Chapter 39: Brother
“Liar,” Wen Ling stared at Cheng Ge with dissatisfaction. “My two roommates sometimes sleep together.”
Cheng Ge: “!!!???”
Damn it, is the relationship between Wen Ling’s two roommates appropriate?
“We are different.” Cheng Ge lied.
“How is it different?”
“Can we hug each other? Can they?”
“They can.”
“…”
Cheng Ge was blocked by the question until a breath was stuck in his chest, unable to go up or down. Finally, he popped out a sentence: “…Can we kiss? Can they?”
Wen Ling was stumped. He thought for a moment: “I don’t know, probably they can too.”
Cheng Ge didn’t dare increase the scale any further, so he just kissed Wen Ling’s cheek to coax him: “Really can’t. My roommates all sleep alone. I don’t want to become a strange exception.”
Cheng Ge’s eyelids drooped, the corners of his mouth had no arc, and his head hung low.
Tsk tsk tsk, that act of grievance—001 would have given him an award.
Wen Ling became conflicted. He had noticed before that seeing Cheng Ge sad and aggrieved made his heart feel bad too, as if something was clutching it, squeezing tight—sour, astringent, and painful.
But not being able to sleep with Cheng Ge, not being able to wake up in Cheng Ge’s arms, draw warmth from Cheng Ge, and smell that refreshing light mint scent, also made him very sad and uneasy. It was like something was stolen, no longer belonging solely to him. It felt like Cheng Ge would run away, and he could never catch him.
Whenever he couldn’t have his cake and eat it too, Wen Ling would get anxious with himself. Anxious until his eye rims were dyed red, as if those watery glass eyes would shatter in the next second, flowing with endless tears, requiring a lot of comfort to repair those cracks.
“Don’t cry,” Cheng Ge predicted Wen Ling’s next move and actively pulled the person into his arms, patting his head and stroking his back: “Hug, hug, not allowed to cry.”
Wen Ling liked being held by Cheng Ge. He liked rubbing against Cheng Ge’s neck hollow. It was very warm, and his heart was filled very full. Every time Cheng Ge stroked him, Wen Ling felt like a kitten was gently scratching him. His heart was scratched until it itched, and his whole person felt like floating in the clouds.
When his emotions stabilized a bit, Cheng Ge’s tone became even gentler: “You have the big bear to accompany you.”
“Different. It doesn’t have your scent.”
Cheng Ge found it funny: “You aren’t a puppy. Are you a puppy?” Caring so much about scent.
Wen Ling glared at Cheng Ge, and Cheng Ge immediately chickened out: “I was praising your nose for being sensitive.”
“Did you eat dinner?” Cheng Ge changed the subject, planning to distract Wen Ling.
“Not yet, I came to find you first.”
“Oh, but I already ate. You go back to your dorm to eat yourself; it’s on your desk.” Cheng Ge wanted to open the bathroom door.
“Wait a minute!” Wen Ling grabbed Cheng Ge. “Positioning software, haven’t activated it yet.”
Cheng Ge remembered. Before, Wen Ling had said he wanted to install a tracker. Cheng Ge didn’t want to carry a tracker around, so he told Wen Ling to buy a positioning software online and install it on the phone, only he had been dragging it out and hadn’t activated it yet.
Cheng Ge also knew he couldn’t escape it, resigning himself: “Give me the phone.”
It was truly miraculous too. Others were monitored unknowingly; he was installing positioning software on himself.
Wen Ling took out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it to Cheng Ge.
Following the video tutorial, Cheng Ge activated the positioning software on both phones and returned the phone to Wen Ling: “Done, you can be at ease now, right?”
Wen Ling entered and exited the software, checking the phone’s location back and forth several times, nodding only after ensuring there were no problems.
“Let’s go, go eat quickly, or your stomach will hurt later.” Cheng Ge twisted the doorknob, but it was closed by Wen Ling again. “You accompany me to eat.”
Cheng Ge and Wen Ling stared at each other bafflingly for a good while before Cheng Ge spoke, looking helpless: “Are you a three-year-old child?”
Wanting sleep accompaniment and eating accompaniment.
“What does it have to do with being a three-year-old child? We were always like this before.”
Cheng Ge found it hard to explain to Wen Ling the difference between behavior in the villa and at school.
Like when Wen Ling said sleeping together. Objectively speaking, if they really slept together, it wouldn’t be a big deal; some very close friends slept together too.
But his and Wen Ling’s situation was different. He was already annoyed with Wen Ling. Why wouldn’t he be happy to loosen the restraints on himself a bit?
Plus, he couldn’t get over the hurdle in his own heart. Unknown why, Cheng Ge always felt that sharing a duvet with Wen Ling was no different from bringing a girlfriend to sleep in the dorm, and the dorm was a public environment. Cheng Ge despised such behavior that disregarded others’ feelings.
But most importantly, Cheng Ge was afraid that one day Wen Ling would have a screw loose and demand to roll in the sheets without any boundaries. He didn’t know how socially dead and awkward the scene would be.
Wen Ling wanted him to accompany him even for a meal. Wouldn’t he be laughed at if word got out? Besides, he wasn’t familiar with Wen Ling’s roommates. What would it look like for him to just stay there?
But Wen Ling was staring at him with a look that said he wouldn’t give up until he achieved his goal. Cheng Ge didn’t dare reject Wen Ling again and again.
“…Fine. Wait a moment, we’ll eat at that small table outside the supermarket downstairs.”
Inside the dorm.
“Eh, staying in there for so long, could something happen?” Wang Lei stood outside the door starting to worry.
Lin Hai told him to relax: “Should be fine. Cheng Ge isn’t an impulsive person.”
But actually, all three were a bit puzzled. What could they be talking about in the bathroom for so long? And Cheng Ge seemed quite aggressive when he went in just now, while that boy looked so innocent. It was truly easy to make people worry.
Cheng Ge opened the balcony door and found his roommates were all overly quiet, eyes peeking secretly at him and Wen Ling, wondering what happened.
But none of this mattered. What mattered was dealing with this troublesome ancestor properly.
Cheng Ge waited at the door of Wen Ling’s dorm and let Wen Ling go in to get the food himself.
Arriving at the table outside the supermarket, Cheng Ge found two empty seats, propped his chin with one hand, and watched Wen Ling eat with boredom.
Wen Ling had no order when eating. Ordinary people ate rice before drinking dessert soup or eating dessert, but he drank dessert soup first if he wanted, or ate dessert first if he wanted.
Cheng Ge noticed that when Wen Ling saw the small cake, his long eyelashes trembled slightly twice, unknown if it was liking or some other emotion.
“Cake?” Wen Ling opened his eyes round. “Is today your birthday?”
“No.”
“Then why is there cake?”
“Why must it be a birthday to have cake to eat?” Cheng Ge didn’t understand. He felt one should eat if one wanted, never particular about festivals or special occasions.
“I only ate cake on mine and my brother’s birthdays.”
“Brother?” Cheng Ge was stunned. “You have a brother!?”
“Yes.”
“Then why haven’t I heard you mention him?”
“He died. And you didn’t ask.” Wen Ling didn’t like mentioning his experiences and past to others, not even Cheng Ge. But today Cheng Ge bought him a small cake, so he was willing to reveal a little bit.
Wen Ling’s tone was very calm, eyelids lowered, as if just recalling a very ordinary and common past event, but Cheng Ge still heard the imperceptible sorrow hidden in his tone.
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