Before Cheng Boyan said the words “your mother-in-law,” (NT: pópo , groom’s mother) Xiang Xi really hadn’t thought carefully about this issue. In his mind, Director Xu’s identity was simply: Director Xu, Cheng Boyan’s mom. If he absolutely had to include himself and assign a title, then at the instant Director Xu stepped through the door, the term “mother-in-law” (NT: zhàng mǔ niáng, bride’s mother) briefly flashed through his mind.

Of course, that term only flickered for a moment before being completely disrupted by the incident of mistakenly calling the chubby old lady by the wrong generation.

Now, upon hearing Cheng Boyan say “mother-in-law” (pópo), he finally snapped back to reality—there was actually this kind of question between the two of them?

“What’s wrong?” Cheng Boyan asked with a smile as he massaged his back. “What do you think it should be?”

“Mo…” Xiang Xi started to say, then suddenly hesitated, sneaking a glance at Cheng Boyan, feeling that if he said it out loud, he might get his arm dislocated. “Mother-in-law.” (zhàng mǔ niáng)

Cheng Boyan didn’t say anything. He kept a straight face and continued massaging him seriously for a while before finally failing to hold it in and laughing. “Mother-in-law?” (zhàng mǔ niáng)

“Yeah, what about it?” Xiang Xi glared at him, getting a bit annoyed at his laughter. “What are you laughing at! Massage properly!”

“As you command,” Cheng Boyan said with a smile, continuing to knead his back and waist seriously.

Xiang Xi didn’t speak. Lying on the sofa with his eyes closed, after a while he softly asked, “Why can’t it be zhàng mǔ niáng?”

“How about I tell you why it’s not ‘zhàng mǔ niáng’ when we go to bed later?” Cheng Boyan slipped his hand into his pants and gave his butt a squeeze.

“No need! I’m not an idiot,” Xiang Xi opened one eye slightly and glanced sideways at him. “Don’t always think I don’t understand anything.”

“You don’t understand. Even if you’ve watched porn…” Cheng Boyan said halfway, then laughed again. “Wait, you’ve seen those little clips of mine.”

“You pervert… I only watched a few seconds,” Xiang Xi clicked his tongue. “But even without watching, I know how it works.”

“Really?” Cheng Boyan also clicked his tongue. “Anyone can say that. I could even say I know the eighty-one techniques.”

(NT: reference to the many transformations of Sun Wukong in Journey to the West, used humorously to exaggerate having countless skills or tricks)

Xiang Xi laughed with his eyes closed. “I used to think I was already the most shameless person. Really. Turns out my horizons were just too narrow…”

***

After finishing the massage, Cheng Boyan went to take a shower. When he came out, Xiang Xi was still lying on the sofa with his eyes closed, not asleep, his arm hanging down, fingers idly tracing back and forth on the floor.

“Isn’t that dirty?” Cheng Boyan frowned. “Go wash your hands.”

“Not dirty. You mop the floor eighty times a day—how could it be dirty?” Xiang Xi continued tracing.

“My grandma and aunt didn’t change their shoes just now,” Cheng Boyan walked over and smacked his back. “Wash your hands!”

“I’m going to shower anyway, no need to wash separately, right?” Xiang Xi opened his eyes but didn’t get up.

“Then go shower,” Cheng Boyan grabbed his waistband and yanked him up, lifting half his body off the sofa. “Hurry up.”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Xiang Xi stuck his butt out. “I’m going! Let go, you’ll rip my waistband!”

When Xiang Xi came out of the shower, Cheng Boyan had already cleaned up the fruit plate on the coffee table—it was obvious he had wiped the table again.

“You’re really diligent,” Xiang Xi walked into the bedroom. “Did you mop the floor too?”

“No,” Cheng Boyan leaned on the small sofa under the desk lamp, reading. “Rule number X, mop once a day.”

Every time Xiang Xi entered the bedroom and saw Cheng Boyan leaning by the window reading, it felt like a kind of scenery—a calming, grounding scenery.

The warm yellow light, Cheng Boyan sitting comfortably, and the open book in his hands—every time Xiang Xi saw it, he had the urge to curl up by his feet or against his legs.

“What number is ‘X’?” He squeezed onto the small sofa, putting his legs on Cheng Boyan’s.

“I don’t remember. I’ll write them down for you sometime,” Cheng Boyan said while reading. “Don’t use a mop. Use those special cleaning papers from the kitchen…”

“So no water either? Use disinfectant?” Xiang Xi asked.

