CH 61

Tao Xi walked up to Lin Qinhe, who was holding a bag of sugar roasted chestnuts, and he handed it to him.

The chestnuts were still warm, and the fragrance came to his face. Tao Xi took out one and peeled it, the sweet and dense taste made him squint his eyes, and the irritation seemed to fade away.

He asked Lin Qinhe: “How do you know I want to eat sugar roasted chestnuts, where did you buy it?”

Lin Qinhe looked at Yang Zhengming who was still standing there, and then walked towards the elevator entrance with Tao Xi while saying, “There is a shop selling sugar roasted chestnuts next to the fruit shop.”

When buying fruit before, Lin Qinhe saw Tao Xi look at the fried chestnuts next door several times and knew he wanted to eat them so he went to buy them while they were talking.

“Is that so? I don’t remember.” Tao Xi peeled another chestnut and fed it to Lin Qinhe.

Seeing Tao Xi’s expression as usual, Lin Qinhe relaxed a little. He didn’t ask about the ward, but asked, “Will you go back to school in the afternoon?”

Tao Xi continued to eat chestnuts, nodding as he said, “I missed so many classes yesterday afternoon plus this morning, I have to catch up on my classes and homework.”

After following Lin Qinhe out of the hospital, Tao Xi suddenly looked back at the tall building of the inpatient department, Lin Qinhe seemed to know what he was thinking and asked him, “Do you want to go take a look?”

Tao Xi dropped his eyelashes in silence for a moment and finally shook his head.

They went back to school, and life seemed to be no different from before. High school was intense, and Tao Xi didn’t have much of a mind to think about anything else; he was focused on preparing for the TOEFL and final exams.

But the day before New Year’s Day, Fang Zuqing called him personally, and the old man spoke earnestly, hoping he could come home for a meal in the evening.

Tao Xi agreed.

Yang Zhengming drove to Wenhua No. 1 High School to pick up Tao Xi. When the guard at the gate saw him, he asked politely: “Mr. Yang came to pick up your son?”

Yang Zhengming only smiled and nodded.

After school, Tao Xi and Lin Qinhe walked to the gate of the school and saw Yang Zhengming at a glance. In the past two days, Yang Zhengming had come very often, sending gifts and food, and he had almost become uncomfortable with this man.

Yang Zhengming hurried forward, took Tao Xi’s schoolbag in the surprised eyes of the guard, and said with a smile: “I’ve come to pick you up and take you back to Grandpa’s house.”

Tao Xi felt that this smile on Yang Zhengming’s face was somehow familiar. He thought about it and did not refuse. After all, after so many years, no matter what kind of person Yang Zhengming was, their father-son relationship could not be changed.

Lin Qinhe had never had a good impression of Yang Zhengming, and now it was even worse, he just asked Tao Xi in a low voice: “Are you coming back tonight?”

Tao Xi hesitated, thinking of Grandpa’s intention of wanting him to stay overnight on the phone, and said with uncertainty, “I should be back.”

Lin Qinhe didn’t say anything, just said “Okay”.

After Tao Xi bid farewell to Lin Qinhe and got into Yang Zhengming’s car, Bi Chengfei, who had just witnessed this scene, almost had his eyes popped out. He walked up and put his hand on Lin Qinhe’s shoulder and asked in shock, “Xueshen, why did Xi ge get into Yang Duole’s dad’s car?

He suddenly thought that Yang Zhengming was also involved in the CAC competition, and suddenly realized: “Did he ask Xi ge to apologize? Or is he trying to bully his way in?”

Lin Qinhe threw away Bi Chengfei’s hand and turned to walk away without a word.

Bi Chengfei stood in place worrying about Tao Xi’s safety, and suddenly thought of the look on Lin Qinhe’s face just now, that expression, it was as if he saw Tao Xi being abducted and sold.

Tao Xi sat in the passenger seat and watched Yang Zhengming fumbling with the radio, while asking him what songs he liked, he said whatever.

Yang Zhengming then played some songs that he thought high school boys would like to listen to, and deliberately looked for topics to talk about with Tao Xi. It was nothing more than learning and painting. However, the two were unfamiliar with each other and had nothing to say. Tao Xi’s answer was very perfunctory, but Yang Zhengming was not at all annoyed.

