Who Wants to Be the Affectionate Cannon Fodder?! [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 51

Yu Lin felt as if his brain had turned into a thick paste.

It was likely that the emotional processor in his brain was too simple to handle complex and intense emotions like those of Xiao Jingyan. Once he had forcibly immersed himself in them, it became difficult to pull away.

One moment, he was thinking of the countless times he had witnessed Xiao Jingke’s death, watching that face, which belonged to Ning Jinghe, falling into the blood-stained mud. The next, he was imagining Xiao Jingyan slumped before the grave, clutching a sword in a display of agonizing grief. Then, his mind would drift back to the words he had wanted to say to Lin He when they parted in the previous world, though there was no longer any need for that now.

This final scene had been an immense drain on him. He had not even felt this exhausted during the university entrance exams in his last life.

Yu Lin buried his head in a pillow, feeling drowsy. The faint, cold fragrance clinging to Ning Jinghe’s body did a good job of soothing his restless thoughts.

But at a certain point, that scent suddenly grew faint. When the last trace of it vanished, Yu Lin jerked awake from the bed in a startle.

Zhou Yao, thinking he had finally recovered his energy, started to speak, “Xingzhuo, Director Li Rui just told me he has a friend preparing a new movie and asked if you’d like to go for an audition.”

Unexpectedly, Yu Lin did not hear a word he said. He stood up abruptly and asked blankly, “Where is my brother?”

“Huh?”

Yu Lin’s eyes swiveled gloomily. “Does he not want me anymore?”

Before Zhou Yao could react, Yu Lin strode out of the room like a gust of wind. Immediately afterward, a loud pounding erupted from the room on the other side of the hallway.

Yu Lin frowned, staring intensely at the motionless door. His patience evaporated quickly, and the knocking soon escalated into a heavy thumping. Shortly after, his gaze fell upon the electronic lock. He tilted his head and scrutinized it seriously, seemingly calculating where to start dismantling it.

“Xingzhuo, do you have business with Ning Jinghe?” A hurried Zhou Yao finally caught up, sensing something was wrong. “Are you still stuck in character?”

Yu Lin could not spare the focus to respond. Just as he was losing his restraint and preparing to tear the door down, he heard the faint click of the lock turning.

The next second, Ning Jinghe, unaware that he had just saved his door from imminent destruction, stood behind the entrance looking over in confusion. He appeared to have just stepped out of the shower. Water droplets were still falling from his hair, and his bathrobe was hastily pulled on. The collar was not even straightened, and it was folded over haphazardly, yet it still covered him up completely.

Yu Lin stared at him resentfully. “Why did you sneak away?”

“Are you tired of me again?”

Ning Jinghe had not expected to be slapped with two baseless accusations the moment he opened the door. His mind went blank for a second.

On the way back, Yu Lin had been very quiet, except for those burning eyes that never left him, as if he were afraid Ning Jinghe would run away. Ning Jinghe was not used to it and could not stop his face from heating up. He had only managed to slip away after delivering Yu Lin back to his hotel room and watching him lie down to sleep.

But he had barely finished his shower when he heard the frantic pounding outside.

“I didn’t,” Ning Jinghe decided to answer Yu Lin’s question first, while glancing at Zhou Yao to ask what was going on.

Receiving the signal, Zhou Yao pointed secretly at Yu Lin and mouthed silently, “Might still be in character.”

However, these small movements did not escape Yu Lin’s sharp senses. He asked bluntly, “What are you two making eyes at each other for?”

With that reaction speed, Ning Jinghe began to doubt whether he was truly stuck in character or just pretending. Still, he said soothingly, “I saw you were tired, so I did not want to disturb you.”

Yu Lin looked up, staring at Ning Jinghe for a few seconds. “I cannot sleep if you are not there.”

Ning Jinghe’s heart skipped a beat. Yu Lin’s direct and ambiguous words made his ears turn scarlet. He instinctively rubbed the bridge of his nose with the back of his hand, briefly masking his momentary loss of composure. When he spoke, his voice was excessively dry. “What do you want me to do?”

Yu Lin lowered his eyes in thought for a moment, then sluggishly reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his bathrobe. “Don’t leave me behind again, Brother.”

Ning Jinghe suddenly understood. Yu Lin was not necessarily stuck in character, but rather his own experiences and emotions were blurring with those of Xiao Jingyan. The attachment he felt belonged to Xiao Jingyan’s feelings for Xiao Jingke, but his subsequent reactions and logic were his own.

That was why his words did not quite sound like Xiao Jingyan, nor did they sound like his usual self.

Normally, Ning Jinghe would just give a casual reassurance and a promise not to abandon him, but he did not want to do that because right now, Yu Lin was not clear-headed. Furthermore, a promise like that was too heavy.

Ning Jinghe looked at the bewildered Zhou Yao standing behind Yu Lin. Just as he was about to ask what to do next, the impatient Yu Lin slipped through the gap between his arm and the doorframe and walked into the room on his own.

“Would it be too much trouble to ask Teacher Ning to look after Xingzhuo for a few days? Would it interfere with your filming schedule?” Zhou Yao said hesitantly. “This is the first time I have seen him like this, and I do not know what to do. He should be back to normal in a few days.”

