the golden retriever owned by the host of the guesthouse where he’d once worked—the kind of sound the dog would make when basking comfortably in the warm sunlight.

Min Shu froze for a moment, unable to break free or move. After a while, drowsiness gradually crept over him. Wei Changchuan’s embrace was so warm that it even warmed his hands and feet, which were usually cold year-round.

In a warm place, human willpower is generally quite weak, and after a while, Min Shu drifted off to sleep.

To his surprise, Min Shu slept soundly.

In the days since Isua’s passing, his sleep had been poor; he often lay awake all night long. Even when he did fall asleep, he would sometimes hear the sound of a lullaby in a daze, only to wake up and find the room empty, after which he could never fall back asleep.

But today, his sleep was exceptionally deep and restful; he didn’t have a single dream. In the early morning, he was awakened by a faint rustling sound.

Min Shu opened his eyes; the room was still dark. He looked out the window and saw that the wind and snow had not yet stopped. Then, he heard the steady sound of breathing right beside him.

Min Shu’s gaze fell upon the man’s chiseled features.

At some point, he had shifted from lying with his back to Wei Changchuan to facing him directly. The man’s arm was draped around his shoulders, his expression relaxed as he slept on.

Seeing him sleep so soundly, Min Shu felt a subtle pang of irritation. Suddenly, he recalled a popular internet meme: “A straight guy’s casual flirtation leaves me suffering for a lifetime.”

What’s wrong with this guy? Just casually hugging and cuddling with people like that—would a straight guy really do that? Just then, Wei Changchuan suddenly opened his eyes.

His eyes were deep-set; his long lashes fluttered slightly as his gaze gradually cleared. When he realized the position they were in, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes, and he abruptly let go of Min Shu, stepping back a little. But this was a single bed to begin with—there wasn’t much room to retreat.

Wei Changchuan looked utterly bewildered. He furrowed his brow, glanced down at his hands, then looked back at Min Shu: “…I’m sorry.” He raised a hand to rub the corner of his forehead, and when he opened his eyes again, his expression had returned to its usual sternness:

“I was out of line last night,” he said.

Min Shu was a bit awkward, too. “It wasn’t really an offense,” he said. He was the type who couldn’t stand seeing others feel awkward. The slight resentment he’d felt moments ago was already far behind him, and he stepped in to break the tension: “We’re both guys anyway. A hug won’t hurt. Don’t let it bother you.”

Wei Changchuan’s expression remained stern. He seemed a bit irritable as he raised his hand to brush the hair from his forehead: “I’ll sleep on the floor tonight.”

Min Shu was taken aback for a moment, then said, “That’s out of the question.”

He only had a single set of bedding, and the house had no underfloor heating. The floor was built directly on top of the permafrost; even walking barefoot on it usually made him shiver with cold, let alone sleeping on it.

There’s no hospital in their town, and getting sick from the cold is no joke.

“Absolutely not.”   Min Shu frowned. “You’ll get sick if you sleep on the floor. I don’t mind, you should sleep in the bed.”

Wei Changchuan heard this and frowned, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

However, as they talked, Min Shu suddenly remembered that he was gay. Just because he didn’t mind didn’t mean others wouldn’t, so he had to tell Wei Changchuan.

So he said, “Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you—I like guys. If that bothers you—”

Min Shu stopped mid-sentence.

Wait a minute, if he brought this up now, wouldn’t it seem like he’d been scheming all along to sleep in the same bed as Wei Changchuan? Min Shu thought. At the same time, Wei Changchuan heard what he said and looked up at him.

When their eyes met, Min Shu froze, suddenly realizing he’d just come out to a stranger. So embarrassing!!

Min Shu froze in embarrassment. Seeing Wei Changchuan staring at him, he hurriedly began to explain, flustered: “I didn’t mean it that way. I just wanted to say that even though I like guys, I don’t like you—”

Upon hearing the words “don’t like,” Wei Changchuan’s furrowed brow relaxed slightly, his expression becoming somewhat ambiguous.

Min Shu realized he’d said the wrong thing: “N-no, that’s not what I meant! It’s not that I don’t like you either!”

“You’re a great guy, and you’re really handsome… I—I just wanted to say that even though I like guys, even if we slept in the same bed, I wouldn’t do anything to you. You really don’t need to worry!”

He fumbled through his explanation, while Wei Changchuan listened without saying a word, though the look in his eyes as he watched Min Shu gradually grew a bit peculiar.

His gaze fell on the young man sitting awkwardly on the bed, drifted down slightly, then turned away:

“Hmm.” Min Shu heard him say, “I’m not worried.”