In the car, Tao Xi finally remembered how familiar Yang Zhengming’s smile was. When he had met Yang Zhengming at the Crab House before, accompanying Yang Duole to catch the doll, Yang Zhengming had that smile of pleasing and indulgence on his face. But now the smile was a little stronger and a little more awkward.

He suddenly felt a little funny. Yang Zhengming had failed to please a fake son, and now he was trying to please a real one, changing roles so quickly, as if he didn’t have any feelings for Yang Duole.

Perhaps only such a heartless person would find a lover  after the death of someone he loved dearly, without a care in the world.

Seeing that Tao Xi really didn’t have much interest in talking to him, Yang Zhengming stopped talking after a while.

In the evening rush hour traffic jam, one after another honking sound came from the car window, mixed with the unpleasant music in the car, Tao Xi closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep but just as he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard Yang Zhengming say:

“Tao Xi, I haven’t been able to say sorry to you during this period of time. I am responsible for Yang Duole and Guan Fanyun. I have broken up with Guan Fanyun.”

Tao Xi closed his eyes and did not respond.

Yang Zhengming knew that Tao Xi was listening. He rubbed his fingers on the steering wheel, hesitating for a long time before finally saying in a breath: “In fact, I haven’t fulfilled my responsibilities as a father all these years. Now it seems ridiculous to start being a father, but I really think so, I hope you…It’s not that I want you to accept me as soon as possible, but that you don’t resist me and give me a chance to make up for you.”

Yang Zhengming had always been good at speaking. Even though these few words were spoken with hesitation and apprehension, but obviously, he had been preparing for a long time.

Tao Xi half opened his eyes. Yang Zhengming suddenly became so serious that he didn’t know what to say at the moment, only pressed his lips lightly.

Seeing that Tao Xi didn’t speak, Yang Zhengming turned to ask carefully: “You and… Qinhe are living together now, right?”

Hearing Lin Qinhe’s name, Tao Xi’s gaze instantly turned to Yang Zhengming, his gaze was clearly guarded.

Yang Zhengming saw this wariness, smiled bitterly and hurriedly explained: “I’m not trying to oppose anything, Qinhe is a very good child. I just want to say that you are free to do what you like and be with the person you like, and dad will always support you.”

He could tell the relationship between Tao Xi and Lin Qinhe at a glance. He had no opinion about it, nor was he qualified to have an opinion. However, the Lin family’s family style was strict, the old man of the Lin family was notoriously old-fashioned and conservative. He thought of his own father-in-law, who was just like him, and couldn’t help worrying that Tao Xi would experience ups and downs like himself in the future.

Tao Xi was a little stunned by Yang Zhengming’s sudden remark. He was silent for a while and turned his head to look at Yang Zhengming.

Yang Zhengming looked at the traffic ahead. Noticing Tao Xi’s line of sight, he turned to look at him, and asked warmly, “What’s wrong?”

Tao Xi pursed his lower lip, and didn’t respond to Yang Zhengming’s previous words. He only said: “Turn off the music, it’s unpleasant to listen to.”

Yang Zhengming was stunned for a moment. A smile appeared on his face as he said ‘okay’ and quickly turned off the music.

After the Fang family moved out of the professor building of the Wenhua University, they had been living in a villa area on the outskirts of the city, a detached house, which was taken care of by the two elderly people.

With a bright moon in the night sky, the car slowly drove into the yard with a light on. Tao Xi saw two elderly people in the warm yellow light in the car, supporting each other and standing in front of the house, and after seeing the car coming in, they walked two steps forward, waving to him with a smile.

Tao Xi remembered this scene for a long time for some reason. After getting out of the car, he was welcomed into the house by the two old people, and was greeted by the fragrance of rice and melting warmth.

Ye Yurong helped him hang up his school bag and coat and took him to wash his hands. Together with Fang Zuqing, they held him to the dining room where dinner had already been prepared. There were plenty of dishes on the table, so Ye Yurong asked him to sit down and introduce these homemade dishes to him with a smile.

