Chu Lai spent two hours tidying up his new room. Except for the bed and the desk, which were too heavy to move alone, most things didn’t need Cen Wei’s help. By the time he lay down, he realized that his whole body ached. He thought he would fall asleep quickly but found it particularly difficult to get used to.

He didn’t even know what time he finally fell asleep. The next day, the alarm woke him up, and after washing his face, he just happened to run into Cen Wei, who was coming back from a morning jog with his dog.

Chu Lai: “Good morning, have you eaten yet?”

Cen Wei shook his head. Chu Lai’s voice was thick with sleepiness, so Cen Wei asked, “Didn’t sleep well?”

The young man, crouched down to watch the dog eat its food, dragged out a long “Mmm” as he replied, “Couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning all night.”

Cen Wei: “Then take a nap in the car later.”

They set off in the morning, without bringing the dog, and it was a nearly three-hour drive straight to Yu Ruimei’s home for a meal.

Chu Lai dozed on and off along the way, and Cen Wei didn’t talk to him much, only glancing at him from time to time.

Chu Lai woke up just before they arrived, squinting as he asked, “How much longer?”

Cen Wei: “One kilometer.”

The surrounding city was also quite bustling. Yu Ruimei lived in a neighborhood near a school, and if it weren’t the weekend, traffic would have been terrible.

He glanced at his phone. About ten minutes ago, Yu Ruimei had asked where they were and sent a voice message.

Chu Lai replied, and after sending it, he started fiddling with his phone nervously, his head down, looking a bit tense.

Cen Wei: “Have you been here before?”

Then he rephrase the question, “I mean, have you visited this city before?”

Chu Lai shook his head. He seemed too quiet, making it hard to imagine him ever being lively.

Cen Wei asked, “Didn’t you travel at all during university?”

Chu Lai gave a soft “Mmm,” saying, “Too much trouble.”

Cen Wei couldn’t help but laugh, “Then what’s not too much trouble? Your company must have annual trips too, right?”

Chu Lai: “If it’s too far, I can exchange it for a gift card, and then I can go buy stuff at the supermarket.”

“I also don’t enjoy hanging out with colleagues.”

He squinted his eyes and asked, “What about you? I always feel like you’re super busy. Do you ever join company retreats?”

Cen Wei: “I don’t mind the hassle, so I go sometimes—necessary socializing and events.”

Chu Lai responded with an “Oh” and said, “That sounds like a lot of hassle. I guess I could never be a big boss.”

Sometimes his words didn’t quite match someone who’d been working for several years, but they always fit his personality.

Thinking about yesterday’s dinner with Liu Yuan, Cen Wei said, “Your friends are quite different from you.”

Chu Lai raised his eyebrows. He didn’t even know how to respond to the messages Liu Yuan had sent him on WeChat.

He asked how things were going with Cen Wei and even asked how he felt about Shen Quanzhang working at his husband’s company, among other nosy questions.

But Liu Yuan was the kind of person who made people happy. Chu Lai said, “He’s very lively, very likable.”

Cen Wei asked, “Wasn’t there a group of four in college? What about the other two?”

Chu Lai glanced out the window and said, “Not close.”

Cen Wei smiled.

Perhaps because Cen Wei had asked about college, Chu Lai became curious and asked in return, “What about you?”

Cen Wei said, “I went to university abroad, didn’t move around much, but occasionally visited nearby cities.”

He added, “Mostly alone.”

Chu Lai wasn’t fond of social interactions—trying to gauge how much sincerity to offer, and how much to give back in return. Let alone group activities—if university didn’t have a credit system, he probably wouldn’t have even attended the elective courses.

Yet despite being like this, he longed for affection, with contradictions written all over him.

Liu Yuan’s university life was incredibly colorful, while Chu Lai rarely went out with him. It was like the day he agreed to marry Cen Wei—if he hadn’t been unable to bear being alone any longer, he wouldn’t have even left his home.

Chu Lai gave a quiet “Oh” and didn’t seem to want to ask more. As they drove into the neighborhood, Cen Wei asked, “Is this it? Which building?”

Chu Lai made a call to Yu Ruimei, and not long after, the woman came down.

She seemed brisk and efficient, very capable, making it hard to imagine she was Chu Lai’s biological mother.

The car stopped in front of the building. The last time Yu Ruimei had seen Chu Lai was two years ago, and she found he hadn’t changed much.

Her gaze shifted to the man getting out of the car. He looked even more striking in person than in the video, completely out of this world.

After greeting Cen Wei, she watched him carrying things and asked Chu Lai, who was standing off to the side, “Are you sure you want to be with him?”

After all, it was her own child, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit melancholy. “How did you end up getting married so suddenly?”

There was so much stuff in the backseat and trunk that Chu Lai didn’t answer her and just helped carry the things.

The logos on the packages practically blinded her—she didn’t expect Moutai to be packed like it was wholesale.

