Coming out for Ye Qingyang and Lu Jingcheng turned out to be far simpler than Ye Qingyang had imagined—much simpler, in fact.
After graduating from university, Lu Jingcheng’s father tried to set him up on a blind date. “The girl is your age, quiet in temperament, looks—”
Before he could finish, Lu Jingcheng interrupted firmly, “No, I don’t want to. I already like someone.”
Lu Jingcheng’s father looked at him in surprise, puzzled. “Really? Who?”
“Ye Qingyang,” Lu Jingcheng answered without hesitation.
His father: …
He fell silent, staring at his son who seemed so matter-of-fact. After a moment, he sighed, “You do realize both of you are boys, right?”
Lu Jingcheng nodded. “Otherwise, could one of us be a girl?”
“So you’re telling me this?” his father snapped, exasperated. “This is nonsense!”
Lu Jingcheng looked at him with a hint of disdain. “Dad, you know that love can cross gender, right?”
His father: …
So, it really was true.
“Are you serious?” his father asked.
“Of course,” Lu Jingcheng said with an air of inevitability. “What benefit would I gain by lying?”
“But you’re both boys.”
“I just said love can cross gender,” Lu Jingcheng replied calmly.
“Lu Jingcheng, you live in society, not in a secluded tower. The default rule here is that boys like girls. Do you understand?”
“Weak adapt, strong change. I may not have the power to change social norms by myself, but that doesn’t mean I have to obey them completely, does it?”
Lu Jingcheng spoke with conviction. “Should I force myself to give up the person I like most, settle for someone else, and follow society’s conventions with a girl I don’t really like?”
“Do you have some grudge against a girl’s family? Why treat them this way?” his father asked.
His father paused, unsure.
“I just feel there’s no need to force anything between me and Ye Qingyang. We’re still young; it’s possible we confuse love with friendship. We could easily date girls and perhaps realize that in the end, we still like boys more.”
Lu Jingcheng was exasperated. “Am I an idiot? If I didn’t like him, would I be thinking about kissing him every day? Why don’t I go kiss Chen Wei? We grew up together!”
“You think like this, it’s like treating girls as test subjects. Suppose someone said, ‘Lu, my daughter likes girls, but maybe it’s temporary. Let your son date her; maybe she’ll realize she likes boys after all.’ Would you agree?”
“I wouldn’t even if you agreed! I’m not a test stone. Love is serious. Liking someone means liking them; not liking them means not liking them. People get hurt, people carry emotional scars. That’s why feelings should be handled carefully, right?”
“Why do you think it’s okay to ‘try out’ someone else, knowing I like Ye Qingyang, and drag innocent people into our feelings?”
“I only want you to be happy,” Lu Jingcheng’s father said. “I want your life to go smoothly. Do you understand?”
“So where’s the obstacle, then?” Lu Jingcheng asked. “Our friends know about our relationship and accept it. His friends do too. Strangers in society don’t matter; their opinions are irrelevant.”
“I have enough money, our family background is strong. Even if someone talks behind our backs, no one dares say anything to my face. As long as you and my mother accept it, this isn’t a serious problem.”
“And if we don’t accept it?”
“Then I’ll wait for you to accept it,” Lu Jingcheng said honestly.
“I will spend my life with the one I like. If it’s not the person I love, I won’t even look. I won’t compromise just because you don’t accept it. You can take time to come around, but you cannot approach Ye Qingyang or say anything inappropriate to him.”
“Dad, you’re not that kind of person, right?”
His father: …
He waved him off.
Lu Jingcheng didn’t rush to tell Ye Qingyang about this, and his father didn’t feel the need to tell his mother either. He leaned back in his chair, reflecting on his son’s love life.
Previously, he hadn’t realized Lu Jingcheng liked Ye Qingyang, but now, looking back, many details made sense. Lu Jingcheng spent almost every holiday at Ye Qingyang’s home. Every New Year, he invited Ye Qingyang to celebrate with his family.
He had assumed it was out of concern for Ye Qingyang, an orphan, but now he realized it was genuine care—and the desire to always be together.
His father felt a twinge of anxiety. Lu Jingcheng had always had a smooth life; he didn’t want to oppose his son’s wishes in this lifelong matter, yet he worried whether following his son’s heart might complicate his future.
After much thought, he shared the matter with his wife.
His wife’s reaction was far calmer than he expected.
“Let him be,” she said gently. “This is his choice. Whether it succeeds or fails, he will bear the consequences. If we force him onto our path, he won’t agree, and seeing him unhappy, we’ll blame ourselves. In the end, we’ll regret it.”
“Parents can only provide warmth and care in a child’s early life. The rest of their journey must be theirs alone. Each person is independent and has the right to live according to their own wishes.”
His father sighed. “I just hope he doesn’t regret it.”