“I don’t know what you like to eat, so I have made a variety of dishes. If there’s a dish you like, tell grandma, grandma will cook it for you later.”

Tao Xi was somehow uncomfortable, not for discomfort, but because he had never experienced such overwhelming attentiveness before. He curled up his fingers and whispered a sentence of “thank you”.

“What is there to thank in your own home.” Ye Yurong smiled. When she heard a “ding” in the kitchen, she turned around to fetch the last dish in the oven but Yang Zhengming hurriedly asked Ye Yurong to sit down and went to get the dish.

It was a garlic-flavored roasted wing. It was roasted well, with a hot aroma.

Yang Zhengming put the dish on the empty place on the table, but Fang Zuqing, who had already sat down, slowly stood up.

It hadn’t been long since the old man was discharged from the hospital so his hands and feet were still inconvenient. He supported the tabletop with one hand, his body slightly leaned toward Tao Xi, and the other hand slowly moved the plate of grilled wings in front of Tao Xi, and said in a kind voice:

“Children like to eat these, we are too old to eat them.”

Tao Xi looked at the uncontrollable trembling hand and heard the sound of “children”. Suddenly his vision became blurred. He blinked quickly, stood up and assisted Fang Zuqing to sit down on the chair.

Yang Zhengming took out the various drinks that had been prepared and asked Tao Xi what he wanted to drink. Tao Xi said he only drank rice wine. Ye Yurong made that rice wine and seeing Tao Xi liked to drink it, she smiled very happily and said:

“Your mother liked to drink my rice wine since she was a child, but she would get drunk if she had more than one bowl. Once she secretly drank too much and passed out. I thought she was sick and took her to the hospital, it turned out to be a joke.”

Tao Xi was yearning and curious about his mother, and the two old people then told him a lot of things about Fang Sui’s past.

In their narration, Tao Xi knew that his mother was like the daughters of all wealthy families, simple and naive, growing up in a loving environment, but neither of them told why Fang Sui ended up going to Taoxi Bay alone.

The atmosphere of this dinner was like the New Year’s Eve dinner of an ordinary family. Perhaps the house was so warm that it was easy to relax. Tao Xi suddenly had an illusion that he seemed to have been here all these seventeen years, and every day when he came back from school and threw his school bag on the sofa, his grandmother would make a table of dishes and call him for dinner, and his grandfather would ask him what he had learned at school today.

With seventeen years of absence and blankness, no matter how deep the blood ties were, it was impossible to make the strangeness disappear overnight. It might take a year or two or even longer to fill the gap in these years.

Perhaps one day the cracks would be healed by the years, and they would eventually be in perfect harmony.

In the middle of dinner, Fang Zuqing hesitated for a long time, but still mentioned Yang Duole to Tao Xi. This was the choice they had to make.

“It’s our fault that he did such a wrong thing, it’s our fault that we pampered him too much, so he didn’t learn well and walk on the wrong path.”

Speaking of this child, Fang Zuqing eyes show a sigh of regret: “We raised him, and we didn’t ask him for anything in return. We won’t continue to raise him when he becomes an adult. He made his own mistakes and he should pay the price. The result of the school’s side is to withdraw from school. We won’t stop him again, just … “

After all, he was the child he raised with his own hands. He was able to sever this kind of nurturing with a cruel heart, but he still couldn’t stand watching him and his grandson get caught in a lawsuit.

Fang Zuqing sighed. The sudden and dramatic changes in the past few days made the old man much older, he pleaded with Tao Xi: “My  child, I know you will not forgive him, and I do not ask you to understand him. It’s just that can you look at grandpa’s face and stop pursuing his legal responsibility anymore. You will have nothing to do with him in the future, and we will never keep him here. This will always be your home.”

If Yang Duole did not do such a thing, they might continue to keep Yang Duole at home after so many years of affection. But now they knew that their own grandson would never be able to live in harmony with Tao Xi; letting him stay here, they were afraid that Tao Xi would not come back at all.

The dining room was quiet, Ye Yurong also looked at Tao Xi earnestly, and Yang Zhengming remained silent.

Tao Xi was quiet for a while, and finally said, “Okay.”

