Chapter 108: The Copycat
The orientation of the new dormitory was excellent, with fantastic lighting. Not long after the sun rose, it would shine directly onto the bed. Autumn mornings were somewhat chilly, but the sunlight made everything feel warm and cozy.
When Wen Ling woke up, Cheng Ge was still sleeping, which was quite a rare occurrence.
Wen Ling hadn’t slept well the night before, so he woke up early today. He wasn’t particularly tired, though. He tilted his head back slightly, staring at Cheng Ge with his round, bright eyes.
Cheng Ge’s eyelashes were long and very thick. Wen Ling was considering whether to return to his old habit of counting them.
But as he started counting, he noticed something was off—why were Cheng Ge’s eyelids constantly twitching? Even the eyeballs beneath them were moving.
“Cheng Ge? Cheng Ge?” Wen Ling called out softly. He wanted to wake him, yet feared disturbing his rest.
But Wen Ling’s way of speaking sounded like a little thief, which was incredibly amusing. Moreover, they were so close that the puff of air against Cheng Ge’s skin was ticklish, making it almost impossible for Cheng Ge to hold back his laughter.
Because he was holding it in, his eyelids trembled even more obviously, looking like someone whose internal energy was about to go haywire during cultivation.
Wen Ling felt suspicious. Remembering Cheng Ge’s bout of coughing up blood last night, he grew worried. He reached out and lightly pressed his hand over Cheng Ge’s eyelids, his tone carrying a hint of a command: “Stop moving.”
Cheng Ge truly couldn’t hold it in any longer. He suddenly curved his eyes, grabbed Wen Ling’s hand, and kissed it several times.
Wen Ling stayed dazed for a good while. Once he realized what was happening, he let out a long, drawn-out “Agh” and pulled the blanket over his head. “Why is Cheng Ge playing this game too?”
“Is it fun?” Cheng Ge used his finger to hook the blanket down a bit.
Wen Ling revealed a pair of sparkling eyes. “So it really is that obvious?”
He finally understood why Cheng Ge always said his eyelids were moving and knew instantly whenever he was faking sleep.
“Mm, a bit,” Cheng Ge said honestly. “But yours might not be as obvious as mine. Your gaze is just too burning. Besides, looking at how cute you are always makes me want to smile.”
“How can you see that I’m cute when your eyes are closed?”
Cheng Ge continued to smile. Wen Ling’s points of focus were always so unique. “Listening to you is cute enough, okay?”
“I suppose that’s acceptable, then.”
Cheng Ge shifted himself down a bit, hugging Wen Ling’s waist. He bumped his nose against Wen Ling’s and then buried his head in the crook of the other’s neck, kissing his throat and collarbone.
“Are you still sleepy? Let’s lie here for a while longer. We don’t have classes this morning anyway.”
“Okay.” Wen Ling wrapped his arms around Cheng Ge’s head. He had noticed that Cheng Ge had become increasingly fond of hugging him in a dependent posture lately.
“Hey, Comrade Xiao Wen.” Cheng Ge scratched Wen Ling’s back.
“What is it?”
“You’re holding me a bit tight. I can’t breathe.”
“Then I’ll be lighter.”
“Alright.”
After a moment of silence, Cheng Ge didn’t want Wen Ling to keep things bottled up, so he opened a conversation: “Why don’t you ask me some questions?”
Wen Ling’s body tensed up. “…What should I ask you?”
“Hmm… ask me how I did it. Aren’t you curious?”
[001: Cough! Host warning!]
Cheng Ge thought Wen Ling would want to know, but to his surprise, Wen Ling shook his head. After a while, he asked instead, “Is it because our relationship is too intimate?”
“I suppose so,” Cheng Ge thought about it and said, “Anyway, I won’t look at anyone else’s.”
“Mm.”
“Actually, I want to say sorry to you,” Cheng Ge tightened his hold on Wen Ling’s waist. “I’m sorry, Xiao Wen.”
Wen Ling furrowed his brows. “Don’t apologize. I don’t want you to apologize to me. I just… I just can’t accept it myself.”
“Actually, I’ve forgotten many of the things from before. I don’t remember them anymore. I didn’t want you to know.”
Cheng Ge looked up at Wen Ling’s downcast eyes.
Liar. If you don’t remember, why do you still have nightmares all the time?
“I only remember that I was always very dirty…”
“You’re not dirty. Don’t talk nonsense,” Cheng Ge pinched Wen Ling’s lips together like a pair of scissors. “I told you, you’re the cleanest baby.”
