Chapter 25.2
Editor: Princess
That evening, during dinner at the Luo household, a large pile of fresh, dark-red cherries was placed on the table. When Father Luo saw them, he immediately picked one up and popped it into his mouth. After swallowing, he grabbed another and asked Mother Luo, “Where did you buy these cherries? They’re really good. I checked with Old Yang the other day, but the ones he had weren’t this fresh.”
Mother Luo was confused for a moment. She looked at Father Luo then said, “Wait… Didn’t you buy these? I’ve already eaten several. I thought you bought them.”
“How could I have bought them?” Father Luo was just as confused. “You’re the one who does the grocery shopping every day.”
Mother Luo didn’t have a job. Her daily routine involved going to the market to buy fresh ingredients and fruits for their ranch and hot spring resort. So, naturally, Father Luo assumed she had bought them.
But Father Luo was the one who cooked every day, and when Mother Luo went to buy ingredients this morning, she hadn’t bought any cherries. She loved cherries, so she had assumed Father Luo had bought them as a little gift to make her happy.
She asked, “I didn’t buy cherries today, so where did they come from?”
“I got them from Ah Pei.” Luo Changzhou put his chopsticks down, reached out, and took another cherry. “I brought them back to share with you.”
Father Luo’s expression changed immediately. “Who is Ah Pei?!”
Luo Changzhou remained calm. “Your future daughter-in-law.”
“You— I—” Father Luo was so stunned that he couldn’t even swallow the cherry in his mouth.
But Luo Changzhou said, “You’ve already eaten them. If someone treats you, you have to return the favor. Since you took Ah Pei’s cherries, you can’t scold him when he visits.”
Father Luo: “…!”
Mother Luo, on the other hand, was much more open-minded. Back when they first found out about Luo Changzhou’s orientation, they had argued about it, but no amount of fighting could change reality. So, in the end, they had no choice but to accept it. Besides, she secretly thought she could always have another child. She smiled as she grabbed another handful of cherries. “Alright, alright. Then I’ll eat more. When Ah Pei visits, I promise not to scold him.”
Father Luo’s face twisted with frustration. But he had no way to argue back. He could only sit there, watching as Luo Changzhou and Mother Luo ate cherry after cherry happily. And then… he saw how fresh and plump the cherries looked. He hesitated for a moment before grabbing a few for himself stealthily.
Luo Changzhou noticed this and smiled slightly but didn’t say anything to embarrass him.
Seeing this, Father Luo felt a little better. Later that night, just before bed, he handed Luo Changzhou a box of tea.
It was a box of Jin Jun Mei tea—not the most expensive, but definitely not cheap either. Luo Changzhou raised an eyebrow. “Dad, are you asking me to make you tea?”
“Make tea my ass.” Father Luo huffed, glaring at him. “Your mother and I don’t drink this kind of tea. It’s just sitting around. Take it and give it to someone.”
Luo Changzhou took the tea and said, “Why give it away? I’ll drink it.”
Hearing this, Father Luo nearly lost his temper. He wanted to smack this unfilial son of his. Instead, he just tossed out a gruff “Do whatever you want!” and walked off.
“Dad—” Luo Changzhou called after him. “There are still some cherries left in the fridge for you and Mom.”
Father Luo didn’t turn around, but his footsteps slowed noticeably.
Luo Changzhou chuckled to himself. Then, after closing his door, he picked up his phone and sent Yu Pei a message on QQ.
[We finished all the cherries. My dad and my mom really liked them.]
Yu Pei replied just two minutes later.
[Really? That’s great! Do you want me to bring more tomorrow?]
[No need. Keep them for yourself. I’ll bring you something instead.]
Yu Pei was curious. [What is it?]
[I’ll tell you tomorrow. Now go to sleep.]
[Okay, okay. Goodnight.]
[Goodnight.]
After saying goodnight, Yu Pei didn’t turn off his phone right away. Instead, he dimmed the screen and secretly scrolled through Luo Changzhou’s QQ space.
Today, Luo Changzhou had posted a status update with a photo.
It was a picture of the Weigela Path, a scenic walkway in South City. The path was lined with Weigela flowers—clusters of soft pink blossoms that stretched along the road like a cloud of sunset hues. The Weigela flower had an incredibly long blooming period, lasting almost the entire spring. Its flower language: “A bright future ahead”.
