Chapter 128: Shocking News
Chapter 128: Shocking News
Fang Yuenian had countless fantasies about being nineteen. From the moment he was able to ride his bicycle at high speed on the dike of Shuibiwei, he longed for the vast world beyond the village, for the freedom of adulthood, for making a name for himself, and for standing out from the crowd... Now, he realized that what he really wanted was peace and tranquility, and the companionship of Cheng Bing.
People's wishes can truly be transformed from a long list into something very simple.
Cheng Bing kissed him while cupping his face and slowly stroking his neck, then his shoulders under the down jacket. Even with the sweater, he could still feel that his shoulder bones were too prominent. When the lingering kiss ended, he carefully examined Fang Yuenian's face.
"Happy birthday." He chuckled.
Perhaps because it was really too hot inside and the air wasn't circulating, Fang Yuenian's cheeks had already turned slightly red and hot in just a short while. He tried to calm his breathing and smiled at Cheng Bing, "Yes, happy birthday."
Cheng Bing hugged him and moved a little closer to her lap, suggesting, "If you want, we can celebrate two birthdays every year from now on."
“No need for that, but,” Fang Yuenian thought for a moment, “if there’s any year in the future when we’re not on holiday at home for our Gregorian birthday, I’d like to spend it alone with you.”
Cheng Bing nodded, "Okay."
Fang Yuenian then leaned on his shoulder, half complaining and half pouting, "I don't want to go out."
Cheng Bing patted his back, "Is the snow still very heavy outside?"
"Yes, the snow is getting thicker and thicker."
How about we build a snowman together tonight?
Where are you? Are the sisters together?
“Let’s go with them again tomorrow,” Cheng Bing said. “I just went to the old sycamore tree area not long ago. The snow was very thick, and no other children have been there.”
Fang Yuenian was immediately delighted, "Okay, call me on your phone after you finish your New Year's Eve dinner at home."
Cheng Bing: "Okay, get up."
Fang Yuenian was reluctant. She straightened up, stared at him for two or three seconds, and then, as if possessed, wanted to kiss him again. Cheng Bing stopped her.
"What?" Fang Yuenian asked fiercely.
Cheng Bing smiled and asked, "What are you doing?"
Fang Yuenian flipped over the ignorant hand that was pressing on his chest, his domineering CEO aura rising, and fiercely kissed Cheng Bing's lips.
The previous kiss was tender and romantic, but this one felt like a spark igniting. The bathroom was already stuffy and hot, and now it felt like it was evaporating people. Fang Yuenian felt her blood rushing, and Cheng Bing also showed some impatience. With increasingly heavy breathing, their hands involuntarily wandered over each other's bodies. In the midst of this intense heat, suddenly, the curtain was lifted, and a cold draft rushed in.
Fang Yuenian turned her head in a daze, as if she had been electrocuted.
"Xiao, Sister Xiaoxiao?"
Cheng Xiaoxiao stood at the bathroom door, still holding the cotton-padded curtain open, her eyes wide with horror. Her lips moved slightly, and her gaze fell on Cheng Bing's reddened waist under the sweater that was pulled up and bunched up at her ribs. Her face was filled with indescribable astonishment.
Fang Yuenian fell off Cheng Bing's lap in a panic.
He lost his balance for a moment, and Cheng Bing immediately went to help him. The two of them squeezed together in the narrow space, while the heat in the bathroom dissipated almost completely.
Cheng Xiaoxiao finally put her hand down.
She couldn't close her mouth, but instinctively, she took a step inside.
“Sister,” Cheng Bing looked at her, “you…”
The curtains were drawn shut heavily.
In this small world, only Cheng Xiaoxiao and her two younger brothers remained.
"Sister Xiaoxiao..."
Fang Yuenian, who was always eloquent, was now speechless. His supposed openness and sincerity were actually impossible to express to anyone, at least not now.
"Put your clothes on properly," Cheng Xiaoxiao said, her voice hoarse.
Fang Yuenian immediately took Cheng Bing's coat from the hook on the wall. Cheng Bing took the coat and quickly put it on. In the chaos, she touched his hand, which was cold and stiff. He gently squeezed it and then let go, but it was no use. Fang Yuenian was stiff all over and his face was blank.
The two younger brothers stood there silently, but no one offered an explanation, or even bothered to make up a story—Cheng Xiaoxiao understood everything. She lowered her eyes, her chest heaving.
After what seemed like an eternity, Cheng Xiaoxiao finally raised her eyes, looking utterly lost, and asked, "Do you know what you're doing?"
Fang Yuenian finally waited for her to speak, and was about to speak immediately, but in tacit understanding, she and Cheng Bing said in unison, "We know."
Cheng Xiaoxiao was momentarily dazed.
She always thought she was a very responsible older sister, caring for her younger siblings, including Fang Yuenian.
The two boys had been playing and going to school together since they were little, their relationship was so good, the Cheng family had long treated Fang Yuenian as their own child, always thinking of him when there was something good to eat or play with. She invited the two of them to her place to play, let them sleep in the same bed, and they went in and out together every day... But now she was forced to know that her two younger brothers...