Wen Ling patted Cheng Ge’s hand away and retorted, “My face used to be swollen and bruised. I was always bleeding, and there was so much dust. That’s very dirty.”
“What kind of silly talk is that? I coughed up blood yesterday—did you think I was dirty?” Cheng Ge pinned Wen Ling’s hands down. “Whatever you felt then is exactly what I felt. Do you think I’m dirty?”
“I don’t!”
“Then I don’t either.”
“Don’t you feel bad for me?” Cheng Ge tilted his head, acting quite stubborn.
“My heart aches for you.”
“Then my heart aches for you too! Isn’t it mutual?”
Wen Ling met Cheng Ge’s gaze. Cheng Ge put on a valiant, high-spirited front, and Wen Ling eventually fell silent, admitting defeat.
“But… but I was very ugly back then, and…”
“Ugly my ass. You were so damn cute as a kid, I fucking want to kiss you to death.” While Cheng Ge talked about “kissing him to death,” he didn’t slack in his actions either, cupping Wen Ling’s face and kissing him all over.
“Didn’t I tell you back when the semester started that I dreamed about you as a child? Dammit, you were exceptionally cute.”
“That wasn’t real.”
“It’s truer than pearls! Agh…” Cheng Ge nuzzled into Wen Ling’s embrace, actually throwing a rare tantrum, acting completely unreasonable.
“You really are the cutest, cutest, cutest baby in the world! Why won’t you believe me? I’ll be a puppy if I’m lying!”
If the version of him from three months ago could see his current worthless, pestering self saying such mushy, sentimental words, his vision would go dark again and again. He’d probably lose the will to live.
Perhaps love is always like this. It is both armor and a weakness. It makes a person mature enough to stand tall, yet makes them as childish as a toddler. It makes one brave and bright, yet sensitive and insecure.
Cheng Ge wanted Wen Ling to grow into a healthy little tree.
If Wen Ling didn’t understand, Cheng Ge would teach him. If he didn’t believe, Cheng Ge would tell him over and over again. If he was insecure, Cheng Ge would praise him—praise him for a lifetime. Cheng Ge was willing to face Wen Ling’s past to the very end, and even more willing to lead him toward the future.
In truth, Cheng Ge was often a man of few words, and he was especially stingy with affectionate language. Wen Ling never knew Cheng Ge had such a childlike side; he was so talkative now. Wen Ling would always believe Cheng Ge’s words.
Throughout the entire morning, Cheng Ge chattered so much that Wen Ling began to doubt if he truly was some incomparable treasure on earth.
Finally, Wen Ling grabbed Cheng Ge’s hand, his voice muffled: “Then… in short, I’ll tell you everything you want to know. Don’t look at my dreams anymore. That’s not good. Not good at all.”
Cheng Ge squeezed his hand back. “I promise you. But you should know, it’s only because you don’t want me to do it. I’ll listen to you, but not for any other reason.”
“Okay,” Wen Ling’s eyelashes lowered, then lifted again. “I understand.”
“Do you really understand, or are you just saying that?”
“Really. Truer than pearls.”
Cheng Ge was amused by him and pressed his face against Wen Ling’s. “You’ve already learned that expression? Your learning ability is quite strong, Comrade Xiao Wen.”
Wen Ling felt a bit embarrassed and asked back with a feigned fierceness, “Is that not allowed?”
“It’s allowed. Of course it is. I’m praising you for being impressive.”
The little copycat.
“Let me ask you, who is the cutest person in the world?” Cheng Ge conducted a surprise inspection.
“It’s me,” Wen Ling said. Cheng Ge had been chanting it all morning; it had become a conditioned reflex.
“Were you cute as a kid, or are you cute now that you’re grown?”
“Both are very cute.”
“Isn’t our Xiao Wen especially likable? Especially precious?”
“I’m liked by Cheng Ge. Cheng Ge finds me especially precious.”
That was something Wen Ling added himself.
“I like you very much.” Cheng Ge felt that Wen Ling was truly too precious. Before, he never thought he would fall for someone, but now he wondered: how could someone exist who made him like them this much?
Translator’s Note: “Truer than pearls” is a direct translation of a Chinese idiom (比珍珠還真) that means something is absolutely, undeniably true. Cheng Ge is really laying it on thick today! It’s heartwarming to see him use his “worthless, pestering self” to rebuild Wen Ling’s self-esteem.
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