World Three
Just as Chengwei was mentally prepared, when he came out of the bathroom, he found that He Xing was talking to Yu Sheng on the phone.
Yu Chengwei felt that something was amiss in the scene before him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. He walked over and sat down beside the bed.
"What are you guys talking about?" Yu Chengwei asked He Xing tentatively, "Are you talking about those stupid things I did in the past?"
Although he knew very well that Yu Sheng was not familiar with him and was not aware of the stupid things he had done as a child - but... what if?
What if Yu Sheng knows something?
What if He Xing's favorable impression of him drops to zero after hearing this?
"She said she doesn't know you very well, so she doesn't know how many embarrassing things you've done." He Xing turned to look at Yu Chengwei and explained, "She's telling me about her travel experiences. She also loves traveling."
He Xing may not have a say in family matters, or how to handle the kindness in life, but when it comes to travel, or how to handle the malice that comes with it, He Xing has a lot to say.
Therefore, the status of his conversation with Yu Sheng has changed from being awkward at the beginning to being familiar now.
Yu Chengwei finally realized what was wrong.
He looked at He Xing, whose appearance and figure were quite eye-catching, and remembered the dynamic that Yu Sheng had posted at that time. He asked, "Can you turn on the speaker?"
"Why?" He Xing was a little confused.
Yu Chengwei thought about the consequences of concealing the truth and being honest, and said bluntly: "I'm worried that she wants to pursue you."
He Xing didn't know how to respond to this, so he turned to Yu Sheng on the other end of the phone and asked, "Can I turn on the speaker?"
Yu Chengwei's phone had good sound insulation, so Yu Sheng didn't hear the conversation between the two people on the other end of the phone. He even asked the same question as He Xing: "Why?"
"Because he thinks you want to pursue me." He Xing replied.
"Open! Open, open, open!" Yu Sheng said immediately.
He Xing clicked the speaker.
"Yu Chengxu, I'm going to teach you a lesson!" The next second, Yu Sheng's voice came from the other side, "Am I the kind of person who would rush up to someone knowing their sexual orientation?"
"Of course I know you're not!" Yu Chengwei replied immediately, "But I'm just jealous now."
This sentence caused He Xing and Yu Sheng on the other side to fall into a subtle silence.
He Xing suddenly remembered what he had said to Yu Chengwei: "If you have anything to say, just tell me. Don't wait until I find out before confessing." Although Yu Chengwei was doing what he had said before, it seemed that he had gone a little too far.
Yu Sheng recalled how she had listened carefully to Yu Chengwei these past few days while he was giving her advice. Back then, she had assumed he was just acting on impulse and would definitely turn back once he hit a wall. But now, she suddenly realized: Yu Chengwei didn't seem to think he was hitting a wall, and he seemed to be enjoying it.
"I... just... how should I put it." After a while, Yu Sheng finally found his voice, "... I suddenly feel a little embarrassed now."
He Xing glanced at Yu Chengwei beside him and said "hmm".
"How about Yu Chengxu, you—" He Xing and Yu Sheng's voices overlapped, "pretend we didn't turn on the speakers just now, and let us continue chatting alone for a while?"
Yu Chengwei: ???
This was of course a joke. He Xing didn't really turn off the speaker, but continued chatting with Yu Sheng.
Yu Chengwei was sitting next to them, holding a pillow and listening to them talk about their travel stories.
Yu Sheng mentioned the first time his car broke down and the various people he met when he sought help.
She encountered a young man and a girl who came on bicycles to cheer her up, and also encountered an idiot who asked her what was wrong and told her dirty jokes. In the end, a young lady driving an off-road vehicle helped her tow the car away.
“Although I encountered some idiots,” Yu Sheng concluded, “but overall my first trip was wonderful.”
Then she asked He Xing why he chose to travel.
"Because my family, who never cared about me at the time, suddenly started to control my studies," He Xing thought for a moment. "They said if I wanted to join those messy clubs after college, I wouldn't have to come back during the holidays."
He Xing added: "When I was little, they wanted me to give up studying and become a child actor. When I was a little older, they thought my hobbies were not serious. But as I grew up, it was as if they suddenly remembered that studying was important to them and started to force me to study hard again."
