After dinner, Zhou Aichen began playful sparring with Zizhan and Zihui. Being the oldest, Yang Zichun refrained from joining in, yearning instead for some one-on-one time with Zhou Aichen. However, their antics kept Zhou Aichen distracted, leaving Zichun feeling frustrated. He spent the evening in a somber mood, suspecting that Zhou Aichen was deliberately avoiding him to escape confrontation. This left Zichun feeling unhappy and increasingly irritated. Yang Chen, observing the situation, simply shook his head while Zhou Di sighed helplessly. Zhou Di understood his son's reluctance to face Yang Zichun directly but knew that this avoidance would only make things worse. Silently, he thought: My foolish son, it is useless to avoid him like this.
Later that evening, Zhou Aichen was caught off guard when he entered his bedroom and found Yang Zichun lying on his bed. Although they had always been close, they often shared a bed in childhood before Yang Zichun went abroad. But now, Zhou Aichen felt hesitant and didn't dare to sleep with Zichun after knowing Zichun might have the special emotion to him. He tried to avoid Zichun so he spent more time with Zizhan and Zihui earlier. Yet, seeing Zichun on his bed now, Zhou Aichen was unsure of what to do. So he whispered hesitantly:
"Ge, you should go back to your bedroom."
But instead of leaving, Yang Zichun got off the bed, walked up to him and wrapped Zhou Aichen in a hug. Raising himself slightly on tiptoe, Zichun kissed Aichen on the forehead. With a soft smile, he teased:
"I can't believe, after these years, my little Aichen has grown up and doesn't want to be as close to me as before. Look, you are so tall now that I have to stand on tiptoe just to kiss you on the forehead. You are practically an adult now."
This softened Zhou Aichen's heart. He hugged Yang Zichun back and said:
"Six years. I was just a kid when you went abroad."
Yang Zichun sighed deeply before said:
"Yeah, it has been six years since my Aichen started avoiding me, stopped listening to me and even drifted away from me. Aichen, go and take a shower first then let's talk. You've spent the whole night fooling around with those two idiots and ignoring me."
Zhou Aichen took his time in the bathroom. Feeling reluctant to face Yang Zichun, he lingered under the water, trying to delay the inevitable conversation. But now Yang Zichun was in his room, even on his bed. He couldn't avoid him any longer. So he sighed and realized that no matter how long he stayed in the bathroom, he couldn't escape this encounter. As his father had wisely pointed out, running away would solve nothing. But he knew that he wasn't as brave as he pretended to be in front of his father. It was time to face Yang Zichun, as his father said, even if it meant standing firm on his bottom line.
As Zhou Aichen entered the bedroom, he found Yang Zichun was reading a book. Looking up at him, Yang Zichun remarked:
"It took half an hour for a young boy to take a shower." he patted the bed and added, "Come here, let me continue holding you, alright? Or are you too scared to lie in my arms?"
Zhou Aichen sat on the edge of the bed and responded:
"Ge, I am not a child anymore. I've grown up. We shouldn't be as close as we were when we were kids. You will have your own life and I'll also have mine."
"Your own life? Okay, tell me about it. Which kind of life do you imagine for yourself in the future?"
"I've told you that I want to study mechanics like Uncle Jing. I want to study in Ferceland."
Without warning, Yang Zichun pushed Zhou Aichen down onto the bed, sitting on him. His voice was fierce as he said:
"Are you fuck doing this on purpose? As soon as I come back, you are going to study abroad for at least three or four years. How heartless! You said you missed me too much. Is this the way for you to miss me? Avoiding me and ignoring me as soon as I come back. So the purpose that you plan to study abroad is just an excuse to avoid me forever, right?"
"No, Ge, it's not like that. I never intended to avoid you. I just want to study."
"Nonsense. Why do you have been avoiding me past few days? Don't answer my phone. What are you afraid of?"