“First water, then spray some disinfectant—the spray is in the cabinet under the TV,” Cheng Boyan instructed. “After spraying, wipe again. And clean the soles of your shoes too.”

“Hey, you said you’ve never had a proper… boyfriend before, right?” Xiang Xi asked.

“Mm. Why?” Cheng Boyan glanced at him.

“I’m telling you, with your level of cleanliness obsession, it’s not just that you might not like others—others might not dare to like you either,” Xiang Xi frowned. “That’s exhausting.”

“That’s true,” Cheng Boyan slipped an arm around his waist. “So now that I’ve finally found someone who dares to like me, I’d better hold on tight.”

Xiang Xi chuckled. Then after thinking for a moment, he said, “If I just use a mop, you wouldn’t be able to tell, right?”

“Try it,” Cheng Boyan said.

“You can tell?” Xiang Xi had never mopped a floor in his life.

“With a mop, there’ll be water streaks. When it dries, you’ll see spots in the light,” Cheng Boyan smiled. “Wiping won’t leave those.”

“I…” Xiang Xi clenched his teeth, swallowing a curse. “I surrender to you. Is this something Director Xu trained you since childhood?”

Cheng Boyan smiled without answering.

Thinking of Director Xu, Xiang Xi suddenly remembered today—he had just met Cheng Boyan’s mom and family… whether she was “pópo” or “zhàng mǔ niáng,” whatever, he had just met them.

Thinking of that, he suddenly felt nervous again.

“Hey,” he nudged Cheng Boyan with his elbow, “what impression do you think Director Xu has of me? Would she dislike me?”

“Now that you mention it, I almost forgot,” Cheng Boyan set his book aside. “When did you stand up for my mom? You never told me.”

“Huh?” Xiang Xi froze. “She mentioned it?”

“Just briefly. My aunt was there so I didn’t ask much,” Cheng Boyan ruffled his hair. “What happened?”

“It was a while ago,” Xiang Xi thought for a moment, then slapped his thigh. “Seriously, your mom hides things too well! I was never sure if she recognized me that day—turns out she really did?”

He told the whole story. “The police actually came in the end—I got so scared I almost ran away… judging from her reaction, what do you think she thought about it? She said my temper was too rash that day. I’m kind of worried.”

“You cursed, didn’t you?” Cheng Boyan smiled.

“Probably. I wasn’t in front of you. When I get worked up, I don’t really watch my mouth,” Xiang Xi tilted his head. “Am I doomed?”

“No,” Cheng Boyan hooked an arm around him and kissed the corner of his mouth. “You weren’t doing anything bad—helping others, good values, just a bit foul-mouthed. What’s there to be doomed about?”

“Then tonight?” Xiang Xi frowned. “I even ‘upgraded’ your aunt…”

“Don’t worry about her,” Cheng Boyan laughed. “Wait, let me laugh first—just thinking about it makes me laugh.”

“Hey, don’t laugh, I…” Xiang Xi was anxious, but Cheng Boyan ignored him and kept laughing. After watching for a while, Xiang Xi also started laughing. “No, I’m actually pretty good at judging people, but I just assumed your aunt would be around the same age as your mom. Your mom looks too well-maintained, and your aunt… not at all. So when I saw a chubby old lady come in, I thought, oh—that must be grandma…”

“Give me a second,” Cheng Boyan turned toward the lamp and burst out laughing for quite a while before turning back. “She’s probably going to have psychological trauma when she sees you from now on.”

“What should I do?” Xiang Xi frowned. “But honestly, your aunt’s personality is really not likable.”

“It’s fine, that’s just how she is—talkative and nosy,” Cheng Boyan stroked his thigh. “Even if she doesn’t like you, no one’s going to base their opinion on hers.”

“But I think your grandma likes me,” Xiang Xi smiled. “Right?”

“Yeah,” Cheng Boyan nodded. “She just likes pretty kids… that’s why among the grandchildren, I’m her favourite.”

“Can you not make everything about yourself?” Xiang Xi frowned. “So shameless.”

“Didn’t I say?” Cheng Boyan scooped him up and tossed him onto the bed. “She likes pretty kids like you.”

Cheng Boyan turned off the light, adjusted the air conditioner, and lay down.

Xiang Xi moved closer, breathing in the clean lemon scent from his fresh shower, closing his eyes. “Hey, how about you call Director Xu tomorrow?”

