Chapter 93: I Want to Be With You Forever
After dinner, the two sat quietly on the sofa to digest. Cheng Ge suddenly realized that just sitting together quietly like this was actually quite beautiful.
They each kept busy until nightfall. After Wen Ling showered, Cheng Ge applied medicinal oil to his arm before going to shower himself.
“Sleep if you’re tired,” Cheng Ge said before entering the bathroom. However, it was still early, and Wen Ling definitely wouldn’t sleep without waiting for him.
When Cheng Ge came out, Wen Ling was curled up in the quilt, his smooth hair hanging down obediently. Wen Ling was lying on his side, clutching the quilt which covered most of his face, leaving only a pair of clear, spirited glass-like eyes staring at him unblinkingly.
Cheng Ge walked to the bedside, sat down, and patted the mound of blankets. Then, he brushed aside some of the fine hair on Wen Lingās forehead. He said, “Xiao Wen, your eyes are very beautiful.”
Wen Lingās eyelashes fluttered slightly.
“Cheng Ge, come in.” Wen Ling lifted a corner of the quilt.
Cheng Ge followed suit and slid in. Wen Ling immediately stuck to him, resting his ear against Cheng Geās chest.
“They really are very beautiful eyes.”
“Thank you for the compliment,” Wen Ling said. After a moment of silence, Wen Ling began to murmur, “Cheng Geās heartbeat sounds very good.”
Upon hearing this, Cheng Geās body instinctively tensed. He had previously wondered why Wen Ling always liked to press his ear against his chest for a while; he thought Wen Ling just found it a comfortable way to lie. He hadn’t expected him to be listening to his heartbeat.
How could someone specifically… listen to his heartbeat? What does a “good-sounding” heartbeat even sound like?
“Itās gotten faster,” Wen Ling stated quietly, even mimicking the sound: “Thump, thump, thump.”
The sound sent a jolt through Cheng Ge. He immediately pushed Wen Lingās head away and rolled over.
Wen Ling clung to him, pressing against Cheng Geās back. “Cheng Geās fur is standing up again.”
Cheng Ge: “…”
“Nonsense.” After saying that, Cheng Ge ignored him.
Seeing that Cheng Ge had stopped talking, Wen Ling also quieted down. His face was pressed against Cheng Geās broad back, his warm breath hitting the back through his clothes.
The room was quiet for a long time. Cheng Ge thought Wen Ling had already fallen asleep, but unexpectedly, the guy suddenly said: “Cheng Ge, I like you so much.”
Cheng Geās newly relaxed body tensed up again, and his mouth tightened as well.
“I like you so much, Cheng Ge,” Wen Ling said it again.
Cheng Ge hissed and suddenly turned around to face Wen Ling, laughing helplessly. “I say, who did you learn this from day in and day out? You didn’t used to talk this much. Your mouth is like a machine gun now. How much has your character setting collapsed?”
“Sweet words… do you think you’re some ‘Love Talk Prince’?”
“What is a Love Talk Prince?”
“Someone like you, saying sappy, beautiful love talk every day.”
“Iām not saying ‘love talk,'” Wen Lingās tone turned into a “Cheng Ge, how can you be like this” aggrieved tone. “Iām saying whatās in my heart. I just wanted to say it. Why are you scolding me? You’re being mean again.”
Cheng Ge was dazed by Wen Lingās words. He was clearly smiling; when had he been mean? And where did that “again” come from?
Unfair, truly unfair.
But Cheng Ge knew how to end this battle the fastest. He leaned over and kissed Wen Lingās cheek. “My mistake, my mistake.”
“Kiss my mouth too,” Wen Ling requested in a soft voice.
So Cheng Ge leaned in to kiss him again, even bumping Wen Lingās nose tip along the way. Comrade Xiao Wen could always be coaxed this way.
“Do you like me?” Wen Ling kissed Cheng Geās clothes while asking. His habit of asking this type of question hadn’t changed at all.
“Aiya…” The red on Cheng Geās ears was already hidden in the darkness of the night, yet he still felt as though it weren’t safe. He pulled up the quilt, covering half his face. “I do, I do.”
Wen Ling clung to him again, being pestering. “You’re being so perfunctory. Say it again.”
“…Iām not being perfunctory.”
