Chapter 53: I’ll Protect You
Even after getting into the car, Cheng Ge still felt dizzy. He didn’t know if Wen Ling’s head-patting technique was toxic or if his words were bewitching, leaving him disoriented.
Meanwhile, Wen Ling acted as if nothing had happened. After observing him for a few minutes, he leaned on his shoulder and started dozing off.
How could someone be like this!
Cheng Ge really wanted to pinch Wen Ling’s face to wake him up, but he felt such behavior was incredibly childish. Besides, if Wen Ling woke up and asked, “Why did you pinch me?”, how would he answer?
Annoying creature.
When they were almost there, Cheng Ge couldn’t resist pinching Wen Ling’s cheek. Wen Ling’s eyelids lifted sluggishly. His gaze fell on Cheng Ge’s hand, his voice slurred: “Why did you pinch me?”
Cheng Ge’s tone was matter-of-fact: “Because we’re almost there.”
“Oh.”
After getting out of the car, the two entered the campus together. Cheng Ge took Wen Ling to the faculty cafeteria, ordered two bowls of very light fish noodles, and ate slowly.
Afraid Wen Ling would feel bored, Cheng Ge found a topic: “What kind of person was your brother in your eyes?”
He felt that appropriately mentioning the past Wen Ling had buried wasn’t poking at a sore spot, but helping him release some of the sadness and repression.
Because sometimes, silence isn’t because one doesn’t want to speak, but because one doesn’t dare to speak, or has no one to speak to.
No one had ever asked Wen Ling this, but Wen Ling didn’t resist talking about this topic with Cheng Ge. He was even eager to tell Cheng Ge: “He was a very good person. He would tell me stories and often cared for me.”
“Then he was indeed very good.” Cheng Ge thought that must have been one of the few beautiful things in Wen Ling’s childhood.
“My brother said he was a man, and he said he would always protect me.”
Unfortunately, fate always plays tricks on people.
“If he were here, he would have done it,” Cheng Ge said.
Wen Ling nodded seriously. “Yes.”
“Do you still miss him often?”
“I did when I was little, but not anymore. Actually, I can’t remember clearly what my brother looked like.”
“Were you very young back then?”
“I guess I was small? Four or five years old.”
“That is quite small.”
“Before, when I saw other people with their brothers, I couldn’t help but look a little longer. I wasn’t sure why I wanted to look for that extra moment. Recently, I understand a little; that’s probably called envy.”
Although Wen Ling was merely stating a fact calmly, Cheng Ge felt Wen Ling’s sadness. He quickly comforted him: “Don’t envy others. If you’re willing, I’ll be your brother. I’ll protect you too.”
“Of course, I don’t mean to replace your brother. I’m just saying if you need it, I will also protect you.”
Wen Ling didn’t think in the direction Cheng Ge intended. He was just pondering whether “boyfriend” and “brother” conflicted.
“Brother?” Wen Ling called out tentatively.
Cheng Ge nodded.
Unsure if he found it novel, Wen Ling smiled and called Cheng Ge again: “Brother.”
The voice carried a faint, sweet cloying quality.
Cheng Ge felt an electric shock go through his body, leaving him tingling. He froze, feeling that Wen Ling calling him ‘Brother’ so seriously was… very strange…
Cheng Ge was somewhat flustered. Pinching his own bright red ears and lowering his head, he said, “You… you should usually just, just call me by my name. As long as you know it, that’s fine; no need to specially change how you address me.”
“Okay. I also like Cheng Ge’s name.”
“Mn, mn, mn.” In fact, Cheng Ge didn’t really understand what Wen Ling meant by “also like.”
Back at the dorm, Cheng Ge patted Wen Ling’s back. “Sleep early, rest well.”
Wen Ling stared at Cheng Ge. Cheng Ge paused, then continued, “If you can’t sleep, send me a message… although I won’t necessarily reply, haha.”
