Chapter 31
That evening, Jiang Zhong’s aunt and cousin moved into the guest room on the first floor, waiting to return home with Zheng Yinqiu the next day.
When Jiang Zhong made sure Zheng Yinqiu settled them upstairs and into their rooms, he waited by the staircase and pulled her into his bedroom.
“What are you doing?” Zheng Yinqiu was taken by surprise, “So mysterious.”
Jiang Zhong turned around, closed the door, and gently pushed her shoulder to seat her on the sofa.
“Mom,” Jiang Zhong sat beside her, “Are you going to aunt’s house tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” Zheng Yinqiu tugged at her sleeve that Jiang Zhong had pulled out of place, “Why?”
“I want to go too,” Jiang Zhong said.
“Then just go, the holiday is just starting,” Zheng Yinqiu immediately agreed.
Jiang Zhong hesitated and asked, “Is it because of cousin Xuyang?”
“You know about it?” Zheng Yinqiu quickly understood and added, “It must have been Yueyue who told you.”
“Yeah,” Jiang Zhong nodded, feeling inexplicably uneasy, and asked, “What will you say when you go?”
“That depends on when I get there,” Zheng Yinqiu said, “We’ll first see your cousin’s attitude.”
Jiang Zhong opened his mouth, and after a long pause, he mustered up the courage to ask, “So, what do you think of homosexuality?”
Zheng Yinqiu looked at him strangely.
In that gaze, Jiang Zhong sensed the authoritative aura of a strong woman in her work, nearly unable to bear it.
After looking away, Zheng Yinqiu finally answered, “I don’t have an opinion.”
“What does ‘no opinion’ really mean?”
That night, while Jiang Zhong was on the phone with Xi Qin, he couldn’t help but ask. He had been unsettled all night by Zheng Yinqiu’s ambiguous answer.
“Mm…” Xi Qin thought seriously for a moment, “It could mean two things. One, the person saying it dislikes the matter so much that they don’t want to talk about it at all, so they won’t express their opinion, the other is that the person neither agrees nor disagrees with it, so they don’t need to say anything.”
“Sigh.” Jiang Zhong sighed deeply. It’s one thing to say that, but he still didn’t know whether Zheng Yinqiu belonged to the first or second group.
“So,” Xi Qin asked, “Who said that to you? You seem to care a lot about it.”
Of course, this mattered for their future and whether they would get their parents’ blessing. How could he not care?
Jiang Zhong: “No one, I was just asking casually, no particular reason.”
He decided not to tell Xi Qin yet. If the result was… it would only make him expect something in vain.
“By the way,” Jiang Zhong said, “I’m going to my aunt’s house tomorrow. I’m not sure when I’ll be back, so don’t come looking for me, or you’ll just end up making a wasted trip.”
“Then I won’t see you for several days,” Xi Qin said in a drawling voice.
Jiang Zhong absolutely adored how Xi Qin could act spoiled anytime and anywhere.
“We’ve been glued together for half a month,” Jiang Zhong said, his words not matching his feelings. “It’s only a few days. What’s the big deal?”
“How is that not a big deal?” Xi Qin hummed. “It’s only been half a month. I’d rather stick with you for a lifetime. Looks like I’m the only one who can’t bear to be apart from you, and you don’t even miss me…”
“Alright, alright,” Jiang Zhong quickly interrupted Xi Qin.
Although he loved hearing Xi Qin unintentionally speak sweet words, he had a feeling that if he didn’t interrupt now, Xi Qin would say…
“Little jerk,” Xi Qin said.
He knew it!
And sure enough, he couldn’t stop it in time.
“I’ll go find you the moment I come back,” Jiang Zhong said, rubbing his forehead. “Is that good enough?”
“Not enough,” Xi Qin, having gotten what he wanted, took the opportunity to make a request. “I want to video call you every day.”
“Fine, fine, fine,” Jiang Zhong agreed readily. “I’ll video call you whenever I’m free.”
“Is it inconvenient now?” Xi Qin asked.
“Sigh.” Jiang Zhong sighed again, but this time it was a contented one.
Having a boyfriend who was cold and distant in front of others but clingy and sweet when alone was truly “troublesome.”
This kind of trouble was something single people could never understand.
So, Jiang Zhong hung up the phone and sent Xi Qin a video call.
The next day, after breakfast, Jiang Zhong and the others set off for his aunt’s house.
His aunt lived in a nearby city, not far away, it took just over three hours by car.
On the way, his aunt and Zheng Yinqiu took turns driving, and they arrived just in time for lunch.
Jiang Zhong’s uncle had prepared a meal at home for them, and when Jiang Zhong entered the house, he found his cousin, Bai Xuyang, helping his uncle with the cooking. He seemed to be in decent spirits, only slightly weary.
He didn’t look at all like the way Bai Yuelang had described him—being kicked out and locked up in the house for days, not eating properly and just lying in bed.
Well, it was possible that he was just feeling guilty, afraid that he might end up facing a similar situation, and his imagination had run wild.
