On the weekend, Zhou Ziheng started to wake up Xia Xiqing early in the morning for the first time. However, Xia Xiqing was very sleepy and covered himself in the quilt and didn't want to come out. Zhou Ziheng had no choice but to coax and pull him to sit up from the bed.
"What are you doing..." Xia Xiqing asked without even opening his eyes, "Isn't today Saturday..."
"Yeah, something's up."
"You didn't sleep last night because something happened," Xia Xiqing closed his eyes and threw a pillow at Zhou Ziheng, "You were busy until three o'clock... I'm so sleepy."
"Hey, hey, don't sleep." Zhou Ziheng held him in his arms and patted his back twice, "Who told you to seduce me last night?"
"You still say?"
"No, no, it's me who can't do it. I can't bear it." Zhou Ziheng smiled and wrapped his legs around his waist, put his arms around his neck, and held him up like a child.
"Oh, I really... I don't want to remember..."
"Get up, there's something serious going on." Zhou Ziheng carried him to the bathroom, "I've squeezed out the toothpaste for you, look."
Xia Xiqing, who was put down, still didn't look at it. He leaned on Zhou Ziheng with his eyes closed and didn't say anything. He was so sleepy that he could fall asleep while standing. But Zhou Ziheng was already very satisfied. He thought back to when Xia Xiqing got up, he would curse when he was woken up.
"Be good, wash up first, I'll make you something delicious later." As he said that, he helped Xia Xiqing put on the slippers at the bathroom door.
After this disturbance, Xia Xiqing also sobered up a lot. He picked up the mouthwash cup to brush his teeth and wash his face. When his face was full of water droplets, he looked up and saw Zhou Ziheng preparing to apply aftershave. He grabbed Zhou Ziheng's wrist and said, "You haven't even shaved off the stubble."
"Where?" Zhou Ziheng turned his head to check in the mirror.
A drop of water entered his eyeball. Xia Xiqing frowned and poked the upper edge of his mouth with his cold fingers. "Here. Forget it, I'll shave it for you." After that, he pushed Zhou Ziheng's chest and pushed him all the way to the toilet. "Sit here."
Zhou Ziheng sat down obediently and watched Xia Xiqing open the cabinet next to the mirror and take out a razor and foam shaving cream. He was wearing a set of light gray cotton pajamas. He rolled up his sleeves to his forearms when washing his face, and stretched out his hands when taking things, revealing a section of his white arms. His profile looked well-behaved.
"The electric one just can't scrape cleanly, let's use the manual one." Xia Xiqing walked to Zhou Ziheng's side with the tools and squatted down first, but Zhou Ziheng was too tall, even when he was sitting. So he stood up and bent down to lift his face, but he was also tall and it was difficult for him to bend over.
Zhou Ziheng held back his laughter and stretched out his hand to pull him into his arms, "This position is more convenient."
Here it comes again. Xia Xiqing knocked Zhou Ziheng on the head with the handle of a manual razor and sat astride him. Zhou Ziheng folded his hands and placed them on his lower back, his eyes seemed to be glued to Xia Xiqing.
The face in his field of vision was magnified a lot. He could even see the tiny hairs on Xia Xiqing's fair face, and his lips that he would habitually purse when he was concentrating. The action of pursing them made them look softer, like two cherries pressed together. With a little more effort, just a little bit, it would be enough to make the juice overflow.
Xia Xiqing's movements were very gentle. He rubbed the shaving cream into foam in his palm and then applied it to his face. He held the handle of the razor lightly and gently scraped the part that was difficult to shave. His eyes were focused on that point. His brows were slightly furrowed. His long eyelashes were illuminated by the warm light of the bathroom, casting long, trembling shadows on the thin skin under his eyes.
All the tiny details are combined to create a heart-warming attraction.
"It seems a little cleaner..." Xia Xiqing tilted her head, wanting to take a closer look, but as soon as she tilted her head, Zhou Ziheng took the opportunity to kiss her, "Hmm... Hmm!"
He hit Zhou Ziheng's shoulder, but Zhou Ziheng had no intention of letting him go. The hands clasped at his waist caressed his back and his embrace tightened. The citrus aroma from the foam mixed with a hint of herbal bitterness rubbed from one face to another, like the entity of an infected desire.
Xia Xiqing didn't want to let Zhou Ziheng succeed so quickly, so he clenched his teeth maliciously. Unexpectedly, Zhou Ziheng kissed his lips patiently, while he used his hand to move down along Xia Xiqing's slightly protruding spine to the lowest point, and gently rubbed his coccyx.
