As soon as one tourist stopped, two or three more would follow, until the mother and son were surrounded by people, many of whom were taking pictures with their phones. A young female tourist even stood up to speak up for Song Xianqing.

"Auntie, all kinds of love deserve respect. You can go outside and see for yourself; people are very tolerant these days."

“It’s not easy for two boys. If this place is demolished, it will leave a knot in my heart. My sister, my eldest son married a man. You see, the money for my husband and me to travel is all given to us by them.”

"You could try accepting it; what if the guy is really nice too?"

"A man who is so handsome and so affectionate is a rare find."

"Wow, how good-looking must the person being liked be?"

"I really want to see him."

"Auntie, people are really tolerant now. Please don't make a decision you'll regret later."

Song Xianqing was tall, with a straight back and a good figure. Even kneeling on the ground, she was a kind of beauty. Her trembling body had a kind of broken and fragile beauty, which made most of the onlookers feel sorry for her.

Everyone was speaking up for him.

However, there are other opinions.

"The world is going to the dogs, morals are deteriorating, how can two boys be dating? Tsk, they deserve to be hit, scolded, and punished, these parents did the right thing by breaking them up!"

"Uncle, you're free to date now!"

A girl in the crowd retorted.

"What freedom? You'll understand when you have kids. Carrying on the family line? How can two boys carry on the family line? It'll be a laughing stock, and people will despise you. Now that you've discovered it, little sister, you're right to teach them a lesson. Keep the kids at home for a few days, let them go hungry for a couple of meals. That's because they've been eating too much. They'll behave themselves after a few meals of hunger!"

"Don't act like an old man. The most important thing in life is to be happy. Why do you have to carry on the family line? Throughout history, not everyone has been able to leave descendants. According to your thinking, the earth wouldn't even be able to accommodate them all."

Everyone chimed in with their own comments.

What started as mere spectators eventually split into two groups and began a war of words.

One group supports Song Xianqing, advocating for freedom and equality in love.

One group of people, the "old folks," believed that Song Xianqing was morally corrupt.

Song's mother was overwhelmed with mixed emotions: guilt, annoyance, regret, helplessness, and anger. Looking at her son, she said in a slightly choked voice, "Let's talk when we get home."

Song Xianqing cried, "I want Brother Xiaoyu."

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Song's mother was determined to be the bad guy. Her son had already gone this far, and she was afraid that if she stopped him, something bad would happen to the child, so she committed suicide with him.

After all, this is the time when he loves it the most.

Song's mother didn't want to be hated by her son for the rest of her life.

"Okay, I'll let you find it later. You come back with me first, and we'll have a good talk. This time, Mom won't force you, okay? Let's have a proper chat."

Song Xianqing continued crying, "I want to find Brother Xiaoyu..."

Song's mother could only concede again and again: "Fine, I'll let you go find it. Get up."

Song Xianqing got up and ran through the crowd, leaving the onlookers completely bewildered. Weren't they going to say anything?

Looking at the tourists, some of whom were holding up their phones, Song's mother wiped away her tears and said awkwardly:

"Please don't film this, and if you do, please delete it. We lack communication with our child. I will talk to him properly about his relationship. Everyone, please leave now."

Human nature is never one-dimensional. After Song Xianqing left, a girl came up with her friend, walked up to Song's mother, and called out, "Auntie."

Song's mother is in a bad mood and doesn't really want to deal with outsiders.

But when they arrived, not knowing what they wanted to say, she forced a smile and asked, "Is there something you need, young lady?"

The girl bit her lip, too shy to speak, her ears flushed red, looking like a delicious little dessert. She was very pretty, but not the kind of beauty that could be recognized at a glance.

She hesitated for a moment, then her friend, unable to bear it any longer, spoke up:

“Auntie, we are students from Jiangcheng University. We are freshmen this year and 18 years old. My best friend’s name is Ji Can. She has a lot of feelings for your son. You don’t agree to your son dating. Now many girls don’t want to be wives of gay men. My best friend can accept it. Moreover, my best friend is like a little sun at school. Everyone likes to play with her. If you agree, my best friend can help the handsome guy get out of his shadow.”

The girl's best friend blushed even more after the girl finished speaking.

He shyly hid behind the girl.

Song's mother: "..."

She gave an awkward laugh. "Children, thank you for your kindness, but you're still in school, and I don't want to bother you. Our village also has rules that we can't marry outsiders. If you want to make friends, that's fine. Thank you, you two young ladies. I have something to do, so I won't invite you to come over. Goodbye."

Being rejected was expected by her friends.

But the protagonist himself was red, white, blue, and purple-red, embarrassed by the rejection, and also very confused.

Since they don't approve of their son being gay, shouldn't they be happy and accept a girl who comes along? Just because of the village's rules?

Song Xianqing is so handsome, he's totally her ideal type.

She still wanted to try.