“Okay.” Wen Ling didn’t seem to care at all whether Cheng Ge would reply, as if what he wanted was just for Cheng Ge to say something else.
Wen Ling opened the door and entered the dorm. Jiji immediately came over to check on his condition. “Wen Ling, how are you? Is there anywhere still uncomfortable?”
“I’m fine, thank you for your concern,” Wen Ling replied, curving his lips slightly.
“Then… don’t take what that idiot said to heart. He only said that because he has no brains. Don’t be sad.”
Wen Ling nodded. “I’m not sad. And I know he’s an idiot; he’s sick in the head.”
Jiji exchanged a look with Zhao Zhishen: “?”
Wen Ling finished showering and washed the clothes the bear had worn, planning to swap another set with Cheng Ge tomorrow since the scent on the original set had faded.
He hugged the big bear and squinted for a while, planning to message Cheng Ge a bit later. Unexpectedly, he fell asleep not long after, sleeping straight until dawn without a single nightmare.
On the contrary, Cheng Ge, afraid Wen Ling would feel disappointed if he sent a message and didn’t get a reply, forced himself to stay awake until past 2:00 AM. Unable to hold on, he finally fell asleep, only to wake up from a nightmare not long after. He stared blankly for a long time unable to sleep, and then got insomnia.
In-som-ni-a.
Actually, right after he started sleeping separately from Wen Ling, he had insomnia for a few days too. But his childhood experiences made Cheng Ge someone who took things as they came, with a super strong ability to adapt to environmental changes. This was also why Cheng Ge wasn’t terribly surprised after transmigration and could cope relatively well. So, Cheng Ge had tried hard to adapt for a few days and stopped having insomnia.
He didn’t know what was going on tonight, but the insomnia had started again…
The next morning, when Wen Ling woke up, he still felt a bit dazed. He hadn’t slept this peacefully in a long time.
Wen Ling glanced at his phone. There was a message from Cheng Ge sent at 2:06 AM: “Are you asleep?”
Wen Ling typed: “Asleep.”
Cheng Ge replied very quickly: “?”
Wen Ling explained: “I slept very well yesterday.”
It took a good while for Cheng Ge to reply: “That’s good.”
Wen Ling asked: “Are you attending class seriously?”
Cheng Ge: “So-so serious.”
Cheng Ge: “Get up and wash. I ordered breakfast for you; it’s on the shelf downstairs.”
Cheng Ge: “Just arrived. Don’t wait until it gets cold.”
Cheng Ge: “Take a picture for me after you finish eating. I want to check.”
Wen Ling looked at the messages for a long time and suddenly smiled. If Cheng Ge were present, he would definitely think Wen Ling was silly again.
Wen Ling: “Okay.”
Wen Ling ran downstairs with light steps and searched carefully on the shelf. In no time, he saw the two big characters “Wen Ling.” The phone number was Cheng Ge’s, with a note: No spicy, no cilantro.
He held it in his hands and observed it for a moment. It should be a portion of noodle soup.
Wen Ling took out his phone and messaged Cheng Ge: “I got it. It’s a bowl of noodles.”
Cheng Ge replied quickly: “Yes.”
Wen Ling went upstairs back to the dorm, placed the noodles on the table, washed up quickly, and then sat at the table to open the lid with some solemnity. He messaged Cheng Ge again: “I’m going to start eating.”
Cheng Ge: “Mn.”
Steam was still rising from the noodle soup. Wen Ling blew on it a few times, then slowly ate a few mouthfuls. He thought it tasted good, but not as good as the vegetable and egg noodle soup Cheng Ge made.
Wen Ling took out his phone for a real-time broadcast: “Very hot.”
“Delicious.”
“I’ve eaten half.”
“I’m finished.”
Cheng Ge said he wanted a photo to check. Wen Ling pondered how to demonstrate that he was the one who finished the noodles, and that he hadn’t given it to someone else or poured it out.
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