"Hmm..." Xia Xiqing accidentally loosened his lips after being caught, and Zhou Ziheng took advantage of the opportunity to enter his mouth, with the tip of his tongue pressing into his moist and soft mouth. The remaining mint scent was warmed by his lingering lips and tongue. Xia Xiqing simply gave up resistance, and the razor fell to the ground, and the sound it made became the horn of an intimate battle. His fingers caressed Zhou Ziheng's hair roots intimately, and his tongue licked his soft palate. His breath became heavier and heavier, and he hugged him tighter and tighter. Their hot chests pressed tightly together, rubbing against each other in an ambiguous way.
His lips loosened, the suffocation eased a little, Zhou Ziheng hugged his thin waist, kissed him from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes went down to Xia Xiqing's rolling Adam's apple. His upper body leaned back unconsciously, his slender neck, slightly raised chest and flexible waist curved into an arc of surging passion.
Xia Xiqing didn't like his teasing, the pleasure of scratching an itch was unpleasant. He held Zhou Ziheng's shoulders, lowered his head and kissed his lips, kissing him wetly, as if showing the fundamental desire for food of a person who was too hungry.
As the temperature continued to rise, the two of them melted into the misty and humid bathroom like fish into water, and the beauty of the morning evaporated along with the sound of panting.
After entering the cloakroom, Zhou Ziheng told him the real reason for getting up early.
"I told my parents that I'll take you back today." Zhou Ziheng took off his pajamas nonchalantly and searched for the sweatshirt he wanted to wear naked. Ever since the two of them got together, everything was mixed together.
Xia Xiqing was shocked by his words and was stunned for a moment, "What did you say?"
Zhou Ziheng turned around and said, "I'll take you home."
"You must be joking." Xia Xiqing was confused for a moment, and sat down on the lazy sofa in the cloakroom, "What home are you going back to?"
"No kidding." Zhou Ziheng finally found his gray-blue sweatshirt and put it on quickly, trying to pull Xia Xiqing up, "Hurry up and change your clothes. I told them I'll be there in the morning."
"I..." Xia Xiqing hesitated, "No, do I have to go?"
"Of course." Zhou Ziheng squatted down and kissed him, "What's wrong?"
"What if..."
What if your parents don't like me? Xia Xiqing held back and didn't say it, but he was sure in his heart that the word home was too far away for him, not only far away, but also a forbidden zone.
A person like him should not be liked by Zhou Ziheng's family. It seems that people from that kind of family would not have a favorable impression of homosexuality, especially him, who is not well-behaved or docile at all. Zhou Ziheng was taught so well by them, he must be their most precious child. They must be very angry that their most precious child was abducted by a bad boy like him.
The more he thought about it, the more panicked he became. Xia Xiqing gritted his teeth and said nothing. Zhou Ziheng did not force him, but just sat down with him face to face and played with his hands.
To be honest, this is not like him at all. He, Xia Xiqing, has never been afraid of anyone and has never backed down no matter what happened.
But now he retreated, very truly retreated. It was not because he was afraid that his parents would stop him, but because he was afraid that Zhou Ziheng's perfect family relationship would be cracked because of his intervention.
"I think your parents might not like me." After a long silence, Xia Xiqing finally spoke calmly, "To be rational, few parents would like someone like me."
Zhou Ziheng could clearly feel that Xia Xiqing was becoming less and less confident in himself, a lack of confidence that was clearly revealed, but he was also very clear that this was the real Xia Xiqing. He had always been inferior, but in the past he had habitually used arrogance and pride to conceal his inner feelings.
After the beautiful hard shell peels off, the scarred child will be very scared, curl up his hands and feet, and dare not see anyone.
"No." Zhou Ziheng held his hand, "They are not that kind of people. And you are already very good, you are very good." He touched Xia Xiqing's cheek, "You are the best in my eyes."
Xia Xiqing finally raised her head, forced a smile at him, and stood up to change clothes. Zhou Ziheng couldn't understand his panic and helplessness, and he didn't understand his natural fear of the word "parents". But it didn't matter, he loved Zhou Ziheng. He was willing to step out of his comfort zone for Zhou Ziheng.
"Should I go take a shower now?" Xia Xiqing suddenly felt that he was being too careless. "I'll be quick, five minutes."
"No need." Zhou Ziheng pulled him back, holding his shoulders and letting him face the row of clothes. "Change your clothes and let's go."
Xia Xiqing suddenly asked, "What should I wear?" He turned over one piece of clothing after another, "Should I wear something simpler? What colors do your parents like? They..."
He was too anxious. Zhou Ziheng hugged him from behind and said softly, "Xi Qing."
