ostrich

After coming out of the mall, Shao Linyin spent an extremely tangled and somewhat distracted week.

The word "lover" is lingering in my mind.

How could I be his lover?

It's a pity that this guy is dating a girl at school and bought these gloves as a gift for her.

It's just that he saw that his hands were a little frostbitten. Xiaolai, his son, has always been sensible, so he would definitely give it to him first as a gift.

There is no doubt about this.

Yes, that’s definitely the case!

Thinking of this, I felt a little more at ease, and looking at Tong Xiaolai, my mood became brighter.

But most of the time, he was still gloomy, and even more often, he didn't go home at all, but stayed on the small bed in the company's duty room. According to Tong Xiao, it was because there was an urgent repair and he had to work all night.

When Tong Xiaolai finally finished his exams and went on winter vacation, he took another week of make-up classes. Their company also took a holiday on New Year's Eve.

He had nowhere to hide and could only go back. He looked at Tong Xiaolai sitting calmly at the desk doing his homework and finally couldn't stand it anymore.

I packed up and went out, then bought a folding bed from the supermarket.

At night, while making the bed, he said, "Xiaolai, you're grown up now. It's not appropriate for us to squeeze into one bed."

Tong Xiaolai: "..."

He lay down on the folding bed and covered himself with the quilt, wrapping himself tightly with only his head exposed. He stared at Tong Xiaolai who was sitting at the desk and looking at him speechlessly.

"You went to bed so early today?" Tong Xiao looked at the still bright sky outside. It was only six o'clock...

"Huh? Oh. If nothing else, go to bed early."

As soon as Tong Xiaolai stood up, he immediately felt as if facing a great enemy and wrapped the quilt tighter.

"What are you doing?"

The two asked at the same time, one with a confused look, the other with a nervous look.

Tong Xiaolai: "..., I'm going to the bathroom, take a shower and go to bed."

"Where are you going to sleep?"

Tong Xiaolai: "………………, where do you think I'd sleep?"

A trembling finger stretched out from under the tightly wrapped quilt and pointed in the direction of the bed.

Tong Xiaolai's cold face was expressionless: "Then the bed."

After taking a shower, Tong Xiaolai leaned on the bed and read an English newspaper.

Shao Linyin took a look and vaguely made out some words like "United Nations", "Environmental Protection", "Association", etc., which were too profound, so she shifted her gaze from the newspaper to his face.

Tong Xiaolai put down the newspaper and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

He shook his head like a rattle.

After a long silence, Tong Xiaolai picked up the newspaper again.

"Um..." He started hesitantly.

Tong Xiaolai raised his eyelids and waited for his next words.

"Are you in love at school?"

Tong Xiaolai put down the newspaper and raised his head. His eyes became complicated for a moment, and finally fixed on looking at him as if he were an idiot.

He avoided looking at Tong Xiaolai, lowering his head slightly and pulling the quilt to cover half of his face. "As for these gloves, if they are for a girl, I'll buy another pair. I've worn them before, so it's not good to give them to someone else..."

"You know?" Tong Xiaolai sat up straight.

"Know what? Ah, that, last time I delivered a takeaway, the salesperson recognized these gloves..."

Tong Xiaolai looked as if he understood something. He finally knew why Shao Linyin had been acting abnormally during this period.

"What did the salesperson say?" For some reason, Tong Xiaolai showed a hint of nervousness. He put the newspaper aside and stared at him, motionless.

But he turned his head away uncomfortably, not looking at Tong Xiaolai: "Ah, I said something.

I think, Xiaolai, you have to put yourself first in the future. When you have a wife, you must never do this kind of thing again.

Do you understand?

Although we don’t have any mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts, I can’t let my brother affect your relationship..."

"Didn't she tell you that my lover is a man?"

Shao Liyin shut up, not knowing what brainwashing he had fed himself. He then spoke again: "It doesn't matter if it's a man. There are a lot of homosexuals these days. I'm still quite open-minded."

"..." Tong Xiaolai felt that Shao Linyin was a piece of wood, and a blockhead at that.

"Brother Li, can you accept homosexuality?"

Shao Liyin thought about it seriously and said, "Ah, this is nothing unacceptable. This sexual orientation is normal."

"I'm asking you."

Shao Linyin: “…”

Tong Xiaolai pressed on: "Can you accept that your significant other is a man?"

"...It's not impossible. In relationships, the most important thing is the person. If the person is right, gender doesn't matter." This was his true thought.

"Those gloves are for you, not for anyone else."

Shao Linyin: "..." He chose to be an ostrich, crawled into the quilt, and heard nothing.

"Brother Li..."

"Brother Li..."

"Shao Liyin!"

The ostrich got angry: "Call me brother, who allowed you to call me brother by my name?"

"I don't recognize you as my brother."

There was a moment of silence. The neighbors upstairs and downstairs had all gone home for the New Year. There were no vendors hawking their wares on the street downstairs. It was eerily quiet.

"No." Shao Linyin said in silence, his voice small but firm.

"Why."

"No reason," he repeated, his tone extremely firm. "It's just not possible."

"Because I'm too small? You don't like people smaller than you."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Shao Linyin pulled back the quilt and looked at Tong Xiaolai.

"Then what is the reason?"

Shao Linyin fell silent again.

After a moment's silence, he continued earnestly, "Xiaolai, you're smart and have good grades. In another year, you'll be able to get into a good university and have a bright future. Then you'll be able to meet many outstanding people, both men and women. Those are the ones who can stand shoulder to shoulder with you and be a good match for you."

