Chapter 70: Going for a Walk
Wen Ling had fewer classes lately. Cheng Ge squeezed some time out of his schedule, planning to go out for a stroll with Wen Ling over the weekend and take him to get glasses while they were at it.
The school’s confession wall said the campus optical shop was a rip-off, and Cheng Ge felt that getting Wen Ling a pair of glasses was an urgent matter.
It wasn’t so noticeable before, but ever since Cheng Ge discovered Wen Ling was nearsighted, he constantly caught Wen Ling squinting at things.
Cheng Ge had to remind Wen Ling every single moment to stay back from the screen and stop squinting.
Wen Ling would always say “oh” or “okay,” but it wouldn’t be long before his head drifted back toward the screen. Cheng Ge would then have to press his palm against Wen Lingās forehead to push him away.
Underneath his palm, those large eyes would look at him innocently.
Actually, it was quite strange. Cheng Ge remembered that usually, nearsighted peopleās eyes looked a bit dull, but Wen Ling wasn’t like that. His eyes were always very clear, and when he looked at him, his gaze became very vivid, sparkling and watery.
To the point where Cheng Ge couldn’t help but look at his eyes first whenever he looked at Wen Ling.
But if they actually made eye contact, he would immediately look away as if heād been electrocuted. Cheng Ge attributed this reaction to the “awkwardness of eye contact between acquaintances” principle.
Because Wen Ling had no idea how to spell the word “awkward” and always stared at him blatantly, Cheng Ge ended up shouldering Wen Lingās share of the awkwardness as well.
Maybe things will get better once Wen Ling puts on glasses? After all, there’ll be a piece of glass between us, right? Cheng Ge thought to himself.
Saturday, in the dormitory.
“I heard that guy is transferring schools?” Zhang Fan asked while looking at Cheng Ge in the mirror.
“Yeah.” Cheng Ge slung a large messenger bag over his shoulder, his expression neutral.
“That guy” naturally referred to Lin Yucheng. He had already vented Wen Lingās frustration for him and done everything that needed to be done. He didn’t want to care about the remaining dirty business, nor did he want Wen Ling to get tainted by it.
Cheng Ge didn’t belong here in the first place; getting tangled in too many cycles of karma wasn’t right.
So now, Cheng Ge simply avoided Lin Yucheng and bought information from 001 to ensure the safety of himself and Wen Ling.
Zhang Fan raised an eyebrow. “Can’t stay here anymore?”
Cheng Ge didn’t care much. He packed an umbrella, a small fan, and mineral water into his messenger bag with a smile. “Probably.”
When a villain falls from their high pedestal, they will naturally be torn apart by those they once suppressed.
“By the way, aren’t you going out with Wen Ling?”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Nothing,” Zhang Fan laughed and shook his head. “Seeing your setup, youāre making it look like youāre going on a date. Youāve prepared everything for him.”
Cheng Geās movement to put on his shoes paused. He didn’t know how to respond.
A moment later, Cheng Ge continued tying his laces. “What are you talking about? It’s just because he’s forgetful. I’m worried he’ll leave things behind, so I’m bringing backups.”
“I was just joking. But I think Wen Ling is quite meticulous in his work. Heās not like what you say.”
Cheng Ge stood up straight, hands on his hips. “That’s because you don’t know him.”
“Tch, acting like you know him so well,” Cheng Ge was about to say that he did know him very well, but Zhang Fan pivoted. “Though you really do know him well, huh.”
Cheng Ge feigned a roll of his eyes. “…”
Reaching the door, Cheng Ge suddenly said, “But usually, he really is quite meticulous and calm. He just doesn’t put his mind on these trivial matters, which is why I say he’s forgetful. I’m off.”
“Bye-bye. Daddy won’t miss you.”
Bang.
In normal times, Wen Ling was indeed a calm and steady person. Nothing could stir the ripples in his heart; he dealt with everything as if he were an outsider looking in.
He wouldn’t curry favor with anyone or get close to anyone. He was cold and distant to everyone, even very introverted. Because he looked well-behaved, anyone who saw him thought he was a quiet and reserved good child.
But Cheng Ge wasn’t just “anyone,” and Wen Lingās behavior toward Cheng Ge didn’t fall under “normal times.” Thus, the Wen Ling he saw was vastly different from what others saw.
