Ye Wanqing: “…”
“Your boyfriend is quite a character!”
Wen Ming rubbed his aching brow and said tiredly, “Forget it. Given his abilities anyway, sooner or later there will come a time when he has to come to me for help. There is no rush.”
Ye Wanqing: “Then, I suppose that’s fine.”
Wen Ming nodded. Suddenly thinking of something, he asked, “By the way, I want to know how this game Phantom is played. Is the difficulty high?”
Ye Wanqing couldn’t believe his ears and asked in near shock, “You want to play video games?!”
Wen Ming didn’t understand what there was to be so surprised about. If he wanted to find common topics with Liang Ling and understand his hobbies, wouldn’t that be completely normal?
“Yes, can you teach me?”
Ye Wanqing was momentarily speechless. After a long pause, he sighed and smiled helplessly, “Wen Ming, seeing you like this, I’m starting to feel jealous of Liang Ling.”
Wen Ming shook his head faintly. “You won’t, Wanqing. Out of everyone I know, you are the one who knows best how to hold on and how to let go.”
Praised by him, Ye Wanqing couldn’t help but laugh. He leaned against the pillow, stretched lazily, and said, “I’ve recently been dealing with a contract termination dispute with the league, so I don’t have the time. How about this? Come to Rebirth tomorrow, and I’ll have Lin Chen give you private tutoring.”
Hearing this, Wen Ming gave a light chuckle, “Thank you.”
After hanging up the phone, Wen Ming opened his mobile app store and downloaded Phantom. Watching the progress bar inch forward, an inexplicable urge welled up in his heart.
That Lu Ming kid only relied on knowing how to play games to pester Liang Ling every day. Now that he knew how to play too, let’s see what excuse that kid had left to ask him out to play, hum.
Once he entered the game interface, looking at the dazzling array of hero attributes and skills, Wen Ming was somewhat dumbfounded. He followed the tutorial twice and still didn’t quite understand, his face growing darker the more he played.
Finally, after failing even the beginner bot matches, Wen Ming shut down his phone with a depressed expression, lay in bed, and watched videos of trimming cow hooves and squeezing foam boards, feeling his OCD greatly healed.
As expected, e-sports and the like still weren’t really suited for him. Why couldn’t Liang Ling just like something else instead?
Wen Ming sighed, unhappily placed his phone to the side to get ready for sleep, when he heard a notification sound. Picking it up, his expression suddenly sank.
Liang Ling: [President Wen, I’m very sorry to disturb your sleep, but my rut has arrived. Can you come over?]
Rut? Wen Ming immediately recalled the awkward scene from that night when he had held him to sleep, feeling somewhat at a loss for a moment. Still, he replied: [Alright, I’ll be right there.]
Just on the other side of the shared wall, Liang Ling tossed and turned restlessly on the bed. His gland was burning hot, and his whole body felt as if it were on fire, a brilliant flush spreading across his fair, delicate face.
Damn it, hadn’t his rut just passed not long ago? Furthermore, he still suffered from Pheromone Syndrome; logically speaking, it shouldn’t be happening this frequently. What on earth was going on?
Liang Ling helplessly tilted his neck back and shed tears, hating his own lack of control. His body felt as though thousands of ants were gnawing at it, and even the slightest movement felt like torture. After struggling for a long while, he self-destructively reached out for the phone on the bedside table and sent that humiliating text message.
Wen Ming must think he was so frivolous.
Liang Ling sadly covered his eyes with his arm, wrapped himself tightly in the bedsheets, and desperately fought against that bizarre current, sweating profusely from anxiety.
“Liang Ling!” After receiving the message, Wen Ming immediately unlocked the door with his spare key. The moment he burst into the bedroom, he found Liang Ling soaked in sweat and lying paralyzed on the bed with red-rimmed eyes, freezing in place.
“President Wen.” The moment Liang Ling saw him, he couldn’t stop crying, trembling all over as he curled up inside the blanket.
Wen Ming hurried to his side and reached out to test his forehead, which was burning like a furnace. Anxious, he started to get up to look for fever-reducing medicine, only to have Liang Ling grab his arm.
“Don’t go, I’m begging you.” Liang Ling cried uncontrollably, a pair of mist-covered eyes full of pleading.
Wen Ming’s expression darkened, feeling as though a string in his mind had snapped abruptly, making it nearly impossible to maintain control.
“Are you feeling uncomfortable? I’ll take you to the hospital.” Wen Ming forced down that impulse, sat down, and pulled Liang Ling into his arms.
“No, not the hospital. Take me to your bedroom, please.” Liang Ling rubbed frantically back and forth in his arms, desperately trying to catch that scent of Longjing tea. But instead of providing relief, it only made him even hotter and more unbearably restless.
Liang Ling felt awkwardly like he wanted to flee to another planet to live for the rest of his life, but right now he didn’t have the courage to push Wen Ming away either, so he could only bury his head deep into his chest like an ostrich, the tips of his ears as red as blood.
After a moment, Wen Ming seemed to hear a suppressed sob from the person in his arms.
“Are you very uncomfortable? I’ll help you.” Wen Ming tried his best not to look at him, tilting his head back to gaze at the ceiling as he tentatively asked.
Hearing this, Liang Ling instantly envisioned the scene in the car where Wen Ming had helped him. He shook his head like a rattle-drum and repeatedly refused, “No, no, no! No need! You can just carry me to your bedroom.”
