Chapter 131: Stories of Old Friends

Chapter 131: Stories of Old Friends

On the second floor, in Cheng Xiaoxiao's room, Cheng Junjun listened to the mysterious story she had just heard.

Uncle Gao from Meiwan was handsome and refined in his youth. His skills were comparable to Lin Guohui's, and both were Cheng's favorite students. During Cheng Xiaoxiao's childhood, because he was more lively and cheerful, little Xiaoxiao was almost closer to him than to the taciturn Lin Guohui, who had not yet become her father.

Cheng Xiaoxiao also claimed, "I feel that he was even more handsome than my dad when he was young."

Cheng Junjun's mind went completely off the rails, and she almost thought it was some kind of strange love triangle between her parents when they were young. Her eyes were practically sparkling with gossip. But then Cheng Xiaojun suddenly changed the subject and said, "Uncle Gao likes men."

Cheng Junjun: "...Huh?"

He blinked several times, trying hard. "Then, what?"

"Later? People said he was mentally ill... The person who was close to him was a coward. His family came to Uncle Gao's house and made a huge fuss, fighting and making a scene, throwing dirty things on his door. Even when he went out to ride his bicycle, his tires would get punctured... He was a perfectly fine person, but then he tried to kill himself by taking medicine. After he was rescued, his throat was damaged and he couldn't speak. He still had his skills, but his health was too poor to do anything. His life got harder and harder every year, and now he's practically a homeless person. I haven't seen him in the village for several years, so when I saw him that day, I almost didn't recognize him."

Cheng Junjun's heart skipped a beat.

“How come I’ve never heard of this before? It’s so strange. You can see Uncle Gao, but I have no idea who he is,” she said, looking at her sister. “Then, the person he’s with…”

Cheng Xiaoxiao leaned against the headboard blankly, frowning as she recalled, "The people in the village are terrified of openly gay men. They don't dare mention it. Even if they gossip, they'll only say furtively that he's mentally ill and abducts children. Uncle Gao's lover was probably a few years younger than him, only in his early twenties at the time. Later, they got married and had children. His family should be living in... I can't remember exactly, but it wasn't far."

"Damn it!" Cheng Junjun cursed excitedly, slamming her hand on the bed. "Damn it!"

Cheng Xiaoxiao was taken aback when she took the picture.

"Is he even human?" Cheng Junjun asked sharply. "Didn't he ever think of helping Uncle Gao?"

Cheng Xiaoxiao looked at her for a while, then suddenly smiled and asked, "You're quite accepting of homosexuality?"

Cheng Junjun said in a serious tone, "I'm sorry, but I participated in a debate about sexual minorities when I was a freshman. Homosexuality isn't something that's new. Of course, I've also seen those... seemingly uncivilized people. If they step out of their tiny cognitive system, they think it's a monstrous flood. But who doesn't know? Those gossipy men and women in the village are all wilder than homosexuals in private."

Cheng Xiaoxiao was almost overwhelmed by what she was saying, and asked with a laugh, "Tell me what they've been doing behind my back."

“Sure,” Cheng Junjun said eagerly, “It’s super exciting.”

Cheng Xiaoxiao quickly nudged her, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, we'll talk about it later. I have a question for you."

"What?"

What do you think your parents' attitude will be towards this?

Cheng Junjun blinked. "Didn't Mom say she wanted Dad to deliver vegetables to Uncle Gao?"

Cheng Xiaoxiao said, "Those are outsiders, it's different. Mom and Dad are kind-hearted. Uncle Gao is so pitiful now, it's normal for them to send him some vegetables. It doesn't mean anything."

Cheng Junjun thought for a moment, and a thought suddenly occurred to her, but she didn't dare to act rashly. She only said, "You mean that Mom and Dad just feel sorry for Uncle Gao, but that doesn't mean they understand this matter?"

Cheng Xiaoxiao nodded, putting her arms behind her head. "Maybe my parents are more open-minded than others, but it's hard to say to what extent. I think it's more likely that they'd say, 'I don't discriminate against homosexuals, but if my son is gay, I'll break his legs.'"

Cheng Junjun nearly bit her tongue. "Wh-what?"

Cheng Xiaoxiao remained unmoved, glancing at her with a meaning that was clear without saying a word.

Fireworks flashed frequently outside the window, and firecrackers sounded continuously, creating a peaceful and lively atmosphere for New Year's Eve. However, Cheng Junjun experienced tinnitus.

She sat blankly on the edge of the bed, her heart pounding and her mind racing. Suddenly, she gasped, and her hands, as if on cue, grabbed Cheng Xiaoxiao's arm, pulling her down hard.

"What are you doing?"

"It's Bingbing and Niannian! Isn't it! They're dating!"

Each sentence was filled with exclamations of surprise, and with all these startles, Cheng Xiaoxiao's head was throbbing.

Struggling free from her clutches, she frowned and said, "Can you please stop yelling, my dear sister? I'm annoyed enough. I saw them kissing in the bathhouse, that's all."

Cheng Junjun's hair was all messed up by her own rubbing. All the guesses and little episodes she had accidentally stumbled upon in the past surfaced one by one: the carpenter's hut that served as a secret base, her reddened eyes and lips, the conversation between the four of them about parting when it rained that day... everything came together, and she understood everything.

She frowned deeply and muttered in a low, irritated voice, "Damn it! Damn it!"

Cheng Xiaoxiao said weakly, "Don't swear."

Cheng Junjun pouted and fell heavily next to her.

Unable to squeeze in, Cheng Xiaoxiao had to move over to the side. Once the two of them finally lay down side by side, they both let out a weak sigh: "Sigh."

