growing up

Ling Chao arrived at the coffee shop 10 minutes earlier, but Gu Yuan's mother hadn't come yet.

It is around three o'clock in the afternoon, and there are still many people in the coffee shop.Ling Chao chose a seat facing the door and the window where no one was around, ordered a cup of hot cocoa and waited.

Gu Yuan's mother arrived on time, and Ling Chao had been staring at the pedestrians coming in and out of the door, so he saw her at a glance.

It has been five months since we met in October. Zhang Yun still has short hair and a good face with light makeup.She was wearing a light blue long down jacket, wrapped up to her calves.On his feet are short leather boots, and he walks like flying.

Ling Chao stood up and waved his hands. Zhang Yun noticed him and walked towards him with a smile.

"I'm not late, am I?" Zhang Yun asked in a gentle voice, without the airs of an elder, while unzipping his jacket.

"No, I arrived early." Ling Chao helped her pull up the chair and waited for her to sit down before turning back to his seat. "What do you want to drink?"

"Thank you, let's get a latte." Zhang Yun knew that Ling Chao was a polite child, and his behavior just now was very natural, not at all like a 17-year-old kid.

Ling Chao took an order with the waiter before looking at Zhang Yun formally.

"Aunt Zhang, you need to ask me." Ling Chao asked.

The meeting with Lingchao came on a whim yesterday when she heard Gu Yuan say that Lingchao was coming. Zhang Yun had thought of many kinds of opening remarks, but did not expect Lingchao to ask her so bluntly.

The child opposite was about the same age as his own son.But his behavior and temperament are completely like an adult, one can imagine what kind of etiquette education he has received in his life.

Zhang Yun felt that she suddenly became a little nervous. She has worked in the frontline of criminal investigation for nearly 20 years, has seen countless criminals and faced countless dangers and has never made her shrink back. Facing Ling Chao today, she was a little at a loss. up.

Just when the waiter brought the coffee she ordered, Zhang Yun thanked the waiter, picked it up and took a sip of the foamed milk on it, suppressing the panic in his heart.

"Yes, Auntie has something to say and wants to hear from you in person." Zhang Yun put down the cup, took out a tissue and pressed his lips, maintaining the previous smile.

"Okay, if you ask me, I will tell you everything." Ling Chao straightened his body and replied seriously.

"That..." Zhang Yun thought about his words, "What's the relationship between you and Gu Yuan?"

Ling Chao knew from the moment Zhang Yun asked to meet him alone that Gu Yuan must have come out in front of her. He remembered what his mother had said to him before, and he was mentally prepared to accept the questioning.Zhang Yun kept smiling when he spoke, without anger or contempt on his face.It was like a normal conversation between two friends.

"What did Gu Yuan tell you?" Ling Chao asked without answering.

"He said you were together." Zhang Yun said bluntly.

"That's it, I'm with him. In the way of falling in love." Ling Chao said.

Zhang Yun kept looking at Ling Chao, she wanted to see a little pretense from his expression, but even when he asked back just now, Ling Chao had a firm expression.His rhetorical question was purely out of respect for Gu Yuan.Because this is Gu Yuan's mother, if she wants to come out, it must be Gu Yuan himself, not Ling Chao because of her mother's suspicion.

"Are you against it?" Ling Chao asked.

Zhang Yun paused, still shook his head with a smile.

"Then, are you because I'm a boy?" Ling Chao asked again.

This time Zhang Yun shook his head without hesitation.

"Auntie, I understand. You don't object to our falling in love, but you are worried." Ling Chao said.

He used declarative sentences instead of questioning sentences. Zhang Yun's heart moved, and his thoughts were seen through.

"At the beginning, I was shocked. Xiaoyuan has never had a good friend since he was a child in Dalian. I doubt whether he can understand what a relationship is." Zhang Yun seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and then said, "He told me that he likes you, because when he sees you, he will feel better, and because it is you, he will try to catch up with you. And you are just you, not because he is gay, but Because the you he likes happen to be the same gender as him."

This passage was said by Gu Yuan to Zhang Yun himself, and Zhang Yun has always kept it in his heart.But these words, he never said to Ling Chao.

Now, these words were conveyed to him from Gu Yuan's mother, and it was obvious that even if Zhang Yun did not directly oppose them, he did not support them.