Wen Ming sighed, scooped him up horizontally in a bridal carry, kicked open the door, and amidst the startled glances of a late-returning neighbor next door, carried Liang Ling back to his own apartment.
As soon as they entered, Liang Ling scrambled wildly into the bathroom and slammed the door shut with a loud bang, leaving Wen Ming standing bewildered in his spot.
“Really now.” Wen Ming shrugged with amusement, collapsed onto the sofa, and poured himself a glass of water.
Putting everything else aside, the fragile, delicate, and teary-eyed look Liang Ling had was truly too much of a test for his self-control.
No, he wasn’t a frivolous man, and neither was Liang Ling. How could he take advantage of someone’s vulnerability?
He had to endure.
President Wen nodded in deep agreement, praising himself for his noble character.
“President Wen, are you there?” A voice as soft as a kitten’s came from the bathroom. When Wen Ming turned his head, he saw Liang Ling pitifully peeking around the doorframe, revealing only half of his flush-stained face as he aggrievedly said, “I, I can’t do it myself.”
Wen Ming cursed damn it under his breath, strode toward him, and amidst Liang Ling’s panicked cries and protests, slammed the door shut once more with a bang.
After a while, the two of them emerged from the bathroom completely drenched. Wen Ming still had a faint bruise near his eye socket, looking rather disheveled.
Liang Ling wiped his hair, which was still damp from the shower, and guiltily tugged at Wen Ming’s sleeve, whispering, “I’m sorry, President Wen. Did I hurt you?”
Wen Ming’s face was darker than the bottom of a pot as he extremely reluctantly let out a “Mn.”
Looking at his swollen eye, Liang Ling felt deeply apologetic. He reached out to massage it for him and muttered, “I told you not to use so much force, I couldn’t help it.”
Hearing this, Wen Ming almost got so angry he wanted to throw him out the window. This little fellow had poor skills himself, and when Wen Ming had barely managed to serve him for once, who would have thought he’d turn around and give him a direct backhand slap, sending Wen Ming stumbling into the bathtub and earning himself a second bath for the night.
“It’s fine. Do you need anything else?” Wen Ming stood at the bedroom doorway, looking at him expressionlessly.
Liang Ling scratched the back of his head embarrassedly, pointing at the solid wood door behind him with full anticipation: “President Wen, could I trouble you to sleep with me for the night?”
Wen Ming let out a deep sigh, wearing a look of worldly resignation. He pushed the door open and said, “Come in.”
Liang Ling carefully went inside, hesitating repeatedly right by the edge of the bed before finally climbing up. The chilly bedding made him shiver, but after gritting his teeth through it, he spread himself out like an “X” shape and wriggled around in the bed.
Wen Ming returned after applying ointment to himself and saw the object continuously squirming under the blanket. Three dark lines dropped down his forehead, “What are you doing?”
“Huh?” Liang Ling poked a fluffy head out from under the blanket, his eyes curved into crescents. “I’m warming the bed for you, President Wen! Consider it an apology gift.”
Hearing this, Wen Ming paused in surprise, then burst out laughing. He pulled back the blanket, lay down inside, reached behind him for a remote control, and pressed a few buttons. The bed instantly began to grow warm.
“Wow, what is this?” Liang Ling snuggled under the covers, feeling as though a small stove was baking underneath him. He let out a comfortable sigh, turned his head to Wen Ming, and said, “President Wen, this thing is great. I’m going to install one next time too.”
Wen Ming massaged his red, swollen eye and gave a nonchalant “Mn.”
Seeing that he seemed a bit angry, Liang Ling instantly wilted, whispering, “Sorry, President Wen. I’ve caused you trouble again.”
Wen Ming lowered his hand, turned to glance at him, and smiled faintly, “It’s fine. But why did you have that symptom again earlier? Is it some sort of hidden illness?”
“Uh, about that.” Liang Ling rubbed the back of his head and started making things up with a straight face, “I was too pure during my puberty, didn’t understand anything, and didn’t know how to release my desires, which is why I was left with this issue.”
He didn’t even believe it himself after saying it, but Wen Ming let out an “Oh” of sudden realization. Rubbing his chin, he mused, “Meaning that during your puberty, you didn’t do that kind of thing very often yourself, so you got pent up and developed sequelae, is that it?”
Liang Ling guiltily nodded.
Hearing this, Wen Ming felt a pang of sympathy for him. This was clearly a poor child with no parents to guide him, unable to establish proper awareness, which was why he had contracted such a strange illness and ruined his life with lifelong regret.
“It’s alright. I can help you make an appointment with the top doctors abroad. This isn’t a big problem and can be cured very soon.”
Seeing his resolute gaze and righteous, chivalrous aura of assistance, Liang Ling pulled a smile of utmost embarrassment, “Okay.”
Seeing him agree, Wen Ming nodded with some satisfaction, patted his little head, and said, “Sleep. It’s very late, and we have to wake up early tomorrow.”
Breathing in the familiar scent of Longjing tea on him, sleepiness quickly overtook Liang Ling. Shyly hugging Wen Ming’s arm, he slowly closed his eyes.
Wen Ming looked at his well-behaved sleeping posture and pinched his chin thoughtfully.
Well, it looked like he would have to properly teach him some knowledge in this area!