There was a brief silence on both ends of the phone.

After a long while, Gu Beilu asked again: “Xixi, what are you doing?”

Yu Xi realized it was late: “Oh…I should take a shower and go to bed.”

Gu Beilu smiled and said, “Can you sleep? Otherwise I’ll go over…”

“No, you should take a shower and go to bed! Good night.”

After saying that, he immediately pressed the end call button, threw the phone on the bed, and turned on the Bluetooth speaker.

During the ten or so seconds when the phone call was silent, what they did at the beach suddenly appeared in his mind.

Except for the sound of the waves, it was quiet. He didn’t think about anything at the time, and he wasn’t afraid that someone passing by might see him. Now when he recalls it, his cheeks are as red as a tomato.

He scratched his hair again, stood up and walked to the bathroom. He urgently needed a shower to wake up.

He took off Gu Beilu’s coat and turned on the shower.

*

The next day, Yu Xi took the initiative to go shopping with Yu’s father and mother, but did not see Gu Beilu.

Yu’s mother spent the whole day shopping for clothes. Yu Xi followed her obediently, carrying the bags and giving advice carefully. He thought every piece of clothing his mother tried on was beautiful. Before he knew it, he had more and more shopping bags in his hands, and in the end he could hardly carry them all.

Seeing her son following her around the whole day and hardly looking at his phone, Yu’s mother knew that he was worried.

“Xixi, it’s a great Sunday. Why don’t you go play with Derek and your classmates today and come out to go shopping with two middle-aged people like us?”

Yu Xi scratched his face and said, “I see them every day. Hasn’t it been a while since I accompanied you shopping?”

Father Yu knocked on his head and said, “Your mother and I finally had a weekend to spend alone together, but you came here and acted like a third wheel, and you even took my job away from me.”

Yu Xi was even more confused: “I stole your job? What job?”

Father Yu unscrewed a bottle of water for Mother Yu: “You have finished the work of picking clothes and carrying bags for your mother today. You have made your mother happy. What should I do?”

Yu Xi said, “Oh,” and said embarrassedly, “How do I know you guys are going to be in a relationship? If you want to spend some time alone, just tell me directly. I won’t follow you if you tell me.”

Father Yu looked at his innocent son helplessly: “Why didn’t you say anything? I hinted at it several times before I left, but it’s a pity that you didn’t understand.”

It seems that their son still hasn’t grown up.

This morning, Yu Xi asked them where they were going. They said they were going shopping, and Yu Xi wanted to come with them. Yu’s father deliberately asked Yu’s mother, “How long has it been since we went shopping together?” Yu’s mother said, “About half a year, quite a long time.”

The couple talked back and forth several times, but Yu Xi didn’t pay any attention. He had already changed his clothes and was waiting for them in the living room.

“Ah, so that’s what you mean.” Yu Xi patted his head, and then realized that those words were hinting at him not to come. “But you said it so obscurely, who can understand it? Next time, just tell me directly that you don’t want me to come. It’s okay, no harm.”

Mother Yu smiled and said, “Yes, our Xixi hasn’t figured it out yet, so of course he doesn’t understand what adults are saying. But, Xixi, tell us, is there anyone chasing you at school? Or do you have someone you like and want to chase after?”

“Mom, what are you talking about? I’m only in high school.”

“You’re not young anymore in high school. You’re already sixteen. Your dad and I started dating when we were sixteen.”

Yu Xi’s eyes widened: “You guys are already in love at the age of sixteen?”

“Some people fall in love early, some fall in love late. It’s just like life. Some people become famous at a young age, some people become successful late. It’s the same principle.” Father Yu took the water bottle from Mother Yu and put the cap on it. “In fact, sixteen is not too early. Besides, what’s the difference between early and late in love? When true love comes, it doesn’t even say hello to you. You will know when you meet it.”

Yu Xi became interested and squeezed in between them, holding one of them with one hand, and continued to be a light bulb: “Mom and Dad, how did you fall in love with each other at that time? My mom is so beautiful, she must have been pursued, right?”

Father Yu laughed out loud: “You guessed it right. Of course, I was the one who pursued your mom. Although I was very handsome at that time and many people wrote to me, I was very loyal and I only liked your mom. Your mom was my first love. I had a crush on her since I was a child, and I finally confessed my feelings to her in high school.”

Yu’s mother took over the conversation and continued, “Your father and I were neighbors back then. He rode his bicycle to take me to school every day and brought me breakfast every day. He was the class monitor and had excellent grades, ranking first in the grade. Of course, I wasn’t bad either, but I was a little weak in science, so your father tutored me, and later we were admitted to the same university.”

Father Yu looked at Mother Yu and took credit, “What’s that? I remember everything you liked and hated to eat.”

Yu’s mother smiled with dimples: “Yes, yes, you are the most attentive and considerate, is that ok? The weather changed and I forgot to put on clothes, but you were the only one who remembered to bring me a coat. That’s what touched me at the time.”

After saying this, the couple looked at each other across Yu Xi, their smiling eyes full of sweetness.

Yu Xi was forced to eat dog food and suddenly regretted following him. It seems that being a light bulb is not so easy.

But when he listened to these stories, he felt that they were all very ordinary things and nothing special.

“Just like that, you are in love with each other?” He looked at Yu’s father, then at Yu’s mother, and always felt that there was something they didn’t tell him.

Mother Yu nodded and said, “Yes, that’s right. Although it’s not a passionate love, it’s these little things that last a lifetime, which is the most precious.”

Yu Xi nodded, not quite understanding.

Mother Yu pinched his face lovingly and said, “Xixi, we must find someone with whom we can spend the rest of our lives.”

Father Yu added: “Xixi, if you have someone you like, you must take the initiative to pursue them, so that you will not miss true love.”

The Yu family was an open-minded couple who could understand the psychology of adolescent children very well. They noticed the changes in Yu Xi since he entered high school.

In the past, Yu Xi ran out to play like a madman every day, but in the past few months, he has obviously stayed in his room more and more, and he is more silent than before. He often sits in a daze, as if thinking about something. Two weeks ago, he asked them how to make friends happy? Is there a place where you can feel relaxed and leisure? They all think that their son may have someone he likes and is already thinking about dating someone.

*

On Monday, Gu Beilu waited for him downstairs on his bike early in the morning. As usual, he brought him his favorite little cake and stroked the ahoge on his head.

“Good morning, Xixi. Today’s dish is tiramisu, your favorite.”

It was already late autumn, and Gu Beilu wore a grey plaid knitted vest over his school uniform shirt. He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his tall nose, and he looked very British and preppy.

“Derek, why are you wearing glasses? Are you nearsighted?” Yu Xi blinked. He had never seen Gu Beilu wearing glasses before, and for a moment he found it a little novel, as if he was looking at a new friend.

“I’m not nearsighted. It’s windy today, so I wear it to keep out the wind.” Gu Beilu threw the coat in his hand into his arms, “Put it on. It’s cold on the road.”

Yu Xi was stunned holding the coat, then looked at the small cake in his hand.

Gu Beilu looked at him standing there without any reaction, reached out and scratched his nose: “What’s wrong? Put it on quickly, and let’s go.”