29. Together
Holding your face gently with both hands
Dry your tears
There is still room for dreams. I am still by your side.
Never gone far
—Andy Lau, "Entanglement"
Just after the Little New Year, the sound of firecrackers outside never stopped. Every household hung up big red lanterns and colorful lights, which were kept on all night, making the community red and festive.
After washing the dishes, Liao Weixin walked into the living room and saw Bai Jiming curled up on the sofa, fiddling with two train tickets in his hands.
"What? Are you going on a trip?" Liao Weixin asked casually and picked up the remote control on the coffee table.
"No, it's a ticket to go home." Bai Jiming handed it to him. Liao Weixin took it and saw that it was indeed a one-way train ticket from S City to H City. "Oh, when are you leaving? Why two tickets? Who are you with?"
"With you." Bai Jiming looked at him in surprise and laughed, "If not you, who else can I be with?"
Liao Weixin took a breath and raised his voice: "You mean, you want me to go with you to meet your parents during the New Year?"
Bai Jiming nodded.
Liao Weixin frowned: "Why are you always like this? I told you that you need to discuss anything with me. Why didn't you tell me earlier about such a big thing?"
"What's there to say? Shouldn't we go home for the New Year?" Bai Jiming shrugged, looking as if it was a matter of course.
Liao Weixin sighed helplessly: "That's not going to your house with you. Now that it's clear, you have to give me some time and let your parents be mentally prepared."
"What are you preparing for? Didn't you tell them a long time ago?"
"Did they agree? Have you forgotten your mother's reaction? She couldn't accept it at all."
"That's why I went back. I went back and told them that we just want to be together."
"You are too willful." Liao Weixin tried to persuade him. "By the way, the last time you suddenly came home and came out, I strongly disapproved. Jiming, it's only been half a year since we met. We have just adapted to this change and have the courage to face reality. How can we bear more shocks? And your parents have only known about our relationship for less than a few months. It is still unknown whether they can tolerate and understand the complete overthrow of their decades of assumptions and hopes. At this time, if we go back together and stand in front of them, what will they think? Can they accept it? Jiming, you did this too suddenly."
"What's so sudden? I already told them about our relationship. Why don't they know?"
"Hearing and seeing are two different things."
"Then what do you say we should do?!" Bai Jiming's face turned cold and he sat up straight. "Hide and conceal yourselves for the rest of your life? Never see each other during the holidays? Love each other like glue in this house, but become strangers and go their separate ways when you leave the house? Liao Weixin, is this the happy life you want?!"
"No." Liao Weixin scratched his hair in annoyance. "What I mean is, wait a little longer, a little later, and ease the situation a little. Let everyone have a process of understanding. You are so rash that you have to intensify the conflict. What if your parents don't agree no matter what? What if they conflict with you? Have you thought about these?"
Bai Jiming stood up and sneered, "It's really strange. I'm not afraid, so what are you afraid of? In the end, you just don't want to go back with me to face it. Liao Weixin, you were the one who wanted to be with me in the beginning, but now you're the one who's afraid of the wolf and the tiger and is backing off. If you know you can't do it, you shouldn't have promised it in the first place. Let's just play with each other and we can still part ways amicably."