Chapter 31

The sweet and sour orange juice burst in my mouth. Su Yu put one orange into the cupboard and fed me several more.

Last night, my dad said an old friend was visiting him. When he opened the door, he saw Su Yu and me sitting by the door looking sullen. Then he noticed that our son was dangling large pearls. I guess he wanted to comfort him, but the game of "Guan Dan" had already started, so he just hurriedly said a few words of concern and told us to go back to our room to sleep before leaving.

After all that commotion, Su Yu felt much better. He looked at his simple-minded father, who still had to keep his sleeping mother from going out to play, and he smiled through his tears.

"Forget it, let's just take it one step at a time."

As the final fireworks display came to an end, Su Yu stood up and shivered. The white breath she exhaled made us belatedly realize that it was winter, but the cold seemed to have no effect on our reality.

I took off my coat and draped it over him, thinking he was going back inside, so I quickly grabbed the doorknob and pushed it open.

Su Yu turned around and pushed the door back with her back, leaving six narrow gaps. She stood on tiptoe and bit the tip of my nose.

...

Grandma is getting old, but she insisted on making breakfast for us. I had no choice but to wash up early and sit on the sofa waiting for her signature dishes.

Very salty steamed buns, very fishy egg drop soup, and undercooked pancakes.

"Try it and see if it's good. I just picked these vegetables this morning!"

"Grandma's skills are as good as ever!"

"Good boy, eat more!"

"Hahaha, all done!"

When Mom came out of the bathroom, she saw that the table had been cleared clean and there was still hot food. She picked up a steamed bun and tried it.

"My goodness! Salt is free, look how much you put in!"

I know my mom isn't one to beat around the bush. Although I'm usually intimidated by her words and actions, it seems she's the only one who can save me and Su Yu right now.

The old lady was puzzled, saying the two children seemed to enjoy the meal, while the mother said they were just too embarrassed to say it.

Mom rolled up her sleeves again to cook new dishes, using pots and pans.

The sound of a cane came, and Grandpa, all dressed up, came to eat. He could tell at a glance who had made the food on the table, and he picked up a steamed bun and slowly put it in his mouth to chew.

He didn't know how long that bite had been processed in his mouth, but with a gurgling sound in his Adam's apple, he finally swallowed it.

The old man slowly closed his eyes and remained silent.

When the steaming hot porridge was served, Mom thought Grandpa had fallen asleep while eating, so she patted him.

The somewhat heavy-looking old man did not respond.

"It's really hard to eat."

His eyes remained closed, and the three large characters he uttered were like a skilled craftsman hammering nails into a wooden board.

People at this age seem to have a kind of endearing simplicity. The old man, with a ruddy complexion, said this in a serious tone, which immediately caused a burst of laughter.

Grandma's face was creased with wrinkles, and her toothless mouth mumbled and cursed at Grandpa. Mom said the curses were quite harsh.

The old lady slapped the grandfather several times across the face, but the most senior man in the Su family remained seated as if he were a mountain, letting his beloved wife beat him.

The morning passed warmly amidst laughter. Su Yu pulled me to watch TV with my grandparents. Grandma said the TV had no sound, so all we could see was the picture.

I picked up the remote to check and casually turned up the volume by two notches.

There's sound now.

The two high-ranking elderly people said that this top student is indeed different.

It was almost time to finish lunch. Su Yu and I washed the dishes, and the two elderly people were about to take their afternoon nap.

It's a sunny day, and my aunt and mom are talking about going out. They asked if Su Yu and I wanted to go.

It's been half an hour since I arrived. Could it be that staying home and not exercising these past few days has made me weaker? Outside the window, yellow dust and fine sand are flying everywhere, and I feel so dizzy I want to die.

Su Yu sensed my discomfort and told me to lie down on his lap for a while. As soon as I lay down, the faint fragrance of his clothes soothed me, and Su Yu gently patted me like he was comforting a baby.

"I want to sleep on my brother's lap too!"

With a bang, I felt someone hit me on the head.

My little cousin, without saying a word, pushed my head to the side with his head, intending to occupy the other half of Su Yu's thigh!

Taking advantage of her size, she took off her shoes, lay down on the seat, faced Su Yu, and hugged his waist.

This is infuriating!

I glared at him and tried to push him away with my head, but he pulled back, and I found an opening, so he lay down on my head. His paws started groping Su Yu's body, and he kept giggling!

The two ladies were chatting enthusiastically, talking about everything from each other's husbands' families.

"Brother, why is your neck bleeding?" The little kid crawled into the scarf that Su Yu was wrapped in, then crawled out again to ask him.

Upon hearing that Su Yu was injured, Mom's ears suddenly became incredibly sharp. She immediately turned around to check.

Actually, it wasn't an injury, and the culprit was also in the car. The brat yanked off Su Yu's scarf again, revealing scattered red spots on his neck that, though lighter than before, were still noticeable.

"What happened to you? Have you been having an allergic reaction to anything you've eaten recently?"

Just when we were wondering how to smooth things over, my aunt's casual question gave us some ideas.

"Hmm, it must be because there was some soybean or something in the pastry I ate yesterday, haha."

Should I take you to the hospital to get checked out?

"don't want."

Su Yu's reply was resolute and forceful.

I ignored that brat and, despite feeling nauseous from motion sickness, retied Su Yu's scarf. We were just around the corner when we arrived at our destination.

The moment I breathed in the fresh air, I felt alive again. The little brat tugged at our pants, wanting us to take him to buy starch sausages.