At those words, Min Shu froze for a moment, then looked down at his own skinny arms and legs, then glanced at Wei Changchuan’s muscular arms, and fell silent.

Min Shu suddenly realized that it seemed like not a single word he’d said all morning had been right.

Could staying in the cold for too long actually freeze one’s brain? Why did his intelligence seem to have vanished, just like a phone that’s frozen and shut down?

Min Shu was completely embarrassed by his own behavior and was too flustered to say a word. Wei Changchuan didn’t speak either, and the two stood there facing each other in awkward silence.

Just then, a rustling sound rang out, louder than the one Min Shu had heard earlier. Min Shu turned his head warily to look out the window and whispered:

“There’s too much snow on the roof…”

The houses in Greenland are all made of wood and have limited load-bearing capacity; if too much snow accumulates, they could collapse. Min Shu was a little worried, but just as he was about to get up, he heard Wei Changchuan say, “I’ll go.”

He stood up and walked out before Min Shu could stop him. Min Shu hurriedly pulled on some warm fleece socks, a loose-fitting sweater, and fleece-lined pants, then ran after him.

As Min Shu opened the door, several dogs that had just woken up gathered around him, rubbing their snow-flecked fur against him and whining affectionately. Min Shu grabbed a few pieces of frozen fish to feed them. Just then, he heard the sound of thick snow falling in the yard.

Before long, Wei Changchuan walked over—wearing only Min Shu’s pajamas, which looked baggy on him but now clung tightly to his body. As he approached, the dogs actually made way for him on their own. Wei Changchuan naturally took Min Shu, who was standing at the doorway, inside and closed the door behind them.

“Bro—” Min Shu’s eyes widened in surprise. “You went out wearing just that?”

A blizzard was raging outside, and the man was actually going out in just his pajamas?

“Mm-hmm.” Wei Changchuan seemed completely oblivious to her shock. Instead, he glanced at the door, then turned back to ask her, “Don’t you want to let the dogs in?”

Min Shu: “No need…”

Wei Changchuan nodded, turned, and walked toward the bathroom, presumably to wash up.

Min Shu stood frozen in place. Could it be that he’d been sick for so long he’d forgotten what healthy people were like? But even a man of the Inuit tribe would put on thick fur clothing before going out in this kind of weather. Besides, the uniform Wei Changchuan had been wearing when he showed up yesterday didn’t look very warm either…

Min Shu thought back to the warm, cozy bed from last night. Maybe some people’s body temperature was just naturally higher?

Min Shu was a bit puzzled, but since he couldn’t figure it out, he decided not to dwell on it. After washing up, he asked Wei Changchuan, “Bro, what do you want for breakfast?”

Wei Changchuan replied, “Anything’s fine.”

Min Shu replied, “Then I’ll just whip something up.”

Since they’d had noodles last night, Min Shu decided to make something different. He took out the frozen wonton dumplings he’d wrapped and stored in the ice cellar earlier. Pork was scarce on the island, so Min Shu had chopped up fresh pork in advance and made a whole freezer full of dumplings and wontons. He’d been worried he wouldn’t be able to eat them all before they went bad, but luckily Wei Changchuan had arrived.

The wontons were separated into individual bags with plastic wrap. Min Shu boiled one bag for himself and two bags for Wei Changchuan. When they were nearly done, he added a spoonful of lard to each bowl, followed by soy sauce, vinegar, and other seasonings. The secret was a spoonful of sugar to bring out the flavor and three spoonfuls of chili oil—and just like that, a delicious bowl of spicy and sour chili oil wontons was ready.

Worried that Wei Changchuan might not be full, Min Shu also rolled a bowl of glutinous rice dumplings, cooked them in homemade sweet rice wine to make a bowl of sweet rice wine dumplings, and made a chicken egg pancake. Paired with the tangy and spicy pickles, it made for a delicious breakfast spread.

When he brought the food to the table, however, Wei Changchuan was nowhere to be seen.

Just as he was about to go look for him, Min Shu saw the front door open, and Wei Changchuan walked in, holding a shovel he’d apparently fetched from the basement at some point.

Min Shu’s eyes widened slightly. The man looked up, glanced at him, and said, “I shoveled the snow.”

Hearing this, Min Shu looked outside and indeed saw that a path had been cleared through the several feet of snow from the front door to the courtyard gate. The path was unusually wide, with the snow piled up on both sides, revealing the black soil beneath—much cleaner than when Min Shu had shoveled it himself in the past. Moreover, while it usually took him a whole day to clear the snow, the man had finished it in just half an hour.

Min Shu was a little stunned. Suddenly, he felt that this man he’d stumbled upon wasn’t so bad after all?