"Auntie, thank you for telling me this," Ling Chao said, "I understand, you are worried, one is because we are too young, the other is that the current social environment is not optimistic about our situation, and the third is the way forward. We may have differences on how to go. I can’t promise you anything, but I can also tell you that I like Gu Yuan much more than you think. My parents are supportive of this, and my The future will only be based on my own wishes. As long as Gu Yuan and I can be together properly, I will work hard to overcome all other factors."

People in the cafe came and went, but fortunately there was a space around them.The warm aroma of all kinds of coffee wafts in the air, accompanied by the sound of light music, which makes people here feel comfortable.

No one noticed that the atmosphere between the two at this table was not purely joyful.The older lady kept smiling, but there seemed to be some seriousness between her brows.On the other hand, the young man on the opposite side looked serious, with a respectful but not humble attitude.

Zhang Yun stirred the coffee in the cup, mixing the milk in the upper layer with the coffee in the lower layer evenly.She gently put down the spoon and took a few sips slowly. The sweetness of the milk combined with the bitterness of the espresso.Just like the relationship between teenagers - they can only experience the sweetness and bitterness in it.

"Ling Chao, I like you very much. It was thanks to your help that Qingqing got sick last time," Zhang Yun said. Keep my doubts. Let’s put it this way, I don’t object to your dating. Usually you can learn to play together, but I object to too much intimate contact between you before Xiao Yuan is an adult. Although he is a boy, I don’t care about you Between myself, I think this is love or friendship, and I will not allow you to qualify for the time being."

"Thank you!" Ling Chao said, "Thank you for bringing this up to me so bluntly. If you don't tell me about this, I will be careful. Moreover, I can guarantee that my relationship with Gu Yuan will not Affect their studies."

"Okay, I'm very happy to be able to talk with you today. I will think about the relationship between you more seriously, and I sincerely hope that you are serious, so that you will not get hurt." Zhang Yun said.

Ling Chao lowered his head, clasped his hands on the table, and said, "Actually, for a while, I was very hesitant. It wasn't because I doubted this relationship, but because I was afraid that Gu Yuan would not be as firm as I was. After listening to you just now, I found that I was wrong, it turns out that he is braver than me." He slowly raised his head, his voice sounded a little moved, "My mother told me that the vast majority of parents cannot accept homosexuality, so from the very beginning, Gu Yuan was more brave than me. I have a lot of problems to face. Although you didn't say you are against homosexuality, you must have questioned it in your heart."

"I..." Zhang Yun didn't know how to answer, and finally just said "I'm sorry".

"You don't need to apologize, I should have apologized," Ling Chao shook his head with a wry smile, and said, "If Gu Yuan hadn't met me, Gu Yuan would have had a beautiful and gentle wife in his future life, who would have given birth to a pair of lovely children , follow the trajectory of a normal person. It’s not the possibility of being criticized by other people in the future. But I still want to say, as long as he still wants me, in this life, I will not let go easily.”

Zhang Yun was silent, she saw sincerity and determination in Ling Chao's eyes.

With such eyes, it can't be regarded as a child's play at all.Perhaps, it was really my fault. In fact, there are truths among children.

Zhang Yun's cell phone on the table vibrated, it was Gu Yuan's call.

She answered the phone, Gu Yuan and Qing Qing went back from the hospital, but they didn't see her, so they asked her where she had been.

She only said that she wanted to invite Ling Chao to dinner tonight, so she went out to buy groceries, but she didn't mention that she was with Ling Chao now.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yun said, "Okay, I guess Xiao Yuan will look for you in a while. I have to go shopping, why don't you go to our house to play first."

Ling Chao said: "Wait a while, I'll go back first. I'll wait for Gu Yuan to call."

"That's fine," Zhang Yun turned to summon the waiter and said, "Pay the bill."

"Auntie, let me go." Ling Chao stood up and prepared to go to the front desk.

"No, no, how could it be possible for you to pay the bill." Zhang Yun stopped Ling Chao.

The waiter brought the bill, Zhang Yun paid, took his clothes, and went out with Ling Chao.

"See you later." Zhang Yun put on his down jacket and said to Ling Chao.

"Okay." Ling Chao nodded.

Within 2 minutes of being separated from Gu Yuan's mother, Ling Chao received a call from Gu Yuan, asking him out for dinner.

This time they went back to the city and rented a new house, in the neighborhood opposite Qingyang Middle School, not too far from the No. [-] Middle School where they went to school. Compared with the place where Gu Yuan lived before, it is also much closer to Ling Chao.

Ling Chao has a gift for Qingqing, and he has to go home to get it first.He went to the fruit shop to buy some fruit, took a taxi, and went to Gu Yuan and his new residence.