Chapter 47: Cheng Ge Finally Resigned Himself to Fate
For the past few weeks, Cheng Ge had been warning himself to constantly keep his relationship with Wen Ling in perspective—to maintain a dynamic where he held the reins and kept a controllable distance.
Originally, Cheng Ge assumed that someone as slow and naive as Wen Ling would never detect the subtle shifts in their interaction. After all, on the surface, he was treating Wen Ling even better and more attentively than before.
But gradually, he realized something was wrong. Wen Ling seemed perpetually unhappy, sullen, and withdrawn. When asked, he wouldn’t speak. It looked like he was throwing a tantrum, yet it wasn’t quite that; to Cheng Ge, it felt more like Wen Ling was afraid and acting timid.
But what could the current Wen Ling possibly be afraid of?
The most obvious evidence was the fluctuation in the conquest value. At first, it had risen by several percentage points. But for the last few days, in the early hours of the morning, Wen Ling’s conquest value would fluctuate rapidly. Twice, it even dropped to zero. However, each time before dawn, the value would slowly climb back up to its original level.
Cheng Ge wondered if Wen Ling was having nightmares again. After all, Wen Ling’s complexion hadn’t been good lately, and the dark circles under his eyes were becoming prominent again. He certainly wasn’t sleeping well at night.
“Did you not sleep well last night?” Cheng Ge asked him.
Wen Ling suddenly zoned out for a moment, then nodded, giving a very muffled, “Mn.”
“Did you have a nightmare?”
Wen Ling turned his head and looked at Cheng Ge for a long time before nodding again.
Cheng Ge stayed silent for a moment, then opened his phone to search for “how to have fewer nightmares.” He wasn’t stupid enough to ask what the nightmare was about and trample on Wen Ling’s unfortunate past. Besides, Wen Ling never remembered his dreams after waking up. So, the only option was to find a way to reduce the frequency of the nightmares.
“Don’t eat too much sweet or spicy food before bed, don’t look at too much negative content, and exercise more during the day. These things can help you have fewer nightmares…”
“Cheng Ge,” Wen Ling interrupted him. His innocent, clear eyes looked straight at him, and his serious tone actually carried a hint of pleading. “I want to sleep with you.”
Cheng Ge was stunned, not just by Wen Ling’s words, but by the sudden dull ache in his chest. It felt as if someone was gripping his heart, making it hard to breathe.
“What kind of joke is that?” Cheng Ge curved his lips into a smile, his tone and attitude exceptionally pleasant. Any other explanation would be wasted breath, so Cheng Ge went straight to action, pulling Wen Ling into his arms and kissing him. He kissed the spots Wen Ling liked best, creating the sensations Wen Ling enjoyed.
Once he had kissed the person into a daze, the matter of sleeping together was naturally glossed over for the time being.
Aside from Cheng Ge intentionally avoiding it, objectively speaking, he really didn’t have much time to spend with Wen Ling.
The original host was a Digital Media major—a field Cheng Ge, a sports student, had absolutely no contact with. He didn’t want to fail his courses; otherwise, the original host would curse him to death. Cheng Ge had no choice but to study constantly, ask classmates for help, and camp out in the library.
When his mind was full of studying, Wen Ling’s affairs could be squeezed out and legitimately placed on the back burner.
That was the idea, at least.
Although he didn’t want to admit it, the truth was that in every moment Wen Ling looked desolate, every time he stared straight at him, those obscure emotions in the depths of his eyes… or when Wen Ling was spacing out, giggling foolishly, or being silly… Cheng Ge’s heart would always be uncontrollably touched. Those images surfaced in his mind at all times. Every moment. It was as if… as if Cheng Ge was the one being led by the nose.
Things seemed to be developing in an uncontrollable direction, intensifying, and appearing to get worse for both of them.
Cheng Ge reflected on this for many days and finally resigned himself to fate.
Wasn’t there something called the White Bear Effect? The more you try not to think about something, not to care about it, the more you end up caring. He belonged to this category now, didn’t he?
He thought he should return to his previous mode of interaction with Wen Ling. No more sneaking around trying to be distant or maintaining boundaries; that would only be counterproductive.
He firmly believed his decision was based on theoretical grounds and realistic needs for better future development, not because of Wen Ling’s lonely gaze, and certainly not because of Wen Ling’s increasingly depressed mood.
This morning, Cheng Ge sent Wen Ling a message as per routine, reminding him to eat breakfast. But he never received a reply. This situation was extremely rare, and he felt uneasy for no reason.
Cheng Ge didn’t hesitate much. He thought he would go to Wen Ling’s classroom to check the situation. If there was nothing wrong… he would just attend the class with Wen Ling.
Wen Ling had mentioned it a few times before, but Cheng Ge had always brushed it off with various excuses. The result had always been Wen Ling’s sad, disappointed expression and a silence that spoke of words left unsaid.
It made Cheng Ge feel guilty. He would inadvertently recall those scenes, warn himself not to think about them, and get caught in a repetitive tug-of-war.
He walked to Wen Ling’s classroom and habitually looked toward the corner in the first row near the front door. He didn’t see anyone there, which deepened his confusion. He looked further to the right and immediately saw a boy sitting in the seat, holding Wen Ling’s hand.
Holding it very tightly.
The scene was inexplicably piercing to the eyes. Cheng Ge felt angry. He wasn’t clear exactly what he was angry about, but he was furious, feeling as if he had been played.
If there was already someone accompanying Wen Ling, what was he doing here? Just to annoy himself?
Cheng Ge was prepared to leave, but then he noticed that the look in Wen Ling’s eyes was wrong. His expression was frighteningly cold.
His complexion was off too; his face was so red. Based on experience, Wen Ling was definitely running a fever.
In the end, worry triumphed over anger and awkwardness. Cheng Ge walked into the classroom. His question was actually a reminder: “Do you have a fever?”
Then he saw Wen Ling freeze for two seconds before looking at him in disbelief, with a trace of panic and unease.
Cheng Ge didn’t understand why Wen Ling had that expression. He just felt that up close, Wen Ling looked even worse. He was burning up—his eyes were watery, and his cheeks, the corners of his eyes, his ears, and even his neck were red.
The atmosphere was strangely deadlocked. Cheng Ge didn’t know what to do for a moment, so he could only voice his first thought: “Are you feeling really awful?”
Wen Ling looked straight at Cheng Ge. Hearing this, obvious grievance surfaced in his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to speak but stopped, finally lowering his head as two large teardrops fell, smashing onto the desk.
Cheng Ge felt like he could hear the plip-plop sound. His heart stung. He bent down to look at Wen Ling’s expression. “What’s wrong?” The panic in his tone was audible even to himself.
Wen Ling actually had a lot he wanted to say, but because there was too much, he couldn’t pour any of it out.
His tears were uncontrollable. Wen Ling wiped them away with his left arm, while his right hand struggled constantly to throw off Lin Yuchen’s hand. But his head was too dizzy; he couldn’t exert any strength at all, making his efforts seem futile.
Lin Yuchen felt like he was watching a grand drama. He hadn’t expected Wen Ling to suddenly start crying out of nowhere. He mentally filled in the blanks: this guy who suddenly appeared must have deeply hurt Wen Ling, and Wen Ling still retained a shred of affection for him, hesitating on whether to forgive him.
Lin Yuchen’s heart stirred. Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity for him to offer care and steal him away?
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