"Get lost, go by yourself."

"My aunt won't let me go by myself, brother~"

Seeing that he was about to rip my pants off in public, I really wanted to put him in a basket and throw him onto the cart.

"Brother, I want some too..."

I was startled when Su Yu called me "brother" in a sweet, coquettish voice.

I took responsibility and led the two children to buy starch sausages; I paid for everything.

After the two sisters finished using the restroom, they saw us holding junk food and gave us another lecture. Once inside, we followed the crowd forward, but we didn't see the so-called "grand sea of ​​flowers" for a long time.

The various small clusters of flowers were blooming merrily. My aunt was a little disappointed, saying they were making false claims, but my mother didn't care and was excitedly looking for a place to take pictures.

There's no need to worry about the adults' portrait photography skills; my aunt kept praising how handsome the two boys looked in the photos.

That's not actually the case.

There were also some flowers that were blooming more profusely. My mom told us to stand under the tree so my aunt could take a picture of us.

The sun was so bright we could barely open our eyes, and I thought the photos wouldn't turn out well; Su Yu wouldn't like them.

My mom showed us her phone, beaming with pride: "You knew it, it's so beautiful."

In the photo, Su Yu smiles radiantly, his right hand holding his drooping left, his head tilted towards me. The warm, gentle sunlight bathes him in a serene glow. The apricot blossoms are a delicate pink and white. The person complements the scenery, and the scenery complements the person.

I'm different. The sun shines on me so intensely that I can't open my eyes, like a poor high school student being called to the office because of a leaf left in the sanitation area.

What's even more infuriating is that there's this little light bulb clinging to Su Yu! That was supposed to be my spot! I won't argue with a kid; I'll firmly occupy Su Yu's right side, leaving no room for anything else.

"Brother, brother, take a picture of me!"

It looks like a potato and wants to take up space on Su Yu's phone? I won't allow it.

"Brother, brother, I want to take a picture too!"

I was confident that Su Yu would bid for me.

"Then you two go stand over there."

What do you mean by "the two of us"?

My brat and I stood in line, and after Mom looked at us, she said, "Do you two owe each other five million?"

This tiny place even has go-karting facilities. I didn't expect that little brat to pester Su Yu to accompany him, so I quickly pulled Su Yu to buy tickets.

"Brother, you're really worried. I don't need an adult to accompany me."

"..."

The spinning around and around made me feel both nauseous and excited. The biting cold wind pierced through our bodies, and I shouted to Su Yu, "What if we get into a car accident and die?"

"Then go to hell and be a devil!" His answer was drawn out by the car's speed, echoing in the cold wind under the warm sun.

Afterwards, our group of friends suddenly felt like going to the annual meeting.

Lanterns lined the streets, turning the night sky ablaze with red.

Adults and children wandered through the streets and alleys, and we decided to split up, leaving the little burden with us as well...

Holding Su Yu's hand with my right and pulling the little brat's collar with my left to stop him from running around, I suddenly imagined what my family of three would look like. Except if we really had a child, he'd definitely be more handsome than this potato.

But we're more likely to keep a dog or a cat, or maybe not. Su Yu said he likes animals that can use the toilet and flush by themselves, or even animals that don't poop at all. Ideally, they could take care of themselves, wash themselves clean, and then be brought to his side to play with.

He gently pinched my nose and said that raising me would be perfect.

The red light, tinged with yellow lights, and the silver flowers and fiery trees served as our congratulatory gift, signified that Su Yu was now marrying us, wearing a red veil.

I'd marry him.

We bought a whole bag of snacks. There were so many people with nothing to do, so we found a lawn to sit and chat.

We couldn't escape the topic of marriage and relationships. My little cousin thought it was an adult topic and enthusiastically joined in, talking about how he had such good relationships with so many girls in his class.

My mom recorded the whole thing and sent it to my aunt.

When it was our turn, Mom said that it's okay to date in college now, but we need to be clear about what we should and shouldn't do. Su Yu tried to laugh it off, but her aunt noticed that we were both avoiding the topic and frowned slightly.

"Have neither of you ever been in a relationship since you were little?"

"Um."

"Is it because you don't have a little girl you like?"

"Um."

She turned to look at her mother, who inexplicably became nervous upon being looked at.

"Not a single one?"

"yes."

"You wouldn't be..."

As if she had some evil and filthy thought, she communicated with her mother through her eyes, and in the end, the word "fear" was written all over their eyes.

"What are you thinking...?"

Su Yu lowered her head and held her forehead, while I helplessly looked up to the sky and sighed, admiring their imagination.

Seeing that we had dismissed their idea, Mom breathed a sigh of relief: "You two scared me to death! No, absolutely not!"

She then went on to say how scary homosexuality was, and how easily it could lead to diseases, as she had seen in videos she watched online.

This is a very trendy topic. Mom and Kuangkuang were giving her good nephew water, and then they were secretly chatting with her aunt about homosexuality.

Then the little boy started fussing about needing to go to the toilet, tugging at my brother and me from behind, demanding we take him. After Su Yu regained his balance, he pulled me up, and we took him to the toilet. We then came out and stood outside the door, heads down, saying nothing.

We waited for the little spray bottle to finish urinating. Su Yu and I didn't talk much. The cold water splashed on our faces. The brat ran away after he finished peeing.

I used my hand to wipe the water off Su Yu's face. He looked at me, and it was as if a thread in my mind had been connected. I stopped what I was doing and looked at him.

He shook his head, sighed, and smiled.

Let's go.