Yu Pei had walked along that path once before. Which was why, during the “Diverse Campus” event, he had painted a vibrant field of blooming Weigela flowers for his classmates, wishing them all a bright future.
Back when school first started, he had felt a pang of regret when his mural was painted over with white paint. But now, seeing the photo Luo Changzhou had posted, he suddenly felt like those flowers had bloomed all over again—right inside his heart.
Before he even realized it, he had liked the post.
Immediately, Luo Changzhou sent him a message: [No more looking at your phone. Go to sleep.]
Yu Pei quickly replied, [Alright, alright, I won’t look anymore. Goodnight, Changzhou =3=]
He even added a little “kissing face” emoji at the end, as if surrendering. Then, he placed his phone on his bedside table, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
**
The next morning, as soon as Yu Pei saw Luo Changzhou, he started pestering him about the “mystery gift”. Luo Changzhou, unable to withstand his relentless curiosity, finally gave in and pulled out the box of Jin Jun Mei tea. “This tea isn’t bitter. You’ll like it.”
Yu Pei held the tea in his arms happily. But then, he remembered the little can of Pu’er White Tea that Luo Changzhou had given him earlier—it was still mostly untouched. “But… I still have a lot of the white tea you gave me before. I haven’t finished it yet.”
Luo Changzhou thought for a moment, then said, “Didn’t you say your big brother drinks a lot of coffee? You can give him this tea and let him try it instead.”
Yu Pei thought about it. Yu Qing did drink coffee often to stay awake, but drinking too much coffee wasn’t good for his health. If he could start drinking tea like Luo Changzhou instead, that would be great. So, he stuffed the box of tea into his backpack and smiled. “Okay! I’ll give it to my big brother when I get home.”
Luo Changzhou looked at his bright, smiling eyes and couldn’t help but smile as well.
**
During the last class before lunch, which was PE, Yu Pei was about to do what he always did—carry both his and Luo Changzhou’s bags over to their usual quiet little table. But then, he overheard two girls nearby chatting.
“Did you hear? Qi Wenqiang and Xiao Hangyi broke up.”
“I heard about it ages ago! It’s so obvious. She doesn’t even go near him anymore when he plays basketball.”
One of the girls looked puzzled. “But I thought Xiao Hangyi treated Qi Wenqiang really well? Why did they break up?”
The other girl shrugged. “Who knows?”
Yu Pei wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping. It was just that they were speaking at normal volume, and Qi Wenqiang’s name was a name he knew well. That was why he noticed their conversation.
But hearing Qi Wenqiang’s name again didn’t stir up any emotions in him. In fact, it barely meant anything at all. It was like hearing the name of a stranger.
Still, because of what those girls said, he couldn’t help glancing toward the basketball court once he reached their usual table.
As expected, Xiao Hangyi was still playing basketball with a bunch of other guys, just like always. But this time, there was no expression on his face. His movements weren’t as flashy as before either. And on the sidelines, the girl who used to hold his water bottle and jacket was gone.
“What are you looking at?” Luo Changzhou, just back from running laps, finished drinking his water and noticed that Yu Pei wasn’t looking at him, but at the basketball court instead. He frowned slightly and leaned in close to Yu Pei’s face. “What are you staring at?”
Yu Pei was startled. He jerked back so suddenly that he almost fell off the bench. If Luo Changzhou hadn’t grabbed his arm in time, he would’ve hit the ground.
Luo Changzhou raised an eyebrow. “Am I that ugly? Look how scared you are.”
“No!” Yu Pei denied it immediately. He glanced at Luo Changzhou’s face—his perfectly sculpted features, deep blue eyes, sharp nose—then quickly looked away. “Changzhou, you’re really handsome.”
“Then why won’t you look at me?” Luo Changzhou tilted his head back, gulping down the last of his water. His Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably. Then he lowered his head again and pointed at the basketball players. “You’ve been watching them this whole time. Do you want to play?”
Yu Pei couldn’t deny it, but he also couldn’t exactly explain why he had been watching. He definitely didn’t want to bring up Qi Wenqiang, because that name didn’t matter to him anymore. So instead, he said, “No, I can’t. I have asthma. I can’t do intense exercise. I just think you guys who are good at basketball look really cool.”