Zhuang Fanxin Almost Fainted. Part 2

When mother and daughter met, Xue Manzi asked the little girl if she had been good, how her violin lessons were going, and if she practiced French every day. Gu Baoyan forgot everything she wanted to say and only asked, "Mom, why are you so late?"

Xue Manzi said, "Santa Claus always moves at night, so he comes late."

Gu Zhuoyan didn't know what expression to make. He lifted Gu Baoyan with one hand and spun her around, asking something else, "Did you get any presents? The ones from Grandpa don't count."

"Sister Hu gave me a placemat and told me to spill less soup on the table," Gu Baoyan said. "Brother Lian Yiming sent me a Princess Jasmine costume. Does he not want to break off our engagement?"

Gu Zhuoyan burst out laughing. "What a great big brother. There are other fish in the sea."

Gu Baoyan pinched Gu Zhuoyan's ear and whispered, "I smashed my piggy bank and bought a box of paints for Brother Xiao Zhuang. Grandpa helped me pick it out."

"Damn, that was your dowry money."

The siblings chatted as they walked away. Xue Manzi, in her ten-centimeter stilettos, fell behind. So many people would fawn over her and chase after her, but at this moment, she couldn't keep up with her children's pace, feeling only the burning pain in the soles of her feet.

Once home, Xue Maochen also chided his daughter for coming so late. Xue Manzi muddled through with a vague answer, then they opened presents and sang Christmas carols, going through the motions like the Spring Festival Gala.

"Darling, Mommy will tell you a story tonight," Xue Manzi said.

Gu Baoyan laughed, "I'm so old, still listening to stories? That's so childish."

Gu Zhuoyan gloated, then looked up and met Xue Manzi's gaze. It was over. Xue Manzi said, "Since I can't curry favor with my daughter, let's go check on my son's room."

Gu Zhuoyan led Xue Manzi upstairs. They looked around his bedroom, then he opened the French windows and walked out onto the balcony. This wasn't the art exhibition lounge, and there was no one else around. He knew Xue Manzi was about to have a talk with him.

"Are you together, or are you still chasing him?"

That was way too damn direct. Gu Zhuoyan even suspected his mom was trying to trick him. He played dumb with a calm expression. "I don't understand."

Xue Manzi said, "The final exams are coming up. Go back after you're done. If you stay here any longer, you won't even be able to understand what people are saying."

Gu Zhuoyan said, "I understand."

"So you are together." Xue Manzi's tone was frank and certain. "You're a good actor, but that kid's acting skills aren't great. Look how scared he was, jumping to his feet several times."

Gu Zhuoyan turned to face his mom. "The way he rushed over to protect me wasn't an act."

Xue Manzi said, "I know. That's why I gave him the gift I had for you. I don't like to owe people."

It was a watch worth three hundred thousand. Gu Zhuoyan took a breath. "Don't pull that stuff on me. I told you before, you don't have to accept that I'm gay, but you have no right to interfere."

Xue Manzi said, "Zhuoyan, your dad and I aren't old-fashioned. The fact that you like boys can't be changed. We would never force you to change your orientation. But I hope you won't be reckless about when you get into a relationship, and with whom."

Gu Zhuoyan understood. "You think this stage isn't appropriate? Or that Zhuang Fanxin isn't appropriate?"

"Neither is appropriate."

"Am I diamond-encrusted in your eyes? Where do you get this sense of superiority?"

Xue Manzi said, "You gave up the best class to go to Class 3, it was for him, right? The time you got hurt in a fight, it was also to stand up for him. Am I wrong? You two went to Xiamen to have fun, and today you skipped class for his birthday. You think I don't know anything?"

"You don't want to go back for the New Year, and you won't want to go back when you're a third-year. And you still think you're not being reckless?!"

The things he had hidden, the things he had inadvertently probed for during phone calls, the plans he had made in his heart—Xue Manzi knew all of it, laying it all bare without a shred of mercy.

Gu Zhuoyan had a sudden realization. "You didn't come today for work, or for Christmas. You came to catch me, didn't you?"

Xue Manzi even knew his escape route. "Why do you think your grandfather agreed to let you stay? Because you've been the best since you were a child. If you continue to mess around and it affects your future, let's see if he'll still protect your damn love."

Gu Zhuoyan looked at the shrewd woman before him. "You and Dad were the ones who forced me to come here in the first place. If we're tracing it back to the root, I have you to thank for this damn love of mine."

Slap. Xue Manzi slapped him across the face.

"From beginning to end, all you think about is academics and future prospects. Just like when you saw Baoyan, you only asked about her violin and French, not whether she was hungry after waiting for so long, or if she was cold wearing her prettiest dress for you, or how much she's grown recently." Gu Zhuoyan suddenly felt incredibly tired. "When I came out and became the talk of the whole school, and was sent here, in these past six months you haven't once asked me if I was hurting, or if I was feeling any pressure."

"Mom," Gu Zhuoyan said, "after I'd been here for a month, Zhuang Fanxin was the only person who asked me if I was any happier."

Xue Manzi turned away and cried, her tears turning cold the moment they fell.

The December night in Rong City was colder than he had imagined.

A little after eleven, Gu Zhuoyan, one side of his face swollen, snuck out of the house and met up with Qi Nan at the small intersection. As he passed the Zhuang Family home, he saw a light on in the second-floor bedroom.

He hid at the fork in the alley, opened the cake box, and was shocked. He pulled out his phone to call Qi Nan. "Fuck, you didn't write a birthday message!"

Qi Nan said, "It's too cheesy! I was too embarrassed to tell my mom."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Gu Zhuoyan's liver ached with anger. "I'm going to hang a banner outside your family's shop tomorrow! You're really something else!"

Qi Nan coaxed him, "I packed a few bags of fruit jam. You can write it yourself!"

Gu Zhuoyan tore open a jam packet, and a huge glob fell out before he could even start writing. He never would have thought that after crossing Xue Manzi's mountain of knives and sea of fire, he would end up being failed by this crooked-neck tree, Qi Nan.

After several failed attempts, he ate the jam and sent a message to Zhuang Fanxin: "Come out, I'm at the fork in the road."

Zhuang Fanxin replied: "I went to Pei Zhi's house."

Gu Zhuoyan was speechless. "Then I'll go to Pei Zhi's house to find you right now."

Zhuang Fanxin changed his story: "I'm asleep."

Gu Zhuoyan saw through it: "Turn off the light then, don't waste electricity."

Two minutes later, Zhuang Fanxin ran out in flip-flops, sticking to the base of the wall like a thief. When he turned the corner, he stopped abruptly. Underneath a broken streetlight, Gu Zhuoyan stood there holding a cake. The "17" candle was burning with a warm yellow light, making Gu Zhuoyan's features look exceptionally deep.

"Why wouldn't you come out?" A bit of an interrogation first.

Zhuang Fanxin mumbled, "I was afraid you were calling me out to break up."

"Break up my ass." Gu Zhuoyan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He cleared his throat. "I'm singing now. Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."

Zhuang Fanxin slowly walked over. Just as Gu Zhuoyan finished singing, he saw that there was no writing on the white cream cake.

Gu Zhuoyan recited the words: "Baby."

His eyes began to burn, seared by the candlelight. Zhuang Fanxin waited with red eyes for the next line.

Gu Zhuoyan said, "Let's be together for a lifetime."