Chapter 128: I Missed You So Much
“Yesterday was the Winter Solstice?” Cheng Ge was a bit dazed.
“Yes. You have to eat tangyuan on the Winter Solstice, though some places eat dumplings. What’s wrong? Our Xiao Cheng doesn’t like tangyuan?”
“No, no, I like them. Thank you, Grandpa.”
Cheng Ge just hadn’t realized the date. He had been so busy and the accident had thrown him off; heād completely lost track of time.
“Good, as long as you like them. Does Wen-zai like tangyuan? I’ll bring him a bowl once he wakes up. If I dish them out now, theyāll get cold.”
“Okay, thank you, Grandpa.”
Just then, Cheng Ge felt Wen Lingās hand twitch. He looked over quickly, but Wen Ling was still asleep.
“You silly boy, why are you thanking your own grandpa? Why do you keep saying ‘thank you’…”
Grandpa had the very distinct aura of an elder. Cheng Ge didn’t find his nagging annoying at all; instead, it felt very warm and familiar.
After Grandpa left, Wen Lingās hand moved again, gripping Cheng Ge’s hand tightly.
“Cheng Ge… Cheng Ge…” Wen Ling murmured softly. His brows were tightly knitted and his small face was tense; he was not sleeping peacefully.
Before Cheng Ge could even start to soothe him, Wen Ling suddenly snapped his eyes open. He stared fixedly at Cheng Ge, his eyes slowly filling with tears.
Wen Ling blinked, then sat up and threw his arms around Cheng Ge, whimpering his name over and over.
“Itās okay now, itās okay. Weāre both safe, Xiao Wen. Don’t be afraid, Iām right here.”
Wen Ling scooted to the edge of the bed until they were pressed very close together. “Does your leg still hurt? Was the procedure very painful?”
“Let me see.” Wen Ling leaned down to look, but Cheng Ge stopped him. “Itās in a cast, you can’t see anything.”
“It doesn’t hurt. It wasn’t serious enough to be called surgery, so don’t worry.” Cheng Ge smoothed his hair and wiped the sweat from Wen Lingās face. “How do you feel? Are you dizzy? Is your nose stuffed?”
“Iām fine. As long as Cheng Ge is fine, Iām fine.”
Cheng Ge flicked Wen Lingās forehead. “Listen to you. Don’t lump those things together. You have to tell me if you feel unwell, understand?”
Wen Ling completely ignored Cheng Ge’s lecture.
Wrapped in Cheng Ge’s warmth, Wen Ling felt a surging sense of security, like something lost had been found. His clinginess began to emerge, and sweet words started bubbling out of him.
“I was so scared.”
“Cheng Ge, I missed you so much.”
“I really, really missed you.”
His voice was soft and sounded exactly like he was acting spoiled. It made one’s heart turn to mush, wanting to give him the very best of everything.
Cheng Ge smiled and cupped his face to kiss him. “Kiss you, kiss you.”
Once the initial excitement passed, Wen Ling lay quietly on Cheng Ge’s shoulder, enjoying the soft, comfortable feeling of having his heart wrapped in clouds.
Suddenly, Wen Lingās nose twitched. He leaned in to sniff Cheng Geās face, then pulled back Cheng Ge’s clothes to sniff his chest. He frowned slightly. “Ugh, Cheng Ge, you… you smell kind of bad.”
Cheng Ge used to smell of mint, very fresh and clean. Wen Ling found the scent very reassuring.
Now, Cheng Ge smelled strongly of medicinal herbs. He felt like Cheng Ge had turned into a bunch of dried grass. Wen Ling hated that unfamiliarity.
“Ah,” Cheng Ge pulled back slightly. “Grandpa’s homemade medicinal wine. He says itās for treating bruises. You only noticed now? I thought you didn’t mind.”
Cheng Ge was covered in bruises, and Grandpa had been so pained that heād practically slathered the medicinal wine over Cheng Ge like it was free. Cheng Ge had nearly been knocked out by the fumes.
It had evaporated a bit by now, so Cheng Ge could just barely tolerate it.
