Jiang Jianchen didn't expect that after more than a year, he finally saw his son, but he saw such a humiliating scene.
Ji Minglun and Jiang Jianchen looked at each other, his hands still around Jiang Lin's shoulders and waist. Jiang Lin was breathing slightly. He was startled when he heard the scolding just now. When he saw who was outside the door, he calmed down. He looked away from Jiang Jianchen's face and said to Ji Minglun, "You go first, I'll talk to him."
Ji Minglun frowned. Although his current posture of kneeling on one knee on the chair with his upper body pressing on Jiang Lin was indecent, since he was caught by Jiang Jianchen, he had no intention of covering it up anymore, and there was no way he would leave Jiang Lin alone to face Jiang Jianchen's anger.
"I'll go with you." He returned to the driver's seat, took out his cell phone and quickly sent a voice message to his instructor to explain that he had something to do and would be late, and then he and Jiang Lin got out of the car one after another.
The car stopped in front of the iron gate of the apartment building. Ji Minglun was a little annoyed when he got out of the car. It was only evening and the sunset was bright. Even if the car was covered with anti-peep film, it didn't mean they could kiss without restraint. But he just wanted to cheer Jiang Lin up with this kiss and let Jiang Lin relax. Who would have thought that Jiang Jianchen would fall from the sky at this time.
Isn't he still on a business trip
Ji Minglun walked up to Jiang Lin with a serious expression. Jiang Jianchen saw them getting out of the car together, so he suppressed his anger, turned around and went upstairs first.
The sound of three people's footsteps could be heard in the corridor. Jiang Jianchen was extremely angry, but when a familiar neighbor in the stairwell greeted him, he would still put away his sour face and nod to the other party.
When they reached the door, Jiang Jianchen stepped aside. Jiang Lin opened the door with his fingerprint, entered the house, turned on the air conditioner remote control, went into the kitchen to get some water, and acted as if he didn't care at all about what had just happened.
Ji Minglun would be a little more restrained, after all, the person who caught him was Jiang Lin's father. Ji Minglun changed into his own slippers, took a pair of guest slippers from the shoe cabinet and put them at Jiang Jianchen's feet, then went into the bathroom to wash his hands.
Jiang Jianchen didn't change his slippers. He looked at the two people's reactions as if nothing had happened and was so stimulated that he almost lost control again.
Because of Tang Ying's matter, he has always felt guilty towards Jiang Lin over the years. He can accept that Jiang Lin doesn't like him, or even hates him, but Jiang Lin and he are still biological father and son, so there is nothing that can't be solved properly.
He walked to the sofa and sat down, put his right leg on top of his left leg, and looked patiently towards the kitchen.
Jiang Lin drank enough water, and when he came out, his expression was still indifferent. Without him asking, he said directly: "Things are just as you see. Minglun and I are together."
For a moment, Jiang Jianchen felt a black screen in front of his eyes, and the hot blood in his body rushed into his brain, causing him to have a splitting headache.
Jiang Jianchen clenched the fabric of his trousers with his five fingers on his knees, and he did some mental preparation before suppressing the urge to get angry at Jiang Lin.
He had never taken care of his son, and Jiang Lin had lived abroad for another year. Perhaps that was why he behaved so rebelliously. Jiang Lin was just young and immature, so he didn't need to push the already shaky father-son relationship into the abyss because of such a mistake. He only needed to guide Jiang Lin and make him understand that doing so would not benefit his future life.
He rushed over after getting off the plane. He originally wanted to give his son a surprise, but now it turned into a shock. His throat was so thirsty that it was smoking. He calmed down and got up to go to the kitchen to get some water. During this time, Ji Minglun came out, looked at his back and whispered, "Will your father accept it?"
"Whether he accepts it or not will not change my attitude," Jiang Lin looked at Ji Minglun, and a trace of uneasiness finally appeared in his calm eyes. "I'm just worried that if we're discovered so early, it will be hard to explain to your parents."
Ji Minglun smiled at him and said, "You are not afraid of your father, so my parents are even less of a problem."
Before Jiang Lin could answer, Jiang Jianchen's footsteps came over. He sat back on the sofa and said calmly for the first time: "You two, sit down. Let's talk."
Ji Minglun didn't move until Jiang Lin sat down first, then he sat down on the other side.
Jiang Jianchen turned to him first and said earnestly: "Minglun, uncle has always treated you as half a son, and I am very relieved to let Jiang Lin play with you. You two are both boys, still young and ignorant. You may have some illusions after spending a long time together. If..."
"Uncle Jiang," Ji Minglun interrupted Jiang Jianchen and said sincerely, "It's not an illusion. I have liked Jiang Lin since high school. I know exactly what I want."
Jiang Jianchen was already unhappy because he was interrupted by him. Now he saw him speaking disobediently, and his anger rose immediately: "What do you know about love? Have you ever considered the future of the two of you?!"
Compared to Jiang Jianchen's uncontrolled speech speed, Ji Minglun still explained calmly: "Jiang Lin and I being together will not affect our respective futures. We are both adults and will be responsible for our own actions."
"How are you going to take responsibility!" Jiang Jianchen yelled, and finally stood up when he could no longer bear it.
