Chapter 89: Come Here, Let’s Go Home

Jiang Xue said, “Don’t worry, my skills are great.”

Then she released the brake and zoomed off.

Jiang Shi clung to the railing in terror, deeply afraid that this would be the last car ride of his life. Fortunately, they arrived home safely, though not without a scare.

The house had been renovated into a single-story home, and the yard had been widened and paved with cement. It finally no longer had that unbearably muddy look whenever it rained.

A pile of unwashed pots and pans was stacked at the entrance. Jiang Xue led the three big boys into the house. “I knew you were coming today, so I arranged with the villagers to slaughter a pig tomorrow. I was just washing things when you arrived.”

She pushed open the door, and bright light flooded the room. “I figured we’d be having a pig-slaughtering feast tomorrow, so I didn’t cook many dishes. We’ll just make do tonight and eat well tomorrow.”

Zhang Chi grinned, showing his big white teeth. “Auntie, you’re too kind. This is already a lot. I don’t even get to eat this many dishes at home.”

Jiang Shi’s eyelid twitched.

Zhang Chi, with his slightly baby-fat face and naturally curly hair, was especially endearing to elders. Jiang Xue pinched his cheek. “This friend of yours is so likable. Our home is humble, don’t mind it. Just tell me what you want to eat.”

Seeing that they had sat down to eat and didn’t need her for anything, Jiang Xue squatted at the entrance again, washing away.

Inside, Zhang Chi held a large sea bowl, and so did Song Jian’an. Everything tasted delicious to Zhang Chi. He had never had this kind of farmhouse cooking before, and every dish was new to him. Song Jian’an hadn’t had his mother’s cooking in a long time and couldn’t help but eat a little more.

Only the picky Jiang Shi was poking at his small bowl of rice.

The dining table was low, and the chairs were short. Jiang Shi’s two legs were uncomfortably bent under the table. He rested his elbows on the edge of the table, his eyes lowered, waiting for something.

A few minutes later, his phone finally rang.

He grabbed his phone and shot up. “You guys eat first, I’m going to take a call.”

Zhang Chi, holding his bowl, watched Jiang Shi’s back disappear into the kitchen. He nudged Song Jian’an with his elbow. “You think my dad is in a relationship?”

Song Jian’an looked at him, not understanding.

Zhang Chi said, “Don’t you think he’s being weird? He was absent-minded from the start of the meal, and now he has to take a call away from us. What else could it be but that he has someone on the outside?”

His tone held the faint sorrow of an old father.

Song Jian’an picked up the piece of food that Zhang Chi had knocked off. “He’s in college. It’s normal to be in a relationship.”

Zhang Chi felt it wasn’t normal at all.

“With my dad’s personality, which girl could stand him? He’s petty and has a bad temper, lazy and fussy. You can’t criticize him, can’t order him around, can’t hit him or scold him. Whoever gets together with him, wouldn’t that be like bringing an ancestor home to serve?”

Song Jian’an was silent for a moment, then said, “But he’s good-looking.”

Zhang Chi: “…”

He wanted to punch this world full of people obsessed with looks.

Jiang Xue didn’t know Zhang Chi was coming, so she hadn’t prepared a place for him to sleep. Zhang Chi would be squeezing in with Jiang Shi for the night.

The two had often slept together as kids, so Zhang Chi was fine with it. He cheerfully changed his clothes and went into Jiang Shi’s room.

Jiang Shi was leaning against the headboard, playing a game. His soft hair fell against the side of his face. The light was dim, making his face appear hazy, and his cold features exuded an unfitting, enchanting beauty.

His brother was a bit strange, strangely good-looking.

One glance.

Another glance.

Jiang Shi lifted his eyelids. “What are you looking at your dad for?”

Zhang Chi: “…”

His dad was still the same dad.

He climbed onto Jiang Shi’s bed and rested his head next to him. “Dad, are you in a relationship?”

Jiang Shi’s hand holding the phone paused. He was silent for a moment, then let out a very soft “mm.”

Zhang Chi instantly shot up. “Damn! You’re really in a relationship!”

Then came a faint sadness.

Not sad that Jiang Shi was in a relationship, but just the feeling that as Jiang Shi’s best friend, he hadn’t been told.

Jiang Shi was startled by him and tilted to the side. “It’s not like I’m in a puppy love relationship. What’s with the big fuss?”

Zhang Chi said, “You didn’t tell me you were in a relationship. I’m not your most important brother anymore.”

Jiang Shi tapped his phone and bent his legs. “It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you, I just hadn’t figured out how to tell you.”

“What’s there to figure out? We’re brothers. How can you not tell your brother when you’re in a relationship? Could it be…” Zhang Chi narrowed his eyes. “Is it someone I know?”

Jiang Shi let out a vague “mm.”

Zhang Chi jumped up in excitement again. “No way, Jiang Shi. You’ve been doing big things behind my back. Tell me! Who is it?”

He thought hard for a moment. With Jiang Shi’s cold and difficult personality, the number of people he was close to, let alone girls, he could count on one hand. But try as he might, he couldn’t think of any girl who fit the description.