Zhou Aichen turned his head away, avoiding Yang Zichun's gaze. Suddenly, Yang Zichun grabbed his face, forcing him to look back, and leaned in to kiss him. Zhou Aichen tried to struggle against this kiss, but being less trained than Yang Zichun, who came from a military background, he was quickly overpowered. He reluctantly yielded to Yang Zichun's domineering kiss, allowing him to ravish his mouth. Eventually, Zhou Aichen softened and found himself caught up in the kiss. Finally he heard Yang Zichun's mischievous laugh:
"How does it feel? Are you enjoying it? This is my first kiss and I assume it is yours too. Aichen, I've seen a lot of kissing scenes in Aron Country. There is a small cinema at home there, called the television. The people there can watch the movies at home. I even secretly practiced kissing with a wine bottle once, almost got my tongue stuck. But now it seems kissing a person is much more enjoyable, especially kissing you, my little Aichen."
With the tears in his eyes, Zhou Aichen glared at Yang Zichun and shouted:
"Get lost!"
Yang Zichun dropped his playful smile, his expression turning serious:
"Aichen, listen to me. I have feelings for you. Don't move, just let me finish. We grew up together since we were kids, or more accurately, I watched you grow up. Initially, I saw you as my little brother, but you know I'm possessive. I couldn't stand the thought of sharing you with anyone else. You've heard the stories that I didn't allow anyone else to hold you when you were a baby. At first, I thought it was just because I didn't have any siblings. Given the relationship between Dad and Pa, you naturally became my only sibling. But later, I realized it wasn't that simple. Thinking about Dad and Pa's relationship, I had a vague feeling I was the same as them. I like man. Once I fully understood it, I stopped struggling with it anymore and just accepted it. But you were so young. Okay, no problem! I waited for you to grow up. You belong to me and I'll never let anyone else have you. The only thing what I've worried about was that you might fall in love with someone else when I was studying abroad these past six years. That's why I often secretly asked Zihui to keep an eye on you. It was very common for me to call him."
"But I have always seen you as my older brother. Actually I have never thought about this kind of thing, about boys or girls, because I think I am still too young. Ge, it's not that I can't accept this. After all, Dad and Pa are like this, and they have a happy life. But I really don't know what kind of person I like yet, whether it is a boy or a girl. When I realized that you had special feelings to me, I was just scared. I'm afraid of how the Yang family would react if they knew you were the same as Dad, and what your grandpa would do. You are the eldest son and the eldest grandson in the Yang family. As for me, I really didn't have thought about it much. I just feel like I'm still young."
"It is none of your business how the Yang family handles this. Don't worry about them. My dad and I will take care of it. As for you, it is time to start thinking about this, okay? No, I won't give you the choice. I want you to accept it and it has to be me. I won't allow you to choose anyone else. I don't want you to leave me. I wouldn't be able to bear it if you don't belong to me." Yang Zichun slapped the bed forcefully, flipping onto his back and sighing, "It's really fucking painful. What should I do if you really can't accept me?"
After saying that, he turned his head away so Zhou Aichen couldn't see the tears streaming down his face. Zhou Aichen sat up, turned to look at Yang Zichun and said with concern:
"Ge, are you crying? Please, please don't cry. I promise I will think about it, okay? Please, Ge!'
"Get lost!"
"Please, ge, don't be like this. It is the first time for me to see you crying. It's hard for me to make a decision. Ge, please don't cry more. I want to cry too when you are crying. Please! I told you that I can accept this kind of the relationship like Pa and Dad's, I just... still..."
Yang Zichun interrupted:
"You fucking don't understand. I'm asking whether you can accept me or not."
"Of course I can accept you. If I don't accept you, who else can I accept?"
Yang Zichun suddenly pushed Zhou Aichen down again and kissed him once more. At this moment Zhou Aichen seemed to realize that he hadn't fully explained his meaning just now, but now he had no chance. His mouth was already taken by another person's and their tongues were already entwined. He noticed that Yang Zichun had closed his eyes, tears flowing from the corner of his eyes. Zhou Aichen wanted to wipe them away for Yang Zichun but his eyes were covered by Yang Zichun's hand. At this moment, Zhou Aichen truly felt heartache so he reached out and hugged Zichun tightly. When the hand covering his eyes moved away, the tears were gone.