"So, what did you say?" Cheng Junjun asked cautiously. "And what did the two of them say?"

"I said some nonsense," Cheng Xiaoxiao said listlessly, "telling them not to come out to their families yet, telling them to behave themselves, and not to think about marriage fraud later—I'm so calm, God, why didn't I break their legs?"

Cheng Junjun couldn't help but chuckle, yet her heart was churning. After a long while, she quietly said, "You are the best sister in the world."

"Come on," Cheng Xiaoxiao said, finding it hard to accept the young lady's sudden emotional outburst. "I'm not like that."

Cheng Junjun then changed her question: "So, do you think Cheng Bing's leg can be saved?"

Cheng Xiaoxiao said, "I don't know, but I think there's a high chance Fang Yuenian's leg won't be saved."

Cheng Junjun scoffed, "That's not necessarily true."

Cheng Xiaoxiao turned her head to look at her, "Why?"

"His mother will protect him, don't worry. No matter who breaks his leg, he won't." Cheng Junjun said calmly.

Cheng Xiaoxiao smiled and, without any hesitation, went up to him, saying, "Why? You know his mother very well? Huh?"

Cheng Junjun said, "I know him all too well. With that kind of spoiling, if Fang Yuenian is like his father, then we're doomed. Our village will have another scumbag. Oh right!"

She suddenly yelled, startling Cheng Xiaoxiao. "What are you doing? Are you trying to give me a heart attack today?"

Cheng Junjun stared wide-eyed. "Sister, do you know that Fang Yuenian's father has found another woman outside?"

Cheng Xiaoxiao was astonished, "Huh?"

"It's true, everyone knows, I bet even his mother knows."

"Does Fang Yue Nian know about that?"

“I don’t know, I probably don’t know,” Cheng Junjun said with a shrug. “It doesn’t matter, anyway, he probably didn’t have any expectations of his father’s character.”

Cheng Xiaoxiao sighed, lay back down, and said, "I don't want these two younger brothers anymore."

Cheng Junjun asked bluntly, "How far have things progressed between them?"

Cheng Xiaoxiao nudged her with her elbow.

"What's wrong?" Cheng Junjun cried out in pain. "Don't we need to find out the truth?"

"I don't know," Cheng Xiaoxiao said, closing her eyes in frustration. "Go ask him yourself."

Cheng Junjun sat up abruptly, "Okay!"

"Why!"

Before Cheng Xiaoxiao could stop her, Cheng Junjun had already marched proudly toward the door.

She reached out and flung open the door, only to be startled to find Cheng Bing standing right there in the doorway.

"Wow," Cheng Junjun's eyebrows shot up, "You've even learned to eavesdrop?"

"No, no," Cheng Bing hurriedly said, "I just came up and was just about to knock on the door."

Cheng Junjun snorted, "Get in here."

Cheng Bing took a deep breath and silently followed him inside.

With her younger brother inside, Cheng Xiaoxiao could only sit up, but she didn't want to look at him.

Cheng Bing closed the door.

The three siblings of the Cheng family have always been very loving since childhood, unlike other siblings who fight endlessly. Cheng Bing loves and respects his two older sisters very much. He once asked Fang Yuenian who she would tell her family first if she had to confess to them one day. At that time, they both chose their older sisters. Now there is no need to hide it anymore.

Cheng Bing stood there, looking at the two of them, and softly called out, "Sister."

Cheng Xiaoxiao remained motionless, as if she were lost in thought.

Cheng Junjun glanced at Cheng Xiaoxiao, then at Cheng Bing, and decided to get straight to the point, "Putting everything else aside, how far have things progressed between you two?"

Cheng Bing was stunned for a moment.

"Don't pretend you don't understand," Cheng Junjun said expressionlessly.

Cheng Bing immediately straightened her back and said frankly, "We haven't done anything out of line."

Not knowing whether this counts as good news or not, Cheng Junjun shrugged helplessly and said, "Oh, that's great."

Then he asked, "So you're just going to keep going like this, letting us joke around and subtly pressure you to get married, but you just won't say anything or respond. After ten or twenty years, when your family gets worried and anxious about your marriage and eventually gets too lazy to care, you'll slowly find an opportunity to bring it up, right?"

Cheng Bing shook her head. "No."

"So what are your plans?"

“We plan to wait until after we graduate from university, when you no longer treat us like children and believe that we are not fooling around. For the other party, our family’s thoughts, especially your thoughts, are very important. He is afraid that you will not accept them, so he dares not say it casually.”

Cheng Bing's eyes suddenly reddened, and she said earnestly, "Sister, second sister, you all know how Fang Yuenian has lived since he was a child. No matter what you think about this, I hope you won't have any opinions about him because of this, or think that he has gone astray. He cares about you the most."

Cheng Xiaoxiao and Cheng Junjun were both stunned by what he said.

Just then, a shout came from downstairs: "What are you three doing? The party is about to start, aren't you coming down to eat?"

It was Cheng Qiuyan's voice.

Cheng Bing suppressed the stinging sensation in her nose, composed herself, and said softly, "Grandpa is making egg dumplings and wants you to come down and eat."

Cheng Xiaoxiao and Cheng Junjun exchanged a silent glance. Cheng Junjun said, "Well, you don't need to tell me how Fang Yuenian grew up. You seem to lack trust in me and my sister, but we will respect you. You should take care of yourselves. Let's not talk about this now. Today is New Year's Eve. Let's spend the New Year with Mom and Dad."

Cheng Xiaoxiao stood up, rubbed her face, took a few deep breaths, and said, "Let's go downstairs." Author's Note: Thank you to my mentor 9492239 (9492239) for your support! For more exciting content, please leave a message for this book on Liancheng Reading.