Chapter 96 Returning Home

Before Cheng Che got out of the car, he asked Li Zimai again, "Do you still smell like medicine?"

Li Zimai leaned over and sniffed the base of his neck, "Baby smells good, don't be nervous."

"I'm not kidding you."

Cheng Che rummaged around in the car, "I remember that store gave me a perfume last time."

He didn't find the perfume, but he did find a dusty gift box. Inside was a watch inlaid with blue diamonds. It looked luxurious and extravagant. Cheng Che frowned and asked, "Who gave it to you? Why are you putting it in such a mess?"

Li Zimai reacted and quickly raised his hands to confess, "I didn't even open the gift Xu...that guy gave me last time. I left it in the car and forgot about it! I didn't touch it!"

Cheng Che said awkwardly, "They gave you such an expensive gift, unlike me, who only gave you a worthless peace locket."

The tone was so sarcastic that Li Zimai joked, "Brother Che is becoming more and more stingy. He doesn't allow me to post on WeChat Moments and he's also sarcastic about the gifts others give me."

Cheng Che glared at him, took out the watch and tried to put it on Li Zimai's hand, "It suits you perfectly! Just in time to return my peace locket to me!"

Li Zimai grabbed his wrist and asked, "Why are you so anxious?"

Cheng Che glanced at the worn-out peace locket around his neck, and his eyes suddenly turned red. He remembered the time when he went to the temple with his grandmother to pray to the Buddha. It was his grandmother who asked him to bring the peace locket to the classmate who gave him the pearl necklace. His grandmother had never met Li Zimai, and it was Cheng Che who was too timid that made Li Zimai lose the opportunity to see his grandmother.

Li Zimai followed his gaze and said, "... Cheche, I'm sorry, I didn't protect the peace locket well, I..."

"It's my fault," Cheng Che choked up, "If I had taken you home that time, you could have seen grandma."

Li Zimai gently wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes and comforted him, "Actually, I didn't leave that time. I followed you all the way to the gate of the community, and I even ran into your grandma getting off the bus. Her apple fell, and I helped her pick it up."

Cheng Che looked at him in disbelief. Li Zimai added, "It was only when you sent me the photo that day that I realized the person I met was my grandmother. So, Cheche, don't blame yourself. My grandmother has met me, and she said I'm a kind-hearted young man."

Cheng Che suddenly burst into tears and sobbed softly in his arms, "I miss her, I miss her so much, Li Zimai... I miss her so much."

"Then can we go back in a few days? We can also go back to see Grandpa. Last time, my aunt asked me if you were feeling better. She said your niece was born and she wanted you to go back to see her."

Cheng Che nodded gloomily, "But I don't want to see that person."

"No, I will take care of it. We can go back to see grandpa together later."

"Um...thank you, brother."

Li Zimai wiped away his tears and chuckled, "My silly baby, why do you cry all the time? Your eyes are red from crying. They will think I'm bullying you later."

Cheng Che then remembered that they were already in the Jiang family's garage. He suddenly panicked and asked Li Zimai to wipe his face. He also asked Li Zimai if his eyes were ugly.

"So handsome! Let my mother see what a beautiful daughter-in-law I brought back for her."

"Who is your wife?"

Cheng Che was coaxed into submission again, "I hate your mouth the most."

Li Zimai shamelessly kissed him a few times, "You obviously like me so much, yet you still say it's annoying."

Cheng Che pushed him away, his ears red.

It was the most low-key birthday party for Li Zimai since he became an adult. Only members of the Jiang family were present. Cheng Che followed Li Zimai in calling everyone one by one, from the older generation's grandparents to the cousins ​​of the same generation.

There are four people in the Jiang family. Li Zimai's father, Jiang Dai, is the second oldest. He has an older brother and two younger brothers. Each family has one or two younger generations. Jiang Xun is the eldest among the Jiang family's younger generations. Li Zimai is the fifth oldest. He has a cousin who is studying in high school abroad and a cousin who is in elementary school.

Except for my cousin and my third brother and uncle who were abroad and did not come back, almost the whole family was there to see the official partner that Li Zimai brought back.

Grandma liked Cheng Che very much the first time she saw him. She stuffed a red envelope into his pocket and said that Cheng Che looked well-behaved and was a good student.

