Chapter 27#

Chapter 27 Extra €€ Two

There are no classes in the US between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Mo Xi didn’t plan to return to China, so he flew to the city where his dad was.

This was Mo Xi’s first time visiting his dad’s home in the US. A detached small villa with five or six rooms, a unique small backyard, and a big yellow dog.

It looked like a quite comfortable life.

Although this is a relatively underdeveloped city in the US, being able to live with the person you love, getting social recognition, and not caring about the eyes of people around you. Mo Xi felt his life goal was nothing more than this.

Uncle Li knew he was coming and started busy work a day in advance. When Mo Xi arrived home, there were seven or eight familiar Chinese dishes waiting for him on the table.

Mo Xi was so excited he almost cried. Heaven knows how terrible the so-called Chinese food near their school is. And he was busy with classes during the day and part-time jobs at night, having no time to cook properly.

“Xiao Xi, seeing you this time, I feel you are thinner than before,” Uncle Li chatted while putting food in Xiao Xi’s bowl, “How is it coming to the US, are you used to it?”

“It’s okay. Definitely not used to some things,” Mo Xi looked at Uncle Li and smiled slightly, “But when busy, I forget everything.”

“But don’t be too tired,” Mo Cheng instructed him, “Health is important. Don’t worry about money.”

Mo Xi waved his hand and didn’t answer.

He felt it wasn’t good to always ask for money from home when he was so big, but his dad didn’t agree with him working part-time, so he didn’t plan to let them know.

After dinner, Uncle Li took him around the house. Mo Xi saw a photo of Mo Cheng and Uncle Li when they were young in the study.

In the photo, two young men in their twenties, in the prime of their youth, stood side by side. Mo Cheng was obviously half a head taller than Uncle Li, wearing a leather jacket, looking up at the camera in high spirits; while Uncle Li beside him lowered his head slightly, seeming a bit shy to look at the person next to him.

“You knew each other so young?” Mo Xi looked at Uncle Li in surprise. He always thought his dad met Uncle Li after divorcing his mom.

“Yes, we were college classmates,” Uncle Li looked into the distance lightly, as if recalling something, with a trace of shyness on his face, “At that time, your dad was already a prominent figure in the school.”

“Then you… at that time?” Mo Xi had a bad premonition in his heart, an intuition that had run through his life for more than ten years but had been suppressed.

“We were together for a while at that time.”

Mo Xi suddenly felt like being struck by lightning. His sister’s complaints about his dad over the years, and his mom’s nagging before she died, all connected into a line and surfaced.

If Mo Cheng was with Uncle Li before getting married, then what was his mom?

He knew his dad was gay, but no one ever said his dad was already gay before marrying his mom.

His sister didn’t want to tell him, nor did his mom.

He never dared to think about it either.

Because he didn’t want to use the worst speculation to judge the person he loved most.

But the deepest knives are often stabbed by the people you love most.

Mo Xi’s body trembled slightly. When he looked up again, his eyes were red. He asked hoarsely: “Then what was my mom to him?”

Uncle Li realized he said something wrong and apologized repeatedly in a flurry.

Mo Cheng heard the abnormality in the study and walked in. But he saw one person looking lost, red-eyed and silent, and the other person looking down, as if ashamed into the dust. One big and one small, relatively speechless.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Cheng was confused. Wasn’t it fine just now?

Mo Xi turned his head and stared at him, his eyes no longer having the respect for a father. He pointed tremblingly at the photo reflecting his and Li Tongfang’s youthful years, his eyes full of sorrow: “Before you were with my mom, you already knew you liked men?”

Mo Cheng was stunned, lowered his head and didn’t reply.

Long silence. The air seemed to solidify, so quiet that every sigh could be heard clearly.

“I’m sorry to your mom,” after a long time, Mo Cheng choked and spoke, “Sorry to you guys.”

Mo Xi suddenly laughed. His mom was a simple and kind woman. Don’t know what wicked things she did in her previous life to meet his dad in this life.

Now the person is buried under the yellow earth. Mo Cheng’s few words of sorry are as cheap as bubbles in the air, worthless.

“Xiao Xi,” Uncle Li grabbed his wrist, biting his lip nervously, explaining, “During the ten years he was with your mom, we didn’t have any contact. It was only after their relationship broke down that we…”

“Forget it, forget it,” Mo Xi shook his head, stood up from the chair, looked at Mo Cheng and Uncle Li tiredly, “What’s the use of saying these now. You guys live well.”

After speaking, he walked to the entrance, picked up his luggage, opened the door and left.

No matter how Uncle Li shouted behind him, he didn’t look back.

He didn’t want to stay in this home for one more second.

Mo Xi changed his ticket and returned to school that day. It was already 10 pm when Mo Xi arrived home. His roommates were not there. Sitting at home feeling bored, he wanted to go out for a walk.

That day happened to be Christmas Eve. Americans were almost all reuniting with their families. Shops were closed, and the streets were empty.

Unknowingly, he walked to the school gate. There were a few scattered international students still walking on campus, not as desolate as on the street.

Mo Xi found a chair next to a street lamp and sat down. His feet stepped on the snow, his eyes staring blankly ahead, feeling no cold at all.

Too many things in his mind, he needed to digest them bit by bit. His mom didn’t say much bad about his dad until she left, only when occasionally talking about her youth, her eyes would flash with different expressions.

Nostalgic, unwilling, and painful.

