Chapter 28: Gradually Becoming Attached to Him

Ling Yunfan sat up and looked at the steaming millet porridge in front of him, feeling more complicated than the Lagrangian function. ^[1]The Lagrange function, also known as the Lagrangian, is a fundamental concept in classical mechanics and variational calculus. This sentence just implies that his mind is filled with many complex … Continue reading

Ji Canghai, you need to rein in your boyfriend power that has nowhere to go!

“What’s wrong?” Ji Canghai asked when Ling Yunfan didn’t move. “Don’t you like millet porridge?”

“No, I do.” Ling Yunfan quickly picked up the spoon and lowered his head to eat the porridge.

Ji Canghai waited for him to finish and then cleaned up the bowl.

Ling Yunfan turned to him and asked, “Don’t you have to go to work?”

“I took leave,” Ji Canghai replied.

“Why?” Ling Yunfan asked.

“You’re sick, and I’m worried,” Ji Canghai said.

Ling Yunfan choked on the porridge.

“Slow down,” Ji Canghai patted Ling Yunfan’s back.

“Mm-hmm,” Ling Yunfan nodded and quickly finished the porridge.

Ji Canghai cleared the table, took away the empty bowl and spoon, and left the room.

Ling Yunfan leaned back against the headboard, touching his full stomach, and couldn’t help but think of the days when he was alone in his rented room, trembling with pain from his stomachache.

“Being taken care of by someone other than my parents feels like this…” Ling Yunfan murmured, “It’s too easy to develop attachment…”

With Ji Canghai’s meticulous care, Ling Yunfan’s stomach should have healed even if it was fragile.

For the next week, Ji Canghai went to work during the day, and Ling Yunfan stayed at home reading, practicing coding on his computer, or studying university courses by himself. He still hoped to return to university someday and get his degree.

In the evenings when both of them were at home, they watched TV, talked about the news, and played games together.

Just a few days ago, they were classmates with an unsatisfactory relationship after three years of not seeing each other. Who would have thought that their leisure and entertainment preferences would be so compatible?

Ling Yunfan often felt puzzled when he looked at Ji Canghai. The progress of the relationship is usually from strangers to acquaintances, to falling in love, to being inseparable, to getting married, and to growing old together.

His own Progress: From Arch Enemies to Strangers to Living Together as an Old Couple.

How did this qualitative leap happen?!

Ling Yunfan didn’t think about leaving anymore. His ankle was wrapped in a plaster, making it difficult for him to move, but he didn’t give up on making money. He often looked for part-time coding jobs online, but without a resume, he couldn’t get any big jobs and the money he earned was meager.

But no matter how small the mosquito is, it’s still meat,^[2]It means, even though the money he earns is less, it’s still money. and Ling Yunfan firmly believed that as long as he saved money and reduced expenses, he would be able to pay off his debt to Ji Canghai someday.

Ling Yunfan stayed at home for two weeks like this.

Since last week, his ankle hasn’t been hurting anymore, and even if he exerts a little force now, there is no pain.

He told Ji Canghai about this and asked if he could remove the troublesome plaster on his ankle.

Ji Canghai made a phone call to the doctor and then told Ling Yunfan that the plaster couldn’t be removed yet. Ling Yunfan had no choice but to follow the doctor’s advice.

On this day, Ling Yunfan was sitting on his bed, just typing a line of code, when he suddenly heard a pleasant and loud bird song.

He turned his head towards the sound and looked through the bright window of his room, seeing the clear sky and the beautiful scenery of spring.

“Ah…” When Ling Yunfan came back to his senses, he had already gotten out of bed and walked to the window.

He looked down at his feet as he lightly stepped on the floor with it, and felt no pain, so he didn’t go back to bed to continue lying down.

He leaned his arms on the windowsill, slightly bending down to look far away, letting the sunlight fall on his eyebrows and eyes, as gentle breeze gently brushed his cheeks.

