On the thirteenth, Song Mianfeng deliberately got up early.

After washing up and changing clothes, he put on a neatly ironed white shirt, trousers, leather shoes, and even wore a formal tie.

When Lu Yin Zhen woke up, he saw Song Mianfeng sitting by the bay window, staring absent-mindedly out the window. It seemed to be raining. The sky was gloomy, everything looked foggy and indistinct.

The man sitting by the bay window rested one hand on the small coffee table, supporting his chin, his gaze fixed on a distant point outside the window. With his handsome profile against the backdrop of the shirt and trousers, his broad shoulders and slim waist, he looked stunning. Lu Yin Zhen was momentarily stunned, and a sentence he had read in a book suddenly flashed through his mind.

“In the room, there is a quiet place filled with gold powder and gold sand buried deep, outside, the wind and rain are lingering, everywhere is today.”

As the drowsiness faded, he came back to his senses, sat up from the bed, and called out to Song Mianfeng, “Why are you up so early?”

Song Mianfeng turned his head to look at him, blinked, and said, “We’re going to pay respects to Auntie today, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, let’s go a bit later.” Lu Yin Zhen rubbed his forehead and said casually, “Let’s wait until Grandpa and Grandma finish paying their respects, and then we’ll go.”

Being orphaned at a young age, he didn’t have a deep emotional connection with Meng Yaoguang like he did with Meng Yushan and Mrs. Meng. Moreover, Meng Yushan and Mrs Meng needed more time alone with Meng Yaoguang than he did.

Song Mianfeng twirled his fingertips and turned back to look outside the window. “Then you can sleep a bit longer.”

Lu Yin Zhen had lost his desire to sleep. He got up from the bed and walked towards him. 

The dim clouds carried rain, obscuring the outlines of distant mountains. Raindrops dotted the windows, making everything look hazy and unclear. Lu Yin Zhen asked, “Is it raining?”

“It’s not heavy, but I don’t know when it will stop,” Song Mianfeng replied.

Lu Yin Zhen stood quietly by his side, leaning down to ask for a morning kiss. “You look very handsome today.”

The stubble on his face tickled Song Mianfeng, making his face itch. He couldn’t help but smile and say, “Go wash up. Don’t kiss me if you don’t shave.”

Lu Yin Zhen touched his chin. The shallow stubble was indeed a bit prickly, but instead of being put off, his lover’s disdain sparked a mischievous thought in him. He deliberately rubbed his cheek against Song Mianfeng’s face, lightly nibbled his ear, and asked in a low voice, “Can’t I kiss you?”

Song Mianfeng’s ears turned red, and he pushed him away, but couldn’t move him. Unable to avoid it, he reached up and kissed Lu Yin Zhen, whispering gently, “Shave first, then you can kiss me as much as you want.”

Lu Yin Zhen pinched the soft flesh on his neck and chuckled, agreeing, “Okay.”

After washing up, Lu Yin Zhen changed out of his pajamas and put on a suit. Standing in front of the dressing mirror, he leisurely tied his tie and straightened his clothes.

When they left, the rain was still falling. The ground was wet, and raindrops splashed around their feet, dissipating instantly, leaving only faint traces of moisture on their leather shoes.

After dropping off Meng Yushan and Mrs. Meng, the driver parked the car and waited at the entrance of the villa. Lu Yin Zhen was seen from a distance, holding a black umbrella and arm in arm with Song Mianfeng, approaching from afar. It made the driver sigh with emotion. Although most people found the love between two men absurd, the young master of the Meng family and this gentleman seemed genuinely compatible. It made him feel that gender was not a barrier to love, and the prejudices of society were not obstacles either. As long as two people truly loved each other, what did it matter what others thought or said?

The sound of the car door closing brought him back to reality. He composed himself and started the engine.

Song Mianfeng and Lu Yin Zhen sat in the back seat, and Lu Yin Zhen didn’t speak after getting in the car. He closed the umbrella and began to slowly fold it, pressing the umbrella pages to smooth out the creases, his long fingers dampened by the raindrops, pinching and smoothing the edges of the umbrella pages in one direction, rolling them up and fastening them with a clasp.

Song Mianfeng handed him a tissue, wanting to say something but hesitated.

Lu Yin Zhen met his gaze, where a hint of concern lingered. He chuckled softly, “What are you thinking? It’s just a habit of mine. Probably a bit of OCD. I feel uncomfortable if I don’t tidy up the umbrella. You know my little habits quite well.”

He had just habitually flicked one corner of the umbrella page. It was a small movement he made when he was thinking. Perhaps Song Mianfeng had noticed it from spending time with him in the study, reading documents.

Lu Yin Zhen was not one to openly express his emotions. It was only after spending a long time together that Song Mianfeng slowly began to perceive Lu Yin Zhen’s emotions from subtle expressions and movements. But emotions were something that fluctuated naturally, and sometimes minor fluctuations didn’t mean much. Like Lu Yin Zhen’s silence and his absent-minded gesture of folding the umbrella, they were just exaggerated on special occasions, and Song Mianfeng found himself thinking too much…

“I’m a bit worried that you might be emotionally affected, and I don’t know how to comfort you.” Thinking of the low and sorrowful expression on Meng Yushan and Mrs. Meng’s faces when they returned, Song Mianfeng thought that Lu Yin Zhen might be trying to console himself.

