With the misunderstanding finally cleared up, the two ate dinner and said goodbye to Mai Ding’s parents. On the way home, Mai Ding suddenly remembered everything he had just said to his father and became sentimental. He looked at An Zi Yan. “An Zi Yan, am I being unfair to you? You’ll never get to celebrate Father’s Day.” Mai Ding was male. The fact that he could never give birth to An Zi Yan’s child was something neither of them could change.
“If I can’t celebrate Father’s Day, I’ll celebrate Valentine’s Day.”
An Zi Yan said it so casually, yet the words sent ripples through Mai Ding’s heart.
Mai Ding held up the case of a movie DVD and said to An Zi Yan, “You know, movies and TV dramas are pretty fake when you think about it. A bomb always gets defused with exactly one second left. The protagonist gets sprayed with bullets, rolls around a couple of times, and somehow doesn’t die, while some supporting character gets shot dead the instant he appears. Just when the heroine is about to get XXX’d, the hero kicks down the door at the most crucial moment. Big Big Wolf is brilliant at inventing things and ridiculously smart, yet he can never manage to eat a single goat. There are tons of examples like that. How can everything in the world possibly happen with such perfect timing?”
“So what do you want to watch? The bomb blows everyone up the moment the movie starts? The protagonist appears and immediately gets riddled with bullets? The hero kicks the door down after the heroine has already been XXX’d? Big Big Wolf eats every goat?”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I was just asking.” Admittedly, if television really worked the way An Zi Yan described, there would be nothing worth watching.
“Most people can’t accept tragedies. Even when something has nothing to do with them, they still hope for a happy ending.”
“I like beautiful things too. The same way I like you. You’re something beautiful in my life.”
“Once a month is enough for lines like that.”
“Other people would kill to hear me say them.”
“Then those people are very lucky.”
Mai Ding stood from the sofa and made a face at An Zi Yan. “I’m going to study. Exams are coming.”
“Mm.”
Mai Ding sat barefoot on a chair, swinging his legs as he studied seriously. Once he made up his mind to do something, he would work hard at it regardless of what the final result might be, just as he had when he decided to love An Zi Yan. He studied until late at night, his eyes growing heavier and heavier until he finally fell asleep over the desk. After showering, An Zi Yan carried Mai Ding sideways to the bed and tucked the blanket around him. Then he returned to the desk, looked over the review questions Mai Ding had completed, picked up a pen, corrected every mistake, and added clear explanations beside them.
You never let me see your love, but somehow I can always feel it.
Today was Mai Ding’s mother’s birthday. Mai Ding’s father had dressed him up like a red lantern because red was supposed to look festive. Mai Ding stared at himself dressed from head to toe in blazing red and felt increasingly uncomfortable no matter how he looked at it.
An Zi Yan drove Mai Ding’s completely bewildered mother to the hotel entrance. Mai Ding rather cheesily covered his mother’s eyes with both hands. “Mom, you can’t open your eyes until I count to three.”
“Why not count to three hundred?” An Zi Yan had always looked down on this sort of performance.
Mai Ding stepped on An Zi Yan’s foot, then softly counted to three and removed his hands from his mother’s eyes. The darkened lobby suddenly lit up. Streamers flew everywhere, while forty or fifty people stood inside calling out birthday wishes. Mai Ding leaned toward his mother, who was already close to tears of happiness. “Mom, happy birthday. Dad arranged all of this. That’s why he’s been sneaking around lately.”
Mai Ding’s mother gave her husband a reproachful look, but she could not hide the smile tugging at her lips. They had never thrown a proper birthday celebration for her before; usually the family simply ate a meal together. Looking at her former colleagues and old friends, at her husband and son—and, of course, at her son’s husband beside them—Mai Ding’s mother was so happy that she barely knew what to say. Her eyes shone. Bai Xiao Si approached carrying a present. “Auntie, I brought you some cosmetics from overseas. Happy birthday. May you stay young forever.”
“Good, good. What a sweet girl.”
Mai Ding stared at Bai Xiao Si in astonishment. Where the hell had she suddenly come from? Once his mother went to greet the other guests, Mai Ding pulled Bai Xiao Si over. “When did you get back?”
“What, you aren’t happy to see me? We had so much snow over there that they let us out for break early.”
“Of course I’m happy, but your school sounds ridiculously casual. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?”
“I wanted to surprise you.” Bai Xiao Si gave Mai Ding a light hug, then turned around and immediately flew toward An Zi Yan, wrapping both arms around him. “Ex-husband, I missed you so much!” And what an enthusiastic hug it was.
“Hey, hey! Why is the difference that huge?”
After An Zi Yan pushed her away, Bai Xiao Si glanced at Mai Ding. “You look like Little Red Riding Hood. Who’d want to hug you?”
Mai Ding’s face turned bright red with anger. “What do you mean, Little Red? Stop bringing that up!”
After she pointed it out, Mai Ding became even more uncomfortable with what he was wearing and desperately wished he could change. But that would have to wait. First he needed to reveal the present he was so proud of, something he had secretly spent a long time planning for his mother: a brand-new bicycle. His mother had ridden her old bicycle for years, and it was long past time to replace it. Mai Ding had scrimped and saved, in addition to secretly “inviting” money from An Zi Yan’s wallet into his own every day whenever An Zi Yan wasn’t looking. He had even haggled with the shop owner for ages before getting the bicycle for only four hundred yuan. He could barely wait to show it off.
He had hidden the bicycle carefully outside.
“Mom, come over here for a second.”
“Okay.” Mai Ding’s mother walked over.
