On the day when Jiang's parents found out that their son had come out of the closet, Jiang Shui and Qi Yan were in the apartment, being affectionate with each other.

Since being discharged from the hospital, Qi Yan and Jiang Shui moved in together. The place they chose to live in was a newly rented apartment, which was close to Qi Yan's gallery and also close to Jiang Shui's cooking school.

There were only the two of them in this small apartment, and Jiang Ze would occasionally come over to stay for a while and then leave.

Jiang Ze banged on the door in a hurry and shouted to Jiang Shui: "Brother! My second uncle wants you to go home!"

Jiang Shui opened the door and looked at Jiang Ze blankly: "Why are you calling me home at this time?"

"... Well, I accidentally told you about you and Qi Yan." Jiang Ze had already admitted in his heart that he was a pig teammate, but when he was chatting, he blurted out: "Really, I didn't mean it! My second uncle is looking for you everywhere now... Be careful when you go home."

Jiang Shui looked at Jiang Ze for a long time, then closed the door with a "pop".

Jiang Ze touched his red nose tip, turned around and left with tears in his eyes. Inside the house, Jiang Shui looked at Qi Yan with annoyance, met Qi Yan's puzzled eyes, and asked, "Do you want to go home with me?"

They have been together for almost half a year, and this is the first time Jiang Shui has offered to take him home.

Qi Yan paused for a moment and shook his head: "I'm not ready yet, let's just forget it..."

"But my parents already know." Jiang Shui walked over, ignoring his shocked look, and hugged him from behind: "Come back with me, I'm timid and don't want to face it alone."

Qi Yan's face flushed slightly, he tilted his head and said: "When, wait for me to prepare tonight..."

"I can't prepare it, right now." Jiang Shui kissed his cheek from behind: "After today, everything will be fine."

In fact, Qi Yan wanted to say that it was good like this now, he didn't have to worry about his parents for the time being, and lived a good life in their own world.

In Qi Yan's heart, meeting his parents was still a long way off.

It was also a matter of hustling things. Qi Yan packed up simply, and with a nervous mood, he and Jiang Shui got on the car to Jiang's house. On the way, Qi Yan kept twisting the corners of his clothes, his eyes flickering and looking out the window.

Jiang Shui pursed his lips and soothed him, "Don't worry, Jiang Ze has paved the way for us."

"...What if your parents don't agree with us?" Qi Yan worriedly said, "I'm afraid that Jiang Ze will pave the way for me, and when I go there, your parents will kick me out without waiting for me to say anything..."

"Are you worried about Jiang Ze?" Qi Yan's humorous tone made Jiang Shui laugh out loud.

Qi Yan glared at Jiang Shui. Can't he see that he is nervous now? Still laughing!

"It's not that I don't trust Jiang Ze, I'm just thinking, if Jiang Ze tells your parents about our situation and your parents don't agree from the beginning..." Qi Yan lowered his eyes in silence, "You can't blame the old people, after all, it's normal for them not to accept homosexuality."

"Don't worry, I'm here." While the light was red, Jiang Shui reached out and stroked Qi Yan's cheek.

Hearing him comfort himself like this, Qi Yan smiled: "You said you were timid, and you told me not to worry."

"I think my parents are still very reasonable." Jiang Shui pondered for a moment, and said seriously: "They shouldn't do anything particularly excessive. Even if they don't agree, I will ask them."

Qi Yan raised his eyebrows and stopped talking.

He still trusted Jiang Shui very much, oh no, very much.

Arriving at Jiang's house, Jiang Shui parked the car on one side, got out of the car and walked around to the other side to open the door for Qi Yan.

Qi Yan looked at the huge and magnificent villa and suddenly felt very small.

Jiang Shui stood beside Qi Yan and said, "Are you scared?"

"Yeah, a little." Qi Yan did not deny: "I didn't expect you to be a young master from a big family."

"Yeah." Jiang Shui said, and suddenly a strange look appeared on his face: "By the way, my family... is quite a lot, so when you are surrounded and stared at later, don't get angry, they don't mean any harm."

Qi Yan suddenly thought of himself like a monkey surrounded by people, and shivered with cold.

Just as he arrived at the door, the door was opened from the inside, and an old man who looked like a butler stood at the door, squinting and smiling.

"Young Master, Mr. Qi, you are back."

"Uncle." Jiang Shui called, then turned to Qi Yan and said, "This is our housekeeper, we all call him uncle."

