P.S. I had chicken pox and was then caught up with renovations for my parents’ house. I woke up today and thought it was Sunday! That’s how crazy last week was. I apologize for missing the update yesterday!

~~~

Gu Bai hadn’t finished class yet and God knows what his parents were up to; they had yet to return. Qi Le stared at the clock on the wall. When he found that only a while had passed, he sat quietly and sighed in a low voice. Originally, everything had been fine. He had a wide and open road ahead of him that led to a bright future, with the golden gates at the entrance. It was so beautiful it was like a dream. But everything was gone in the blink of an eye. He was even labelled as someone with psychological problems. Just like that, he had gone straight from heaven to hell. He was so angry he was about to blow up in rage.

The child, who obediently nestled beside him, stuck his head out to look at him. “Ge, what’s wrong with you?”

Qi Le rubbed his head. “I’m very good.”

“You don’t look like it.”

Qi Le pursed his lips, his gaze sweeping across. He saw a big bag beside the sofa which was full of toys. He brought it to him. “Go play by yourself. Why do you have so many toys when you go out?”

The child took out a remote control car. “Dad pulled me out of bed in the morning and asked me to pack my suitcase. He said that he was going to look for mom, then he went back to the room to pack his own things. I put on my clothes and went to look for him with my bag.”

Qi Le’s face was filled with black lines He thought that the man must've sounded sharp and looked very dashing. He probably imagined his son appearing in front of him with a small suitcase as neatly packed as an adult's. Dad had always thought things would turn so wonderful.

He asked without any hope. “What was Dad’s reaction after seeing you?”

The child thought for a moment. “He asked me if I had damaged the small suitcase he bought for me. I said no, but it takes too long to put the toys in it. It is better to carry it like this. Then he began to pack up my things while saying that this is a long trip and I need to take my clothes. The next time he tells me so, I must take my suitcase.”

Qi Le had known that it would be that way. He let him play with his remote control car, while he continued to sit and watch the time. He could guess from Gu Bai’s call that the man might have plans, but he didn’t know what the plan was. He sighed and thought, could it be Gu Bai didn’t have class at all, but asked his parents to go out for an honest chat? What was he going to say? What if his parents didn’t agree? Would there be any conflict? In his mind, countless dramatic scenes flitted past. At last, he stopped at the image of Gu Bai carrying a suitcase and saying decisively, “If you don’t agree, we'll die together.” His father then said furiously, “Die then. Who's afraid?” Then with a roar, everyone disappeared.

What nonsense… Qi Le grabbed his head in pain and looked at the time. He couldn’t stand the feeling of waiting for his sentence to fall, and couldn’t help getting up and pacing back and forth in the living room.

The child took the remote control to command the toy car and followed him all the way. He asked curiously, “Ge, are you scared?”

Qi Le stopped immediately. The car crashed into his heel with a crash. He stepped aside. “How do you know I'm scared?”

“The doctor.” The child turned the car with the remote. “Mum and dad said they would take you to the hospital. Are you scared?”

“I’m not scared of this.” Qi Le said as he pursed his lips.

“Then what are you scared of?”

“If I tell you, you won’t understand.” Qi Le sighed and turned around. “The gist of it is that I made them angry.”

The child muttered "Oh," thought for a bit and comforted, “Don’t be scared. Look how Dad had to kneel on the washboard for two hours after making a mistake. After that, wasn't he still alive and kicking as before?”

Qi Le, “……”

“You’ll be fine after kneeling on the washboard. Don’t worry.”

Qi Le replied subconsciously. “There isn't a washboard here.”

“So we've found a breakthrough.” The child looked at him. “The first thing you need to do now is to go downstairs and buy a washboard.”

“…” Qi Le said, “Play with your toys, thank you very much.”

Qi Le waited until past eight when Gu Bai finally came back. He rushed to the door and looked behind him. “My parents aren't with you? Weren't you negotiating? How did it turn out? Did they agree?”

Gu Bai hugged his wife and caressed him, then closed the door with a smile. “No, I went to class.”

Qi Le was surprised. “What did you mean by 'you don’t have to worry'? You must have a reason for that, don’t you?”

Gu Bai kissed him and patiently explained, “I called my parents and got them to meet with your parents, let them lay their cards out on the table and try to convince them. Then your parents will know that we are serious about this.”

