"I'll make dinner tonight, you just watch TV." After helping his lover into stay at home clothes, putting on his slippers and carrying him to the downstairs sofa, Zhou Yun Sheng walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
"You know how?" Xue Lao Si exposed an extremely skeptical expression.
"Don't forget, I'm a left behind child, I would've starved to death already if I couldn't even cook." Zhou Yun Sheng took out the ingredients he needed one by one, then tied his apron.
"To tell you the truth, you're nothing like the left-behind child recorded in the data. You're more like a son of nobility, or maybe an artist. In short, whether it's outside or in, you're able to bluff it, beating down all the other young talents. Are you really Huang Yi?" Xue Lao Si reclined in the kitchen doorway, his eyes suspicious.
"Think whatever you want, anyway, I'm me." Zhou Yun Sheng sneered, then saw Xue Yan pushing his wheelchair over, and quickly pushed open the door to scold, "What's so fun about watching someone cook? Turn back."
Xue Lao Si scratched the bridge of his nose, then pushed his boss back into the living room.
Facts proved that Zhou Yun Sheng's cooking was very superb, a few homey dishes were neatly placed on the table, the aroma filling the space. Xue Lao Si was truly starving, shoveling food into his mouth in between compliments. Zhou Yun Sheng didn't take care of his own plate, adding food into Xue Yan's bowl, Xue Yan was also busy adding food to Zhou Yun Sheng's bowl, their chopsticks collided in the air a few times, issuing a crisp clicking sound, followed by the two's cheerful laughter.
"Eat properly, what's with all the flirting?" Xue Lao Si scoffed.
"I haven't even started the flirting yet, and you already can't stand it?" Zhou Yun Sheng rolled his eyes and stacked the empty bowls into the dishwasher, then he removed three large cupcakes from the oven, arranging them on a platter.
"Here's dessert, they're still a little hot, eat slowly." He stressed the 'eat slowly '.
But Xue Lao Si didn't listen, he directly picked up the cupcake and took two big bites.
Zhou Yun Sheng immediately covered his lover's mouth and warned, "Don't follow him, I don't want you choking to death."
Xue Yan naturally listened to his wife, taking small bites and chewing slowly. Zhou Yun Sheng rested his cheeks in his hands and watched him, eyes focused. Seeing his lover taking bite after bite, he couldn't help but stretch his neck to look at the paper cup, muttering in his heart: Why hasn't he eaten it yet?
At this time, Xue Yan's mouth suddenly crunched, his front teeth clearly biting into something hard, he took it out to take a look, surprisingly, it was a men's diamond ring.
Zhou Yun Sheng smiled brightly while pushing the diamond ring onto the other man's ring finger, "I saw a news report once, someone's fiancé choked and died from this kind of proposal, I was worried you'd also face such a tragedy. It's good you didn't choke, let's get married." Then he glanced at Xue Lao Si, who was covering his mouth to restrain his laughter, "Wasn't everything I said reasonable?"
"It was very reasonable." Xue Lao Si nodded vigorously, his cheeks puffed deep red.
Xue Yan was staring at the diamond ring, not knowing how to respond. His mind was dazzled by a sudden great sense of happiness.
"You haven't said yes yet? Say yes so we can have a toast, settle the last family tree, and take advantage of this free time to have the invitations made. Old Gong, give me an answer." Zhou Yun Sheng wrapped his arms around his lover's neck, nibbling his ears, his mischievous smile especially coquettish. Xue Yan froze and turned his head, all he could think about was pressing him onto the table and fucking him, how could he be so lovable?
Xue Lao Si couldn't hold back his laughter at 'old gong', he clutched his mouth and quickly ran out. No wonder he said he hadn't started flirting yet, now that he'd started, it'd take nerves of steel to continue watching.
"Bro, I'll bring a few invitation styles over tomorrow, so you two can pick it out together. I have something to do, see ya."
The door slammed shut, and Xue Yan immediately pulled the boy over to straddle him, eagerly biting his rosy red lips. Love him, the only thing he wanted to do right now was love him fiercely.
———-
Xue Zi Xuan walked back to the house and headed upstairs without a word.
"Huang Yi?" Xue Rui demanded impatiently.
"Xue Yan took him away."
"Ungrateful little-! If I hadn't brought him back, would his life even be worth living now? That thankless wretch wants to use Xue Yan to suppress me! I won't fall for this trap! Jing Yi, you'll go in his place, the 10th National Summit performance is very important, you have to work hard for the next week, practice, practice, practice." Xue Rui commanded, this decision seemed perfectly logical to him.
Although Xue Li Dani and Xue Zi Xuan were among the best musicians in China, he himself was not interested in music, so he didn't understand that the same song played by two different people would sound very different. This year coincided with the 70th anniversary of the victory in the anti-fascist war, and the 10th National Summit was the forerunner of the anti-fascist alliance.
'My Empire' was the most important song for the summit, with such great historical significance, it could never be rejected. Because Huang Yi was invited, Xue Rui could get invitations through him to attend the grand banquet hosted on the last night of the summit. This was his opportunity to get rid of the clan's suppression, no matter what happened, he couldn't miss it. So whether it was Huang Yi or Xue Jing Yi, it didn't matter, one of the two had to perform on stage.
