Chapter 69: Cheng Ge’s Aesthetics Are So Weird
Wen Ling’s face was flushed pink, and a small mound of soft flesh was squeezed out on his cheek from the way he was sleeping.
Cheng Ge unconsciously leaned in, his dry lips pressing against Wen Ling’s cheek for a moment. The second he touched that softness, Cheng Ge snapped back to his senses and pulled away. The entire process was so brief it was practically negligible.
If he had lingered for even half a second longer, he might have left a tooth mark on Wen Ling’s face.
A deep crimson climbed up the entirety of Cheng Ge’s ears. He buried his face in his palms, unable to stop the thought: He looks like an apple. I bet he’d taste sweet if I took a bite.
Cheng Ge rubbed his face vigorously to wake himself up. He must have been influenced by that fellow Wen Ling; what on earth was going on in his head all day lately!
“Phew—”
Cheng Ge took a few deep breaths, preparing to read a bit more to calm down. But before he could even flip his book open, Wen Ling’s phone suddenly vibrated with a news notification.
Cheng Ge glanced at it casually. It seemed to be something about a “sentencing for an intentionally staged car accident,” likely a trending social topic lately.
Not long after, Wen Ling’s phone buzzed twice more. Cheng Ge first checked to see if Wen Ling was still asleep before glancing at the screen. It was a contact named “Lawyer Zhang.”
[Hello, Mr. Wen. Regarding the car accident case you asked me about earlier…]
[May I ask when you will be free?]
Cheng Ge set Wen Ling’s phone to silent, feeling a bit puzzled. Since when did this guy get interested in legal matters?
However, Cheng Ge didn’t pay it much mind. He even felt that it was good for Wen Ling to have diverse interests. Learning more about the law would surely help him integrate into society.
The sky was gradually darkening. The lights in the small pavilion were old and dusty; once the sun fully set, it would be quite dark, making it easy to lose one’s footing.
Cheng Ge packed up his books and laptop, along with Wen Ling’s things, before shaking Wen Ling awake. They walked down the mountain side by side.
After dinner, Cheng Ge suddenly saw a group notification reminding them that there was a late-night basketball training session that would run quite late. He had almost forgotten about it.
Cheng Ge slung his bag over his shoulder. “I’ll walk you back to your dorm first.”
Wen Ling asked, “Do you still have things to do?”
“There’s a training session tonight.”
“Can I come along?”
“Better not.” Cheng Ge knew Wen Ling didn’t like watching basketball and hated noise. He felt it was better not to force him.
“Why? I want to go. Why won’t you let me go?”
Cheng Ge knew Wen Ling was just being clingy. “Don’t force yourself. Besides, it’s going to last until very late.”
“I’m not forcing myself. I want to go.”
Cheng Ge put his hands on his hips and stared at Wen Ling for several seconds. In the end, he still brought the guy to the gym—he simply couldn’t win an argument against Wen Ling.
“If you get bored, head back early.”
“Oh.”
Actually, Wen Ling didn’t quite understand the logic behind Cheng Ge’s words. He only felt bored when he couldn’t see Cheng Ge. Why would he go back just because he was bored?
However, Cheng Ge looked busy, so Wen Ling didn’t ask further.
Because they were in the gym and it was getting late, there weren’t many people around, so it wasn’t particularly noisy. Only the constant thud of basketballs hitting the floor and the players’ shouts echoed through the air.
After Wen Ling replied to a message from a merchant, he opened his phone’s photo album. There were about a dozen photos, all of which were drawings he had made of Cheng Ge—drawn on paper and then photographed by him.
Wen Ling admired them for a long time before exiting the interface. He opened the camera app, zoomed in, and started taking photos of Cheng Ge.
The idea of taking photos had been inspired by Jiji. Jiji said he had many photos of Zhao Zhishen, as well as many photos of the two of them together.
He wanted many photos of Cheng Ge too.
Since it was a training session, Cheng Ge practiced seriously, his attention focused entirely on the court. He would only subconsciously glance at Wen Ling after making a shot.