Cheng Che, who often stirs up trouble: "......"

Li Qing sat next to Jiang Dai and never looked Cheng Che in the eye the whole time. Her attitude was even clearer than when she came to the apartment to see Cheng Che when Li Zimai fainted and was hospitalized. She was simply dissatisfied with Cheng Che.

Jiang Dai is middle-aged and has semi-retired, but he still exudes the majesty of a superior. Although he is smiling, Cheng Che dare not look him in the eye and can only eat with his head down nervously.

Li Zimai grabbed his hand under the table and whispered, "Don't be nervous, my family is very nice."

Cheng Che wanted to escape from here as quickly as possible, it was too suffocating.

Li Qing put down her chopsticks and someone immediately handed her a napkin. She wiped her hands slowly, raised her head slightly, and cast her eyes on Li Zimai.

Li Zimai immediately put down his chopsticks, sat up straight, and admitted his mistake: "I know, I won't do it again next time."

The Jiang family's table rules are that you cannot hold the cutlery while talking, you cannot hunch over and lean on the back cushion, you cannot make any noise with your mouth while eating, and you cannot even make any noise from the cutlery colliding... and other troublesome rules like these.

Grandma noticed Cheng Che's discomfort and quickly said, "There's no one else here, why are you so restrained? I'm going to pick up the food this way today."

The plate was poked and made a banging sound.

"Mom, stop messing around."

Grandma snorted, "I hate it when you act so arrogantly. If you scare my new grandson, I'll ignore you!"

Grandpa winked at Jiang Xun, and Jiang Xun said, "Grandma, mother wants to leave a good impression on Cheche."

Li Zimai immediately stood on his grandmother's side and refuted his eldest brother, "Grandma, you are right, Mom just wants to scare your new grandson."

Cheng Che tugged at Li Zimai's sleeve, signaling him not to add fuel to the fire. Li Zimai was rather rebellious, "Look at the uncles and aunts, they clearly want to ask me about Cheche and me, but because you're always so arrogant, they don't dare to speak."

"Is that right, Aunt San?"

The third aunt who was suddenly named said: "Hey, I have to stand on mom's side this time. It's Cheche's first time here, so please don't scare her, second sister-in-law."

At this point, the atmosphere at the dinner table became lively. Uncles, aunts, cousins, and sisters took turns bombarding Cheng Che with questions about his studies, his future plans, and whether he was getting along well with Maimai. Most of the answers were given by Lizimai, and Cheng Che nodded and added a few more words.

The little cousin suddenly asked, "Will Brother Wu and Brother Cheche adopt a child?"

The questions asked were completely unlike those of a fourth-grade elementary school student. They also asked Cheng Che about his views on the homosexual community and whether the future marriage law would take special groups into consideration.

Li Zimai touched his head and threatened: "Children should not worry about adults' affairs."

Little cousin: "Then I'll let the adults ask you, okay?"

Then he turned to Fourth Aunt and said, "Mom, you want to know too, right? Can you use your adult status to ask Fifth Brother for me?"

Fourth Aunt explained, "This is the privacy of Fifth Brother and Cheche. We are not allowed to ask. But if you are interested in this matter, Mom can go back and study it with you."

Li Qing: "Xiao Yao, don't be like Fifth Brother. Fifth Brother is the most disobedient."

The younger cousin shook his head and said, "I like Fifth Brother's pursuit of freedom. I also want to be independent."

Seeing that the little one was about to rebel, Auntie San tried to smooth things over, "I'm also quite interested in the question Xiaoyao asked. Do Cheche and Zimai have any plans in this regard?"

Li Zimai glanced at Cheng Che and replied, "We are so young, we don't even know how to raise a child."

Grandma agreed with Li Zimai while looking at Jiang Dai: "You old-fashioned people, the trend among young people nowadays is to have a life of two. What's the point of raising a child? Do you want to marry a wife to make yourself angry?"

Jiang Dai: "Mom, please stop talking."

Grandpa: "How do you talk to Mom?"

......

After the meal, the conflict gradually turned into a war between the grandmother and her daughter-in-law. Cheng Che didn't dare to speak. Li Zimai secretly sent him a message under the table: "Don't worry, brother Che. My mother and my grandmother are just like this. From the time I was born until now, I have never seen them agree on anything."