This incident made him feel sick.
He couldn't accept other people's attitude of treating their lives as a game.
Even his parents, with whom he had the closest natural relationship, made him feel disgusted by their behavior.
No matter what kind of relationship it is, trust and expectations cannot withstand the test.
"So annoying." Yu Sheng couldn't help but sigh, "It feels like he's my dad."
Yu Chengwei was tactful enough not to criticize his parents at this critical moment. Compared to He Xing and Yu Chengwei, the things his parents did that made him feel sad seemed so trivial, and even talking about them seemed like bragging.
He Xing next to him talked about his first self-driving tour, and how he was so impatient that he planned to drive the car directly to the beach.
He didn't think about anything at the time, he just felt very annoyed.
"I was thinking about just driving straight in. I suddenly didn't want to care about anything else." Perhaps it was the relaxation he felt during this conversation, He Xing said, "...but just as we were about to reach our destination, the car music system played a song for me."
His first reaction was that the song had a good rhythm and was perfect for playing drums.
At that time, this thought was like stopping at the edge of a cliff. By the time He Xing reacted, the song had successfully thrown away the irritability in his heart.
The car finally stopped not far from the sea.
He Xing broke out in a cold sweat.
He got off the car, stood there, enjoying the breeze for a while, and then decided to keep moving forward - and from that time on, he completely gave up his expectations of his parents.
Yu Chengxu had never heard He Xing talk about these things before.
At most, he knew that He Xing's relationship with his parents was not very harmonious, even more strained than that between ordinary parents and their children.
Now he suddenly knew that He Xing had gone to the beach for this purpose and had planned to drive the car directly in. Yu Chengwei felt sorry for He Xing at that time.
Without thinking, he hugged He Xing.
He Xing didn't move. He took back the "no need" that was on the tip of his tongue, and then slowly put his hand on Yu Chengwei's back.
This quiet atmosphere lasted for a while before Yu Sheng's voice resounded: "...It feels like we're all a bit miserable."
Seeing that He Xing had no intention of answering, Yu Chengxu said for him, "Yes."
"Not you," Yu Sheng said immediately, "--Ask yourself honestly, are you miserable?"
"I'm pretty miserable too." Yu Chengxu said without thinking, "I didn't tell you before, did I? Actually, my parents have known about He Xing and I for a long time. No wonder they said something about my sexual orientation being abnormal. I was really shocked at the time..."
He Xing glanced at Yu Chengwei, and the ball of fur next to him was frightened and wanted to say to Yu Chengwei, "Don't say that anymore."
"And then they planned to use the blind date to test my attitude, to see if I would choose to fight to the end or what." Yu Chengxu, unaware of the impending danger, continued to talk to Yu Sheng over there, "But I didn't dare tell He Xing. I wanted to choose a solution that would have the best of both worlds, and the result was... this."
It feels like a teacher handing you a test paper with only one question on it. Although it's just one test paper, the question is very tricky. Of course, the answer is also very tricky, because the correct answer is not in the question at all. It was a complete trap from the beginning.
"You...well, you are indeed quite miserable." Yu Sheng could only say.
She knew about Yu Chengxu's family because her own father had always envied Yu Chengxu's family for having a son. And her own father used to like to say to her, "If you were a son, I would treat you the same way Yu Chengxu's family treated him."
She was still young at that time and could not understand the deeper meaning of these words. She also didn't know why her mother looked dissatisfied when she heard these words. She just thought that these words were a manifestation of her father's love for her.
So she asked the other party how Yu Chengxu's family treated their son.
"After school, I have to learn etiquette, violin and piano."
"So I've been very good to you. I just asked you to go home early after school and signed you up for a few more tutoring classes..."
What interrupted Yu Sheng's suddenly scattered thoughts was He Xing's exceptionally cold voice: "Yu Chengxu, what did you mean by that just now?"
The coldness in the words even reached Yu Sheng through the phone screen, making her shiver unconsciously.
After He Xing finished speaking, he realized that there was someone on the other end of the line and added, "Sorry, Yu Sheng, we have some things to deal with here—"
Yu Sheng reacted quickly and said, "Okay, let's talk when we're free," and then hung up the phone without waiting for a response.
