Sheng Wang was stunned for a moment, and the smile faded from the corner of his eyes and mouth.
Jiang Tian lightly touched his cheek with the milk cup. He took it over and drank it, and glanced at Jiang Tian replying to the messages of the brothers in the group.
Sheng Wang watched for a while, put down the glass and said to the person on the phone, "Okay, do you have a time?"
Sheng Mingyang was waiting for him to answer, and he said with a smile: "I'll be there in the afternoon, and I'll be free these two days. Now, Dad is not as busy as you, so it's your time."
Sheng Wang said, "Then tonight, what time do you arrive? I'll pick you up."
When Jiang Tian came over, he had already hung up the phone.
"Work again?"
Sheng Wang put one hand on his shoulder and threw the phone to the table: "Well. I just peeked. Do you have to invite the professor to dinner today?"
In the world of adults, the more it gets to the festival, the more it cannot stop.
On New Year's Day, Beijing was snowing heavily, and the beautiful vision of spending a day in the house was stifled in the plan. Jiang Tian was called away by his senior brothers, mainly to celebrate the Gregorian New Year for the professor, and to gossip about his relationship with his "old classmates" by the way. Sheng Wang went to see Sheng Mingyang.
Although Tiangong is not beautiful, it is New Year's Day after all, and it is still crowded everywhere. Sheng Wang set a spot at a bungalow hot pot restaurant, which was not so noisy.
Sheng Mingyang took off his coat and put it on the back of the chair, folded the sleeves of his shirt over the gray cashmere sweater, glanced around and said, "You don't have a shopping mall downstairs, why do you come so far?"
"Don't you like this Wagyu beef?" Sheng Wang said.
Sheng Mingyang was stunned for a moment.
He really likes this Wagyu beef, and he invited a friend to ask Sheng Wang to eat here twice earlier. He may have mentioned it casually, or he may not have said it explicitly. Anyway, he has no impression of it himself, and he did not expect his son to remember it.
That's how their father-son relationship has been over the years. Sheng Wang is very filial, very filial, and he can take care of every detail, and can even be regarded as ironing. Just like Sheng Mingyang's expectations and expectations for that little guy more than 20 years ago, he is outstanding and has a good reputation. It stands to reason that he should be happy and happy, but he will always become lonely at some point.
It is said that there must be a tug-of-war between father and son about the right to speak, just like male animals fighting for territory. From control to being controlled, some people can fight for it for a lifetime.
But they were different. He didn't like unrestrained quarrels, and Sheng Wang didn't like unkind fights either.
Sheng Mingyang once thought that he was enlightened. It was only after a long time that he realized that he had never stopped circling the site, but every time he circled a piece, Sheng Wang would move a little bit to the side, not fighting or grabbing, but going further and further.
When he finally reacted, he couldn't even see the shadow.
Occasionally, he would miss that shaky Wang Zai a little, and would think that his voice was too long and only listen to the beginning, and would randomly change his remarks according to the content he shared. If he is in a bad mood, he will hang up directly, and when he is happy, he will call him "Old Comrade Sheng Mingyang".
He used to have headaches all the time, but now he doesn't enjoy it anymore.
Sometimes when he was so bored, he would like to ask, "Are you taking revenge on Dad?"
But he knew it wasn't, because Sheng Wang was soft-hearted and wouldn't do it on purpose. It was because it was not intentional that Sheng Mingyang felt more depressed and uncomfortable.
This trip to Beijing is actually not so necessary, he may or may not come. But yesterday when he was washing his face before going to bed, he glanced in the mirror and found that he actually had white hair on his temples, not one or two, as if they had grown overnight.
He brushed his hair and stood in front of the mirror for a while, and suddenly he wanted to see his son and have a good meal with Sheng Wang on the first day of the new year.
Maybe it was because he was old, he wanted to hear Sheng Wang say in his teenage tone, "Comrade Sheng Mingyang, you've grown white hair," rather than having a decent career.
However, he raised his head, only to see Sheng Wang closing the menu and smiling at the waiter. He turned his head and asked, "Dad, do you want wine?"
Saying that he is not disappointed is a lie. Sheng Mingyang was silent for a while, then waved his hand and said, "No, water is fine. I have seen a few people who drink gout recently. I have to restrain myself."
If it was Shengwang when he was a child, he would definitely say "it's too late when you're lame". Now he just nodded and said, "It's not for socializing or drinking less."
The waiter brought the fish maw bottom and two dipping plates. Sheng Mingyang took a sip of water, and brought a smile to another topic: "I went to Hangzhou a while ago, and had a meal with Xiao Peng, and he even sued me, saying that you are busy day and night, and you will not be caught once. easy."
The full name of Xiao Peng in Sheng Mingyang's mouth is Peng Xie, and his WeChat name is Octagonal Crab. He has been in contact with Shengwang intermittently for so many years. The university he studied in Guangzhou, Sheng Wang went to visit him twice, and he also came to Beijing. After graduation, they were busy with each other, and it was a lot more difficult to meet and chat.