Qi Yan also called out, the old man narrowed his eyes, and led them inside: "Master and Madam are waiting."

These words made Qi Yan's already uneasy mood even more confused.

Jiang Shui held his hand, hoping to give him courage through his body temperature.

When Qi Yan was led by the uncle into the main hall, the first person he saw was Jiang Ze standing on the side facing the wall.

His heart tightened, Qi Yan wanted to gloat over the misfortune, but he couldn't laugh.

——Could it be that he was punished for speaking well for him and Jiang Shui?

After the figure of the old man flashed away, Qi Yan saw that almost all the seats in the luxurious living room were occupied.

Judging from their ages, most of them were the elders of Jiang Shui and Jiang Ze. Sitting in the middle of the living room, squinting at him, they should be Jiang Shui's parents.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Jiang Shui didn't say anything, and Qi Yan didn't dare to either. He squeezed Jiang Shui's hand and motioned for Jiang Shui to speak.

"...Mom and Dad, Uncle and Aunt, Aunt, I'm back." Jiang Shui called out one by one, and then introduced them to them: "This is Qi Yan, my...lover."

"Huh!" A middle-aged man snorted coldly, glared at Jiang Shui, turned his head and ignored them.

Qi Yan was a little embarrassed, and just when he was about to say something, he heard the woman next to the man smiling at them.

"What are you standing there for? Find a place to sit."

Jiang Shui nodded and said to the woman, "Mom, thank you." Then he pulled Qi Yan and sat on two chairs that the old man brought over.

Although there was not even a sofa, Qi Yan was very satisfied... It was better than kneeling on the floor!

As soon as he sat down, Qi Yan was bombarded by his aunts and uncles.

"I heard that you are a painter, a good profession."

"Now you have opened an art gallery, so you don't have to worry about your life."

"Hey, much better than our Jiang Shui."

"Indeed, if that's the case, the two of them are not a good match."

Qi Yan thought he would become the target of criticism, but after listening to their words, he realized that they were not talking about him, but Jiang Shui...

Turning his head, he saw Jiang Shui lowering his head in silence, as if he couldn't hear what they said.

For a moment, anger arose from his heart. Maybe they were just teasing, as elders wanting to inspire the younger generation... But Qi Yan didn't think they were using the right method.

As family members, do they really understand Jiang Shui? Do they know Jiang Shui's efforts? Or to put it more bluntly, have they eaten the food made by Jiang Shui?

They definitely haven't.

"Sorry, I can't listen anymore." Qi Yan interrupted them coldly.

The sounds around him stopped abruptly, and Qi Yan could feel that all eyes were gathered around him.

"As a junior, it is really rude to interrupt you, but I'm sorry, I can't listen any longer."

"Jiang Shui is doing really well. If he wants, he can go abroad for further studies in the next second. I believe that when he comes back again, he will be the pride of everyone."

"The 'unmatched' should be used to describe me. I'm just a painter. I only have one gallery, and nothing else. I won't make any progress, and my life will only end at this stage."

"But Jiang Shui is different. He is making progress every day, and his progress is endless. Maybe you think he is doing nothing now, and even his so-called ideals are worthless, but I believe in him."

"Please forgive my offense, has everyone eaten the food made by Jiang Shui?"

"It was only two days from the time I met Jiang Shui until he wanted to cook a meal for me. But everyone here is his relative since childhood."

"Yes, the Jiang family is a big family, a very prosperous family. The heir is like gold wrapped in gold powder, shining from the inside out."

"Jiang Shui just washed off the layer of gold powder, but he is still a piece of gold. He wants to carve out his own world somewhere else."

"He hopes to get your support, and he hopes that the food he cooks can make you feel his care and love."

"Half a year ago, I was not gay, and neither was Jiang Shui."

"But half a year later, my lover is Jiang Shui, and Jiang Shui's lover is me, it's that simple."

There was no sound in the silent room, as if everyone was shocked by him and couldn't speak.

Qi Yan stood up and slowly knelt down.

"You are all Jiang Shui's elders, and my elders as well. I apologize for the rude words I just said, but I don't regret it."

"Uncle and auntie may not accept me, but please accept Jiang Shui's ideals."

"He cares about you too, otherwise he wouldn't stay here all the time and be reluctant to leave. If he didn't care, he could almost fly abroad the day he moved out of here."

"Jiang Shui cares about you and loves you, so he has been waiting, waiting for you to give him a chance to show his ability."

What Jiang Shui needs is just everyone's recognition.