Yu Chengwei held the phone that showed it had been hung up and looked at He Xing without saying a word.
- He felt that he was most likely going to die.
He knew He Xing's character very well, so he also knew that the nature of the whole thing had changed.
He Xing already knew about the "his parents knew about their relationship" when he was on the phone with his parents. He Xing didn't feel angry at the time, probably because he didn't know that the "abnormal psychopath" he blurted out was related to his parents.
Maoqiu, who was standing aside, read Yu Chengwei's thoughts and sighed helplessly: Although Yu Chengwei's current thoughts are basically correct, they deviate from He Xing's thoughts.
How to say it, He Xing had already guessed that this word was related to Yu Chengxu's parents, but because there was no evidence pointing directly to this, he was not angry and did not intend to investigate further.
He even sent this message clearly to Yu Chengwei, who had said this to him before.
But now, He Xing is sure that this matter is related to Yu Chengxu's parents.
In other words, before they argued about the blind date, Yu Chengwei's parents already knew about their relationship. They then said this to their son, who wanted to come out, and then pretended not to know about their relationship and arranged a blind date for Yu Chengwei.
A test? What kind of test? He Xing felt disgusted.
"Don't be angry..." Yu Chengxu saw that He Xing was very angry now, and stretched out his hand to pat him, but his hand was slapped away by He Xing.
He Xing's slap was so strong that the back of Yu Chengwei's hand made a sound, but Yu Chengwei did not cry out in pain.
"Do they think this is funny?" He Xing looked at Yu Chengwei, his chest heaving violently. "They clearly already knew about this, but they pretended not to know. Do they think they're playing a game?"
"They did this for my own good..." Yu Chengwei said this without any confidence, "...I'm sorry."
"Can this be called doing it for your own good?" He Xing seemed to have heard something ridiculous. "How can it be considered doing it for your own good? Come on, tell me!"
"They said they just wanted to see what I would choose: a blind date or you," Yu Chengxu explained immediately. "They said if I chose the blind date, they wouldn't want a son who would cheat on women. If I chose you, they'd try to accept it."
"They set all the questions, and this is a multiple-choice question..." He Xing laughed in anger, "They're asking you to make a choice, while intentionally or unintentionally leading you down the wrong path."
He Xing asked, "If they really wanted you to choose for yourself, why would they say things like 'homosexuality is a mental illness'?"
Isn't this clearly trying to lead Yu Chengwei to believe that "they will definitely object at that time"?
"Because not many parents in the world can accept that their child is gay." Yu Chengwei was still trying to explain in a low voice.
He knew very well that He Xing's anger had reached a critical point, and he also knew that if he said anything more, he might end up in trouble with both sides, but he couldn't just say nothing.
Maoqiu had quietly shrunk into the corner. He admired Yu Chengxu's courage to talk to He Xing at this time.
"Then you should have just said it directly," He Xing said, unable to bear it any longer. "You should have just said it directly from the beginning!"
Yu Chengwei was stunned and looked up at him.
"We told you from the beginning that we already knew about this matter, then expressed our stance on it to you, and then let you make the choice. Isn't that so difficult?" He Xing looked at him. "Why make something so simple so complicated?"
Not many parents can accept that their children are gay, so can the children accept being led to make a wrong choice and ultimately think that it is their own problem?
"...I...don't know." Yu Chengxu looked at He Xing, his voice gradually weakening, "...I don't know either."
...Is that so?
Is this actually possible?
"Under what circumstances did the phrase 'homosexuality is a mental illness' emerge?" He Xing asked.
"...was it when I asked them how they felt about homosexuality?" Yu Chengwei said tentatively.
He Xing didn't say anything. At this point, he didn't want to talk anymore.
He suddenly remembered what Maoqiu had said to him: "Yu Chengwei takes his parents' authority too seriously." It was impossible for Yu Chengwei's parents to be unaware of this, and it was impossible for them not to know that their every word and action would affect Chengwei.
So what exactly is the problem? He is not very clear.
But the problem definitely does not lie with these two people.