“Why?” Cheng Boyan rested his hand on his waist. “Gather intelligence?”

“Yeah. Don’t you want to know what she thinks of me?” Xiang Xi said softly. “I can’t settle down—I keep thinking about it.”

“Alright, I’ll call her tomorrow,” Cheng Boyan turned and held him. “Any reward?”

“Why are you so…” Xiang Xi grabbed Cheng Boyan’s hand as it slipped into his pants. “Aren’t we sleeping?”

“You can fall asleep?” Cheng Boyan whispered by his ear. “At your age, you should be able to get turned on just walking down the street. Pretty strong self-control.”

Xiang Xi didn’t reply.

Cheng Boyan’s voice near his ear always had a kind of magic—calming him when anxious, steadying him when panicked, grounding him when unsettled… and right now, making his imagination run wild.

Though it had only happened once, he clearly remembered every movement of Cheng Boyan’s hands on his body, and that unfamiliar yet irresistible… excitement and pleasure.

Like an electric current.

Touches landing precisely on sensitive nerves.

Breaths brushing against him.

When Cheng Boyan’s hand slipped into his pants, Xiang Xi reached back and touched his abdomen.

The slight tightening under his palm made his breathing quicken.

***

“Can I not shower?” Xiang Xi lay sprawled on the bed. “I think I’m pretty clean.”

“No,” Cheng Boyan answered immediately, still feeling around the bed and over him.

“What are you looking for?” Xiang Xi asked.

“Nothing. Just checking if anything’s messy. You wouldn’t let me turn on the light,” Cheng Boyan said.

“Turn it on,” Xiang Xi flipped onto his stomach. “I’m not embarrassed anymore.”

Cheng Boyan turned on the light and checked the sheets. “Not dirty. Go shower.”

“Ah…” Xiang Xi buried his face in the pillow. “No. I’m tired and sleepy.”

“Stop talking,” Cheng Boyan grabbed his waist and dragged him to the edge of the bed, then pulled him up. “I’ll rinse you off.”

“Ah…” Xiang Xi hung onto him, “why are you so annoying…”

They went into the bathroom. Xiang Xi stood with his forehead pressed against the wall while Cheng Boyan adjusted the water temperature and rinsed him with the showerhead.

Xiang Xi didn’t want to shower, but the water temperature was comfortable. As it ran over him, he felt relaxed and sighed, “Don’t get my hair wet, I don’t want to wash it again. We didn’t use our heads anyway.”

“Next time we’ll do one that requires washing your hair,” Cheng Boyan said, stroking his back.

“Idiot,” Xiang Xi turned his head and squinted with a smile, “how would that work?”

“Finish on your face,” Cheng Boyan said.

“Damn,” Xiang Xi couldn’t hold it in. One of Cheng Boyan’s special talents was saying crude things in a completely serious tone without blushing or breaking character. “Even if you hit me I’d still swear at you—what do you think about all day…”

“I only say this kind of stuff to you,” Cheng Boyan smiled, leaning close to kiss the back of his neck. “Alright, dry off and go back to bed.”

Xiang Xi felt like his biological clock didn’t follow time, but whether Cheng Boyan was beside him.

No matter what time Cheng Boyan got up in the morning, he could feel it—the moment the space beside his arm was empty, he’d wake up. Even if Cheng Boyan just went to the bathroom, he’d half-awaken.

“This morning we’ll have bread and milk,” Cheng Boyan touched his eyebrow. “Okay?”

“Mm,” Xiang Xi snuggled closer. “Do we have bread? Do we need to go buy it?”

“Just get some downstairs,” Cheng Boyan rubbed his arm and sat up. “Tomorrow we might as well make bread ourselves. The bread machine hasn’t been used in a long time.”

“Bread machine? I’ll do it,” Xiang Xi rubbed against him until his head rested on his thigh. “You tell me how, I’ll make it.”

“After work I’ll buy some jam…” Cheng Boyan ruffled his hair, then put a pillow under his head as if he hadn’t heard him, and got out of bed. “Sleep a bit more.”

Eggs, milk, bread.

When Xiang Xi got up, Cheng Boyan had already prepared breakfast on the table. After washing up, he sat down, and Cheng Boyan brought him a glass of juice.

“Hey?” Xiang Xi took a sip—it was mango juice. “How did you make this?”

“With my hands. Cut it open, remove the pit, put it in a plastic bag, mash it by hand, then pour it out and add some water,” Cheng Boyan said while eating bread.