With a pale face, she said, "Auntie, can we exchange WeChat contacts? Even if we can't be girlfriends, I can still try to comfort that handsome guy."

If you disagree, let's start by being friends.

With her looks, she didn't believe she couldn't win him over.

The number of men pursuing her at school could stretch for miles.

Song's mother did not expect that one problem would be solved and another would arise. She was exhausted. Although she did not expect that her son had accumulated so many grievances, she still knew what kind of person he was.

At this point, you should offer him some guidance and encouragement.

They will definitely turn their backs on you.

Song's mother didn't want to offend strangers, and even less did she want to offend her own son because of strangers.

Shaking her head, she said, "If you two are destined to be together, I'd be happy to accept you as my daughter-in-law. If you're not, forcing it will only upset my son. Little girl, have fun. I have something very important to do, so I'll be going now."

Song's mother hurried back to find her husband, hoping he would find someone to help find Liu Yu and beg him not to do anything foolish. She said she just didn't want them to be together and didn't intend to harm anyone.

The scenic area has surveillance cameras; pull up all the surveillance footage.

Seven or eight people watched it in segments, and after watching it more than ten times, they still couldn't see anyone.

They searched for the high priest, but found no leads.

I asked a lot of people, but I didn't get any results.

Song Xianqing was almost frantic with worry.

Seeing her son's erratic behavior, Song's mother was also a little scared. If he was like this when no one could be found, what if he died? Would he really commit suicide for love? She only had one son and didn't want him to die.

Everyone skipped lunch and was busy looking for people.

Around 4 p.m., the ticket office staff changed shifts. They rushed home with their bags and saw acquaintances. Something seemed off in the village. They casually asked a couple of questions and learned that the staff were looking for Liu Yu.

He said, "Oh, the Holy Son, is he climbing a mountain? He arrived at eight o'clock this morning. He's probably not home and is still on the mountain. What happened?"

Knowing where she went, even acquaintances didn't have time to exchange pleasantries with the staff. They checked the surveillance footage of the scenic area streets, but not the mountain. They quickly informed the clan chief, and Song Xianqing learned where his wife had gone.

We kept going without stopping for a moment.

There are no surveillance cameras everywhere in the mountains. There are only a few steep trails and normal paths. Nan Yu's figure was seen on the camera, but her current location is outside the camera's range.

Song Xianqing's heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest.

I'm afraid Nan Yu will jump off the cliff.

I wanted to run up the road, but my cousin stopped me and said, "Let's take the cable car, hurry up."

Song Xianqing then remembered and quickly boarded the cable car. The mountain in this scenic area is eight minutes away. When the boy went down, his legs were still weak and he staggered. He was a little afraid of heights. Climbing the mountain on his own was fine, but taking the cable car made him feel unsafe.

Three groups of people came up, ready to search them one by one.

As soon as they went up, they found Nan Yu.

The boy was sitting on a rock on the mountaintop. When Song Xianqing saw him, he was terrified. His voice trembled as he was afraid that if he shouted too loudly, Deng Xin would slip and fall.

He tiptoed toward Nanyu, not noticing the lamp wick.

Even if a tourist senses someone behind him, he won't deliberately look back.

Sitting on a rock, enjoying the breeze and looking down at the Miao village, he felt an inexplicable sense of peace. Suddenly, a powerful force pulled him backward. The force was familiar. He tried to turn his head, but before he could, the boy pulled him tightly into his arms, and he heard a sob in his ear.

"Don't leave me, let's elope, let's not let them understand. I'm sorry, brother, it's my fault..."

Song Xianqing was crying so hard that her eyes were dark and bluish, clearly because she hadn't been sleeping well lately. Nan Yu saw a few familiar faces and felt a little awkward.

Seeing the boy crying so sadly, I couldn't bear to push him away.

If someone sees him... the high priest will surely cause him trouble.

In the end, feeling sorry for Song Xianqing prevailed. She wiped away his tears and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly hugging me and crying?"

Song Xianqing choked up: "Don't jump, I'll take you away, we won't stay in this place."

Nan Yu looked completely bewildered: "What happened?"

When Song Xianqing's cousin came over, he seemed to understand their relationship a little better, but not completely. They were probably still in an ambiguous stage.

Two boys...

This is really new to them.

But my cousin is too daring.

Openly defying clan rules—isn't Liu Yu the Holy Son? Aren't he afraid of being punished?

I don't know what's going on with them, but as their cousin, I still kindly explained for my younger cousin: "He searched for you all over the village but couldn't find you. He mobilized a lot of people. Later, when he found out you were here, he was afraid you would jump off the cliff. It's not a big deal, it's just that Song Xianqing was worried you would die."

Nan Yu looked down at the boy nestled in his chest.

Song Xianqing is tall, so this sitting posture must be very uncomfortable. Nan Yu patted him to get up and said, "I'm just climbing mountains to exercise. I'm not thinking anything of it. You can relax now."