A clingy spirit, a nuisance, a big-eyed monsterāof course, these weren’t derogatory terms. Cheng Ge was just being objective, describing things one-to-one.
He really loved being clingy, especially with physical contact, like he had skin hunger. Every time, he made Cheng Geās body feel itchy, giving him goosebumps.
And his eyes were huge, very round, always staring at Cheng Ge, conveying something along the lines of “I really want a kiss.”
Silly, slow, stubborn, loving to throw petty little tantrums, his thinking couldn’t keep up with others, yet others couldn’t keep up with his thoughts either. Dorky, but dorkily cute.
Overall, he was like a well-behaved child with high IQ but low EQ.
Standing outside Wen Lingās dorm, the door in front of Cheng Ge was opened from the inside. Wen Ling leaned out, and as soon as he saw Cheng Ge, he leaned toward him, his tone drawn out and soft. “Cheng Ge.”
Oh, he also always acted like he was acting spoiled. Cheng Ge used the word “like” because he knew very well that Wen Ling had no clue what “acting spoiled” actually was.
“Let’s go.”
Todayās itinerary was simple: a hearty breakfast together, heading to the optical shop for glasses, then watching a movie, and finally hitting the snack street.
For breakfast, they went to a dim sum place Cheng Ge had booked in advance. The environment was clean and the food tasted good. Interestingly, Cheng Ge found that Wen Ling quite liked the food there, especially the chicken feet. He looked quite happy gnawing on them.
The foot went into his mouth, his mouth moved a few times, and the bone popped right out.
After finishing breakfast and resting for a bit, they prepared to head to the optical shop.
Wen Lingās face began to turn pink after coming out of the air-conditioned room. Cheng Ge took the small fan out of his bag and stuffed it into Wen Lingās hand. “Use this.”
Wen Ling was afraid of heat, but he didn’t like sweating; the heat tended to “show on his face.” Once he got hot, his face turned pink, making him look very stuffy.
“Thank you, Cheng Ge.”
Actually, saying Wen Ling was forgetful wasn’t entirely accurate. Wen Ling simply didn’t care, so he didn’t bring things or manage them.
Cheng Ge suddenly thought that if one were to raise a child like Wen Ling, it could be very simple or very difficult.
Simple enough that one wouldn’t need to do much, even letting him grow under a massive storm or in foul, stained mud, because that was how Wen Ling had survived until now.
That was why Wen Ling was always slow, always numb to most thingsāotherwise, he wouldn’t have lived this long.
Probably because he had seen what Wen Ling was like as a child, Cheng Ge felt that Wen Ling should be raised meticulously. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair. How could someone live their whole life like that?
Wen Ling was thin and had a bad stomach, so Cheng Ge wanted Wen Ling to eat more. And when he ate, he wanted him to have a balanced diet, eating things he liked, hoping to nourish his body back to health.
Wen Ling had a weak constitution; Cheng Ge couldn’t stand seeing Wen Ling constantly catching colds and fevers, so he wanted him to exercise more. Whether he could become a “little tough guy” was another matter, but his physical fitness could at least be improved.
Wen Ling was dorky and single-minded, yet sometimes he was overly sensitive and petty, with such strong possessiveness. But Cheng Ge now felt there was nothing wrong with Wen Ling being this way. He even thought Wen Ling should be like this. After having such a bitter childhood, what was wrong with being a bit slow or stingy with his own things?
In short, Cheng Ge couldn’t stand seeing Wen Ling hot, couldn’t stand seeing him lonely. Many things Wen Ling didn’t care about or couldn’t perceive, Cheng Ge cared about them and wanted to cover every base.
Sometimes Cheng Ge felt he was making a fuss over nothing, worrying unnecessarily.
But seeing Wen Ling becoming increasingly clean and fair, with a bit more flesh on his face and a much better complexion, and catching that sparkle in Wen Lingās eyes when he saw him, he felt it wasn’t unnecessary worry at all.
Most importantly, Wen Ling would always give him little surprises.
Case in point: Wen Ling, while blowing the fan on himself, still remembered to blow some toward him. Could the “Little Emperor” from before have done this? When would he have been so thoughtful? Back then, he would have high-handedly ordered Cheng Ge to hold the fan and fan him like a laborer.
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