Qi Yan knelt there, facing all the silence in silence. That atmosphere made people feel terrible, and even the future was dark.

He and Jiang Shui might be over at this moment.

Suddenly, there was a shake beside him, and Qi Yan turned his head to look over. In the meantime, Jiang Shui was kneeling beside him, holding his hand, tightly.

He was excited and trembling.

In the bright and luxurious hall, two young men knelt in the middle, waiting for the sentence as if they had accepted their fate.

When no one said anything, Jiang Ze's exceptionally loud voice suddenly came from behind.

"I've eaten the food cooked by my eldest brother! It's so delicious!"

"Don't talk, you little bastard, where did you face the wall when I told you to!"

"No, mom, you really should try it. When I didn't eat, I went to my eldest brother's house to eat..."

"Oh! I was wondering why you don't eat every day, do you want to become an immortal?"

The conversation between Jiang Ze and Jiang Ze's mother eased the atmosphere around them, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

After a long time, Qi Yan felt his arms being lifted up by a pair of hands.

"Get up, child." Jiang's mother's gentle smile gave Qi Yan great warmth. She stroked Qi Yan's cheek and said softly: "Thank you for being willing to speak for Ah Shui."

"... Not speaking for him, but because he is not worth it." Qi Yan smiled: "Auntie, Jiang Shui is really amazing."

"I know, I have always known." Jiang's mother also smiled: "From the moment you came in, I knew that our Ah Shui is a blessed child."

"Auntie..." Qi Yan's eyes were filled with tears. The darkness that had just pressed on was now dissipated by the light of maternal love.

Jiang Shui was also pulled up by his uncle.

His uncle, Jiang Ze's father, was a man who never smiled. He patted Jiang Shui's shoulder and said: "The sandwich is delicious."

Jiang Shui raised his eyebrows and glanced at Jiang Ze. He found that he was looking up at the sky and did not dare to look at himself.

"Hey, I said that my sister-in-law is the one who knows everything about this matter." The middle-aged woman who looked younger walked behind Jiang's father and pushed his shoulder: "Don't you know your own son? Why are you acting so arrogant every day?"

For a moment, the atmosphere around seemed like a big family gathering, or it was a family gathering from the beginning.

The uneasy mood returned to calm, Qi Yan met Jiang's father's gaze and nodded lightly.

Sure enough, he got a cold snort from Jiang's father, but he didn't look away.

Qi Yan felt that he was being accepted by this whole family.

"Okay, okay, don't be too depressing, or you will scare other people's children again."

Jiang Shui's aunt took out an apron from somewhere, put it on, and walked towards the kitchen.

"I started cooking first, and you called me to check halfway through. Really, I lost all interest."

Halfway through, Aunt Jiang suddenly stopped, turned around and smiled at Jiang Shui: "Come on, nephew, give me a hand."

Jiang Shui was naturally willing, he smiled very happily, let go of Qi Yan's hand, and followed Aunt Jiang into the kitchen.

His ideal was being accepted!

Jiang Shui was happy, and Qi Yan also smiled at his back.

That's great, the dust has finally settled.

He was surprised that the Jiang family accepted him so quickly, even though he was a boy. He was also surprised that the Jiang family was so easy to talk to, as if as long as he talked to them, they would listen carefully.

The previous barrier was probably the result of no communication. Thinking of Jiang Shui's dull look, Qi Yan smiled helplessly.

During the meal, many of Jiang Shui's dishes were praised by everyone. It was not the kind of deliberate praise, but the real shock and surprise after eating.

Everything was so beautiful.

In the evening, Qi Yan walked side by side with Jiang Shui, feeling the night breeze blowing around them.

Jiang Shui held his hand and refused to let go. Qi Yan also held his hand, and the two of them felt the warmth from each other's palms.

Reassuring and caring.

"Qi Yan, thank you."

Jiang Shui's voice came with the wind.

Qi Yan smiled in his heart, but said mercilessly: "What are you thanking me for? I didn't do anything for you."

"Well, from now on, I will be the only one who does things for you. You just wait obediently."

"Tsk, you sound so worry-free. Find some time to study abroad."

"I don't want to leave you..."

"Humph, when the time comes, I will go abroad to relax, not to accompany you to study."

"Really?"

"It's fake, don't believe it."

"No, I believe it, you can't regret it."

...

Qi Yan almost held Jiang Shui deeply in his palm;

and Jiang Shui held him carefully and cared for him.