“Then say it again.”
“I like you, I like you.”
“Like who?”
Cheng Ge covered his eyes with his arm, his voice raspy: “You.”
“Who likes me? No, waitāwho likes me?”
“…I do.”
Wen Ling was relentless: “Then…”
“Aiya, stop asking, my ancestor. Do you think you’re Ma Dongmei?”
Wen Ling stopped asking and started making requests: “Say it all together.”
Cheng Ge didn’t want to pay him any attention, but when he met those eyes that looked sparkling even in the dim light, he still whispered a tiny murmur: “I like you.”
Cheng Ge was someone who wasn’t good at expressing emotions. He found it mushy and clingy, and thought actions were more practical than words. Therefore, he was stingy with these beautiful words that seemed incredibly exaggerated.
But Wen Ling loved to hear them. Like he said, he wanted to tell Cheng Ge every day, and he wanted Cheng Ge to tell him too. Only this kind of direct love could be felt by Wen Ling.
“Cheng Ge,” Wen Lingās finger scratched Cheng Geās arm. “You should be a ‘Love Talk Prince’ too.”
Cheng Geās shoulders shook with laughter. “You can be it. Iām not qualified.”
“Then you should also say you like me every day. Say it proactively.”
“Oh,” Cheng Ge drew out the tail of his words, nodding in realization. He recalled Wen Lingās blissfully imagined theory of them being good to each other and felt an inexplicable sense of comedy. “So you want us to exchange love talk?”
“Mm, mm. Sincere words,” Wen Ling emphasized. “I want to hear them.”
“I see. Then… I’ll think about it.” Cheng Ge originally wanted to joke and tell Wen Ling to keep dreaming, but he was afraid Wen Lingās mind wouldn’t be able to turn the corner and heād get stubborn. In the end, he changed his words.
But this kind of sappy stuff was something he absolutely couldn’t do! It was useless even if he wanted to!
Since Cheng Ge said heād think about it, Wen Ling hugged Cheng Geās waist to let him think, but he didn’t let him think properly. He tilted his head slightly, his delicate, small nose rubbing against Cheng Geās Adamās apple. Before long, he said again, “I like Cheng Ge so much.”
Truly pestering.
Cheng Ge simply couldn’t figure out how Wen Lingās character setting had become like thisāthat clingy vibe, such a little nuisance.
“I know, I know.” Cheng Ge adjusted his posture, increasing the distance between them slightly to let Wen Ling rest his head on his arm. His other hand rested loosely on Wen Lingās waist, circling him. This way, Wen Ling would be a bit better behaved.
Using the dim yellow glow of the nightlight, Cheng Ge gazed at Wen Ling for a while, his eyes roughly tracing Wen Lingās silhouette.
Finally, he bent the arm Wen Ling was resting on, his knuckles lightly brushing over the bridge of Wen Lingās nose, then pinching the tip.
Wen Ling cooperatively tilted his face up, interacting with Cheng Ge very affectionately.
“Wen Ling,” Cheng Geās tone was very gentle and serious. “Do you know what ‘liking’ is?”
“How do you know that the one you like is me?”
Sometimes Wen Ling was too slow, and his verbal expression was also miraculously worrisome. The “liking” he spoke of might not be “standard,” which inevitably made one feel uncertain.
“I just like you!” Wen Ling was suddenly a bit agitatedāa state of being eager to rebut after being questioned. “I like you very much.”
Cheng Ge stroked Wen Lingās back, still very gentle: “What is ‘liking’?”
It was a completely questioning tone, as if he were not only asking Wen Ling but also himself.
“Liking… liking is just liking! I want to stay with you every day. I want to be with you forever. That is ‘liking’!”
Hearing Wen Lingās tone, Cheng Ge was afraid heād get worked up again. He kissed his cheek before continuing: “Family can also be together forever.”
Translator’s Note: “Ma Dongmei” (馬å¬ę¢ ) is a famous comedic reference from the movie Goodbye Mr. Loser. It’s a running gag about someone being forgetful/repetitive. Cheng Ge is using it to tell Wen Ling to stop repeating the same questions! Also, ” ancestor” (ē„å®) is a common playful/exasperated way to address someone who is being difficult but whom you dote on.
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