[Wife]: When will you finish eating?

[Da Maimai]: I think it will be soon. We’ll leave after we finish eating.

[Wife]: Why don’t you stay at home for a night? Today is your birthday.

[Da Maimai]: Look who in this family still remembers that today is my birthday? It all depends on you. Congratulations, Brother Che, for becoming a member of the Jiang family.

Cheng Che grabbed his hand and motioned for Li Zimai to look at Li Qing. Sure enough, after leaving the table, Li Qing said, "Zimai and Cheng Che stay."

Grandma grabbed Cheng Che's hand and blocked his way, saying fiercely, "Why did you leave my new grandson behind? Are you trying to scare him?"

Cheng Che felt the warmth of her palm, looked down and saw the pearl necklace on the back of her neck, his nose suddenly felt sore. Li Zimai rubbed his head and whispered in his ear: "She likes you very much."

Cheng Che's eyes turned red. He lowered his head and blinked many times before forcing back the acidic liquid. He explained to his grandmother, "Auntie didn't scare me."

Li Qing coaxed her, "I didn't scare your new grandson. I haven't given him a red envelope yet. Why don't you let me see him alone?"

Grandma was skeptical and said, "I don't care. I'm not going back today. I'm going to stay here."

Jiang Xun came over and put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't you have an appointment to play mahjong tonight? Your friends are waiting. I'll take you home."

Grandma thought for a while, but still couldn't resist the temptation of mahjong. She held Cheng Che's hand and said, "Baby, if she bullies you, just call grandma. Grandma will come over anytime."

She tried to explain herself, but it only made her more obvious: "Mahjong is not as important as you."

Cheng Che didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Okay, Grandma, you go back first."

After sending the old people away, Li Qing sat in front of the huge painting in the hall and asked someone to display the evidence of Li Zimai's recent evil deeds and asked him to explain.

Most of the documents were lawyers' letters, court summonses, and photos of Qi Dong lying in the hospital.

Li Zimai admitted it openly, with a hint of unrestrained cruelty in his tone, "He dared to hurt Cheche, so what if I treated him the same way? If you think I committed a violent crime, you can send me to prison, but before that, this scumbag should also pay the price for his actions that hurt Cheche."

Cheng Che hurriedly pulled him back, telling him to stop talking, and frantically explained, "I hit him, Auntie, please don't be angry."

Li Qing said coldly, "If he did it, then he did it. I have my own plans on how to deal with it. Are you going to admit it on his behalf now?"

"That's not what I meant..."

"I'm talking to Cheng Che, why are you butting in?"

Li Qing turned his gaze to Cheng Che and continued to ask, "Answer me, are you going to admit it on his behalf?"

Cheng Che didn't know how to answer and wanted to look at Li Zimai, but before he could glance over, Li Qing interrupted him, "Don't you have the ability to think?"

"No."

Cheng Che realized that he hadn't expressed his meaning clearly and hurriedly explained, "I meant that I didn't intend to admit it on his behalf."

"What do you mean?"

"I caused this incident. Li Zimai failed to control his emotions and was wrong to vent his anger violently, but I failed to protect myself and let him lose control of his emotions. I am also wrong. I hope that when the aunt punishes him, she will take some of his mistakes into account."

At the end of his words, Cheng Che's voice trembled, "...If Auntie wants to send him to prison, can you send me in too..."

It would be best if they were in the same cell, Cheng Che added silently in his heart.

Li Zimai was originally worried that his mother would really punish Cheche as well, but now he almost couldn't hold back his laughter when he heard that they would go to jail together.

Li Qing: "I will consider your idea. I will go to the ancestral hall and kneel for one night."

Li Zimai said fearlessly, "Kneeling in the ancestral hall is the end of it?"

Jiang Xun had no time to stop his provocative behavior. He only heard Li Qing say, "Brother, your brother asked Brother Song to work overtime. Go and call him. Twenty sticks. Oh, you can give five sticks to Cheng Che."

Li Zimai was anxious, "Punish me if you want to, but why bring Che Che along? If we beat him with five sticks, will he be alive?"