Jiang Shi was thinking: he would have to tell them about him and Cheng Ye sooner or later. Instead of sneaking around, it was better to just say it outright. As for whether they could accept it…

He paused, closed his eyes, and said bluntly, “I’m with Cheng Ye.”

Zhang Chi was instantly stunned.

He suspected his own ears. “Who did you say? Who are you with?”

“Cheng Ye.”

“Ahaha… there must be something wrong with my ears. Cheng Ye? Is it the Cheng Ye I know? Is there a girl also named Cheng Ye?”

“No.” Jiang Shi said expressionlessly, “It’s the Cheng Ye you know. The Cheng Ye who is always with me.”

Zhang Chi: “…”

Damn it! The cabbage he had been watching every day had been eaten by that pig, Cheng Ye!

Having said it, Jiang Shi quietly waited for Zhang Chi’s reaction.

Zhang Chi hugged a pillow, huffing and puffing as he stewed for a long time, then cautiously said, “Dad, I didn’t know you were gay. If I sleep in the same bed with you now, isn’t that the same as a man and a woman sleeping together?”

Jiang Shi: “…”

Zhang Chi continued to hug the pillow. “Maybe I should go squeeze in with little An-zi?”

Seeing that he was about to leave, Jiang Shi pulled out the pillow from behind his back and threw it at him. “Get lost. You think I’d be interested in you?”

Zhang Chi was hit, his expression blank.

“Well, no. It’s just that I didn’t expect your partner to be Cheng Ye.”

He finally understood why Cheng Ye always seemed to dislike him before. He sniffled. “Cheng Ye’s arm is thicker than my thigh. If he finds out I’m sleeping with you, I’m afraid he’ll beat me up.”

Someone like Cheng Ye could knock out three of him with one punch.

Jiang Shi: “…”

In the end, Zhang Chi didn’t leave. The lights in the room were turned off, and it was pitch black all around. A few dog barks could be heard from outside the window.

There was no air conditioning, and it was cold under the covers. Zhang Chi squeezed closer to Jiang Shi.

“Dad, how did you find out you were gay? That time before…” He paused. “I thought you hated men.”

It was quiet on Jiang Shi’s side. Zhang Chi waited for a while, but no one spoke. He thought he had fallen asleep, but then a weak voice sounded next to his ear.

“I don’t know if I’m gay either. All this time, I haven’t liked any men, nor have I liked any women.”

“Oh…”

Zhang Chi seemed to have caught a cold from the chill and was sniffling constantly.

“I was wondering why Cheng Ye was so enthusiastic towards you when you came here all alone to a new place. Turns out he was coveting your beauty.”

He opened his mouth. “Pah!”

Jiang Shi laughed. “I thought you’d be disgusted by me.”

“Please, I’m an educated college student, you know. It’s just homosexuality. What hasn’t your granddaddy seen?”

Though he said that, Zhang Chi was still a bit dazed by the news. The next day, he was the last one to wake up. When he did, he just stared blankly at the foggy weather outside.

Until the sound of a pig squealing rang out.

He ran outside and saw a group of people dragging the new year’s pig out of its pen. Seeing Zhang Chi, one of the middle-aged men rubbed his hands and said in a dialect he didn’t quite understand, “Young man, what are you standing there for? Come and help.”

And so, Zhang Chi inexplicably joined the battle, frantically holding onto a pig’s leg.

Jiang Shi came out of the house with a basin and saw Zhang Chi grimacing and straining in the crowd, his down jacket, worth several thousand, getting several hoof prints on it.

“…”

Jiang Xue took the basin from his hand to collect the pig’s blood, praising him along the way, “This friend of yours is really hardworking.”

Jiang Shi remained silent.

Gao Xinhe was also there. He and Zhang Chi each held a pig’s leg, one on the left and one on the right. They became familiar after just a few sentences. Before Jiang Shi could even introduce them, Zhang Chi was already trotting off with Gao Xinhe to his house to get iron skewers to roast some meat.

Zhang Chi had a bit more cunning than Gao Xinhe and secretly asked him what kind of person Cheng Ye was.

Gao Xinhe embellished the stories and told him all about Cheng Ye’s tragic childhood experiences. Abandoned by his mother, abused by his father, deeply in debt, injured in the mines… it was as miserable as it could get.

Zhang Chi listened while roasting meat, and sympathetic tears flowed from the corner of his mouth.

“So pitiful. To still be so good to Jiang Shi after all that. No wonder Jiang Shi wants to be with him.”

Gao Xinhe was stunned. “Huh? What?”

Who was with whom?

Zhang Chi patted his shoulder. “Just tell me, isn’t Cheng Ye pitiful?”

Gao Xinhe tore off a piece of meat and put it in his mouth, hissing from the heat. “Can he be as pitiful as me? I went to college all by myself in a basin. That godforsaken place is in the middle of nowhere. My parents worked so hard to put me through school for so long, and in the end, I just went from this village to another village.”

Zhang Chi also felt he was pitiful. “So pitiful. Let me give you some money.”

Gao Xinhe didn’t yet know the value of this sentence and grinned widely. “Okay.”

Zhang Chi was also very happy. His money could finally be given away.