"No." Tong Xiaolai stared at Shao Liyin, who was carefully considering his words, as if he was worried that an inappropriate word would hurt him, and refuted his words firmly.

Shao Linyin looked up at him.

"If I don't have Shao Liyin, I have nothing. My future only has Shao Liyin, nothing else. Even if there is, those things belong only to Shao Liyin."

Shao Liyin sighed softly: "Xiaolai, you are still young, you don't understand. The feeling you have towards me now is just gratitude, not what you think. If anyone else had met you back then, you would have had this feeling too."

"Shao Liyin."

"Call me Brother Li."

"Shao Liyin, let me ask you, do you like me?"

"..." Shao Liyin was silent for a moment, then replied in a low voice, "You are my brother, so of course I like you."

"You know that's not what I'm asking."

Shao Liyin's fingers scratched the quilt, and his voice lowered. He didn't dare to look at Tong Xiaolai's expectant eyes. He lowered his head and stared at the pattern on the quilt, and repeated: "You are my brother."

Tong Xiaolai felt a lump in his stomach, unable to breathe in or out. He finally lifted the quilt and put on his clothes.

"It's evening now, where are you going?"

Tong Xiaolai had already put on his clothes and picked up his schoolbag.

"Didn't you tell me to find someone who can match me?"

He opened his cell phone, found the text message, and threw it into Shao Linyin's hand.

"The daughter of Xinhui Group, she's beautiful, and her grades are right behind mine. I'm first and she's second. I'll listen to you and go find her right away."

Shao Linyin was holding a cell phone with more than ten messages in a row, all of which were youthful and corny love words. For some reason, he felt a little irritated when he looked at these words.

I feel uncomfortable and blocked in my heart.

I feel a little bit of blood rushing up my spine.

Tong Xiaolai had already opened the door.

An impulse came from nowhere, and he called out to Tong Xiaolai, who was about to leave: "Xiaolai..."

Tong Xiaolai stopped.

After calling out, he felt a little regretful. He couldn't say it. He didn't want to go find that "Xinhui's daughter". After thinking for a long time, he asked, "Then...will you come back tonight?"

"Bang!!!!" The door frame shook.

Shao Linyin stared at the still shaking door, motionless, with his eyes wide open until tears welled up in his eyes. He looked at the sky outside which had already turned completely dark, and his cell phone showed that it was 11 o'clock in the evening.

Tong Xiaolai has been out for four hours and thirty-two minutes.

For four hours, all he could think of was a man and a woman kissing under the cover of night, kissing on the beach, kissing on the street, kissing anywhere people could stand, and after kissing, they went to a hotel, to someone's house, to any place with a bed!

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became: "What are they doing? Where are the students? All of them!"

He finally threw back the quilt and angrily put on his clothes: "You little bastard, you really imitate others and stay out all night!"

He fastened his belt, put on his coat, took his keys, thought for a moment, picked up Tong Xiaolai's down jacket, and went out.

"You little brat, you don't even wear a coat or hold your phone!"

"The more you get used to it, the more out of control it becomes!"

He walked outside while cursing.

He opened Tong Xiaolai's phone and found the text message from that girl.

Holding back the jealousy in my heart... Jealousy? Bah, where does jealousy come from? How could I be jealous!

These students actually said some disgusting words.

He scrolled down, trying to see if he could find any information about the address, preparing to go over and capture the person.

You're going to visit someone during Chinese New Year, you're really asking for their permission! I haven't even given you the green light yet, so you need my permission to bring me in, right?

Little bastard!

No one is worthy of my family's smile, and no one can enter!

He cursed in his heart, not noticing that his mouth was following his heart, and the words just came out of his mouth mumbling to himself.

"What about Shao Liyin?"

"Is Shao Liyin okay?"

"Shao Linyin, do you want to come in?"

"think……"

Shao Linyin's footsteps suddenly stopped, and he turned his head stiffly, looking at the person who had been following him since he didn't know when.

That person smiled brightly, shamelessly, and meanly...

Looking at the red neck and hands exposed to the wind, he suddenly lost his temper and opened the down jacket in his hand and put it on the man.

"I didn't even take a coat when I went out. How would four hours of cold wind taste good?"

"It's okay, it's worth it."

"……,go home!!"

He took two steps, and there was no movement behind him.

"Are you going back?" He turned around and looked at Tong Xiaolai who was lying motionless.

Tong Xiaolai stood there, watching him. He saw tiny glints of light in Xiaolai's eyes, and within them, it was him. He stood there quietly, and unknowingly, a smile crept into the corners of his mouth and eyebrows. All his anger instantly dissipated, leaving only a soft warmth rippling in his heart.

Then, he was caught off guard by Tong Xiao, who had long legs and arms. He took a step forward, grabbed his arm and pulled him over. He staggered and fell into his arms. The warm down jacket wrapped him up, and the sound of his heartbeat like a drum was in his ears.

"Little bastard..."

When did Xiaolai become as tall as him?! ! !

No, he has to drink milk from now on!

While I was still thinking, I felt someone holding my face. A face with delicate features came closer and closer, and a cold breath hit my face.

The lips I once wanted to touch are right within reach.

Then, posted it...

It's very soft, softer than the touch of your fingers, a little cool, and a little sweet...

It turns out that the taste of lips is sweet.

Smiling lips are sweet.

…

The New Year's bell rang, and fireworks were brilliant in the night sky not far away. The new year arrived as expected, and they embraced each other in this splendor.

In the quagmire abandoned by the world, they found their belonging with each other and no longer had to drift alone.

Their life has just begun.

————

Completed Volume 1