Chapter 3 . A Sleepless Night
That night, Wen Chen worked until five in the morning before finally going to sleep. Even after drifting off, he found no peace, caught in the grip of a lengthy dream.
In the dream, an eighteen-year-old Jiajia confessed his feelings to him. He was shocked, angry, and at a complete loss.
He had never imagined that the precious child he had raised with his own hands harbored such feelings for him. He felt furious with himself. if a child grew up astray, it was the adult's fault.
But his world consisted solely of the Wen family and Jiajia. he had never experienced romance or fluttering desires. He didn't know how to guide him, nor did he know how to face a Jiajia who had strayed off course.
Ultimately, he had no choice but to send the treasure he held in the palm of his hands off to live in the school dorms, forcing the boy to face the growing pains of adulthood on his own.
Perhaps saying "on his own" wasn't quite accurate. In truth, he watched from the shadows, quietly keeping tabs on Jiajia's every move, secretly stepping in whenever Jiajia needed help.
For instance, comprehensively upgrading the school's room and board. Or selecting a dorm room full of strictly straight guys for Jiajia, bribing his roommates to look after him, and encouraging them to take him along to group mixers and social events.
It wasn't that he intended to interfere in Jiajia's college life. It was mainly because when he suggested Jiajia meet more female friends, Jiajia claimed he never had the chance, forcing Wen Chen's hand into this desperate measure.
Except, once his precious Jiajia had friends, he no longer needed his uncle.
Before, Jiajia always needed him, clung to him, and constantly thought of him. But after moving into the dorms, Jiajia was perpetually surrounded by a crowd. people practically fought for the chance to pour him tea, fetch him water, or wash his socks.
His free time was completely booked, leaving no room even on weekends to eat a meal with him. Jiajia had even hung up on him for the sake of his roommates!
He deeply regretted letting Jiajia live on campus. School was far too dangerous.
Jiajia's "straight" roommates were dangerous.
So-called "straight guys," especially young ones, weren't steadfastly heterosexual. they were simply attracted to beauty, regardless of gender. When a boy was so breathtakingly beautiful that he transcended gender boundaries, he was actually more likely to make a straight guy's heart flutter than a pretty girl.
Proximity gave them easy access, and without the need for propriety between genders, they could do whatever they wanted under the guise of "we're both guys, what's there to fear?"
That was the conclusion reached by the professional team he had hired to conduct research.
Dammit. What gave these people the right to cross boundaries just because they were young? What gave them the right to act recklessly toward his treasure under the pretext of being "straight"?
He was straight too, and a relative to boot, yet he knew how to maintain proper boundaries! In all these years, he hadn't even pinched Jiajia's cheek!
At the end of the day, it was a flaw in their character.
His Jiajia was so wonderful. he couldn't let those punks corrupt him.
Jiajia's female friends weren't safe either.
Whenever he was around girls, Jiajia would recklessly act like a little gentleman. Even though he was practically a delicate flower himself, he insisted on playing the "chivalrous protector," always putting himself on the front line whenever danger arose.
Though he didn't have a shred of physical strength, he would push himself to carry their bags when shopping. And despite being a boy, he'd obediently agree to try on women's clothes for them.
Although they meant no harm, they constantly placed Jiajia in harm's way indirectly. If he hadn't sent bodyguards to protect him from the shadows, he shuddered to think how street ruffians might have taken advantage of Jiajia.
Off-campus was even less safe. Certain scum took advantage of their slight life experience and decent looks to pose as caring older brothers, targeting pretty young boys like Jiajia.
And unfortunately, that was precisely Jiajia's type. Had he not stepped in behind the scenes, he couldn't imagine how Jiajia might have been duped and manipulated.
Moreover, even home wasn't entirely safe.
Ever since Jiajia confessed to him and he began educating himself on homosexuality, he suddenly noticed that Jiajia's personal male servant was acting inappropriately, behaving far too intimately with him.
When he originally swapped Jiajia's personal female maid for a male servant, it was out of consideration for the boy entering adolescence, thinking it was inconvenient for a woman to tend to him.
However, he had overlooked the fact that spending time with someone of the same gender made it even easier to cross lines.
Indeed, people with a sense of boundaries as impeccable as his were few and far between.
...In short, Jiajia was only safe when by his side, and only secure under his personal care.
That was why he had forcefully pulled Jiajia out of the dorms, keeping him by his side, even taking him along on business trips. It was also why he no longer assigned personal servants to Jiajia, taking care of everything himself.
As for Jiajia's temporary infatuation with him, he believed it was simply the result of improper guidance during adolescence. As long as he maintained his boundaries, everything would be fine. He would keep his distance when necessary, but wouldn't hesitate when it came to taking care of the boy.
That was what the dreaming Wen Chen thought.
However, dreams are erratic and uncontrollable.
The scene shifted. He pushed open the bathroom door. A breathtakingly innocent yet alluring youth sat completely naked in the bathtub, tilting his head unsuspectingly as he blew bubbles. Seeing him enter with a glass of milk, the boy sweetly chimed, "Daddy, feed me milk."
Unable to wait a second longer, he stepped forward, grabbed the youth's delicate chin, and rather roughly poured milk down his throat.
Unable to swallow quickly enough, the milk spilled over the corners of his lips, dripping everywhere.