They're not even children anymore; they kiss, they're affectionate, and they do many other things.
“You,” she asked in vain, “you are…”
She didn't utter those three words, still clinging to a sliver of meaningless hope.
"Are you gay?" Cheng Bing looked at her sister without flinching and said directly, "Yes, I've known since I was little that I don't like girls. I've read books and researched, and I even thought about seeing a doctor when I was little. But sister, I'm not sick, and I'm not wrong."
Cheng Xiaoxiao slowly closed her eyes. "Do you... understand what homosexuality is?"
Fang Yuenian leaned forward, blocking Cheng Bing, and said through gritted teeth with red eyes, "Sister Xiaoxiao, please believe me, we know very well, much more well than most people."
“Oh,” Cheng Xiaoxiao said, feeling a chill run down her spine, “maybe.”
Cheng Bing continued, "I like Fang Yuenian. It's not the kind of liking that comes between brothers, nor the liking that comes between good friends. It's like how Dad likes Mom, and Grandpa likes my mother-in-law. We like each other just like that. I want to be with him forever. I want to be with him forever."
Cheng Xiaoxiao rubbed her temples, looking at her younger brother who was stubbornly refusing to speak, her mind a jumble of thoughts.
What should we do next?
How will these two face their elders? How will they face the villagers? Are they serious? If they continue to muddle along like this now, and then break up in the future, what will become of their sibling bond? They've grown up, gone to university, and the two families, separated by a river, have finally found some peace. But if things come to light, even if no one else says anything, that old woman Fang alone could single-handedly create a huge mess!
However, all these chaotic thoughts turned into a pang of sorrow when I saw the two people's hands clasped tightly together, their reddened eyes and resolute gazes.
This is a difficult road. They are too young to know if they can make it, and they have no idea how much pain and suffering awaits them ahead.
Cheng Xiaoxiao shook her head in frustration and difficulty, "You all know everything, but I've waited until you're all nineteen years old and you still don't know anything."
Her voice choked with emotion. Cheng Bing pursed her lips and finally lowered her head: "I'm sorry."
Fang Yuenian felt as if her heart was being torn apart. She wanted to speak, but it felt as if her throat was being choked.
"Alright," after a suffocating silence of about ten minutes, Cheng Xiaoxiao finally sighed, "Let me speak."
Cheng Bing and Fang Yuenian exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with a mixture of anxious anticipation and nervousness. "Sister?"
“I’m not that ignorant. I know what homosexuality is, so I won’t ask you to change your orientation. But human feelings, especially love, are very fragile. If you didn’t like each other, you might be friends and brothers for life, but now, it’s hard to say. Don’t tell me how deeply you love each other. I have eyes and I can see that you are very determined now, but you are still young. Your determination at this moment is not enough for me to trust you. I need time.”
Cheng Xiaoxiao repeatedly adjusted her breathing, as if she had exhausted all her strength after saying those words.
“So,” she continued, “I have a few requests that I hope you can fulfill.”
Cheng Bing and Fang Yuenian immediately said, "Sister, you say it."
“Since you hid it so well before, then from now on,” Cheng Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth silently, “just keep hiding it. Hide it well, hide it deep, don’t let your family, the villagers, or anyone else find out. Your parents live in the village, and you’re not the only ones bearing the pressure of societal norms.”
Cheng Bing was silent for a moment before speaking, "Okay."
“As for outside,” Cheng Xiaoxiao sighed, “Beijing is the most inclusive city, and it’s too far away. Just be yourself there. The world is too big. Respecting others is just as important as accepting yourself.”
Fang Yuenian heard the sound of her heart collapsing heavily.
No matter how much support Fang Yuenian received from Meng Xiaoyang and Li Peixiang, it was different. For the first time, family members spoke to them like this, encouraging them to accept themselves and be themselves. Fang Yuenian's heart was boiling with emotion, and she was deeply moved. Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Sister, I'm sorry, I... we should have..."
"Let's not talk about this," Cheng Xiaoxiao interrupted him. "I haven't finished yet."
She watched the two of them quietly, then suddenly tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“I thought the four of us were very close siblings. Our parents will get old sooner or later, and we would be people who grow old together and reminisce about them together... Now I realize that I don’t understand you at all. It’s okay. I hope you are doing well. I hope that when you grow up, experience difficulties, face reality, and endure pain, you can still be yourself. If so, no matter whether your relationship lasts or not, I will always be your older sister. But if you become a despicable group and do things that hurt innocent girls, I will never forgive you.”
After Cheng Xiaoxiao finished speaking, she noticed that the two people opposite her were in tears.
Only Fang Yuenian and Cheng Bing themselves knew how weighty and precious these words were.
“Sister,” Fang Yue Nian stepped forward, “I…”
"Alright," Cheng Xiaoxiao interrupted him again, not wanting to hear anything else he had to say for the time being, "It's getting late, you should go home." (Author's note:)
Thank you for reading. This book
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