Yang Zichun smiled and asked:
"Do you enjoy this?"
Zhou Aichen looked at him and pressed his head down again, kissing him back, and said:
"Ge, you've tempted me."
"Ge, you've tempted me."
"As long as you are happy, that's all that matters. Dad, Pa, you and I will be together forever. Let's take care of them well, okay?" Zhou Aichen nodded and Yang Zichun continued, "So come back with me to Aron Country. We can do surrogacy there to have children so we can leave the offspring for the Zhou family and the Yang family."
"What is that?"
Yang Zichun whispered something in Zhou Aichen's ear. Upon hearing this, Zhou Aichen was surprised and said:
"Are you sure? I have never thought the people could have children like this. Alright, let's go to Aron Country and have the grandchildren for Pa and Dad then I will go to Ferceland to study."
Yang Zichun asked anxiously:
"What? Do you still plan to study in Ferceland? Are you messing with me?"
Zhou Aichen hugged Yang Zichun more tightly and said:
"Ge, don't be angry with me, okay? I know that I have relied on you since I was a child. So it's really hard for me to refuse you when you kissed me just now. But I don't want to give up my own dream because of our relationship. Yes, I do love the carving and restoration but I also want to pursue other things what I enjoy. Ge, please, please let me study abroad. Please let me go."
Yang Zichun's voice was filled with emotion:
"But I just came back and now you are about to leave. You don't know how much I've missed you these six years and now I will have to endure another four years of separation."
Zhou Aichen replied, equally emotional:
"You only talk about how much you've missed me these six years, but what about me? Do you have any idea how I felt? When you left for Aron Country, I hid myself in the room every day, crying and calling out to you. No one held me as I slept. How lonely I am! Did you ever stop to think about what I was going through at that time?"
Yang Zichun questioned:
"So is this your way of retaliating against me?"
Zhou Aichen pleaded earnestly:
"Ge, please listen to me. At that time Pa told me that you were leaving to learn the important skills for your future that you would accomplish the great things. I shouldn't tell you how much I missed you because it might distract you. Now that I've grown up, I understand that Pa was right. It's true that you will soon take more responsibility and obligation on shoulder, and I know you'll excel at them. Even though I'm just an ordinary person without much ambition, I also want to do something I'm passionate about. So, Ge, please don't stop me, okay? I promise you that I will definitely come back after I finish my studies at the university in Ferceland. Ge, please let me go!"
Yang Zichun looked at Zhou Aichen's pleading expression, sighed:
"You brat! How cruel you are! Just giving me a sweet date and then handing me a bitter melon. Okay, I let you go. Do what you want but you have to be careful. But remember! Don't you dare find a rival for me. As you know, Dad could go crazy for our Pa and I would do the same for you."
Zhou Aichen kissed him happily and said:
"Have a little faith in me. Thank you, Ge. One more thing, Pa wants you to go back to Qudu for the New Year. He also gives you a task, that is, to persuade Dad to celebrate the New Year in Qudu as well. I also think Dad and you should go back to Qudu this year. After all, you don't have come back for six years. Your grandpa misses you a lot and hopes the whole family can celebrate a reunion year."
"I will go back to Qudu on the first day of the New Year. Dad won't let you spend the New Year alone at home. Pa doesn't have been able to convince Dad himself. So of course, I can't and don't dare to try. Stop talking now. It is too late. Come, let me hold you, sleeping in my arms."
Zhou Aichen lay down beside Yang Zichun as he usually die, and said:
"Pa said this is your task." Suddenly, he shot a surprised glare at Yang Zichun and shouted, "Ge, what are you doing? Don't take off my pants. No, Ge, what are you doing?"
Yang Zichun grinned mischievously and said:
"Dad told me that if you don't push me away, it is better for me to make love with you, just like he did with Pa before."
Zhou Aichen panicked and shouted:
"No, Yang Zichun, don't do it, you fucking bastard, no, it hurts, ah!"
His cry of "ah" was quickly muffled as Yang Zichun silenced him with a kiss.