Chapter 147: Love
Wen Ling didn’t know how long he had slept; he wanted to sleep forever.
Wen Ling was a little tree.
His world had been dark for a long, long time.
The little tree was a numb tree.
One day, a sun suddenly appeared in his sky. He saw the light and felt the warmth.
He wanted the sun to shine on him forever, revolving only around him.
His wish came true.
Then it shattered again.
Cheng Ge embraced him.
Then vanished.
Wen Ling wanted to sleep forever, waiting for his sun to rise again, waiting for the sun to embrace him once more.
His hands were originally cold, but they gradually warmed up.
However, that warmth didn’t come from Cheng Ge’s familiar large hands, but from two small hands. They were very thin, the finger bones poking into him just like his own.
It was too noisy near his ears. A voice kept calling him “Brother Xiao Wen,” asking him, “Are you awake?” “Why aren’t you waking up yet?”, chattering incessantly to the point of annoyance.
Wen Ling forced his aching head to open his eyes, his tone freezing cold: “Shut up.”
Xiaodong finally woke this aloof older brother up. Hearing the brother’s voice was extremely hoarse, he quickly brought the warm water from the table over to him.
“Brother, drink some water.”
Wen Ling ignored Xiaodong, so Xiaodong moved the cup closer: “Brother, have a little water.”
Wen Ling shoved Xiaodong’s hand away. The cup fell to the floor, shattering with a crash.
“Scram if you don’t want to die.”
Wen Ling could no longer think about anything else.
Why exactly had things turned out this way?
Where on earth was he supposed to find Cheng Ge!?
Xiaodong’s eyes reddened from fright. He secretly sniffled, but still stubbornly stared at Wen Ling with his clear eyes.
Over the blanket, Xiaodong placed his hand on the area over Wen Ling’s stomach, making a small movement.
“It’s soft,” Xiaodong murmured.
Wen Ling’s gaze fell on that small, short hand.
“Brother Xiao Cheng said that Xiao Wen might turn into a hedgehog, covered in spikes that prick people and hurt. But Xiao Wen’s belly is soft.”
“He told me not to be afraid.”
Wen Ling’s eyelashes trembled, and two massive teardrops fell, splashing onto the back of Xiaodong’s hand.
Wen Ling wanted to wipe away his tears, but no matter how much he wiped, they wouldn’t stop.
After a few moments, Wen Ling’s forehead felt empty. The fever-cooling patch fell off due to his movements.
“Brother, please don’t cry.”
Xiaodong stood on his tiptoes to help Wen Ling stick the fever-cooling patch back on. “Brother Xiao Cheng said you might run a fever, and he told me to make sure you wear a fever-cooling patch.”
Wen Ling’s sobbing could no longer be suppressed. He muttered to himself, “Where exactly did Cheng Ge go…”
Thinking Wen Ling was asking him, Xiaodong pondered for a moment, his eyelids drooping. “I don’t know either.”
“But Brother Xiao Cheng told me to keep Xiao Wen company, and I will stay with you.”
Wen Ling lowered his head, covering his eyes. “I don’t need you… go away…”
Xiaodong pursed his lips and didn’t answer.
Only the faint sound of sniffling remained in the room.
After a good while, Xiaodong cleaned up the broken glass on the floor. He suddenly ran out of the room and returned holding a bowl of congee.
“Brother, eat some congee.”
Wen Ling lowered his eyes, looking at the bowl of century egg and lean pork congee, completely at a loss for what to do.
Even the smell was exactly the same.
Would there be medicine hidden in the congee too?
When exactly had Cheng Ge taught this kid all these things?
Holding the bowl, Xiaodong remained in a deadlock with Wen Ling for a while, before eventually giving up and placing the congee on the bedside table.
“Then let’s eat it later. It seems a bit hot right now.”
Wen Ling didn’t make a sound.
Xiaodong sat on the edge of the bed, quietly keeping Wen Ling company, looking as if he wanted to say something but was holding back.
“…Brother Xiao Wen, do you want to hold my hand?”
“Your hands are a little cold.”
“But it’s okay if you don’t want to hold it.”
“Brother Xiao Cheng said to listen to whatever you say.”
He should have noticed it earlier.