“To be honest, it might be a bit disrespectful, but I don’t actually have deep feelings for my mother.” Lu Yin Zhen sighed imperceptibly. “Grandpa and Grandma have been very good to me, but I’ve always carried my mother’s cause of death as a burden. With poor health, it’s inevitable to be negative and idle.”

Since childhood, the grievances between his parents had been tied to him. When he was young, he had hated them, but the brief thought was quickly dissolved by love. It was his own choice to bear all this, as a responsibility, as a debt of karma. It was just that his grandfather’s obsession pressed down on him day after day, making him breathless. He always felt that his life seemed to be only left with revenge. As time went on, hatred blinded him, making everything seem dull and hard to bear. Death became a relief.

Until he met Song Mianfeng.

His heart was originally a barren land, withered grass covering it, silent. Until he met Song Mianfeng – like a withered tree welcoming spring, blooming flowers and colors.

“So don’t worry,” Lu Yin Zhen said, “I’ll take you to pay respects to her, let her see my handsome and excellent partner with whom I’ll spend the rest of my life. Compared to her, I have much better taste now.”

Many years had passed, and the grievances of the previous generation had been resolved. Past events had settled, and he believed that if Meng Yaoguang knew from beneath the spring, she would be happy too.

Song Mianfeng listened quietly, reached out, and held his hand, showing a faint and gentle smile. “It sounds like a happy occasion.”

Lu Yin Zhen looked down at their intertwined hands and murmured in agreement.

The rain was still falling, heavier than before.

After nearly three hours of driving, the car stopped in front of a garden-style cemetery on the outskirts, a remote place with a serene environment.

If Lu Yin Zhen hadn’t led the way, Song Mianfeng would have thought it was a carefully manicured garden belonging to someone’s home. Because of the heavier rain, Song Mianfeng and Lu Yin Zhen each held an umbrella, with Lu Yin Zhen leading the way and Song Mianfeng following behind. Two rows of evergreen pines and cypresses lined the bluestone path, leading to the tombstone. As they walked along the path, their vision widened, and they saw a vast expanse of white baby’s breath flowers. A cluster of immaculate white flowers gathered together, their petals seeming to bloom more brightly with the touch of rainwater, their slender stems swaying slightly in the wind and rain, elegant and graceful.

A cobblestone path through the flowerbeds led to the tombstone. Lu Yin Zhen held the umbrella with one hand and cradled a bunch of baby’s breath, delicately packaged from the flower shop, in the other, placing it in front of the grave.

“…Mom, I’ve brought Mianfeng to see you,” Lu Yin Zhen stood in front of the tombstone and said in a gentle voice, “He’s the one I mentioned to you last time, my boyfriend.”

Song Mianfeng stood by with an umbrella, and slowly bowed to the tombstone. “Auntie, I’m Song Mianfeng, from S City. I’m a photographer by profession. My grandparents, paternal and maternal, have passed away. I have only my parents and a younger sister as close relatives. I have a clean background and good character…” He paused, pursed his lips, and said earnestly, “I met Yinzhuo at the end of February, and we got together in mid-June. It’s been fifty-three days today.”

He had roughly prepared this speech in the car. After thinking about it, it seemed like he had covered everything he needed to say. He glanced at Lu Yin Zhen.

Lu Yin Zhen was smiling.

He hadn’t expected Song Mianfeng to say all this.

It was like meeting your lover’s parents for the first time and spilling the beans before anyone could check the credentials.

Song Mianfeng was slightly annoyed by the smile, he tightened his grip on the umbrella handle and gave Lu Yin Zhen a glare, as if to say, “Aren’t you going to help me say a few words?”

Lu Yin Zhen suppressed the smile on his lips, cleared his throat, and said, “Yes, we’ve been together for fifty-three days. I’ve introduced him to Grandpa and Grandma and you. Even if there are obstacles ahead, no one can separate us.”

Song Mianfeng stepped closer, standing side by side with Lu Yin Zhen in front of the grave.

Rainwater flowed down from the umbrella in a continuous stream, forming a curtain of water. Two tall figures bowed to the tombstone, then turned around and walked away, side by side, hand in hand.

Only a few whispered conversations scattered in the sound of rain.

“Lu Yin Zhen, the last time you came to pay respects to Auntie, was it when you went back to B City? How come I didn’t know I was your boyfriend then?”

“It was just a matter of time.”

“It’s not necessarily the case. What if I read the letter and didn’t come looking for you?”

“Then I would come looking for you.”

“But what if…”

“There’s no ‘what if.'”

^[1]Author’s Note: “In the room, there is a serene tranquility buried in gold dust and sand, while outside, the wind and rain are stirring, and everything is today.” — Eileen … Continue reading