Drowsy in a Hazy Marriage

■Married First, Love Later | A Secret Crush Comes True | Reunited After Years Apart | Everyday Sweetness

■Trouble-making insomniac Zhou Mian vs. aloof sleep therapist Lu Qingchuan

Zhou Mian had been plagued by insomnia for a long time. At last, she mustered the courage to seek treatment. On the first day, the veteran specialist she had booked with canceled at the last minute, and a doctoral student of another veteran specialist took his place.

Zhou Mian entered the consulting room. The young male doctor seeing her wore a mask and was intently studying the computer screen in front of him. When he saw her come in, his gaze swept over her lightly. "Give me your appointment slip."

The doctor looked through Zhou Mian's medical history and said in a cool voice, "Director Jiang already gave you your first relaxation training session. Today is the second. All right, let's begin. Go lie down over there."

Zhou Mian froze and didn't move, staring blankly at the man before her.

"What is it? Is there something else?"

Lying on the treatment couch, Zhou Mian could hear her heart pounding violently.

"Lie still. Relax. Don't tense your muscles. Good..."

"Breathe with your diaphragm. That's right, breathe in... and out..."

His deep, magnetic voice seemed to surround her from every direction, and Zhou Mian simply couldn't relax.

Just then, someone knocked. A nurse poked her head in. "Dr. Lu, sorry to bother you. There's an elderly lady who came from out of town and wants to squeeze in an appointment."

Lu Qingchuan turned around. "All right, I'll be there in a moment."

*

The next time Zhou Mian met Lu Qingchuan was seven years after she graduated from high school.

By then, she had been secretly in love with him for ten years.

*

By the end of her tenth treatment session, Zhou Mian's insomnia had improved a lot.

But she discovered a bug:

It seemed she could only fall asleep when Lu Qingchuan was there.

So, on a sunny morning,

Zhou Mian asked Lu Qingchuan, "Dr. Lu, sorry to bother you."

"Would you marry me?"

*

Their marriage of convenience was for one year. When the contract expired, Zhou Mian drafted a divorce agreement.

At that time, Zhou Mian was on a business trip, having flown halfway around the world.

In a foreign country, under pressure, in an unfamiliar bed, her insomnia relapsed.

It was pouring outside that night. Zhou Mian was on the bed, repeatedly practicing diaphragmatic breathing, when she heard the doorbell. She got up to answer it.

She stared in shock at Lu Qingchuan, drenched through on the other side of the door.

Zhou Mian: "What are you doing here?"

Lu Qingchuan: "I came to sleep with my wife."

That night, Lu Qingchuan pinned her beneath him, their fingers interlaced as he panted heavily.

Lu Qingchuan: "Something as big as getting divorced, and you didn't even discuss it with me?"

Zhou Mian: "I didn't discuss getting married with you either. So shall we discuss it now?"

The next second, Lu Qingchuan's kiss sealed Zhou Mian's lips.

Through the haze, Zhou Mian heard him say in her ear, "There's nothing to discuss."

*

Zhou Mian had a private Weibo account called "I Saw Qingchuan."

It was filled with page after page of a young girl's secret thoughts.

"His name sounds so nice."

"Oh no, I think I've fallen for him!"

"He's graduating. I wonder if he saw the gift I secretly stuffed into his desk... (When I went to put it in, I found it was already full of gifts...)"

"I heard he applied to medical school. Of course, it suits him so well."

"Another sleepless night, and I'm thinking of you again."

"Someone confessed to me. That guy is wonderful too, so why can't I forget you?"

"LQC! I've decided to forget you!"

"!!!!!!!!!! I went to see a doctor today and ran into him, but he was a little cold to me... He probably doesn't even remember me anymore."

"Nice to meet you. Please sleep with me!"

After they got married, Lu Qingchuan gave Zhou Mian a new computer. While transferring the old computer's data, he found that her private Weibo account was still logged in. He saw the account called "I Saw Qingchuan" and read the passionate love Zhou Mian had written about him. Delighted, he replied to her posts one by one:

"Mianmian, your name sounds lovely too. So soft. I want to kiss you."

"I think I liked you even earlier than you liked me..."

"I really don't know which gift you gave me for graduation. Can you tell me? And do you know that the bouquet of irises you received when you graduated was from me?"

"I knew you studied international relations. It suits you perfectly, future diplomat."

"When I stayed up all night doing experiments in the lab, I thought of your name to keep myself awake."

"Yeah... I still regret that someone else beat me to confessing to you."

"Zhou Mian, I will always remember you."

"I didn't forget you. I was nervous, and the more nervous I get, the colder my face looks..."

"I want to marry you and help you sleep for the rest of your life."

Theme: Get a good night's sleep