Spring came late this year. It wasnât until the beginning of March when the weather finally started to warm up. All the trees and flowers began to blossom. The yard in ZhouXiangâs neighborhood planted many flowers and trees. At this time, the season is flourishing with great vitality.
Since they came back from YanDeJiangâs place that day, sure enough, YanFei never interfered with them. Many of the things they were worried about have been alleviated. Although YanFei still refused to talk to YanMingXiu, Mother Yanâs attitude softened very quickly. One day, she even invited YanMingXiu and ZhouXiang out to have a meal, carefully inquiring about ZhouXiangâs situation.
After the meal, the two drove home, YanMingXiu said to ZhouXiang, âMy mom likes you very much.â
ZhouXiang blinked, âHow do you know?â
âMy mom likes handsome guys. She especially liked WangYuDong before, but the things he did was too overboard in the last two years. Hearing from my brother, whenever my mom sees your ads on TV, she would just stare.
ZhouXiang smiled, âThen Iâm going to hit the gym this winter so I can show your mom my ripped abs in the summer. Wouldnât this effect be a bit better?â
YanMingXiu warmly responded, "Not only my mom, itâs also effective for me too.â
ZhouXiang squinted, âWait till youâre fully recovered, you also need to go workout. Otherwise, when summer comes, our vacation plan is going to be a bust. Iâm going to run to some handsome guys. As a good breed of GAY, I canât stand next to a boyfriend who doesnât have eight packs.â
YanMingXiu groaned, âWhether or not I have eight-packs, youâll know after you count.â
"It doesnât count if you have it now. You need to keep it for 4-5 months. Seeing you now, food is fed directly to your mouth, bathing you just need to lift your arms, and even dressing is with my help. Since your cast had been removed, how can you still be so fragile? In this month, youâve already gained 4 pounds. If you continue on like this..." ZhouXiang laughed, âYou donât have to bother with fading out of the ET industry, your fans will dump you.â
YanMingXiu reached out and pinched his waist, curling his lips, âWhat about you? Youâre also going to dump me? Even if I become a big fat guy, you canât run to any other handsome guys.â
ZhouXiang laughed cheerfully, "So petty. I was just joking. But really, is your arm really not healed yet? I have to feed you and help you dress every day, wasting so much of my time. Can we live a little more efficiently?"
YanMingXiu smiled with his eyes squinting, his face exposing a satisfied expression, like a satiated fox that had eaten and drank enough, "When I say itâs healed is when itâs healed.â
âHey, how can you be so shameless?â YanMingXiu laughed without saying anything.
ZhouXiang was about to continue on pressuring him but the phone suddenly rang. He pulled the earphones out of his pocket and stuffed it into his ears. Since he is driving, he pressed the answer button and answered with a "Hello?" without looking at the screen.
âXiang Ge, it is me.â
âAh, XiRong.â ZhouXiang was a little surprised. He subconsciously glanced at YanMingXiu and sees him bunching his brows.
âXiang Ge, what are you doing?â
âIâm driving.â
âThen Iâm going to make this short. Iâm going to America tomorrow. I might not be coming back for several months. Can we meet up before I leave?â
Even though YanMingXiu canât hear what LanXiRong is saying, seeing ZhouXiangâs hesitant expression; he probably can guess that LanXiRong wanted to meet up with him. Without even thinking, he reached out to try and take ZhouXiangâs earphones.
ZhouXiang leaned his head away and softly scolded, âStop causing trouble.â
LanXiRong paused on the line, âAre you with him?â
âYeah, weâre going home.â
LanXiRong is silent. After a long time, he forcefully laughed, âI still canât be compared to him.â
ZhouXiang heaved a sigh in his heart. He felt that it is too dangerous to evade YanMingXiuâs actions while driving so he swerved the steering wheel to stop on the side of the road.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
He covered the earphone and says softly, âXiRong, thank you for all your help before. Without you and Wei Ge, it would have been very hard for me to get pass that time.â
âYou know that these polite words are not what I wanted to hear.â LanXiRongâs voice is particularly nice, clear and adorable, making people feel the breadth of youth assaulting their senses. Itâs no wonder that heâs a natural born actor and singer. Everywhere on his body had a part that is captivating to people. Initially, ZhouXiang was really very interested in him. In his memory, this boy is adorable and very lovable. But he could no longer remember the loving affections he had for LanXiRong at that time.
