The room finally quieted down. Xu Zhe's face was so red it looked like it was about to bleed, and Xu Zhengxi watched with a smile for a while.
"I'm sorry." Xu Zhengxi sat up and apologized to her very sincerely.
Xu Zhe was stunned. She should be the one apologizing. If only she hadn't been so inconsiderate and lacked self-control...
"I scared you. I was just sleepy and accidentally fell asleep. I promise I won't do it again!" Xu Zhengxi explained, pulling her close to reassure her, just so she wouldn't worry.
"You need to get this while you're asleep?" Xu Zhe pointed to the IV drip in his hand.
Xu Zhengxi smiled and said, "This will be useful later."
He then pulled out the needle from his hand.
"What are you doing?!" Xu Zhe quickly pressed the bandage on the needle hole.
"Leave it for now, and put it on when Pei Yun and the others come over. I hope my uncle will at least remember that I'm on an IV drip and reduce the stress."
"Oh right~" Xu Zhe suddenly remembered what his uncle had mentioned about a girlfriend earlier. "Pei Yun, what's going on?"
Xu Zhengxi: "Pei Yun will bring Su Nan over this morning."
"Su Nan?!" Xu Zhe was even more stunned. "Su Nan?! They're together?!"
Xu Zhengxi let out a soft breath and nodded.
Not long after, Pei Yun arrived with her boyfriend.
There were quite a few people sitting in the living room; Xu Zhe couldn't recall the Xu residence ever being this lively.
The eldest uncle and aunt were seated at the head of the table, the youngest uncle was seated on the left sofa, and Xu Zhengxi and Xu Zhe were seated on the right sofa.
Pei Yun and Su Nan sat in the chairs opposite the head of the table.
As expected, Xu Zhengxi had an IV needle in his hand and was leaning against the sofa, looking sickly. Pei Li didn't dare to speak first and intimidate the tomboy.
Su Nan, who was carrying barbecue and crayfish yesterday, is dressed smartly today, her hair neatly combed. If you didn't know she was a girl, you'd think she was a handsome young man with slicked-back hair.
"Uncle, Aunt, Uncle, Cousin..." Su Nan took the initiative to break the silence and greeted each of the elders one by one. When she got to Xu Zhe, she paused for a moment and then awkwardly called out, "Sister-in-law."
Xu Zhe held back his laughter, but Xu Zhengxi laughed heartily, very pleased with Su Nan's address of "cousin-in-law".
After greeting everyone, Su Nan continued, "My name is Su Nan, I'm from Shanghai, and I'm currently a first-year student majoring in finance at Nancheng University. I'm Pei Yun's boyfriend."
"Uh cough cough..." Pei Li caught a choke and coughed incessantly.
He greeted everyone and introduced himself perfectly before, but the last "boyfriend" caught him completely off guard.
Pei Li took a while to catch his breath, then pointed at Su Nan and yelled, "Boyfriend?! Are you even a man?! What do you mean, 'boyfriend'?!"
"Uncle, it's like this, there are generally two situations when girls date. One is that both of them are female, and the other is that one of them is male in the intimate relationship..." Su Nan explained the relationship between lesbian couples to Pei Li very seriously.
Xu Zhe and Xu Zhengxi exchanged a glance. Su Nan must have misunderstood. Her uncle just wanted to scold her and vent her anger, and this girl started giving him a serious lecture?!
Sure enough, Pei Li's face grew increasingly grim. The atmosphere in the living room was extremely oppressive, like a storm was brewing. Even Pei Xun nervously watched his older brother, afraid that he might get so angry that he would hit someone.
Su Nan continued to explain, going through almost the entire history and current situation of LBGT.
Xu Zhe: "..." Sorry, sister, I'm a coward and you're an idiot, I can't help you.
"More and more countries are legalizing same-sex marriage, and I believe our country will become more inclusive and open in the future." Su Nan finished speaking, her eyes sparkling, as if she could really see the day when the rainbow flag flies freely in H country.
Pei Li's eyes were blazing with fury; anyone who glanced at him would be burned, but Su Nan, with her thick skin, was completely oblivious.
When his glare didn't work, Pei Li resorted to a direct and brutal approach, slamming his hand heavily on the wooden armrest, the loud "bang" shaking the living room.
"What nonsense is this!" Pei Li shouted. "Enough with the talk, I disagree! You two are not allowed to contact each other again!"
“Dad, love is a matter of personal freedom, your disagreement is invalid.” Pei Yun remained seated, her posture unchanged, as if her father had merely sneezed.
Pei Li leaned forward, his entire body stiff with disbelief at his daughter's attitude. How could Pei Yun, the steady, sensible girl who never caused him any trouble, have become like this?!
"Pei Yun! Homosexual! Pervert! Disgusting! You could be drowned by other people's spittle!"
He completely disregarded his image and dignity, and said the most offensive things.
"Big brother!" Pei Xun stepped forward. He had come to support his niece, and besides, although Su Nan was a bit simple-minded, she was interesting and pleasing to the eye. Pei Yun's happiness and liking were the most important things.
"Brother, societal attitudes have generally improved, and there's a high degree of tolerance for individual freedom. It's not as serious as you make it out to be."
"Besides, what others think doesn't matter at all. What matters is that Pei Yun is happy with whomever she is! You know, it's impossible for me in this lifetime, but I hope it's possible for Pei Yun!"
Pei Xun deliberately exposed his wounds to his older brother, hoping to gain some sympathy.
"You!" Pei Li was furious at his brother's unanimous support, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh to his younger brother. Ever since the old man broke up his free-love relationship, this kid had stubbornly resisted and remained single!
“I’m very happy and content with Pei Yun. I love listening to her talk, taking care of her, and sharing every interesting little thing in life with her. I think we are very happy,” Su Nan said sincerely, though at an inopportune moment.
Pei Li shot the target that was presented to him without hesitation.
"You tomboy, a freshman in college, you have nothing but empty words! You make a lot of low-quality contributions and then talk big, what kind of happiness can you give Pei Yun?!"
"A tomboy with blond hair who's never even seen the world has the nerve to talk to me about happiness!"
The living room was filled with a buzzing sound. Xu Zhe was so shaken that he wanted to cover his ears. Xu Zhengxi stopped pretending to be sick and sat up, ready to join the battle at any time.
"Dad!" Pei Yun called out to him, "Then do you know what happiness is? Is it having higher power and status? More wealth?"
She scoffed, "Even younger and prettier women? And those who will have more sons?!"
The living room fell silent instantly; not even a breath could be heard. Pei Yun had publicly humiliated his father, showing absolutely no mercy!
Pei Li's face was as dark as the deep sea, ready to unleash a tsunami at any moment.
Pei Xun and Xu Zhengxi remained calm and composed, believing that many things need to be discussed openly and thoroughly in order to find a solution.
Pei Yun looked at her mother, then at Pei Li: "Dad, I happened to grow up in the most unhappy family, but after growing up, I was finally able to escape."
"Don't try to hold me hostage with your values. I've been a spectator of your unhappy marriage since I was a child, and I'm sick of it!"
The living room fell silent again, deathly still.
Suddenly, with a loud "bang!", a teacup flew out, scraping the skin near the eye and shattering into pieces on the ground.
"Blood!"
"Call a doctor!"
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