“Mom, I have a present for you too.”
Mai Ding was just about to take her outside to see it when a sports car pulled up in front of the hotel. Both Mai Ding and his mother looked over curiously and saw a handsome man and a stunning blonde woman climb out. Naturally, there was no need to guess: Zhou Ge and Ellen had arrived. Ellen wore a tight red minidress against her snowy skin, her beauty completely different from Bai Xiao Si’s. This was Mai Ding’s mother’s first time meeting Zhou Ge and Ellen. Thick-skinned as ever, Zhou Ge walked straight over and kissed her cheek. “Beautiful lady, happy birthday.”
Mai Ding’s mother’s eyes curved happily. “Good, good. Thank you.”
“I’m Zi Yan’s friend. My name is Zhou Ge, and this is my girlfriend, Ellen.”
Mai Ding’s mother clicked her tongue admiringly. “I knew you had to be one of Zi Yan’s friends. The lot of you could form an idol group! Mai Ding’s friends all look like a bunch of crooked melons and cracked dates. Oh, just look at all of you—so beautiful, so handsome.” Mai Ding’s mother rarely met foreigners, and as she praised everyone, her eyes moved between An Zi Yan, Bai Xiao Si, Zhou Ge, and Ellen while completely ignoring Mai Ding. He could not even find an opening to insert himself into the conversation.
Mai Ding coughed loudly from the side, only for his mother to push him away. “Tsk, tsk. So handsome. So pretty.”
Zhou Ge glanced at An Zi Yan. “Sorry we’re late. The thing you ordered arrived.”
An Zi Yan nodded, took Mai Ding’s mother by the hand, and led her toward the sports car. For one dizzy moment, Mai Ding’s mother felt like the heroine of a Korean drama. Now, Mai Ding’s mom, An Zi Yan is your future son-in-law. This is practically incest.
An Zi Yan took a bicycle from the car and placed it in front of Mai Ding’s mother. The gleaming bicycle was almost absurdly luxurious, covered completely in Swarovski crystals. An Zi Yan smiled at her. “Auntie, happy birthday. If you get tired while riding this bicycle, press this button and it’ll switch to automatic mode. That way grocery shopping won’t wear you out anymore.”
Whether in appearance or functionality, the bicycle was basically unbeatable. Imagine how impressive it would look riding around outside! Mai Ding’s mother was practically ready to clap. She circled the bicycle again and again. “Oh! Oh! Oh, it’s beautiful! Oh…” She barely knew what to say. She absolutely adored it.
Mai Ding, meanwhile, felt as though lightning had struck directly out of a clear sky, as though he were the only person standing beneath his own private thunderstorm. Still, he took a deep breath. I’m her biological son. Sincerity matters much more than gaudy material things like that. Mai Ding imagined an entirely different scene in his head: Son, thank you for saving every penny. What present could possibly compare with one my own son bought for me? Mom doesn’t care how much it cost.
He gathered his courage and walked over. “Mom, I have a present for you too.”
“Really? What is it?” His mother’s eyes still had not left An Zi Yan’s bicycle, and her hands continued stroking the glittering crystals.
Mai Ding pushed over his own bicycle, which had absolutely nothing special about it and was painted an ugly shade of yellow. He looked sincerely at his mother. “Mom, I saved money every single day this month to buy you this. I even haggled with the shop owner, and I pushed it here myself because I couldn’t bear to ride it first.”
Mai Ding’s mother turned around and glanced at his bicycle. “A bicycle? What a good boy.” Her tone was completely perfunctory. Then she looked toward Zhou Ge and Ellen. “Xiao Si, take them inside. We shouldn’t leave guests standing out here. Go in and enjoy yourselves.”
Zhou Ge politely nodded. “Auntie, the bicycle is beautiful. It suits a gorgeous woman like you perfectly.” He deliberately gave Mai Ding a thumbs-up. There was no need to wonder which bicycle Zhou Ge meant. Mai Ding’s mother still had not taken her hand off An Zi Yan’s. “Thank you. I love it too.”
That’s it? That’s all I get? Are you kidding me? Mai Ding stared indignantly at his mother. “Mom, I put my whole heart into this!”
Without even raising her head, Mai Ding’s mother continued admiring her new favorite bicycle. “I know. Just leave yours there for now. I’ll have your dad ride it home later. I’m taking this one inside so everyone can see it.” She carefully pushed An Zi Yan’s bicycle into the lobby. Mai Ding could not withstand this blow. So this is family love? Even clouds have more substance than this.
An Zi Yan sympathetically patted Mai Ding’s head. “Idiot. How much is sincerity worth?”
“You did this on purpose, didn’t you? You absolutely did!”
An Zi Yan shrugged, neither confirming nor denying it.
“AN ZI YAN! Today either you die or I survive! You stole my heart, stole my body, and now you’re trying to steal my family too! You greedy bastard!”
“You can even make that sound disgustingly romantic?”
“This is the only way I’ve found to make you uncomfortable.” Mai Ding had finally discovered one of An Zi Yan’s weaknesses: he hated sappiness.
An Zi Yan headed toward the lobby while Mai Ding followed behind him, shouting romantic declarations with all the aggression of someone hurling insults. “I love you! You are my life! You have to stay with me through every lifetime!”
“Stop making noise.”
“Let us dedicate our lives to love! Long live happiness!”
“I told you to shut up.”
“Let the raging floodwaters of love sweep me away! An Zi Yan, I fucking love you! Come on, tongue-kiss me!”
“I’ll rip your tongue out.”
I’ll kill you with my sappiness!! You demon!
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