Li Qing looked at Cheng Che, "You can refuse to accept it, just like I can refuse to accept you."

"I accept!"

It was only five blows. Cheng Che was ready to take all fifteen blows from Li Zimai. He could bear the beating.

The ancestral hall is in the southeast corner of the park. It's a hip-and-gable rooftop building from the Ming and Qing dynasties. If it weren't so dark at night, Cheng Che would have wanted to study its structure. Li Zimai took his hand and instructed, "Run towards that tree later. Turn right, then left. When you see the red house, go in and find grandma to save us. Got it?"

Cheng Che pretended not to hear, he knew Li Zimai wanted to get rid of him.

"I'm asking you a question, do you hear me?"

"Is that Brother Song?" Cheng Che answered irrelevantly. "He doesn't look very strong either."

Li Zimai was successfully led astray by him and snorted, "Do you think my mother would hire a thug to beat me up?"

Cheng Che motioned for him to continue.

"Brother Song is part of our family's medical team. His main job is to treat my mother's hand, and his side job is to beat me. The key is that he can beat me in a way that hurts without injuring any vital parts. It only hurts, but leaves no scars. Isn't that amazing?"

Cheng Che gave a thumbs up, "Li Shen is really experienced."

"That's right, I've been beaten since I was little, otherwise how could I bear your beating?"

"Can I learn from Brother Song how to hit someone so that it hurts but doesn't hurt them?"

"Why are you learning this? Do you want to fight again?!"

"Self-defense. I can use it on you by the way."

“…”

The ancestral hall enshrines the ancestors of the Jiang family. It looks ancient and mysterious from the outside, but it is bright inside. There is even a large screen where you can see the ancestors' deeds during their lifetime. It is arranged like an exhibition hall.

In the middle were tablets of various sizes, and below them were several kneeling pads with designated positions. Li Zimai asked Cheng Che to stay in the lounge next door, saying that he would be beaten soon and would be able to leave soon.

Cheng Che shook off his hand, knelt there, and said to Song Ge, "You do it."

Seeing that Song Ge's stick was about to fall on Cheng Che, Li Zimai grabbed the stick and warned: "Are you sure you want to offend me?"

Song Ge was in a dilemma, "Second Young Master, please don't embarrass me. This is Madam's order, and I can't do anything about it."

Li Zimai looked at the servant holding the camera next to him and connected to Li Qing, his brows furrowed, "Hit me first, and we'll talk after you're done."

Cheng Che didn't want Li Zimai to be beaten. He lay on his back unreasonably, looking at the tablet above with a guilty conscience, and whispered, "I don't want you to be beaten."

"You listened and it was over quickly. Nothing happened at all."

Li Zimai tried to pull him off, but Cheng Che hugged his neck tightly and said stubbornly, "I don't want it."

Brother Song didn't dare to hit him. The news that the second young master lost his temper for his boyfriend last time spread throughout the Jiang family. Everyone knew how much he cherished this little girl.

Perhaps someone informed Li Qing, and Li Qing directly sent Jiang Xun to supervise the execution. Cheng Che was very scared when he saw Jiang Xun, but he still refused to get off Li Zimai.

Jiang Xun kindly advised: "It's only fifteen sticks now. If you really piss off your mother, it will be more than just fifteen sticks."

Li Zimai agreed, "Yes, finish the fight early and call it a day. Don't provoke her again."

Cheng Che stood aside helplessly. The long and thin stick hit Li Zimai's back. The dull sound seemed to hit his heart directly, making Cheng Che extremely anxious.

After the beating was finally over, Li Zimai fell directly to the ground. Cheng Che was so scared that he hurried to help him up. His eyes were red and he was about to cry. Li Zimai quietly patted his butt and winked at him. Cheng Che immediately reacted and looked at Jiang Xun pitifully, "He, he has been dizzy for the past few days... Are you going to beat him to death?"

Jiang Xun didn't expose their poor acting skills. He looked up at the servant holding the camera and asked him to turn the screen towards Li Zimai. Jiang Xun asked Li Qing, "Is mother still beating me?"

After a long while, a distant and empty voice came from the other end. "You can do whatever you want. Dad and I need to rest."