Ning Jinghe said, “My remaining scenes are not heavy.”

Zhou Yao looked at him, confused. “Huh?”

Ning Jinghe cleared his throat, his gaze drifting to a point in the air. “I can look after him.”

Zhou Yao thought to himself that he should have just said that in the first place instead of beating around the bush. Regardless, he kept a smile on his face. “Then I will trouble Teacher Ning. Our Xingzhuo is very easy to look after.”

“Is he?” Ning Jinghe asked.

“Absolutely. After all, he was once lured away by a single bowl of spicy duck blood.”

Ning Jinghe realized that was actually true.

After seeing Zhou Yao off, Ning Jinghe closed the door and walked further into the room. The stray cat that had intruded into his private space had already inspected his new territory. He had wandered behind the desk and was peering curiously at the perfume bottles.

Hearing Ning Jinghe’s footsteps, Yu Lin lifted his eyelids and grabbed a bottle of perfume, wearing an expression that suggested he knew exactly where that scent came from.

For a moment, Ning Jinghe was amused by the look on his face. He then watched as Yu Lin popped the cap, shook the bottle, and sprayed it into the air. After spraying, Yu Lin spun around in the mist to coat himself in the scent before diving onto the bed with a satisfied look.

Ning Jinghe realized belatedly that this was a single king-sized bed. If Yu Lin was going to sleep here, then he would have to find another solution. Recalling the last time he slept on a sofa, the feeling was not exactly pleasant.

Yu Lin lay on the duvet, grabbed a corner, and rolled himself into a human sushi roll. Then, squinting his eyes and propping up half his body, he called out to Ning Jinghe, “Come to sleep, Brother.”

Ning Jinghe took a tactical sip of water and nearly choked. Flustered, he tried to act calm and coughed a few times, saying hesitantly, “I…”

Yu Lin blinked, cutting off his next words. “We are both men. What are you afraid of, Brother?”

Ning Jinghe’s finger paused in mid-air, and a flash of daze passed through his eyes. His heart pounded violently, and a nameless emotion welled up inside him. After a long pause, he let out a short breath, his lips curving into a smile that was almost self-deprecating.

“You are wrong.”

Yu Lin looked at him, puzzled.

Ning Jinghe looked into his clean eyes. The rest of his words hesitated on the tip of his tongue. Ultimately, whether it was because he remembered something or he was just giving up on restraint, he said, “They say you entered the industry to chase Jiang Shiyan. I thought you understood.”

Yu Lin still did not understand what he was supposed to understand. However, hearing someone else’s name unexpectedly from Ning Jinghe’s mouth caused a flicker of displeasure in his heart.

He did not even know where this displeasure came from. Was it simply hearing the name of that man Jiang Shiyan, or did he dislike that Ning Jinghe could think of someone else while they were together?

“You can teach me,” Yu Lin told him. “If I do not understand, you can tell me.”

Ning Jinghe laughed again, then gently shook his head.

Yu Lin did not know what he was laughing at, but seeing that Ning Jinghe eventually sat down on the bed, he curled onto his side and closed his eyes facing Ning Jinghe’s direction.

“Don’t sneak away this time,” Yu Lin whispered.

Ning Jinghe’s spine stiffened. “Alright.”

Perhaps the emotional drain really was too much. After a short while, his breathing gradually slowed, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Ning Jinghe turned to look at his profile and sighed. He gently pulled the tangled duvet out from under Yu Lin to prevent him from being uncomfortable later in the night. Deprived of the constriction, Yu Lin grabbed at the air in his sleep and mumbled, “Brother… He…”

Ning Jinghe frowned, unable to catch the last few syllables clearly.

“I do not understand what you are thinking, but you can tell me.”

Ning Jinghe propped himself up with one hand on the bed, leaning in closer. The light from the bedside lamp fell into his eyes, shimmering like dark waves. He stared quietly at Yu Lin’s face, his thoughts a chaotic mess, yet his heart felt strangely soft.

“You should be afraid,” Ning Jinghe said. “After all, I…”

Ning Jinghe chuckled softly again and covered his eyes.

Much later, once his hair was dry, Ning Jinghe changed into his pajamas and lay back down beside Yu Lin. He had called room service for an extra duvet and did not dare get too close to Yu Lin, occupying only a small corner of the bed. Fortunately, his usual sleeping posture was very disciplined.

However, even when half his body felt numb from lying still, his mind remained wide awake. He turned his head stiffly to look at Yu Lin and realized that even in sleep, Yu Lin maintained a curled-up posture, as if he lacked a sense of security and was always on guard.

It was not that he was entirely without defensiveness.

Ning Jinghe took several deep breaths, turned back to stare at the ceiling, and began counting. He finally drifted off near dawn.

He slept for less than four hours. His consciousness felt as if it were floating in mid-air, stuck in a state between dreaming and waking. As his awareness began to settle, he felt a gaze with a very strong presence fixed on his face, accompanied by the sound of faint rustling.

Then, something poked the tip of his nose.