She was still worried that Chu Lai was being scammed, so when Cen Wei sat on the sofa drinking tea, she pulled Chu Lai into the kitchen and asked, “Is this really okay?”

At home, it was just the two of them. Her remarried husband had taken their child to the park, so they wouldn’t be home for lunch.

She had gone to the market early in the morning, and now the table was filled with dishes, almost like a New Year’s feast.

The house wasn’t very big, and the kitchen was even smaller, making it feel cramped with two people standing together.

From time to time, Yu Ruimei glanced outside, completely unaware that her actions were extremely obvious.

Chu Lai was helpless. “We’re married. Really married.”

He was wearing a large, soft fleece jacket and pulled the marriage certificate out of his pocket, handing it to her. “Not a fake.”

Yu Ruimei: “…”

Chu Lai had a pleasant voice, but in his mother’s eyes, he looked the same as ever, as if he had grown up to scale, with the same temperament.

She could understand it, but still couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. If they could get married so suddenly, Chu Lai must really like him. So why did he still seem like they were just coexisting?

Yu Ruimei: “That’s not what I meant. I just want to ask…”

She had already asked over the phone, but now, face-to-face, she asked again: “What do you like about him? Don’t tell me you like his looks.”

Even though they weren’t as close as the usual mother and son, Yu Ruimei still understood Chu Lai’s preferences. This kid never liked hanging out with the good-looking kids.

Even at family gatherings, he would always squat in the corner with the least noticeable child.

Chu Lai originally wanted to give a casual answer. Behind him was the kitchen counter, where a pot of steaming egg custard was still on the stove, uncovered and ready to be served. He guessed it was something she had planned to bring out but got distracted by his call.

He followed her gaze and glanced at the man sitting on the sofa. Even successful CEOs had moments of awkwardness—sitting there staring blankly at his tea. It didn’t seem like much, but Chu Lai could still sense the tension in Cen Wei, so different from how he was at work.

After thinking for a moment, Chu Lai said, “He’s very considerate.”

Yu Ruimei: “In what way?”

Chu Lai answered without hesitation: “He’s very considerate in bed.”

There was nothing more she could ask. She had known about Chu Lai’s sexual orientation for a long time, and now that same-sex marriage was legal, she hadn’t thought much about it.

His ex-boyfriend, Xiao Shen, wasn’t much taller than Chu Lai.

But this current one looked like a model. From a distance, it wasn’t too bad, but standing up close, the sense of pressure was overwhelming.

Yu Ruimei coughed, “Just be mindful.”

Chu Lai laughed, “Aren’t you the one who asked?”

He had always been quiet, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t talk back. When he was younger, other parents would always come to her complaining about the things Chu Lai said.

Later, when it came time to resolve the issue, Chu Lai would repeat what he had said, and everyone realized it wasn’t exactly an insult.

It was just that his attitude and tone made people uncomfortable. If you tried to retort, it was like hitting cotton—he didn’t seem to care at all.

And that’s how the person who got upset was always the one who cared.

For a moment, Yu Ruimei empathized with those kids from back then.

She took a deep breath and glanced at Chu Lai, who was now looking outside, seemingly lost in thought.

His face didn’t look too good, as if he hadn’t slept well, constantly yawning.

Yu Ruimei asked, “Even young people should pace themselves. Look how tired you are.”

Chu Lai wanted to explain, but she had already turned and walked out to talk to Cen Wei. After taking two steps, she turned back and said to Chu Lai, “Bring out the egg custard from the pot.”

This home was filled with traces of family, from the family photos to various parent-child activity pictures. Chu Lai was a pure guest, even though his birth mother lived here.

When Cen Wei walked in, he saw those photos and noticed the toys on the sofa and the elementary school reading materials on the coffee table.

The name on the book belonged to a little boy, and his handwriting was decent.

No wonder Chu Lai wanted a family so badly. It was such a simple wish.

But he was full of contradictions. He wanted to maintain appearances, yet deep down, he didn’t believe in a lasting future.

Perhaps the separation of his parents had influenced him deeply. On the surface, he didn’t seem to care, but it led to an addiction to affection that had to be immediately replaced after every breakup.

The meal was extensive, and during it, Yu Ruimei made small talk with Cen Wei here and there.

She had a straightforward personality, but because of her estranged relationship with Chu Lai, she didn’t feel she had the right to ask too many pointed questions, sticking to safer topics like wedding preparations.

Yu Ruimei: “What about the wedding? Where will it be held? Have you chosen the location?”

Chu Lai stared at the large bubbles in his egg custard, zoning out. Meanwhile, Cen Wei was silently noting Chu Lai’s preferences for the homemade dishes as he replied, “It’s been decided. The electronic invitations aren’t ready yet, but I’ll send a car to pick you up the day before.”

She nodded, glanced at Chu Lai, and asked, “Not to your taste?”

It was just a simple egg custard, but even Cen Wei could tell Chu Lai liked it.

Chu Lai shook his head, breaking the custard with his spoon to get at the diced ham inside. “It’s fine, just not as good as Dad’s.”