"They won't judge you based on the clothes you wear, and similarly, they won't judge your character based on outside opinions." Zhou Ziheng put his arm around his waist. "I'm taking you there this time just to introduce you. Let's meet, don't be nervous."
There was a wonderful comfort in his embrace, and Xia Xiqing felt that the panicked self was gradually calming down.
The weather was still very cold, and the two of them finally went out wearing the same down jacket, Zhou Ziheng's was black and Xia Xiqing's was white. Xiao Luo was already waiting for them in the car.
After getting in the car, Xia Xiqing was very quiet and didn't say a word. Even Xiao Luo noticed that something was wrong and looked at him in the rearview mirror. "What's wrong with Xiqing? Why does he look so bad?"
Xia Xiqing was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously raised his hand to rub his face, "Do I look bad?"
"Not bad." Zhou Ziheng couldn't help laughing, holding up his red cheeks. The tip of his nose was a little red from the cold when he went out, and with this harmless face, he looked adorable. "Let me see, it's so good-looking."
Xiao Luo looked like he was asking me what I had done wrong and why I had to eat dog food. "What's wrong with Xi Qing? He doesn't seem to be in good shape."
"Nothing." Zhou Ziheng answered directly for him, "He likes me too much. He likes me so much that he doesn't even dare to meet his parents."
Xia Xiqing pushed Zhou Ziheng away and turned his head away. He wanted to say, "Stop the car, I won't go." But the words came to his lips and turned around. Since he was with Zhou Ziheng, he gradually lost his ability to talk nonsense.
I couldn't bear to say anything harsh to him, and I couldn't bear to lose my temper.
Just like Zhou Ziheng said, he really liked him too much.
When arriving at Zhou Ziheng's family home, Xia Xiqing felt nervous and a little embarrassed. After all, the last time he came to this place was through some illegal means.
The person who opened the door was an auntie wearing a pair of silver-framed glasses and with outstanding temperament. Xia Xiqing recognized at first sight that this must be Zhou Ziheng's mother. They looked very similar, both were beauties with excellent bone structure.
"You're here?" Mother Zhou smiled and spoke softly, "I was just about to call Hengheng to ask if you were stuck in traffic. Come in quickly." As she spoke, she gently pulled Xia Xiqing's arm, "Is it very cold outside?"
Xia Xiqing smiled awkwardly, "Not bad."
"This is my mother." Zhou Ziheng walked in with Xia Xiqing by the hand. "Mom, this is Xiqing."
"I know." Mother Zhou smiled gently, "I've watched your show."
"Hello, Auntie." Xia Xiqing bent down, "Sorry to bother you."
"Don't disturb us. We've been waiting for you." Mother Zhou led two people in. Xia Xiqing's eyes fell on the middle-aged man sitting on the sofa in the living room. His upper body was sitting straight. He was reading a newspaper, but he stood up when he saw someone coming in.
It seems that Zhou Ziheng inherited the good looks of his parents, as well as his father's height.
However, Zhou's father looked like Zhou Ziheng, both of them were intimidating and distant. Before he even got close, Xia Xiqing said, "Hello, uncle."
"Yeah." Father Zhou nodded, with his hands behind his back, "Please sit down, sit down." After saying that, he sat down by himself, "The tea I made for you has gotten cold, so I just made another cup." He was about to pick it up, but paused, "Xi Qing, do you want some tea? Or should I ask Aunt Hong to make you some coffee?"
Xia Xiqing waved his hand flatteredly, "No need, uncle, I'll just drink tea." After that, he picked up a cup, the small cracked celadon cup in his hand.
"Don't be nervous." Zhou's father immediately saw through his behavior and said to Zhou Ziheng, "Go to the kitchen and help your mother. She is going to cook lunch herself today."
Zhou Ziheng was sent away by him, leaving only Xia Xiqing and Zhou's father, facing each other with a coffee table between them.
"Don't be afraid." Zhou's father smiled. "In fact, before you came, Zhou Ziheng confessed to us about you and him."
Xia Xiqing could guess that, after all, Zhou Ziheng was not the kind of person who would be so willful as to come out publicly at an awards ceremony without telling his parents. He took a sip of tea, gently placed the cup on the coffee table, and listened quietly to what Zhou's father said.
"Actually, his mother and I called you here just to have a simple meal." Zhou's father picked up the teapot and added some tea to him. "You are his current love interest. We can't just watch you on TV, right?"
Xia Xiqing nodded. It had been a long time since he sat and talked with an older man like this. This unfamiliar feeling made him feel a little uneasy.
"You look pale, are you sick?"
He shook his head, "No, I'm not sick." He forced a smile, "You talk, I'm listening."
