Chapter 106 - Why Can't We?

On a weekend of the new month, Zeng was at the supermarket with a list in one hand and a trolley in another. The trolley was filled to the brim and he had almost exhausted the weekly budget. Yul ate a lot and Zeng wanted to feed him all sorts of dishes, so the monthly ration was always a lot.

While going back home in the car, the smell of coffee whipped his senses and he found himself parking in front of a well-known cafe. He took a cappuccino and walked to the other corner to get something for Yul. Now he was in the bakery section filled with mouth-watering pastries, cakes and other sweet delicacies.

What stood out the most were the doughnuts. Yul would love those. But there was one big problem with options.

Chocolate or strawberry, he didn't know what to choose. Both were equally expensive and given the money he had left from his budget, he could buy only one.

But which one? He pondered.

He hoped Yul was online. Fortunately, he was. He sent him a text.

"Chocolate or strawberry."

Yul was typing the next moment and a message was soon received.

"You choose."

"You have to taste it afterall."

Zeng scratched his head. It was for Yul. He wasn't going to eat it. Why was he saying something like that?

"???" He typed.

Yul sent one again.

"You are talking about condoms, right?"

An instant blush coloured Xiao Zeng's cheeks.

"Shameless!" He hit back.

"Idiot!"

"Stupid!"

"Don't talk to me!"

Two crying emojis appeared in the chatbox followed by a text.

"But I didn't do anything, Zeng ge!"

Zeng sent a punch emoji and ended their interaction, putting his phone away.

"Idiot," he mumbled under his breath and fanned himself from the heat. His boyfriend could be so shameless sometimes.

"What should I get for you, Sir?" The bakery employee asked politely with a smile.

"Um… What is your best seller for doughnuts?" He decided to go with that one.

"We have marble frosted doughnuts over here," the employee pointed through the glass on the topmost layer. "They are recently very popular."

When Zeng took a look at them, they appeared tasty. Yul would probably like them. Who was Zeng even kidding? Yul loved anything and everything with sugar in it.

"Then one box of these for parcel, please."

She nodded and packed doughnuts in a box. It was a rainbow-themed cardboard box. After all, it was Pride month and like most companies and shops this one too had decided to show its support to the LGBT+ community, at least for a month. He didn't know whether, for the rest of the year, they would be acting as if people like him didn't exist. However, in the month of June, everything would be rainbows.

But it was huge progress to finally see some representation, to finally be visible.

Same-sex marriages were legalized a year ago. Zeng's friend Meng Zaria and her girlfriend, Xuan Lu had already married just within a month of the announcement. It felt rather hurried but actually, they had been planning everything for years and just waiting for the right opportunity and time and when that opportunity came, they did not want to delay any further.

What was even more surprising for him was that they had decided to have a baby and opted for IVF. By the faith of the universe, they got fortunate on the second attempt and now, Xuan Lu was about five months pregnant. Zeng felt it all happened in a frenzy. It was too fast for his mind to comprehend. But in the end, the two people in the equation were the only ones that mattered. They were happy and so it was all worth it.

Zeng smiled as he remembered Xuan Lu. He also remembered her spontaneous craving for sweets this late in the pregnancy.

He had a thought. "Excuse me, is home delivery service available here?" He asked the employee.

"Yes, Sir. We can deliver."

"Nice, please deliver a box of glazed doughnuts to this address." He told her Zaria's address which she noted down and pasted over a box.

He dropped a message on Xuan Lu's WeChat.

"Hi Jie, I am sending you some donuts"

"Enjoy!"

"Take care"

"Name of the recipient?" He looked up to see the employee with a pen in her hand.

"Xuan Lu."

She wrote it down. It was ready for delivery.

"Your girlfriend, Sir?" She asked Zeng while closing the marker.

Zeng waved his hand, "Oh no-no, she's like a sister."

The employee nodded with a smile. Zeng paid for everything.

"Do visit again." The employee bowed to the customer.

"Sure." Zeng smiled and got out of the shop.

He reached home. The light on the porch was already on. He honked while sitting in his car, which meant help was needed for opening the door since Zeng had his hands full with the shopping bags. Yul opened the door for him and took away the bags.

"So you weren't talking about condoms?" The man asked sheepishly once Zeng got in.

"I wasn't, idiot!" Zeng hissed and sat on the couch, letting his body relax from the fatigue.

"What did you bring for me?" Yul asked, searching for the bags in the kitchen.

"Doughnuts. In the rainbow-coloured bag." Zeng yelled in answer from the couch.

"I love you," Yul said out loud as a means of thanking. He came back shortly after in the hall and sat beside Zeng with the box of doughnuts, one already in his mouth.

Zeng looked at him. "You are so messy," he said, wiping the crumbs away from his boyfriend's face.

"You know, I sent a box for Lu jie too. Zaria told me she had been craving for sweet things after entering the fifth month. She must have received it by now."

Yul nodded at the information, ripping off a doughnut and tossing it beyond his lips.

Zeng rambled on. "They had called us for dinner the next Saturday. Can't wait to see her. I hope she and the baby are doing fine."

Yul shredded another doughnut and stuffed it in his mouth, chomping on it annoyingly. Zeng noticed the change of mood. He poked the bulging cheek and Yul looked up at him.

"What happened?" Zeng asked.

"Nothing." Yul shrugged with a tense shoulder slumping back on the couch with a doughnut in his hand, "It's very nice that they got married so early and are having a kid."

'I wonder why can't we?' he refrained from adding.