Lan Yin drew a cigarette from the pack and instinctively glanced at Zhi Zuo Si. Ordinarily, seeing her smoke this frequently would have made him frown, but today his expression did not change. Relieved, she relaxed. What she did not know was that he was indulging her only because her days of smoking however she pleased were nearly over.
She turned toward Ke Bu’s parents. “You don’t mind if I smoke, do you?” Without waiting for an answer, she flicked her lighter and set the tip glowing red.
“The fact that we came here should show you that we’re completely sincere about Ke Bu.” That was what she claimed, but where exactly was this sincerity supposed to be? Apparently, since money had failed, they were switching to heartfelt persuasion.
“This has nothing to do with sincerity. Every parent wants what’s best for their child, and everything we’re doing is for Ke Bu’s sake. China isn’t as accepting as other countries. How many people could truly accept a relationship like theirs?”
“The fact that we came here should show you that we’re completely sincere about Ke Bu.” Was that really the only heartfelt line Lan Yin had managed to prepare? She had even repeated it word for word.
“Are you listening to me?”
“The fact that we came here should show you that we’re completely sincere about Ke Bu.” Someone should have sent these two home to prepare before allowing them to come here. This family had never learned how to make polite conversation because they had never needed to.
Ke Qin grew increasingly frustrated by Lan Yin’s careless attitude. “Since it’s clear we can’t reach an agreement, I’m sorry, but I’ll have to ask you both to leave. Whatever happens, we cannot give way where Ke Bu is concerned.”
Lan Yin held the cigarette near the corner of her mouth, completely unmoved. “Do you know how handsome Zhi Li is? His grades are excellent, and he excels at everything else as well. He doesn’t have a single flaw you could name. He neither smokes nor drinks. He’s courteous, respects his elders, loves children, supports charity, and cares deeply about the environment. He’s gentle, considerate, understanding, and attentive in every possible way… What could you possibly dislike about him?” When she finally finished, Zhi Zuo Si gave her a long sidelong look but remained silent.
“None of that matters. However good he may be, he’s still a boy. Two boys being together is simply unacceptable. When I imagine the son I raised sitting across from me one day with another man, holding a man’s hand, embracing a man… I just…” Pain filled Wu Qian’s voice.
Zhi Zuo Si maintained his indifferent expression as he calmly said, “They do considerably more than that.”
The words dealt Ke Qin and Wu Qian a crushing blow. “Impossible. That’s impossible! How can you possibly tolerate something like that?!” Wu Qian’s voice trembled.
Zhi Zuo Si shrugged, spinning Lan Yin’s lighter rapidly between his fingers. “Why wouldn’t we? Ke Bu’s the one getting fucked, anyway.”
“Get out! Leave immediately! I don’t want to hear another word!” Ke Qin’s face went pale as he pointed toward the door.
Lan Yin shot Zhi Zuo Si a reproachful glance, then stood and gently patted Wu Qian’s shoulder. “The fact that we came here should show you that we’re completely sincere about Ke Bu.”
The same line again!!
“Don’t touch me! Get out!”
Lan Yin pursed her lips and glanced at Zhi Zuo Si. He gave a slight nod. Her expression darkened at once, her bloodthirsty gaze locking onto the couple like a witch choosing her prey. Since the straightforward approach had failed, it was time to use methods they actually understood. They did feel a little sorry for Ke Qin and Wu Qian, but the Zhi family lived by one rule: look after yourself, or be damned. Then again, it was difficult to see what had been so straightforward about their first two methods.
“Are you trying to teach us how to be parents?” A cold smile curved Lan Yin’s lips. “I may be selfish, but if Zhi Li is serious, then I respect his choice. When Zhi Zuo Si and I divorced, Zhi Li respected ours. But the two of you keep pretending. You pretend the world is beautiful. You pretend you’re noble. You pretend that because you feel guilty over your divorce, everything you do must be for Ke Bu’s good. Well, is Ke Bu doing well? You know better than anyone that he isn’t. You simply can’t accept his relationship, so you dress your rejection up as concern.”