Father Zhou quickly realized something was wrong. He looked around the empty living room and then toward the kitchen. He realized something and said, "Am I putting pressure on you? How about I call that kid over..."
"No need," Xia Xiqing suddenly felt strange, "How do you know..."
"I heard him talk about your family. Actually, we shouldn't discuss these topics right away. I know it will make you feel uncomfortable if I talk about it."
Xia Xiqing pursed her lips and said, "It's okay. I'm much better now. I'm fine."
"You are very strong. If you were someone else who grew up in such an environment, you would have given up long ago." Zhou's father's eyes showed affirmation, "It's good to be strong. It's rare to be strong, and you are also very good."
Xia Xiqing was surprised to be suddenly affirmed by Zhou Ziheng's father. Zhou's father also saw the surprise on his face, "Do you think I will embarrass you? Why should I embarrass you? My son likes you. If I am really not satisfied, I will only embarrass my son."
Xia Xiqing opened his mouth. His usual sharp words were completely ineffective at this moment. Facing the parents of the person he loved, he just wanted to speak his mind sincerely, "I thought that a family like yours might not be able to accept your son being with me. I am a man like him, and I was born in a broken family, which resulted in my personality being greatly flawed, but..."
He lowered his eyes, then raised them again, "Uncle, I have changed a lot, and it is because of Ziheng that I have changed. I love him very much, I can assure you of that."
This sentence was too pale. Xia Xiqing regretted it the moment he said it. Anyone can say they love him, just by opening their mouth.
Father Zhou didn't expect Xia Xiqing to confess so directly. He had seen the shows and interviews he had been on and knew how smart the kid was, so he didn't expect that at this moment he would choose such a simple and even clumsy way to win favor.
"I know. I've lived for so many years, and I have an accurate eye for people, if nothing else." Zhou's father smiled. "I won't hide it from you. When Zhou Ziheng confessed to me at the beginning, I lost my temper. The main reason was that I didn't expect that he would fall in love with a man. He has been in that circle since he was very young, and there are so many temptations, but he has never been entangled with anyone, and he has no one he likes."
Father Zhou frowned, "I was wondering at the time, how could he fall in love with you just by being on a show with you?"
"Later, I looked up a lot of information about you. You are indeed very talented, smart, and a charming child. But to be honest, after I looked it up, I was somewhat opposed to it, because your childhood experience was so..." He suddenly stopped talking, Xia Xiqing lowered his eyes and did not speak, "In my opinion, it was a time bomb."
"But later, I talked to his mother." Zhou's father sighed, "I felt that my view was wrong and biased."
Xia Xiqing suddenly felt that the father and son were really alike, their tone and wording of speech were exactly the same.
"I taught him this since he was young, but in the end I looked at people with tinted glasses. What's the point of teaching him then?" Zhou's father shook his head. "So I thought about it carefully and struggled for a long time. Later, his brother came to me and told me an incident from his childhood."
"He said, 'Dad, do you remember when Ziheng was a kid, he found a little sparrow with a broken leg in the yard? He treated it like a treasure, feeding it water and all kinds of food, but in the end the little bird still flew away, and he kept crying. It was you, Dad, who told him that this bird was not your appendage, it was independent, and you couldn't force it to stay with you just because you liked it."
Father Zhou smiled with emotion, "After his brother said this, I felt ashamed. I could tell Zhou Ziheng that this sparrow was an independent individual. Then why can't I treat my son as an independent individual until now?"
Xia Xiqing's heart was shaken, and he suddenly envied Zhou Ziheng. At this moment, he finally understood why Zhou Ziheng could be so outstanding and upright, and it all came from the nourishment of his family.
"Although he is my child, he is himself first." Father Zhou looked into Xia Xiqing's eyes. "He likes you and wants to be with you. These are the rights he should have. Even as a parent, I have no right to interfere. So don't worry, I won't do anything to hinder you. These things are meaningless. As a parent, protection and guidance are necessary, but letting go is more important."
Xia Xiqing felt a little sour in his nose. He tried hard to purse his lips and smiled despite all the emotions. He didn't know what to say at this moment, but he couldn't find the right words.
Father Zhou added, "Of course, he will bear the consequences alone."
This sentence was a reasonable question about their results, but Xia Xiqing's heart still inevitably twitched. He had never thought that there would be a bad result, and he was even more reluctant to give Zhou Ziheng a bad result.
"Uncle, I am not a person who can give others a sense of trust. Just saying something verbally may not be convincing, and I can't prove anything to you."