Crab has a good family background. After graduating from school, he couldn't stand it for two months. He borrowed some start-up capital from his father and resigned to make money in the sea. Because he has enough loyalty and can drink and talk, he actually mixes very well.
For a while, Sheng Mingyang's business encountered a hurdle, and he wanted to find someone to clear up the relationship, so he went around to his son, and Sheng Wang was looking for crabs.
With a string on both sides, Sheng Mingyang automatically crossed a generation and became a business partner with Crab.
"It's okay." Sheng Wang prepared the sauce and handed the empty plate to the waiter. "He was so excited when he became a father last time. Didn't I chat with him until three in the morning?"
Sheng Mingyang laughed, flipped through a few photos from his phone and showed it to Sheng Wang: "Have you seen his kid? I saw him the other day. He's pretty and straight."
"It's only been a few months since you can see that you have clear eyes and beautiful eyes?" Sheng Wang said angrily, "You said that Director Xu of the Political and Educational Office was well-mannered."
Sheng Mingyang reacted for a while before he remembered which Director Xu was, and then he was stunned.
Over the years, when their father and son met and chatted, they rarely mentioned the people and things in the attached middle school. It's like a restricted area. As long as you mention it, it will end in silence in all likelihood. Sheng Mingyang doesn't like to make fun of himself.
This is the first time that Shengwang has mentioned it actively, or in a joking tone. Sheng Mingyang felt inexplicably sour in his heart, as if the rock that had been pried for a long time finally showed signs of loosening, and he was almost moved as a father.
The thick golden soup of the fish maw chicken was bubbling in the pot, and the waiter scalded the wagyu beef for them and divided them into the plates of the two of them. Sheng Mingyang lowered his head in the steaming heat, and his tongue was burned because he ate in a hurry.
He drank a few sips of water and wanted to continue the topic and atmosphere, so he caught the crab and dug deeper. Talking about how he got married as soon as he graduated, how the loan he made with his father was finally paid off this year, and how his family of three had a face, they were all blessed. His parents didn't do anything recently, they revolved around their granddaughter every day, asking the stars not to give the moon.
In the interest of the above, I accidentally chatted into the minefield.
Sheng Mingyang said: "Whenever you can get me a gadget, my father can wash his hands in a golden basin and enjoy the joy of his family."
He just jumped on the line, and after he finished speaking, he felt that it was inappropriate, and when he saw Sheng Wang's chopsticks, he regretted it even more. But because the waiter was still scalding their meat, he slowly breathed a sigh of relief - there were outsiders, so Sheng Wang wouldn't say too much.
Sheng Wang only stopped for a moment, and then continued to dip in the ingredients. After eating that mouthful and drinking water, he put down the cup and said, "This may not work. Or I will get you a cat, or bring one back later. If you want a grandson or a granddaughter, you have the final say."
Sheng Mingyang just picked up a chopstick of beef, and stopped when he heard this. He hung his chopsticks for a few seconds, then smiled gently: "Okay, you are still young, I know that people of your age are like this, if you ask, you don't have it, and if you ask again, you don't. "
Sheng Wang interrupted him, but his tone was calm: "It may be the same in the future."
Sheng Mingyang raised his eyes and was about to open his mouth when Sheng Wang said again, "Jiang Tian has returned to China."
Silence instantly spread between father and son. Sheng Mingyang finally lost his appetite and put down his chopsticks. He glanced at the waiter, who didn't look sideways after the last piece of meat was cooked, put it on the plate, said "slow use" and walked away in a timely manner.
At that moment, time seemed to go back to that day a few years ago. They also sat in the car in silence until one of them spoke up.
It was Sheng Mingyang at first, but this time it was Sheng Wang.
He said: "Just a few days ago, he returned to China to do a project, and we met at a dinner party."
There was no expression on Sheng Mingyang's face, he frowned, and it took a long time to answer: "Then what?"
"I was with him when you called me this morning." Sheng Wang paused for a while and said calmly, "I still like him, and I still plan to be with him."
Sheng Mingyang's fingers on the table twitched.
For a moment, he thought, if it weren't for a restaurant like this, if there weren't so many people around... But then he realized, so what? Sheng Wang is no longer the young man he just dragged away.
Then, another cognitive tide surged up from below. He finally knew why Sheng Wang was smiling the moment he answered the phone, and finally why the rock started to loosen.
It's absurd, as a father, he was anxiously looking forward to this day, and at the same time wanted to press it back. He wants the result, not the cause.
But it is not up to him to have the final say, he can only choose to accept it completely, or smash it completely.
Sheng Mingyang stared at a certain point on the table for a long time, took a deep breath, and then raised his eyes and said, "What if I still have the same attitude as before."
"It's normal." Sheng Wang said, "It would be more surprising if you changed me. But what I want to say is different from before."