Jiang Shi sat beside them, holding a handful of melon seeds.

Gao Xinhe offered him a skewer. “Little cousin, come have some roasted meat.”

The meat was just roasted over the firewood, covered in ash. Only Gao Xinhe and Zhang Chi could eat it.

“No, thank you,” Jiang Shi said.

Gao Xinhe knew he was picky and said again, “Want some fire-roasted potatoes? Don’t worry, I’ll peel them for you.”

Jiang Shi could refuse the roasted meat, but he couldn’t refuse the fire-roasted potatoes. He paused. “Peel them cleanly.”

Song Jian’an also sat beside them. He placed a tripod over the fire and put an iron plate on top of it.

“Roast it like this.”

The flames licked up, and the iron plate’s temperature rose instantly. A few children gathered around them, chattering about wanting to eat roasted meat. Jiang Shi cracked melon seeds for a while, then took out his phone, snapped a picture, and sent it to Cheng Ye.

The four of them fooled around like this for several days. By the time Jiang Shi realized it, the holiday was already over.

After staying for a few days, Zhang Chi had completely fallen in love with Xiliu Village’s fire-roasted potatoes. When he left, he didn’t take anything else, just bought a whole sack of potatoes.

He strenuously dragged his sack of potatoes onto Jiang Xue’s small three-wheeler. When he turned around, Gao Xinhe came running over, limping and crying.

Zhang Chi was very moved. “Brother, although we’ve only known each other for a few days, you’re the first one to be so reluctant to see me go.”

Gao Xinhe, also very reluctant, took out the bank card from his pocket and handed it back to Zhang Chi. “There’s too much money in your card. My dad almost broke my leg. Here, take it back.”

Jiang Shi was stunned. “You gave him money?”

Zhang Chi was very innocent. “I offered it to all of you, but no one wanted it except him. So of course, I gave it to him. Anyway, he’s your cousin and Cheng Ye’s brother. He’s one of us, one way or another.”

Jiang Shi looked at Gao Xinhe.

Gao Xinhe almost jumped on the spot under his gaze. “Heaven is my witness, little cousin! He said he’d give me money, I thought it was just ten or twenty yuan. Who knew it was over a hundred thousand! My whole family’s savings combined isn’t that much. This morning, I went to the bank with my dad, and when he saw the balance, he almost thought I’d done something illegal.”

The bank card felt like a hot potato in his hand. After getting a beating from his dad upon seeing the balance, he had rushed over to return it.

Jiang Shi looked at the two of them as if they were idiots. He took the card from Gao Xinhe’s hand and stuffed it into Zhang Chi’s. “Can you change this bad habit of yours? One day you’ll get scammed and you won’t even know it.”

Zhang Chi and Gao Xinhe looked at each other, and both read regret in the other’s eyes.

It was very cold when they arrived, but on the day they returned to Jiangcheng, the sun unexpectedly came out.

The sunlight felt warm on the skin, but the wind was still winter’s biting cold. Just before getting off, Song Jian’an said, “The Song family asked me to ask you if you’ll be going there for the New Year this year.”

Jiang Shi was stunned for a moment, then shook his head. “No.”

Since he said no, Song Jian’an didn’t ask again.

He knew better than anyone that for Jiang Shi, the Song family was nothing more than a cage.

Back in Jiangcheng, Jiang Shi had to attend the classes Liu Heping had arranged for him.

He was busy, and Cheng Ye was even busier. Before the year’s end, Cheng Ye’s company officially launched a brand-new smartphone, breaking away from previous designs and achieving a milestone breakthrough.

Although they lived together, Cheng Ye wasn’t back when Jiang Shi went to sleep, and by the time he woke up, Cheng Ye had already left. By his count, they hadn’t seen each other for more than ten days.

In the blink of an eye, it was almost the Lunar New Year. No matter how heartless Liu Heping was, he wouldn’t stop Jiang Shi from going home for the New Year.

Today was his last class before the new year. It dragged on for a while without him noticing, and by the time he got out, it was already ten at night.

A cold front swept in again. The temperature in Jiangcheng, which had been rising, dropped rapidly. The weather forecast said there would be snow.

On his phone, Cheng Ye said he was waiting downstairs from the company building to pick him up.

Jiang Shi put on his jacket and went down from the Xinghui building with his phone.

Perhaps because it was almost the New Year, even though the temperature was low, the streets were still bustling with pedestrians. The surrounding businesses had started putting up New Year decorations, and even the streetlights were hung with red lanterns.

Jiang Shi looked around but couldn’t find the car Cheng Ye usually drove.

He shivered in the cold wind and gave him a call.

The man seemed to have been drinking, his voice low. “Jiang Shi, look up, to your left.”

Jiang Shi looked in the direction he indicated.

On the street, the window of a black Rolls-Royce rolled down. A man in a suit sat in the back seat, his deep-set eyes holding a trace of weariness. Under the lights, the sapphire cufflinks on his cuffs glinted silently. He rested his hand on the car window, his sleeve riding up to reveal the somewhat old black watch on his wrist.

Cheng Ye crooked his finger, beckoning to Jiang Shi.

“Come here. Let’s go home.”