Song Xianqing refused to let go.

Nan Yu was helpless.

Even if he sits on the top rock.

There were railings around there as well.

I haven't lived enough yet, and I'm not ready to die.

My cousin is also perceptive, and he knows that Liu Yu's identity is not ordinary. He can't do this, and to avoid too many people talking, he took the others away, leaving the two of them here.

After my cousin left, the lamp wick loosened up a bit.

He said, "Come sit here and lean on my shoulder."

The boy obediently leaned over and rested his chin on the girl's shoulder, inhaling the scent of her neck—fragrant, just like his wife's.

Nan Yu sighed, comforted the boy, and patted him gently on the back.

"Have you been sleeping poorly at home lately?"

Song Xianqing gave an irrelevant answer: "Why are you avoiding me?"

"To let you calm down."

“I’m very calm. I didn’t cause any trouble with them at home.”

"So what are you doing today? Did you need something from me?"

Speaking of things to do, Song Xianqing remembered the bank card Qi Xue had given him. He took it out of his pocket, handed it to the boy, and said, "The 50,000 yuan that your master lent you has been sent here. Any excess will accrue interest."

Nan Yu accepted the card; she was very poor, so poor that she had to compromise her principles for money.

"Delivering the card isn't a big deal, why involve so many people? Even if I'm not home during the day, I'll be back at night, so you can come find me then."

"No, I'll panic if I can't find you, brother. After we get down the mountain, I'll talk to Father and ask him to sign a travel permit for you. How about we go to Jiangnan for the New Year this year? We can also see if we have any watches that can track each other."

Nan Yu: "...Are you going to spy on me?"

Song Xianqing pouted, looking aggrieved: "It's not surveillance, I'm just scared when you don't see me."

Seeing how pitifully he was crying, with red and bruised eyes and a very tired expression, and knowing that the winter sun sets early, Deng Xin patted his bottom and got up, saying, "It'll be dark soon, get up and let's go home."

Song Xianqing stood up, feeling wronged, but insisted on holding onto the lamp wick.

Nan Yu: "Don't do that, it won't be good if we get found out."

Song Xianqing: "No."

Nan Yu: "Song Xianqing".

When his name was called, the boy chickened out, pouted, and silently followed behind without even trying to hold his hand.

The two boarded the cable car. Song Xianqing said, "I'm sorry."

Nan Yu: "Mm."

The boy said, feeling wronged, "Brother, I want to move back."

Nan Yu: "No way!"

Song Xianqing: "Once I've sorted things out and they agree, can I go back?"

Nan Yu: "Your dark circles are really bad."

Song Xianqing pouted: "I miss you so much. I can't sleep at night if I don't hold you in my arms."

Without Song Xianqing, Nan Yu's sleep was also affected, but not as severely as his. The cable car went up and down quickly, and when they arrived, Deng Xin went down first, followed closely by Song Xianqing.

They only said they were looking for the Holy Son, nothing else. Apart from Cousin Song realizing something was wrong, the others could only guess a few things after searching. When Nan Yu returned home, she found that the door had been pried open.

Go up to the second floor, the door was gone, it had been kicked down...

Silently, she turned to look at Song Xianqing.

The boy looked apologetic: "I'm sorry."

Lampwick: "You're such a troublemaker."

Song Xianqing: "I can fix it, I'll fix it for you."

As she spoke, she reached for the door, and Nan Yu helped her hold it up, chattering, "You can't stand not causing trouble every day, can you? With all this fuss, your parents must know. Hurry up and go home, or you'll come to my house to threaten me again later."

Song Xianqing: "We eloped."

Nan Yu: "You don't need your parents, but I do. Hurry up and fix it. Once it's fixed, hurry back. It'll get dark soon, and the roads will be difficult to travel on."

Song Xianqing didn't want to leave. Even if Nan Yu had just gone hiking to relax today, he didn't want to experience the feeling of his blood rushing backward and being plunged into an ice cellar during those few hours when he couldn't find her.

He didn't want to leave the house for even a second after finding the person.

The door was fixed, but Song Xianqing refused to leave and went to the kitchen to cook. Nan Yu chased after her, saying, "Go home. It's really okay. I won't take my own life."

Song Xianqing changed the subject: "Are you hungry? I'll cook for you. What have you been eating lately? You've gotten so thin."

Nan Yu: "Just grab something, why don't you eat here and then go back?" She brought the topic back to the present.

Song Xianqing remained silent.

I'm not going back.

After cooking and eating, it was already dark. The lamp wick was urging them to leave. Song Xianqing's eyes were red, her lips were pouting, and she looked pitiful. "It's dark, and there's no lamp brother around. It's inconvenient to go back. Could you let me stay for the night?"

Nan Yu went to the drawer and took out a spare flashlight.

It was handed over to Song Xianqing.

Boy: "...Brother."