After all, Bai Xuyang had already graduated from college, and both his aunt and uncle were reasonable people. There was no way the scene of Bai Xuyang being locked in his room with a big iron chain would ever happen.
“Aunt, Uncle Xuyang,” Jiang Zhong greeted first.
“Your little aunt is here,” Jiang Zhong’s uncle wiped his hands. “Oh, Xiao Zhong, long time no see! Go sit on the sofa, dinner will be ready soon.”
“Little Aunt,” Bai Xuyang greeted warmly, “Xiao Zhong.”
Jiang Zhong couldn’t help but glance at Bai Xuyang a few more times.
It wasn’t until dinnertime that Bai Xuyang, unable to ignore Jiang Zhong stealing glances at him, smiled and proactively placed a shrimp into Jiang Zhong’s bowl.
Only then did Jiang Zhong realize his behavior was a bit impolite, and he quickly lowered his head to thank him.
Actually, it wasn’t entirely Jiang Zhong’s fault. He just couldn’t tell any difference in Bai Xuyang from before, making it hard to imagine that he could do something so out of line.
All day, Jiang Zhong felt both expectant and a little afraid.
He was eager to hear Zheng Yinqiu ask about Bai Xuyang, to learn how to resolve the situation, but he was also afraid that Zheng Yinqiu might, like his aunt and uncle, immediately reject Bai Xuyang’s relationship without understanding the whole story.
However, throughout the entire afternoon and evening, no one brought it up.
Zheng Yinqiu acted as if she were visiting as usual, chatting with his aunt and uncle, even calmly discussing some work matters with Bai Xuyang.
Bai Xuyang, who hadn’t worked for long, took the opportunity to ask his strong-willed aunt for some work advice.
It seemed like the only ones truly anxious were Jiang Zhong and Bai Yuelang.
Indeed, ¹”The emperor is not in a hurry, but the eunuch is dying of anxiety.”
That night, Jiang Zhong was arranged to sleep in Bai Xuyang’s room, with the two cousins sharing a bed.
【Jiang Zhong: I can’t video call tonight, I’m sleeping with my cousin.】
Just after sending the message to Xi Qin, Jiang Zhong looked up and saw Bai Xuyang coming in after taking a shower and drying his hair.
“Brother.”
“Mm.” Bai Xuyang replied, casually glancing at Jiang Zhong’s phone.
But Jiang Zhong saw it.
Bai Yuelang had previously said that Bai Xuyang’s phone was confiscated by his aunt and uncle, and all other communication devices at home were cut off to prevent Bai Xuyang from contacting that man. She had also been ordered not to lend her phone to her brother.
“Are you trying to contact… him?” Jiang Zhong wasn’t sure how to refer to the other person. He handed his phone towards Bai Xuyang. “You can use mine.”
Bai Xuyang hesitated a bit before reaching for it. “Is it okay?”
“What’s inconvenient about it?” Jiang Zhong blinked. “Hurry and contact him while Aunt and Uncle haven’t stopped me yet, so he doesn’t worry.”
“Mm,” Bai Xuyang gave Jiang Zhong a grateful look. “Thank you, Xiao Zhong.”
“It’s fine,” Jiang Zhong said, shoving his phone into Bai Xuyang’s hand with a smile. “I’ll go wash up first.”
After Jiang Zhong left, he thoughtfully closed the door behind him, taking his time to wash his face, brush his teeth, and use the bathroom. In the end, he felt he hadn’t given Bai Xuyang enough time, so he decided to use the foot bath basin that Bai Xuyang had bought for his uncle to soak his own feet.
After soaking, he felt completely relaxed and refreshed.
Not bad, Jiang Zhong thought. In the future, he’d buy one for his parents and also get one for Xi Qin.
When he checked the time, it had been around forty or fifty minutes—Bai Xuyang must have finished contacting him by now.
Jiang Zhong knocked twice before entering.
“Come in.”
Bai Xuyang was already lying on the bed, leaning against the headboard, reading a book.
“I’ve put the phone on your pillow,” Bai Xuyang smiled as he saw Jiang Zhong, “Thank you.”
Seeing that Bai Xuyang’s mood had improved, Jiang Zhong felt a bit of that happiness too and said in a light tone, “No need to be so polite, you’ve thanked me several times already.”
Bai Xuyang smiled a little.
“By the way,” Bai Xuyang said, suddenly looking a bit apologetic, “I accidentally saw the message you received. It looks like it’s from your girlfriend.”
Jiang Zhong remembered that before he handed the phone to Bai Xuyang, he had sent a message to Xi Qin, and Xi Qin never took more than twenty minutes to reply.
Jiang Zhong quickly opened his phone and saw that Xi Qin had sent him three new messages.
【Xi Qin: Alright.】
【Xi Qin: You’re actually sleeping with someone else, while I’m left alone in bed.】
【Xi Qin: Jealous of your cousin.】
Jiang Zhong felt a bit embarrassed and secretly glanced at Bai Xuyang.
