Chapter 188: I Don't Understand (Revised)

(Heavily revised)

"Ling Wu..." Chu Yi stopped his struggling, his voice pleading: "Don't, don't let go."

Chu Yi let go of Ling Wu's hand.

The cigarette that hadn't been finished also fell uncontrollably onto the tiles.

The emotions in Chu Yi's mind were all rising, exploding like fireworks; he looked into the mirror.

Chu Yi wrapped his arms around Ling Wu, eyes closed, resting his head against the crook of his neck in a very obedient and fragile manner, his breath spraying out: "Thank you."

He lowered his proud head, offering his whole heart and soul, handing it over to Ling Wu to trample on as he pleased, as long as he didn't drive him away; he was just like a tamed beast.

Chu Yi understood that in his relationship with Ling Wu, the role of longing to be needed had always been played by him.

But it didn't matter.

He was willing to be this way.

"Chu Yi, what are you thanking me for?" Ling Wu tested the temperature of his forehead with the back of his hand, thinking his brain had been scorched muddled, his voice even a little unsteady: "Is being scalded some kind of glorious and great achievement?"

His expression was serious, a bit cold.

It was impossible to tell if he was angry.

Chu Yi grabbed his wrist and asked: "Do you think it was just messing around and are angry? Then you don't have to think that way; I am an adult, this is what I wanted to do."

"Besides... didn't you already promise me?"

Ling Wu interrupted him: "I didn't promise you that you could harm your body."

Ling Wu dragged him inside and threw him against the wall, his flesh hitting the tiles with a dull thud; he turned on the shower faucet, using cold water to rinse and cool the scald on his collarbone.

His business-like expression was as if he had invited a huge amount of trouble.

He wanted to finish dealing with it quickly and throw away the hot potato.

Chu Yi didn't dare provoke him and could only follow his wishes; he was at the age of transitioning from a youth to a mature man, his figure tall and straight like a proud pine, his waist lean and powerful, the muscles of his abdomen slightly bulging, manifesting an introverted masculine energy, the water flow wetting his muscles and running down his waist and abdomen...

【Sss-ha sss-ha, Chu Yi, you kid, your muscles are great.】

【Teacher in front, this is the bullet comment section, not a no-man's land!】

【I get it, I get it...】

【Mom just asked me why my little face is all yellow.】

【The two of them are just like a married couple.】

【For a moment, I don't know who to say is eating well!】

【Amazing.】

【I support it! The readers support it! You two go ahead and stir-fry it up right here, leave the rest to me! I'll block Shao Yu outside for you, if the red-haired one comes I'll kick him away, I'll sell the repressed guy off to the frontier, and for the germaphobe guy, I'll bestow upon him the Xianglong Shiba Zhang!】

【So hot.】

Chu Yi's eyes were fixed on Ling Wu's movements, watching his face, eyelashes, ears...

It was as if his mouth was dry and his tongue parched.

But there were still some "disobedient" water droplets splashing onto his collarbone, which Chu Yi wiped away with his fingertips, sharp-eyed, as if afraid they would evaporate if he were a second late.

Ling Wu was occasionally scratched by him and raised his eyes to look at him: "What's wrong with you again?"

"Nothing." Chu Yi's gaze dodged, and he simply lowered his head, the tips of his ears turning red: "I was afraid the water would soak your clothes."

After reading the bullet comments.

Ling Wu naturally didn't believe his excuse, lowering his voice a little, as if to warn him: "If you don't want that piece of flesh on your collarbone to rot, stop moving around, hold the shower head, and rinse it yourself."

After he finished speaking, he walked toward the door.

Chu Yi grabbed him with his wet hand: "Where are you going?"

Ling Wu only gave him a rough glance and didn't answer his question, with a hint of deliberate disregard: "I see you don't need to take a bath looking like this, just stay there."

"Clatter!"

The door closed.

Chu Yi looked at the tightly shut bathroom door, which coldly separated him from Ling Wu; he gripped the shower head with a bit more force, tilted his head back to look at the ceiling, unable to open his eyes under the blinding light, and placed his arm over his eyes, closing them heavily.

He was a bit impatient.

But he really couldn't restrain himself.

The status of friend or ally wasn't enough.

