Chapter 115: Applying Face Cream
Cheng Ge kissed the corners of Wen Ling’s eyes, kissing away all his tears. He wrapped the blanket tightly around them and then took off both his and Wen Ling’s thermal shirts, leaving only a thin layer of undershirts.
As they hugged, Cheng Ge patted Wen Ling’s back and massaged his neck. He even pushed up Wen Ling’s sleeves and pressed his palms against his skin.
Cheng Ge shifted his feet around under the covers until he finally found Wen Ling’s cotton socks. He shifted down slightly, lifted his feet, and leaned over to grab the socks and put them back on Wen Ling before clamping his feet between his legs again.
“You have to wear socks. I’ll warm them for you, but you must wear them. Otherwise, you’ll catch a chill and start sneezing.”
“…Mm.”
Cheng Ge kept offering reassurance. Wen Ling’s emotions had stabilized, and now that the wave of grievance had passed, he felt a bit of guilt and embarrassment.
Wen Ling clutched Cheng Ge’s clothes, his voice muffled but serious: “Cheng Ge, I’m sorry.”
Cheng Ge patted Wen Ling’s back and kissed him again, asking softly, “What are you sorry for?”
“I was freezing you… and… I’m a bit high-maintenance.”
Although Wen Ling didn’t feel cold himself, the vast difference in their temperatures was a fact. If he thought Cheng Ge was hot, then Cheng Ge must certainly think he was icy; Cheng Ge’s words hadn’t been wrong.
Moreover, he knew that Cheng Ge making him wear socks and gloves, soak his feet, and eat warm-natured foods was all for his own good.
He just couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t stand being so far from Cheng Ge, couldn’t stand Cheng Ge using a hand warmer to replace him, and couldn’t stand Cheng Ge always frowning—it made him feel like he was a nuisance, even though Cheng Ge said he liked him the most…
“You’re not,” Cheng Ge said.
“Then… then I was being a bit unreasonable…”
“Wrong.” After saying that, he asked, “Who taught you that word?”
Wen Ling felt as if Cheng Ge’s brow was about to furrow again and felt a bit aggrieved. “…I saw it online.”
Cheng Ge felt Wen Ling’s body tense slightly and kneaded him to help him relax. His tone grew even gentler: “Stop looking at that ‘chicken soup for the soul’ that isn’t suited for you online. And don’t label yourself with those words—at least not around me.”
“I know you have your reasons. I’m not disgusted by you, and I don’t think you’re wrong. I know you like to bottle things up sometimes.”
Wen Ling’s affection and those words of love were expressed by him every day, direct to the point of being “explicit.”
When small things made him unhappy, Wen Ling would also throw a little tantrum.
But when there was something truly upsetting, Wen Ling would instead fall into self-contradiction. He would only bottle it up, and only explode when he couldn’t hold it in anymore. Even when he exploded, he was just repeatedly seeking reassurance.
This probably had a lot to do with his upbringing. And because Wen Ling had been suppressing himself, it might not change in a year or two; it might stay this way for a lifetime.
But Cheng Ge was willing to accompany Wen Ling like that. If he couldn’t change, then so be it. With Wen Ling, he had that much patience.
“But I think you can ask me why I’m frowning. If you ask me, I’ll tell you it’s because I’m worried about you and my heart aches for you, and I’m surprised how someone’s hands and feet can be so cold. Of course, part of the reason is that when you first touched me, it was so freezing that I couldn’t control my expression for a moment. But that wasn’t because I found you disgusting. I will never find you disgusting. I like you no matter how you are.”
“If you can take the initiative to ask me and tell me the problem, that would be even better. Then I could hold you even sooner, like I’m doing now.”
Wen Ling listened to Cheng Ge’s words quietly. Then he suddenly reached out a hand and tapped Cheng Ge’s eyebrows with two fingers, asking in a soft, puzzled voice: “Then why is Cheng Ge frowning now?”
Cheng Ge was stunned for a moment and inexplicably wanted to laugh. He held it in and raised his eyebrows to adjust his expression: “This is my look when I’m speaking seriously. I’m not angry or anything. You can understand it as me being very invested in what I’m saying.”