"What are you saying? Are you crazy? How could Jing Yi perform it?" Xue Li Dani shrieked in shock. What was that boy's level? If you threw him into the last century, he'd still become one of the top pianists in Europe, rivalling Sears and all the other masters. How could Xue Jing Yi arbitrarily replace him? Forget about fully playing such an epic historical masterpiece like 'My Empire', she feared Xue Jing Yi wouldn't even make it through the first bar.
She was her daughter, no one knew how much weight she could carry more than her, the girl had talent, but unless there was a miracle, she would never be able to reach Huang Yi's level.
"I advise you to give up this foolish idea. Xue Jing Yi can't do it." Xue Zi Xuan said without turning his head as he walked upstairs. He was too exhausted, and the boy's complaints were constantly reverberating in his mind. His declaration showed that he'd noticed something off about Xue family, otherwise he wouldn't have said something perceptive like 'turning into Jing Yi's shadow'. He must've always felt very uneasy, right? That's why he suddenly exploded. Now what? How can I pacify him, and let him return to my side?
Except for this question, Xue Zi Xuan had no other considerations.
Xue Jing Yi originally wanted to refuse, but after hearing her mother and brother's unanimous rejections, her ambitious heart suddenly heated up, she nodded, "Daddy, I'll give it a try." Was it the same 'My Empire'? She just had to intensify her practice, and she could definitely play it too.
"Good girl. Dad doesn't believe Huang Yi can play anything you can't. It's just pressing all the correct keys right? Simple, I know you can do it." Xue Rui casually waved.
Xue Li Dani was rendered speechless, and Xue Zi Xuan spun around, staring at the father and daughter pair with incredulous eyes.
"This is a performance for the 10th National Summit, if something goes wrong it will cause a political disaster. Xue Jing Yi, think clearly, now is not the time to be fool-hardy. At your level, even if you practice for another ten years, you wouldn't be able to catch up with Xiao Yi." Listening carefully, his indifferent tone actually contained a hint of contempt.
"Yes ah, our whole family will be held accountable for any bad performances. Jing Yi, don't act so willful." Xue Li Dani pulled her daughter into her arms.
"I'm not being willful, just give me a couple days, I'll practice seriously." Xue Jing Yi said stubbornly. The more her mother and brother opposed her, the more it provoked her rebelliousness. These days, she hadn't touched the piano, but in her dreams, she became Huang Yi, wearing a black tailcoat, sitting in the center of the concert hall, and indulging in the dance of fingertips. After waking up, the residual sensations felt so real, she could re-call it and feel the aftertaste all day long. She believed that these must be visions of her future self, a self more outstanding than Huang Yi.
She was so convinced that she refused to listen to anybody else's advice.
Xue Rui was assured by her confidence, and immediately urged her into the piano room.
"Go on, let me see your level." Xue Zi Xuan curled his lips, finally revealing an unmistakable look of contempt. He had to remind himself that he was also very fond of his sister, but she just kept using Xiao Yi, kept squeezing Xiao Yi, exploiting Xiao Yi's talent to satisfy her own vanity, all these acts were gradually wearing thin his fondness. Her heart was already ugly, controlled by selfish desires, she would no longer be able to play pure music, he concluded this just by looking into her muddy eyes.
Xue Jing Yi foolhardily walked into the piano room, sat in front of the piano, and took a deep breath, using all her might to re-capture the feeling of being Huang Yi in her dreams. I'm Huang Yi, the world will be captivated by my music. She inwardly hypnotized herself, not noticing that the reality had been reversed. Huang Yi was no longer her shadow, all the days of intimidation had suppressed her spirit, making her become Huang Yi's shadow. Her pride and self-confidence had been crushed, turning into paranoia and low self-esteem. Once she touched the piano, this paranoia and low self-esteem would break out like a flash flood.
She found a little inspiration, then looked at the score and pressed a few keys, then looked at the score again and pressed a few keys, playing out a sparse melody.
Not only did Xue Zi Xuan and Xue Li Dani scowl, even Xue Rui was stupefied. Was this his daughter's level? He remembered her being more skilled!
Xue Jing Yi played until the second paragraph before being unable to continue. The song had already been completely deformed, like a frightened cat jumping over the keys, the rhythm was chaotic, not even a melody, just noise. She struggled for a while, but finally slowly stopped, then looked towards her parents and brother.
She was not Huang Yi, she couldn't have Huang Yi's unconstrained smoothness, his free spirit.
"Jing Yi, you confidently told me you could do it. I already promised the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they've already announced the program, and now you show me you can't do it? This is going to kill me, do you realize?!" Xue Rui was finally aware of the seriousness of the situation, his complexion immediately turned livid.
-
The Man In The Glass
Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr.
When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.
For it isn't your father, or mother, or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
He's the fellow to please – never mind all the rest
For he's with you, clear to the end
And you've passed your most difficult, dangerous test
If the man in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass.