Chapter 99: I… I Love It
“Oh~ My fault, my fault.” Cheng Ge dragged out his words. He had seen long ago that Wen Ling was dwelling on that matter, repeatedly asking “Where are we going next?”
But since Wen Ling didn’t say, he didn’t mention it either. He wanted to wait for the other to enthusiastically tell him and then complain a bit; it was all very cute.
“I remember now. Lead the way, then.”
And so, Cheng Ge was led by Wen Ling to the roadside to wait for a car.
“How much longer until the car arrives?” Wen Ling seemed a bit anxious.
“Two minutes. Very soon.” Cheng Ge moved his gaze from his phone screen to Wen Ling’s face. His eyes were bright and spirited. Cheng Ge couldn’t help but smile. “So impatient. Why didn’t you say so earlier? If you had, we could have gone there first.”
“Cheng Ge, you don’t understand,” Wen Ling said with an air of knowing exactly what he was talking about. “The most important thing has to be the grand finale.”
“Is that so?” Cheng Ge nodded, playing along. “I see.”
Wen Ling took the inch given and became even more smug, his voice soft. “You really don’t understand at all.”
Cheng Ge just laughed. After he finished laughing, he said dismissively, “It’s fine as long as you understand. Don’t I have you?”
At those words, Wen Ling’s eyes darted around, and he fell silent. After a moment, he leaned into Cheng Ge’s ear and whispered, “You’re right.”
Cheng Ge watched Wen Ling’s small expressions and movements, feeling peaceful and delighted.
They got into the car. The ride wasn’t long. Wen Ling didn’t sleep; he leaned on Cheng Ge’s shoulder and watched him play with his hand. Cheng Ge’s movements were very light; the kneading and pressing felt very comfortable. Most importantly, Cheng Ge only played with his hand. He was never this intimate with anyone else, which made Wen Ling feel special. He loved that feeling.
After getting out of the car, Wen Ling led Cheng Ge to a handmade DIY shop. The staff greeted Wen Ling, and he gave a nod before handing a slip of paper to them. He then led Cheng Ge toward a small room in the back as if he knew the place by heart, leaving the staff behind.
The staff went to a row of shelves on the wall, took down a large box based on the note, and handed it to Wen Ling. “Mr. Wen, this is yours.”
Wen Ling: “Thank you.” Having said that, he took the box and led Cheng Ge out of the shop.
“Let me carry it for you?” Cheng Ge asked.
“For you.”
After watching Wen Ling’s “handover ceremony” with the staff, Cheng Ge found it inexplicably interesting and was curious about the box. “What is this? Can you tell me?”
“Drawings. This is a gift for you. Why wouldn’t I tell you?”
“For me? This many?” Cheng Ge had thought they were Wen Ling’s private belongings, especially since he hadn’t been allowed to follow him last time. Moreover, the box was quite large and heavy; there had to be hundreds of drawings in there, right?
“Not many. Only ten. They’re a bit big because they’re framed.”
Cheng Ge blinked. A stray memory of Wen Ling saying in the bathroom that he wanted to give him a surprise flashed through his mind. He felt a bit overwhelmed by the favor. Such a surprise? This seemed to be the first “grand” gift Wen Ling had given him.
“Can I open it and see?” His tone was very solemn.
“Wait a moment,” Wen Ling remembered Jiji’s words and repeated them almost verbatim. “We need to go to a special place to open it. It needs a sense of ‘atmosphere.'”
Cheng Ge: “…?”
Wen Ling was starting to care about “atmosphere” now?
Cheng Ge cleared his throat and asked, “What kind of place is a ‘special place’?”
“I don’t know either. It has to be a place with ‘memory points,'” Wen Ling said, recalling Jiji’s words. “Somewhere romantic.”
If they were talking about memory points and romance, Wen Ling felt the villa where he and Cheng Ge lived was the best place. He remembered everything that happened back then. But since he didn’t know what Cheng Ge thought, he left the decision to him.
And so, Cheng Ge heard Wen Ling ask him, “Where should we go?”
It sounded like he was asking despite knowing the answer, yet also like he truly didn’t know where to go. Coupled with what Wen Ling had just said about memory points and romance, it was quite amusing.
Cheng Ge laughed for a while before suggesting, “How about the nearby park? There’s a small park nearby. Not many people go there at this time, so it should be quite quiet.” He paused for two seconds, then started laughing softly again. “I don’t know about ‘romantic,’ though.”
Wen Ling: “Then we’ll go to the park.”
The two of them walked for about ten minutes and took a seat in a secluded pavilion in the park. The box was placed on the small stone table. Cheng Ge asked, “I’m opening it, then?”
Wen Ling was very much looking forward to Cheng Ge’s reaction to the surprise; he’d been holding it in the whole way. “Open it! Hurry!”
Having received permission, Cheng Ge carefully tore open the wrapping paper and just as he opened the lid…
He slammed it shut again.
He stared at Wen Ling with wide eyes, his ears turning deep red instantly. His expression could only be described as one of disbelief and panic.
Wen Ling remembered Jiji saying, “You have to emphasize words like ‘hand-drawn’ or ‘personally.'”
So, Wen Ling’s bright, glassy eyes stared at Cheng Ge, and his voice was sweet as honey: “I drew all of these by hand. I even designed the patterns on the frames myself.”
“Does Cheng Ge like them?”
Cheng Ge nodded blankly, his eyes darting around, his whole body feeling hot and flustered.
Wen Ling knew Cheng Ge liked them very much. His reaction just now was so big; he must have been so surprised. He felt a bit smug and urged, “Keep looking!”
Cheng Ge gave Wen Ling an awkward smile. Seeing how expectant he looked, he couldn’t bear to ruin it. He could only brace himself and open the lid again.
It was a fucking drawing of that “messy business” they did—from Wen Ling’s perspective. It was Cheng Ge, sweating, with a flushed face and ears.
Although it only showed Cheng Ge’s face and a bit of his neck—and someone who wasn’t there probably wouldn’t be able to tell what he was doing—Cheng Ge was still burning up. He felt both shy and ashamed. Who… who would give someone this kind of thing as a gift…
Wen Ling leaned in and emphasized again, “I drew it by hand.”
Cheng Ge felt himself getting even hotter, especially the arm that Wen Ling’s cheek was pressed against. His voice was even trembling slightly. “I… I love it.”
He had originally wanted to say “It’s so hot,” but he suddenly met Wen Ling’s smiling, round eyes and accidentally changed his words.
“I love it too,” Wen Ling said. “It looks very good.”
Cheng Ge hesitated for a moment and muttered in a small, muffled voice, “That… I wasn’t that red, was I?”
“You were,” Wen Ling said with certainty and seriousness.
Cheng Ge naturally didn’t have the face to argue with Wen Ling about this, so he could only flip to the next one.
The next one was also of him, but it was much easier for Cheng Ge to accept. it was a profile of him sleeping with his head on the table.
Bright sunlight enveloped Cheng Ge. In the drawing, his features were softer than usual, even a bit cute.
“When was this?” Cheng Ge didn’t remember ever having such a beautiful moment…
“It was the first time you accompanied me to class. You fell asleep during the second period. I thought you looked so good, so I drew it.”
“You must have used some kind of filter… I’m not, not that…”
Gentle.
Cheng Ge was too embarrassed to say those last words. It was mainly because the drawing really made him look very gentle—like a soft-hearted, good-tempered person.
“No, Cheng Ge was exactly like that at the time. Really.” Wen Ling was anxious to defend his work, his tone full of earnestness.
“Fine, really, it was like that.” Cheng Ge’s eyes curved as he stroked Wen Ling’s head. “I believe you.”
He flipped to the next one. It was the moment Cheng Ge was playing basketball and shooting a hoop. It had to be said, the drawing was vivid and detailed, outlining Cheng Ge’s features and posture impeccably. The person in the drawing was an image Cheng Ge would narcissistically praise as being quite handsome.
The one after that was his back as he cooked in their previous villa. Sunlight hit Cheng Ge, making one’s heart feel warm just looking at it. It felt as if one could smell the aroma of the food through the drawing.
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