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INS Chapter 33

Night

“Wen Qingying!” Tao Ling was suddenly hugged tightly. Caught off guard, he instinctively shouted out.

Wen Qingying’s arms wrapped around him with such force that Tao Ling could barely breathe, and his waist was almost in pain from the pressure. The strength was so overwhelming that Tao Ling couldn’t move.

But even if Wen Qingying hadn’t held him so tightly, he wouldn’t have tried to escape.

In the midst of silent trembling, Tao Ling didn’t have time to think about the reasons. He immediately bent down, leaned over, and held Wen Qingying’s neck, pulling his head into his embrace.

At that moment, he wished he could keep him completely within his body, so he wouldn’t be afraid anymore.

 

After a few minutes, as he felt Wen Qingying’s emotions gradually calming down, Tao Ling moved slightly, but the next second, Wen Qingying tightened his grip again like a startled bird.

This reaction was beyond Tao Ling’s understanding, making him feel even more heartbroken.

He gently patted Wen Qingying’s neck to comfort him, then kneeled down, pressing his face against his ear.

 

The two of them kneeled on the cold ground, embracing each other. After who knows how long, Wen Qingying lifted his head, and the strength with which he had been holding Tao Ling slowly diminished.

Confirming that Wen Qingying had truly calmed down this time, Tao Ling tentatively shifted, loosening his embrace slightly.

Wen Qingying didn’t resist, so Tao Ling leaned back a bit to observe him.

 

When he saw Tao Ling looking at him, Wen Qingying lowered his head, avoiding eye contact.

Tao Ling knew it was okay now, and let out a long sigh of relief. He was still secretly shaken, holding Wen Qingying’s shoulders as he stood up, then bent over again.

Having kneeled for so long, his knees were sore.

 

Wen Qingying still kept his eyelashes lowered, seemingly having fully emerged from his earlier state, feeling embarrassed now that his rationality had returned.

Tao Ling’s heart softened. He cupped Wen Qingying’s face in his hands, forcing him to make eye contact. When he saw that the redness in his eyes hadn’t completely faded, he deliberately blinked and smiled gently.

 

Understanding that Tao Ling wasn’t mocking or rejecting him, Wen Qingying pursed his lips slightly and gave a faint, shy smile.

Tao Ling pointed to the bathroom door. Wen Qingying nodded but didn’t move, so Tao Ling had to reach out, take his hand, and lead him out of the narrow, empty space.

 

It wasn’t until fifteen minutes later that Tao Ling had a moment to think carefully about what was going on.

Wen Qingying was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. Tao Ling wanted to figure out the situation, but when he picked up his phone, he remembered that Wen Qingying had turned his phone off.

So, he typed a line of text for Wen Qingying to read: “Where’s your phone?”

 

Wen Qingying moved slowly, taking his phone out of his jacket pocket. Tao Ling took it and saw that the battery was dead.

Suddenly remembering that, at the airport, he had forgotten his own charger and had to borrow Wen Qingying’s, Tao Ling froze and then slapped his forehead.

Wen Qingying was startled and immediately reached out to grab his wrist.

 

Suppressing his emotions, Tao Ling smiled briefly, then reached into his bag to find the charging cable for Wen Qingying.

They were so far from Wu City, and the two of them had only brought one suitcase. All the important things were in their own bags. If Wen Qingying woke up and couldn’t find him or the bag, he might think Tao Ling had left him and left.

Wen Qingying was a grown man, so Tao Ling never considered this fear irrational; he just kept blaming himself inwardly.

 

After plugging in Wen Qingying’s phone to charge, they sat in silence. Half an hour later, Tao Ling opened his notepad and typed: “I’m going to take a shower. Will you be okay alone?”

He deleted the second half of the sentence after typing it, then paused before handing it over and made a small edit: “I’ll go shower first. If you need anything, just knock on the glass.”

Wen Qingying read it and nodded.

 

When Tao Ling came out of the shower, Wen Qingying was still in the same position, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring blankly into space, not having moved at all.

The fleeting romantic fantasies in his heart had long since scattered, leaving only a deep sense of tenderness. Tao Ling, while drying his hair, walked over and sat in front of Wen Qingying, gently tapping his foot.

 

Wen Qingying glanced at him hurriedly, smiled a little, and got up to search for his pajamas in the suitcase, preparing to wash up.

Tao Ling lay on the bed by the window, watching the bathroom.

The sound of running water echoed, and Wen Qingying’s figure moved back and forth behind the frosted glass, raising his arms to wash his hair, cupping water to wash his face, moving around in the shower….

 

Initially, Tao Ling was just worried about him, but as he watched, he suddenly realized something felt off. Realizing that his actions were a bit too impolite, he rubbed his ears in frustration, silently reminding himself, “Don’t look where you shouldn’t,” and quickly turned over to focus on his phone.

But his attention kept drifting to the left.

 

Before long, Wen Qingying finished washing up as well. They exchanged no words, and as the night deepened, they turned off the lights and went to sleep.

Tao Ling had brought some sleeping pills, but he didn’t plan on taking them. Wen Qingying lay on his side with his back to him, his phone screen still lit.

 

Just as Tao Ling was contemplating whether to send him a message, a notification arrived, the vibration sound breaking the silence.

Tao Ling also turned on his side, glancing at Wen Qingying’s back before muting his phone and opening the unread message.

Wen Qingying: “Sir, I’m sorry.”

Tao Ling: “It’s my fault.”

Before Wen Qingying could say anything else, Tao Ling added, “I’m serious. We agreed to go to the lecture together, and I didn’t keep my promise.”

 

After a moment, Wen Qingying replied, “Sir, I just didn’t wake up from the nightmare right away, so I was emotionally tense. I’m not usually like this.”