One major reason Cheng Ge gave off a sense of distance was his facial expressions. When he had no expression, he looked serious; when he frowned, he looked fierce.
But Cheng Ge loved to frown, especially when something was on his mind. It looked like he was angry, though most people who knew him understood.
As it happened, Wen Ling didn’t—and found it hard to—distinguish the meaning behind every one of Cheng Ge’s frowns. He only knew that Cheng Ge used to smile at him and look at him so gently. Why had he been looking at him so fiercely lately? Why did he find him annoying?
“I’m a bit fond of frowning, and I often don’t know what my expression looks like. If you think any of my expressions mean I’m annoyed with you, you can tell me, and I’ll try my best to adjust.”
“…Mm. Then am I a bit annoying?” Wen Ling asked in a small voice.
“No,” Cheng Ge replied quickly. “You’re not. I’m willing to have you be like that. If I don’t like something, I’ll talk to you about it.”
Cheng Ge could clearly feel that Wen Ling’s changes were growing larger and larger. The little madman from the very beginning would absolutely not consider other people’s feelings, nor would he ever ask a self-reflective question like “Am I a bit annoying?” He had been entirely self-centered.
Such a change was what Cheng Ge had originally hoped for, yet it also exceeded his expectations.
He didn’t want Wen Ling to consider too many things or be hamstrung by overthinking. His requirements for Wen Ling were simply to not break the law, not harm others, and not be excessively self-centered. Beyond that, Wen Ling could do whatever he wanted as long as he was happy.
“Then do you still like me very much?” Wen Ling poked Cheng Ge’s abs, his voice a bit clingy. He was already acting well-behaved.
Wen Ling’s tantrums passed quickly. Once things were said and resolved, they were considered over.
Cheng Ge kissed and hugged him: “I like you very much. Especially much.”
After saying that, he tickled Wen Ling’s waist, let out a yawn, and said “sleepy, sleepy,” urging Wen Ling to sleep with him. The two then fell back into a clingy, shared slumber.
After this incident, Cheng Ge found ways to supplement Wen Ling’s diet with warm-natured foods and even went to see a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner for conditioning. Wen Ling’s icy hands and feet improved a bit.
Wen Ling also obediently soaked his feet and wore cotton socks. He would even use the hand warmer to heat up his hands before tucking them against Cheng Ge’s stomach to fumble around.
He poked Cheng Ge’s abs and stroked his lower abdomen and waist. As he stroked, the meaning began to change. Whether they could stop in the end depended entirely on Cheng Ge’s willpower.
Because in matters like this, Wen Ling had no willpower to speak of.
In addition, there was the “face cream incident”—something that was a bit hilarious to talk about.
Once winter arrived, Cheng Ge noticed that Wen Ling’s cheeks were always pink and warm. At first, he thought he had successfully nourished the other’s body and that his good health was showing, which made him very happy.
Later, Wen Ling’s cheeks grew redder and redder, especially during the days when the cold air hit forcefully. Wen Ling’s face was almost like a monkey’s bottom. Only then did Cheng Ge realize something was wrong.
Upon closer inspection, that was no “good health.” His face was red from being chapped by the cold! It was too dry and dehydrated, and he had even developed frostbite.
But Cheng Ge didn’t understand skin either and knew nothing. He went online to check. Terms like “damaged skin barrier” were all found through searches. He bought a moisturizing face cream based on recommendations, preparing to have Wen Ling try it.
That night, Wen Ling sat upright on the bed with his legs apart, waiting for Cheng Ge to apply it. He was curious and looking forward to the feeling of Cheng Ge helping him apply face cream; it should be similar to applying ointment, right?
Wen Ling didn’t know, but he loved any such intimate activity with Cheng Ge.
Cheng Ge wanted to laugh seeing Wen Ling’s “ready for battle” posture, but he was also curious himself. After all, having lived so long, he had never used products like face cream.
Cheng Ge dabbed a bit of face cream. When he smeared it on Wen Ling’s face, that fellow even closed his eyes.
“Xiao Wen, I don’t think you need to close your eyes.”
“Oh.”
Wen Ling opened his eyes and looked at Cheng Ge, his eyes curving.
“Silly,” Cheng Ge said in a small voice before continuing to apply the cream.
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