If LanXiRong had accepted him then, everything would have been different.
But there is no "if" in life.
ZhouXiang sighed, âThese arenât polite words. XiRong. Iâm very thankful to you. Iâm also very happy for all your achievements. People like you are suitable for the greatest and finest beauty... forget your Xiang Ge.â
LanXiRong heaved a long sigh, this sigh that is tinged with sorrow and sadness made ZhouXiang feel a bit pained.
âXiang Ge, Iâm leaving tomorrow, you really canât meet up with me?â
ZhouXiang pondered for a moment, âItâs not like youâre not coming back. Weâll meet up next time you come back. For sure, okay?" He thought, when LanXiRong returns again, he would be able to candidly accept his relationship with YanMingXiu. Then maybe it wonât be so awkward at the time.
LanXiRong hoarsely voiced, âXiang Ge, I hope you didnât make the wrong choice this time.â
ZhouXiang smiled, his eyes unconsciously fell on YanMingXiu and responded softly, âI hope so too.â
After hanging up the phone, ZhouXiang turned his head and sees YanMingXiuâs dejected expression. He was obviously suppressing himself from exploding, so much that he is feeling very unsettled. Immediately when ZhouXiang hung up, he asked, âWhat were you guys talking about? Wanting to meet up with you? How could this guy not fucking let go already. There was nothing between the both of you from the beginning to end. Why is he still lingering on?"
ZhouXiang responded, âDonât say that. He just cares about me.â
YanMingXiu scoffed and muttered, âJust stay in America, why keep coming back.â
ZhouXiang patted his face, âDonât be so immature ah, how old are you?â After saying that, he was going to restart the car but YanMingXiu grabbed his hand and grinned at him.
There is no light in the car, only the street lights from the outside penetrating within. So it is very dim. YanMingXiuâs eyes are particularly bright in the dim light, as if it could shine into peopleâs hearts.
"What is it?â
âXiang Ge, no matter how good others are, you canât see... canât think of them.â
ZhouXiang canât help laughing, "What are you talking about..?.â
âI am serious. I know that your relationship with this surname Lan was quite good before. You obviously liked him, right? I am gay like you. I understand how men think. I donât believe you felt nothing when he was constantly around you before."
ZhouXiang raked through his hair, feeling a bit embarrassed, "Yeah.â
YanMingXiu gripped onto ZhouXiangâs chin, their eyes looking directly at each other, "Xiang Ge, but that is all in the past. You have me now. Regardless of him or other people, you can only look at me... think of me. In this world, nobody needs you more than me. Donât make me worry, okay?â
ZhouXiang looked at YanMingXiu quietly, the emotions in his eyes revealing an honest and sincere expression. He patted YanMingXiuâs face gently and said softly, âDonât worry. I only have you in my eyes.â
YanMingXiu finally laughed. He gripped ZhouXiangâs face and kissed his soft lips intimately. ZhouXiang took the initiative to hold him. The two heartily kissed each other in this small confined space. Their wet lips, warm oral cavities and that familiar feeling giving them that peace of mind made the meaning of this simple kiss substantially different. This is the person they truly love. To be able to embrace each other in this warm and cold time and absorb the intoxicating temperature from each other is a kind of happiness.
This is just a kiss, but itâs enough to make people enthralled.
The two had planned to go directly home but ZhouXiang suddenly remembered that Mother Yan had given them some fresh mackerel. It was more than ten kilograms. They couldnât eat it all so he wanted to take some back to ChenYing. They headed to her place.