“Th-That isn’t true!”
“It isn’t? Then you should’ve done a better job pretending. You shouldn’t have divorced and made Ke Bu suffer all those years. Then you held remarriage in front of him and hurt him all over again. You quickly realized that the arrangement was making you miserable, Ke Bu noticed, and so he had to suffer alongside you. Now you’re trying to take Zhi Li away from him too. Haven’t the two of you been the source of his pain all along? How touching. Should I applaud?”
Lan Yin’s blunt words pierced their wounds like arrows. They remained silent, weighed down by guilt and unable to argue because every word was true.
“Either be more fucking selfish or learn to be genuinely selfless. What is this pathetic halfway act supposed to accomplish? Zhi Li was the one who eased and healed the pain you caused Ke Bu. What right do you have to tear them apart? What right do you have to say there’s anything wrong with my son? What right do you have to care about something as trivial as gender? Of everyone in this world, you two are the least qualified to say you’re acting for Ke Bu’s sake. And the person you should be most grateful to is Zhi Li. Without him, the Ke Bu standing before you today would not exist.”
Lan Yin was rubbing salt into their wounds again and again. Only by forcing the pain to the surface could they finally locate its true source and recognize the harm caused by their past mistakes.
Lan Yin checked the time and turned away. “That should do it. Let’s go.”
Wu Qian’s gaze moved uncertainly between Lan Yin and Zhi Zuo Si. “Aren’t you worried? What if the entire world rejects them, curses them, and looks down on them?”
Lan Yin turned back, a faint smile softening her breathtaking face. “If the whole world stands against them, shouldn’t their parents be the ones standing beside them? Zhi Li is our son. He’s my treasure. I can’t even bear to let anyone else lay a hand on him, so how could I ever bring myself to hurt him?”
Zhi Zuo Si, who had been silent for a long while, pushed away from the table and followed Lan Yin toward the door. Then he suddenly stopped. “There’s one more thing.” He turned, walked back to Ke Qin, and drove his left fist hard into the man’s face. Ke Qin staggered several steps backward and touched his cheek, staring at him in confusion and fury. “What was that for?!”
“If you didn’t love her, you shouldn’t have married her. And once you chose marriage, you shouldn’t have acted like an asshole and fallen in love with someone else. I hit you because you’re an embarrassment to men.” With that, Zhi Zuo Si left alongside Lan Yin.
The night was beautiful. So were the faces of the two people walking beneath it. Together, they had created Zhi Li—the person Ke Bu loved more than anyone.
“Weren’t we told not to hit them?”
“Since when do I have to listen to that brat?”
“True.”
Lan Yin slipped her arm through Zhi Zuo Si’s and pressed closely against him. “How about a drink?” Zhi Zuo Si did not answer. Lan Yin continued, “Hey. Tell me you love me.”
“I don’t feel like saying it,” Zhi Zuo Si replied coldly.
“Then tell me you don’t love me.”
“I won’t say that either.”
“Stingy bastard. I’ll get revenge on you.”
“You?” Those same dismissive words had once driven Lan Yin to cut off her long hair.
“Looking down on women?” Lan Yin tightened her arms around his. “Then I’ll never divorce you again. I’ll stay beside you for the rest of my life and grow older and uglier until you’re terrified and regret ever choosing me.”
Now, because of those same words, Lan Yin intended to cling to Zhi Zuo Si until death.
“That might be difficult.”
“You still want to divorce me?”
“When I said it would be difficult…” Zhi Zuo Si lifted his free hand and gently swept the loose strands of hair away from Lan Yin’s forehead. “I meant that even an entire lifetime wouldn’t be enough to make that face ugly.”
Lan Yin’s smile blossomed beneath the moonlight. She released his arm, placed her hands on his shoulders, and rose onto her toes. Her voice turned low and enticing. “Then let me taste the lips that suddenly learned how to be sweet.”
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