early morning.
The bedroom was quiet and dim, the bed was dishevelled, heavy breathing sounds could be heard faintly, and clothes were scattered on the floor.
Everything was so hazy and ambiguous, until - whoosh!
The floor-length curtains were drawn, and sunlight poured in. Yang Xiaodao turned around with a spatula in hand, looking down at the big bed:
"Get up, eat, I want to go to school."
Bai Sheng was wearing a pair of boxer shorts, lying at a 45-degree angle, and covered his head with the quilt, saying, "Stupid kid, you don't go to school until this afternoon. Supervisor Shen will come to pick you up in the morning to register for the rating. Let me sleep a little longer..."
Yang Xiaodao took a glimpse of the object next to the pillow and was shocked: "What are you holding in your hand?"
Bai Sheng was seen holding a pillow in his right hand and pressing a file with his left hand. The file itself was very new, and it looked like he had only flipped through it twice since he got it; but the photo on the title page had been flipped over and over by him and caressed until the edges were frayed. It must have been cut from a newspaper. The inspector of Shenhai City was standing in the rain with a black umbrella, revealing only his pale and beautiful chin.
"Ahem—" Bai Sheng yawned sleepily, "Please, let me sleep a little longer. I lay in bed last night looking at your photo of Supervisor Shen, and I missed you so much that I didn't fall asleep until after three o'clock..."
Yang Xiaodao stood there like a petrified man, blurting out two words after a long while: "... Missing?"
Bai Sheng: “Hmm.”
An indescribable realization shook the boy's pure heart. For a long while he couldn't believe it: "-Missing?!"
"Hmm." Bai Sheng said lazily, "Adults will miss each other, what's wrong?"
The boy was finally forced to face the real and terrifying adult world. He stood there in despair, opening and closing his mouth, opening and closing it again. After a long while, he finally raised the confusion that had been hidden in his heart for a long time:
“… I have a question.”
Bai Sheng closed his eyes: "Tell me your question."
"You are all adults now, can't you think about other things, such as solving global warming, climate change, energy crisis and education for people in poor areas?"
“… … … ”
Bai Sheng opened his eyes and looked at Yang Xiaodao expressionlessly. After a while, he said solemnly, "Thank you, son. It is my blessing to raise you."
Ding Dong! Ding Dong!
"Hey, the person I miss is here!" Bai Sheng suddenly became more energetic. He stuffed the file and photos under his pillow, rushed into the bathroom, and ordered without looking back: "Just say that I was thinking about global warming until after five o'clock last night. Remember!"
Yang Xiaodao: “…”
The young man looked up at the sky in silence, then went to open the door in his slippers. Outside the door was the thin, neatly-uniformed Inspector of Shenhai City, with beautiful and clear features, and his hands, wrapped in black leather gloves, were folded in front of him in an elegant and calm manner.
In fact, it was an image that was perfect enough to inspire awe, but the first thing that came to Yang Xiaodao's mind was the unfortunate photo under his guardian's pillow.
"…" Yang Xiaodao felt mixed emotions, "Good morning."
Shen Zhuo looked him up and down, a little surprised: "You are..."
The sixteen-year-old rebellious boy, with a lean and sturdy build, was wearing a black vest and boxer shorts, a floral apron given as a supermarket gift tied around his waist, a pair of light blue non-slip kitchen slippers on his feet, and a sizzling frying pan in his hand, with two fried eggs, a few mushrooms and a handful of green spinach dripping with oil and salt.