Chapter 125: You Need to Hold Me for a Bit
Wen Ling had developed a certain understanding of Cheng Ge by now. He asked directly if Cheng Ge needed to use the bathroom.
“…You need to hold me for a bit.”
In truth, Cheng Ge didn’t even need to say it; Wen Ling was already leaning down to support him.
When they held each other, their bodies pressed close, and certain physical changes were inevitably noticed.
Wen Ling stared at Cheng Ge with a fixed, questioning gaze. The more confused he became, the more he stared.
This made it difficult for Cheng Ge to explain. Feeling embarrassed, he coughed twice and tried to ignore Wen Lingās gaze with a forced sense of righteousness.
Wen Ling supported Cheng Ge from the side, staring at him until he almost drifted off into a daze.
“Stop looking,” Cheng Ge turned Wen Lingās head away with extreme awkwardness. “Hey, men should keep their distance! It’s a normal phenomenon, a normal phenomenon… Comrade Xiao Wen, give me some face.”
Cheng Ge assumed Wen Ling wouldn’t understand, or at least wouldn’t think too deeply about it.
The reality was that Wen Ling understood much faster than Cheng Ge expected.
Even though Cheng Ge had been smiling and teasing him for the past two days, looking as if he were more carefree than anyone and completely unconcerned about tomorrow…
The pressure and the unknown were always there. No matter how he hid them, they remained, manifesting in the smallest ways.
When a young man is under extreme pressure, he sometimes needs a release. Cheng Ge was wound too tight, and naturally, things became… uncomfortable.
Cheng Ge threw the used tissue into a trash bag and quickly tied a knot, intending to tell Wen Ling he was finished. However, Wen Ling was a second faster, leaning in to bite his lip.
Cheng Ge was startled and lost his balance; luckily, Wen Ling was already supporting him.
“It must be so uncomfortable.”
Wen Ling murmured, kissing the corner of Cheng Geās mouth before giving it a gentle nip. His eyes were filled with heartache and sorrow.
Cheng Ge wanted to say “I’m fine” or “itās nothing,” but this time, Wen Ling wouldn’t let him speak. He kept kissing Cheng Ge, refusing to give him a chance to catch his breath.
Wen Ling had always been exceptionally obedient, especially when he felt pained for someoneāboth submissive and reckless.
Wen Ling kissed Cheng Ge relentlessly. He was clumsy, but he worked very hard.
Wen Lingās “help” was a case of acting first and asking for permission later. Cheng Ge was completely unprepared; his heart was racing as if heād been struck by lightning, and his mind went blank for several moments.
But because he could hardly stand on his own, he didn’t dare make any move to stop him.
Cheng Ge eventually felt like a “lamb led to the slaughter.” The slaughterer was very kind, very gentle, had a righteous reason, and eyes filled only with pity.
In the end, Cheng Ge gave up on himself. His ears were crimson, and he buried his face in the crook of Wen Lingās neck. His eyes were moist, and he was too shy to utter a single word.
Wen Ling actually had the nerve to give him soothing kisses on his ear and cheek, asking if he felt any better.
Wen Lingās learning ability was truly terrifying; he mimicked Cheng Geās style perfectly.
“How can you be like this…”
“Like what?” Wen Ling tilted his head and asked.
He wasn’t trying to tease Cheng Ge into saying something shameless; he truly didn’t understand what Cheng Ge meant by “how can you be like this.”
“…Nothing.” Cheng Ge gave Wen Lingās cheek a small bite. The force was tiny, more like a kiss, but his words carried a hint of retaliation: “Very good. You just wait.”
The “retaliation” came very quickly.
Wen Ling supported Cheng Ge back to the grass mat and leaned down to help him slide slowly into a sitting position. Just as he was about to stand up, Cheng Ge stopped him.
Cheng Ge circled Wen Lingās waist, refusing to let him get up. Wen Ling propped his hands against the wall, letting out a startled cry.
“Cheng… Cheng Ge?”
“Don’t move.”
Wen Ling was rarely at such a loss. He was afraid of hurting Cheng Ge, so he didn’t dare move.
Cheng Ge met his gaze, his eyes dark and deep.
In an instant, Wen Lingās eyes grew round and watery. “Cheng Ge… don’t…”
His Cheng Ge refused to listen, focusing entirely on his “retaliation.”
“Don’t… don’t, Cheng Ge, I can’t stand steady… Ge-ge…” Wen Ling began to plead, as he often did when he was trying to act sweet.
Wen Ling was straightforward to a fault, but his “upper limit” was quite low.
Normally, the two of them were as pure as could be, and Cheng Ge was usually completely submissive to Wen Ling in these matters. This sudden reversal left Wen Ling completely overwhelmed.
Wen Lingās whimpers began to carry a crying tone. His brain had turned into a mess of mush.