He was not such a generous person, but he didn’t want to see his grandpa and grandmother caught in distress again.

Even though he knew that the two old people might not be as heartless as they say they were and would probably still care about Yang Duole, he no longer cared because Yang Duole was no longer in his eyes.

After that, the atmosphere on the dining table gradually became lively. Tao Xi finished drinking a bowl of rice wine and couldn’t help adding another bowl. After drinking, his eyes were still clear, and Ye Yurong smiled and sighed that he was drinking much better than his mother.

After dinner, the family sat and talked in the living room. Fang Zuqing wanted Tao Xi to stay and showed him the new room. The room was large, with a wide balcony, and several easels of different sizes.

But Tao Xi politely declined, only saying that had to go to school early the next day and this place was a little far away from the school even by car. Seeing that the two old people were disappointed, he promised that he would come and live during the holiday. The old man thought he lived in the dormitory and asked Yang Zhengming to send him back.

Yang Zhengming, according to the address given by Tao Xi, sent him to the entrance of the neighborhood of Lin Qinhe’s house. Before Tao Xi got off the car, Yang Zhengming was torn for a moment, but could not resist to vaguely remind his son:

“You are still young, there are some things that are better to do when you are an adult.”

Tao Xi has been sleeping on the way back. Shortly after he was woken up, he looked at him blankly and asked, “What is it?”

“Haha, it’s nothing.” Yang Zhengming awkwardly closed the conversation. Seeing Tao Xi’s appearance, he knew that this child was still a blank sheet of paper, and thought that Lin Qinhe, who was so stable, should not be fooling around.

He smiled as he watched Tao Xi enter the neighborhood, but the more he thought about it, the more wrong it was.

He didn’t object to his son falling in love with Lin Qinhe, but what happened to his son living in someone else’s house, at least let Lin Qinhe should come to live in his son’s house occasionally.

Yang Zhengming shook his head and decided to put the river view house he just bought under Tao Xi’s name as soon as possible.

When Tao Xi returned home, Lin Qinhe was taking a bath in the bathroom.

Lin Qinhe opened the door in a bathrobe after taking a bath and saw a figure flying over. He quickly hugged him, with his hands around Tao Xi’s buttocks and waist. His expression on his face was calm, but the surprise smile in his eyes couldn’t be hidden.

“I thought you would stay at Grandpa’s house.”

Tao Xi’s legs clamped around Lin Qinhe’s waist with one arm wrapped around Lin Qinhe’s neck while the other hand hooked Lin Qinhe’s chin and said with a smile, “I’m coming back to spend New Year’s Eve with you.”

Lin Qinhe obediently raised his jaw, looking at Tao Xi who was somehow clingy tonight, the corners of his mouth hooked into a smile, and he asked in a low voice, “How to accompany, ah?”

Tao Xi didn’t react, and his mind was stuck and repeated: “How to accompany?”

Lin Qinhe stared at Tao Xi’s confused eyes for two seconds and sighed in his heart as he carried Tao Xi towards the bedroom, asking in a rambling voice, “How was the food at Grandpa’s house?”

When Tao Xi heard this question, his eyes became bright and he said with a smile: “It was delicious, Grandma cooked a lot of dishes for me.”

“Which dish do you like best?”

Tao Xi tilted his head and tangled for a while, and finally said: “Roasted wings with garlic.” After thinking about it, he added, “There is also rice wine made by grandma, it is delicious!”

No wonder.

Lin Qinhe hugged Tao Xi and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Today was the last day of the year. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, you could overlook the neon-flickering riverside square, where the crowds were surging and lively, waiting for the arrival of the new year with great fanfare.

Lin Qinhe wanted to put Tao Xi on the recliner, but Tao Xi’s arms and legs were wrapped tightly around him and he didn’t seem to want to come down, so Lin Qinhe continued to hold Tao Xi and walked slowly around the room like a coaxing child, asking him about his first experience back at his grandfather’s house.

“I have a room now, with a big balcony overlooking the garden, and Grandpa said I can draw there.” Tao Xi nibbled on Lin Qinhe’s ear.

“Do you like that room?”

