Chapter 43
It wasn’t until the fifth day that Jiang Zhong and Xi Qin finally had their “next meeting.”
During these days, Jiang Zhong spent most of his time visiting relatives and friends with his father and mother to celebrate the New Year, or hosting visitors at their home.
Zheng Yinqiu and Jiang Chengye were usually busy with work and only had time to connect with acquaintances during public holidays.
As the only child, Jiang Zhong was always required by his parents to accompany them throughout these visits, which not only showed family harmony but also helped lay the groundwork for his future career.
By the seventh day of the New Year, Zheng Yinqiu and Jiang Chengye had to fully immerse themselves in the new year’s work plans.
Jiang Zhong woke up as usual around nine in the morning. Without fully clearing his head, he reached for his phone and sent a message to Xi Qin.
【Jiang Zhong: Good morning, boyfriend】
【Xi Qin: Good morning】
Xi Qin was always like this. He always woke up before Jiang Zhong every day, but still made Jiang Zhong send the first message each time.
At first, Jiang Zhong thought that Xi Qin, like him, liked to sleep in during the holidays. It took him some time to realize that Xi Qin responded to his messages incredibly fast. Could it be that Xi Qin was waking up at almost the same time as him every day?
So one morning, Jiang Zhong asked this question and found out that Xi Qin was worried that his messages would wake him up before he was fully awake.
【Jiang Zhong: Are you here yet?】
【Xi Qin: I’m on the way, I’ll be there in about half an hour.】
Jiang Zhong had told Xi Qin last night that he was free today and had planned to visit him, but unexpectedly, Xi Qin had something to do here today, so it turned into Xi Qin coming to find him.
As soon as Jiang Zhong finished washing up and came out of the bathroom, he heard the doorbell ring downstairs.
“So soon?” Jiang Zhong mumbled, it had only been a little over ten minutes.
He immediately went downstairs without even thinking to check the footage from the door camera.
When he opened the door without hesitation, he realized it wasn’t Xi Qin standing there.
“Aunt Wang?”
“Jiang Zhong, you’re up?” Aunt Wang, who was about to take out a spare key from her bag to unlock the door, said, “Mrs. Jiang said you and Mr. Jiang are at work today, so she asked me to come clean. I thought you were still asleep.”
“Ah, I’m up,” Jiang Zhong stepped aside. “Come in, Aunt Wang.”
Aunt Wang had been their regular cleaning lady for the past few months, coming once every ten days. The last time she came was before the New Year.
“Please take a rest, Aunt Wang.”
“No need.” Aunt Wang skillfully took out cleaning tools from the storage room. “By the way, Jiang Zhong, have you had breakfast yet? Do you want me to make you something?”
“No, no need,” Jiang Zhong quickly waved his hand. “My friend is coming over soon. He brought me breakfast.”
“Alright,” Aunt Wang said with a cheerful smile, “You two enjoy yourselves, I won’t disturb you.”
When the doorbell rang again, Jiang Zhong quickly stopped Aunt Wang, who was about to open the door. “I’ll go, I’ll go.”
Xi Qin, with a bag on his back and breakfast in his hands, was standing outside the door, smiling.
Although Jiang Zhong and Xi Qin met often, every time they separated and met again, Jiang Zhong always felt genuinely happy.
Today was no exception. The moment Jiang Zhong saw Xi Qin, his almond-shaped eyes curved into a smile.
It was obvious that Xi Qin felt the same way because as soon as he entered, he handed the breakfast to Jiang Zhong, and after changing his shoes, without any warning, he pulled him into a hug.
“Baby,” Xi Qin leaned down and rubbed his face against Jiang Zhong’s shoulder a few times. “You don’t have surveillance cameras at home, right?”
“No,” Jiang Zhong held onto the fabric of Xi Qin’s waist, while raising the hand holding the breakfast high. “But…”
“Good, then.” Xi Qin turned his head and gave Jiang Zhong a heavy kiss on the side of his face, the sound of their lips parting audible with a loud “smack.”
“…There are people at home.” Jiang Zhong insisted on finishing his sentence.
Xi Qin: “…”
Jiang Zhong hadn’t expected Xi Qin to act so quickly, and he silently prayed that Aunt Wang, who was cleaning the cabinet earlier, had already gone elsewhere.
Unfortunately, reality wasn’t as he hoped. After taking just two steps further into the house, they saw Aunt Wang standing motionless in front of a display case, holding a cloth and a decorative item. She seemed frozen in place, looking dazed.
“…”
“…”
The three of them stared at each other for a long time.
“Uh,” Jiang Zhong, forcing himself to break the silence, said, “Aunt Wang, this is my boyfriend.”
Aunt Wang’s face showed no sign of easing up.
“Boy…friend?” Aunt Wang spoke slowly, as though struggling to understand how a boy could have a boyfriend.
“Yes,” Jiang Zhong suddenly put on a panicked expression. “Aunt Wang, can you keep this a secret and not tell my parents?”
“This…” Aunt Wang hesitated.
“My parents will beat me if they find out,” Jiang Zhong said pitifully.
“I won’t say anything,” Aunt Wang quickly replied. “But Xiao Jiang, I think you should tell your parents yourself. I don’t think Mr. and Mrs. Jiang are the type to get physical.”
“Alright,” Jiang Zhong nodded. “I’ll tell them tonight.”
He then took Xi Qin upstairs to his room, leaving Aunt Wang to ponder alone for a long while before finally shaking her head and continuing her work.
“You’re really dramatic,” Xi Qin commented.
Jiang Zhong, sitting on the small sofa and eating his breakfast, replied, “Well, you came in like that. I didn’t even have a chance to finish what I was saying.”