Chu Yi wanted to stay by Ling Wu's side openly and legitimately.

What should he do?

Give him some guidance; it was very difficult to get closer to Ling Wu, and every time he got slightly closer, the other party would leave with vigilance... what exactly should he do?

He was trapped in this quagmire of contradiction, and just as he was unable to extricate himself, the door opened.

Ling Wu placed the medicine kit on the vanity, took out the burn ointment and gauze, and said with his back to Chu Yi: "If you want to be my ally, don't hurt your body again."

Chu Yi said sincerely: "Mm, I know."

"Can you forgive me?"

Ling Wu seemed not to understand his train of thought; could such a thing be talked about in terms of forgiveness or non-forgiveness?

He finished applying the medicine, patiently wrapped two layers of gauze, tied a knot, and then threw a clean bathrobe to Chu Yi: "Come out once you're dressed."

Ling Wu sat on the sofa, holding his phone and looking out the window; the scenery of Muya Snow Mountain was very beautiful, and one could see the lake at the foot of the mountain, the distant mountain ranges sleeping and wrapped in the gentleness of the snow, having lost their usual sharp edges, the pine trees standing quietly in the biting cold wind...

He didn't know what he was thinking about, his eyes a bit vacant and distracted.

"Tap-tap!"

Ling Wu heard the sound of slippers and came back to his senses; without looking in Chu Yi's direction, he put his phone on the table and said: "Leave once you've put your clothes on."

He felt that Chu Yi was very wrong, completely different from his usual introverted performance, with the whole person in the range between abnormal and crazy.

Ling Wu didn't understand what exactly had triggered him.

But his energy was limited; he could not deal with so many people, nor did he want to care. He only wanted to keep his relationship with Chu Yi within the boundaries of friends or allies, providing help and cooperation while hoping that, ideally, neither would cross the line.

Neither one.

Chu Yi stood where he was, unmoving: "Ling Wu, why do you not dare to look at me? What are you running from?"

"Do you know how long it has been since you replied to my messages?"

Messages?

Ling Wu's body shifted slightly. He was naturally not a proactive person; unless it was necessary, he would not send messages to others. Idle chatter was unnecessary, offering no benefit other than a waste of time and energy.

Ling Wu admitted that after knowing of Chu Yi's feelings for him, he had retreated. The relationship between the two was awkward; since they were allies, it should be kept pure, without mixing in affection.

If Chu Yi wanted to pierce the veil, then out of mutual need, Ling Wu could not afford to fall out with him or make the relationship hostile. He could only close his ears, pretend to know nothing, silently reinforce the window, and use a cold attitude to force Chu Yi to back down...

Ling Wu explained calmly: "I am very busy, so I may not be able to reply to messages in a timely manner."

"It is not that you are not timely." Chu Yi looked at his profile and said word by word: "It is that apart from those two necessary messages, you do not want to acknowledge me even when you are holding your phone."

Precisely because of this, and the rumors within Beidu City, he was being driven nearly insane.

He softened his tone: "Is there something I did to offend you?"

"Chu Yi, do not ask me what you did to offend me." Pressed by Chu Yi, Ling Wu finally stopped being silent. He straightened his back, his clear and distant eyes looking at him with a scrutinizing air, colder than the snow outside the floor-to-ceiling window: "You should be answering what it is you want to get from me."

"Is that not it?"

Chu Yi's pupils flickered, and he stammered: "So you knew all along, knew that I liked you, yet you still chose to turn a blind eye."

He looked somewhat dejected.

"Do not look at me with such eyes." Facing his questioning, Ling Wu was cold-hearted and detached: "I have hinted at it; some things do not need to be said so clearly and explicitly. Everyone can understand metaphors, and I thought you understood."

"I don't understand!"

Chu Yi shouted hoarsely: "I don't understand!"

"Ling Wu, what is wrong with me liking you? You cannot laugh and talk with others while ignoring my feelings alone." Chu Yi gripped his rounded shoulders with both hands, pushing Ling Wu back against the sofa, their gazes locked in a confrontation where neither retreated even a fraction: "They all like you, but you don't hide from them; you only hide from me!"

"I see you smiling at them, making physical contact with them, and every time your gazes meet or you nod in greeting, I am so jealous I could go mad."