Yu Ruimei nodded, “Of course. He taught me how to make it.”

Thinking of her late husband, she smiled, “Your father was really good at cooking. I could never quite match it.”

Noticing the confusion on Cen Wei’s face, she explained, “Chu Lai likes his egg custard cooked a bit firmer, with lots of air bubbles when you scoop it.”

Her hair was cut short, and when she smiled, the wrinkles around her eyes became more noticeable.

Yu Ruimei: “I could never get the timing quite right.”

Chu Lai said, “Maybe it’s just because it was better in my memory…”

He paused for a moment and asked, “Don’t you make it for Xiao Tai?”

Xiao Tai—Cen Wei remembered the name from the book—was the child of Yu Ruimei and her second husband.

She shook her head, “He doesn’t like it.”

Chu Lai gave a soft “Oh,” and said, “I really liked it.”

He took another big bite and added, “Thanks, Mom.”

He had grown a lot since the day she left. He was taller, though still thin, with facial features that resembled his father.

His father had been gaunt as a carpenter, and when she married him, she had thought about it carefully. Back when they first met, she had even thought Chu Lai’s father was a traditional Chinese medicine doctor.

Chu Lai had inherited his father’s temperament—calm and easygoing, as if no problem could last beyond a single night.

His father’s laid-back personality had complemented her temper perfectly. Even though one was hot-tempered and the other easygoing, they had somehow managed to live a slow and steady life. But accidents happen faster than plans, and his passing had been sudden.

The table fell into a quiet lull. Watching her son across from her, Yu Ruimei’s eyes reddened.

This was a scene Cen Wei wasn’t accustomed to, so he remained silent.

Yu Ruimei: “Why thank me? You’re always so polite to everyone.”

She turned her gaze to Cen Wei. The man was handsome, and in her eyes, he could easily rival celebrities on TV.

At first glance, he didn’t seem approachable, but after a few words, you could tell he was quite down-to-earth. Even while eating, he was paying attention to what Chu Lai liked.

Even if it wasn’t obvious to the person himself, a mother could see it clearly.

He cared about him.

Yu Ruimei said, “Enough. Now that you’re married, there’s no need to be so polite to Xiao Cen.”

“It would be too distant. Marriage is a lifetime thing—when you’re sick, you have to take care of each other.”

The woman kept going on, and Chu Lai actually wanted to retort, to say something like, “Dad had only been gone for six months, and you were already in such a rush to leave me.”

But when he looked up and saw her red eyes, as if she was about to cry, he couldn’t say it.

Grandma had always said that his mother wasn’t in the wrong, and that his father would want her to live the rest of her life without loneliness.

His mother also had the right to pursue happiness.

Chu Lai could understand this, but there was still a gap between them.

As time passed, he visited his mother’s new home and saw that even without him, she was doing well. Social media posts could be for other people’s eyes, but you could always tell if a home was truly happy just by visiting.

His mother was living a good life.

Chu Lai had nothing more to say and just gave a soft “Mm.”

He thought: If I’m not polite, I’d just be seen as taking advantage of others. No one is obligated to indulge me.

Not even a boyfriend, not even a partner—everything needs to be an equal exchange.

So why not put a clear price on it? All I need in exchange is the embrace I want, and that’s enough to fend off the pain of insomnia.

He kept his head down, barely touching the corn juice his mother had poured for him.

Cen Wei didn’t say much either. When it was time to leave, Chu Lai got into the car first, while Yu Ruimei and Cen Wei chatted outside.

Facing him, she found it difficult to take on the typical parental role, speaking awkwardly. “Chu Lai… I never really knew what he was thinking. I was afraid he wouldn’t date anyone because of me.”

“Now that he’s in a relationship, I’m worried he’ll get hurt.”

She was short and spoke nervously.

She had no idea that the man in front of her was just Chu Lai’s contract partner, and clearly saw him as her son’s true lover.

“Xiao Cen,” she hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Our Lai Lai is easily content. If you treat him well, he’ll remember it doubly.”

“I think you’re too good for him. Not that he’s unworthy, but a marriage like this… It’s easy for…”

She knew it wasn’t the time to be pessimistic, but her face was filled with worry. Cen Wei nodded and said, “I understand.”

The handsome man with soft eyes said gently, “If he wants a divorce, I’ll respect his decision.”

That was part of the agreement between him and Chu Lai.

But the way he said it was so direct that it caught her off guard. “Who gets married thinking about divorce?”

Cen Wei smiled, “Don’t worry. I’ll treat him well. As long as he needs me, I’ll be by his side.”

The afternoon sun was warm, and the man, dressed in a coat, looked every bit the picture of elegance. His naturally cold demeanor seemed to melt away.

Thinking back to how he had looked at Chu Lai during lunch, a gaze that showed he cared deeply, she nodded, “I wish you both a long and happy life together.”

Cen Wei: “I’ll do my best.”