Damn Xi Qin.
Fortunately, after Jiang Zhong saw Xi Qin label him as “little scumbag” last time, he immediately changed Xi Qin’s label to “little drama queen” the next day.
Bai Xuyang then thought that “little drama queen” was Jiang Zhong’s girlfriend.
Jiang Zhong hummed in his mind, intentionally teasing Xi Qin.
【Jiang Zhong: It’s over, it’s over, it’s over.】
【Jiang Zhong: My cousin was using my phone just now, and he saw the messages.】
【Jiang Zhong: I’ve saved you as ‘boyfriend,’ and now he’s found out.】
Less than a minute later, Xi Qin replied.
【Xi Qin: Has he told your parents?】
【Xi Qin: It’s fine, don’t worry.】
【Xi Qin: If your parents oppose it, you have to tell me, I’ll come find you.】
Jiang Zhong’s smile gradually froze, feeling a little regretful. How could he scare Xi Qin with something like this?
Xi Qin trusted him so much and immediately took it seriously. Now he couldn’t meet Xi Qin or talk to him, which was just making him anxious.
Jiang Zhong quickly clicked on the chat box. Before he could explain to Xi Qin, more messages kept coming through.
【Xi Qin: Don’t worry, it’s fine.】
【Xi Qin: Jiang Zhong, I will take care of it.】
【Xi Qin: Trust me, just don’t argue with your parents for now.】
—
【Jiang Zhong: Don’t worry, my cousin won’t tell anyone. Even if he does, it’s fine. Of course, I trust you to solve it. There’s no problem now, so don’t worry.】
“Brother Xuyang,” Jiang Zhong looked up and asked, “If aunt and uncle still don’t agree with your situation in the end, what will you do?”
Bai Xuyang didn’t expect Jiang Zhong to ask so directly. He paused for a moment before replying, “To be honest, I haven’t thought about that. I think they just can’t accept it for now, they think I’m on the wrong path and want to correct me.”
“But parents can never go against their children,” Bai Xuyang said slowly. “That’s why I don’t want to clash with them. I believe if I persist, they won’t really force me to marry a woman and have children. Since the outcome is nearly the same, I’ll stay home for now. Otherwise, I could have left a long time ago.”
“But this period is still tough, right? Especially not being able to contact that person. He must be really worried,” Jiang Zhong said with a sense of empathy. It was just like Xi Qin—if Xi Qin couldn’t contact him for days, he didn’t know how anxious he would be.
“Yeah,” Bai Xuyang lowered his eyes. “In order not to hurt my parents, the person I feel most sorry for these days is him. I hope the result won’t disappoint him.”
“Bro, I’m not sure if I’m thinking the right way,” Jiang Zhong said. “But maybe he doesn’t want you to face all this alone, while he’s just waiting on the sidelines, unable to do anything, and even not hearing from you for several days.”
Bai Xuyang seemed to be deep in thought.
Jiang Zhong clenched his teeth and said bluntly, “I think using this delaying tactic is somewhat unfair to him.”
Jiang Zhong knew that he had no right to interfere in Bai Xuyang’s matters. Bai Xuyang was older than him, had more experience, and thought things through more thoroughly. Moreover, he didn’t know Bai Xuyang’s boyfriend, so there was no other reason for him to say these things.
He simply couldn’t help but relate himself and Xi Qin to what Bai Xuyang and his boyfriend were going through. He felt that Xi Qin wouldn’t want him to deal with things the way Bai Xuyang was handling it alone.
Maybe it was because he hadn’t entered society yet, so he was more naive than Bai Xuyang.
He just thought that relationships were about two people, so when facing a “relationship crisis,” the two should work together to solve it.
If one day his parents found out about him and Xi Qin, or if he decided to tell them first, and his parents disagreed, he would try to bring Xi Qin in front of them to explain why he chose Xi Qin.
If that still didn’t change his parents’ minds, then… he’d think of another way.
But anyway, that day hadn’t come yet, and it was a bit far off to think about it. The point was, it had to be a joint effort between the two of them.
“Sorry, Bro, I may have meddled too much,” Jiang Zhong apologized before going to sleep. “You don’t have to pay too much attention to what I said. Just do what you think is right.”
“Mm, I understand.”
Jiang Zhong wasn’t sure what Bai Xuyang’s “I understand” meant, but he knew Bai Xuyang was starting to get tangled up in his thoughts.
Because when he set his phone to silent and snuggled in bed with Xi Qin, he could hear Bai Xuyang tossing and turning, unable to sleep on the other side.
—
¹”The emperor is not in a hurry, but the eunuch is dying of anxiety” (皇帝不急，急死太监) is a Chinese idiom that means someone is unnecessarily worried about a situation that should concern someone else more. It describes a scenario where the person directly involved (the “emperor”) remains calm or indifferent, while an outsider (the “eunuch”) becomes overly anxious or worked up.