He put his hands on his hips, turned half a circle on the spot, raised his right hand to unbutton the first button of his shirt, and looked at his son who had been silent.
Jiang Lin leaned back in his chair and looked at him with his eyelids raised in a relaxed posture. Jiang Jianchen waited for a moment, and seeing that Jiang Lin had no intention of speaking, thinking that it would be difficult for Ji Minglun to talk here, he said to Ji Minglun: "You go back first today, and Jiang Lin and I will talk first."
Ji Minglun looked at Jiang Lin, who gave him a reassuring look: "Go help your instructor first."
Ji Minglun didn't want to leave, but if he stayed here, it would only increase Jiang Jianchen's anger. He stood up, looked at Jiang Lin again, and said to Jiang Jianchen: "Uncle Jiang, I'll leave first."
Jiang Jianchen ignored him and waited until he left before sitting down again.
With no outsiders present, Jiang Jianchen regained his senses and tried to explain the pros and cons to Jiang Lin.
"You haven't entered society yet, so you don't know the cruel side of society. Dad is telling you this for your own good. If someone finds out that you and Minglun are gay in the future, your friends and colleagues will all look at you differently."
"Even the neighbors in this building will point fingers at you behind your back." Jiang Jianchen raised his hand and pointed outside the door. "Just like they would smile to my face and talk about our family situation behind my back, your life and work will be messed up and you won't be able to go out and see people."
"Do you think it's too late to regret when that happens?"
Jiang Jianchen was trying to persuade him earnestly, but Jiang Lin started laughing before he finished. When he finally finished speaking, Jiang Lin sneered, "You still know that others are talking about our family behind our backs?"
Jiang Jianchen was stunned for a moment, and Jiang Lin's smile disappeared in an instant, and his expression turned cold again: "Minglun and I just came back from paying homage to my mother this afternoon. You know what you did before my mother passed away. Why are you putting on airs in front of me now?"
"You have never fulfilled your responsibilities as a father. If Minglun hadn't been with me all the time, I don't know what I would have become after my mother passed away."
Jiang Lin had been holding these words in his heart for many years, and he had long been unwilling to say them out loud. But at this moment, he didn't want Jiang Jianchen to interfere in his life anymore, so he decided to say them all at once.
Apart from giving him money, this man never gave him the fatherly love and complete family he wanted most. Even his mother passed away because of this man.
Jiang Lin stood up and called him by his full name for the first time: "Jiang Jianchen, you didn't care about me before, and you don't have the right to care about me now. If you still want me to call you dad in the future, this matter ends here. Minglun and I will never separate just because you don't accept it."
However, in just a minute or two, Jiang Jianchen's expression changed from anger to astonishment. He raised his chin slightly and looked at the son in front of him who was becoming more and more unfamiliar to him unknowingly, but his thoughts still lingered on the moment Jiang Lin said Tang Ying's name.
The black and white portrait of Tang Ying in the mourning hall covered the center of Jiang Lin's iris again, creating a distorted fusion with Jiang Lin's face. Then came the scene of Tang Ying arguing with him over a woman a few months before his death, the scene of Jiang Lin breaking down several times during the cremation and yelling at him to get out in front of all his relatives and friends, and the memory of Jiang Lin refusing to call him dad or even meet him for two whole years.
Jiang Jianchen sat in silence, not even noticing when Jiang Lin entered the room. Jiang Lin also ignored the people outside. He locked the door of the second bedroom, lay down and stared at the ceiling. His heartbeat was a little fast, but his breathing was even. After lying down for a while, he took out his phone, unlocked it and saw the voice message from Ji Minglun.
"What's going on? Don't argue with him. If you can't make sense, there's no need to argue."
"I've turned down the professor's business and am now parked across from your neighborhood. Let me know when you're done."
"Jiang Lin, don't worry about my parents. You don't need to worry so much with me here."
After listening to three pieces of news in a row, Jiang Lin imagined Ji Minglun parking his car opposite the community and looking over anxiously, and couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth. But as he smiled, the corners of his mouth slid down again, and his eyes lost focus.
When he said those harsh words to Jiang Jianchen just now, he felt very happy, as if the resentment that had been stuck in his heart for many years had finally dissipated. But after venting, he felt confused again. The resentment was gone, and he seemed to have lost the support he was used to. His chest became empty and he had the illusion of loss.
Not long after, he heard footsteps in the living room. He listened carefully and saw that it was Jiang Jianchen who opened the door and left.
Sitting up from the bed, Jiang Lin called Ji Minglun. The phone rang and was picked up. Ji Minglun asked nervously, "How is Tan? Are you okay?"
With his eyelashes lowered, Jiang Lin smiled silently again.
Apart from the year he went to Los Angeles, whenever he encountered troubles over the years, Ji Minglun would be the first to ask about his condition, wait for his answer in an anxious tone, and let him know that even without the company of his loved ones, there was still an embrace that was always open to him.
Holding the phone tightly, at this moment he suddenly wanted to return to that embrace.
Lowering his voice, he whispered to the person on the other end of the phone: "He's gone, come over."
"I really want to see you now."