“He won’t,” she said with a smile. “He’s never done anything he would regret.”
“You’re not even surprised?” he asked.
“Maybe women are just more sensitive.”
For all these years, Ye Qingyang grew up under their watchful eyes. Every year, Lu Jingcheng brought him home for New Year. Every year, Ye Qingyang stayed in Lu Jingcheng’s room.
She had once thought their closeness was just youthful friendship. That is, until she saw Ye Qingyang watering flowers in the yard, and Lu Jingcheng standing beside him, talking gently, eyes full of warmth and tenderness she had never seen before.
At that moment, she discovered her child’s little secret.
She said nothing, neither to Lu Jingcheng nor Ye Qingyang. She simply let them be, letting time decide.
“If they can stay together for seven years, perhaps they can accompany each other for seventy more,” she thought.
“Hopefully,” his father murmured.
The next time Lu Jingcheng saw his father, he heard, “Bring Yangyang home sometime. Xiaoxi’s birthday is coming up; let him join. Xiaoxi likes him.”
Lu Jingcheng nodded. “Okay.”
His father looked at him for a long moment, then said earnestly, “We won’t interfere with your relationship. I just hope, when you’re older, you won’t regret the choices you made now.”
“I won’t,” Lu Jingcheng said. “I never make choices I’ll regret.”
“Good.”
“Thanks,” he said.
“Don’t thank me. Thank your mother. I wouldn’t be so lenient otherwise.”
“Then thank your wise and beautiful mother.”
His father laughed. “You should say it to her in person. She’ll be pleased.”
“Next time,” Lu Jingcheng said. “I’ll thank her when I go home.”
He bid his father goodbye and returned to the apartment he shared with Ye Qingyang. Ye Qingyang had already come back, prepared dinner, and greeted him, smiling, “Just in time.”
“For what?”
“The dishes, they’re all ready.”
He set out a bowl and chopsticks for him and casually announced, “I quit my job.”
“Why?” Lu Jingcheng asked, surprised. “You were doing well.”
“Yeah, too well. So well, in fact, my manager confessed to me. I rejected him, thinking he’d give up. But he started openly finding excuses to get close to me at work, claiming it was pursuit.”
“Your colleagues even egged him on, saying how great he is, how romantic, how much he likes you. It drove me crazy. So I quit.”
Lu Jingcheng was speechless. “Your manager is trying to be a homewrecker, and your colleagues are cheering him on? What a pack of snakes and rats! Unbelievable!”
Ye Qingyang laughed. “It’s been a while since you used idioms like that.”
“Shows how infuriating they were.”
“Exactly,” Ye Qingyang nodded. “So I quit.”
“Are you coming to our company?” Lu Jingcheng asked. “Or finding another job you like?”
“I’ll come to yours,” Ye Qingyang said. “I realized I’m quite popular here. Going elsewhere might bring more trouble.”
“Better to have me chasing you than others.”
“Did you ever chase me?” Ye Qingyang suddenly remembered. “You never did, did you?”
Lu Jingcheng froze, then admitted guiltily, “You liked me so much from the start, didn’t you?”
Ye Qingyang puffed his cheeks at him.
Lu Jingcheng hurried to amend, “Once we get to the company, I’ll chase you properly. Everyone will know how much I like you.”
“Better not. I don’t want your parents knowing, or we’ll be in trouble.”
“They already know.”
Ye Qingyang was stunned. “What?”
“I told them I like you a few days ago.”
“And… how did they respond?”
Lu Jingcheng smiled. “They said we’re a perfect match.”
Ye Qingyang: ???
“Are you sure they said we’re perfect, not that we’re not compatible?”
Lu Jingcheng laughed, pinching his cheek. “Why wouldn’t we be perfect? We’re made for each other.”
“So your parents don’t object?”
“Nope. Xiaoxi’s birthday is coming up; my dad even reminded me to bring you. Xiaoxi likes you too.”
Indeed, Xiaoxi could change her hairstyle daily and braid her hair constantly. A little girl so fond of beauty could hardly resist such charms.
At this moment, Lu Jingcheng’s father’s suggestion to bring Ye Qingyang along for Xiaoxi’s birthday carried an unspoken meaning.
Lu Jingcheng picked up a chicken wing for Ye Qingyang. “Here, together.”
“Okay.”
Looking at Lu Jingcheng, Ye Qingyang smiled. In a way, he felt lucky. Though he had somehow been transported to this world, he had met Lu Jingcheng. Though they were both boys, Lu Jingcheng’s parents were more open-minded than he expected.
Their love and life were far smoother than most.
Ye Qingyang grabbed a Coca-Cola chicken wing for himself, and they ate together.
Time taught them to grow while preserving their love—Ye Qingyang would always remember Lu Jingcheng’s love for sweets, and Lu Jingcheng would always hope Ye Qingyang would always be before his eyes.