Tao Ling: “Don’t be afraid, dreams aren’t real.”

 

In the darkness, Wen Qingying blinked at the message. He wanted to say that all his dreams were real, but he didn’t know where to begin.

 

After a few minutes without receiving a reply, Tao Ling started to feel anxious. He had no experience with interacting with someone he liked and wasn’t sure if he had said something wrong earlier or if he needed to say something to make up for it.

This was much harder than trying to understand the Taoist scriptures that he couldn’t comprehend no matter how much he studied them.

Just as he was feeling uneasy, a message finally arrived.

 

“When I was very young, I didn’t live with my mom. One day, my dad said he was taking me out to have fun. I was so happy. We arrived at a hotel in the afternoon, and I was very tired, so I fell asleep. When I woke up after dark, he was gone. I haven’t seen him in almost twenty years. I didn’t know that city at all.”

 

After reading this, Tao Ling suddenly sat up in bed.

His breathing grew heavier. Wen Qingying sent another message: “But I’m really not usually like this. I didn’t sleep well last night, and earlier I was just groggy and stuck in a nightmare. Don’t worry, sir.”

Tao Ling let out a breath, and in a sudden rush of warmth, he replied, “Do you want to come over and sleep with me? The heating in this hotel doesn’t seem very warm, and I’d like to share a blanket with you.”

 

As Wen Qingying read the words on the screen, his hand slipped, and his phone accidentally fell, landing face down. The faint light was suddenly covered, plunging the room into darkness.

He finally sat up as well, turning his head to look at Tao Ling.

 

Seeing him remain still for a moment, Tao Ling set his alarm, turned off his phone, and tossed it onto the nightstand. Then he got up, directly stepping over the gap between the beds, and climbed onto Wen Qingying’s bed.

The two sat facing each other for a while. Tao Ling reached out and gently touched Wen Qingying’s face, then ran his fingers through his hair before tucking him into the blanket.

 

Wen Qingying, still in a daze, didn’t move even after Tao Ling slid under the covers beside him. It wasn’t until Tao Ling gave him a little tug that he finally lay down.

The hotel was quite comfortable; although it was a single bed, it was wide enough, though still a bit cramped for two grown men.

 

They lay facing each other, their eyes already accustomed to the darkness. Tao Ling looked at Wen Qingying, feeling like he could see confusion in his eyes, almost like that of a child.

The longer he looked, the more a dull ache settled in his heart.

Finally, he suddenly leaned in and wrapped his arms around Wen Qingying.

 

Wen Qingying’s body stiffened, and it took a long while before he lowered his head slightly, resting his face lightly against Tao Ling’s neck, and slowly encircled his waist with his arms.

Tao Ling smiled, moving one hand up to press gently on the back of Wen Qingying’s head, making sure he rested fully in the crook of his neck. With his other hand, he patted Wen Qingying’s back a few times.

 

The emotions of the night were too complex, and Tao Ling couldn’t remember when he fell asleep. He only knew that his final thought was—the heating in the north really was warm.

The alarm went off in the morning, and Tao Ling opened his eyes to find Wen Qingying already in the bathroom, washing up. He started thinking about how to bring up the meeting with him.

After sitting on the bed for a while, Wen Qingying came out of the bathroom. Seeing that Tao Ling was awake, he flashed a smile.

There wasn’t a trace of last night’s events on his face. He was still as clean and handsome as ever, brighter than the rising sun.

At least, that’s how Tao Ling saw it.

 

Tao Ling also smiled, then stretched and got out of bed to wash up.

After coming out of the shower, Wen Qingying was typing on his phone. Tao Ling passed by him, and gently ruffled the hair on the back of his head.

Wen Qingying looked up at him with a smile, then held up his phone.

 

Tao Ling understood and picked up his phone, seeing the message Wen Qingying had sent: “Sir, I’ll go out and wander around on my own today. Send me a message when you’re done with your meeting.”

“I’m fine. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll wait for you to come back,” he said.

 

Tao Ling thought for a moment and replied, “If anything comes up, let me know right away. I won’t be ignoring my phone today.”

Wen Qingying smiled and nodded.

 

After having breakfast together downstairs, Tao Ling hailed a cab to go to the university for his meeting. As he was leaving, he turned around and looked back at the hotel entrance. Wen Qingying was standing there, waving at him.

 

The meeting followed the usual agenda, and Tao Ling’s paper was reviewed in the morning. Lunch was arranged at the university cafeteria. When they arrived, a familiar-looking teacher asked Tao Ling, “Teacher Tao, would you like to sit at the same table?”

Tao Ling nodded politely in agreement.

 

When conference participants gather, discussions inevitably turn to their respective universities. Since they were all in the same field, there were often interconnected networks or relationships among them.

As the conversation continued, the teacher beside him inquired about Tao Ling’s background. Upon hearing that he was from the provincial university, the teacher asked, “Teacher Tao Ling?”

“Yes,” Tao Ling replied simply, not recognizing the teacher’s face and unable to engage in much conversation.

 

The teacher smiled and asked, “How is Teacher Xia doing?”

Tao Ling was momentarily taken aback. “Hmm? Are you referring to…?”

“Teacher Xia Chaoyang,” the teacher clarified.

 

Someone nearby said something that caught the teacher’s attention, and the conversation was interrupted.

Tao Ling felt surprised but didn’t want to bring up the topic himself. He hoped to finish his meal quietly. However, after the teacher finished his other conversation, he turned back to Tao Ling and said, “Teacher Tao, your paper is indeed very good. We discussed it at length when it was initially rejected, and fortunately, we didn’t miss out on it.”

Tao Ling frowned slightly.

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