ChenYing had already given her implied approval to their cohabitation so she wouldnât call and ask if ZhouXiang didnât come home. She knew that she will have to get use to her son growing up and moving out regardless. Even if the person he is with is not a man but an actual daughter-in-law, this would have happened sooner or later. Despite feeling very depressed, ChenYing did not visibly show it. She only reminded ZhouXiang to come back to eat once in a while when heâs not busy. She usually has Aunt Wang accompany her so she doesnât feel too lonely. However, seeing the two men coming back together, she is both surprised and happy. When they entered the home, she quickly asked if they had âeaten?â
âMom, itâs already after eight oâclock, of course weâve already eaten. MingXiuâs mother gave us some mackerel. Itâs frozen and still very fresh. We canât eat it all so came to give you half.â
âOh oh, that good stuff. Aunt Wang, can you put it in the refrigerator?â
Aunt Wang very delightedly looked at YanMingXiu and ZhouXiang over and over again, liking them more and more no matter how much she looked. She even wanted them to be her sons. Upon hearing ChenYingâs words, she reluctantly took the fish to the kitchen.
ChenYing wore her glasses and took out her medical file, âIâve been looking at this for two days but the doctorâs handwriting is too ugly. I canât guess what heâs writing."
âAuntie, you donât have to try and guess what it is. If you have any questions, you can ask the doctor directly when doing your dialysis.â
âAhhh, Iâm afraid to trouble people... he seems very busy.â
âMom, you canât be afraid to bother people for medical treatment.â ZhouXiang paused, "Mom, Iâve been thinking about something for a long time. I want to talk to you about it today.â
âSay it.â
âItâs about your kidney transplant.â
ChenYing nodded, "Oh, this... Iâve heard that the chance is slim unless itâs from...â ChenYing suddenly opened her eyes and looked at ZhouXiang, "Iâm telling you, with the kidney donor, you better not do any test matching. Even if I die, I donât want your kidney. Donât even think about it."
ZhouXiang didnât expect ChenYingâs reaction to be so extreme, "Mom, let me explain it to you, a person has two......â
âDonât tell me this. I already know these things, but I definitely wonât allow it. To cut something out from somebodyâs body, how could there not be any harm? I definitely donât believe this. Iâm already sixty years old and youâre only in your twenties, so young. You still have a long road ahead of you. Even if yours is a match, to give yours to me, is it worth it? Anyway, I definitely donât want it. This... youâre not allowed think about it. Even if I die, I donât want it. Without a kidney transplant, thereâs not much change to my life. Itâs not a big deal. But if my son sacrifices his health for me, I might as well die early.â ChenYingâs tone is a bit riled up, her position in this matter extremely determined.
YanMingXiu tried to smoothly advised, âAuntie, your concern I understand, I also donât agree with Xiang Ge donating his kidney to you. Although it is a bit selfish for me to say this, I believe you can understand. I will search for a kidney donor all over the world. I believe that there is still great hope.â
ZhouXiang sighed and looked at ChenYingâs resolute expression and then look at YanMingXiuâs gentle but intense expression. He knew that he wouldnât be able to get pass them on this.
He can understand ChenYingâs thoughts. If it was himself, he also wonât allow his young child take this risk. But, heâs always felt that he owed it to ChenYing. After all, he had taken this body from her son.
ChenYing grasped his hand, "Ah Xiang, you need to understand mom. If you really want me to be well and live for a few more years, donât think about this so I can be at ease. Promise me.â
Under ChenYingâs resolute expression, ZhouXiang could only nod helplessly.
ChenYing breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "What time did you guys eat? Has it fully digested? Aunt Wang and I learned how to make this dessert from TV. Iâll get you some from the refrigerator."
The two stayed there for a while, eating dessert and accompanying ChenYing to watch TV. They stayed till 10pm before leaving to go home.
When ChenYing walked them to the door, she sighed and smiled, "My son has grown up and have his own family. Itâs really fast.â
ZhouXiang lowered his head and smiled, then suddenly pulled YanMingXiuâs neck, "Mom, just treat him like heâs also your son.â
The rim of ChenYingâs eyes turned red as she smiled lovingly.
End of the Chapter