After saying that, he hung up the call. Li Zimai immediately revived and took Cheng Che away, saying to Jiang Xun, "Brother, you are really my good brother."

He tugged at Cheng Che's hand again, "Hurry up and thank brother."

Cheng Che responded obediently, "Thank you, brother."

Jiang Xun didn't want to pay attention to them. Before leaving, he reminded them, "Mother will come to the ancestral hall to check before nine o'clock tomorrow."

What I mean is that no matter whether you kneel or not, you have to show up here at nine o'clock tomorrow.

Cheng Che held Li Zimai, "Why don't we stay here, just in case..."

Li Zimai thought for a while, then knelt before his ancestors to express his gratitude. "Thank you, Jiang family ancestors, for giving Cheche to me. I will cherish her. I hope that the ancestors will bless Cheche to conceive a child of our Jiang family soon."

Cheng Che was so embarrassed that he almost died. "What nonsense are you talking about!"

Li Zimai shamelessly dragged him along to kowtow, and after that he begged, "Cheche is in poor health. I hope our ancestors can make more efforts to contact the King of Hell in the underworld and let Cheche live a long life."

Cheng Che was so embarrassed that he didn't want to say a word. Li Zimai asked him, "Do you have anything you want to ask for? Tell the ancestors quickly."

"...No!"

"This is a rare opportunity. Normally my mother wouldn't let me come here. She says I'm disobedient and doesn't want me to upset them."

Cheng Che believed it and prayed devoutly: "I hope Li Zimai will be healthy and safe."

"That's it? Won't you ask your stomach to be more willing to help you?"

"Shut up!"

Cheng Che refused to let Li Zimai leave, saying that he had already dodged the five sticks and could not escape the punishment of kneeling. He wanted to kneel in the ancestral hall with Li Zimai for a whole night. Li Zimai was not willing to agree. Usually he would get angry if Cheng Che slept late, let alone kneeling here for a whole night.

Cheng Che said coldly, "If you dare to take me back, I will ignore you."

Li Zimai also had a cold face, "Even if you ignore me, I will take you back."

As he spoke, he lifted Cheng Che up. Cheng Che fluttered and patted his back. Li Zimai groaned, and Cheng Che immediately became anxious, "Does it hurt?! Put me down!"

Li Zimai acted out, "It hurts so much, I have to go back and lie down."

Cheng Che immediately apologized to his ancestors and said he would kneel again another day.

The two of them quietly returned to Li Zimai's room at home. This room was larger than the living room of the apartment. On the double-height wall hung a photo of Li Zimai playing the cello several years ago. Cheng Che couldn't take his eyes off it. Li Zimai stood in front of him and said, "Don't look at it. What's so good about it? My mom insisted on hanging this across from the bed to embarrass me."

The Li Zimai in the photo was still young and in a white suit. He looked cleaner and more noble than any other boy Cheng Che had ever seen. He then looked at the Li Zimai outside the picture. He was fully grown but still very yellow.

Li Zimai saw his face suddenly fall, "What do you mean? Do you look down on me now?"

He pinched Cheng Che's face and asked him to answer, "Do you also think I should continue playing the cello?"

Cheng Che liked watching him play the cello the most. He would sit there holding the strings like the most noble prince. That was Cheng Che's first impression of Li Zimai. At that time, he had never thought that the noble prince would become his private one and would kneel in front of him and say that he loved him.

"Speak up, do you want me to continue playing the violin?"

Cheng Che suddenly hugged him and said, "No, just play the violin for me alone. I don't want others to see you."

Li Zimai smiled and said, "You know, to show my determination, I hadn't touched the cello for three years before you got sick. It was you who made me make an exception."

Cheng Che snorted, "I even broke your virginity, and I'm not proud of it."

Li Zimai tapped his forehead and said, "I'm talking to you seriously, why are you making such dirty jokes?"

Cheng Che whispered, "...I especially like you to make exceptions for me, so I'll give you all my firsts. You won't suffer any loss."

He started teasing her again. Li Zimai lowered his head to block his mouth, pressed his lips against his, and said angrily, "I'm tired of your mouth too. You're getting better and better at coaxing me."

Cheng Che reached in and touched him, and said anxiously: "Do you want to have sex? I want to fuck you."