“I didn’t know,” Xi Qin mumbled, “You only told me half an hour ago that you were home alone.”
“Half an hour ago, I really was home alone,” Jiang Zhong replied, tilting his head.
“Then why didn’t you tell me someone came over?”
“Well, you didn’t tell me you were going to kiss me either.”
“Fine,” Xi Qin nodded, “Get ready, I’m going to kiss you.”
“Huh? Mmm…”
The breakfast bag in Jiang Zhong’s hand was taken away, and Xi Qin pinned him against the backrest of the sofa, kissing his lips for several minutes.
Gasping for air, Jiang Zhong pushed Xi Qin away a little. “Give me back my breakfast, I’m not full yet.”
“Heh,” Xi Qin suppressed a laugh, then finally gave Jiang Zhong’s lips a quick peck on the corner. “Did you forget what I said?”
“What?”
Xi Qin slowly moved his lips to Jiang Zhong’s ear and whispered, “I love you.”
Jiang Zhong felt as if his ear was burned, and for a moment, he seemed to lose his hearing. The world suddenly became unbearably quiet, with only Xi Qin’s husky voice echoing in his mind.
Jiang Zhong even forgot to respond to Xi Qin.
Xi Qin didn’t mind. Jiang Zhong’s face and ears, turning bright red, revealed his inner thoughts in another form.
“Snap out of it,” Xi Qin took the breakfast and put it back into Jiang Zhong’s hands. “Here, eat quickly.”
Jiang Zhong numbly took a bite, but he couldn’t taste anything.
“After you finish, come with me to a place,” Xi Qin said with a smile.
“Huh?” Jiang Zhong nodded foolishly, “Okay.”
This is so annoying.
Why is he reacting like this? So embarrassing.
Jiang Zhong chewed on the food without much taste. Normally, shouldn’t he have replied to Xi Qin with “I love you too“?
Cough. Jiang Zhong cleared his throat.
“Hmm?” Xi Qin turned his head, sensing something.
“I…” Jiang Zhong felt embarrassed, he had never said anything like this before. “It’s a bit dry.”
“Here.” Xi Qin handed him the soy milk.
Jiang Zhong lowered his head and drank the soy milk in one go. It’s fine, the moment has passed. Maybe he’ll say it next time.
“Where do you want me to go with you?” Jiang Zhong asked, realizing a bit late.
“Take you to pay a New Year visit.”
“Is this what you call reciprocating the favor?”
“It’s not going to my place,” Xi Qin understood Jiang Zhong’s meaning, “We’re going to Peng Siyuan’s house.”
“Isn’t it a bit inappropriate for you to take me there?” Jiang Zhong asked with some confusion. “And isn’t it a bit late to be visiting for New Year’s today?”
“It’s not late, Aunt Shen just became free today,” Xi Qin glanced at him. “She asked me to bring you over.”
Aunt Shen is Peng Siyuan’s mother and was a close friend of Xi Qin’s mother before she passed away. The two families were very close when Xi Qin’s mother was alive, and even after her passing, Aunt Shen had taken care of Xi Qin both openly and subtly.
“Does she know about me and you…”
“Yeah,” Xi Qin nodded. “Peng Siyuan told her a long time ago. When I called her to wish her a happy New Year, I also mentioned you, so she asked me to bring you over to hang out.”
“Oh,” Jiang Zhong thought to himself that he and Xi Qin were quite lucky, as none of the elders they encountered had said anything negative about their relationship. “Alright then.”
Xi Qin, familiar with the route, took Jiang Zhong to Peng Siyuan’s house, where it was Peng Siyuan who opened the door.
“Yo,” Peng Siyuan smiled, “You’re here.”
“Mm.” Xi Qin nodded.
“Hi.” Jiang Zhong greeted him confidently.
“Hi,” Peng Siyuan waved back at him. “My mom is upstairs, I’ll go call her.”
Since Xi Qin was a regular guest, Peng Siyuan didn’t go out of his way to entertain them. He turned and went upstairs to call Aunt Shen.
Xi Qin led Jiang Zhong inside. After passing the foyer, they came to a hollow display shelf with many crafts and trophies on it.
“Wow,” Jiang Zhong said quietly, “Feels like their house has a really artistic vibe.”
“Mm,” Xi Qin smiled. “The whole family is into art.”
“That’s impressive,” Jiang Zhong said.
“Right,” Xi Qin explained to him, “Uncle Peng is into literary creation, Aunt Shen is a dancer, and Peng Siyuan is studying sculpture.”
“Wow—” Jiang Zhong exclaimed again. He did know about Peng Siyuan’s major.
“Wow, what?” Xi Qin chuckled. “You’re impressive too. Didn’t you study dance as well?”
“I only learned a little bit,” Jiang Zhong humbly said. “It was more of a hobby. I can’t compare to a professional dancer.”
“I think you’re pretty good at it,” Xi Qin said. “I noticed you in high school because of that.”
“Really?” Jiang Zhong hadn’t expected Xi Qin to mention the past here, and he felt grateful to Zheng Yinqiu for encouraging him to stick with it when he had wanted to quit as a child.
Wait a minute.
Jiang Zhong suddenly remembered something.
He recalled that Peng Siyuan had once told him that his mother and Xi Qin’s mother were “colleagues,” which meant that Xi Qin’s mother was also a dancer?
Jiang Zhong turned to look at Xi Qin. Xi Qin had said that his mother had suffered a car accident when he was in middle school, which led to the amputation of both of her legs and eventually caused her to end her life.
So, Xi Qin’s mother’s career, which had been ruined because of losing her legs, was…