"Oh, Xiao He's back! How was your day? Were you busy? Did you have a good dinner? Auntie'll make you a midnight snack."
When Aunt Shu saw Jin He storm into the house in a huff, she quickly smiled and went over to him, taking his coat and asking about his well-being with a beaming smile.
Needless to say, judging from this scene, you can tell that the two owners of this house have been arguing again. Aunt Shu has seen this kind of situation many times. Ever since Jin He's health gradually recovered, these two have been arguing every three days and having a big argument every five days, and they're always arguing about some trivial things. Sometimes they can even argue about whether to use a big bowl or a small bowl when eating.
So much so that if Aunt Shu doesn't see them arguing for more than six days, she starts to wonder if they've drifted apart.
After all, it's better to be outwardly united but inwardly divided than outwardly united but inwardly estranged, even if it's a bit noisy.
“We’ve already eaten at the hotel.” Jin He said with a long face, taking a deep breath. “Aunt Shu, you can go back to your room and rest now. We should be fine here.”
"Okay, I've poured warm water into your thermos. There's also your medicine on the bedside table, and a bowl of stomach-soothing porridge in the refrigerator. If you get hungry tonight, you can take it out and heat it up in the microwave. If you really don't want to eat, you can wake me up and I'll make it for you."
Jin He forced a smile and said, "Okay, goodnight, Aunt Shu."
When An Yi returned to the room, Jin He had already changed into his pajamas and was sitting on the bed taking his medicine. He held a glass of water in one hand and a small handful of colorful pills in the other, washing them down one by one with water.
When he saw An Yi return, he only glanced over there before lowering his head to drink his medicine, seemingly not wanting to say anything more.
An Yi waited quietly for Jin He to finish her medicine, then diligently took the water glass and put it back. He sat next to Jin He and stammered for a long time. Just as Jin He was about to look at him with a strange expression, An Yi suddenly spoke.
“Xiao He…” An Yi said, “Mom and Dad don’t really lack anything. They just hope to see the two of us happy. If it’s too grand, it will be too formal.”
An Yi rarely expressed his views so clearly, so Jin He repeated his opinion: "But we can't ignore these social niceties. As a junior meeting my uncle and aunt for the first time, I have to let them see my sincerity."
“I understand what you’re thinking, so I was wondering if we could make something small by hand and give it to them? It doesn’t matter if it’s expensive or not, the thought is what matters most. What do you think?”
Jin He scratched the back of his neck: "Isn't it...isn't it a little too shabby?"
“How could that be? My parents aren’t the kind of people who value material things.” An Yi thought for a moment and then said, “My dad is involved in literature. How about we go together tomorrow to make him a small seal? He loves those kinds of things. Your handwriting is also beautiful. All we need to do is give your handwriting to the craftsman, and then we can choose a more elegant design, okay?”
"And what about your aunt? What does she like?"
“My mom is even better off. She likes perfume. Tomorrow we can go find a seal maker to make a seal, and while we wait, we can mix some perfume ourselves, how about that? I know a place where these two shops are very close to each other, and then we can go to my parents’ house for dinner in the evening.”
Jin He's face lit up with a smile: "That...that would be fine, but I don't know what kind of style Uncle and Aunt like, so you'll have to help me pick one out."
"Of course."
"Okay then." Jin He stood up with a smile. "I'm going to take a shower now. Go to bed early tonight."
Jin He used two interjections in his sentence just now, which was enough to prove how good his mood was. An Yi's eyes almost popped out when he saw him humming a little tune all the way to the shower.
Jin He... is he really that easy to coax?
After all, An Yi only has some say in matters of physical health. In other matters, if he has any disagreements with Jin He, he usually listens to Jin He. After all, this tough guy never backs down. If he had listened to An Yi even a little bit back then, he wouldn't have developed heart failure at the age of twenty-five.
After figuring things out for himself, An Yi sat on the bed, feeling uneasy no matter how he thought about it. Seeing the medicine box that Jin He had placed on the bedside table made his heart ache even more. If he had just been more accommodating to Jin He back then, and hadn't been so confrontational, or if he had just been a little more patient with him, things might not have turned out this way.
Jin He returned after showering and drying her hair, only to find An Yi still in the same position as before, not even having changed out of his pajamas. She walked over to him and snapped her fingers: "What's wrong?"
When An Yi looked up, his eyes were a little red. Jin He was startled and was about to say something when An Yi helped him sit on his lap. An Yi didn't say anything, but just silently buried his face in his chest.
"What’s wrong with you?"
An Yi listened to the rapid, drum-like heartbeat coming from Jin He's chest—when Jin He was first discharged from the hospital, he didn't dare let him shower alone, as it would be very dangerous if he lacked oxygen. Now, at least Jin He's body could shower by himself.
It's just that my heart rate inevitably increases after taking a shower.
"Oh dear, what's wrong with you?"
“I just feel that if I had spoken to you nicely back then, and discussed with you about going to the hospital and letting you rest, your health might not be in this bad state now.”
Upon hearing An Yi's listless words, Jin He laughed and cupped his face in her hands, shaking it gently: "What are you thinking? Are you silly?"
"Isn't that right? I can never control my temper, but you listened to me today when we talked it over properly."
“I listened because I thought what you said made sense,” Jin He said. “At that time… the group was on the rise, and I simply couldn’t stop myself. An Yi, it’s not your fault, it has nothing to do with you.”
"But I'm your boyfriend, and it's my fault for not taking responsibility."
“It has nothing to do with your boyfriend. You were too busy taking care of yourself at the time. If you had delayed anything because of me, I would have found it even harder to accept.” Jin He said earnestly, “An Yi, I’m so glad that you were able to calm down and talk to me properly today. I know you have been working hard to grow up. Of course, you have changed a lot and matured a lot over the years.”
"But I still really like the passionate and straightforward An Yi at twenty, the An Yi who would get so angry and helpless every time we argued that he couldn't win an argument."
"But An Yi always made you angry back then."
“Who said I’m angry? I know what you mean.” Jin He smiled and said, “You can speak freely, because I can understand what you mean.”
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