Li Zimai lost control again and prepared to do it with him in the dark in the room where he had lived for more than ten years. However, after pulling down half of Cheng Che's pants, he remembered that there was nothing there. He stopped immediately and sighed that his back hurt.

Cheng Che then remembered the purpose of their escape from the ancestral hall. He quickly turned on the light and checked his back. There were indeed a few red marks, but fortunately there was no bleeding or bruising. Cheng Che got out of bed and said, "I'll go find you some medicine."

Li Zimai put his arm around his waist and helped him pull up his pants. "Why are you running? You're just going to make fun of yourself by running around with your bare bottom."

There was a sensor at the door of the room. When you pressed it, someone would come and deliver medicine. It seemed like it had been prepared long ago. Cheng Che asked him to lie on the bed and apply the medicine to him. He was applying the medicine seriously, but Li Zimai insisted on humming a few times in comfort, which made Cheng Che angry. He also said, "We can get a massage chair at home. I'll lie on it every day and you can massage me."

Cheng Che patted the back of his head and said, "You wish."

Li Zimai turned his head and saw that he had reacted, and teased him: "Brother Che, why are you getting more and more lustful? You can get hard just by applying some medicine on me."

Cheng Che responded with his own words: “I am a man, and men are so hard.”

Li Zimai propped up his head and looked at him, raised an eyebrow and said, "Do you want me to help you?"

Cheng Che's peripheral vision was filled with the ridiculously large cello performance photo. When he thought of Li Zimai playing the cello in front of outsiders with dignity and kneeling in front of him to lick him in private, his reaction became even greater. He was so embarrassed that he shrank into the quilt.

"Brother Che, do you want me to help you with my mouth?"

Li Zimai put his hand under the quilt, "I know you really like me to lick you, right?"

Cheng Che's vitals were pinched, and he gasped softly, "So what? You are mine, I can do whatever I want to you."

"Okay, I'll come and serve Brother Che right away."

"Wait a moment!"

Cheng Che called out to him and pointed at the painting on the wall, "I want you to lick me dressed like that."

Li Zimai tutted his words, "Why are you getting better at ruining me?"

"...You can also abuse me...anything you want."

Li Zimai felt that he was not as sexy as his Cheche. It was obviously the child he trained, but now he was more capable than him. In order to gain the upper hand, Li Zimai decided to show off his oral skills.

While Li Zimai was changing clothes, Cheng Che quickly hid in the bathroom and took a shower. His face was red and hot, and his heart was pounding, as if he was having sex with someone for the first time.

When he came out, Li Zimai was wearing a white suit, sitting upright on the sofa, looking at him and smiling at him. His face was about 80% the same as the one in the picture, even more noble and exquisite, and better looking than the picture.

"Come here, are you stunned?"

Li Zimai chuckled, "I didn't expect that Brother Che would be so fascinated by me."

Cheng Che felt hot all over, and he moved closer step by step, getting closer to his dream. It seemed that Cheng Che had had such a dream a long time ago, in which he dreamed that the boy playing the cello in the video was sitting there and waving at him.

"Is it good looking?"

Li Zimai took his hand and looked up at Cheng Che. "Although it's not the same style, at least the color is the same. Are you satisfied, Brother Che?"

Cheng Che tangled his fingers into his hair and nodded sheepishly, "... looks good."

He lowered his head to pull Cheng Che's waistband. Cheng Che suddenly felt like he was defiling him, so he took a step back and refused in a panic: "Forget it, forget it... Forget it."

Li Zimai grabbed his waist, rested her chin on his abdomen, and said with a smile, "Brother Che, why do you look so guilty? Have you finally realized that raping me is embarrassing?"

"I didn't rape you. You did it willingly." Cheng Che said stubbornly.

Li Zimai pulled him to sit on the sofa, then slowly knelt in front of him. The curve of his eyes was gentle and beautiful. He and Cheng Che held hands tightly and made a promise, "Well, I do. Li Zimai is willing to belong to Cheng Che, and only belong to Cheng Che forever."

Cheng Che looked at him with red eyes, held his face and kissed him intensively, and responded, "I will also belong to you forever."

Their love lasts forever.

————End of the full text