"You said at that time, let me tell everyone that I like men and see how others react." Sheng Wang smiled lightly and said, "You haven't been here for a few years, so maybe you don't know. I told many people After that, as long as someone asks, I dare to say. The conclusion is very strange, no one pointed at me and said you are crazy."
Sheng Mingyang couldn't help but said: "Those are outsiders, of course outsiders don't care about you!"
"So outsiders don't care, what are the family worried about? Worried that I will be called absurd and perverted? This logic is very strange, don't you think?" Sheng Wang smiled and said helplessly, "Dad, except for you , I really never heard anyone say that to me again."
Sheng Mingyang fell silent for a moment.
After a long time, he held the cup and said solemnly, "That's in person, how do you know that people don't say it behind their backs?"
"There are so many people on the street that I can't count what they say behind their backs every day. This person is smooth, that person is dull, this person is too tall, that person is too short, this person is brilliant, and that person is worthless, just behind the scenes. It said that I like men, is there any difference between what I said just now? Who is not told?"
Sheng Mingyang was speechless.
Sheng Wang looked at him and said, "At that time you asked me why I was sad if I didn't think it was absurd. Why else, Dad?"
Sheng Mingyang of course knew why, but he just changed the concept when questioning. He said to Jiang Tian that "Sheng Wang is soft-hearted", how could he not know why his son was sad.
The world is like a giant cycle. In order to make him happy, Sheng Wang has never been happy again in recent years. Now it was his turn to be cautious, and he just wanted to change Sheng Wang for a smile.
Sheng Wang said: "I dare to go to the cemetery now, and I dare to tell my mother that I like Jiang Tian and that I want to be with him. I think my mother should not scold me, and may even say Happy New Year to me."
He was silent for a long time, then raised his eyes and said to Sheng Mingyang, "Will you tell me this?"
For a moment, Sheng Mingyang almost opened his mouth. But maybe because of too long silence, his tongue was rusted, and his heart was sour, but he couldn't say those four words.
Sheng Wang didn't persecute either, he had the decency and harmony of an adult, and he was as soft-hearted as when he was a teenager.
They finished the meal in near silence. Sheng Wang wanted to drive him back, but Sheng Mingyang said that the snowy road was slippery, so he didn't have to go back and forth.
Maybe the father and son are like this. They can't say what they want to hear, and there is always a pile of useless nagging. In the end, Sheng Wang called a special car for him.
When Sheng Mingyang got into the car, Sheng Wang stood outside the car window and held the door for him. Before leaving, he said to him, "Dad, happy new year."
This sentence made him feel a lot of pain in his heart.
Sheng Wang stood for a while under the bright yellow light in front of the store, until the car disappeared into the stream of taillights that formed a line on the long street. The snow stopped for an afternoon, and now the sky is falling all over again. Sheng Wang raised his scarf and was about to walk to the parking lot, when he saw a familiar figure coming down from the overpass holding an umbrella.
That man, like when he was a teenager, likes to keep his front open, and looks tall, thin and deserted in the northern night. The hem of his coat was blown up by the wind, and the snow foam hit it, leaving little wet marks.
He walked down the steps to the front of the store, swept the snow off the front and said to Shengwang, "Is it cool without an umbrella?"
Sheng Wang's brows, which had been stiff all night, finally relaxed. He shook the key in his hand and said, "I'm driving."
"Why did you come here?" Sheng Wang walked side by side with him to the car.
Jiang Tian pointed to the opposite commercial area: "I happened to be eating there, and I came here when I saw you said that the bungalows were hot pot."
"Fortunately, I stood for a while, or would you chase after my car?" Sheng Wang said.
"I'm crazy to chase a car in snow." Jiang Tian said calmly.
"It seems more emotional."
"forget it."
Sheng Wang's idle hand silently stretched out a middle finger, before he could straighten it, his brother pressed it back with precision.
"How's the work going?" Jiang Tian asked.
Sheng Wang sat in the driver's seat and fastened his seat belt. He started the car, swept away the thin layer of snow on the windshield, and merged into the traffic on the street before he said, "It's not actually work. My dad asked me for dinner, and I went out of the closet with him by the way."
Jiang Tian almost had a psychological shadow on "Sheng Mingyang looking for Sheng Wang alone", and frowned upon hearing this.
Sheng Wangxin said otherwise I would step on the accelerator before speaking. He freed one hand to block Jiang Tian's eyes and said, "I'm driving, accidents are easy to happen in snowy days, don't disturb me with your sight."
"Then you lied to me about work?"
"I know I'm wrong, and I'm confessing to be lenient." Sheng Wang quibble.
Jiang Tian glanced at his expression, thinking who to coax, you know shit.
"The main reason for me to go there alone is to reason with the old comrade. The two of you are demonstrating, so he must not throw the pot?" Sheng Wang smiled and looked at the traffic ahead, and after a while he said seriously: "Don't worry, it won't be like that. It's the same again."
After a long time, Jiang Tian slowly relaxed, and said solemnly, "Well."
Sheng Wang said, "My dad seems to be a little relieved."