“…” Qi Le thought that this piece of information was too shocking. He took a long time to respond. “What?!"

His wife's silly look was really cute… Gu Bai brought him to the sofa and got him to sit in his arms, while he hugged him from behind. He smiled and said, “I know you heard what I said.”

Qi Le sat there in a daze, completely unsure of what to say.

When the child saw Gu Bai, he obediently called out "Gege," and looked at his older brother again. He stretched out his little hand and waved it in front of his eyes. “Soul, return-return-!”

Qi Lw snapped out of his daze and rebuked, “Don’t learn from dad!”

“Why not? See, it works.”

Qi Le, “……”

Gu Bai couldn’t help laughing and looked at the child. “What did uncle say to you? How do you know that this is your brother?”

The child obediently replied, “Dad said that older brother went to Thailand for plastic surgery some time ago. Although he changed his face, he is still my brother.”

Qi Le turned around, “Did you mean South Korea?”

The child thought for a moment. “No, what dad said was Thailand. Is there any difference?”

Yes, it’s quite different! Qi Le was about to speak when he heard a sound from the door. He immediately sat upright. Soon, he saw his mom and dad enter the apartment. The two had just walked through the door when they saw Gu Bai holding their son in his arms. Their expression suddenly froze but they forced themselves to look normal.

Gu Bai and Qi Le quickly got up and offered them their seats. Qi Le obediently went to pick up his mother’s bag and put it aside. The bag was small and it was stuffed with a book, but the book was too big, so the bag was left unzipped, revealing a small part of the book. The zipper happened to cover half of the book’s title. He glanced at it and found that it was a book on homosexuality. It didn't look new, so it probably wasn't newly bought but was given by a certain someone’s parents. He pursed his lips and went back quietly to sit down.

When the child saw his father coming back, he ran and grabbed him by the sleeve. “Dad, you said that older brother went to Thailand for surgery, not South Korea, right? Is there any difference between the two?”

Father Qi felt as if his heart was spouting blood. He had said it intentionally before because he wanted his younger son to grow up, find something amiss with that and actively explore the problem himself. He patiently explained again, but who knew his words were in fact a prophecy. Although his eldest son hadn't changed, but the effect was still the same-he didn't like women.

The child tilted his head. “Dad?”

Father Qi snapped out of it. “Be good, dad will explain to you later.”

“Oh.”

Father Qi turned to look at the two people nestled together beside him. Seeing that they were also looking at him, he was silent for a moment and spoke as kindly as he could. “It’s getting late. Wash up and go to sleep.” Both his wife and he had heard what Gu Bai's parents said. Their son said that he was hurt because he wanted to come out of the closet. In fact, the two had already gotten together. They had already finished their discussion on the way back. They didn’t want to be prejudiced parents, but they would take it one step at a time.

Gu Bai and Qi Le knew that they had a chance when they heard his tone. The storm in their hearts finally settled. They obeyed and got up, simply washed up and went back to their room. Naturally, Qi Le slept with Gu Bai. He nestled in Gu Bai's arms. “When did you tell your parents? They know I’m still alive?”

“I had a talk with them some time ago and they were a little scared at first. They thought you were a ghost. Humans and spirits have different paths.”

Qi Le pouted. “What's that called? Sucking yang qi?”

“Probably.” Gu Bai leaned in and kissed him. “Later I talked to them several times. They were relieved and told me to give it my all and chase you.”

Qi Le was shocked. “Do they know that you like me?”

“Mmm, they knew in high school.”

Qi Le, “……”

Gu Bai saw his wife’s adorable look, smiled and turned to pin him under his body. He kissed him on the lips and asked, “Surprised?”

Qi Le hooked his arms around his neck and thought that this man must've made up his mind at the beginning and was even paving the way for the future. He was silent for a while and asked in a low voice, “If I hadn't been revived or didn't agree to be with you, then got married and had children in the future, what would you have done?”

Gu Bai thought for a moment. “If it were the former, I might be a bachelor for the rest of my life. As for the latter…” He paused slightly, pinched his wife's chin and said with a smile, “After you know the truth, you definitely wouldn't have the heart to marry and have children before my eyes. You could never bear to to leave me or fall out with me. We can only spend all our time together, and sooner or later, we will be together.”

“…” Qi Le said, “You're so devious.”