“Like! I’ll take you to play next time.”

Lin Qinhe smiled and said, “Okay.”

“Grandma said she wanted to knit a scarf for me and let me choose the wool.” Tao Xi again came close to Lin Qinhe’s ear and whispered, as if he was sharing some happy secret.

Lin Qinhe asked, “What color did you choose?”

Tao Xi curled the corners of his mouth and said, “I said both gray and black look good, and Grandma said she’ll knit them both for me, so I’ll share one with you when the time comes!”

“Okay.” Lin Qinhe’s smile deepened.

In the end, there was nothing more to say, Tao Xi finished being excited and began to get sleepy, resting his chin on Lin Qinhe’s shoulder. Lin Qinhe kissed Tao Xi’s hair on the side and asked, “Do you want me to help you take a bath?”

Tao Xi completely lost his previous embarrassment and nodded as he said, “okay, okay.”

Lin Qinhe turned to the bathroom with Tao Xi in his arms and placed him on the sink. Tao Xi sat obediently, both hands propped up on the countertop, lips slightly open, looking at Lin Qinhe eagerly, as if waiting to be serviced, as if he didn’t even know how to take off his clothes.

Lin Qinhe stared at Tao Xi’s lips for two seconds, raised his hand to pinch Tao Xi’s chin and admonished, “No drinking outside in the future, not even rice wine, understand?”

Tao Xi was a little confused, but still nodded and said “yes”

But Lin Qinhe knew at this point that if he asked Tao Xi to sleep with him, Tao Xi would not hesitate to say yes, even if he didn’t even know what sleeping with him meant.

Tao Xi didn’t notice that Lin Qinhe’s eyes looked a little strange when he looked at him. Remembering about taking a bath, he gently kicked Lin Qinhe’s leg and urged, “I want to take a bath.”

But the next second he was kissed by Lin Qinhe who leaned in, both legs were spread, and his waist and the back of his neck were tightly clamped. He was forced to tilt his head up and close his eyes, accepting Lin Qinhe’s gentle kiss.

He was kissed very comfortably, and his hands consciously embraced Lin Qinhe’s neck, but the kiss became more and more fierce, making his scalp tingle. He couldn’t help but raise his chest impatiently, his legs unconsciously clamping down on the person in front of him.

A hand stroked up from the side of his waist, making him shudder at every pass. The hand finally stopped at the front of his neck, his fingers nimbly unbuttoning his school uniform shirt, and he was so dizzy from the kiss that he didn’t realize his clothes were almost stripped clean until he was carried into the bathtub.

Lin Qinhe ripped off the bathrobe that had long been half wet on his body and then stepped into the bathtub.

The small bathtub suddenly became cramped, and warm hot water was slowly poured into the bathtub. Tao Xi moved to the side to make room for Lin Qinhe, intending to soak with him, but he didn’t know what happened, he was hugged by Lin Qinhe and pressed underneath as soon as he turned around.

When the New Year was approaching, Tao Xi had been washed clean and lying on the bed, Lin Qinhe half held him and applied ointment to his inner thighs.

Tao Xi leaned against Lin Qinhe’s arms and was so sleepy that he was about to fall asleep, letting Lin Qinhe’s hands fiddle and caress his leg. The skin that was originally fair and firm was a little red and swollen at the moment, as if it had been rubbed hard.

The moment the clock struck, the distant Ferris wheel outside the floor-to-ceiling window flashed with brilliant light, bright fireworks shone on the city’s night, and the tidal wave of people gathered in the riverside square shouted “Happy New Year” to the sky. Everyone’s face was full of anticipation for the New Year.

Lin Qinhe clasped Tao Xi’s hand, leaned down and kissed Tao Xi, who had already closed his eyes, on the lips and whispered, “Baby, happy new year.”

“Happy New Year.” Tao Xi wished from his sleep, and hooked the neck to kiss Lin Qinhe back, but the kiss landed on his chin.

Lin Qinhe held the back of Tao Xi’s head and lowered his head to complete the kiss.

With the arrival of the new year, people in the square went home with a smile after a big carnival.

The author has something to say:

Not an adult yet, can only have dry addiction1