However, perhaps Wen Ling truly found basketball boring, as he kept his head down, looking at his phone the whole time.
He didn’t look at him at all.
After a long while, when Cheng Ge peeked over at Wen Ling again, he found Wen Ling holding up his phone, aiming it directly at him.
Cheng Ge peeked twice.
Was he taking photos of him?
Cheng Ge’s heart skipped a beat, though he didn’t know if it was from the excessive exercise, nervousness, or something else.
Wen Ling locked eyes with the Cheng Ge on his phone screen. Just like every time before, Cheng Ge quickly averted his gaze, and then his ears turned red.
He always felt that the way Cheng Ge’s ears changed color was like a superpower; it was so magical. He thought the way Cheng Ge’s eyes rounded in surprise was adorable, which just barely mitigated his dissatisfaction with Cheng Ge’s refusal to maintain eye contact.
Training ended near ten-thirty. Cheng Ge wiped his sweat with a towel and went to the restroom to change into a fresh set of clothes before heading over to Wen Ling.
Cheng Ge put on his backpack and asked with feigned nonchalance, “What were you filming just now?”
“I was taking photos of you.”
Cheng Ge’s fist tightened, his short nails pressing into his palm. The corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl upward as he muttered under his breath, “What’s there to photograph about me…”
“It really is hard to photograph. You keep moving around.”
Wen Ling responded to every word Cheng Ge said with utmost seriousness, but sometimes his answers were completely off-target or left people not knowing how to respond.
Cheng Ge: “…”
Cheng Ge cleared his throat. “Let me see the photos you took.”
Wen Ling pulled up his album. “Look.”
When Cheng Ge saw Wen Ling’s “masterpieces,” the very first photo made his vision go dark. He didn’t give up and swiped through several more, only for his vision to go dark again and again.
Not a single one was clear. They looked like they had a motion blur filter applied. With the added effect of Cheng Ge’s shooting and passing movements, the person in the photos looked like a monster—some even appeared to have four eyes and three arms.
“Do you also think they were taken poorly?”
Cheng Ge wanted to ask if Wen Ling was stating the obvious, but seeing Wen Ling’s slightly furrowed brows and those innocent, large eyes with trembling lashes, he really couldn’t bring himself to say anything discouraging.
“Actually… they’re okay. Quite good.”
“Really?”
Cheng Ge said with certainty, “Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.”
“Cheng Ge, your aesthetics are so weird.” Wen Ling’s expression became very puzzled, even a bit strange. “Don’t you think I look like a monster in these? So many eyes, and the proportions are wrong.”
Cheng Ge: “…”
“You look better than the pictures.”
Cheng Ge: “…”
No kidding! At least I look like a normal human being.
“No wonder you say I’m cute,” Wen Ling muttered.
“What?” Cheng Ge didn’t catch that.
Wen Ling shook his head.
It must be another one of those comments that leaves me speechless!
Cheng Ge changed the subject in a huff. “Why did you suddenly take photos of me?”
“I wanted to, so I did.”
It was tautological nonsense, yet Cheng Ge somehow found it quite pleasing.
“Actually, I took videos too, because the photos were too weird.”
“Let me see.” Cheng Ge took the phone and watched the videos Wen Ling had filmed. The picture was normal, the proportions were right, and more importantly, they were quite long and numerous.
Cheng Ge felt a senseless surge of joy in his heart. He handed the phone back to Wen Ling and asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Are we going to get a late-night snack together?” Wen Ling’s eyes were round.
“Yeah. If you’re hungry, we’ll go.”
“Then I am a little bit hungry.”
Cheng Ge suddenly laughed, a lazy sound. “For real?”
Wen Ling said seriously, “Really. A tiny bit hungry.”
Cheng Ge’s eyes remained curved. He stroked the hair at the back of Wen Ling’s head. “Then let’s go. What do you want to eat?”
“Actually, I want to eat your cooking.”
Cheng Ge’s tone was languid, his pace slow. “It’s too late. I’ll cook for you tomorrow. Pick something else.”
“Then do you want fried chicken?”
“Sure.”
“How about BBQ?”
“That works too.”
“…”
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