"Don't waste the milk." He wiped the milk from his fingers into the youth's mouth, his raspy voice commanding, "Swallow it."
With cheeks puffed out, the youth nodded obediently. After swallowing that, he licked off what remained on Wen Chen's palm and the back of his hand. Perhaps because his hand was too large, the youth found it taxing, to the point where tears welled at the corners of his eyes.
"Good baby, we can't let what's on your body go to waste either."
Stepping into the tub, he took the youth's place, pulling the boy who had turned soft as water into his embrace, and buried his head to work hungrily away...
Whimpering softly, the youth asked him what he was doing.
"Drinking milk," he said.
"Is... is it tasty? Un... Uncle?" The sweet, sticky voice drifted down brokenly from above. His expression darkened, and he flipped the youth over, pressing him against the edge of the tub. Bringing his hand down with a heavy slap against those jelly-soft curves, he barked, "Wrong title. You're not allowed to call me Uncle."
"Daddy?" The youth turned his head, his pink lips pouting. "I'm still thirsty... I want more milk."
"Does Daddy have some?" The youth's eyes were innocent, but his voice was pure temptation.
His Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty. "I do... a lot..."
"Then hurry and give it to me~"
The youth wriggled his waist, the flesh of his bottom trembling. "Please, Daddy~"
"Mmh." His blood surged with heat. Clamping down on that slender waist, he was just about to...
...!
At the critical moment, the scene shifted once again.
This time, he was standing beside a bed. The two people on the bed seemed oblivious to his presence.
His Jiajia lay face down on the bed, his perky backside exposed completely defenseless to the air, letting that bastard named Yuan Ye do as he pleased under the pretext of applying ointment.
The white ointment was supposed to be applied over the red handprints, yet that bastard was actually...
Filthy! Disgusting!
Furious beyond measure, he lunged forward to beat the man senseless, only to find his body floating above them, forced to watch helplessly as the precious baby he never dared to touch was toyed with.
The foolish little treasure didn't even realize he was being taken advantage of, foolishly babbling, "Thank you, Daddy."
How could his treasure call anyone else Daddy? If he called anyone that, it should only be him...
"Uncle, why is it you?"
Boom! The sky came crashing down.
That single word pierced through the dream like a chilling arrow.
Wen Chen shot upright in bed, drenched in cold sweat. He glanced down with disgust, gave himself a harsh slap across the face, and walked into the shower with practiced familiarity, turning on the cold water once again.
Aside from that dream, Wen Chen remained awake the entire night.
---
Luo Qingjia, on the other hand, slept soundly without a single dream. Whether it was because he was exhausted from crying or because he had given up hope, he couldn't tell.
He leaned toward the latter.
Last night, just when he thought the atmosphere was charged and passion was about to ignite, Wen Chen had coldly dropped the line, "If you keep this up, Uncle will never appear before you again," before turning and leaving.
He had panicked. Remembering that Wen Chen cared most about his physical health, he feigned weakness as he always did, pretending to lose his footing and falling into the water while crying out in aggrieved pain, "Ah! My butt hurts so much!"
Wen Chen had paused for a moment, let out a single sigh, and stormed out the door.
In that moment, he knew he had to completely give up.
Given how much Wen Chen usually doted on him, no matter how angry he was, he would never ignore his physical condition.
Even if the area was too sensitive for Wen Chen to apply the medicine himself, he would have at least brought the ointment to him.
Or even like today last year, when he blindfolded himself with a necktie and used a small brush to apply the medicine. which was Wen Chen's idea of keeping a proper boundary, free from visual offense and physical contact.
But this time, aside from a helpless sigh, Wen Chen gave him nothing and offered no help whatsoever.
He knew that Wen Chen had grown weary. Thus, he surrendered. Five years of obsession had vanished into thin air. His heart felt hollow and his head heavy, yet he unexpectedly got a good night's sleep.
"Phew!" Luo Qingjia let out a heavy breath.
Perhaps as a way of bidding farewell to the past, he discarded his usual lazy morning routine and popped up smoothly in a single kip-up.
The consequence was a dull ache in his buttocks. Still, compared to the searing pain from last night, it had improved significantly.
He rubbed it casually, only to discover to his surprise that his pants felt somewhat sticky.
Could it be...
A bold suspicion flashed through his mind, but it vanished as quickly as it came.
Luo Qingjia gave a self-deprecating shake of his head, warning himself not to flatter himself anymore.
He walked into the walk-in closet, wanting to find a pair of pants he had bought himself or received as a gift, but searched in vain. The vast array of clothes, hats, and accessories were all personally selected by Wen Chen.
This man was truly unbearable. He casually left traces all over Luo Qingjia's life, yet forbade him from etching those memories into his heart.
Wiping away the stray tear in the corner of his eye, Luo Qingjia irritably pulled off the sticky pajama pants, intending to grab a fresh pair to change into.
The moment he held the sleep pants—still carrying a faint trace of lingering warmth—in his hand, he compulsively leaned down and took a sniff.
Holy crap. There was medicine!
Luo Qingjia's eyes lit up. I'm not sleeping tonight.
He was going to find out whether the ghost or person applying medicine to him was real, and see once and for all if he was the insane one or if a certain someone was out of his mind.
Comments Box