Mo Xi forgot how many times he mentioned his dad and Uncle Li being together at home. Don’t know what his mom thought at that time.

The wind on winter night gradually rose, scraping on Mo Xi’s face like big slaps, but he remained unmoved.

He suddenly understood a bit why his love life has always been so unsmooth. Probably retribution, father’s debt paid by son.

Don’t know when it started snowing, nor how long it snowed.

Until a child handed an umbrella to Mo Xi, he withdrew from his memories. The snow was getting heavier. His shoes had sunk into the snow pile, and a thin layer of snow frost condensed on his hair.

“A brother just asked me to give this to you. He said it’s too cold here, go home early.” The ten-year-old boy handed an umbrella to Mo Xi and also patted the snow off his shoulder.

“Thank you,” Mo Xi was stunned and asked, “Which brother?”

The little boy pointed ahead and said: “I don’t know him, but he is Asian, quite tall.”

Mo Xi looked in the direction the little boy pointed, but there was no one there.

He thought, probably an umbrella given by some stranger Asian student.

Mo Xi got up from the chair, patted the snow off his body, left the umbrella to the little boy, and went home himself.

Pei Hao caught a cold after returning from the US after Christmas.

Pei Yixin was very angry. At first, Pei Hao said he went to the US to see if there were any companies to cooperate with, and he agreed. As a result, he used the same excuse for Christmas and flew to the US in a flash.

Which American company works on Christmas? Isn’t this nonsense?

“Explain clearly why you want to run to the US every day! If you can’t explain clearly, don’t go in the future.” Pei Yixin was furious at home. Pei Hao curled his lips on the bed and didn’t reply.

Song Wanqin also wanted to scold Pei Hao, but seeing her son looking sickly on the bed, she swallowed her anger.

“Alright, alright,” Song Wanqin smoothed Pei Yixin’s anger, “Scold him when he gets better.” Turning around, she muttered to Pei Hao: “Look at you, went and went, how did you end up like this.”

Pei Hao sneezed, thinking, no choice, who asked your daughter-in-law to run out and sit in the snow to think about life in the middle of the night.

If I didn’t follow, what if he froze and fainted.

Seeing Pei Hao didn’t answer, Song Wanqin went out to make porridge for him.

At night, Pei Hao returned to his place. Thinking about Mo Xi’s lonely look these past few days, he felt something was wrong.

So he called Dabai.

As soon as Dabai saw Pei Hao’s number, his hand trembled involuntarily.

Since Mo Xi went abroad, Pei Hao stuck to him, asking for the address and wanting to send things, begging him not to tell Xiao Xi.

Dabai felt he lived like a spy. Every time he talked to Mo Xi on the phone, he had to find a bunch of excuses, afraid of exposing the secret accidentally.

But deep down, he was somewhat moved by Pei Hao’s indomitable spirit.

After talking about so many fruitless loves, he felt more and more the preciousness of true love in the gay circle. If any man treated him with half the thought Pei Hao had for Xiao Xi, he would agree.

Two years ago, he wouldn’t believe Pei Hao could do this for Xiao Xi even if beaten to death.

Now, one tries hard to redeem, the other is indifferent. He is also helpless. He can only help to this extent. For the rest, let Pei Hao seek his own luck.

Dabai: Hello, Grandpa Hao, what’s wrong again?

Pei Hao: I feel Xiao Xi’s state is not very good recently. Did something happen to him?

Dabai: Oh, he had a little conflict with his dad.

Pei Hao: Conflict? With his dad?

Dabai: Anyway, it has nothing to do with you, and you can’t help.

Pei Hao: Then does he still have money to study? Isn’t his tuition given by his dad?

Dabai: …I don’t know.

Pei Hao: How about you help me transfer some money to him? Just say you lent it to him.

Dabai: How much?

Pei Hao: Two hundred thousand? No, better make it three hundred thousand.

Dabai: …Do you think he will believe I have so much cash to give him?

…

The two argued for a long time, and finally Dabai only asked for twenty thousand.

Dabai reluctantly made a WeChat call to Mo Xi at first. After chatting for a while, he realized the seriousness of the matter.

Mo Xi really didn’t plan to continue taking his dad’s money for study. That stubborn child worked three jobs a day recently, washing dishes in restaurants, delivering food, everything.

Mo Xi looks gentle and approachable on the surface, not aggressive, but actually his personality is very stubborn. Once he recognizes something, it’s hard to pull him back.

Look, Pei Hao has been chasing him so painstakingly for a year and a half, and he hasn’t wavered a bit.

“Do you plan to keep working three jobs like this? Where will you have the energy to study well after school starts,” Dabai persuaded him, “No matter what, he is your dad. Refuse anything but don’t refuse money.”

“I just want to make my mom proud.” Mo Xi replied softly on the phone, his hoarse throat revealing a trace of fatigue.

“If your mom knew, her precious son has to work three jobs a day to survive, guess what she would think?”

“Nothing much, easier than writing code, don’t need to use brain.” Mo Xi answered pretending to be relaxed on the other end, but Dabai felt a bit sad.

Living well in the country, why must go out to suffer.

Hiding in a strange country thousands of miles away to forget a bad relationship, why bother…

Is there anyone worth you forgetting everything to start over… People in love are too silly and stubborn…

Hanging up the phone, Dabai transferred the twenty thousand from Pei Hao plus his own ten thousand to Xiao Xi. In the middle of the night, he tossed and turned in bed unable to sleep, and called Pei Hao again.