Xia Xiqing looked up at Zhou's father with a firm gaze, "But he is the only person I love, the first one in twenty-five years. I know better than anyone how hard it is to have this relationship, for both me and him. So I wonder if you can give me a little more trust, and not put pressure on him because of my problem. I always hope that he can be with me in a state blessed by his parents."
He thought for a moment and said, "Ziheng is different from me. He deserves the love of his father and mother."
As soon as she finished saying this, Zhou's mother came out from the corridor, "You are such a mean person, you scared the child." She walked to Xia Xiqing's side and sat down, touching Xia Xiqing's back, "Poor child." After saying that, she grabbed Xia Xiqing's hand again, her fingers were cold.
Mother Zhou glanced at Father Zhou in a reproachful manner, "What your Uncle Zhou actually wants to say is that he understands and respects you. And I can see that since Ziheng has been with you, he has become more alive. Just like he said at the award ceremony, it is because of you that he has filled the void in his relationship."
Zhou's mother patted his hands and said to him with a smile, "There is one more thing, Auntie wants to tell you, you are wrong, everyone deserves the love of their parents. If they don't have it, it is definitely not the child's fault, it is the parents' dereliction of duty."
Xia Xiqing gritted her teeth and forced back her tears. With red eyes, she said thank you to Zhou's mother in a low, hoarse voice.
At this moment, Zhou Ziheng walked into the living room and saw that Xia Xiqing was in a bad mood. He immediately went up to sit next to him and said to his father, "Dad, what did you say? You kept yelling at me to bring Xiqing back home." He was a little anxious, "You almost made him cry."
Xia Xiqing grabbed Zhou Ziheng's wrist and said, "No, Uncle Zhou, I'm not crying."
Father Zhou felt very aggrieved. "I didn't say anything. Xi Qing, tell me, did I scare you?"
Xia Xiqing was amused and said, "No, I was just too nervous."
Mother Zhou suddenly hugged Xia Xiqing, "Ah, my heart aches when I see you. Auntie really loves you." As she spoke, she started to cry, leaving Xia Xiqing at a loss, "Auntie..."
"My mother is here again. The first time I told her about you, she cried for a long time."
Mother Zhou cried more and more sadly. She hugged Xia Xiqing and kept touching his back and the back of his head, tears streaming down her face. "How could there be such a cruel person? How did you grow up to this age? You have suffered, child..." Zhou Ziheng kept using tissues to wipe Xia Xiqing's mother's tears through his shoulders.
The feeling was so foreign, he could barely remember what it felt like to be hugged by his mother.
Xia Xiqing came back to her senses, carefully hugged Mother Zhou back, and gently stroked her back, "Auntie, I'm fine. Don't cry, it's harmful to your health."
"Everything will be fine in the future." Mother Zhou tried to stop crying and touched Xia Xiqing's face. "Everything will get better and better in the future."
Xia Xiqing smiled and nodded, wiping away the tears from her eyes.
He finally understood where the gentle compassion in Zhou Ziheng's nature came from.
Even when they sat down at the table, Zhou Ziheng was still scolding his father. His father was still recalling and reflecting, muttering in a low voice, "What did I say wrong? No, I think it's pretty good... I thought about it for a long time..."
"Eat, eat." Mother Zhou picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and put it in Xia Xiqing's bowl. "Eat more. You are too thin."
Zhou Ziheng immediately fought for her favor, "Mom, what about me?"
"You've grown so tall, what are you eating? Do you want to grow into a giant?"
Zhou Ziheng changed his target and started to drag his father along to say bad things about his mother, "Mom, have you encountered any problems with your research recently? Your mood swings are so drastic."
"Isn't your mother always like that, crying and laughing at the same time?"
"Too."
Seeing the two grown men chattering at the table, Mother Zhou was too lazy to pay attention to them. She walked up to Xia Xiqing and spoke in a low voice.
"Xi Qing, I watched your live broadcast."
Xia Xiqing suddenly turned his head, his expression slightly stunned.
Mother Zhou smiled and said, "I can see that you love him very much. I feel relieved. The only thing is that your aunt has a request for you."
Xia Xiqing nodded blankly and put down the chopsticks in his hand solemnly, "You go ahead."
"Love yourself as much as you love him, okay?"
The author has something to say: Xia Xiqing has really changed a lot.
Children who lack parental love are often more inferior than those who grow up in happy families. Xia Xiqing's pride at the beginning was partly due to his natural intelligence and his arrogance, but mainly because he was very inferior in his heart, and he wanted to cover up this inferiority complex. But after he gave his heart to Zhou Ziheng, he gave him his outer shell and dark side, and he could no longer disguise himself.
Many parents in this world are unqualified, but they still hope that every child can have the love they deserve.