Ling Yunfan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, muttering to himself, “It’s quite uncomfortable to be stuck inside all the time…”

He stayed like this, leaning on the window, watching people come and go on the distant road, watching the lush greenery of the neighborhood, watching the beautiful spring scenery with birds singing and dancing for a long time.

The quiet solitude made Ling Yunfan’s thoughts complicated, and he couldn’t help but wonder, Should I tell Ji Canghai that he didn’t have amnesia?

Would Ji Canghai be angry?

If he gets angry, how should I apologize?

After a while, Ling Yunfan was lost in thought when he suddenly heard the sound of the door opening and closing outside the room.

He walked out slowly and met Ji Canghai in the living room.

“Hmm?” Ji Canghai saw Ling Yunfan coming out and his gaze fell on his injured ankle.

“I’m not in pain anymore.” Ling Yunfan shook his foot. “Can’t I take this plaster off? It’s affecting my walking.”

Ji Canghai didn’t repeatedly emphasize that Ling Yunfan needed to rest and go back to bed like before.

Ji Canghai pondered for a moment, his deep eyes like the bottom of the sea.

Ling Yunfan was puzzled.

Is it really that difficult to take off a plaster? Why is he thinking so hard?

Just as Ling Yunfan was wondering, Ji Canghai suddenly smiled and said, “Let’s take it off. It’s the weekend tomorrow and I don’t have to go to the company. Let’s go out together?”

Ling Yunfan felt suffocated staying indoors in the afternoon, and Ji Canghai suggested going out, which was like a pillow being delivered to a sleepy person.

Ling Yunfan asked, “Where should we go?”

Ji Canghai teased him by saying, “You’ll find out tomorrow.”

Ling Yunfan laughed and said, “Okay, I’ll wait until tomorrow then.”

The next day, the temperature unexpectedly dropped, and the weather was gloomy when Ling Yunfan woke up.

He wondered if Ji Canghai would change his mind and not want to go out anymore, but Ji Canghai entered the room holding a brand new black and white baseball jacket.

“It’s cold outside, wear this,” Ji Canghai said.

Ling Yunfan took the jacket and jokingly said, “Ji Canghai, are you my mom?”

Ji Canghai replied, “I’m not your mom, I’m your boyfriend.”

Ling Yunfan choked and coughed, then obediently put on the jacket.

After filling their stomachs with porridge and buns, they prepared to go out. Ling Yunfan put on his shoes at the entrance and opened the door with the password.

“Let’s go,” Ji Canghai nest to Ling Yunfan stepped out first, turned back, and reached out his hand to help him.

“Okay,” Ling Yunfan had been forced to stay indoors for a long time, and now he could finally go out. He was in a good mood and hummed a song while high-fiving Ji Canghai, and walking towards the elevator.

Ji Canghai, “…”

He looked at his slightly sore palm from the high-five, smiled helplessly, silently clenched his hand, and followed Ling Yunfan.

The two arrived at the garage and got into Ji Canghai’s car.

Ling Yunfan asked while fastening his seatbelt, “Where are we going exactly?”

Ji Canghai still had no intention of telling him, “I’ll tell you when we get there.”

“Okay,” Ling Yunfan stopped asking.

He just didn’t expect the journey to be farther than he imagined, and he fell asleep halfway through.

When Ling Yunfan woke up drowsily, he realized that the car had stopped, and he felt warm all over. He looked down and found himself covered with Ji Canghai’s jacket.

Outside the car, the weather was sunny and beautiful, and the sky had cleared up.

“Awake?” Ji Canghai’s smiling voice came.

“Yeah,” Ling Yunfan rubbed his eyes, stretched lazily, and handed the jacket back to Ji Canghai. “Why didn’t you wake me up when we arrived?”

“It’s okay, no rush,” Ji Canghai took the jacket.

“So where are we?” Ling Yunfan looked out of the car window in confusion and suddenly froze.

What Ling Yunfan saw was the gate of the high school where they both studied.