Even this kid’s way of speaking carried traces of Cheng Ge.
Wen Ling suddenly remembered that dream. It probably wasn’t a dream.
Because Cheng Ge’s tears were scalding hot, and the phone Cheng Ge shoved into his hand was freezing cold.
Xiaodong saw Wen Ling suddenly start frantically searching for something in the bed like a madman.
Then, Wen Ling pulled out a black smartphone from under the covers.
The older brother’s fingertips swiped rapidly across the screen, impulsively, yet carrying an imperceptible hesitation.
Finally, Wen Ling completely quieted down, returning to a death-like silence.
Wen Ling’s eyes stared stubbornly at the screen as tears flooded from his eyes.
“Today is November 22nd. This is probably our Little Wen’s first time seeing these videos, and it’s my first time recording too. I kind of don’t know what to say.”
“Let’s start by saying I love you. I love you.”
“You sleep-talked last night, mumbling away. When you hugged me, your lips pressed against my nose, and you even bit me. But it was very light, just ticklish.”
…
Cheng Ge’s voice was very soft, gentler than a spring day, as if he were murmuring right by Wen Ling’s ear.
“November 28th. So difficult. You don’t want to learn how to cook at all, but I also don’t want our Little Wen eating takeout, so I’ll still record a tutorial video for you.”
“From now on, videos with food as the cover are tutorial videos. Today it’s egg and clear broth noodles…”
Cheng Ge was speaking in a whisper, sneaking around, seemingly afraid of waking someone.
“Turn to low heat, cover with the lid, and let it simmer for five minutes. Alright, let’s see how our little lazybug Wen is sleeping…”
The camera angle shifted, and Wen Ling’s own face came into view, sleeping soundly, his face slightly flushed from the stuffy blanket.
“What do I do? Our Little Wen is so cute. You’re the absolute cutest when you sleep. Sigh, how can you be this cute?”
Even though it was a whisper, Wen Ling could still hear the fondness in Cheng Ge’s words.
As Cheng Ge spoke, he kissed him. The Wen Ling in the video would softly whimper and reach out to grab Cheng Ge.
The background of some videos was the bathroom. Cheng Ge was still sneaking around.
But also very bold, daring to “provoke” Wen Ling.
The night Wen Ling barged into the bathroom, Cheng Ge had actually been recording a video.
At the time, Wen Ling had been eavesdropping by the door and was discovered early by Cheng Ge, who even caught it on camera.
[Caption: “The idiot who gave himself away.”]
Cheng Ge pushed Wen Ling out of the bathroom.
[Caption: “A very fierce boyfriend.”]
Over a thousand videos, ranging from the dim light of dawn to the sunset at dusk, to the quiet dead of night.
Cheng Ge documented the two of them every single moment, talking to Wen Ling, rambling on and on.
While Wen Ling slept, completely unaware, Cheng Ge kissed him a thousand times over.
Cheng Ge simply wanted to tell Wen Ling that he had always been there, that he was always keeping him company.
But how could he!?
How could Cheng Ge do this!?
Using these videos, using a child to replace him, to brush him off!
Is this some kind of joke!?
…But, but those 1,366 videos, those captions—how could that be considered brushing him off?
The love Cheng Ge spoke aloud was so beautiful to hear, and the parts left unsaid were deafeningly loud.
…But Wen Ling just couldn’t handle it!
Why, on what grounds!?
Cheng Ge came without a sound and left without a trace.
Why didn’t he even leave his shell behind?
So was all of this real or fake? What was truly real?
What was he supposed to do to hold onto Cheng Ge?
How could a little tree live without the sun?
Xiaodong watched as this normally somewhat aloof older brother stared dead at his phone screen, crying until he couldn’t catch his breath.
Cheng Ge had said that if Xiao Wen cried, he should pat his back and hug him.
But Xiao Wen was a hedgehog right now and wouldn’t let him touch his belly.
Finally, the older brother collapsed onto the bed, tear tracks staining the corners of his eyes.
The older brother’s eyes were red and swollen.
Yet his gaze was numb and vacant.
Xiaodong saw the older brother’s mouth moving. He leaned in close to listen, his pupils slowly widening.
The older brother was saying: “Lock him up, chain him, for a lifetime… can’t go anywhere…”
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