He was terrified of falling or bumping into Cheng Geās injuries, yet he couldn’t suppress his natural instincts. Caught in the conflict, he gradually began to sob.
Wen Lingās crying always made Cheng Geās heart soften, regardless of the reason. Hearing Wen Ling cry, Cheng Ge grew soft-hearted and let him go after only a single round of “retaliation.”
Through this, Wen Ling finally understood roughly what Cheng Ge meant by “how can you be like this.”
But that was just how he wasāhe wanted Cheng Ge to feel better, and he wouldn’t change.
Wen Ling curled up beside Cheng Ge, resting his head on Cheng Geās shoulder and nuzzling him, mumbling something incoherent.
Most of it was nonsense; the stimulation just now had been too great, and he felt like he was still floating. He just wanted Cheng Ge to pay more attention to him.
Cheng Ge couldn’t hold Wen Ling to coax him as he usually did. He could only stroke Wen Lingās back and squeeze the back of his neck.
Wen Ling touched Cheng Geās Adamās apple and asked, “Does it hurt here?”
“No,” Cheng Ge caught Wen Lingās hand. “Not here. Higher up, inside… it doesn’t hurt.”
Wen Ling nodded, only half-understanding. Cheng Ge saw that he was still in a daze and poked his cheek on purposeāhe clearly knew what he was doing.
Once Wen Ling had calmed down, Cheng Ge pinched his face. His warning was full of indulgence: “Do you still dare to do that?”
“Hmph.” Wen Ling definitely still dared.
Cheng Ge was amused into a laugh. “You’re something else.”
Wen Ling grew proud. “Since I’m so ‘something else,’ Cheng Ge, kiss me.”
Cheng Ge truly laughed at that. He gave Wen Ling several pecks on the lips. “Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss.”
Wen Ling started talking to himself again, mumbling for a long time. Suddenly, he hugged Cheng Ge, his strength very controlled. He whispered Cheng Geās name, almost like a prayer.
Wen Ling was very serious and very melancholy. He said Cheng Ge wouldn’t let him see the wounds, but in truth, he didn’t dare to look anyway.
“If I look, I’ll want to cry. If you’re in pain, I want to cry. I can’t help it.”
“But my crying is useless. I can never do anything.”
“Don’t think like that, Xiao Wen,” Cheng Ge pinched Wen Lingās face. “There are many things no one can do. Youāve already done so muchāat least you can do more than me right now.”
“And you have the right to cry. Crying isn’t useless, at least not to me.”
Wen Ling was like a drunk person; he didn’t listen to others and only cared about his own thoughts.
He began to voice the things he had been bottling upāheartfelt words that only came out under this “intoxicated” state.
Though he had only been bottling them up for a single day.
“I can’t stand seeing you in pain. Those people treated you like that… I really… I really wanted to kill them, but the reality is I can’t do anything.”
“Were you awake back then?” In the car, Cheng Ge had felt Wen Ling move slightly, but he thought heād imagined it.
“The things I said then were lies. I didn’t mean them.”
“I know. I could hear you, and I knew what was happening around us. I just couldn’t move…” Wen Ling was truly miserable. “I knew Cheng Ge was doing it to save me, and I couldn’t do anything.”
Wen Ling had a streak of arrogance in him.
In front of Cheng Ge, he would make things difficult for himself, restrain himself, and yieldābut that was because he wanted to, and because he wanted Cheng Ge to be happy.
But with others, he found there were so many things he couldn’t do. He couldn’t even protect Cheng Ge, even though he felt he should have been able to.
Cheng Geās chest felt heavy with a dull ache.
No wonder. No wonder Wen Lingās state had been so strange when he first woke up. No wonder Cheng Ge had felt sweat on Wen Lingās face.
It wasn’t sweat.
It was tears.
“You can do many things, Xiao Wen. If it weren’t for you, I would have been a discarded corpse by now, you know?”
“If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t even have water to drink or food to eat tonight, right?”
Wen Ling lowered his head. “But… but I couldn’t even find a village. I got lost… I almost didn’t make it back. Whatās going to happen to your leg…”
“Thatās not your fault. If I had gone, I probably wouldn’t even have been able to bring back a pot of water. Once I’m a bit better, weāll go look together.”
“At worst, weāll just live like wildmen for a few more days. Weāll check the river for fish, climb trees for bird eggs… maybe thereās wild fruit? If there is, Iāll climb up and pick some for us. Itāll be fine, really. Don’t carry such a heavy burden.”
“…Mn.” Wen Ling said he understood.
Cheng Ge didn’t know if Wen Ling actually understood, but for now, all he could do was stay by his side and let him slowly process those overwhelming emotions.
Cheng Ge pulled Wen Ling into a deep, comforting embrace.
“Letās rest for a bit together. Sleep if you’re tired. Itās okayātomorrow is a new day, right?”
Wen Ling nodded. Suddenly, he said, “It would be nice if we had a candle.”
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