[…You're right. This is essentially a problem caused by the parents' misguidance.] Seeing He Xing calm down, Maoqiu flew back and tried hard to open his eyes wide and act cute. […Host, um, please don't be angry.]
He Xing ignored its coquettishness.
Just like the system told you before. When someone makes you angry, you can't just point out their flaws; you should also tell them what you want them to do. The fur ball closed its search for "how to make humans happy" and forcefully flew into He Xing's hand, allowing He Xing's hand to make intimate contact with its fur. "See, this is the correct way to guide a relationship."
"So you..." He Xing opened his mouth, and suddenly realized that he was chatting with the system, and thought out the second half of the sentence in his mind.
Yu Chengxu, who thought he was going to tell him something, suddenly panicked: What on earth does He Xing mean? Why doesn't he just finish what he's saying? Doesn't he want to continue talking to him?
[That's why you chose me to bind with you, right?]
"Yes, because you're the one who can guide him in this relationship, and Yu Chengwei..." Maoqiu paused, "He may not be good at other things, but if he's guided correctly, he can definitely give you the right feedback."
【If someone else were to do this, they certainly wouldn’t be able to do it. 】
He Xing looked at Yu Chengwei next to him and said nothing.
"I... still don't understand these things." Yu Chengxu looked at He Xing and said with courage, "I'm different from you and my cousin. I... don't have the courage to go out alone."
He couldn't just say nothing when He Xing expressed his dissatisfaction with his parents, but he also didn't want He Xing to decide to completely cut off ties with him because of this.
"Even now, after hearing what you said, I still can't hate them." Yu Chengwei's voice became increasingly low. "I know I'm a coward..."
"How did you get here?" He Xing interrupted Yu Chengwei.
Yu Chengwei looked at him and blinked: "I... walked here?"
He Xing asked him, "Did you come here by plane?"
"I took the same train as you," Yu Chengxu finally understood what He Xing was asking, "because I wanted to find you as soon as possible."
"Why didn't you bring other things you might need for the trip?" He Xing looked at Yu Chengwei, his anger gradually fading. "You only bought a bouquet of flowers?"
Yu Chengxu, who was gradually led astray by him, only heard the second half of He Xing's sentence. This time he gave the answer without thinking: "...Because I wanted to please you at that time." He didn't think of anything else.
"When you bought the flowers... did you ever think that if you couldn't find me on the first day, the flowers would wither?" He Xing continued to ask.
"Of course I've thought about that possibility," Yu Chengwei replied, "but if the flowers wilt, I can just buy another bunch."
So he wasn't actually bothered by the possibility that the flower might wither.
"A cowardly person wouldn't have the courage to go back to someone after they've broken up with him," He Xing said. "So you're not a coward."
"You've already..." He Xing wasn't very good at saying this to others, but he still tried to say it, "...you've done very well. Don't be too hard on yourself."
Maoqiu had previously said that Yu Chengwei believed too much in his parents' authority, and he felt the same way.
But in fact, from the moment Yu Chengwei chose to leave home and planned to find herself, he had already broken free from those invisible chains.
"Just because you don't hate them for this doesn't mean you're a coward," He Xing continued, still stumbling over his words. "It just means you... you..."
You are a good boy.
A good kid who is a little bit stupid, but after realizing his mistakes, he will try hard to repair the relationship.
He Xing didn't say the second half of the sentence because Yu Chengwei hugged him again.
He opened his mouth, but finally touched Yu Chengwei's back and asked softly, "Does your hand hurt?"
"...It doesn't hurt." Yu Chengxu wanted to laugh, but tears rolled down his cheeks uncontrollably. "It doesn't hurt at all."
[Hmm...] The ball of fur looked like it had reached 94% of its transformation degree and flew away from He Xing's hand.
It flew to a corner and whispered in a voice no one could hear: […So this is the best way for love to develop between humans.]
Although Yu Chengwei would be afraid and think of all kinds of bad possibilities in advance, he would not be timid and would still choose to take a step towards He Xing.
Although He Xing is not good at giving words of comfort and has a bad relationship with his parents, he will not hold others to the same standard, nor will he think that others are weak just because they cannot do as well as he does.
They are all learning how to change.
Although the process is difficult, it is indeed changing for the better.
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