Wen Ling was always so clean and fragrant. Usually, even if Cheng Ge broke a light sweat, he didn’t want it to touch Wen Ling. Heād been worried Wen Ling would find the scent repulsive.
And Wen Ling really did find it repulsive, judging by the way his small face was scrunched up.
“I thought it was just the room that smelled. I didn’t realize it was you,” Wen Ling said righteously.
“How can it be so stinky? Cheng Ge has changed.” Even though he hated the smell, Wen Ling insisted on pressing close to him.
When the hug became too much, he would turn his head away to catch a breath before turning back to cling to Cheng Ge again.
Cheng Ge was amused by his antics. He kissed the tip of Wen Lingās nose. “Don’t force it. Youāll make yourself dizzy.”
“I won’t.” The anxiety of the past few days hadn’t fully dissipated yet, and Wen Ling couldn’t bear to be far from him.
A stinky Cheng Ge was still Cheng Ge.
Cheng Ge had no choice. He picked up the tangyuan from the table and held them up for Wen Ling to smell, hoping to mask the scent of the medicinal wine.
“They aren’t hot anymore. Eat a few.”
Cheng Ge used the spoon to feed Wen Ling a few tangyuan. After a few bites, Wen Ling’s heart began to flutter, and he suddenly remembered that Cheng Ge was the real patient here.
He was letting Cheng Ge feed him! He was being so inconsiderate!
So the roles were reversed. Wen Ling snatched the bowl away to feed Cheng Ge. Cheng Ge wanted to laugh at how serious Wen Ling looked.
Wen Ling really loved stuffing things into Cheng Ge’s mouth. It seemed to have started with that bingtanghulu incident at the pavilion.
At first, he would let Cheng Ge have the first bite. He didn’t care if Cheng Ge actually ate it, but he would always ask.
Now, it had evolved. Wen Ling would simply say “Eat,” and stuff the food directly into Cheng Ge’s mouth without caring whether he wanted it or not. Heād become quite domineering.
For instance, Cheng Ge looked at the spoon Wen Ling was pressing to his lips and said with a laugh, “You don’t have to do that. I can finish it in two gulps… Mn, itās quite good.”
The tangyuan had already been stuffed into his mouth.
“If itās good, eat more.” Wen Ling became even more enthusiastic.
Cheng Ge felt a bit awkward. He was used to doing things for Wen Ling, and he found it difficult to adapt when the roles were reversed. He felt embarrassed, yet Wen Ling seemed to love imitating his way of doing things.
After his initial awkwardness, Cheng Ge decided to just indulge him. He figured he might as well let Wen Ling have his way; as long as he was happy, it was fine.
In the end, the two of them finished the bowl of warm tangyuan together.
As night fell, Grandpa brought in a small table and set out the dishes. The three of them had dinner together.
“Everyone, have a bowl of mutton soup first. It was stewed yesterday. Wow, last night Old Man Niu was praising it, saying a bowl on a cold Winter Solstice will warm you from head to toe.”
Cheng Ge agreed that it was very warming, then asked, “Who is Old Man Niu?”
“Ha, heās my card partner. He cheats all the time.”
“Heās a dead-beat flatterer, but unfortunately for me, I fall for it every time.”
Grandpa was an outgoing person and got along well with young people. He kept Cheng Ge laughing.
Wen Ling, however, was different. He didn’t understand any jokes other than those told by Cheng Ge.
Besides, Wen Ling didn’t seem to be in a great mood tonight, so he remained largely expressionless.
Fortunately, with Cheng Ge by his side, all of Wen Lingās behavior seemed inexplicably “obedient.” He didn’t seem cold so much as quiet and well-behaved.
Elders loved well-behaved children, especially ones like Wen Ling who were fair-skinned and often smiled.
Under Cheng Ge’s repeated nudges and hand-squeezes, Wen Ling called out to Grandpa several times. This made the old man incredibly happy, and he started calling him “Wen-zai” in return, which made Cheng Ge laugh.
Inevitably, the conversation turned to the boys’ school life. This triggered a sudden realization in Cheng Geāheād forgotten to let Wang Lei and the others know they were safe.
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