“That’s so —” Xiang Xi stopped halfway, realizing. “You used a blender, right! I almost believed you! ‘Mash it by hand’? With your cleanliness obsession, no one would believe that.”

Cheng Boyan laughed. “Depends on what it is. Mashed potatoes are made like that.”

“Let’s have mashed potatoes again today. I’ll go buy some,” Xiang Xi thought for a moment. “Now that I’ve got bodyguards, going out should be fine, right? Just the supermarket across the street?”

Cheng Boyan glanced at him. “If your bodyguards aren’t downstairs, don’t go out.”

“No problem.” Xiang Xi snapped his fingers.

After breakfast, Cheng Boyan reminded him about today’s floor-cleaning rules and left. When he got downstairs, he noticed that Song Yi’s “bodyguard squad” had arrived, standing under a tree in the small garden watching some old men practicing tai chi.

As soon as they saw him come out, they quickly hid behind the tree.

Cheng Boyan sighed. These people Song Yi brought—definitely not gangsters—were just there to boost confidence. Like Lin He said, if something really happened, they could at least help a bit, but beyond that, they probably couldn’t do much.

With their beginner-level surveillance skills, before Uncle Ping’s group got caught, they themselves would probably get caught by the neighbourhood security first.

***

Cheng Boyan had been busy these past two days. Doctor Liu had been forced by the department head to take two days off for a full check-up and rest. Although Cheng Boyan didn’t have to cover his shifts, he had more patients than usual.

He had planned to find time to ask about Mantou’s situation, but didn’t get the chance until lunchtime, when he chatted briefly with a colleague from the inpatient department.

“They’re preparing to discharge him this afternoon,” the colleague said while eating. “Honestly, in this situation, once he’s in detention, he’ll finally be at ease.”

Mantou would be safe, Cheng Boyan thought while eating. But Xiang Xi was another matter—until Uncle Ping and his group were caught, he wouldn’t feel at ease.

After work, he saw a police car at the entrance. By the time he walked over, it had already started—probably taking Mantou away.

“Boyan,” someone called from behind.

It was his mom. He turned around, surprised to see her. “Why are you here?”

“I came to get your grandma’s test results—two of them were only available today,” she smiled. “Just got off work?”

“Mm,” Cheng Boyan nodded. “Why didn’t you come to my office? Grandma’s okay, right?”

“I wasn’t planning to look for you—I just saw you and called out,” she handed him the reports. “No major problems. Surgery is scheduled for early next month. For now, she needs to control her blood sugar. Tell her not to be so greedy with food , and to endure it for now.”

“I’ll call her tonight,” Cheng Boyan smiled. “Did you walk here? Want me to take you back?”

“I drove,” his mom glanced at the clock. “Are you in a hurry to go home? If not, let’s talk for a few minutes.”

“Sure, let me change.”

If his mom wanted to talk, it was definitely about Xiang Xi.

But what exactly she wanted to discuss was hard to predict. She usually didn’t interfere much in his life—not even about his orientation. But now that someone was living with him for the first time, she was probably uneasy.

“Want to sit somewhere?” Cheng Boyan asked after changing. “There’s a café across the street.”

“No need. Let’s just stand here,” she said, glancing across. “And don’t always go to those places eating and drinking carelessly; your nutrition…”

“I don’t, really,” Cheng Boyan smiled. “Let’s just talk here.”

“Boyan,” she looked at him and straightened his collar, “how much do you know about this Xiang Xi?”

“In what sense?” Cheng Boyan asked.

“Are you saying that for someone you’re living with, your boyfriend, you only plan to understand one aspect?” she frowned slightly, smiling. “Of course I mean all aspects.”

The question seemed simple. For someone else, it would be easy to answer. But for Xiang Xi, it wasn’t so simple.

His situation was too complicated. If he told everything, his mom might be shocked. And there were things he himself didn’t fully know—like Xiang Xi’s background.

In the end, he chose a very “Cheng Boyan-style” answer: “I already understand everything I want to know.”

“Is that so?” she looked at him. “Then as long as you’re clear about it, that’s fine. What I really want to ask is—does this Xiang Xi have a complicated background? His upbringing and environment must be quite different from yours, right?”

Cheng Boyan didn’t reply.

He didn’t need her to say more to understand—this question meant that his mom… wasn’t entirely satisfied with Xiang Xi.

 

Translator : DarNan